Call for Proposal!

                                         Develop and test an organizational resilience measurement tool. 

The Asia Foundation (the Foundation) is a nonprofit international development organization committed to improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia. Working through our offices in 18 countries and informed by deep local expertise and six decades of experience, we address the critical issues affecting Asia in the 21st century by strengthening governance, expanding economic opportunity, increasing environmental resilience, empowering women, and promoting international cooperation. 

The Foundation invites applications from qualified national or international team of individuals or institutions to design and implement an organizational resilience measurement tool for civil society organizations (CSOs) in Nepal, based on the RESILIENCY + framework developed by PartnersGlobal and other relevant literature.

Program Description

The Civil Society and Media Program, funded by USAID through the Civil Society and Media – Standing Together and in New Directions (CSM-STAND) Leader with Associates Award, is led by The Asia Foundation in partnership with Pact. USAID-CSM is a five-year program (2022-2027) to support ongoing and emerging civic engagement in areas that advance the interests of sub-national communities, particularly those with a history of challenges in engaging women, youth, and marginalized sections of their populations. USAID CSM focuses on civic and media engagement related to good governance (accountability, transparency, participation, equity and inclusion); and, access to and quality of education. Most activities focus on providing grants to those organizations and communities outside of Kathmandu in Lumbini and Madhesh Provinces, with some activities implemented in Kathmandu.  

CSM’s overarching goal is to support independent civil society and media led by and for women, youth and marginalized (WYM) communities to advance public interest, fundamental freedoms, and accountability. The program works to achieve this through mutually reinforcing activities under three inter-related objectives while contributing to USAID’s Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS):  

1. To foster an enabling environment for civic space where issues and interests of WYM communities are addressed.

2. Increase WYM's engagement in civic and public spaces and advance their interests through better access to resources, assets, and skills.

3. Improve availability of credible information and diverse narratives within media that better represent WYM issues and perspectives.

Rationale

Nepal is in the midst of institutionalizing a new federal structure with a focus on development-related engagement at local and provincial levels. While state presence at these levels is commendable, the presence of civil society and media remains weak at the sub-national level. Local level CSOs are best positioned to represent and elevate the voices of WYM communities to advocate for policy reform, access to services or for accountability; however, limited funding for CSOs and gaps in resources make it difficult for them to effectively represent those voices. The number of registered civil society organizations is large compared to the available funding and it is strenuous for newcomers to enter civic space; and for established organizations to stay relevant in the new, federal context. 

The ecosystem for local level CSOs is complex and dynamic. Civil society organizations have varying levels of skills and resources and therefore require curated interventions to be able to navigate current and future challenges.  Limited availability of resources or a perceived need to align with the priorities of the funders rather than the local levels have fragmented civil societies and further weakened their presence, particularly outside of Kathmandu. Limited access to networks or the ability to leverage them is another challenge facing local level CSOs. These challenges and issues are further complicated by the internal functioning of the CSOs themselves. Lack of inclusive processes or leadership, traditional operational models (lack of innovation), and limited transparency are common in many local level CSOs which curtails their ability to be adaptive and resilient. 

Thus, the USAID CSM Program prioritizes assisting CSOs, especially at the local level, to navigate these and other similar challenges and to strengthen the ecosystem for CSOs to have access to resources, assets and skills that may enable them to advance the interest of WYM communities. More skilled CSOs within a well-resourced and accessible ecosystem should further a more vibrant civic space at the local level. The organizations that are able to navigate challenges and respond to the changing environment are more likely to meet their organizational mission and objectives, and better represent the constituents they are advocating for. This is considered organizational resilience. 

To better understand the abilities and actions of CSOs themselves to work within the current context in Nepal, the CSM Program team intends to create a tool to assess organizational resilience among civil society organizations participating in CSM activities. The planned assessment will provide an in-depth understanding of the capacity and limitations of the local organization allowing identification of the strengths and weaknesses crucial for making an informed decision on required and effective intervention to enhance resilience of the organization.

Objective

The developed tool will have following objective:

• To assess the performance of local CSOs in innovation, adaptation, and operational efficiency.
• To identify areas of improvement for local CSOs and recommend actions.

For Details Please CLICK HERE