Consultancy, Review of IWDA’s partnership approach
Time Commitment: The Consultant(s) must commence the Services no later than 17th February 2025 and complete the Services by 16th May 2025.
Budget: Up to AUD 24,400 (includes any reimbursables)
Location: Home-based
Background
The International Women’s Development Agency (IWDA) is an Australia-based organisation, working with and resourcing diverse women’s rights and feminist organisations in Asia and the Pacific, and contributing to global feminist movements to advance our vision of gender equality for all. We exist to defend and advance the rights of diverse women and girls.
IWDA’s approach represents a third way between the models of women’s funds and international development NGOs: we resource the work of diverse women’s rights organisations, enable them to be more effective by providing support that goes beyond money, and we make our own contributions to feminist movements through advocacy, knowledge creation and translation.
IWDA currently manages a portfolio of 15 multi-year programs with 22 partners across 8 countries with a total value of approximately $32 million.
IWDA’s work since our inception has been characterised by long-term partnerships with Majority World1 organisations. We consistently reflect on what it means to work in partnerships and how we can best deliver our optimal contribution to the partnerships. Our focus on these questions has sharpened with actions taken to decolonise our approach to feminism and development, contained in our current Decolonial Framework and Strategic Plan to 2025, and are informed by the research on creating equitable South-North partnerships conducted in 2020 by Ofa-Ki-Levuka Guttenbeil-Likiliki.
We believe that a feminist approach to partnership in international development must deeply engage with the unequal power dynamics in these relationships. We know that as an international non-government organisation (INGO) based in the Minority world, working with and funding organisations in the Majority World, IWDA has power and privilege that our partners do not have access to. IWDA can leverage this locational power for the benefit of our partners. However, without a critical lens, IWDA risks reproducing oppressive systems of power, in so doing, taking resources, space, leadership and agency away from the groups we propose to serve. For this reason, our partnership approach is based on clear feminist principles and adopts a feminist decolonising solidarity lens.
Purpose
In line with our feminist and decolonial values and approaches, the purpose of this consultancy is to improve IWDA’s understanding of:
• Whether our approach to partnership aligns to partners’ understanding of locally led development and decolonial approaches
• whether our approach to partnership is delivering the anticipated impacts for our partners and
• the most effective ways to partner with women’s rights organisations
It will do this by documenting with concrete examples and case studies, the ways, and the extent to which, IWDA’s approach to partnership and accompaniment has contributed to the operations, programming, governance and sustainability of their organisations. It will also identify where and how IWDA can improve our approaches to partnership and accompaniment support.
Findings from the consultancy will support IWDA to:
• Identify how our approach to partnership has evolved and opportunities to continue to strengthen the ways in which we work;
• Demonstrate accountability to our partners and our donors by detailing how our resources have been utilised to add value to our partners;
• Advocate for appropriate level of resourcing for the costs of a feminist / decolonial partnership approaches to donors, to the benefit of both IWDA and partners.
• Communicate our ways of working to other INGOs and Women’s Funds;
• Contribute to the discussion on effective approaches to locally led development and decolonising international development.
Consultancy scope of services
i. Evaluation questions
Final evaluation questions will be agreed between IWDA and the consultant(s) in consultation with involved partners, and tailored as necessary to the agreed methodology.
We anticipate that evaluation questions will address the following areas:
1. In what ways, and to what extent, has IWDA’s approach to partnership influenced the operations, governance, sustainability and programming of our grantee partners?
2. How does IWDA’s approach
a. reflect IWDA’s decolonial principles: (i) Perspective, framing and diversity matter; (ii) Pluri-verse not uni-verse; (iii) Power with – Anti-racist, anti-discriminatory, anti-oppression; (iv) Rights and responsibilities are equally important; and (v) Humility matters, which ensure that IWDA is challenging coloniality and applying decolonial principles to our work no matter whether we are stepping up, standing with, stepping back or sitting with; and
b. align with partners’ understanding of locally-led development, i.e., giving ownership of development activities and outcomes to local actors who are best placed to understand and respond to the needs of their communities?
3. Are there unique or different approaches that IWDA is using?
• How is IWDA’s approach different from other INGOs? What are the strengths and the challenges within this?
• How, and to what extent, has IWDA effectively adapted our approach to respond to changing partner needs/preferences?
4. What have been the unexpected outcomes for IWDA’s partners?
5. Is there a value for money for partners in partnering with IWDA? (Using 4Es framework, which include: i) Economy: Does partnering with IWDA help to get the best value inputs? (ii) Efficiency: Does partnering with IWDA help to maximise the outputs for the level of inputs? (iii) Effectiveness: Does partnering with IWDA help the outputs deliver the desired outcomes and goals? (iv) Does partnering with IWDA help the benefits to be distributed fairly?
ii. Activities and deliverables
The evaluation will include a meta evaluation, supported by case studies of individual partners and recommendations for further improvement to IWDA’s partnerships. This will be conducted through:
• a desk review of documented reflections on IWDA’s contributions in partnership, and a limited number of interviews with current IWDA staff;
• consultations with organisations that have chosen to partner with IWDA, providing an opportunity for representatives from these organisations to provide confidential feedback and insights.
The consultant(s) are expected to:
• Work closely with IWDA Senior Program Quality Manager to develop the methodology, including data collection tools, to ensure that the outputs of the consultancy will respond to IWDA’s information needs;
• Submit a proposed methodology for ethics review, either to IWDA’s internal review board or another relevant ethics review board. The methodology should include draft data collection tools and an analysis plan;
• Complete a desk review of selected program evaluations, previous consultations and strategic reviews with partners and IWDA reflections on our role in partnership, including the 4S Framework developed by IWDA on the basis of our work in partnership;
• Organise and conduct interviews with representatives from up to 7 organisations that currently partner with IWDA. Suggested list of partner organisations will be provided to selected consultant(s).
The consultant(s) need to cultivate trust and mutual understanding throughout stakeholder engagement and interview process, to enable people to feel confident in sharing feedback;
• Organise and conduct interviews with up to 10 current or former IWDA staff members;
• Prepare a concise draft report that clearly responds to the evaluation questions in the approved methodology and provides supporting data (e.g. de-identified quotes, descriptive, quantitative figures). The draft report should clearly describe methods used for data collection and analysis, and indicate the strength of evidence supporting each finding. The draft report should be shared with interviewees for their approval before it is submitted to IWDA;
• The report should include an executive summary of key value-add and recommendations for further improvement;
• Participate in a one-hour oral briefing and discussion with IWDA Executive Leader Team, Systemic Change and Partnerships Team and Senior Program Quality Manager to discuss findings and key themes, and identify any areas where the report could provide further detail or clarification; and
• Submit a final report.
No travel is anticipated as part of this consultancy. All interviews can be conducted remotely.
The consultant(s) may consider using a case study approach to support rich analysis and understanding of diversity across partnerships. For example, this could include inviting representatives from Majority World partner organisations to reflect on two case studies to discuss during the interview.
iii. Team composition
IWDA has a commitment that consultations with partner organisations will be undertaken by a consultant from, and based in, a Majority World country in Asia or the Pacific.
We are open to receiving applications from an individual consultant, or a team of two that includes consultants from and/or based in the Pacific or Asia or elsewhere, including Minority World countries.
Proposals from a team must clearly outline the roles and responsibilities of the two consultants, including who has responsibility for submitting draft and final reports.
iv. Support from IWDA
IWDA will engage with the consultant(s) to finalise the evaluation questions and discuss the draft methodology. We will support the consultant(s) through the ethics review process.
We will share all relevant documents to be included in the desk review, including IWDA’s Partner Perceptions Reviews for FY2020/21 and FY2021/22, and IWDA’s Stakeholder Perceptions Review for FY2022/23.
We will provide the consultant(s) with a list of potential interviewees, including contact details, and advise these potential interviewees that they may be contacted by the consultant(s). Consultant(s) are required to follow up with participants and arrange interviews, to provide participants with the opportunity to provide confidential feedback.
On request, we will arrange the translation of interview questions, consent forms, and participant information sheets, for the consultant(s) to share with participants in advance of the interview. This should be discussed with IWDA well in advance to ensure we can arrange quality translation.
We will provide timely (5 business days) feedback on deliverables submitted for approval.
IWDA will arrange for the final report to be published, including design and printing.
Requirements
The consultant, or team of consultants, should be able to demonstrate the skills and experience listed below:
Essential
• Substantial experience in cross-cultural communication;
• Understanding of INGO landscape;
• Experience conducting interviews, including remote interviews;
• Experience in gender analysis and/or stakeholder analysis;
• Deep understanding of feminist and decolonial research principles and partnerships; and
• At least one consultant from, and based in, a Majority World country in Asia or the Pacific.
Desirable
• Tertiary qualifications in a relevant discipline, such as social science or international development.
Safeguarding
This consultancy is not anticipated to result in contact with children.
Specific issues may emerge during stakeholder engagement that relate to child protection, the prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment, and other Reportable Conduct. The consultant(s) will be required to review, sign and adhere to relevant IWDA policies and procedures including the IWDA Child Protection Policy and Code of Conduct, IWDA Whistleblower Policy and Procedure, and IWDA Conflict of Interest Policy and Procedure.
Expression of interest
Candidates are invited to submit expressions of interest providing the following:
• A cover letter that addresses the criteria as set out in the Requirements above (maximum 1 page);
• CV (maximum 2 pages per person);
• An outline of the proposed process and timeline to complete all outputs (maximum 1 page), including explanation of how the proposed process aligns with decolonial and feminist principles;
• Proposals from a team must clearly outline the roles and responsibilities of the consultants, and how the consultants will navigate power dynamics within the team (maximum 0.5 pages); and
• Daily rate and an outline of anticipated additional costs, to a maximum total of AUD24,400 (excluding GST for Australia-based consultants). The budget does not need to include translation costs.
Expressions of interest that do not cover these requirements will not be considered.
Expressions of interest are required by 16 December 2024 and should be sent to Thuy Luu – tluu@iwda.org.au with the subject ‘EOI – Consultancy, Review of IWDA’s partnership’.
Find the full Terms of Reference here