Re-advert- term of reference (tor) for consultancy to conduct a training needs assessment for gender equality and social inclusion in puntland (GESIP) – Somalia

1. About CARE International :

CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty and providing lifesaving assistance in emergencies. Its programs go beyond meeting basic needs at the onset of an emergency to helping affected communities recover and rebuild their lives long after the crisis ends. CARE has been implementing emergency and development projects in SC Somalia including Puntland since 1981. In Puntland, CARE received funding from DFID, EU, USAID, GAC and EAC to implement livelihoods, water and sanitation, education, vocational training, and gender equality and empowerment project interventions since 1993. CARE’s technical expertise in gender and social justice programming, operational experience in Puntland, existing partnership and collaboration with a broad network of civil society organisations involved in gender and protection, and existence of complementary projects for gender equality and social inclusion promotion to achieve a broader impact makes it perfectly suitable for SSF partnership. CARE has successfully implemented SSF projects through Horseed Bulsho project to build local governance and Peacebuilding capacities in Sanaag region Somalia.

2. Brief overview of the GESIP Project :

The proposed interventions will be implemented in Garowe, Bosaaso and Galkacyo districts in Puntland state of Somalia by a consortium comprising CARE and MUDAN. These districts hosts a large population of women and female youth including traditionally marginalised groups that are our target beneficiaries. The Consortium has had a continued presence in these districts for over a decade and as a result, we have established strong and fruitful relationships with communities, government, local authorities and civil society organizations existing in these areas. The consortium have operational offices in these districts from where our staff engage on day-to-day basis with communities, local authorities and other stakeholders. CARE implements a range of projects in education, WASH, livelihoods, inclusive governance and other humanitarian initiatives in these three districts. CARE and MUDAN are implementing two relevant projects in the proposed districts. One project is funded by Dutch MOFA while the other by EU. These two projects have laid a solid foundation for civil society groups in advocacy, networking and built their capacity. Dutch MOFA project(Every Voice Counts) is a five-year grant running up to 2020. It will complement the proposed project.

 

Title of the Proposed project : Gender Equality and Social Inclusion in Puntland(GESIP)

Location :  Puntland state – Bosaaso, Garowe & Galkacyo

Duration : 18 months

Line ministry : Ministry of Women Development and Family Affairs(MOWDAA)

Consortium Partners : CARE and MUDAN

 

Target type & number of beneficiaries :

Women and female youth : educated women, educated female youth, women active in CSOs, women leaders and champions especially from the marginalized groups & IDPs

The project recognizes the importance of implementing interventions that increase the agency of women by focusing on their knowledge, skills, networking aspiration in governance, peacebuilding and gender transformational change. Further, it will strengthen supportive relationships and the social structures they interact with. To achieve this, CARE suggests the following key Outcome, outputs and activities;

Outcome : Enhanced popular participation in governance, particularly for women, through the strategic building of women’s coalitions around common interests.

The project outputs are as follows :

Output 1: Women and female youth are aware of their rights and responsibilities

Output 2: Women and female youth improve the necessary skills and confidence to participate in the political process

Output 3: Establish space/platforms for women coalitions to discuss common set of interests

 

Assessment Location and Context :

Exclusion of a section of society is a precursor to violence and instability. It is generally understood that poor governance and social inequalities drive instability in Somalia. Addressing exclusion will build social cohesion, which in turn results in stability. Our vision is to see equal and fair participation of all segments of Puntland society regardless of ethnicity, gender, class and age in decision-making processes in the country. Presently, the Puntland legislature has 66 members with only two female legislators. Socially marginalized clans are not represented. The different clan groups in Puntland based on an agreed formula that takes into consideration the numerical strength of each clan nominates members of the legislature. The local governments for Puntland districts, the number of councils for women and marginalized clan’s representatives are very limited. Marginalized clans are not represented in local authorities as well as parliament. In terms of policy, some Inroads have been made with the revised Puntland National Development Plan 2017-2019 and the Puntland Decentralization Policy. These policy documents underscores the right of all citizens to participate in the political process and propose to introduce into all government policies, plans and programmes to ensure that the needs and interests of each gender (i.e. women and men, girls and boys) are addressed. Despite these commitments, the reality is different. The implementation of these legal frameworks is limited.

The citizens of Puntland will be going to an election in 2019 though the previous clan system. Local and state elections are set for mid-2019. This presents unique opportunity that the consortium CARE and MUDAN will use to advance the equal participation agenda and bring real; lasting change in women and socially marginalized groups participation in political processes in Puntland. We are best placed based on our collective experience in inclusive governance processes in Puntland. CARE recognizes the ripe political climate for change with the Somalia forging a new path to statehood and the bolstered Federal system encompassing the different voices from the Regional states. This combined with the commitment from the international community in the form of the Somalia Compact underscoring inclusive governance and gender empowerment as national priorities. The Provisional Somali Constitution goes further in recognizing the importance of ensuring women and female youth voices are heard, with special focus on women from marginalized groups

The project will work with women and female youth at local, district and national levels to achieve the desired change. We will build on the relationships, networks and local capacities we have established under two of our projects in Puntland to leverage the change proposed in this project. The proposed project is premised upon the hypothesis that the participation of women in political processes and decision- making forums is one of the critical ingredients for achieving stability in Somalia. The proposed interventions are informed by CARE’s extensive experience in programming, including advocacy support in fragile settings and draws extensively from CARE’s Governance Programming Framework.

 

The main purpose of assessment :

The main purpose of the needs assessment is to identify their training requirements of the target groups (women and female youth) in Puntland state – Bosaaso, Garowe and Galkacyo. This in recognition that excluded groups –women and socially excluded groups – have limited capacity and confidence to articulate their interests and engage power holders to effectively represent them. They lack the skills and knowledge to successfully lobby duty bearers on behalf of their constituents, thus the proposed assessment will concentrate efforts on identifying the skill and knowledge gap of the target groups.

 

Specific objectives of assessment :

• To highlight the current situation in terms of capacity and confidence of women and female youth to articulate their interests and engage power holders to effectively represent them ;
• To map out the main stakeholders (NGOs, public authorities and civil society organizations) that are already engaged in strengthening capacities of women and female youth in advocacy and lobbying, public speaking, leadership, literacy, coalition building and networking, mentorship and coaching etc ;
• To identify existing mechanisms for engagements between public authorities and CSOs representing women and men on issues governance ;
• To identify challenges that women and female youth encounter when it comes to engaging public authorities and civil societies on governance issues ;
• To identify the current training needs for women and female youth capable of improving their knowledge and skills to strengthen their articulation of their interests and engagement with powerholders for inclusion in decision making.

 

 Technical approach and methodology :

The training needs assessment will be undertaken in three (3) regions of Puntland namely Bosaaso, Garowe and Galkacyo. In order to best address the objective of this training needs assessment, a number of methods which are participatory and inclusive will be used to collect information. The preferred methods will be through desk review, focus group discussions (FGDs), key informant interviews (KIIs) and observations. The assessment tools shall include questions on roles of women and female youth, challenges and capacity gaps.

 

Work plan :

The total number of days for the assignment will be 20 days in a calendar month. The assignment shall start the latest on 25^th Dec 2018. An inception report including a detailed work plan should be developed and approved by Programme Coordinator before fieldwork.

 

Expected deliverables :

1. Training needs assessment report including practical recommendations to CARE within 2 weeks after completion of the fieldwork. In each training area proposed, the consultant should suggest methodology, timeframe and cost implications ;
2. The capacity building plan developed based on the identified needs.

 

Required Qualifications :

The consultancy firm should have a very strong background on research with particular focus on women and female youth empowerment. Specifically, the lead consultant should have the following qualifications :

1. An Advanced degree in Governance from a recognized institutions and extensive experience Advocacy and Lobby. Expertise in public authority and CSOs engagement is an added advantage ;
2. Demonstrated work experience in Somalia context ;
3. Fluency in English and Somali both orally and in writing

 

Proposed Budget :

1. The budget should include; fees for the consultants, travel costs, accommodation, visas and detailed well ;
2. CARE will provide; transport and security cost in the field, venue for the meetings and support arranging relevant meetings.

 

Proposal format :

Interested organisations/ consulting firms are required to provide the following details :

1. Information about the organisation’s background and relevant expertise/experience in similar work experience (max 2 pages) ;
2. List of proposed key professional personnel, indicating expected level of effort (attach CVs) ;
3. Understanding of the TOR (max 2 pages) ;
4. Description of the approach, methodology and work plan for performing the assignment (max 2 pages) ;
5. Detailed activity based budget with justification ;
6. Sample of recently written reports for similar assignments (training needs assessment targeting women and female youth) ;
7. Letters of recommendation.

Submission of proposals :

The deadline for submitting complete proposals is 17:00 on 21^nd Dec 2018. Proposals (The technical&financial proposals) must be submitted electronically to SOM.Consultant@care.org with the Subject line Consultancy to conduct a training needs assessment for Gender Equality and Social Inclusion in Puntland (GESIP).