CONSULTANCY – INDIGENOUS BUSINESS IN A BOX (A TOOLKIT TO SUPPORT THE FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATION STRENGTHENING OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES ORGANIZATIONS)

IPARD PROGRAM INFORMATION

1. BACKGROUND

ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION

In 2019, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) established the FSC Indigenous Foundation (FSC IF) as the operational office for the Permanent Indigenous Peoples’ Committee (PIPC). FSC IF is a private interest foundation pursuant to Law No. 25 of June 12, 1995 of the Republic of Panama. The mission of the FSC IF is to unlock the enabling environment to secure Indigenous Peoples’ rights and promote sustainable forest-based solutions within 300 million hectares of Indigenous forests on the planet. The vision is that the global values of Indigenous Peoples, their rights, livelihoods, ecosystem services, natural capital, and territories are recognized and incorporated into forest governance, climate change governance, and market systems.

Indigenous Peoples’ Alliance for Rights and Development

FSC IF is the implementing partner of the USAID and FSC funded five-year Global Development Alliance Program: Indigenous Peoples Alliance for Rights and Development (IPARD). IPARD is guided by three development objectives:

• Objective 1: To organize and convene a Capacity Development Program for Indigenous Peoples’ organizations and stakeholders;
• Objective 2: To foster an enabling environment for Indigenous Peoples’ recognition, effective participation, and joint decision-making in matters affecting them, and;
• Objective 3: To promote Indigenous Peoples’ sustainable development based on sustainable economic models.

IPARD utilizes three interconnected approaches to support Indigenous Peoples to overcome their development challenges:

1. Multi-Sectoral Approach (MSA): Under the strategic guidance of the IPARD Steering Committee (SC), IPARD convenes and leverages expertise from multi-sectoral. This approach ensures that IPARD considers the needs of Indigenous communities across a wide array of sectors. Based on the MSA, IPARD will bring diverse technical partners to support cross-sectoral projects that will achieve IPARD’s development objectives.
2. Country-Focused Approach (CFA): the IPARD’s programmatic strategy is guided by a country-by-country focus driven by specific national contexts related to Indigenous Peoples. IPARD implements a structured process to identify, assess, and select countries to target its programs. FSC IF works jointly with the SC, and as guided by the MSA, to select countries and identify key priorities and strategies.
3. Indigenous Project Management Approach (IPMA): Building on FSC IF’s network and relationships with Indigenous leaders and organizations around the world, IPARD pursues continuous dialogue, consultation, and feedback with Indigenous Peoples to inform the program. IPARD supports a forum through which FSC IF serves as a bridge between Indigenous Peoples, technical partners, national governments, and the private sector. IPARD invests in curating best practices and effective approaches and methodologies to ensure the strategic cohesion of multi-level partnerships.

Through these three approaches, IPARD aims to empower Indigenous Peoples’ organizations and catalyze an enabling environment where Indigenous Peoples can pursue their development.

B) CONTEXT

Indigenous Peoples Organizations have been effective at political advocacy and have been successful in using their ancestral knowledge to manage their territories, lands, forests, and other natural resources. However, they often have limitations in areas such as administration and financial management as required by development donors. As such, the IPARD team is launching a consultancy to prepare an Indigenous Business in a Box (IB2) tool.

The IB2 tool will be an online organizational management solution to help IPOs of all sizes to strengthen their financial and administrative management processes in line with the proposed IPARD’s Indigenous Project Management Approach. The IB2 will build on the documents, manuals, policies, procedures, and forms already developed for the FSC-IF and additional tools and formats to facilitate its adaptation by IPOs of different sizes. The IB2 tool will be organized and uploaded in the Virtual Learning Database (VLD), a platform that the FSC-IF developed, to make it accessible to Indigenous Peoples Organizations upon registration but at no-cost. IPARD understands that this is not a solution for all organizations by itself, but it will support organizations that are limited from receiving funding and investments due to a lack of complete administrative and project management processes. In other cases, the IB2 will complement the capacity development process of the IPOs that IPARD will select as critical to achieving the Program’s objectives. For broader IPOs, it could be a contribution for other capacity development programs to be supported by other doors which could help in the implementation of the set of policies and processes tools provided by the IB2.

Once the consultancy is completed, the IPARD team will prepare a tutorial video on the use of the IB2 tool to be uploaded with the IB2 resources and to use in the dissemination campaign of the IB2.

1. OBJECTIVES
2. General Objective

Supporting the institutional strengthening process of IPO by providing templates for documents, policies, processes, and forms that could allow them to meet donors’ and private sector compliance requirements.

1. Specific Objectives:
2. Compile a list of all documents, policies, procedures, processes and forms needed to successfully manage donor or private sector funds.
3. Convert this information into templates with editable formats easy to fill in the blanks and adapt to any given organization.
4. Upload the editable formats of different documents, policies, processes, and forms, already produced by the FSC-IF or other international NGOs in an approved organizational structure in the VLD.
5. Technical and Financial Proposal

Methodology for completion of the consultancy, main tasks to be completed, order of tasks, chronogram, and any other information to understand the consultant’s approach to completing the task.

1. Applications need to include the following documents:
2. CV of the consultant which should include descriptions of relevant responsibilities (not just job title) including information on contracting entity/client, project location/country, duration, consultant months provided (if different from duration), main activities, objectives.
3. Financial proposal and proposed timeline for payments and corresponding products for the payments.
4. Tasks and Deliverables
5. Identify all documents, policies, procedures, and forms required to successfully manage donor or private sector funds in compliance with donor guidelines and best practices.
6. Develop and organize the templates in the following categories: Administration, Human Resources, Finance and Accounting, Procurement, Legal Agreements, Governance, and other categories proposed by the consultant and discussed with the FSC-IF team.
7. Prepare up to 5 new policies, up to 10 new procedures and up to 15 new forms as identified and requested.

Convert all templates into “user-friendly” editable formats (all templates should be in both English and Spanish versions).

1. Upload all templates in IPARD´s Virtual Learning Database with access upon registration in coordination and with the support of the IPARD Lead on Capacity Development & Inclusion.
2. Profile of the Offeror

• A degree in accounting, organizational development, or related social sciences areas.
• At least 5 years of experience working on development projects.
• Familiarity with various donor finance and administration compliance guidelines and industry best practices.
• Demonstrated cultural awareness and sensitivity to the diversity of values, views, and approaches to issues relevant to the FSC IF.
• Demonstrated experience and knowledge of Indigenous Peoples’ rights and sustainable development would be a plus.
• Being a member of an Indigenous Community would be a plus.
• Strong oral and written communication in English and Spanish.

1. Coordination

The consultant will coordinate the work with the Program Lead on Capacity Development and Inclusion who will then internally coordinate with the FSC IF Financial and Administration Team.

1. Deadline for submission of proposal:

Three weeks after publication.

1. Conditions for payments of the products:

The deliverables must be authorized by the IPARD Program Director to proceed with other internal approvals and payments. All products must be delivered in digital format according to the following schedule and payment percentages.

Deliverable

Timeline

Payment percentage

Work Plan with proposed composition and organization of documentation for the IB2 presented for approval

25%

(To be presented in the first week of the consultancy)

Preparation of the first draft of requested templates

25%

(To be presented in the fifth week of the consultancy)

Submission of the complete and final set of templates in both English and Spanish versions and in editable format

40%

(To be presented for approval in the seventh week of the consultancy)

Upload of all templates in VLD in both English and Spanish versions

10%

(To be presented for approval of final payment in the eighth week of the consultancy)

1. Duration of the assignment

Up to three calendar months upon signing of the contract (60 days of consultancy) or until all deliverables have been successfully submitted.