Consultant: Developing BREN Resilience Index

Position:  Consultant: Developing BREN Resilience Index

Duration: Assignment will be completed between 23 October 2023- 29 February 2024

Application deadline: Friday 13 October 2023

Location:  Remote

ABOUT IWPR:

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 project 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. To do this, the BREN project 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.

Additionally, within the framework of the BREN project, resilience is a central topic under discussion. Initial steps have been taken to craft a comprehensive and broad definition of resilience, a concept that holds significance within the BREN project and within multiple IWPR programs globally. There is a strong interest in aligning these efforts with established and reliable methods, building on organisational and global good practices and examples. This ensures that the concept of resilience is not just a theoretical notion but is put into practice with effective and measurable strategies.

OBJECTIVE/ SCOPE OF WORK:

The activities must accommodate all levels, from beginner to advance. The capacity building and mentorship support will vary from CSO to CSO based on its assessed maturity as the consultant determines, and within the project’s maximum number of mentoring hours of 56 for the project.

The primary objective of this assignment is to develop a Resilience Index aligned with the BREN program's overarching goals. The Index will measure the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) [1] resilience capacity. By adopting the Resilience Index CSOs will be able to track changes over time, plan resilience strengthening efforts accordingly. By accessing aggregated results, implementers will have an overview of CSOs resilience status in targeted areas, disaggregated by resilience components, the data will play a crucial role to inform programmatic decision making at large.

The developed Resilience Index will be designed to transcend contextual differences, serving as a consistent tool for measuring CSO resilience across various settings. It will be initially made accessible and utilised by CSOs in the four countries targeted by BREN and subsequently will be made available and adopted globally by IWPR, partners and other implementers.

Overall, the purpose is to provide CSOs and project stakeholders with a robust and adaptable, user-friendly Resilience Index to support their resilience-building effort.

ACTIVITIES/ TASKS:

The Consultant or the team of consultants, will closely cooperate with IWPR to perform the following main tasks:

1. Develop a brief consultancy work plan to achieve the objectives under the given scope of work.

2. Conduct a desk review, particularly:

• Initial review of the BREN program.
• Assessment of contextual factors the four target countries to inform Index methodology development process.
• Review of existing literature and frameworks related to resilience. Outline and present to the working group relevant theories, definitions, indices, indicators, and best practices in measuring resilience.

3. Outline the objectives and scope of the Resilience Index, by defining what resilience means in the context and specify the target population (e.g., CSOs, communities, individuals).

4. Engage with stakeholders, including CSOs, experts, and potential end-users of the index, to gather input and ensure their perspectives are considered in the development process.

5. Identify a set of resilience indicators that align with the project's objectives and the context in which the index will be applied. Consider quantitative and qualitative indicators.

6. Determine the data sources for each indicator (e.g., surveys, qualitative interviews, existing datasets) and design data collection methods and tools. Establish a sampling strategy if applicable.

7. Collect data according to the established methodology. Ensure data quality, reliability, and ethical considerations.

8. Analyse the collected data using appropriate statistical and qualitative analysis methods. Calculate scores for each indicator.

9. Develop the Resilience Index by combining the indicator scores into a composite measure. Decide on the weighting of indicators if necessary.

10. Conduct a pilot study to test the Resilience Index. Gather feedback from pilot participants and experts to refine the index and methodology.

11. Validate the Resilience Index by assessing its reliability, validity, and responsiveness to changes in resilience. This may involve statistical analyses and expert review.

12. Establish a scoring system and guidelines for interpreting the index. Determine what constitutes high or low resilience based on the index values.

13. Document the detailed methodology, data sources, and calculations used to construct the Resilience Index.

14. Introduce the Resilience Index with IWPR, and other relevant stakeholders, including CSOs, and the broader community. Present findings and implications through reports, presentations, or workshops.

MAIN DELIVERABLES AND TIMELINE:

Deliverable 1:

End of Week 1

Consultancy work plan and Project scope and objective of the assignment.

Deliverable 2:

End of Week 3

Desk research report that includes:

• Assessment of contextual factors the four target countries to inform Index methodology development process.

Deliverable 3:

End of Week 7

The initial methodology document that includes:

• Key findings as a result of the stakeholder engagement sessions;
• Pre-selected Resilience indicators;
• Data collection methodology and tools.
• Detailed plans for the data collection.

Deliverable 4:

End of Week 9

• Data analysis report and preliminary Resilience Index methodology document

Deliverable 5:

End of Week 11

Revised Resilience Index methodology document that incorporates:

• Reflecting methodological changes after the piloting the index
• Resilience index scoring guideline

Deliverable 6:

End of Week 13

Training material for the capacity building activities.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE OF SUCCESSFUL ORGANIZATION/ INDIVIDUAL:

Consultant or team of consultants should have:

• Consultant should have a strong research background, with experience in both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies;
• Proficiency in selecting and adapting indicators relevant to the project's context and objectives;
• Ability to analyse and interpret complex data using appropriate statistical tools and software;
• Understanding of the project's specific context, such as peace and security issues, and knowledge of relevant resilience theories and frameworks;
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills to effectively engage with stakeholders and gather input;
• report writing skills to convey complex findings clearly and concisely, including data visualization and presentation;
• Capability to manage project timelines, and resources efficiently;
• Experience in designing and delivering training and capacity-building programs for stakeholders;
• Sensitivity to cultural differences and the ability to work effectively in diverse contexts;
• Experience in budget planning and management to ensure cost-effective resource allocation;
• A track record of successfully completing similar projects, ideally with the same type of the assignments;
• Flexibility to adapt to changing project needs and requirements, including responsiveness to stakeholder feedback.

Applicants are requested to submit their maximum 2-3 page of technical proposals (in English) along with the resumes electronically & desired daily rate in GBP to the following email address iwpr-en@iwpr.net no later than the 14th of October 2023. The submitted application should fully comply with the requirements set forth in the SoW.

The proposal should be composed of the following scanned documentation:

1. A technical proposal with a response to the SoW, explaining the understanding of the approach and outlining the general steps for development of the index.
2. A financial proposal including detailed sums for the assignment.
3. CVs of person(s) that will develop the index.
4. An example of a previously conducted similar assignment or the assessment/evaluation/research.

If there are any questions concerning the terms and conditions of this call, please contact Ana Dabrundashvili ana@iwpr.net or Dea Tsartsidze via the following e-mail: dea@iwpr.net

Principals only. No calls please. Only those who have been considered for an interview will be contacted.

IWPR is an equal opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital status, veteran status or pregnancy and maternity. IWPR will never ask for payment for recruitment.

Keywords

Resilience IndexCivil Society Organisationsmethodologydata collectiondata analysisstakeholder engagementtrainingreport writing