Local Governance Programme SHARIQUE
Introduction
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has awarded a mandate to continue supporting the implementation of the local governance project “Sharique”(https://bangladesh.helvetas.org/en/projects_bangladesh/local_governance_programme_sharique/) through its phase IV. Sharique intervenes for ensuring an inclusive, gender sensitive, and pro-poor collective choices about their lives and livelihoods through more democratic, transparent, inclusive and effective local government systems. During this decade long period, Sharique has gained extensive knowledge on the local governance approach through the
traditional people’s approach and by promoting local governance at grassroots level as well as gained recognition from national level. Sharique phase IV is built upon the lessons learned from its phase I to phase III and envisions achieving improvement in local service delivery by organizing combined and coordinated efforts of multiple actors with overlapping and mutually reinforcing theories of action in conjunction with multiple factors and conditions in the area of local governance in Bangladesh. Phase IV will further strengthen and consolidate confirmed practices and pilot new ideas. As this will be the final phase of the project, the emphasis is on institutionalization.
The Project will put its focus on institutionalisation on two levels. - Level 1: Institutionalisation of democratic governance practices that become part of the legitimate and taken-for-granted way of operating local governance (Union Parishad and citizens) in two districts. -
Level
2: Institutionalisation of tested capacity development tools for
improving democratic local governance within national institutions
charged with a respective capacity development mandate. Sharique
will intervene for strengthening both supply and demand side (UPs
and Citizens) in two districts.
Sharique will capacitate two national CSOs and will make sure that
these CSOs implement the tested Sharique approaches and tools and
will mobilise citizens with a specific focus on politically marginalised
citizens to meaningfully engage in Union Parishad planning (incl.
budgeting) and oversight of public service delivery in the Unions.
Who the politically marginalised are differs from Union to Union
and may include citizens supporting opposition parties, members
of minority groups, extreme poor etc. The Project will not only
focus on mobilisation of citizens to participate in Union Parishad
planning and budgeting related meetings but will put a focus on
equipping them to make their voices heard in those meetings and
keep the Union Parishads and the representatives of line agencies
to account for the services they
deliver. A competent leading national CSO/NGO in Bangladesh will
be considered as the partner for strengthening civil society engagement
in Sharique phase IV, at one of the two districts (Barisal and Gaibandha).
Here is the detailed Terms of Reference (ToR) for Sharique service
requirement for supporting to the citizens in Gaibandha District
which is an offer for interested national CSO/NGOs in Sharique phase
IV.
Objectives:
The main objectives of the engagement are:
1. Build skills of citizens and promote citizens empowerment to
exercise their rights and
entitlement in relation to their Union Parishads.
2. Mobilize and capacitate
citizen groups to engage and participate meaningfully in the
public consultation spaces and committees of their Union Parishads
3. Promote women leadership
in communities in the context of local governance
Intervention Period:
The service will be delivered
in a period between 2nd quarter in year 2017 to the last quarter
in
year 2019.