Background and purpose of the assignment

The Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR) is an independent not-for profit organisation that works with media and civil society to promote positive change in conflict zones, closed societies, and countries in transition around the world. As part of its program activities, IWPR, in partnership with the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP), is implementing its initiative Building Resilience in the Eastern Neighbourhood (BREN), which is supported by the UK Government’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF).

IWPR’s BREN programme seeks to strengthen the resilience of non-state actors, including marginalised communities, and enhance their ability to deliver transformative, inclusive, and sustainable contributions to peace, stability and security in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Moldova.

The BREN programme contributes to enabling CSOs to build resilience and deliver transformative change in the peace and security area to increase human security for women and marginalised, vulnerable and socially excluded groups in the four target countries.

Developing and diversifying program design and proposal writing capacity in challenging environments is the foundation to building CSO resilience to bring about societal change. Building on IWPR’s previous activities on these subjects, IWPR is seeking the consultancy services of an expert to support training and mentoring on programme design and proposal writing for up to 40 CSOs in Armenia (10 CSOs), Azerbaijan (12 CSOs), Georgia (11 CSOs), and Moldova (7 CSOs).

The objective is to build CSO capacity to develop and implement effective programmes that achieve the societal change sought.

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What we delivered

Working closely with the Senior Program Manager and the BREN project team, our team of consultants delivered the following services:

• Developed and carried out a tailored needs assessment to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the participants’ existing capacities in programme design and proposal. In consultation with the CSO, highlighted priorities with regard to the types and areas of support for each CSO.
• Developed pre- and post-training assessment questionnaires to analyse progress.
• Designed and delivered targeted online training sessions (Session 1 and Session 2; total of 10 hours of training) to two groups, focusing on the needs and priorities in programme design and proposal writing. The sessions covered: 1) Developing the Theory of Change; MEL framework integration aligned with the Theory of Change; 2) Developing an MEL plan; 3) Data collection and analysis tools; 4) Monitoring tools, and indicator tracking table; preparation of the evaluation design; 5) How to review, understand, and respond to a request for proposal – understanding the proposal review process; 6) Proposal Narrative/Telling a story; 7) Preparing the Budget and Budget Narrative. The training was provided in English with simultaneous translation into the local languages.
• Provided one-on-one mentoring sessions to CSO representatives following the training, to provide a more personal and targeted support. Mentoring included real-time online meetings with the trainers, as well as remote guidance and review of draft proposals for upcoming calls for proposals.
• Compiled and shared useful resources for the participants’ future use, such as proposal writing guidelines and checklist, M&E frameworks, and more.