Q&A on the call for expressions of interest to contribute background research to the 2024/5 GEM Report
Any requests for additional information should be addressed in writing by 20 March 2023 at the latest to gemrpost@unesco.org. All responses to any queries or clarification requests will be made available to all the applicants on this GEM Report webpage.
Requirements
The requirements are included in the call. Background papers inform the work of the report and are linked to the areas mentioned in the call. Papers are released at the time of the report launch. In addition to the call, further information on the scope of work is available in the .
Tentative timeline
A mentioned in the call, the papers’ time frame, from contracting to finalizing, ranges between 6 and 9 months.
Budget
The objective of the call is to solicit financial and technical offers from both legal entities and individuals for the services outlined in the call. The costs of background papers will vary based on several factors, including the scope of work, the extent of research and analysis required, and the level of expertise of the team members involved.. When preparing your proposal, we recommend considering the following points:
- Your budget estimate should include the total number of days required to complete the assignment and other costs deemed necessary. This will be calculated based on your assessment of the resources necessary to complete the task (level of effort) and your previous experience with similar projects.
- The GEM Report team will evaluate proposals based on factors such as relevance, complexity, and originality. If preselected, we may request a revised budget.
It can cover multiple thematic areas.
The proposals need to be submitted by the deadline of 10 April 2023. Background papers would need to be completed within 6 to 9 months after the contract has been signed.
The call has a global dimension and thus you are free to propose countries/regions.
Yes, proposals focusing on case studies are accepted.
The responses are available at .
Yes, you can submit a joint proposal, but should your proposal be selected, you would need to identify one lead organization with whom the contract can be established.
Please submit one EOI for all selected topics.
Background papers could range from a literature review to original research, including quantitative data analysis.
We can accept pro-bono background papers, but we would encourage you to submit a proposal and we would liaise with you about contracting, should your bid meet the criteria set in the expressions of interest.
Please provide a budget that is specific to your own cost categories. It should include a breakdown of the personnel costs for the assignment. The budget can be submitted in the currency of your bank account.
Please see answer 1 for further information.
No fieldwork is planned for the completion of the background papers given the available timeline.
Do I assume right that one university would lead the report, be commissioned for it and then any financial arrangements between the two universities will be in subcontracting terms?
You can submit a consolidated proposal, but you would need to have one organization as the lead for contracting and project management purposes. The sub-contracting arrangements would need to be reflected in your own contracts with sub-contractors.
Individuals can submit proposals as long as they obtain the necessary authorization to do so should they be staff member of legal entities.
Should your proposal be accepted, there are two contracting modalities: a) for a legal entity, a contract for services for authorship work or b) for an individual, we will use an individual consultancy contract. Funds are channelled to the contract holder.
Yes, individuals can submit proposals as long as they obtain the necessary authorization to do so should they be staff members of legal entities.
Given the global reach of the report, research that will have a comparative perspective covering multiple countries will be prioritised. But we accept background papers that have a regional scope and cover multiple countries in a region.
We are currently reviewing all applications and will confirm receipt.
Or can multiple thematic areas/ background papers be proposed under one write up?
You can submit one proposal for multiple background papers and thematic areas.
The proposal can cover only a specific education level of relevance.
Yes, you can submit endorsed applications which will be subject to review by the GEM Report.