Terms of reference: Assessment of the training needs among members of the European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE)

Background of the Needs Assessment and Scope of Work:

International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (Georgia), European Exchange (Germany) and Promo-LEX Association (Moldova) have launched in the framework of EPDE an assessment of the training and development needs of EPDE members and thus, aim to build the basis for a series of capacity development activities as well as programmatic activities for the EPDE members. The needs assessment shall provide an objective assessment of the situation of EPDE members with regard to their capacities, needs and possibilities of conducting citizen election observation. From this perspective, the needs assessment has to provide basis for the further capacity building and advocacy activities planned within the project.

A special attention during the evaluation will be paid also to the external factors (political situation, legal framework, different limitations and conflicts that exist in the countries/region) that affect the capacities of EPDE members to conduct citizen election observation.

Based on the above mentioned information, as well as on an internal survey that has been conducted recently by the EPDE members themselves, the evaluation will:

** emphasize the strengths and shortcomings of eight election observation organizations in six EaP countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Belarus and Ukraine;

** assess the EPDE members' needs for trainings and capacity building activities;

** identify the major similarities and differences between the organizations in terms of their needs and capacities;

** discover the main problematic issues that restrain local civic organisations from performing citizen election observation;

** analyse country specific trends in the election observation area as well as the organisations' aspirations for future development towards performing election observation activities.

Methodology, timeframe and deliverables:

The evaluation will be carried out by combining quantitative and qualitative methods of collecting information from all relevant parties. During the evaluation following data collection and interpretation activities will take place:

** development of the Assessment methodology;

** evaluation and rank of the needs identified by the organizations themselves at the initial assessment through the Needs Assessment Questionnaire;

** desk research: internal evaluation of reports and produced statements, training materials and publications of the organisations, etc.

** interviews with key stakeholders in each EaP country (members of EPDE, activists, beneficiaries, donors and partners, etc.)

The assessment process shall not take more than 40 calendar days; this will include desk research and travel. First draft of the report shall be sent to the Action Management Team (AMT) no later than 60 calendar days after the signature of the contract. Final report shall be delivered to the AMT no later than 75 calendar days from signing the contract. Preliminary date for contract signature is April 25, 2014.

The evaluator(s) will deliver the following products:

** 6 assessment reports - a short report for each country (maximum 10 pages) shall be delivered in the end of evaluation as a basis for the development of the training and advocacy activities of the project tailored to each of the EPDE members. Reports will include major factors that hinder the civic election observation in a specific country as well recommendations for the capacity building of the EPDE members.

** One comparative report (10-15 pages) on the performance of all EPDE members (group countries and organizations by their needs).

Criteria for selecting the expert(s):

The Action Management Team (AMT) is recruiting a team of international experts (from EU and/or EaP countries, minimum 2 maximum 3 people) who will conduct an assessment. The experts' team will be supported in each EaP country by a national expert and supervised by the Projects Action Management Team (AMT). The international experts must meet the following criteria:

Education: University degree in law, political science, public administration, management or other relevant fields.

Experience:

** Experience in monitoring and evaluation (at least 3 reports of monitoring and / or evaluation conducted independently or in a team);

** Working experience of at least 3 years with the NGO sector or international organizations/donors;

** Good understanding of the Eastern Partnership area, specifics of elections and politics in this region.

Other required skills:

** Deep analytical skills;

** Excellent self-organization skills;

** Good communication skills;

** Fluent in English and Russian.

The contract will be awarded to the teams of experts that will present the best offer, both from the perspective of the technical and financial. The following criteria for assessing the quality of the technical proposal will be applied:

** methodology, strategy and well founded indicators of the assessment;

** professional, rational and innovative approach toward the assessment tasks;

** clear and well structured planning of the stages of evaluation process.

Method of application:

In order to apply, the interested experts teams will send below listed documents to: HR@isfed.ge by 5 April 2014:

** CVs of the experts and a letter of interest (stating their interest for this call as well as their willingness to work together);

** Technical offer, including the draft methodology of the needs assessment and tentative timeline for implementing the assessment;

** Financial offer (budget).

Short description of the European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE):

On 12th of December 2012, 13 civil society organizations supporting or conducting citizens' election observation in the states of the Eastern Partnership, the Russian Federation and the European Union have launched the "European Platform for Democratic Elections" (EPDE) in Warsaw. The founding members of the European Platform for Democratic Elections are the Association GOLOS (Russia), Belarusian Helsinki Committee BHC (Belarus), Committee of Voters of Ukraine CVU, Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center EMDSC (Azerbaijan), European Exchange (Germany), Helsinki Citizens' Assembly Vanadzor (Armenia), Human Rights Center "Viasna" (Belarus), International Society for Free Elections and Democracy ISFED (Georgia), Norwegian Helsinki Committee NHC, Civil Network OPORA (Ukraine), Association Promo-Lex (Moldova), Stefan Batory Foundation (Poland) and Swedish International Liberal Centre SILC.

The aim of the EPDE is to assist citizens' election observation in the countries of the Eastern Partnership and in the Russian Federation, and to contribute to democratic election processes throughout Europe. The European Platform of Election Observation will improve the professional quality of its members through development and implementation of unified standards and methods of election observation. EPDE will encourage, train and defend those experts and citizens who stand up for transparent and equal suffrage wherever it is at risk all over Europe - be it in the European Union's member states, in the Eastern partnership countries or in the Russian Federation.

source: jobs.ge