Georgia: Terms of Reference on Virtual Training of Environmental Issues
Feb 20, 2022
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Europe Foundation
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Europe Foundation invites proposals from qualified organizations or individuals to conduct a series of virtual trainings on environmental issues for youth engaged in its Youth Integration Program to enhance the participants’ environmental literacy and strengthen their capacity in drafting youth-led initiatives that promote environment-friendly practices. Europe Foundation expects this assignment to be conducted between March-May 2022, depending upon the availability of the selected consultants.
About Europe Foundation
Europe Foundation’s mission is to empower people to effect change for social justice and economic prosperity through hands-on programs, helping them to improve their communities and their own lives. To achieve its mission, Europe Foundation strives to strengthen the capacity of individuals and institutions, empowering them to address pressing issues and to mobilize relevant stakeholders in issue-based dialogue, through raising public awareness and creating various coalitions, platforms or working groups, so as to effect positive change.
Background Information
Europe Foundation’s Youth Integration Program strives to increase youth volunteerism and civic engagement to address targeted communities’ needs. Currently, the Program covers the following towns and communities: Adjara (Keda, Khulo, Shuakhevi), Akhalkalaki, Akhmeta, Aspindza, Bolnisi, Chokhatauri, Dedophlistskaro, Gagra, Gali, Gardabani, Gori, Gulripshi, Gudauta, Khobi, Khoni, Marneuli, Ochamchire, Poti, Racha, Svaneti, Sokhumi, Tkibuli, Tserovani, Tsalka and Zemo Barghebi.
Europe Foundation has been following the Youth Bank (YB) methodology, an innovative way of increasing youth participation through creating groups of young people (aged 15-21) in a given community (the Youth Banks) and empowering them with training and resources to find, fund, and oversee small youth-led initiatives that address salient for local communities’ issues. The YB concept is founded on the premise that involving young people in projects they design and manage is the most potent way to develop civic participation among youth. Thus, grantmaking serves as a mechanism with which young grantmakers improve their self-esteem and learn about leadership, team-work, fair decision-making, problem-solving, communications, financial and narrative report-writing, and event management. The uniqueness of the YB model is that young people are given the opportunity to independently undertake all the activities involved in the YB grantmaking cycle without constant supervision from adults. Each year, the YBs fund roughly 110 local youth-led initiatives in their communities, which range between 500-960 GEL in value and could address needs as diverse as cleaning a community park through promoting gender equality to preparing first-time voters for elections.
Goal and Methodology
The overall goal of the requested series of virtual trainings on environmental issues is to provide additional capacity building to up to 120 Youth Bank members from around Georgia, so that they are better able to design small-scale projects that address their communities’ environmental needs. The training should also help the participating youth in learning how to connect responses to local environmental problems with those on the global level. Europe Foundation expects that the training will enhance the participants’ environmental literacy and ability to guide their peers while drafting youth-led initiatives promoting environment-friendly practices.
The training should present the main environmental challenges (e.g., quality and scarcity of water resources, deforestation, soil degradation leading to landslides, urban and air pollution, etc.) and provide specific examples of small-scale grants on environmental issues. It should combine theoretical presentations and practical exercises to ensure that theoretical concepts are utilized in practice.
Europe Foundation requires that the training provider completes the task during March-May 2022. The Foundation will bring together up to 120 young people (up to 60 participants per training) for a two-day-long activity (around 50 youth will participate from Sokhumi), and the training provider is expected to suggest a methodology, which will ensure that the capacity building takes place in groups of not more than 10 trainees and envisions common activities for all trainees present. The Foundation is open to any other suggestion from the training provider as long as the training is completed on time and the suggested work-plan is not associated with excessive spending.
Timeframe and Deliverables
Expected duration of the assignment nine weeks.
The consultants will produce the following deliverables:
- A module for a two-day-long training, including training materials in Georgian and English.
- Training of 120 youth (up to 60 per training)
- Final report, which will include the following sections:
- Brief description of the context of the training
- Description of the goal and objectives of the training
- Description of methodology of the training
- Outcomes of the training
- Recommendations
- Annexes, including the training program, etc.
The report will be the sole property of Europe Foundation, which will retain the right to use it for internal and external purposes.
Consultant Qualifications
Europe Foundation expects that the selected consultant/s will have extensive knowledge of and experience in working on environmental matter, including design and implementation of trainings for youth and young adults with aim to enhance environmental protection. Ideally, the person selected will have an experience in work in a conflict setting.
Additional qualification requirements for the trainers include:
- Extensive experience in delivering training on environmental issues
- Advanced degree in environmental sciences or related field
- Excellent presentation and interpersonal communications skills
- Fluency in English
- Working experience in conflict setting is an advantage
Timeframe
- Announcement date: February 8, 2022
- Proposal submission deadline: March 7, 2022
- Assignment start date: March 14, 2022 (tentative date, to be discussed with the consultant)
- The deadline for the completion of the trainings and submission of the report: May 16, 2022
Budget
The budget should provide a breakdown of consultancy fees for training services, including development of training material, and the fees for any online platforms and/or tools that may be envisioned in the training module. Price competitiveness will be a consideration during the selection process.**
How to apply
Proposal Requirements and Selection Criteria
Interested applicants must submit the following information to Europe Foundation:
- Cover letter, which includes a concise and detailed description of the consultant’s qualifications and how the applicant meets the requirements specified in the terms of reference,
- A description of the two most recent consulting assignments completed by the consultant, involving training on environmental matters,
- CV, and
- Financial proposal/budget that includes a breakdown of costs (e.g., consultancy fee, technical fees, etc.).
- The proposal must be submitted in English. The selection criteria will include the following:
- Degree to which consultant’s qualifications and experience match Europe Foundation’s needs outlined above,
- Cost-effectiveness of the proposal, and
- Ability to adhere to the time constraints of the proposed activities.
Review Process
Proposals may be submitted by email to vacancy@epfound.ge.
Please indicate “*Environmental Protection Training*” in the subject line of your email.
Questions about this call should be directed to Natali Petriashvili (npetriashvili@epfound.ge).
The deadline for applications is March 7, 2022, 18:00 Tbilisi time (GMT+4).