Terms of Reference for National NGOs’ training in Jubaland (Kismayo and Dollow)

Terms of Reference for National NGOs’ training in Jubaland (Kismayo and Dollow).

Background

The Somali NGO Consortium is a voluntary membership organization comprising national and international NGOs working together to create an enabling environment for the efficient and effective delivery of humanitarian and development assistance for all Somali people. The Consortium’s members operate across various thematic areas in Somalia/Somaliland, focusing on advocacy, information sharing, coordination, representation, and capacity building for national / local NGOs. Through its collaborative platform, the Consortium facilitates engagement between members, UN agencies, government stakeholders & local authorities, and other relevant stakeholders guided by strategic objectives for these engagements.

National & local NGOs continue to play a crucial role in the Somali humanitarian response, often being the first responders in crises. Guided by the humanitarian principles of Humanity, Neutrality, Impartiality, and Independence, the Somali humanitarian response has evolved over time considering lessons learnt from periodic reviews done on different occasions over the past 2 decades. Currently, the country is undergoing a humanitarian systems reset with the process being rolled out in phases within the Somali context.

Objective

Given their experience in delivering programs in Somalia for more than 2 decades, national/local NGOs have been part of the system changes that have taken place in the same period. They therefore bring in solid understanding of the background context and reasoning behind those changes. They have also participated in writing numerous proposals as individual organizations, in partnership with INGOs and as members of consortia on different occasions. The proposed training is thus a build-up of this understanding and is intended to achieve the following objectives.

1.     Provide spaces for guided discussions and reflections on the Somali humanitarian spaces (particularly in Jubaland) within the context of the on-going deliberations and propositions of the humanitarian systems reset. These deliberations will also take into consideration lessons learnt and best practices on critical aspects like humanitarian principles & standards, humanitarian analysis & needs prioritization, humanitarian planning, and risk management.

2.     Provide spaces for guided discussions and reflections on networking, humanitarian advocacy and resource mobilization collectively and individually (for organizations).

3.     Brainstorming on lessons learnt around theoretical and practical aspects in developing quality proposals and budgets looking at organization’s strategic fit, organization’s capacity considerations, alignment with the needs (& context), donor compliance, MEAL and risk management.

Areas to be covered during the training.

1.     Humanitarian principles & core humanitarian standards and how they have been applied within the Somali context, looking at enabling and challenging factors.

2.     Humanitarian reset & brief overview of stakeholder analysis from a global perspective and how it applies within the Somali context, especially in Jubaland.

3.     Humanitarian analysis, needs prioritization, humanitarian planning, risk analysis and resource mobilization (collective and institutional/organizational).

4.     Exploring different approaches to resource mobilization and writing winning proposals (proposals, work plans, budgets, MEAL planning, risk management and donor compliance).

5.     Proposal alignment with context/needs, organizational strategy and donor strategic priorities.

6.     Brainstorming on fundraising challenges for national NGOs and proposing practical recommendations to improve the funding spaces for national NGOs.

Duration and Schedule

The training will be conducted over four days (targeting 30 – 35 participants) per location featuring a combination of theoretical and practical. There will be pre-and-post training assessments for the training in both locations (Kismayo and Dollow). Participants’ training expectations will be collected at the beginning of the training and will guide the subsequent sessions.

Expected Outcomes

By the end of the workshop, participants should have a clear understanding of humanitarian principles and the humanitarian reset as applied in the humanitarian spaces within the Somali context.  In addition, participants will have theoretical and practical understanding of these concepts and apply them in designing and planning for appropriate humanitarian responses. Participants will also have practical insights in developing winning proposals and proactive analysis and management of risks within the Somali context (especially in Jubaland).