Trainer in interactive, participatory methods in political education

Purpose of the assignment

The assignment is to provide ongoing mentoring and training of an organisation specialised in trainings/education of political parties and in the field of governance, to increase staff’s skills to design, plan and hold interactive, participatory trainings and ability to create a good climate for learning and experience sharing.The assignment is up to 45 consultant days including international travel to South Africa.

The assignment

The Olof Palme International Center (the Palme Center) is the Swedish labour movement’s collaborative organisation for international solidarity work and opinion formation. The Palme Center works together with 27 Swedish member organisations and 170 local and international partner organisations in thirty countries. The member organisations make up a large part of the Swedish labor movement. They have a unique experience of democracy development and poverty reduction in Sweden for more than 100 years. Palme Center’s activities are largely financed by the development agency Sida and by its own fundraising activities.

The purpose of this assignment is to support one of the Palme Center’s partner organisations in strengthening its training methodology and facilitation skills. The partner organisation is specialised in training/education in the field of governance and political education, based in Johannesburg, South Africa. The organisation works with different target groups such as representatives of political parties / young politicians / high-level politicians in leadership positions / persons in political administration / community groups.

The results of the assignment should lead to that the organisation:

• Holds qualitative, interactive and participatory trainings in a good learning climate, adapted to the target groups’ needs.
• Designs and organises online (remote)-, hybrid- and in-person trainings in ways that enable participants’ learning and political engagements over time.

Participants

The assignment is targeted to one organisation with approximate 10 staff members (mostly trainers and facilitators) with the participation of the Palme Center.

Methodology

The assignment will begin with a discussion between the Palme Center and the consultant, where the concrete methods of assignment, travel and timeframe will be defined and agreed more in detail. The assignment will take place in South Africa (Johannesburg) and remotely. Minor engagement in other cities and countries (Namibia, Mozambique and Angola) may be relevant. The methodology used should be an ongoing, mentoring approach where the consultant participates (remotely and/or in-person) in several different trainings held by the organisation to give ongoing support and training to staff, and also design an end-assignment training based on the experience with the organisation. This includes:

Deliverables:

• The Consultant should provide a detailed work plan and updated budget for the assignment by the start of the assignment (subjected to approval of the Palme Center).
• The Consultant should consult the organisation and the Palme Center and draft an outline of learning objectives for the assignment that is submitted to the Palme Center by the start of the assignment (subjected to approval of the Palme Center).
• The Consultant should monitor (in-person or remotely) 3-5 trainings (approx. 1-3 days per occasion) to identify areas for improvement based on the ‘type’ of training;
• The Consultant should provide ongoing, mentoring support to the organisation after each training including one-to-one coaching of staff;
• The Consultant should hold 2-5 ‘milestone’ meetings (remotely) with the organisation and/or the Palme Center to update on the progress and direction of the assignment.
• The Consultant should design and hold an end-assignment 3–5-day staff training for the organisation based on the identified needs of the organisation and to reach the objectives of the assignment. The Consultant should submit a draft outline of the training to the Palme Center for approval ahead of the training (deadline will be set by the Palme Center). All resources used in the training should be shared with the Palme Center and the organisation.
• The Consultant should draft a hands-on guide on how to hold interactive trainings for optimal learning that can be used by Palme Center’s partner organisations.
• The Consultant should hold a close-out meeting with the organisation to capture and summarise key recommendations to support the organisation to integrate new skills transfer / learnings – and submit a brief report 2-4 pages on recommendations / next steps / learnings to the Palme Center and the organisation.

Desk Review

• The Consultant can be tasked to review and revise specific material such as slides.
• The Consultant can be tasked to engage with key material (such as the PYPA-manual and Palme Center’s resources on learning and trainings) and suggest how to make better use/increase participatory elements.

These deliverables are to be:

• Prepared in English
• Submitted to the The Palme Center and the organisation electronically via e-mail

Timeframe and duration

• The assignment timeframe is September – December 2022
• The end-assignment training should be held in November 2022
• The assignment is up to 45 consultant days