TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE FACILITATION OF EIGHT ROUND TABLES

CARE Deutschland e.V. Office in Kosovo, within its project “Kosovo Youth Participation” - KYP, financed by the European Union program Advancing the role of civil society for social justice, participation, and human rights (EuropeAid/171380/DD/ACT/XK 11/2020-IPA 2019, Contract no. 2021/430-824) will organize eight Round Tables between youth, youth NGOs, stakeholders, and decision-makers from the municipalities of Deçan/Dečani, FushëKosova/Kosovo Polje, Gjakova/Đakovica, Junik/Junik, Obiliq/Obilić, Peja/Peć,Rahovec/Orahovac, and Suharekë/Suva Reka, aiming at awareness raising on active involvement in the policy-making process, promotion and harmonizing of the youth programs and action plans with the State Strategy for Youth 2024-2032.

For this assignment, CARE is looking to engage a Senior External Facilitator experienced in facilitating round tables for effective local level advocacy, namely, “Youth Talks”, while including relevant stakeholders from all levels. The role involves designing the plan for the assignment and leading the facilitation of eight (one-day) round table discussions, each with approximately 20 participants. These participants will include local civic actors and representatives from decision- making bodies such as the Department for Culture, Youth and Sports, the Directorate of Education, various youth organizations, Youth Councils, and active local youth NGOs.

Consultancy period: 22 May - 28 June 2024, maximum 10 working days.

Background

The Kosovo Youth Participation - KYP project, implemented by CARE Deutschland e.V. Office in Kosovo, seeks to contribute to the active inclusion of civil society in Kosovo in promoting democratic values, inclusive governance, and achievement of human rights and fundamental freedoms. More specifically, the KYP project aims to foster democratic participation, civic engagement, and social inclusion of different groups of marginalized and under youth, mainly from rural areas and small towns of Kosovo.

Project purposes: Increased capacities and opportunities for the democratic participation, civic engagement, and social inclusion of different groups of marginalized youth in Kosovo- youth from rural areas and small towns (especially young women), youth with different possibilities, who are, as a rule, omitted from the opportunities for larger youth involvement and inclusion. Through working on increasing the capacity of youth for different types of engagement, both peer-to-peer and in decision-making processes on all levels, for their overall better inclusion in society, the action will contribute to promoting active citizenship, democratic values, inclusive governance, and achievement of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The project outputs - expected results are:

Project Outputs:

Output 1: Increased participation of disadvantaged youth in decision-making, in local communities and on the central level.

Output 2: Enhanced engagement and employability of marginalized youth, in particular young women, through skills development and involvement in volunteering initiatives.

Output 3: Increased Democratic dialogue across Kosovo youth fostered through raised awareness on and promotion of gender equality, solidarity, inter-cultural relations and counter stereotypes and disinformation.

The KYP project has been designed to align with the EU Gender Action Plan III OECD - Gender Marker 1 project, which is a requirement of the EU. The project aims to contribute to Pillar III of the Kosovo Programme for Gender Equality, "Women's Rights, Access to Justice and Security" through the specific objective of the project "Increasing equal participation and representation in the decision-making process in line with the requirements of the Law on Gender Equality.

Target groups of the project:

Young women and men, people of all genders, from rural areas and small towns of Kosovo, aged 15-25 years, represent the main target group of the project. Their position is marked by the lack of practical opportunities for social and economic participation.

The project tackles the problem of low level of activation of youth from rural areas and small towns in Kosovo, circumstance that arises because of the lack of information and knowledge among youth about their rights, democratic values, the importance of participation in social processes, and decision-making processes on all levels. In addition, young people generally lack the capacity for advocacy and representation and thus feel underequipped, which leads to their further marginalization. This paired with the situation where young people are disappointed in the work of institutions and their lack of ability to fight corruption at all levels, ineffectiveness in the implementation of reforms, and general lack of social dialogue in society results in their dissatisfaction and a wish to leave the country.

The KYP project is implemented in the following municipalities: Deçan/Dečani, Fushë Kosova/Kosovo Polje, Gjakova/Đakovica, Junik/Junik, Obiliq/Obilić, Peja/Peć, Rahovec/Orahovac, and Suharekë/Suva Reka.

Objectives and consultancy tasks of the Senior Expert Facilitator

• Design a detailed plan (agenda, PP presentation etc.) for facilitation and undertaking of the round tables - public debates -Youth Talks in the cities of the target area, on the topic of introducing the State Strategy for Youth 2024-2032and ensuring alignment of youth programs across all levels. Facilitating the direct contribution of youth in strategic youth documents (Action Plans for Youth, both levels, central and local).
• Present advanced advocacy tools tailored for youth drawn from the latest developments in the field.
• Present a comprehensive review of the relevant youth advocacy project trends worldwide, reports, state legal framework for youth, studies, and other documents.
• Advise CARE- KYP team during the preparation and organization of round tables, in regards to participants, content, setup, etc.
• Directly facilitate round tables in eight cities/small towns of the target area and adjust the plans for the activity according to the lessons learned from the gatherings. (Note: the project will provide necessary logistics for the gatherings and attendance.)
• Identify and systemize key topics for advocacy towards the local decision-makers, as well as outputs and priorities that would serve as advocacy points for the future lobbying with central- levels take holders.
• Draft tangible recommendations for integrating the needs of young people into action plans, both in local and central level.
• Provide a consultancy report(5- 10 pages including recommendations) upon finishing the task.

Methodology

The methodology for conducting Youth Talks will be led in a participatory and democratic manner and in the spirit of good will. The debates will mention all components of youth inclusion outlined in the State Strategy for Youth 2024-2032 aiming for a general understanding of the youth’s specific position in both the target municipalities and Kosovo
as a whole.

The debates will be inclusive, ensuring the participation of disadvantaged/ underrepresented youth and beneficiaries, as well as local social service providers and decision-makers. Key insights and recommendations gathered from the Youth Talks will be presented at the final conference of the KYP project, contributing to the enhancement of youth in inclusion in socioeconomic processes. Lessons learned from the Youth Talks will provide recommendations for improving future CARE’s programming, also improving the position of youth in the target municipalities.

Youth Talks will be oriented towards resulting in concrete recommendations, demands, and priorities, towards the decision-makers on all levels, thus the facilitator will single out advocacy points to be addressed by the local and central level authorities.

CARE Outputs:

• Provide necessary information and documentation on the project, the concrete activity, local resources, and stakeholders. Agree on the work plan with the Senior External Facilitator.
• Coordinate with the Senior External Facilitator during the preparation and realization of the task.
• Provide logistical support to the Senior External Facilitator necessary for the realization of the task (eventual costs for the field work envisaged will be covered by the project).

Senior External Facilitator outputs:

• Detailed plan for the consultancy assignment;
• Facilitation of the eight round tables - Youth Talks;
• Fine-tuning of the assignment plans upon the lessons learnt from the facilitated sessions;
• Systemized outputs - advocacy points for the authorities on all levels and lessons learned for future CARE’s programming in Kosovo;
• Advisory to CARE project staff throughout the consultancy;
• Consultancy report in high quality English language ,up to (5-10 pages);
• Handover to CARE the entire original quantitative and qualitative data documentation collected for the purposes of the consultancy, upon the consultancy report acceptance and prior to the payment.

Required qualifications:

• Relevant University degree in economics, social sciences or similar (preferred master degree);
• 5 - 8 years of experience in work with the government and non-government sector in Kosovo;
• Good acquaintance with the applied current laws and policies for the youth and the work of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport(MCYS), proven through work experience;
• Excellent knowledge and vast experience in advocacy, round table facilitation or similar tasks with all levels;
• Vast experience in policy writing and development of various documents concerning youth;
• Excellent knowledge of English and Albanian languages, highest standard of written English;
• Good presentation skills, good knowledge of roundtables techniques;
• Clear demonstration that the expert(s) is able to meet the consultancy task in the envisaged timeframe.

Schedule:

The Senior External Expert will be engaged for up to 10 full consultancy days (eight days of facilitation
of the Youth Talks, two days for preparation and final reporting), over the period 22 May - 28 June 2024, according to the following timetable:

Application process:

The expertsare requested to submit the following documents to [email protected] by of 7thof May 2024, at 23:59.

The bid should consist of the following:

1. CV or portfolio, with detailed information relevant to the consultancy including2 references proving experience and skills in the topic.
2. Certificate of business registration, fiscal number, VAT (in case of consultancy companies/organizations).
3. Draft consultancy plan, and the methodology brief presentation for the topic/task.
4. Bid - financial offer: The Expert shall suggest a gross daily fee/rate in EUR per consultancy day (Travel costs should be responsibility of the Expert). Food and accommodation costs should not be included.
5. If the candidates are applying as a consultancy company, the financial offer should be presented VAT free.
6. There is no standard format for the bid.

Payment schedule:

CARE will undertake the final payment (100% of the contracted amount) upon the approval of the Consultancy report. The detailed payment schedule will be outlined in the Consultancy Contract. The Payment will be carried out in line with all necessary documentation as per CARE’s administrative procedures (time sheets, consultancy reports, annexes, etc.).

Criteria for the Selection of Best Offer:

The contract will be awarded based on the assessment of both technical and financial proposal submitted by experts, as well as on the quality and creativity of the Expert‘s portfolio of previous work relevant for the current consultancy.

The evaluation of the bids will be evaluated based of the cumulative analysis methodology. Technical weight70% and financial criteria weight 30%.

We thank to all applicants for their interest. Only the selected Expert/Company will be contacted.

For any additional information concerning the application, please contact us at the above- mentioned email.

Prishtine, 30.04.2024