Terms Of Reference - Research Study

Inclusive Dialogue with Women’s Rights Movements in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Search for Common Ground Lebanon Search for Common Ground (SFCG) Lebanon is looking for a consultant to conduct a research study for the regional project Inclusive Dialogue within Women’s Rights Movements in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The research should be completed by the November 30, 2016. 1. Background 1.1. Organization Overview Search for Common Ground (SFCG) is a non-governmental organization working to transform the way societies deal with conflicts– away from violent and adversarial approaches, towards collaborative problem solving. We have acquired over 30 years of experience in peacebuilding and are based in 53 local offices worldwide. SFCG began working in Lebanon in 1996, and we opened up our office in Beirut in 2008. Since then, our activities and capacities have grown significantly. We rely on local staffas well as local partner organisations in order to ensure our work is culturally sensitive, sustainable, and well-grounded in the Lebanese context. For more information, visit www.sfcg.org and https://www.facebook.com/sfcg.lebanon. 1.2. Intervention Summary Search for Common Ground (SFCG), with support from UN Women through the ‘Men and Women for Gender Equality’ Program, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), has launched an initiative to advance women’s rights through innovative, inclusive dialogue among women’s CSOs from different ideological, socioeconomic, and generational backgrounds across the MENA region. The initiative kicked off with a regional seminar in Tunisia in May 2016, which brought together CSOs representatives working on women’s issues from across the MENA region to take stock of ongoing dialogue efforts and assess how those inclusive dialogues can contribute to women’s socio-economic and political empowerment. The three-day regional seminar resulted in a set of regional recommendations that are currently informing more targeted conversations in country-specific women’s dialogues held at the national level in each of Palestine, Lebanon, and Morocco. A follow-on regional dialogue seminar will be held in the fall of 2016 to discuss the progress made regarding policy and programmatic recommendations to further advance women’s rights through innovative and inclusive processes. 1.2.1 In-Country Dialogue Process - Lebanon The objective of the in-country dialogue in Lebanon is to advance trust among women’s movements by understanding divisions while exploring common objectives and visions for change. Through the establishment of a safe environment, where dialogue is inclusive, participants will be able to identify concrete actions and collaborative agendas to advance women’s empowerment in Lebanon. The first dialogue session (21 – 22 July, 2016) brought together 17 representatives of local NGOs and women's movements. The main objective of the two-day dialogue was to analyze and comprehend the dynamics of collaboration among women CSOs in Lebanon and identify potential challenges and obstacles that inhibit this collaboration. Following the first dialogue, it was agreed that an extensive research study mapping and analyzing the diversity of the factors that divide women’s movements in Lebanon and the factors that bring them together would be valuable to the community of women’s CSOs, as well as to the donor and policy communities. 2. The Research Study 2.1. The goal and objectives of the research study SFCG is looking for external consultant(s)/researcher(s) to conduct a Contextual Analysis that will provide a deeper understanding of the women's movement in Lebanon, including a brief historical review and analysis, an analysis of current dynamics, and opportunities to strengthen collaboration. The research will conclude with recommendations on how to increase collaboration among different civil society organizations working on women’s issues, geared toward donors and policymakers. The context of Lebanon’s women’s movement is nuanced. On the one hand, there are challenges faced within the more secular or liberal women’s movement, where CSOs have different ideological referential approaches, strategies, and visions regarding their work. On the other hand, there is a clear disconnect between the liberal movements and the more traditional CSOs, which are perceived as being service providers rather than advocates of women’s rights. Within this context, the objective of research is to focus on three axes, which require a more exhaustive understanding: An analysis of the dynamics, level, and nature of cooperation among the secular/liberal women’s movements, with a focus on the challenges they face and the opportunities to strengthen their collaboration (intra-dialogue). An analysis of the dynamics, level, and nature of cooperation among the conservative/traditional CSOs working on women’s issues outside of the conventional framework for women’s CSOs, with a focus on the challenges they face and the opportunities to strengthen their collaboration (intra-dialogue). An analysis of the level and nature of relations between the liberal women's movements and the traditional CSOs, with a focus on their diversity and potential connectors (inter dialogue). As the first dialogue session highlighted, there is a strong need to integrate all of the aforementioned components into the research, given the fact that an updated analysis on these topics is currently unavailable. Specifically, the research analysis will answer to the following questions: Part 1: Contextual Research 1) Brief historical overview of the women’s movement in Lebanon 2) Assessment of the work of the civil society working on women’s issues within the Lebanese context (politically, socially, economically, and culturally) Part 2: Dynamics among secular/liberal women organizations in Lebanon 1) What is the level of collaboration between women secular/liberal organizations in Lebanon? 2) What are the types of collaboration between these organizations? 3) What are the achievements of the women's movement and what were the reasons behind them (is it due to collaboration)? 4) What are the challenges faced by the movement and by the organizations among themselves? 5) What are the internal divisions faced by the movement and between the organizations? 6) What are the available opportunities that can help to strengthen the cooperation among the secular/liberal women organizations? Part 3: Dynamics among conservative/traditional CSOs working on women’s issues in Lebanon: 1) What is the level of collaboration between conservative/traditional CSOs working on women’s issues in Lebanon? 2) What are the types of collaboration between these organizations? 3) What are the achievements of these organizations and what were the reasons behind them (is it due to collaboration)? 4) What are the challenges faced by the conservative/traditional organizations working on women’s issues among themselves? 5) What are the internal divisions faced by the movement and between the organizations? 6) Which are the available opportunities that can help to strengthen their cooperation? Part 4: Dynamics between secular/liberal organizations (advocacy based) and conservative organizations (service based): 1) Are the conservative based organizations considered to be part of the women's movement? 2) Do the two groups collaborate? When, why, and on what topics? 3) What is the perceived added value of the collaboration? 4) What are the potential challenges? 5) Which are the potential opportunities for collaboration? 2.2. Audience This report will be shared with the donor community in order to provide guidance for their strategy and funding priorities in terms of women empowerment in Lebanon. Additionally, the report will allow other stakeholders, such as local CSOs or other social movements to have a broader influence and interest in supporting women empowerment in the region. 2.3. Methods The consultant will be responsible for the data collection through a mixed approach including desk review, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, surveys, and a consultation workshop. 3. Implementation Information 3.1. Evaluation Manager The consultant will work closely with SFCG Lebanon DM&E Coordinator who will ensure that milestones are met, provide logistical support, and sign off on the final report. 3.2. Deliverables A draft evaluation report in Arabic for review by SFCG staff and to be approved by SFCG Lebanon Country. Director and SFCG DM&E and Learning Manager. Raw data/notes from the surveys, reflection days and interviews. A final report in Arabic. 3.3. Deadlines Anticipated start-date of the contract: September 5, 2016 Deadline for finalizing the data collection: September 30, 2016 Deadline for the draft report: November 15, 2016 Deadline for the final deliverables: November 30, 2016 3.4. Logistical Support SFCG Lebanon will provide the consultant with logistical support by: Ensuring that the consultant receives key documents in a timely manner. Helping to set up interviews and the consultation workshop. Arranging meetings with the project team and key staff. Proposals should be emailed to both ymasri@sfcg.org and lduhot@sfcg.org with the subject line MENA Women’s Research 2016. For further information please contact Yasmine Masri on 70/960739.