Objective of the Consultancy  

Carry out an organizational strengthening process for five organizations selected by the Together for Conservation (TfC) Project team. The organizations to be strengthened will be media outlets or non-profit civil society organizations with a strong communication component. Selected organizations will be of intermediate size and with at least three years of sustained work.  

The strengthening of the five selected organizations will be carried out over a period of six months, through virtual and/or face-to-face sessions. The idea is that the five organizations will participate in the strengthening process at the same time during the six-month period. Depending on the characteristics of the organizations to be strengthened, the duration of the strengthening process may be adapted, considering that the maximum period will be six months. 

The selected organizations will be based in the countries prioritized by the TfC Project: Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Of the five organizations selected, at least two are expected to be from Brazil, and the remaining three from Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru (three in total).  

The organizational strengthening process will be developed based on the Internews methodology for organizational assessment and strengthening – Organizational Capacity Assessments (OCA) and others that the consulting team may adapt for the purpose of the consultancy. 

The consulting team will be responsible for the design, adaptation and application of methodologies and tools to assess and monitor the organizational strengthening progress of the organizations. 

The organizational strengthening process to be developed by the consulting team should: 

1. Start with a baseline assessment of the situation/capacity of the selected organization. This assessment will be recorded as a baseline or starting point for the organization. The Internews OCA methodology recommends the assessment of 12 organizational components that allow the identification of a starting point (initial score in the different components based on a pre-established questionnaire) and therefore the priority components for strengthening. Regardless of whether the consulting team uses the OCA methodology partially or in its entirety, having an organizational starting point (baseline) will be key to initiate the process and guide the strengthening work. The baseline will serve to evaluate the progress of each organization, which the consultant team should record through indicators (or indices) that show the progress of organizational strengthening from the perspective of both the consultant team and the accompanied organization. This assessment shall be carried out in the first 12 weeks (3 months) of the consultancy, counted after the methodology and tools are designed and approved by Internews.  
2. Design a methodological process, which includes the tools to record the evaluation, accompaniment, and progress in strengthening the selected organization.  For the design, the consultant team will consider the Internews methodology for organizational strengthening – OCA (Organizational Capacity Assessment).  The consulting team may use the same methodology and assessment tools, or adapt them, or develop others to obtain rigorous records of the strengthening process undertaken.   It is worth noting that the Internews methodology (OCA) the strengthening process comprises two major elements: a) component measurement matrices through questions, and b) collection of documentary information from the organizations that support their organizational development. The methodological design phase will be carried out and completed in the first 8 weeks (2 months) after the contract signature.  
3. Design and carry out technical accompaniment. The consulting team will provide technical support to implement the necessary organizational capacity building process, based on the results of the baseline assessment. Considering the baseline and what is proposed by the consulting team, this accompaniment will be carried out within six months and will consider, depending on the requirements of the organization, at least 3 organizational components or dimensions to be strengthened.  To note, the six-month period for the technical accompaniment is tought out to cover the work for all five selected organizations. In this sense, the consultancy team will have to organize in person and/or virtual sessions in close coordination with each organization and carry out the accompaniment process simultaneously.   
4.  Coordinate periodically with the project team to report progress, difficulties, and other developments during strengthening. This periodic coordination will allow timely corrective actions to be taken if necessary. The consultancy team shall include these coordination meetings in their proposed workplan and timeline.  
5. Include a final evaluation of the process: The consultant team should implement a final evaluation (closing session) with each organization to report on its progress in the evaluated components. A detailed report should be presented to the project’s technical team. This final evaluation session shall occur after the six-month technical accompaniment period.  

Characteristics of the organizational strengthening process sought by the Together for Conservation project.  

It is expected that, due to the organizational strengthening undertaken by the consulting team, the selected organizations will show significant progress in the different components. For this, as mentioned above, the consultant team should generate a baseline in consultation with the subject organization, using validated methodological tools. 

Based on this baseline, which depending on the organization will have particularities, the consultant team in coordination with the organization and the project team (Internews) will define the components to be strengthened, which will be a minimum of three per organization, during the monitoring phase, which is expected to last 6 months.   

The accompaniment or technical assistance phase for capacity building of the evaluated organization will include periodic discussions between the key team of the organizations and the consultant team. The organization, duration, and mechanics (e.g., methodologies and tools to be used) will be defined by the consultant team according to the strengthening objectives and in conjunction with the organization subject to strengthening. It is understood that the methodological proposal developed by the consultant team and agreed upon by the organization will also be known and validated by the Internews team. 

If the consulting team considers that some sessions may be held in person, they should be budgeted in the technical proposal requested by this Scope of Work (SoW).  

Expected results/outputs (deliverables) 

• Five organizations (two from Brazil, one from Colombia, one from Ecuador and one from Peru) strengthened their organizational capacity. 
• Methodologies and tools for evaluation and accompaniment, adapted to the situation and characteristics of the supported organizations that record and/or show progress in organizational strengthening. 
• Initial and final evaluations for each organization as part of the strengthening process. The guidelines and templates to carry out these evaluations will be provided by the Internews team, but they shall be reviewed and/or adapted by the consultant team.   
• Recording and systematization of the discussion and/or accompaniment sessions carried out during the strengthening process. This registry will include tools (e.g. forms previously agreed upon with the Internews team) completed by both the consultant team and the subject organizations to evaluate the lessons learned.  
• Indicators that evidence the organizational strengthening achieved, whose report format will be generated under the guidelines of the Internews MERL team. 
• A final consultancy report detailing the activities developed and lessons learned during the process.  

Each of the above outputs is expected for each of the strengthened organizations. 

Qualifications of the consulting team 

According to the characteristics of the organizations to be selected, the methodology for their strengthening requires a multidisciplinary consulting team of 2 to 4 professionals. Following are the key characteristics the consulting team shall have, and will be assessed during the selection process.  

Experience: 

We are looking for a consulting team with proven experience in organizational strengthening, with an emphasis on non-profit civil society organizations (CSOs). Furthermore, experience in CSO organizational strengthening in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and/or Brazil is strongly advised. Experience and knowledge of the Amazon context is highly preferred. 

As part of the technical and methodological proposal, the team must present examples and references of work carried out, methodologies and tools used in the last five years for organizational strengthening.  

The consultant team coordinator is expected to have extensive experience in organizational strengthening processes and in the development and application of tools for this purpose. In addition, according to the characteristics of the selected organizations, a professional or professionals with experience in working with the media and/or with organizations that have strengths in communication are required as part of the consulting team.   

Languages:  

Since the goal is to strengthen organizations in the four project countries, the consulting team should include professionals fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.  English proficiency of at least the consultant leading the team is indispensable.    

Composition of the team:  

The consulting team may be made up of independent professionals organized for the task or, alternatively, by companies/organizations and thus already conformed teams. In this call we are looking for an organization where a lead consultant will be responsible for ensuring the timely delivery of the products and results expected. The lead consultant will coordinate with Internews’ team.

Timeline and deadlines  

The consulting team will develop a work plan considering the expected results/products (deliverables) mentioned above. The workplan and detailed timeline will be included in the technical proposal. All activities will start after the organizations to be strengthened have been identified by the Internews team formally accept being part of the process.  

The following deadlines are suggested to be included in the work plan: 

• During the first months of the consultancy, carry out: a) assessment of the situation/capacity of each selected organization (diagnosis or baseline), b) design or adaptation of the methodology and tools for organizational strengthening, considering the results of the diagnosis, and c) design of the accompaniment process for each organization.  
• During the last quarter of the consultancy, develop the final evaluation of the strengthening process for each organization and generate reports on the results of the process.  
• During the months of development of the consultancy incorporate: a) accompaniment sessions with the organizations, b) measurement and recording of progress in strengthening of each of the organizations and c) coordination meetings with the Internews team.

The consultancy is expected to take 10 months to complete, including the start-up phase, the support (six months) to the organizations and the closing phase.  If the consulting team requires more time to meet the deliverables, the deadline may be extended by an additional two months.  

It is important to emphasize that the consulting team should organize its team and methodology to consider that each organization (5 in total) should participate in the organizational strengthening process at the same time. 

Contacts:

• Sigrid Vasconez: [email protected]
• Diana Argüello: [email protected]

To Apply:

Interested organizations should send a Technical and Financial proposal in PDF format to both [email protected] and [email protected]. The Technical proposal should include the team profile and a timeline / workplan to carry out the organizational strengthening process.

Deadline for applications:

February 16, 2024 (5pm – Quito, Lima, Bogotá time)