Enhancing Inclusive Urban Development in Refugee-Hosting Areas Initiative

UNOPS
Enhancing Inclusive Urban Development in Refugee-Hosting Areas Initiative Grant support-call for proposal

Reference: ETH/B/11934-001/015
Beneficiary countries or territories: Ethiopia
Published on: 30-Jan-2026
Deadline on: 16-Feb-2026 10:00 (GMT 1.00)

Description

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Enhancing Inclusive Urban Development in Refugee-Hosting Areas Initiative

Cities Alliance, hosted by UNOPS, is implementing an applied research and evidence-generation initiative to strengthen inclusive urban development and economic inclusion in refugee-hosting secondary cities in Ethiopia. The initiative supports local governments and relevant national counterparts to better understand how displacement shapes local labour markets, access to services, and spatial/economic linkages between refugee settlements and nearby towns, and to translate findings into practical, investment-relevant recommendations and tools. This work is anchored in Cities Alliance’s broader portfolio on inclusive urban development, migration governance, and urban resilience, implemented in close coordination with Government counterparts and development partners active in Ethiopia’s urban platforms.
 

Background and objectives of the grant/funding

Cities Alliance is a global partnership hosted by UNOPS that supports inclusive urban development in secondary cities, with a strong focus on contexts affected by migration, displacement, and rapid urbanisation. Through long-standing programmes implemented with the European Union, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Sida, and other partners, Cities Alliance works closely with national governments, regional authorities, and urban local governments to generate evidence, strengthen local capacity, and translate analysis into investment-ready urban interventions.

In Ethiopia, Cities Alliance has maintained sustained engagement for more than two decades, working in close coordination with the Ministry of Urban and Infrastructure and with local governments across displacement-affected corridors, including in Somali Region and Benishangul-Gumuz. This work is embedded in existing national and regional coordination platforms and benefits from Cities Alliance’s membership-based model, which brings together development partners such as the European Union, Switzerland, Sida, UN agencies, and multilateral development banks to align urban policy dialogue, analytics, and investment pathways.

The present grant opportunity contributes to an applied research and analytical initiative that seeks to deepen understanding of how displacement reshapes urban labour markets, service access, and economic linkages in refugee-hosting secondary cities. The initiative focuses on cities where refugee settlements and host communities are closely interconnected through commuting patterns, shared infrastructure, and local value chains, and where local governments face acute capacity and data constraints in managing inclusive urban growth.

The objective of the grant is to support the generation of robust, locally grounded quantitative and qualitative evidence that can inform practical recommendations for inclusive urban development. This includes the preparation of comparable city profiles across multiple refugee-hosting local governments, followed by more in-depth analysis in a smaller number of selected cities to identify labour-market dynamics, institutional bottlenecks, and opportunities for joint-benefit investments benefiting both refugees and host communities. The outputs are intended to support government decision-making, inform development partner programming, and contribute to investment design processes led by Cities Alliance and its partners.

This Call for Proposals is subject to the availability of funds and the formalisation of underlying financing arrangements. The scope, timing, and scale of grant support may therefore be adjusted accordingly.

In line with UNOPS Grant Support policies, and given the analytical and capacity-building nature of the work, priority will be given to Ethiopian not-for-profit academic and research institutions, including universities, with dedicated faculties or departments with substantive expertise working in refugee-hosting urban contexts.

APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY 

  1.  Proposals must align with the geographical scope outlined in this Call for Proposals.

  2.  Proposals must align with the thematic scope outlined in this Call for Proposals.

  3.  The proposed budget must not exceed USD 100,000.

  4. Eligible applicants include not-for-profit academic and research institutions, including universities, with demonstrated institutional capacity and experience in applied research related to urban development, migration, displacement, or economic inclusion in secondary cities in Ethiopia.

    Priority will be given to applications from Ethiopian academic and research institutions, including universities, that demonstrate an established institutional presence in Ethiopia, dedicated faculties or departments with substantive expertise in migration, urban development, economics, planning, or related fields relevant to displacement-affected urban contexts, and the capacity to undertake field-based data collection and engagement with local governments and communities in relevant regions.

  5. Applicants must comply with all provisions of the Grant Support Agreement, including the General Conditions and applicable UNOPS policies and procedures. This includes compliance with UNOPS financial rules and regulations and, where applicable, the submission of an external audit report at the end of the project.

  6.  Entities appearing on the UN Sanctions List are ineligible to apply.

CONTENT OF PROPOSAL SUBMISSIONS

  1. Proposal Application Form - (Please read Instructions to Applicants before completing the Proposal Application Form).

  2. Financial Proposal Form (Please read Guidelines on Eligible expenditures for grants for eligibility of the expenditure).

  3. Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) Capacity Assessment Form, along with all relevant supporting documentation.

  4. Capacity Assessment Form - Fiduciary, along with all relevant supporting documentation.

  5. Proposal Submission Declaration Form (Please read Terms and Conditions of Grant Support Agreements).

Additional notes:

Based on the Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) Capacity assessment and Fiduciary Capacity Assessment results, if an applicant is selected and if improvement is required, the selected applicant shall follow a capacity strengthening plan developed by UNOPS-Cities Alliance.

Proposal Currency : USD

Proposal Language : English

Proposal Deadline : 

The deadline for the submission of proposals is 10:00 Central European Time on 16 February 2026.

Proposals shall be submitted using the following method:

Submit via e-mail only to the Cities Alliance Secretariat at ca-proposal@citiesalliance.org with the subject line including “Enhancing Inclusive Urban Development in Refugee-Hosting Areas Initiative - ETH/B/11934-001/015 ”. 

Refer to Article 10, “Proposal Submission”, f the Instructions to Applicants for details on the specific requirements for proposal submission

Q&A

Questions and requests for clarification can be submitted to [ca-proposal@citiesalliance.org] between 30 January to  6 February 2026. Responses will be posted on UNGM within 48 hours.

Note:

1. Questions received on 3-9  February 2026 posted on 10 February 2026.