UPE FOCUS CITY PROJECTS BUDGET SUMMARY BREAKDOWN

International Development Research Centre Urban Poverty and Environment Program Focus Cities Research Initiative “Achieving the MDGs one neighbourhood at a time” Call for Concept Notes Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa June 20, 2006 The Urban Poverty and Environment Program (UPE) of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is pleased to announce a call for concept notes for research grants on urban environmental issues from interested city-level partners. This call contains the following information: What is the Urban Poverty and Environment Program? What is the Focus Cities Research Initiative? What type of projects will be funded in selected cities? Who may submit a concept note? What is the process for submitting concept notes? 6. How will the concept notes be assessed? 7. What will be the next step if your concept note is selected for further development? 8. Where can I find more information? Annex 1: Concept Note Format & Guidelines Annex 2: Project Budget Guidelines 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 1. What is the Urban Poverty & Environment Program? IDRC's Urban Poverty & Environment Program (UPE) supports integrated and participatory research to reduce environmental burdens on the urban poor, and enhance the use of natural resources for food, water, and income security. UPE takes an integrated approach to environment and natural resources issues in cities, working within the themes of urban agriculture, urban water and sanitation, waste management, and vulnerability to natural disasters, with land tenure as a crosscutting issue. Contributing knowledge to inform achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, UPE envisions a world in which urban citizens thrive in healthy and dignified environments—where all stakeholders, including those most marginalized, play an active and effective role in sustainable development. UPE’s goal is to ease environmental burdens that exacerbate poverty in selected cities by 1 strengthening the capacity of the poor to equitably access environmental services, reduce environmental degradation and vulnerability to natural disasters, and enhance the use of natural resources for food, water and income security. UPE has three primary objectives: 1. Understanding the nature and context of environmental burdens and constrained use of natural resources, their impact on food, water and income security, and identifying potential solutions. 2. Testing interventions and assessing policies in low-income urban neighborhoods that ease environmental burdens, and enhance the use of natural resources for food, water and income security. 3. Contributing to the integrated planning, development, and implementation of sustainable and equitable urban environmental and natural resource policies. To learn more about UPE, consult the team’s five-year plan on the IDRC website at: www.idrc.ca/upe. 2. What is the Focus Cities Research Initiative? A key component of UPE, the Focus Cities Research Initiative (FCRI) will support multistakeholder research teams in nine cities around the world to promote awareness, policy options and best practices for reducing environmental impacts in poor urban and peri-urban areas. Focusing on nine cities will enable UPE to concentrate its efforts, support sustained and in-depth research, and develop synergies with past and present development projects. Pilot projects are being implemented in target neighbourhoods to inform, validate, and help refine citywide development strategies aimed at sustainable and equitable urban development. Working with these Focus Cities will also allow UPE to compare and contrast results, and share knowledge to accelerate progress in other urban centres around the world. Five Focus City projects are currently being implemented in: Colombo, Sri Lanka; Dakar, Senegal; Jakarta, Indonesia; Kampala, Uganda; and, Moreno, Argentina. This Call is to select the remaining four Focus City projects – two in the Middle East and North Africa region, and two from the Latin America and the Caribbean region. Focus City projects will be based in selected neighbourhoods. Between one (preferable) and three neighbourhoods should be clearly identified as areas where the project will conduct action research. Each of UPE’s objectives outlined in section 1 represents one phase of the project’s research cycle: diagnosis, experimentation, and policy influence.  The first phase — diagnosis — is meant to help communities, governments and other stakeholders develop a shared understanding of the most important environmental burdens in the pilot neighbourhood. FCRI projects will take an integrated approach to developing diagnostic studies, by considering the interrelationships between the themes of urban agriculture, urban water and sanitation, waste management, and vulnerability to natural disasters, with land tenure as a crosscutting issue. It is expected that the diagnoses will reveal that particular themes are more important in different cities. Following the diagnostic studies, the second phase — experimentation — will help researchers and local stakeholders develop potential solutions based on practical learning though experimentation and policy interventions. These pilots could include, for example, installing and testing technologies or infrastructure, developing land for urban  2 agriculture, or developing enterprises that address the key themes.  The third and parallel phase — policy influence — aims to help poor communities, local government and other stakeholders recognize potential innovations, and integrate them into planning, policies and practices. Developing an understanding of the local and national policy context can proceed at the same time as the on-the-ground diagnosis and experimentation work in the identified pilot neighbourhood. 3. What type of projects will be funded in selected cities?? Each Focus City project will be approved for a period of four years, during which UPE will allocate up to CAD $1.2 million. Renewal of project funding from one research phase to the next (from diagnosis to experimentation to policy influence) will depend on project performance. Participation in this program does not guarantee additional funding once the four-year project has been completed. Projects will be based around the integrated themes of urban agriculture, urban water and sanitation, waste management, and vulnerability to natural disasters, with land tenure as a crosscutting issue. IDRC's Ecohealth program will collaborate with UPE in one Focus City in Latin America and the Caribbean by providing additional funds for an ecohealth research component. City Teams interested in expanding their Focus City research to include an ecohealth component are asked to highlight their health entry-points in the concept note. By December 2006, IDRC will inform the city team that has been selected to participate in the joint UPE-Ecohealth initiative. Further details are available in the Frequently Asked Questions on the website: www.idrc.ca/upe. For information on the Ecohealth program, please visit the IDRC website: www.idrc.ca/ecohealth. Throughout the project, partnerships with governments and other donors should be sought to complement UPE’s limited funding. Developing strategic partnerships will also help promote a shared understanding of environmental problems within each Focus City and the country as a whole, and provide opportunities to scale-up promising interventions. 4. Who may submit a concept note? The research will be conducted by City Teams consisting of diverse stakeholders that agree to work together in partnership during the project. The following principles can be used as a guide:  City Teams must incorporate relevant stakeholders that all participate meaningfully in the project. Potential members of the team include community groups that represent the urban poor, other NGOs, research institutes, local and national governments, and the informal and formal private sector. Not all of these potential organisations must be part of the City Team. One organisation within the team must take overall responsibility for the project, and the overall project leader should be part of the lead organisation. As our objective is to work with Southern city teams and build capacity at the local level, preference will be given to City Teams that identify locally-based organisations as the project leads. Any organisation that is part of the City Team can take the leading role for the research project, including NGOs. The lead organisation should be well established in   3 the community and/or city, have a proven track record for managing applied research projects, and be financially accountable. International organisations are welcome to participate in and support the City Team. Please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions section of our website for more information on what constitutes a local organisation. 5. What is the process for submitting concept notes? By September 22, 2006, the City Team is requested to send the following documents by email: 1. Cover Page listing all the documents being submitted as part of the application package. 2. Concept Note justifying the project, and describing the City Team and the proposed research. 3. Letter of Intent signed by all key members of the City Team indicating their commitment to work together for the duration of the project. 4. Supporting Documentation submitted as annexes. Detailed explanations can be found in Annex 1: Concept Note Format and Guidelines. Please ensure that all sections are completed fully. Incomplete applications will not be accepted. Concept notes may be submitted in English, French or Spanish. Send the completed concept note (in the format provided), and all supporting documents by email to the attention of the UPE Focus Cities Coordinator at upe-focuscity@idrc.ca. Please forward all enquiries to the same email. 6. How will the concept notes be assessed? The concept notes will be evaluated by IDRC against the following criteria:    Use of the research results - the potential for the results to inform ongoing or planned development projects within the pilot neighbourhood or city. Capacity of the City Team to conduct multi-disciplinary, action-oriented research. Evidence of a true multi-stakeholder partnership - including successful past experiences in addressing community concerns, local governments priorities, and national and regional priorities. Research methodology – a participatory approach that incorporates sound gender and social analysis.  In addition, the following factors are considered assets:    Political and financial commitment from local and national authorities for both the proposed research, and/or on-going or planned development projects. Locally-based organisation identified as the project lead. Opportunities for IDRC and the City Teams to forge partnerships with other development agencies. 4 City Teams do not have to meet or score high on all of the above criteria; concept notes in cities lacking in one criteria may be selected if they score high on the other criteria. IDRC will aim for a balanced portfolio within its network of nine cities. Some City Teams that have lower research capacity or fewer previously successful projects than others may be chosen if they demonstrate strong commitment to future projects to reduce environmental burdens on the urban poor. 7. What will be the next step if your concept note is selected for development? If your concept note is selected for proposal development, UPE will inform the City Team leader by mid-December 2006. Results of the competition will be published in January 2007 on our website. Once you have been notified, UPE will provide comments on the submitted concept note and solicit from the City Team a longer proposal with a more detailed methodology, work plan and budget. The UPE team will work with the successful City Teams to help develop a full proposal. City Teams will be invited to participate in a proposal development workshop where they will network with other Focus City Teams. They will also have access to training on participatory methodologies, monitoring and evaluation, and communications. 8. Where can I find more information? For more information, please visit the IDRC website: www.idrc.ca/upe and follow the links to the Focus Cities Research Initiative. Answers to Frequently Asked Questions are available on the website. All questions can be forwarded by email to: upe-focuscity@idrc.ca. Annex 1: Concept Note Format & Guidelines Instructions: 1. Complete the table below by filling in the requested information in the appropriate section. Please list the headings in your concept note in the same format and order they appear below. The concept note should be in Word or PDF and the filename should follow this format: Country – City - Lead Institution. Concept notes should be a maximum of 8 pages, exclusive of annexes. 2. Submit all supporting documents requested below as annexes to the concept note. Each annex should be saved as a separate Word or PDF file (e.g., Annex 1 – Letter of Intent, Annex 2 – City Projects, etc.). 3. Submit a cover letter listing all the documents that you are sending with your concept note. The letter should include complete contact information for the Project Leader including address, telephone and email. Incomplete applications missing concept note sections or annexes will not be accepted. 4. The Project Leader should email all required documents to the attention of the 5 Focus Cities Coordinator no later than September 22, 2006: upefocuscity@idrc.ca. The subject header should identify: Country, City, Lead Institution. Late applications will not be accepted. Important note regarding electronic documents: IDRC is unable to accept zip files or files larger than 10 MB (megabytes). Please ensure that all scanned documents and images are submitted in the lowest file size possible. Visit our website for information on Frequently Asked Questions regarding the UPE Focus Cities Research Initiative: www.idrc.ca/upe. Please forward all enquiries to the Focus Cities Coordinator at: upe-focuscity@idrc.ca. Concept Note Format (maximum of 8 pages, exclusive of annexes) 1. Project Title A concise and meaningful title for the project, which should include the city name. 2. Abstract A short description of no more than 250 words providing an overview of the proposed project including research theme, methodology and expected outcome. 3. Entry-point Theme(s) While UPE encourages projects that integrate more than one theme, please indicate clearly the main entry-point theme: urban agriculture, urban water and sanitation, solid waste management, vulnerability to natural disasters or land tenure. If you wish to be considered for the additional Ecohealth funds, please indicate the health entry-point themes, and ensure that your concept note reflect the ecohealth approach (i.e. research questions, methodologies, and budget). For more information on Ecohealth, please visit the website: www.idrc.ca/ecohealth. 4. Problem and justification This section provides an overview of the context of the research project - the pilot neighbourhood and city, and the issues it will address. Describe the urbanization trends in the city and country, including city population, growth rate and size. Identify the relationship between urban poverty, environmental burdens and use of natural resources in the city. Identify the pilot neighbourhood and explain the criteria used to select it. In general, what is the problem for which support is being sought and how does it respond to local, regional and national priorities? Highlight current or past local government projects, programs and policies relating to urban poverty and the environment. Provide details such as publications or identification of official municipal documents - in Annex B. How will this research project build on past multi-stakeholder partnerships and/or successful past experiences in addressing 6 community concerns, local governments priorities, and national and regional priorities? What are the knowledge gaps that the research will address? 5. Objectives What are the goals - main and specific objectives - against which the research project’s success or failure could be assessed? What methodologies and what activities will be used to achieve the goal and objectives? Describe multi-stakeholder participation, and gender and social equity aspects. Describe the research activities and the nature of the anticipated pilot projects that will take place in the selected neighbourhood. Identify the estimated number of households that will serve as the representative sample for the population of the pilot neighbourhood during the diagnosis and pilot testing phases. For those projects that wish to expand the research to include an ecohealth component, please be clear on what methods will be used. Information on Ecohealth methods and approaches is available on the website: www.idrc.ca/ecohealth. 6. Methodology 7. Results What are the expected outputs and outcomes of the research? How might they reduce the impact of environmental burdens on the urban poor? How will these results be used, i.e. what is the potential for the results to inform on-going or planned development projects within the pilot neighbourhood or city? How can potential solutions be scaled up or replicated? 8. City Team organisation Outline the main organisations present in the City Team and their specific roles and responsibilities within the team. Identify the organisation that will take overall responsibility for the project, and with which IDRC will form a contract. Highlight the relevant previous experience of each organisation with detailed project profiles, in Annex C. Describe key individuals in the City Team, including name, institution, department, job title, roles and responsibilities in the project, education level and discipline, and urban poverty and environment experience. Identify the overall project leader, who will be locally-based and with whom IDRC will communicate. The overall project leader should be an employee of the lead project organisation. Include a curriculum vitae (CV) or biographic statement for all team members in Annex E. 9. Schedule Identify the duration of each research step - diagnostic, experimentation and policy formulation. Are there assumptions or constraints with respect to the start date (seasonality, potential risks, etc.)? 7 10. Budget State the approximate anticipated costs of the research project, including the specific costs of the main elements (in $CAD). Be sure to provide information on additional contributions (including in kind contributions) from other agencies, institutions, government, or City Team members. Please refer to Annex 2 of the Call for Concept Notes for detailed guidelines on the budget. A) Letter of Intent indicating the City Team's commitment to work together for the duration of the project. Only one letter should be submitted with the following information:  Names of each partner organisation represented in the City Team.  Pilot neighborhood identified.  Likely financial and in-kind contributions of the local/and or national government and other agencies.  Signatures of the leader of each partner organisation in the City Team.  Signature and commitment of the city’s mayor or other relevant political leaders will be considered an asset. B) City Projects - Descriptions of relevant current or previous development projects in the city. Please identify previous research projects undertaken with IDRC or other donor support, if any. C) Organisational Profiles - Profiles and previous experience of each organisation in the City Team (maximum of 2 pages each). Each profile should include complete contact information. D) City Team - List of all City Team members, including contact information and organisational affiliation. E) Team Profiles - CVs of each team member (maximum of 2 pages each). F) Additional Info - Any other relevant information the City Team wishes to include. Please identify these documents in the cover letter. Annexes: 8 Annex 2. Project Budget Guidelines UPE FOCUS CITY PROJECTS: BUDGET SUMMARY BREAKDOWN The following table outlines the suggested breakdown of costs for the proposals. Project budgets should be summarized as per the following categories: Activity 1. Personnel 2. Research a. Pilot Project a b. Communication and Networking c. Training 3. Equipment 4. Evaluation 5. Indirect Costs b a Suggested Monetary Values Percentage (thousand CAD) 25% $300 52% $624 30% $360 15% $188 7% $84 5% $60 5% $60 13% $148 TOTAL 100% $1,200 Half of the Pilot Project budget, or 15% of total costs, should be dedicated to inputs such as installing and testing technologies or infrastructure, developing land, or developing enterprises that address the key themes. b The maximum contribution is 13% of all recipient-administered costs, excluding capital equipment. BUDGET NOTES 1. Personnel  Includes all salaries and benefits for core research team o Examples include and project staff, coordinators, officers, directors, assistants, etc. o Generally, personnel are employed on a longer-term basis (usually more than 1 year) with regular pay. Does not include any consultant costs or paying salary supplements like honorariums for full time employees in addition to regular pay or higher salaries than the institution would normally pay. Generally consultants are hired on short-term basis for a specific purpose only and are included under other sections.   2. 2a. Research Expenses Pilot Project    Encompasses all costs associated directly with the initial research, the formation and implementation of the study in the pilot neighbourhood. Includes any consultant costs associated with the pilot project. Examples of pilot project costs include, but are not limited to: o Initial community consultations with the purpose of collecting background information, to assess the major concerns, etc. o Preliminary data collection or research. o Installing and testing technologies or infrastructure, developing land for urban agriculture, or developing enterprises that address the key themes. o Transportation costs incurred during pilot project phase. 2b. Communications and Networking 9         Includes all costs incurred for communicating information pertaining to the project and networking activities. Making results available to the community through consultations, workshops, multimedia outputs (internet site, videos, articles, displays etc.) Translation of documents Domestic and International conferences and all their related costs for the purpose of networking with other professionals, researchers and experts Travel incurred for communication and networking activities Includes any consultant costs associated with communication and networking activities Learning meetings to share results and learn from other Focus City Teams 2c. Training All costs related to training and capacity building throughout the various stages of the project for the research team. o Examples of training costs include, but are not limited to workshops with the purpose of acquiring specific knowledge or skills such as participatory research, gender analysis, writing skills, and evaluation training. Multidisciplinary project training, participatory research training, assessment and evaluation training. o Course fees and registration costs o Capacity building initiatives for the research team. Any transportation and accommodation costs associated with training activities. Includes any consultant costs associated with training and capacity building initiatives.    3. Equipment  Includes equipment that has a useful life of more than 1 year and costs more than $1,000 per item, for example, a digital handy cam. o Costs may include the basic purchase price, related Canadian sales taxes (only those for which IDRC holds no exemption), freight costs, and other costs associated with purchasing the equipment. o Local taxes are either subject to an exemption (by virtue of either the recipient's status or IDRC's country agreements) or must be covered by the recipient. o IDRC does not pay for equipment insurance after delivery. The recipient is responsible for all subsequent insurance coverage, and IDRC will not assume responsibility for any losses after delivery. 4. Evaluation      Includes all costs associated with the evaluation or monitoring of the project. Synthesizing results and information from the project. Travel incurred for evaluation and monitoring activities. Includes any consultant costs associated with the evaluation and monitoring of the project. Note that any specific training required to do evaluation should be included under Item 2c. 5. Indirect Costs   Any administrative costs not directly related to the research. Indirect costs exclude overhead, which are disallowed. 10