Capacity Development for Community Based Committees (CBCs)

1. Introduction

Expertise France

Expertise France (EF) is a public agency created on 1st January 2015 and merging 6 French public agencies under the supervision of the French Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economy and Finance with a strong inter-ministerial vocation. EF offers project engineering and technical assistance by developing and implementing international cooperation actions worldwide. EF operates in various fields of development and institutional cooperation including safety and security reform, post-crisis/ stability, public health, human rights, strengthening of institutions and NGOs and governance.

2. Context

Syrian conflict

The Syrian conflict is having a devastating and lasting impact on Syria and across the region. With the conflict almost entering its ninth year, the needs of the affected populations for assistance, including 13.1 million people inside the country and more than 5.6 million refugees plus their overstretched host communities in neighboring countries, are of an unprecedented scale. In 2013, the Syria crisis has transformed itself from a humanitarian emergency to a multidimensional and protracted crisis directly affecting several countries in the region – mainly Lebanon and Jordan, but also Iraq, Turkey, and Egypt – whose social and economic capacity to deal with the ever-growing influx of refugees is all but exhausted. All actors involved in the response agree that this massive challenge requires a comprehensive regional response not only including humanitarian aid but also longer-term structural support to host countries and communities, especially as no political solution to the crisis is in sight in the short-term.

Many communities inside Syria are facing disrupted humanitarian support and quickly deteriorating public services and infrastructure. In that context, and since 2013, Expertise France has developed and manages direct stabilization projects to conflict-affected communities in Syria, through support to civil society organizations.

3. Programme background

Supported by the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Expertise France has launched the third phase of the Syria Area-Based Integrated Recovery (SABIR) project in order to respond to the protracted crisis in NES following the same integrated area-based approach, targeting a cluster of communities in specific geographic areas in Al Hassakah and Ar-Raqqa provinces, and taking into account the links and exchanges between sectors, local regions and stakeholders to maximize impact.

The SABIR III project was built on lessons learned from SABIR I ana SABIR II, maintaining and expanding good practices, especially the successful area-based and holistic approach to respond to the inter-related and multi-sectoral needs as a mean for stabilization, while adopting a more active community engagement and localized approach under SABIR III through forming community-based committees who would represent the targeted communities and their interests. Particular attention is devoted to mitigating climate change, prevailing environmental degradation, and water scarcity in the NES.

SABIR project’s overall intended impact is to contribute to addressing the post-crisis recovery challenges to pave the path towards sustainable development. The sub-objective of SABIR II is to build more resilient local communities towards greater stabilization in the northeast of Syria.

SABIR III focus areas:

1. Support the recovery of essential services through the rehabilitation of public infrastructures.
2. Promote access to livelihoods and empower the local economy through agriculture, livestock, TVET, entrepreneurship, micro-grants, and other income-generating activities.
3. Reinforce the capacity of social capital through capacity development to partnered organizations and the Community-Based Committees.

4. Roles and Responsibilities of the Community-Based Committees (CBCs) established under the SABIR Project

• Community-Based Planning: the local knowledge of CBC members and their involvement in the project appraisal and planning phase aim at supporting EF and Implementing Partners to identify priority areas of interventions, opportunities to strengthen the community stability, and avoid potential challenges and constraints during implementation of activities. CBCs are designed to play a catalyst role to lead a community-driven planning process intended to support the transition of impacted communities away from displacement crises through improved stability. The CBCs are to be consulted on the sustainability prospects and exit plan of the activities and expansion or extension of activities in case any.
• Community Dialogue/ Communication and Outreach: CBCs are expected to facilitate open and transparent dialogueand outreach within their communities regarding the SABIR-III implementation and oversight, which is expected to encourage participation and accountability. This will be done through the regular meetings that will be held between the Implementing Partners and CBCs with the presence of EF field team. CBC members will also discuss and communicate around the project’s objectives with their community members, organize public meetings or participate in council meetings when relevant. This would also offer an opportunity for wider in-person interaction between CBC members and the local community to create a sense of ownership and trust.
• Coordination: CBCs are to be trained and asked to coordinate the activities between their communities with Implementing Partners. CBC members will coordinate with local authorities to avoid any conflicts and ensure common understanding of projects objectives and methodology of action. CBC members – in coordination with implementing partners – will enter in dialogue with authorities in case of issue or misunderstanding related to the projects.
• Monitoring and Oversight: Implementing Partners will include CBC membersin community meetings in which partners will present the progress of the project and take feedback, as well as any needed support from the CBC. CBCs will participate in field visits to encourage their positive engagement in the project oversight.
• Conflict Management: for incident monitoring to preempt potential social conflicts and to mediate to resolve them in a timely manner as they happen. This of course would be fostered through all the listed steps which EF would develop and enhance to improve the community engagement process through the whole project cycle

5. SCOPE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

EF, under SABIR III project, aims to reinforce the capacity of the CBCs through delivering tailored capacity building training and support the CBCs members. For this purpose, EF seeks to contract a specialized organization or company with proven expertise in capacity development for community members in conflict settings.

The proposed training areas require practical and participatory methods with appropriate techniques. EF will be keen on considering training methods and techniques which are practical, responsive to the needs/ applicable to the context of needs and participatory.

Expected Deliverables:

A minimum of three training sessions, each lasting three days, for CBC members in Al-Mansurah (Raqqa governorate) and Al-Shadaddi (Hassakeh). The main topics of trainings are the following:

• Peacebuilding: Training sessions focus on peacebuilding principles and practices. This includes understanding the root causes of conflicts, promoting peaceful dialogue, and fostering social cohesion within the community.
• Negotiation and Dialogue Skills: Training sessions aimed at equipping CBC members with effective negotiation and dialogue techniques. Participants will learn strategies for constructive engagement, active listening, consensus-building, and conflict resolution through peaceful means.
• Coordination Skills between the Community and Governmental and Non-Governmental Institutions: Training sessions focused on enhancing coordination and collaboration between CBCs, local government entities, and non-governmental organizations. This training will emphasize the importance of effective communication, networking, and partnership-building to ensure joint efforts in addressing community needs and achieving common goals.

Responsibility of the organization or company:

• Selection and Mobilization of experts: the organization is responsible to identify and mobilize the relevant experts to conduct in-person trainings in Syria.
• Training materials: Organizing and developing a training curriculum is the company’s responsibility. It is imperative that appropriate training materials are developed and tailored to the level of knowledge and topics relevant to the participants.
• Training Delivery: The organization or company is responsible for conducting the specified training sessions outlined in the project. The company should have expertise and proficiency in delivering training effectively and efficiently. This should include three training sessions, each lasting three days, for each CBC in parallel at both the Al-Mansurah and Shadaddi locations.
• Provision of Stationery and Training Materials: The organization or company will supply the necessary stationery and training materials for the training sessions. This includes paper, pens, presentation slides, and other relevant materials.
• Provision of Training Venue for (20 persons): The company provides a suitable training venue. The venue should be adequately equipped for training purposes and meet the needs of the participants. Provide lunch and coffee breaks on all training days for 20 participants.
• Security and Logistics: the organization is responsible for its own safety and security for its staff and experts, and need to have safety procedures that EF will require for review prior to signing the contract. The organization needs to organize its travels and logistics (including authorization to cross the border) independently from EF and in autonomy.

6. Deliverables:

• An inception report including a work plan and detailed methodology and timeframe
• Training Package includes but not limited (Training curriculum, Presentation, Pre/Post test…)
• Pictures of training sessions
• Attendance sheets
• A final report of the training for each training which documents and summarizes all conducted training including but not limited to details of the activities and training evaluation.

All deliverables must be provided in English.

Training and coaching must be provided in Arabic.

7. Eligible entities to apply:

• Formally registered Syrian or international organizations
• Field team and easy access to NES (EF cannot be responsible of facilitating crossing procedures or authorizations to NES) – Organization with no capacity to deliver in-person training inside Syria will not be considered
• Proven previous experience in undertaking capacity building activities for local NGOs. Detail of track record will be requested in application
• Previous experience working with small NGO with limited capacity. Previous experience In Syria would be a plus.
• Extensive experience (at least 5 years) experience in delivering training/workshops for organizations.
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills including experience of facilitation of training/workshops and presentations.
• Proven and demonstrated a broad knowledge of and ability to utilize interactive teaching methods.
• Ability to deliver high-quality products in a timely manner.
• Excellent communication and writing skills in Arabic are essential, English is a strong advantage.

8. Selection Criteria:

• Quality of technical proposal, training plan and proposed training curriculum (30%)
• Quality of CVs of the proposed experts to conduct the training (20%)
• Track record and proven experience in conducting similar trainings in Syria or in similar contexts (30%)
• Financial proposal (20%)