Spotlight Initiative Activity 2.1.1: Conduct capacity assessment at individual and institutional levels of relevant key state actors and CSOs to respond to family violence and develop a costed national capacity development plan based on findings from capacity assessment.

The Spotlight Initiative is a global, multi-year initiative launched by the European Union and the United Nations to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG). This initiative galvanizes political commitment at the highest levels and contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically Goal 5: Gender Equality, fully integrating the principle of “Leave No One Behind.” The initiative focuses on domestic and family violence and seeks to contribute to ending family violence by strengthening policy and legislations that will guarantee increased protection of women and girls, building the capacity of state and non-state actors to respond to family violence, expanding the range of services available and addressing social norms and behaviors that promote violence against women and girls.

Specifically, under Outcome 2: National and sub-national systems and institutions are to plan, fund and deliver evidence-based programmes that prevent and respond to violence against women and girls including family violence. The expected output is that key officials at national and/or sub-national levels in all relevant institutions are better able to develop and deliver evidence-based programmes that prevent and respond to VAWG, including family violence, especially for those groups of women and girls facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination.

This outcome and expected output are an important focus of Spotlight as several capacity challenges have been identified in the response to VAWG. Capacity challenges have been identified at all levels, including, the national machinery for the advancement of women, which is under-resourced and understaffed. According to the CEDAW 2007 report, “The Committee is concerned about the scarcity of personnel at the district level to promote gender equality. It remains concerned about the absence of mechanisms to monitor implementation of the Convention and evaluate the impact of laws, policies and programmes on the achievement of women’s equality” (CEDAW 2007).

While there has been some advances such as an increase in human resources, increased capacity of staff through ongoing training, and improvements in the capacity of the ministry responsible to monitor and evaluate the impacts of laws, policies and programme on the achievement of women’s equality, the main areas that still require attention are; multi-sectoral coordination, planning and gender mainstreaming at the national and district levels and additional human and financial resources, particularly at the district level.

With that underpinning, this terms of reference under the technical guidance and management of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will seek to addresses these identified challenges through Activity 2.1.1: which aims to support a consultancy to conduct a capacity assessment at the individual and institutional levels of relevant key state actors and CSOs to respond to family violence and develop a costed national capacity development plan based on findings from the capacity assessment. 

Underpinning this activity, the consultant will utilize the findings of the mapping of state and non-state actors involved in programme and service delivery related to VAWG aligned with Outcomes 3 and 4 i.e. prevention, service delivery and social norm change. This ensures that all actors who are engaged in district level coordination, planning and capacity building activities are included in the capacity assessment and subsequent plan. The results and recommendations of the mapping exercise along with the findings of the capacity assessment of key state actors and CSOs to respond to family violence will both prioritize actions for the development of the NCDP.

The (NCDP) is to address the needs of the different organizations such as the Police Department, Judiciary, Social Workers, Health Care providers, CSOs and other relevant organizations strengthening the social sector workforce in order to support effective programme and service delivery under  Outcomes 3 and 4. Efforts will be made to ensure that capacity strengthening goes beyond the regular capacity building activities but that it is truly gender transformative and changes deeply rooted beliefs, attitudes and norms among individuals and institutions. Additionally, efforts will be made to ensure that the design and implementation of the capacity building plan is inclusive, within the context of the principle of leaving no one behind and sustainable beyond the life of Spotlight Initiative.

UNDPs Capacity Assessment and Development tool will be used in the assessment of key state actors and CSOs to respond to family violence and the formulation of the costed NCDP. The tool’s approach requires a comprehensive understanding of capacity in both a strategic management context and at various levels: the individual level, the level of the organization or entity and the level of the broader system or enabling environment within which entities and individuals’ function. The guidelines in the tool examine varying dimensions of capacity at each level, all of which need to be integrated with each other.