Past Experience Reference List

قائمة مراجع الاعمال السابقة

SUDAN INGO FORUM STRATEGIC REVIEW

Terms of Reference

Background

The Sudan INGO Forum is the coordination and representation body for the international non-governmental (INGO) community in Sudan. Today, the Forum represents more than 60 INGOs operating in 17 of 18 states delivering humanitarian action and international development to the country’s estimated 13.4 million people in need. The INGO Forum is not a formally registered organization in Sudan and is considered a voluntary organization for membership.

Currently, the INGO Forum leadership includes a volunteer Steering committee comprising nine (9) country directors serving six-month terms as outlined in the INGO Forum Terms of Reference (ToR).

Historically, the INGO Forum had one full-time staff member as a secretariat. The secretariate reports to the Steering Committee. USAID/Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) is the only funding agency for the Forum, with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) as the budget-holding agency as part of its BHA-funded program.

Other donor countries have expressed interest in supporting the Forum vis-à-vis funding; however, the current Steering Committee unanimously agreed that a thorough review of the current INGO Forum mandate and structure is required before pursuing new or additional funding.

Related to the need for a strategic review and evaluation of the INGO Forum is the fluid and evolving context in Sudan. In April 2019, Sudan experienced one of the most significant events in its history: the removal of former president Omar Hasan Ahmd al Bashir after 30 years of authoritarian rule. A Military Transitional Government was first installed after al Bashir’s stepping down. In September 2019, a Transitional Government comprising both military and civilians was formed to guide Sudan through a three-year transition toward independent elections. This change in government opened up new areas of humanitarian access for the INGOs working in Sudan, and is expected to evolve the current government oversight system for INGOs. As part of this review, the Steering Committee would like to ensure that the new context is considered as a recommended structure and revised Forum ToR is considered.

Description of the consultancy

The Sudan INGO Forum (INGO Forum) seeks a consultant to undertake a comprehensive review of the forum, both in terms of strategic function and structure. The exercise will be both inward- and outward-looking and will require active participation of its membership and consultations with key external stakeholders. The review will assess the current  forum structure; identify members’ needs and capacity to contribute; and conduct a contextual analysis   to propose relevant models of coordination to its membership. The consultancy will also outline potential overarching objectives for INGO collective action. A final report, with recommendations will then be presented to INGO Forum membership for discussion,  endorsement, and action.

Objectives

• Objective 1: Assess and evaluate the current structure and governance format and INGO member needs vis-a-via the INGO Forum potential and relevance in a fragile and evolving operating context
• Objective 2: Leverage findings to recommend a minimum of two coordination models that will support the Sudan INGO forum as the leading representation, coordination, and advocacy body on behalf of Sudan’s INGO community at national and state level over the next two years
• Objective 3: Provide three key strategic objectives to guide strategic planning and prioritizing to improve coordination efficiency, establish a viable forum business model, and support tangible outcomes over the next two years

Target audience

The consultancy outputs will be private and are not intended for broader publication.

• Primary target: Current INGO members
• Secondary target: Donors currently supporting or interested in supporting INGO coordination; Government of Sudan Ministry of Social Development, Ministry of Labor, and Humanitarian Aid Commission

Specific tasks

• Assess and evaluate the forum’s needs and potentials. This will include
  • Review of current coordination mechanisms in country and equal representation of all actors within
  • Review of member coordination needs and ability to contribute to collective action
  • Assess the current aid coordination environment (both humanitarian and development) and identify on which levels an INGO forum could add value
• Review / identify/ propose options for core functions
  • Core functions are the day-to-day activities of the forum. They include but may not be limited to information sharing, engagement/ representation, advocacy, analysis, operational coordination, INGO-government mediation, security coordination, PSEA coordination etc.
• Review/ identify/ propose options for internal objectives on the medium (2021) and long term (2022). They can tackle the forum overall efficiency. For example, “improve member’s participation”, “strengthen members and SC accountability”, etc.
• Review/identify/ propose options for external “areas of engagement” in which the Sudan INGO forum would like to contribute and weight in. For example, “humanitarian access”; “durable solutions”; “triple nexus” etc.
• Review/propose options for a draft mission statement and vision based on the above
• Formulate an analysis on the current “nature” of the forum (an INGO forum with mixed representation of humanitarian, development and peace actors and no local NGOs) and whether it is relevant to members needs and context dynamics.
• Propose pointers to engage with relevant aid actors such as National NGOs, Civil Society in Sudan, as well as authorities and UNCT.
• Review the current governance model with strengths and weaknesses and propose models of governance based on core functions and overarching objectives and areas of engagement. This should include
  • A review of the Steering committee and Chair ToRs, election, General Assembly
  • Determine memberships criteria and key conditions
  • Identify mechanisms for coordination, decision making, reporting and accountability
  • If relevant, propose thematic sub working groups or geographic sub platforms, clarifying how they would interact/ integrate with the forum and broader coordination mechanisms (complementarity, risks of duplications, etc.)
• Develop a risk registry for the forum, identifying main political, legal, security threats for the Sudan INGO forum and its members as a result of a “formalization” process
• Propose options for the forum’s “business model” based on above assessments. They should include
  • Options for formalization, hosting arrangements, creation of an independent entity and legal feasibility when relevant
  • Options for secretariat structure (basic, moderate, developed) on short- and long-term
  • Basic funding/resource mobilization options, considering membership fees, secondment, donor funding
• Propose ready-to-use coordination tools for immediate implementation to support the SC in improving 1) information sharing; 2) consultation of the membership; and 3) increase member engagement

Methodology

• The exact methodology will be designed by the consultant and endorsed by the SC, inclusive of: Consultation of the steering committee, (vice) chair,   (Key informant and focus groups sessions)
• Consultation of valid sample size of member representatives with diverse footprint and mandates, e.g. INGO size, mandate (humanitarian, development, peacebuilding, etc)
• Consultation of external stakeholders such as donors, UN agencies involved in coordination, relevant regional NGO coordination networks, civil society, government and community representatives
• Quantitative aspects through members surveys
• Review of available literature from the SINGO as well as relevant sources, such as ICVA and Interaction resources for forums, ICNL resources for civil society
• Validation workshop

Deliverables

• Consultant’s report in English answering to objectives 1, 2, & 3 (in addition to an introduction, description of the methodology) and relevant presentation material for members (PowerPoint) and external audience if relevant
• A forum coordination package with
  • Models of governance, business model
  • Strategic objectives based on analysis of assessment and evaluation findings
• Ready to use coordination tools Presentation (during plenary/General assembly) or facilitation of a validation workshop with an overall recap of the discussions.

It is anticipated that the project will take up to 30, but no less than 20  working days of the consultant’s time.

Required qualifications and competencies:

• Individual or consultancy firm specialized in the area of humanitarian action and international development and technical expertise in designing successful, inclusive coordination models
• At least five years of professional experience in strategic planning and project management. Experience in research, coordination, advocacy , management and program- related work
• Experience working with an INGO forum, as coordinator, chair, board or steering committee member or consultant is required
• Experience in working directly  with NGOs as well as interacting with UN system, donors, and host governments. Knowledge of the humanitarian sector and policies, as relevant to action on the national, regional and global level
• Demonstrated experience leading strategic planning for large, complex organizations, preferrable for regional or global initiatives that include coordination as a key objective Demonstrate
• Demonstrated experience facilitating workshops and trainings that center on participant engagement and interactive sessions that promote learning-by-doing
• Excellent communication skills, with expert-level reading, writing, and spoken English. Intermediate-to-expert Arabic is significant advantage.

• Notice: Please send your quotes in both SDG & USD.

CRS Sudan Program

Supply Chain