Consultancy For Development Of Syria Strategy For Diakonia

Purpose of the Consultancy The purpose of the study is to develop a strategy for Syria for Diakonia in the coming 5 years. The consultant(s) will be guided in his/her/their work by some important preparatory work already done, including the following: IHL Assessment Syria (June 2016) and Findings from internal SWOT analysis of Diakonia, and Diakonia Global Strategy 2016 – 2020. The analysis should be guided by the Diakonia format for development of regional and/or country strategies, including identification of the key processes, questions and challenges that a Diakonia strategy for Syria should take into account. The analysis should also look into who are the main actors of civil society in the Syria response and whether there is a role for Diakonia to play in these processes where we can add value based on our resources, expertise and experiences. Based on the findings, Diakonia shall be able to take strategic decisions for the future direction in its programmatic development within the host countries related to the Syria crisis. The intention is not to evaluate the present work, nor to confirm our partners’ proposed project ideas.  Nor shall the studies do in-depth analysis of government reform plans. The studies should stay on a concrete level and aim to inform us in each area on what is going on in society and inform and guide us where we could play an active role. To this aim, the consultancy will include the holding of a workshop in Beirut with participation of Diakonia staff and key civil society actors to be identified together with Diakonia in Lebanon. Scope of the consultancy General context analysis: identifying the most important developments in the region and with the Syria crisis in relation to the following thematic areas: democracy, human rights, gender equality, conflict and justice and social & economic justice, emergency response and disaster reduction. An analysis of the humanitarian challenges in the context will also be included. The analysis will include major trends, opportunities and risks, including trends regarding roles to play and environment for Syrian civil society organizations. The analysis will incorporate the very first steps of mainstreaming of gender, conflict and the environment, in line with the Diakonia policies and guide lines.. Humanitarian context analysis: identifying major trends, opportunities and risks in the humanitarian context and the donor context. Here it is also important to look at what other similar organizations (humanitarian organizations with similar goals, “like-minded organizations”) are already doing. Where would Diakonia’s intervention make a difference? Where has Diakonia a comparative advantage and value added? Also, the analysis on this level includes an assessment of trends with a bearing on resource mobilization. Internal analysis: assessing how well Diakonia Lebanon Office is organized, financed and otherwise resourced to meet the challenges, foreseen demands and risks as well as opportunities in order to initiate a Syria crisis response. Note: The Findings from the internal SWOT analysis carried out by Country Office in Lebanon, and by the Regional Office and the Head Office in Sweden shall be guiding this internal analysis. Workshop: involving Diakonia staff from Regional Office and Head Office, but most importantly from Lebanon Country Office and potential partners or experts – as close to the right holders that we are seeking to work with. The workshop should help contribute to the context analysis and the general analysis.   Deliverables and time-frame   The Consultant is to be engaged for a two-month period (6 weeks) from the date of signing this contract, likely to be in end of April 2017. Diakonia reserves the right to change the inception date of this assignment.   Diakonia shall receive a tender/ proposal, including a methodology, a work plan – including workshop - and financial proposal including for civil society meetings one in Lebanon and one on Jordan, prepared by the consultant, based on the present terms of reference. The length of the contract may not exceed more than six weeks beginning at the date of contract.     After the signature of the contract the consultant will provide a:   Briefing notes from meeting with civil society organization and key actors including talking points and their contact details (Week 4)   A First draft of the Strategy document including main conclusion and recommendations in English for feedback (week 5)   The strategy document according to Diakonia template in MS-Word written in English including the feedback 4 days after receiving the feedback from Diakonia team, a brief power point presentation of 10 slides.