A Baseline Evaluation For African Women Voices For Peace Project (REF: AAIU/SRVCS/2025/009/AWVP) tender at ActionAid

Background:

ActionAid is an International Development Agency working in over 47 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. ActionAid’s mission is to achieve social justice, gender equality, and poverty eradication by working with people living in extreme poverty and exclusion, their communities, people’s organizations, activists, social movements, and their supporters. ActionAid Uganda received funding from the Judith Neilson Foundation, DFAT and AAUK to implement the initiative in Uganda, Kenya, DRC and Ethiopia.

This initiative builds on more than a decade of targeted efforts by ActionAid to advance justice for women survivors of Conflict Related Sexual Violence (CRSV) in the Great Lakes region in Africa. This included research with women survivors from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, and Uganda in partnership with University of Sydney and University of Technology Sydney and funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. This identified access to justice as a major priority for women survivors and the need for a more comprehensive approach to meeting their long term economic, health and recovery needs. Through regional convenings over the past two years, women from conflict affected areas recognized the need for regional and national platforms to strengthen their collective power and voice in influencing government policy and supporting survivors. 

Women from conflict affected areas, including survivors of CRSV in the three countries were actively involved in shaping this initiative and asked ActionAid to lead this effort due to our established relationships and longstanding work in these conflict affected communities. The Women Leading Peace and Justice in the Great Lakes Region meeting held 9- 12 July 2023 in Uganda, specifically brought together 46 participants from DRC, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda to establish and define the scope of a platform, including how it could best support the leadership, voice, and agency of frontline women in conflict affected communities. This included representatives from 10 women-led community-based organizations as well as representatives from ActionAid Australia, DRC, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda, along with the Refugee Law Project. The platform is a long-term initiative to support regional advocacy and capacity strengthening for women from conflict affected areas in the Great Lakes Region of Africa. 

The primary goal of this program is that women from conflict affected areas in the Great Lakes region have increased access to services to heal from trauma, and increased capability, strengthened partnerships and networks across countries to advocate directly for the protection of their rights and influence peace, security, and justice processes at national and regional level. 

The project specific objectives are:

1. To meet the immediate economic and health care rights of women from conflict affected communities.
2. To increase the capacity of women from conflict affected areas to collectively engage 

on the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda at national and regional level. 

3. To enable women from conflict affected areas to hold governments, regional and global bodies accountable for implementation of the WPS agenda.

Justification: The African Women Voices for Peace Program (AWVP) is a transformative initiative aimed at increasing African women’s participation in peacebuilding, conflict resolution, and governance processes. Despite progress in policy frameworks such as UNSCR 1325, women remain underrepresented in formal peace negotiations and decision-making processes.

To support the development of the AWVP program, a desk review will be conducted to assess the existing landscape of women's involvement in peacebuilding in Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This will include mapping policies, identifying key stakeholders, and analyzing barriers to women’s participation in peace processes.

A consultant is required to conduct the desk review, synthesize findings, and develop a comprehensive report with recommendations to inform the program’s design and implementation.

Overall Objective of the consultancy:

The main objective of this consultancy is to conduct a desk review on women’s participation in peacebuilding in the four target countries and provide an evidence-based report with actionable recommendations to inform the development of the African Women Voices for Peace Program (AWVP).

Specific Objectives: 

1. To document and analyze existing women-led and women-focused peacebuilding programs and initiatives in Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, and DRC, assessing their impact, reach, and contributions to local, national, and regional peace processes.
2. To review and evaluate the national, regional, and international policies and legal frameworks that influence women’s participation in peacebuilding, identifying gaps and opportunities for stronger gender-inclusive policies in peace and security processes.
3. To examine the socio-cultural, political, economic, and institutional barriers that hinder women’s effective involvement in peacebuilding, identifying key challenges that need to be addressed to enable their active participation.
4. To generate actionable, evidence-based recommendations that will guide the design of the African Women Voices for Peace Program, focusing on strategies to enhance women’s participation in peacebuilding and to foster a more inclusive and sustainable peace process in the target countries.

Methodologies, scope (including location) and Deliverables

The consultant will undertake the following tasks:

1. Literature Review

• Conduct a desk review of existing reports, policy documents, research papers, and studies related to women’s participation in peacebuilding in Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, and DRC.
• Identify gaps, challenges, and opportunities in women's involvement in peace processes.

2. Policy and Legal Framework Analysis

• Review relevant national, regional, and international policies that influence women’s peacebuilding roles, including UNSCR 1325, AU Gender Policy, and national peacebuilding frameworks.
• Identify legal and policy gaps and provide recommendations for strengthening gender-sensitive peacebuilding frameworks.

3. Stakeholder Mapping

• Identify and map key actors (government agencies, civil society organizations, international bodies, and women-led initiatives) engaged in peacebuilding across the four countries.
• Assess the roles, influence, and contributions of these stakeholders to women’s inclusion in peace processes.

4. Barriers and Opportunities Analysis

• Examine socio-cultural, political, economic, and institutional barriers affecting women’s participation in peacebuilding.
• Identify opportunities and strategies for enhancing women’s engagement in peace negotiations and leadership.

5. Development of Key Deliverables

• Synthesize findings from the desk review into a comprehensive report with key insights, best practices, and recommendations.
• Develop a policy brief summarizing the main findings for policymakers and advocacy purposes.
• Provide recommendations on how AWVP can effectively support and amplify women’s voices in peacebuilding.

4. Key Deliverables

The consultant is expected to deliver the following outputs:

1. Inception Report (Week 1)
   • Work plan, methodology, and outline of the desk review.
2. Draft Desk Review Report (Week 3)
   • Comprehensive analysis covering literature review, policy frameworks, stakeholder mapping, barriers/opportunities, and key findings.
3. Stakeholder Mapping Report (Week 3)
   • List of key actors engaged in women’s peacebuilding, their roles, and recommendations for collaboration.
4. Final Desk Review Report (Week 4)
   • Incorporates feedback from stakeholders and project team.
   • Includes an executive summary, key findings, and recommendations.
5. Policy Brief (Week 4)
   • A 2–3-page summary document with key findings and actionable recommendations for policymakers, donors, and program implementers.

5. Duration & Timeline

The consultancy is expected to last four (4) weeks with the following tentative timeline:

Timeline and Expected Outputs

The assignment is expected to take 31 working days.

Qualifications and Experience: ActionAid International Uganda is looking for a competent consultant/ resource person with requisite training, knowledge, skills, proven experience in undertaking similar assignments. Applications from individuals or teams are welcome and will be assessed on their ability to demonstrate the following qualifications and competencies:

• Relevant academic background should include a Degree in International Relations, Development Studies, Women and Gender Studies, Peace and Conflict Resolutions, Law, Human Rights, or equivalent issued by recognized institutions.
• Experience or knowledge in conducting research, developing course material and conducting assessments.
• 5 years demonstrated experience in undertaking research or programme implementation in relation to women, peace, and security work in an NGO setting; planning and strategy development for advocacy engagements; Strong analytical, facilitation and communication skills.
• Previous experience working in post conflict areas or situations, a background in working with government and development partners.
• Past experience with International Non-Governmental Organizations in similar positions.
• Good understanding of the policy making and implementation process on women, peace, and security in the Great lakes region.
• Ability to work efficiently and deliver committed outputs under the assignment within agreed timelines and deadlines.
• Excellent writing skills (English) and ability to conceptualize women, peace and security issues and working with Women collectives.

Payment: 25% of the payment will be made upon signing the contract and submission of an inception report and 75%upon accomplishment of the assignment and submission of all the expected deliverables.

Child protection, sexual harassment, exploitation, abuse, and safeguarding standards:

The service provider shall adhere to child protection, fraud, and safeguarding standards regarding the protection ofchildren, women, young people and adults from abuse, exploitation, and neglect. ActionAid International Uganda maintains a corruption free environment, for all complaints relating to fraud and Corruption involving ActionAid international Uganda staff in the administration of this contract, report to the email addresseswhistleblower.uganda@actionaid.org    or     safeguarding.uganda@actionaid.org

Expression of Interest:  

Candidates should submit a detailed expression of interest clearly highlighting a refined methodology for the assignment and risk mitigation strategy, as well as relevant credentials, a budget for consultancy fee using daily fees and other relevant expenses related to the task, a CV or CV’s if more than one consultant in the team, examples of similar work done and clear breakdown of the financial proposal for the assignment. 

Kindly, note that ActionAid will not be responsible in any way for any costs incurred in the preparation or submission of the documents. Submission of a proposal does not give any guarantee of award of this consultancy. Any person who calls or solicits for financial details of the assignment will be disqualified. Interested persons who meet the set selection criteria should submit detailed technical and financial proposals to Procurement.Uganda@actionaid.org  

AAIU will evaluate proposals and award the assignment based on technical and financial feasibility. AAIU reserve the right to accept or reject any proposal received without giving reasons and is not bound to accept the lowest, the highest or any other applicant.

The deadline for Submission of should NOT be later than 16th April 2025, at 17:00 Hrs. 

1. EVALUATION CRITERIA
   1. Technical Assessment (50)

NB: Only firms that score the pass mark of 40 and above out of 50 in the technical evaluation shall have their financial Proposals evaluated. 

1. Financial Assessment (30) 

Note on preparation of Financial Proposal 

1. The financial proposal prepared by the consultant should be in excel sheet and should list the associated with the assignment. These costs normally cover remuneration for staff, subsistence, transportation, services and equipment, printing of documents, surveys etc. as may be applicable. The costs should be broken done to be clearly understood by the procuring entity.
   1. The financial proposal shall be referred in Uganda Shillings no any other currency allowed in the request for proposal and shall take into account the tax liability as specified in the request for proposal.

Note: Reimbursable expenses are not allowed. 

2. Face to Face Interview / Presentation (20) 

The consultant is to have their proposal presented to the team. 

• Technical (T) = 50%
• Financial (F) = 30%
• Face to Face Interview (I)=20%