Strategy Development Consultant

Terms of Reference

Consultancy for the development of the strategy for
the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum

Information about the organisation

The Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF) brings together CSOs from six EaP countries and EU CSOs active in the EaP, providing a platform for experience-sharing and partnership building. The EaP CSF works to make the Eastern Partnership a democratic, prosperous and peaceful region committed to European values and standards where civil society is an integral part of democratic governance and an active participant of democratic reforms. The EaP CSF strives to ensure effective participation of civil societies of Eastern Partnership and the EU in the process of planning, monitoring and implementation of the Eastern Partnership policy in constructive dialogue with the EU and EaP decision-makers, in the direction of the democratic transformation and European integration of EaP.

The Forum counts over 1000 representatives of CSOs that took part in its work since 2009. The activities are organised in the format of National Platforms (NPs) in each EaP country and thematic working groups that work in parallel to the EaP intergovernmental platforms. On an annual basis, the Forum is engaging around 170 civil society organisations from the partner countries and EU member states in the regional (multi-country format). On the country level, via six NPs that unite more than 500 CSOs in total, the Forum advocates for reforms, strives to hold governments to account, fosters democratic values and human rights, promotes the goals of the EaP and monitors its implementation.

The Working Groups play a key role in the EaP CSF structure, linking it to the EaP architecture and serving as the core of the regional dimension of the Forum. The EaP CSF members participate in one of the five CSF Working Groups (Democracy, human rights, good governance and stability (WG1); Economic integration and convergence with EU policies (WG2); Environment, climate change and energy security (WG3); Contacts between people (WG4); Social and labour policies and social dialogue (WG5)). The Working Groups provide input to the intergovernmental platforms, produce thematic research and indices with regional focus, conduct monitoring of the implementation of their governments’ commitments and carry out regional projects. At the time of its new strategy development the EaP CSF would like to re-examine how specific activities organised by, for and around Working Groups connect to the goals of the Forum, and how the WGs could increase their impact.

Objective of the consultancy

The Consultant will assist the EaP CSF in developing its strategy for the period 2022-2025.  The strategy to be adopted at the EaP CSF Annual Assembly in early December will outline the change the EaP CSF strives to contribute to by 2026, as well as the strategic steps to be taken over the next three years to get there.

Deliverables

• A detailed methodology for the development of the strategy – by the end of June;
• Two versions of the strategy: a shorter one – for the external references and a more detailed one – for the internal purposes – by the end of October;
• A practical guidance on maximising the Working Groups contribution to the EaP CSF strategy – by the end of November;
• The language of the deliverables shall be English. The texts of all the documents will be language-edited before the final submission.

Details of the consultancy

The Consultant will come up with the detailed methodology for the participatory development of the strategy bearing in mind the complex organisational structure of the EaP CSF focused around multi-country Working Groups, country-specific National Platforms operating in each Eastern Partnership country) and its diversity of more than 1,000 members.

The use of innovative approaches and technical solutions for the engagement of the EaP CSF members during the online consultations leading to the development of the strategy is encouraged. The proposals on the use of tools that would stimulate quality brainstorming by the members should be part of the proposed methodology. External stake-holders can be included into the strategy development process.

The methodology and the structure of the strategy will be agreed with the Secretariat of the EaP CSF and approved by the Steering Committee.

After a wide consultation process and based on the strategies of the National Platforms, the current strategy of the EaP CSF, the results of the evaluation conducted in 2020, gender mainstreaming strategy adopted in 2020 and the general directions of the EaP CSF core project funded by the EU, the consultant will develop the draft strategy. The theory of change will be an integral part of the strategy. The strategy will specify various factors that define the strategy, priority areas we target and the instruments we use. Special attention will be paid to the concrete steps to operationalise the strategy.

The Consultant will also produce a detailed advisory on how the value of Working Groups can be maximised and how their activities can be organised/reformatted to better contribute to the achievement of the EaP CSF strategy.

The pre-final draft of the strategy will be presented to the Steering Committee to allow for feedback in real-time.

Consultancy time period

The Consultant shall perform the Services during the period commencing 24 May until 30 November 2021.

Budget

The maximum budget allocation for the consultancy is €30.000 inclusive of the fees, taxes and miscellaneous expenses.

Required Expertise

• The consultancy will be delivered by a consultant or a team of consultants with proven experience in supporting organisations in strategy development;
• Experience in strategic consulting of entities in at least two of the EaP countries will be an advantage;
• Excellent facilitation skills proven by previous assignments are required;
• Excellent analytical capacities and research skills are required;
• Experience in coordinating / leading projects within multi-national teams is required;
• Experience in facilitating strategies development for networks is desirable;
• A good knowledge of the EaP policy and situation in the EaP countries is desirable;
• Experience in conducting international consultancy projects using remote consulting model will be in advantage;
• Experience in strengthening the organisational capacities of civil society organisations and networks is desirable.

Application procedure

Interested consultant(s) should submit an Expression of Interest to [email protected] with “Strategy Development” in the subject line.

The Expression of Interest should include:

• A brief motivation letter highlighting relevant expertise including a brief summary of previous strategy development experiences with links to the strategies developed;
• CV;
• Proposed outline of methodology for the strategy development (2 pages max);
• Daily rate of the consultant/s.

The deadline for the submission of the expression of interest is 20 May 2021.

The Expression of Interests will be reviewed by the Secretariat, who can request a submission of a more detailed methodology. Please note that only successful applicants will be contacted.