Terms of Reference – Consultancy to develop a Community Resilience Assessment Framework

A.Background & Rationale 

Twenty-eight years after the genocide committed against Tutsi, significant progress has been made in healing the psychological, social, and economic wounds left by the genocide. Multidimensional initiatives, from the local to the national level, across the domains of mental health, peacebuilding, inclusive governance and economic recovery have brought Rwanda to a point where it can begin to look toward the future with confidence and optimism. Rwanda’s economy has been growing steadily, and the country aspires to achieve a Middle-Income status by 2035, and High-Income Country status by 2050. Significant progress toward recovery and resilience has also been evidenced across multiple domains, including transformative governance, social cohesion and inclusion, justice, environment and climate change, regional integration, and international positioning; gender and family promotion, disaster management, among others.

However, to maintain Rwanda on this new trajectory, it is important to address several interlinked challenges. A significant mental health burden remains, especially among genocide survivors, as evidenced by epidemiological surveys that show 35% of genocide survivors and 12% of the general population to be meeting criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (Rwanda Biomedical Centre, 2018). Furthermore, epidemiological surveys show that children of survivors are significantly more likely to display symptoms of trauma than children from the general population, suggesting that trauma is being transmitted inter-generationally, to children that had not yet been born when the genocide occurred (Rutembesa, Ndimukaga, Lordos, et al., 2021). Inter-generational trauma is also linked with family-level challenges, such as family conflicts, gender stereotypes and gender-based violence. Additional challenges are posed by the reintegration of former genocide perpetrators in the community, after completing their prison sentences, especially in those cases where genocide denial, genocide ideology, ethnic-based stereotyping, hate speech and social mistrust remain significant issues in some of the countries near Rwanda and beyond. Finally, the context of poverty can be conceptualized as an additional burden, especially when it becomes a part of a mutually reinforcing cycle that also includes poor mental health. Thus, there is need to protect the path of Rwanda toward more towards strengthening community resilience against these multiple challenges, as one of the key pillars to sustainable peace.


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Against this backdrop, the government of Rwanda established, in 2021, the Ministry of National Unity and Civic Engagement (MINUBUMWE). The mission of the new ministry revolves around preserving historical memory, reinforcing national unity, and promoting citizenship education. One of the responsibilities of MINUBUMWE is to contribute to the strengthening of community resilience. This is to be accomplished through a dedicated Community Resilience Directorate, which coordinates and monitors social healing interventions within the Rwandan community; monitors and coordinates   rehabilitation and re-integration interventions within the Rwandan community; and provides multidimensional support to genocide survivors, including through income-generating activities. To fulfill its mandate of strengthening community resilience, MINUBUMWE requires a baseline understanding of the current state of resilience across all districts of Rwanda, as well as a framework for assessing community resilience on an ongoing basis. Without such evidence, it would be very challenging to design, prioritize, and deploy effective resilience-strengthening programmes.

In this regard, MINUBUMWE has recently partnered with Interpeace, an International Organisation that has been engaged in peace-building and societal healing programmes in Rwanda for several years. One of the key strategic   objectives of the partnership is to collaborate   in developing indicators to measure societal healing and community resilience; as well as  conduct research to establish a baseline for community resilience that can inform related programming and policies. In accordance with the objectives of this partnership, an inception process was initiated, which included literature reviews, multi-stakeholder dialogue, and the design of a participatory methodology to assess community resilience.

B.Objectives & Methodology 

This study has the following objectives:

1. To conduct a community resilience baseline across all districts of Rwanda by utilizing the resilience assessment methodology already developed by MINUBUMWE in partnership with Interpeace.  Three (3) sectors per district will be the subject of this survey.
2. Validate and test pre-defined resilience indicators, as these derive from the existing literature and the multi-stakeholder dialogue process. These can be used to structure future research activities, policies, and programmes for community resilience in Rwanda.
3. Through multi-stakeholder deliberation and dialogue, at the sector, district, and national levels, generate policy and programmatic recommendations for greater resilience across Rwanda.

Regarding the scope of the study, this will include the assessment of specific pre-defined resilience indicators at the community level, with supporting insights at the household, individual, and institutional levels, where these are relevant for understanding community resilience. The scope of the study will not be restricted to establishing baseline scores on the various indicators but will also include stakeholder dialogue processes to match these assessed needs with available policy and programmatic toolkits for greater resilience, at the sector, district, and national levels. In the context of this study, data collection will take place in selected sectors   per district, in all districts (3 Sectors per district) in Rwanda.

The methodology of this study has been developed by a combined team of experts from MINUBUMWE and Interpeace. The participatory resilience assessment process will be structured and made efficient using the already developed Resilience Indicators that have been designed in accordance with the insights from the inception research. These tools will allow data collectors to gain a holistic understanding of resilience from the village level all the way up to the national level. This survey will cover the whole country, and the data collection process should be completed by 31^st March 2023, at the latest. The final report must be submitted by 30^th June 2023. 

C. Scope of work

In this regard, Interpeace is seeking to secure the services of a research firm/company, well versed in data collection, analysis, and report writing; and with proven expertise in applying Participatory Action Research Approaches (PAR). The applicant must demonstrate capacity and flexibility to use the tools, methodologies, and inception report already developed by MINUBUMWE and Interpeace; and ensuring ethical, expeditious data collection process in all 30 districts in Rwanda; and thereafter, report writing. The research firm/company will work closely with a joint technical team of MINUBUMWE and Interpeace throughout the process.

The anticipated start date for the data collection is the end of January 2023, with the submission of the final draft expected by 30^th June 2023. The data collection aspect MUST be completed by 31^st March 2023, at the very latest. The research firm will have the following responsibilities:

• Recruiting and overseeing data collectors.
• Be available to attend a 5-day training on the data collection tools developed by MINUBUMWE and Interpeace; at a date to be agreed upon securing the contract for this assignment.
• Conducting a one-day pilot study to validate research tools.
• Managing all logistical arrangements necessary to effectively conduct the survey in three (3) Sectors in each of the 30 districts across Rwanda.
• Work closely with MINUBUMWE and Interpeace to mobilize and prepare for field research, including in relation to liaising with local leaders and other concerned institutions.
• Ensuring that data collection, analysis and reporting are done within the timeframes described above.
• Ensure close peer-review at all stages, by MINUBUMWE and Interpeace technical teams, including in relation to data analysis and report writing.
• Take part in the feedback meetings involving all stakeholders to discuss the data collected.
• Submit a report of the data collection process, challenges, and lessons learned.
• Participate in findings presentation at the Community Resilience Assessment Framework Validation Conference, to be organised by MINUBUMWE and Interpeace after the final report has been submitted and accepted.

D. Qualifications 

Interpeace is looking for a research firm with experience in conducting research in societal healing, mental health, social cohesion, governance, and other related subjects. It must demonstrate strong knowledge of Rwandan context and history; and how the past affects the Rwandan society today.

Researcher profile:

• The Principal Investigator must have at least a PhD level academic qualification, with a research concentration in social sciences, more specifically societal healing, mental health, social cohesion, governance, and other relevant fields of study and is experienced with social research processes.
• Ability to contextualize gendered perspectives to data analysis.
• Ability (in terms of human resources) to deliver on this assignment within the indicated deadlines, including incorporating peer-review/feedbacks from MINUBUMWE and Interpeace.
• Excellent communication, writing, and organizational skills
• Providing at least two (2) reports of similar studies previously conducted, preferably in Rwanda.
• Up to 3 references are required.

One of the main responsibilities of the research team is to recruit data collectors. Given that this will be a Participatory Action Research whereby data will mostly be collected through focus group discussions, the research firm must commit to recruiting data collectors that meet the following minimum criteria:

• Have a bachelor’s degree in relevant fields such as psychology, social sciences, computer science, political science;
• Prior experience with quantitative and qualitative data collection, preferably in societal healing, social cohesion, mental health, and governance; as well as vast experience of applying participatory action research approach in data collection processes.
• Excellent group facilitation skills in Kinyarwanda.
• Excellent record keeping ability, with prior experience with tablets and smartphones.
• A thorough understanding of the sociopolitical context of Rwanda.
• Prior experience in providing psychosocial support to people with psychological/emotional distress during interviews/focus group discussions would be a plus.
• The ability to maintain anonymity/confidentiality and trust with people is a must.

Interpeace and MINUBUMWE reserve a right to review profiles of the data collectors requited by the selected research firm, to be assured of the ability to obtain quality data.

E.How to Apply 

Please submit CVs of every member of the research team, as well as a letter expressing your interest; at least two (2) copies of reports from previously conducted research on similar issues; as well as three (3) references by 18^th January 2023 via email to: recruitment@interpeace.org with cc to akaliza@interpeace.org  Please include “Community Resilience Research” in the subject line of your email.

Given the urgency to commence this study, applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until a suitable candidate is identified. So interested firms are encouraged to make their submissions as soon as possible.