Tenders: CBHA strategy formulation
Request for proposals
Consortium Strategy Process
The CBHA is a one-year old Consortium of 15 non-governmental organisations that conduct international humanitarian response work. The CBHA seeks independent process facilitation and external advice for its first strategy formulation process. The process will occur in two phases: diagnosis and formulation. Interested parties may apply for one or both phases. Applications offering several process options with discrete cost implications are welcome.
Start Date: 1 April 2011
End Date: 1 July 2011
Location: London, UK
Language: English
Applications: Due COB Friday 25th March by email to m.hounjet@savethechildren.org.uk
April: Phase 1 - questionnaire-based diagnostic exercise
Over approximately 5-10 person days, the Consultants will define the Consortium’s current choices, identify areas of existing agreement, and identify areas requiring further discussion, negotiation and alignment. This phase has largely been defined by the Consortium.
May: Phase 2 - board retreat, research, technical input and process facilitation
This will be the most intense month, requiring approximately 20-40 person days of consultant time to facilitate effective and well-informed conversations within the Consortium. This phase has only been partially defined by the Consortium.
June: Phase 2 - process facilitation as required, conclusions and agreements
An additional month is available to catch up on outstanding issues, conclude agreements and finalize the strategy. This final month will require approximately 10-30 person days.
1. Background
What is the CBHA
The CBHA is a new Consortium of fifteen leading UK Non-Governmental Organisations who provide humanitarian assistance around the world. This initiative aspires to strengthen the capacity of the NGO sector to deliver appropriate, high quality, and quicker humanitarian assistance. It is currently operating with a two-year £8 Million grant from the UK Department for International Development. More on the history and structure and recent reports and evaluations can be obtained here: www.thecbha.org
Why the CBHA needs a strategy
The CBHA has generated considerable excitement in its first year. It launched NGO strengthening activities with transformative potential in five areas: financing systems, human resource systems, logistics and supply chain systems, surge capacity (the ability to quickly scale up operations), and interagency collaboration. During this period the CBHA met or exceeded most of its targets, which is significant considering that the Consortium was simultaneously establishing its formal procedures and informal working culture. Also over its first year the CBHA navigated a number of unanticipated opportunities which demonstrated its potential impact, yet challenged its nascent relationships. In addition to implementing its planned first year £4 Million programme, the CBHA enabled its members to conduct additional DFID-funded Pakistan flood crisis projects worth £1 Million for emergency response, and £20 Million for early recovery. The CBHA has also demonstrated a potential for convening humanitarian policy dialogue through its well-regarded engagement with the independent Humanitarian Emergency Response Review.
Yet, over its first year the CBHA faced several challenges, the navigation of which demonstrated that a strategy is needed. It was originally believed that the legal consortium agreement would provide a sufficient framework for experimentation and learning over the two-year pilot. The approach was to have been a series of small-scale low-risk experiments. However, the nature of the contemporary humanitarian environment and the scale of its challenges and opportunities has precluded an incremental CBHA experiment. Consequently, a tension has emerged between the predictability needed by a Consortium of 15 large organisations, and the unpredictable nature of the humanitarian endeavour in today’s turbulent world. Differences may exist within the membership about the scale and scope of ambition for the Consortium. Moreover, while CBHA activities are innovative, they are incremental improvements to existing organisational routines. Much more could be done to build capacity to respond to humanitarian crises of the future. A strategy is therefore needed to provide an appropriate framework for collaboration within a turbulent environment, whilst enabling the Consortium to reach its potential.
Why this process matters
Today’s international non-governmental organisations are faced with fundamental challenges to the impartial humanitarian role which they have established over decades of practice. The nature of human vulnerability is shifting, and one could argue that humanitarian organizations are needed more than ever. This strategy process will feature some of the most important issues of the modern world: climate change, urbanisation, population growth, multi-polar geopolitics, civil society, networks, collaboration, international politics, financial crisis and value for money, human vulnerability, economic globalisation, risk reduction and resilience. The individual members of the CBHA deal with these issues on a daily basis. The question for the CBHA is about the extent to which collective action can catalyze results that are greater than the sum of its parts.
Why do we want external support
The CBHA consists of 15 independent organisations and a facilitating Programme Management Unit hosted by Save the Children. Member organisations each are situated within international organisational families. Collectively the CBHA has an astonishing potential reach of over 2500 partner relationships. There are complex challenges in how a UK-based consortium operates in an interconnected international system for humanitarian action. The CBHA is a relatively large and diverse consortium. Consequently, the CBHA believes that this process requires neutral and independent facilitation and quite possibly external technical support from groups that lie outside the traditional knowledge base of the international humanitarian system.
2. Desired results
1. A vision for the CBHA outlining the scale and scope of ambition for the contribution that the Consortium will make to international humanitarian action
2. Principles for pattern recognition and decision-making
3. A strategy that outlines: where the CBHA is in the present, where it wants to go in the future, and how it will get there
4. An agreed duration of validity for the strategy and an agreed process for revision
5. Alignment within and across member agencies about the vision, principles and strategy
3. About the strategy process
The CBHA strategic process will consist of two phases:
Phase one will be a diagnostic exercise to be completed by the end of April 2011
A set of issues and questions will be developed and answered by the membership to achieve clarity on the degree of existing alignment amongst CBHA members. This phase will also identify issues which will require more work in the second phase.
• The consultant will develop a questionnaire based on a suggested framework and content provided by the Consortium (see below).
• The questionnaire will be completed by each member organisation
• The completed questionnaires will be analysed by the consultant and results presented to the Consortium Board.
The first phase should result in:
• Confirmation of the core values and principles that are agreed within the CBHA
• A preliminary highlight of CBHA’s overall strategic focus & direction
• Definition of issues & choices which will need further work in phase 2
Headings for the phase one diagnostic questions
A. Where are we now? Who are we?
What are the values at the Core of the CBHA and the principles that guide its behaviour?
What sort of impact do we desire from the CBHA? What is our scale and scope of ambition?
B. Where do we want to be in the future?
How do we see the future?
What ways of working will be effective in that future?
What role do we want CBHA to play in that future?
C. How will we get there?
What is our desired future organisational model?
What is our governance model? How will we make decisions?
Should the CBHA engage with unanticipated opportunities and events? If so, how?
What is our desired scale and scope for the ERF, and ways of working?
Where would we like to go in capacity building?
Where would we like to go in technology and innovations?
Where would we like to go with Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning?
How can we maximise the benefits of CBHA’s collaborative approach?
What will our relationship to DFID be? What about other donors?
Phase two will be the strategy formulation process to be completed by 30th June 2011
This will be an extensive two-month phase involving inter-agency workshops, conversations with key informants, horizon scanning and external non-traditional knowledge inputs. The consultants will be responsible for facilitating the process in collaboration with the CBHA’s Programme Management Unit. This will involve organizing and running workshops, conducting interviews, research and mediation. This phase will focus on selective work on key areas which need further alignment (typically areas of disagreement, disparity etc and/or areas which deserve extra attention) and also in additional areas of choice that emerge from such work.
• An external consultant / group / firm will facilitate the process
• Process will be defined by such consultant, within parameters proposed by the CBHA
The second phase should result in an agreed:
• Vision
• Principles for operation
• Strategy
4. How to Apply
How to apply
• Interested parties should submit a proposal to Sean Lowrie, CBHA Director by Friday 25 March via email to m.hounjet@savethechildren.org.uk.
• Interested parties can apply for one or both phases. Costs for each phase should be presented separately.
• Different options with discrete cost implications may be presented for phase 2
• Proposals should contain:
o brief outline of the consultant experience in related areas
o how the phases would be conducted
o estimated costs for each
o All costs including fees, events, travel and communication costs.
• Questions about the application process may be directed via email to Marieke Hounjet - m.hounjet@savethechildren.org.uk
How selection will be conducted and the contract administered
Consultant(s) will be selected based on four criteria:
1. track record and expertise in this area
2. proposed methodology and its benefits to the Consortium
3. cost
4. objectivity about the quality of end product including anticipated degree of alignment
The members of the CBHA have committed to funding this strategy formulation process using independent resources. This will involve financial resources, and in-kind contributions such as donations of staff time and meeting venues. Member agencies are open to considering whether contributing staff to the consultancy team would be a viable and cost-effective option.
This consultancy will be managed by the CBHA Programme Management Unit, which is currently hosted by Save the Children UK. The CBHA is not a legal entity, so the contract will be issued by Save the Children in accordance with its usual terms and conditions. Accountability about the quality of this process and its results will be to Sean Lowrie, CBHA Director.
Additional conditions apply:
1. Insurance, equipment and materials must be provided by the consultant
2. All intellectual property and documentation related to this assignment shall remain the sole and exclusive property of the CBHA.
Consortium Strategy Process
The CBHA is a one-year old Consortium of 15 non-governmental organisations that conduct international humanitarian response work. The CBHA seeks independent process facilitation and external advice for its first strategy formulation process. The process will occur in two phases: diagnosis and formulation. Interested parties may apply for one or both phases. Applications offering several process options with discrete cost implications are welcome.
Start Date: 1 April 2011
End Date: 1 July 2011
Location: London, UK
Language: English
Applications: Due COB Friday 25th March by email to m.hounjet@savethechildren.org.uk
April: Phase 1 - questionnaire-based diagnostic exercise
Over approximately 5-10 person days, the Consultants will define the Consortium’s current choices, identify areas of existing agreement, and identify areas requiring further discussion, negotiation and alignment. This phase has largely been defined by the Consortium.
May: Phase 2 - board retreat, research, technical input and process facilitation
This will be the most intense month, requiring approximately 20-40 person days of consultant time to facilitate effective and well-informed conversations within the Consortium. This phase has only been partially defined by the Consortium.
June: Phase 2 - process facilitation as required, conclusions and agreements
An additional month is available to catch up on outstanding issues, conclude agreements and finalize the strategy. This final month will require approximately 10-30 person days.
1. Background
What is the CBHA
The CBHA is a new Consortium of fifteen leading UK Non-Governmental Organisations who provide humanitarian assistance around the world. This initiative aspires to strengthen the capacity of the NGO sector to deliver appropriate, high quality, and quicker humanitarian assistance. It is currently operating with a two-year £8 Million grant from the UK Department for International Development. More on the history and structure and recent reports and evaluations can be obtained here: www.thecbha.org
Why the CBHA needs a strategy
The CBHA has generated considerable excitement in its first year. It launched NGO strengthening activities with transformative potential in five areas: financing systems, human resource systems, logistics and supply chain systems, surge capacity (the ability to quickly scale up operations), and interagency collaboration. During this period the CBHA met or exceeded most of its targets, which is significant considering that the Consortium was simultaneously establishing its formal procedures and informal working culture. Also over its first year the CBHA navigated a number of unanticipated opportunities which demonstrated its potential impact, yet challenged its nascent relationships. In addition to implementing its planned first year £4 Million programme, the CBHA enabled its members to conduct additional DFID-funded Pakistan flood crisis projects worth £1 Million for emergency response, and £20 Million for early recovery. The CBHA has also demonstrated a potential for convening humanitarian policy dialogue through its well-regarded engagement with the independent Humanitarian Emergency Response Review.
Yet, over its first year the CBHA faced several challenges, the navigation of which demonstrated that a strategy is needed. It was originally believed that the legal consortium agreement would provide a sufficient framework for experimentation and learning over the two-year pilot. The approach was to have been a series of small-scale low-risk experiments. However, the nature of the contemporary humanitarian environment and the scale of its challenges and opportunities has precluded an incremental CBHA experiment. Consequently, a tension has emerged between the predictability needed by a Consortium of 15 large organisations, and the unpredictable nature of the humanitarian endeavour in today’s turbulent world. Differences may exist within the membership about the scale and scope of ambition for the Consortium. Moreover, while CBHA activities are innovative, they are incremental improvements to existing organisational routines. Much more could be done to build capacity to respond to humanitarian crises of the future. A strategy is therefore needed to provide an appropriate framework for collaboration within a turbulent environment, whilst enabling the Consortium to reach its potential.
Why this process matters
Today’s international non-governmental organisations are faced with fundamental challenges to the impartial humanitarian role which they have established over decades of practice. The nature of human vulnerability is shifting, and one could argue that humanitarian organizations are needed more than ever. This strategy process will feature some of the most important issues of the modern world: climate change, urbanisation, population growth, multi-polar geopolitics, civil society, networks, collaboration, international politics, financial crisis and value for money, human vulnerability, economic globalisation, risk reduction and resilience. The individual members of the CBHA deal with these issues on a daily basis. The question for the CBHA is about the extent to which collective action can catalyze results that are greater than the sum of its parts.
Why do we want external support
The CBHA consists of 15 independent organisations and a facilitating Programme Management Unit hosted by Save the Children. Member organisations each are situated within international organisational families. Collectively the CBHA has an astonishing potential reach of over 2500 partner relationships. There are complex challenges in how a UK-based consortium operates in an interconnected international system for humanitarian action. The CBHA is a relatively large and diverse consortium. Consequently, the CBHA believes that this process requires neutral and independent facilitation and quite possibly external technical support from groups that lie outside the traditional knowledge base of the international humanitarian system.
2. Desired results
1. A vision for the CBHA outlining the scale and scope of ambition for the contribution that the Consortium will make to international humanitarian action
2. Principles for pattern recognition and decision-making
3. A strategy that outlines: where the CBHA is in the present, where it wants to go in the future, and how it will get there
4. An agreed duration of validity for the strategy and an agreed process for revision
5. Alignment within and across member agencies about the vision, principles and strategy
3. About the strategy process
The CBHA strategic process will consist of two phases:
Phase one will be a diagnostic exercise to be completed by the end of April 2011
A set of issues and questions will be developed and answered by the membership to achieve clarity on the degree of existing alignment amongst CBHA members. This phase will also identify issues which will require more work in the second phase.
• The consultant will develop a questionnaire based on a suggested framework and content provided by the Consortium (see below).
• The questionnaire will be completed by each member organisation
• The completed questionnaires will be analysed by the consultant and results presented to the Consortium Board.
The first phase should result in:
• Confirmation of the core values and principles that are agreed within the CBHA
• A preliminary highlight of CBHA’s overall strategic focus & direction
• Definition of issues & choices which will need further work in phase 2
Headings for the phase one diagnostic questions
A. Where are we now? Who are we?
What are the values at the Core of the CBHA and the principles that guide its behaviour?
What sort of impact do we desire from the CBHA? What is our scale and scope of ambition?
B. Where do we want to be in the future?
How do we see the future?
What ways of working will be effective in that future?
What role do we want CBHA to play in that future?
C. How will we get there?
What is our desired future organisational model?
What is our governance model? How will we make decisions?
Should the CBHA engage with unanticipated opportunities and events? If so, how?
What is our desired scale and scope for the ERF, and ways of working?
Where would we like to go in capacity building?
Where would we like to go in technology and innovations?
Where would we like to go with Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning?
How can we maximise the benefits of CBHA’s collaborative approach?
What will our relationship to DFID be? What about other donors?
Phase two will be the strategy formulation process to be completed by 30th June 2011
This will be an extensive two-month phase involving inter-agency workshops, conversations with key informants, horizon scanning and external non-traditional knowledge inputs. The consultants will be responsible for facilitating the process in collaboration with the CBHA’s Programme Management Unit. This will involve organizing and running workshops, conducting interviews, research and mediation. This phase will focus on selective work on key areas which need further alignment (typically areas of disagreement, disparity etc and/or areas which deserve extra attention) and also in additional areas of choice that emerge from such work.
• An external consultant / group / firm will facilitate the process
• Process will be defined by such consultant, within parameters proposed by the CBHA
The second phase should result in an agreed:
• Vision
• Principles for operation
• Strategy
4. How to Apply
How to apply
• Interested parties should submit a proposal to Sean Lowrie, CBHA Director by Friday 25 March via email to m.hounjet@savethechildren.org.uk.
• Interested parties can apply for one or both phases. Costs for each phase should be presented separately.
• Different options with discrete cost implications may be presented for phase 2
• Proposals should contain:
o brief outline of the consultant experience in related areas
o how the phases would be conducted
o estimated costs for each
o All costs including fees, events, travel and communication costs.
• Questions about the application process may be directed via email to Marieke Hounjet - m.hounjet@savethechildren.org.uk
How selection will be conducted and the contract administered
Consultant(s) will be selected based on four criteria:
1. track record and expertise in this area
2. proposed methodology and its benefits to the Consortium
3. cost
4. objectivity about the quality of end product including anticipated degree of alignment
The members of the CBHA have committed to funding this strategy formulation process using independent resources. This will involve financial resources, and in-kind contributions such as donations of staff time and meeting venues. Member agencies are open to considering whether contributing staff to the consultancy team would be a viable and cost-effective option.
This consultancy will be managed by the CBHA Programme Management Unit, which is currently hosted by Save the Children UK. The CBHA is not a legal entity, so the contract will be issued by Save the Children in accordance with its usual terms and conditions. Accountability about the quality of this process and its results will be to Sean Lowrie, CBHA Director.
Additional conditions apply:
1. Insurance, equipment and materials must be provided by the consultant
2. All intellectual property and documentation related to this assignment shall remain the sole and exclusive property of the CBHA.
How to apply
Please email your application to Marieke Hounjet: m.hounjet@savethechildren.org.uk by 25 March 2011.
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