Capacity Needs Assessment for SABIR II’s Implementing partners

1. INTRODUCTION:

About Expertise France:

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

Expertise France designs and implements projects which aim to contribute to the balanced development of partner countries, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda and the priorities of France’s external action.

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 eleven-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 neighbouring countries, are of an unprecedented scale. In 2013, the Syria crisis 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 crisis response agree that this massive challenge requires a comprehensive regional response, not only 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 face disrupted humanitarian support and quickly deteriorating public services and infrastructure, including the communities of northeast Syria.

3. EXPERTISE FRANCE IN SYRIA:

Since 2013, Expertise France has been implementing direct non-humanitarian assistance programmes in non-regime-held areas across Syria.

EF developed and implemented several stabilization projects targeting conflict-affected communities in Syria through local Syrian NGOs and CSOs with whom EF built strong partnerships. Expertise France’s fields of intervention cover the following sectors: health, livelihoods, early recovery, and capacity development.

3. Expertise France in Northeast Syria:

Expertise France has been engaged in northeast Syria since the defeat of ISIS with an aim to support the transition to stability. EF stabilization efforts pursue backing the third pillar of France’s stabilization approach that involves improving access to essential services and stimulating economic recovery and livelihoods.

To support this endeavour, Expertise France is currently implementing the second phase of the Health Recovery in Northeast Syria (HERNES) project, aiming to improve access to basic health care, including primary health care, dialysis, pediatric and gynecological care, the COVID-19 response, and training for medical professionals. The first phase of HERNES was implemented between 2019 and 2021.

Furthermore, Expertise France implemented the first phase of the Syria Area Based Integrated Recovery (SABIR I) project between 2020 and 2021 involving multi-sectors, including improving (I) access to essential services through public infrastructures rehabilitation (II) promoting access to livelihoods and income generation through agriculture, livestock, technical and vocational education and training, entrepreneurship supports and finally (III) foster social capital by delivering tailored capacity building activities to local partners.

Expertise France has implemented SABIR I following the successful implementation of the Initiative Northeast Syria project in its phases in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

4. PROJECT BACKGROUND:

Supported by the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Expertise France has launched the second 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 the south of Al Hasskah and Ar-raqqa provinces, and taking into account the links and exchanges between sectors, local regions and stakeholders to maximize impact.

The SABIR II project was built on lessons learned from SABIR I, 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 II 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 II 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.

The main activities of the project that will be supported within the first and second focus areas:

A. Rehabilitation of public infrastructure:

Activities that could improve access to essential services such as: (i) water supply for domestic and irrigation purposes complemented by climate smart techniques; (ii) electricity; and (iii) education infrastructures:

• Rehabilitation of water stations.
• Rehabilitation of irrigation networks and canals.
• Rehabilitation of small groundwater wells/equipping wells with solar energy systems.
• Rehabilitation of electricity networks/installation of new lines and transformers.
• Rehabilitation of schoolsto provide a better and safer learning environment.

B. Livelihoods and Economic Recovery:

Activities that could improve access to livelihoods and income generation for local households, including sustainable agricultural and non-agricultural livelihoods through input materials, cash-for-work opportunities, climate-smart techniques, extension, and training to create an enabling environment for efficiency and sustainability of interventions:

• Provision of agricultural inputs**.**
• Supporting the agriculture of fodder crops for piloting to cope with the water scarcity and climate change.
• Training for farmers on innovative agriculture techniques.
• Supporting environmental principles; household composting, organic farming, intercropping, crop rotation, etc.
• Provision of vaccines, veterinary care, fodder and training to livestock farmers.
• Provision of technical and vocational training/apprenticeship to increase the employability of local youth.
• Provision of small grants (in-kind) to expand startups.
• Supporting Cash for Work (CfW) activities.

C. Strengthening local capacity:

• Establishing Community Based Committees (CBCs) through SABIR II to build stronger links with local communities where the activities are to be implemented. These CBCs would ensure good coordination, outreach and communications with communities, conflict resolution during all project cycle from beneficiary selection to hand over of the implemented activity.
• Provide training to CBCs on coordination mechanisms, community dialogue, conflict management and resolution, and accountability.
• Conduct organizational capacity assessment for the eight implementing partners contracted under SABIR II to develop a tailored capacity building strategy and plan to be implemented.

5. PURPOSE OF THE CONSULTANCY / ASSIGNMENT:

Under SABIR II project, EF aims to develop and reinforce the capacity of the partnered CSOs and CBOs through assessing their current institutional and organizational capacities to subsequently implement tailored capacity-building activities, for this purpose, EF seeks to contract a reputable organization with a solid experience and capacity in this field.

The expected results of this assignment are to conduct organizational capacity assessments (OCA) of eight local civil society organizations and community-based organizations and to propose capacity development strategy, plan and activities with a rough estimate about the required resources.

Assignments and tasks:

• Conduct an in-depth and comprehensive organizational capacity assessment of the eight SABIR II’s implementing partners

The consultancy company will be supporting the organizations in the assessment of a combination of the following areas:

• Financial management and supply chain.
• Project management,
• Human resources management
• MEL and accountability.
• Media and communications
• Assess the areas where EF could intervene to equip the partnered organizations with specialized technical and sectoral competences, within the framework of Sabir II scope of activities, to enhance better the localization of aid.
• Identify areas for organizational improvement and capacity building needs
• propose capacity development strategy and action plan that can be implemented not only during the lifespan of SABIR II project based on the assessment findings, but also on the long run by the implementing partner, after the end of the project.
• Identify required needs for assessed implementing partners in terms of training, coaching, support, and identify the modes and modalities addressing them.
• Identify capacity development needs that could be addressed internally and directly by the assessed implementing partners through peer learning, exchange of good practices with other organisations, etc.
• Propose rough budget of the resources needed to address the capacity needs of assessed partners, within Sabir II implementation, and after the end of the project
• Present the findings at project stakeholder’s meetings if necessary.

Methodological requirement:

• The assessment will build on and complete the previous capacity assessments and development plans and activities already conducted for the implementing partners. Therefore, a brief desk review should be conducted in coordination with each implementing partner.
• Individual, organizational, and, where appropriate sectoral capacity should be assessed, and the recommended implementation plan should address all three dimensions of capacity.
• The assessment will follow a participatory and consultative approach: the capacity assessment must involve a representative scope of the organisation staff through several meetings, including the management board, different support services personnel, and the field staff. It should be gender inclusive when relevant.
• Each implementing partner will assign a focal point to liaise with the assigned entity and to lead their organization throughout the self-assessment exercise.

1. Deliverables:

• A capacity assessment tool and methodology. It must be adapted to Sabir II project and the specific context of northeast Syria. It should be extensive, comprehensive and facilitate the active participation of the implementing partners staff in the capacity assessment process
• An inception report, including detailed methodology, tools, report format, and timeline.
• A final report of the Organizational Capacity Assessment (one for each implementing partner), including but not limited to: capacity gaps analysis and baseline, identification of the main priorities (activities, supports), capacity development strategy for future intervention, recommendations from the exercise, and capacity challenges at the organizational levels.
• A detailed action plan for the capacity building activities:
  • The implementation plan is to be developed based on findings from the capacity assessment tool. This plan must provide a clear pathway to attaining expected results in organizational improvement., and fit with the NGO mission and vision
  • The action plan will have to include a detailed list of action, aiming to enforce the capacities of the assessed NGO.
  • The applicant may propose a methodology of implementation, to fulfill the CB needs of the NGO.
• A rough estimate, with disaggregation, for the resources needed to implement the capacity building plan and activities.

All deliverables must be provided in English.

1. Eligible entities to apply:

• Local or international organizations with a bank account and an official and valid registration in the country they operate from, existence of a field team in the NES is desirable to perform the activities physically or in hybrid approach.
• Proposed team should be able to carry out the interviews with the local CSOs/CBOs in Arabic.
• Proven previous experience in undertaking capacity needs assessments for local NGOs with at least one experience with working experience with Syrian NGOs/preferably with NGOs from the northeast Syria.
• The organization may comprise a minimum of 9 members, of which at least:
  • (1) a team member must have experience in conducting institutional and organizational capacity, organizational development activities.
  • (2) a team member with experience in financial management and supply chain.
  • (3) a team member with experience in project management,
  • (4) a team member with experience in human resources management/
  • (5) a team member with experience in MEL and accountability.
  • (6) a team member with experience in media and communications.
  • (7) 3 team members with sectoral experience in agriculture, livestock, WaSH, TVET and entrepreneurship.

Applications that don’t meet the eligibility criteria will not be considered.

1. Selection Criteria:

• Team members’ experience in conducing capacity building assessments (30%).
• Technical Proposal (40%).
• Organization’s previous experience in conducting similar assessments (20%)
• Ability to access fieldwork locations, or otherwise, proven capacity to conduct this type of assignment remotely (with detailed methodology on how these assessments will be conducted remotely) (10%)