Regional Programme for Strengthening Technical Capacity in Urban Resilience and Disaster Risk Reduction

Purpose of CFP:

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) requests expressions of interest to establish a Cooperation Agreement with an academic institution or higher education organization for the design and implementation of a Regional Capacity Development Programme under the Local Solutions for Disaster Risk Reduction project. The programme will strengthen technical and institutional capacities, promote regional knowledge exchange, and foster collaboration among stakeholders across the eight participating countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Summary:

The Call for Proposals seeks to identify an experienced academic institution or higher education organization to design and implement a virtual Regional Technical Capacity Development Programme focused on urban resilience, integrated disaster risk management, climate adaptation, governance, and urban development. The programme is part of the Local Solutions for Disaster Risk Reduction project, implemented by UN-Habitat with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC/COSUDE), and will contribute to strengthening capacities and regional cooperation across Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, and Peru. Within this framework, the selected Implementing Partner will provide academic, technical, and methodological leadership for the collaborative design, development, and delivery of the programme. The scope includes co-development of the curriculum with UN-Habitat, SDC and technical partners; development of learning materials and digital educational resources; management of a virtual learning platform; coordination and delivery of virtual learning activities; facilitation of peer-to-peer and regional knowledge exchange; monitoring, evaluation and certification; and systematization of lessons learned, good practices and knowledge products to support the sustainability and replication of project results. The programme will promote a multidisciplinary, multisectoral, and participatory approach, bringing together stakeholders from different countries, sectors and levels of government. It will incorporate cross-cutting perspectives including gender, inclusion, intersectionality, multiscale and multi-hazard approaches, multilevel governance, and regional knowledge exchange. The programme is expected to reach at least 80 municipalities and approximately 240 municipal technical staff across the region, through two proposed cohorts in 2027 and 2028. Project Key Information

UN-Habitat Project title: Regional Programme for Strengthening Technical Capacity in Urban Resilience and Disaster Risk Reduction

Project: Local Solutions for Disaster Risk Reduction

Estimated duration: 24 months, with two cohorts proposed for 2027 and 2028

Maximum proposed value in USD: $50,000 USD

Lead Organization Unit: UN-Habitat Andean Countries HUB

Main activities and outputs The Implementing Partner will undertake the following main activities (but not limited to):

List of activities:

- Preparation of an inception report, including the work plan, implementation methodology, governance structure and detailed timeline. - Development of a capacity development strategy and competency framework identifying target audiences, learning objectives and expected competencies. - Collaborative design and development of the programme curriculum in coordination with UN-Habitat, SDC and the project's technical partners. - Development of thematic learning modules, educational materials, case studies, practical exercises, assessments and other digital learning resources. - Provision, administration and maintenance of a virtual learning platform supporting synchronous and asynchronous learning activities, participant monitoring, assessments and certification. - Coordination and delivery of the Regional Capacity Development Programme, including virtual training sessions, expert lectures, thematic dialogues, peer-to-peer learning and regional knowledge exchange activities. - Facilitation of a regional learning community promoting South-South cooperation, multidisciplinary dialogue and collaboration among participating countries and sectors. - Implementation of monitoring, evaluation and participant assessment mechanisms, including pre- and post-training assessments and self-assessment surveys. - Documentation and systematization of lessons learned, case studies, good practices and methodologies generated through programme implementation. - Development of knowledge and communication products to support regional dissemination, sustainability, replication and scaling of results. - Preparation of semi-annual progress reports and a final report documenting achievements, results, learning outcomes, lessons learned and recommendations for future editions.

List of outputs:

OUTPUT 1: Inception report, capacity development strategy, competency framework, implementation methodology, work plan and detailed programme schedule. OUTPUT 2: Collaborative Regional Capacity Development Programme curriculum, including thematic modules, learning outcomes, pedagogical methodology, assessment strategy, certification proposal, and complete educational and digital learning resources supported by a fully operational virtual learning platform. OUTPUT 3: Delivery of the Regional Capacity Development Programme, including virtual training, expert sessions, thematic dialogues, peer-to-peer learning and regional knowledge exchange activities involving stakeholders from the eight participating countries. OUTPUT 4: Final report and knowledge management package consolidating monitoring and evaluation results, participant records, learning outcomes, lessons learned, case studies, good practices, knowledge products and recommendations for sustainability, replication and future editions of the programme. All documents must be sent by 4th October