Local process support for preparation and implementation of the lead the change for social protection programme in Rwanda.

Reference Number: 83484452

Publication date: 05.03.2025

Introduction

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a federally owned international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development with worldwide operations. The GIZ Office in Kigali covers GIZ’s portfolio in Rwanda and Burundi. GIZ Rwanda/Burundi implements projects on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the European Union and other commissioning authorities in the following priority areas: Sustainable Economic Development; Good Governance; Climate, Energy and Sustainable Urban Development; Digitalization and Digital Economy; and regional projects in the Great Lakes Region.                      

1. Context

Project background

Social protection is a fundamental human right and an important instrument in the fight against poverty and inequality. Recent global challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, escalating climate crises, and food insecurity, have underscored the critical role of social protection in safeguarding individuals and societies. The 2030 Agenda, encapsulated in Sustainable Development Goal 1 (SDG 1), envisions universal access to social protection systems by 2030. Despite growing awareness of its importance, over half of the world's population still lacks any form of social protection.

In response, Germany supports the development of universal, inclusive, and adaptive social protection systems. During the 2022 German Presidency of the G7, development ministers committed to extending access to social protection to an additional one billion people worldwide by 2025, aligning this effort with a just transition to green, carbon-neutral economies. Furthermore, Germany advocates for enhanced coordination among bilateral, multilateral, and national actors to accelerate progress toward universal social protection.

To achieve these objectives, the 'Global Alliances for Social Protection' (GASP) program, implemented by GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), promotes collaboration with various national, multilateral and international partners to advance the implementation of social protection initiatives at global and national levels. The programme operates within five key areas:

1. The development of digital public goods for health and social protection;
2. Standard setting for greater interoperability in digital social protection;
3. Improving financing for adaptive social protection;
4. Enhancing cooperation between bi- and multilateral actors; and
5. Strengthening country leadership and ownership for social protection reforms.

Objective of the assignment

The objective of this assignment is to support GIZ and its cooperating partners as a National Process Facilitator in the one-year Lead the Change for Social Protection Programme in Rwanda as one of the four participating countries.

This entails facilitating in-person and online workshops in Rwanda, mostly co-facilitating with the international facilitators, organizing regular exchange formats for the county team (around 15 people) and identifying and addressing emerging needs.

An overarching methodology as a frame for the programme has already been designed, and this assignment is seeking to deliver on these outcomes together with international facilitators.

Leadership for Social Protection Programme: overview

Challenge

Despite the global recognition of social protection's importance, many people still lack access to it. One reason for weak social protection systems are often fragmented institutional arrangements and political challenges in uniting diverse stakeholders. Social protection often receives minimal budget and staffing compared to other sectors. Collaborative leadership is crucial for translating strategies and technical knowledge into practical actions, enabling decision-makers to work across sectors and institutions. The Lead the Change for Social Protection Programme aims to enhance decision-makers' cross-institutional collaboration to advance national social protection reform.

Organizational set up and involved actors 

As global lead facilitators GIZ has contracted Reos Partners to design and deliver the programme implementation. Reos Partners’ expertise lies in working with systemic challenges which stakeholders consider unacceptable, but which cannot be transformed by a single actor or a single team. They do so in a way that foregrounds diversity, brings experienced guides to facilitate the process and offers a strong “container” for the issues (and assumptions and emotions) that often come up in such processes.

For the success of the programme, it is important that the methodology is contextualized and adapted for each country and to accompany the country teams closely. The National Process Facilitators will play a key role to adapt the programme to national contexts, building strong relationships with the participating country teams, support the preparation and delivery of the main in-person workshops and ensure a rhythm of collaboration throughout the programme cycle.

Objectives of the Lead for Change Social Protection Program

The program’s theory of change is based on the assumption that an improved collective understanding of the complexities and challenges associated with extending social protection to all, coupled with the development of leadership competencies and the formation of strong coalitions to translate this comprehension into practical change initiatives at national level, are essential components for driving social protection reforms. These investments in human capacities complement the financial and technical investments already made on social protection reforms.

The Lead the Change for Social Protection programme aims to enhance the capacity of decision-makers and their teams to collaboratively lead domestic social protection reforms.

This year-long process will enable decision-makers and their teams from various institutions within Rwanda to

1. develop shared systemic perspectives on the most urgent social protection reforms,
2. build collaborative coalitions across institutions and sectors to address a specific challenge of their choice,
3. and exchange with international peers from other countries on effective ways to drive social protection reforms.

Target group

During the Leadership Journey, other stakeholders beyond government entities, such as civil society, private sector or service providers, may also be involved, depending on the nature of the specific challenge being addressed and the relevance of these stakeholders to the proposed solution. For Rwanda, the identification and outreach to the remaining relevant institutions and stakeholders will be led by the MINALOC & LODA, which take on the role of conveners.

The initial pilot phase's first cohort will comprise participants from 3-5 partner countries of German Development Cooperation and partner countries that may be engaged through collaboration with development partners (e.g., the World Bank). With an average size of 15 participants per country, the overall number of participants in the pilot implementation ranges from 45 to 75.

Following a feminist leadership approach, the selection process places a special emphasis on female government executives, and the programme is genuinely designed with a strong focus on gender and inclusivity. This approach may include creating networking and peer exchange opportunities among participating women within each country and facilitating connections with women from various participating countries.

Programme design and methodical approach 

Participants in the leadership programme embark on a journey that encourages connections and the formation of coalitions among leaders from various government ministries (and other stakeholder groups) within Rwanda. Together, they address a specific challenge of their choice that is hindering progress towards better social protection. During the program, participants receive tailored coaching and guidance to lead the changes they want to implement in their respective countries. They also gain insights, expert advice, and inspiring examples from other countries that have successfully tackled similar challenges and reformed their social protection systems.

The Leadership for Social Protection programme builds on learnings of the successful Leadership for Universal Health Coverage (L4UHC) Programme and draws inspiration from Theory U and Design Thinking, the Leadership for Global Responsibility Concept of GIZ, and Rapid Results Methodology of World Bank. Furthermore, it incorporates best practices and leverages lessons learned from other development partners initiatives (e.g. TRANSFORM, the World Bank's SP flagship program, and offerings from the ITCILO). The Programme is designed to address unmet needs at the leadership/social protection nexus with the goal of bridging the current gaps not covered by other initiatives.

The programme is divided into four stages, that can – depending on the availability of the target audience – be implemented between December 2024 and December 2026. The programme is guiding participants from collectively identifying a specific challenge that hinders progress towards improved social protection, to the development of a practical change initiative as a concrete use case that is situated in a multi-stakeholder environment. This is accompanied by hand-picked expert input and guest speakers, as well as opportunities for peer-exchange between participants from different countries. Additionally intermediary activities, facilitated by a national process facilitator, and (virtual) sessions between the workshop modules are supporting the process.

Example:

See Concept Note (Annex 1) for further details.

2. Tasks to be performed by the contractor

The proposed tasks of the assignment revolve around building strong relationships with the participating country team in Rwanda, thereby ensuring a rhythm of collaboration throughout the programme cycle, supporting in communication and organisation, sensing the country team’s needs and reporting them to the programme’s management team and bring in local expertise to contextualize the overarching methodology to Rwanda. The proposed tasks of the assignment focus on building strong, collaborative relationships with the participating country team in Rwanda. This includes fostering a continuous rhythm of collaboration throughout the programme cycle, supporting effective communication and organization, understanding and addressing the country team’s needs, and integrating local expertise to adapt the overarching methodology to the national context. Additionally, the contractor will play a crucial role in preparing, coordinating, and delivering the main in-person workshops. While these workshops will benefit from the insights of international leadership experts, the contractor will have the opportunity to contribute creatively to their design and implementation. It is important to note that GIZ has partnered with Reos Partners to lead the design of the workshops and processes, leveraging an already developed methodology. This collaboration offers a unique chance to blend international best practices with local insights, ensuring a tailored and impactful approach.

The tasks, listed below, are to be carried out in a participatory and collaborative way, closely coordinated with GIZ coordinating team. They will include in-person and online meetings, update calls, proactive information sharing relevant to the assignment and adjusted to the local context and its communication means, regular advisory, and cooperation with other stakeholders involved in the program, as well as service providers commissioned by GIZ or its partners.

The contractor is requested to deliver the following work packages and tasks for the Rwanda country team:

• 1. Onboarding
• 2. Preparatory participant interviews
• 3. (Co-) facilitation of 3 major workshops
• 4. Accompany the country team throughout the process

Work Package 1: Become acquainted with the programme’s methodology

Objective: Understand the programme's approach and the national process facilitator’s role in it

Tasks:

• Understand the comprehensive and detailed programme design document, encompassing theory of change, formats, structures, methods and contents, through which the identified programme objectives are to be obtained. 
• Actively participate in two virtual half-day onboarding sessions led by the global lead facilitators from Reos Partners.

Work Package 2: Preparatory participant interviews

Objective:  Conduct one-to-one one-hour in-person conversations with each of the approximately 15 participants to explore participants’ current experiences, challenges, questions, and expectations, and to shape the design of the further process. Guiding questions for the interview will be developed jointly with the global lead facilitators form Reos Partners and it is anticipated that the national facilitators will be accompanied by a GIZ representative in the interviews.

Tasks:

• Conduct interviews with pre-selected participants and advise the programme management team regarding team composition given the criteria that teams should represent a diverse mix of stakeholders which are motivated and willing to actively participate in the process and have a sufficient ability to communicate in English. The team convening process needs to ensure that the individual members of the country team form a strong collective with the relevant skills sets. The programme puts special emphasis on supporting women leaders.

Work Package 3: (Co-) facilitation of 3 major workshops

Objective: Support the global lead facilitators from Reos Partners with the thematic preparation and implementation of national workshops.

Tasks:

• Support the lead facilitators from Reos Partners with co-facilitation and support the thematic preparation (agenda, workshop methods etc.) of the national workshops (2 national workshops of ~2.5 days each and approximately 15 participants) in alignment with the established programme design. There will be an additional preparatory day in advance of the workshops.
• Lead the facilitation of a 1-day national collaborative action workshop. Preparation of this workshop will be in cooperation with the international leadership experts from Reos.
• Support customizing the workshop content to align with the local context.

Work Package 4: Accompany the country team throughout the process

Objective: Lead the national process of the Lead the Change for Social Protection Programme by keeping all country team members engaged, conducting regular exchange formats, keeping participants involved in the group process and ensuring a rhythm of collaboration, adjusted to the local communication means. The national facilitator is expected to build strong trustful relationships with the country team and should therefore give a “face” to the programme.

Tasks:

• Design, organize and conduct regular exchange meetings and smaller workshop formats (e.g. every second week, ideally in-person) for the country team in between the larger workshops, ensuring steady progress, provide room for reflection and a rhythm of collaboration. This entails keeping track of deadlines, be a motivational lead behind the group, asking the right questions to lead participants through the process. The national process facilitator will be able to draw on the infrastructure of involved development partners for organizational matters like organizing workshop venues etc., and on the international leadership experts for methodological support. 
• Participate in peer exchange reflective calls with national facilitators from the other participating countries and the international facilitation team (60 minutes every 3-4 weeks).
• Participate in the international online workshop sessions (see process overview) in order to understand the experience of the country team.
• Identify needs to advance the progress on the national challenges like expert inputs, technical sessions or inclusion of additional actors from the private sector or the civil society. Report these needs to the lead facilitators, GIZ and the other involved DPs, who will then jointly identify and organize an appropriate response to the emerging needs. The consultant needs to pay attention to gender differences/disadvantages in order to bridge the gaps among participants.
• Establish and moderate an online cooperation platform for the country team, e.g. an MS Teams Room or similar communication channels adapted to the Rwandan context.

Certain milestones, as laid out in the table below, are to be achieved during the contract term:

Period of assignment: from March 2025 to June 2026

3. Concept

In the tender, the tenderer is required to show how the objectives defined in Chapter 2 (Tasks to be performed) are to be achieved, if applicable under consideration of further method-related requirements (technical-methodological concept). In addition, the tenderer must describe the project management system for service provision.

Note: The numbers in parentheses correspond to the lines of the technical assessment grid.

Technical-methodological concept

Strategy (1.1): The tenderer is required to consider the tasks to be performed with reference to the objectives of the services put out to tender (see Chapter 1: Context) (1.1.1). Following this, the tenderer presents and justifies the explicit strategy with which it intends to provide the services for which it is responsible (see Chapter 2: Tasks to be performed). This can be done by outlining your approach to each task, detailing the steps you would take and describe how your skills and character would contribute to enhancing the value of each task in the national process facilitator (1.1.2).

The tenderer is required to present a strategy for cooperation (1.2.2) with the country teams for the delivery of the services for which it is responsible. The contractor shall describe under this point how he or she intends to create a rhythm of collaboration, keeps track of deadlines, identifies needs of the country team etc.

The tenderer is required to describe its contribution to promote scaling-up effects and especially how the intervention can create long lasting impact beyond the duration of the programme under learning and innovation (1.5.2).

Further Requirements (1.7.): The tenderer shall reflect on the particular challenges of women leaders and show commitment to mainstream the thematic throughout the entire project.

4. Qualifications

Personnel concept: 1 Expert

We encourage individual bidders as well as companies with relevant expertise to submit an offer.

Expert 1:

Education/training (2.1.1):

• university degree (Bachelor) in social sciences, sustainable development, economics, psychology, education or a similar field.

Language (2.1.2):

• business fluency in English as well as of Kinyarwanda

General professional experience (2.1.3):

• 7 years of professional experience working with organizations in the field of leadership and/or human capacity development.

Specific professional experience (2.1.4):

• 7 years’ experience in working on social change with government institutions.

Leadership/management (2.1.5):

• 3 Examples of the ability to coordinate and manage a team to achieve tangible goals
• 3 Examples of facilitating multi day programmes/workshops with high-level government executives.

Regional experience (2.1.6):

• 5 years of experience in projects in Sub Sahara Africa, of which 2 projects in Rwanda.

Other: Facilitation/Coaching (2.1.8)

• 5 examples of working with agile and innovative facilitation methods in multi-day workshops or coaching contexts.
• 2 examples of working on projects with a gender equality dimension.

5. Costing requirements

Specification of Inputs

6.  Inputs of GIZ or other actors

GIZ and/or other actors are expected to make the following available:

• Provision of relevant information on the programme and objectives
• Stakeholder management and coordination of inputs from involved partners (bilateral projects, development partners such as World Bank, STAAR)
• Steering of service providers (e.g. communication, logistics)
• Overall project management

7.  Requirements on the format of the tender

The structure of the tender must correspond to the structure of the ToRs. In particular, the detailed structure of the concept (Chapter 2) should be organised in accordance with the positively weighted criteria in the assessment grid (not with zero). The tender must be legible (font size 11 or larger) and clearly formulated. It must be drawn up in English.

The complete tender must not exceed 5 pages (excluding CVs). If one of the maximum page lengths is exceeded, the content appearing after the cut-off point will not be included in the assessment. External content (e.g. links to websites) will also not be considered.

The CVs of the personnel proposed in accordance with Chapter 4 of the ToRs must be submitted using the format specified in the terms and conditions for application. The CVs shall not exceed 4 pages each. They must clearly show the position and job the proposed person held in the reference project and for how long. The CVs must also be submitted in English.

Please calculate your financial tender based exactly on the parameters specified in Chapter 5 Quantitative requirements. The contractor is not contractually entitled to use up the days, trips, workshops or budgets in full. The number of days, trips and workshops and the budgets will be contractually agreed as maximum limits. The specifications for pricing are defined in the price schedule.

8.  Annexes

• Technical assessment grid
• Technical Proposal template
• Concept Note Lead the Change Programme

Submission of offer: The Expression of Interest should contain the following:

Technical Proposal:

• A cover letter expressing your interest in this assignment
• Technical Proposal (attached template for technical proposal MUST be used)
• Company registration certificate (RDB)
• VAT-Registration Certificate
• Latest tax clearance certificate
• Up to date CV of proposed expert 
• At least 3 proofs of successful completion of related assignments. 
• Organizational profile and structure

Financial Proposal: Financial offer indicates the all-inclusive total contract price, supported by a breakdown of all costs as described in the specification of inputs.

Your EoI has to be submitted in 2 separated emails to RW_Quotation@giz.de until 20/03/2025

The technical offer has to be submitted in PDF format and as attachment to the email with the subject: Technical offer 83484452

The financial offer has to be submitted in PDF format and the price must be in Rwandan Francs and VAT excluded (if applicable) and as attachment to the email with the subject: Financial offer 83484452

If the emails exceed the default email size of 30MB, offers can be exceptionally submitted through https://filetransfer.giz.de/

Offers submitted through any other sharing platform, as google documents or similar will not be considered.

Offers submitted in hard copy will not be considered.

GIZ reserves all rights.