Call for Proposals
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Call for Proposals
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations is pleased to announce a Call for Proposal for qualified national Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs)/Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), or academic and research institutions to submit an application for the role of Collaborative (Strategic) Partners under the Eight Operational Phase (OP8) of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Prorgam (SGP) in Guyana.
Background and Context
The GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP) supports community-led initiatives that address environmental challenges while improving livelihoods and promoting sustainable development. Through grants, technical assistance, and capacity building, the programme empowers civil society and community-based organizations, with particular attention to Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs), women, youth, and persons with disabilities.
Under the GEF SGP Operational Phase 8 (OP8), implemented by FAO, the programme will support locally driven projects in Guyana that strengthen resilience, enhance livelihoods, and generate global environmental benefits through inclusive and sustainable approaches.
Since 2013, SGP Guyana has funded 37 projects totaling approximately US$1.36 million, providing a strong foundation for community stewardship, partnerships, and grassroots environmental action.
The OP8 Country Programme Strategy is aligned with Guyana's national development priorities and promotes integrated landscape and seascape approaches that address the interconnected challenges of biodiversity conservation, climate resilience, sustainable livelihoods, land management, and pollution reduction. By clustering projects within priority landscapes and seascapes, SGP aims to achieve greater impact through coordinated community action.
Objective of the Call
The objective of this Call for Proposals is to select qualified a non-profit organization to serve as Collaborative (Strategic) Partner in Guyana to provide continuous technical assistance to CSOs and CBOs for the design, submission, implementation support, monitoring and learning of SGP OP8 community-led initiatives. Collaborative (Strategic) Partners will support both the incubation and acceleration phases of the SGP project cycle and help ensure that proposals and funded initiatives are technically robust, inclusive of SGP beneficiaries, sustainable, locally appropriate and aligned with the Guyana Country Prorgam Strategy (CPS).
Thematic Priorities of the GEF SGP OP8
GEF SGP OP8 Priority Areas:
- Sustainable Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Security
- Community-based management of threatened ecosystems and species
- Local to Global coalitions for chemicals and waste management
- Catalyzing sustainable urban solutions
- Low carbon Energy access co-benefits
Cross-Cutting Priorities:
- Inclusion of women, youth, Indigenous Peoples and communities, and persons with disabilities.
- Local innovations and scaling-up through partnerships and finance.
- Private sector engagement and business-oriented approaches.
Target Landscapes/Seascapes
Collaborative (Strategic) Partner(s) will support the implementation of the GEF SGP in the following landscapes:
- Coastal and Riverine Corridors, focusing on the coastal line of Regions 1 to 6 and supporting coastal and freshwater ecosystem restoration, sustainable fisheries, mangrove conservation, watershed and water-resource management, and climate resilience.
- Community Sustainable Livelihoods, focusing on Regions 1, 2, 7, 8, 9 and 10. Potential activities include agroforestry, sustainable agriculture, ecotourism, non-timber forest products, community enterprises, green value chains, circular-economy initiatives, restoration and alternative livelihoods in mining-affected communities.
- Protected Area and Surrounding Communities, focusing initially on Region 8 and some commuinties Region 9, and supporting community-based conservation, sustainable forest management, biodiversity monitoring, ecosystem restoration, Indigenous knowledge and nature-based livelihoods.
Scope of Work and Responsibilities:
The selected organization will work closely with the SGP National Coordinator (NC), FAO and the SGP OP8 National Steering Committee (NSC) to foster socio-ecological resilience using a landscape/seascape approach by supporting SGP-funded community-led initiatives within each of the priority landscapes/seascapes selected in the Guyana CPS. Collaborative (Strategic) Partners will provide technical support during two phases of the SGP project cycle.
Core activities will include:
- Participate in FAO-led orientation and capacity-building activities to strengthen the Strategic Partner’s understanding and application of SGP OP8 requirements.
- Strengthen baseline information and stakeholder mapping for the assigned landscape or seascape, where applicable.
- Establish or strengthen an inclusive coordination platform or community of practice with CSOs/CBOs, community leaders, Village Councils, Indigenous governance bodies, academia, government, private sector, NGOs, farmer and fisher groups, women’s groups, youth groups, organizations of persons with disabilities and development partners.
- Disseminate SGP Calls for Proposals through relevant and accessible channels, including community meetings, radio, WhatsApp, printed notices, Village Councils, farmer and fisher networks, disability organizations, NGOs and partner networks.
- Offer proposal clinics and one-to-one support for applicants using the SGP Portal, including assisted or hard-copy support where digital access, connectivity, literacy, distance, disability or language/cultural barriers may limit participation.
- Help applicants identify links between proposals so that individual projects can be clustered to achieve stronger landscape or seascape outcomes.
- Support applicants and grantees to integrate safeguards, FPIC where applicable, gender equality, youth participation, disability inclusion, community data governance, grievance mechanisms and risk mitigation.
- Conduct participatory monitoring visits and document progress using field visits, focus group discussions, community surveys, participatory mapping, photo documentation, beneficiary feedback and stories of change.
- Contribute to SGP South-South and Triangular Cooperation activities, Communities of Practice, and cross-country learning exchanges.
- Support knowledge management and communications in line with applicable branding guidelines.
- Submit quarterly technical and financial reports using approved formats.
Expected Deliverables
- An operationalized inclusive coordination platform or community of practice to guide SGP-interventions to foster socio-ecological resilience and deliver local/national/global environmental benefits (evidenced through meeting minutes, action plans and follow-up records)
- A grantmaking strategy within the respective landscape/seascape that describes the interactions and trade-offs between potential SGP proposals to create a multiplier effect using project clusters across a landscape/seascape mosaic
- Clustered SGP proposals co-developed with prospective SGP grantees in line with the respective landscapes/seascape approach and the Call for Proposals’ requirements
- A community-based monitoring protocol co-designed to track progress (accountability) and enable learning and adaptation (improvement) including by defining data collection methods and tools (e.g. community surveys, stories of change, participatory mapping showing changes in land use/forest cover, photo points of reforestation sites, Focus Group Discussions), roles (who, data keepers), and frequency (how often)
- Quarterly participatory monitoring reports using the agreed-upon tools and format
- Reports documenting the technical assistance channeled through incubation/accelerations services to SGP grantees
- Knowledge products and communication materials developed in line with the applicable branding guidelines
- Learning and communication events organized to disseminate knowledge management products, foster cross learning and enhance the visibility of SGP activities and outcomes
- Completion of final report documenting how SGP-funded projects in the respective landscape/seascape successfully achieved their outcomes, addressed implementation challenges, supported inclusion, generated lessons, and contributed to sustainability and scaling.
- Facilitate a Mid-Term Review and Terminal Evaluation to demonstrate SGP OP8 achievements and lessons learned within the respective landscape/seascape
Duration
The Collaborative (Strategic) Partner is expected to support SGP implementation through the current SGP project cycle (until end 2028), subject to satisfactory performance, availability of funds and compliance with agreed contractual arrangements.
Budget
The available budget is USD100,000; the exact value will be decided in line with country priorities, the target landscape/seascape, the proposed scope of work, expected deliverables and the available budget. All SGP OP8 financing is subject to a mandatory minimum co-financing ratio of 1:1.
Minimum requirements:
- Must be a legally registered non-profit organizations in Guyana, including civil society organizations, community-based organizations, NGOs, universities, or research institutions.
- Must have at least three years of proven experience in sustainable development or in GEF priority areas. Consulting firms, private companies and government institutions will not be considered.
- Must demonstrate an established presence or operational capacity within the landscape/seascape for which support is being proposed.
- Demonstrated experience working with Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and applying participatory approaches, including Free, Prior and informed Consent (FPIC) where applicable.
- Demonstrated experience supporting community-led environmental or sustainable development initiatives.
- Proven track record of technical, coordination, administrative, and reporting capacity to support outreach, proposal development, participatory monitoring, knowledge management, safeguards, inclusion, and sustainability planning within the targeted landscapes/seascapes.
Only applicants that meet the minimum eligibility requirements and submit the required documentation will be shortlisted.
Submission
Proposals can be submitted via the SGP Portal using the link: SGP Portal - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
A virtual informative session will be held on Thursday, October 8, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. Kindly email [email protected] for more information.
Full Applications including a detailed workplan and a budget with a clear breakdown of expenses should be submitted by October 27, 2026,11:59pm (Guyana local time)
Full Terms of reference and templates:
For any question or clarifications please contact the SGP Secretariat: [email protected]
Report
FAO in Guyana
The FAO Guyana Representation was established in 1978. Its main aim is to assist the government with developing policies, programmes, and projects to achieve food security and reduce hunger and malnutrition, develop the agricultural, fisheries, and forestry sectors, and use their environmental and natural resources in a sustainable manner. FAO's assistance in Guyana is currently shaped by the 2022-2026 Country Programming Framework (CPF).
The following thematic areas have been identified for FAO intervention in the 2022 to 2026 CPF:
• Transformation of sustainable agriculture's food systems;
• Resilient value chains and agricultural communities with enhanced disaster risk management;
• Increased digitalization and ICT in agriculture; and
• Agriculture de-risking.