Consultant for Strategic Plan (International only)

ACBAR is seeking an experienced consultant to review its current 3-year strategy and prepare a new strategic plan on behalf of ACBAR NGO members adapted to the current context of Afghanistan. The consultant will be expected to travel to Kabul and hold meetings there as well as visit at least 2 of ACBAR’s regional offices to gain provincial perspectives.

1. DESCRIPTION OF THE ASSIGNMENT

Purpose

To assist ACBAR in redefining its strategy as a platform for NGO representation and coordination according to the changing context of aid coordination within Afghanistan

Objectives

• Assess the implementation of the current 3-year strategy (Jan 2020 – Dec 2022)
• Review ACBAR’s mandate to assess its continued relevance and its ‘competitive advantages’ within the humanitarian and development sectors in Afghanistan.
• Review the range and quality of services ACBAR provides to its members, including activities oriented towards strengthening the delivery of humanitarian and development aid in Afghanistan.
• Identify strategic priorities for ACBAR in order to assist ACBAR develop a new 3-years strategic plan with longer term perspectives.

Methodology

The overall assignment will be consultative and will make use of a mixture of qualitative methods of data collection, including semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and workshops.

Task 1: Desk Review – A comprehensive desk study of relevant documentation, including ACBAR strategies, monitoring and evaluation reports, advocacy and research papers, Directors’ and Steering Committee minutes, and projects and other funding proposals; and as full a range as possible of relevant external documents, such as government policies, aid coordination and aid effectiveness framework documents, advocacy papers from wider civil society and studies relating to the current challenges for the delivery of development and humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan.

Task 2: Field Work – Consultations with a full range of relevant internal and external strategic stakeholders and actors through a range of methods including, but not limited to, one-to-one interviews, group consultations and facilitated workshops with ACBAR NGO members and also representatives of key donors, UN agencies, Afghan civil society bodies and networks, government authorities, humanitarian coordination. The task will be carried out mainly in Kabul, but will also include short trips to ACBAR’s regional offices to hold consultations with ACBAR staff, representatives of ACBAR’s member organizations and any other relevant stakeholders.

Task 3: Preliminary Findings – the results of Task one and two will be written up as summary initial report outlining perceptions regarding ACBAR’s key capacity, strengths and shortfalls and outlining their relevance within the overall context of ACBAR members’ interests, Afghan civil society and the aid coordination context. The report will be presented to ACBAR’s Steering Committee and NGO members during a 2-day workshop ahead of Task 4 and will provide the immediate context for carrying out Task 4.

Task 4: Final Report – A final report will be developed building upon the results of Task 1 to Task 3. The report will combine the analysis from Task 1 and 2 and the results of Task 3, but will continue to outline possible strategies, with their pros and cons, for ACBAR to pursue and also lay out a plan for putting in place ACBAR’s institutional capacities necessary to achieve the proposed strategies. The draft strategy paper, including the advocacy strategy, and the institutional capacity development plan will be commented on by ACBAR’s SC and its Directors group, and if possible, by its core current and prospective future donors. The consultant will incorporate their comments to finalise the document.

Expected outputs

Based on outcomes of Task 1 and 2, an initial inception report with preliminary findings outlining:

• Perceptions, and where available evidence-based analysis, of ACBAR’s institutional competence and capacity to deliver its current mandate and strategic priorities (for next 3-year period)
• Views of its members and key external stakeholders pertaining relevance of its mandate and role in the changing aid context.

Based on outcomes of Task 3 – a 2-day workshop with ACBAR’s SC, NGO members and external stakeholders – the following key documents:

• Suggestions for ACBAR’s revised mandate and role aligned with the external context and its members and external strategic stakeholder’s interests and expectations.
• A proposed strategy and key priorities for the next 3 years informed by ACBAR’s revised mandate and role, as well as by the interests and expectations of its members and strategic external stakeholders.
• Recommendations for institutional capacity development of ACBAR to deliver the ambition of the new strategy and priorities and a proposed action plan.

1. IMPLEMENTATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The assignment will be carried out by an external consultant who will be responsible for conducting all aspects of the work and delivering the stated outputs.

ACBAR’s secretariat will provide the consultant with assistance in arranging meetings, visits to ACBAR’s regional offices, and organizing the participatory workshop.

Overall management of the assignment will be the responsibility of ACBAR’s secretariat under the guidance of ACBAR’s Steering Committee. The Steering Committee will be responsible for selecting the consultant and for reviewing and approving the expected outputs.

Scheduling

The assignment will take place over the months of November 2022 – Jan 2023 with a proposed allocation of working days:

TOTAL 32 days

Desk study / preparation 4 days

Consultations in Kabul 14 days

Visits to 2 regional offices (incl. travel) 6 days

Writing Initial Report 2 days

Draft Document 3 days

Final Document 3 days