Scope:   Mapping exercise for State Ranking of CSOs Regulatory  Environment in Nigeria

Location: Nigeria
Application Close: 15th April, 2023

Global Rights is a foremost human rights and governance capacity-building non-governmental organization (NGO). The organization works at the intersection of the protection, promotion and fulfilment of human rights through good governance. We provide technical assistance and training to enable local partners document and expose human rights abuses, conduct community outreach and mobilization, advocate for legal and policy reform, and provide legal and paralegal services.

Background:
Civil Society Organizations in Nigeria are inundated with multiple regulatory requirements, some of which are very repressive and tend to stifle their operational environment. Despite the multiplicities of laws and regulations governing CSOs’ operations in Nigeria, there still continues to exist a misguided narrative, especially among regulatory agencies that CSOs are not adequately regulated. Consequently, several legislations have recently been proposed to further restrict their activities and subject them to the control of government agencies. A critical example is the Part F of the revised Companies and Allied Matters Act which was passed into law in 2020 (CAMA 2020), which seeks to further constrict Nigeria’s civic space through overstretched government control of registered non-profit organizations.

Global Rights seeks to advance its work on strengthening Nigeria’s civic space by curating platforms for multi-stakeholder engagements for an improved and effective civil society regulatory environment through capacity building and strategic partnerships at the subnational level.

With this context, Global Rights wish to commission a consultant to conduct a mapping exercise to identify each state’s reactivity and responsiveness to improving the CSOs’ regulatory environment across the 36 states and the FCT.Objectives:

1. To develop a protocol for assessing CSOs’ operational environment across the states in Nigeria.
2. To conduct a mapping exercise to identify each state’s reactivity and responsiveness to improving the CSOs’ regulatory environment across the 36 states and the FCT.
3. To develop a ranking dashboard to act as a gauge for measuring each state’s efforts towards either improving or repressing the civic space over the course of time in Nigeria.

Scope of Work:
The consultancy will involve the following tasks:

• Develop a protocol for state mapping of CSOs’ operational environment across the states in Nigeria and get CSOs’ input to validate the criteria. The Methodology should include the ranking of each state based on their efforts towards improving or repressing the civic space, taking into account factors such as the strength of the legal and regulatory frameworks, the level of harassment and intimidation faced by CSOs, and the degree of support provided to CSOs by the state government.
• Conduct baseline state-based mapping of available CSOs regulatory framework vis-à-vis its operational environment and the state’s response to CSO regulatory environment for the 36 states and FCT
• Produce a publish-standard report based on agreed criteria and make recommendations on useful data to periodically collect to update the state ranking dashboard to be developed from the report.
• The ranking will act as a gauge for measuring each state’s efforts towards either improving or repressing the civic space over the course of time. The report that will be captured on a dashboard will be updated annually to reflect any changes in the CSOs’ regulatory environment in each state.
• Make recommendations on useful components and compartments for the state ranking dashboard to be developed.
• Provide recommendations on how the legal and regulatory frameworks can be improved to create a more enabling environment for CSOs to operate effectively in each state.

Deliverables:
The consultancy will deliver the following outputs:

• The consultant will develop a protocol for state mapping of available CSOs regulatory framework and the state’s response to the CSO regulatory environment for the 36 states and FCT.
• The consultant will secure CSOs’ input to validate the criteria set out in the protocol.
• The consultant will produce a publish-standard report as a form of baseline state ranking with recommendations on useful data to periodically collect to update the state ranking dashboard, suggestions of useful components and compartments to consider for the dashboard, as well as ways of improving the legal and regulatory environment in the state for improved CSO’s operations in Nigeria.

Intellectual Property Rights:
All intellectual property rights arising from the consultancy will be the property of Global Rights. The research team will not disclose or use any confidential information obtained during the consultancy for any other purpose without the written consent of Global Rights.
Confidentiality and Ethical Considerations:
The research team will ensure that all data collected during the consultancy is treated with the utmost confidentiality and in accordance with ethical principles. In particular, the team will obtain informed consent from all participants before collecting any data and will ensure that data is stored securely and only accessible to authorized personnel. The team will also comply with relevant legal and ethical standards and report any ethical concerns or violations to Global Rights immediately.Expected Qualifications:
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in conducting mapping exercises and baseline assessments.
• A good understanding of CSOs’ regulatory environment in Nigeria.
• Excellent analytical and report writing skills.

Timeline: The consultancy will be conducted over a period of 4 weeks.

Reporting: The research team will report to the Executive Director and Program Manager.

Proposal Submission:
Applicants are encouraged to clearly indicate their level of experience and qualifications in the relevant area(s).
Interested qualified consultants are invited to submit a proposal that includes the following:

• An understanding of the requirements
• Methodology and work plan for performing the assignment
• Project delivery plans
• Budget
• Relevant services undertaken in the past with a detailed reference list indicating the scope of similar assignments
• 2 writing/report sample

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