Call for Project Proposals - Crafting Change: UNESCO - Alwaleed Philanthropies Project in Tanzania

UNESCO and Alwaleed Philanthropies Global have committed to promoting community-based development through culture-related capacity development and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in two pilot countries: Argentina and Tanzania. These pilot countries are supported in their efforts to bolster the capacities of national and local cultural institutions, as well as cultural heritage sites, museums, and cultural centres, to become knowledge hubs and incubators for expanding knowledge, skills, and competences. Capturing and sharing their experience and expertise through the development of methodologies and tools, cultural institutions contribute to producing and delivering quality educational contents and pedagogical approaches, enriching the conventional school environment, and providing a source of professionalization through culture-based lifelong learning and TVET. As an applied project, this joint UNESCO-Alwaleed Philanthropies project also contributes to promoting the UNESCO Framework for Culture and Arts Education. 

Objectives of the UNESCO-Alwaleed Philanthropies Call for Project Proposals

This Call for Project Proposals of the UNESCO-Alwaleed Philanthropies programme aims to support initiatives that promote and enhance culture and arts education and culture-related and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) at local level in Tanzania.

Open to civil society organizations based in Tanzania, the programme will provide financial assistance for innovative projects that: 

• develop and innovate on pedagogies and methodologies for arts- and culture-related vocational education and training, tailoring them to the needs and opportunities of specific audiences and communities, and

• harness the educational function of cultural institutions and centres to foster professional opportunities engaging local communities.

Through their respective actions, the selected projects shall ultimately:

• contribute to demonstrating the economic and social impact of the role of cultural institutions and centres for education and support to employability,

• contribute to creating and expanding a community of practice for culture and arts education and ensuring its sustainability over time,

• promote collaborative processes at the local and national levels that contribute to strengthening the recognition and certification of culture-related professional training (TVET).

To ensure sustainability of the good practice examples and lessons learned, the UNESCO-Alwaleed Philanthropies joint project will assist policy makers and government institutions with adapting and/or creating policies, laws, regulations, or measures promoting and stepping up the recognition and certification of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in culture and the arts in line with the UNESCO Framework on Culture and Arts Education.

To focus your proposal, please carefully read the below requirements and the application form.

1.           Eligibility

Applicants should be a local, national, or regional civil society organization (not-for-profit entities) based in the United Republic of Tanzania, including, for example: 

• cultural and educational institutions and centres that offer arts- and culture-related vocational education and training, 

• non-governmental organizations and cultural professional associations or networks active in the promotion of culture and arts education for employability, 

• centres carrying out and promoting research in culture-related pedagogies. 

Applying organizations should comply with:

• at least two (02) years of legal existence (provide proof of legal registration) and domicile in the United Republic of Tanzania; 

• having long-standing experience in implementing culture and arts education related activities, in particular those linked with professional development in the field of culture (heritage conservation, cultural management, crafts, creative industries, etc.);

• having directly implemented, over the past two years, at least one project in culture and arts education (provide activity reports and financial statements for the past two years, 2022-2023).

2.            Project scope

The projects should directly respond to the need to enhance pedagogies and methodologies in culture and the arts and to expand the array of professional opportunities for communities, by offering, for example: 

• arts and culture-related education and training, e.g. for young people and/or women;

• research and adaptation of pedagogies, methodologies, or approaches in culture and arts education for professional development;

• capacity development for arts and culture trainers/teachers, experimenting adapted pedagogies, methodologies, or approaches;

• sensitization of different types of audiences to the opportunities of culture-related employment, through communication campaigns or digital platforms.

The maximum amount for each request for financial assistance is set at 10,000 USD.

Project proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Relevance of the proposal to the enhancement of pedagogies, methodologies, and approaches in culture and arts education for employability, in line with the objectives of the UNESCO Framework on Culture and Arts Education.

• Clarity of the proposal, its objectives, activities, key products, and timeline.

• Proven implementation skills of the applicant to carry out the proposed project and experience in managing similar ones.

• Cost-effectiveness of the proposal and ability to mobilize co-funding/in-kind contributions, as well as effectiveness of the proposed implementation modality, including with regards to gender mainstreaming. 

• Clear, impactful and sustainable outputs: the project will need to demonstrate the long-term impact to the communities, able to provide open-source pedagogy and methodologies of implementation, thereby enriching the diversity of practices in culture and arts education and training. 

• Relevant partnerships with concerned stakeholders, in particular public institutions or other civil society organizations. 

• Effective communication and visibility strategy. 

Special attention will be granted to applications that address the strategic priorities of UNESCO: 

• Gender Equality 

• Youth 

Inter-sectorality: collaboration between the cultural and educational entities, as well as one or more other sectors represented under UNESCO's mandate (i.e. communication and information, social and human sciences, natural sciences).  

In order to submit a project proposal, applicants should: 

1. Contact Dar es Salaam UNESCO Office at dar-es-salaam@unesco.org and request for application form with the subject line, “Crafting Change Project – Request for Application Form”.

2. Fill out the application form in English. 

3. Attach the relevant supporting documentation. 

4. Sign and date the application form. 

5. Send the completed form by email to dar-es-salaam@unesco.org with the subject line “Crafting Change Project - Application”. All applicants will be notified within six weeks after the deadline as to whether their requests have been approved or not. 

An independent panel of experts will evaluate applications and make a recommendation to UNESCO, which will decide upon the successful candidates, considering the eligibility and selection criteria outlined above. 

Selected proposals will be finetuned and finalized in cooperation with UNESCO before the start of implementation, notably in terms of methodology, timeline and budget. 

Applicants should be directly responsible for the implementation and management of the proposed activities. In case of contractual agreement between UNESCO and the applicant, UNESCO will follow its own rules and regulations. 

The projects are expected to last up to 12 months. Project implementation will be supported by UNESCO Headquarters and UNESCO Offices in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi. 

Once selected, candidates will be required to submit to the UNESCO Secretariat: 

1. a detailed implementation work plan, no later than two weeks after the notification of approval 

2. a detailed mid-term report on the implementation of the project and progress towards the results. The candidate will notify UNESCO of any challenges that may lead to changes in the original work plan or conditions for the successful implementation of the project; and, 

3. a final report providing information on outcomes/outputs and follow-up to the project, no later than three months following its completion. 

4. the pedagogies, methodologies, toolkits as open educational resources submitted to UNESCO, with due credit to the contributing institutions.

Should you have any questions, please contact the UNESCO Office in Dar es Salaam by e-mail: 

dar-es-salaam@unesco.org with the subject line “Crafting Change Project - Application”