I.      General information

II.      Objectives 

The expert(s) will be responsible for leading the overall development of the project and writing the complete Description of Action (DoA), in close coordination with Expertise France team responsible for the development of the CSOs and Media Facility. Developing the DoA will require the expert(s) to provide technical expertise on issues related to CSOs, media and democratic process in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Türkiye.

Enhanced coordination should also be ensured with Canal France International (CFI), which will oversee activities related to the media sector.

Close cooperation is also foreseen with the International Technical Experts (ETIs) deployed by Expertise France across the Western Balkans and Türkiye, who provide crucial local support, as well as with the European Union Delegations (EUDs) in the region. In both instances, Expertise France will remain fully engaged in and closely associated with the exchanges.

Close coordination is also foreseen with short-term local experts who will be recruited as needed throughout the development of the DoA (refer to the “Additional support to be provided by Expertise France” section).

The assignment itself will include the two main components:

• Based on the Concept Note (refer to “Documents that will be provided by EF” section for details), on a an existing context analysis (provided within the template of the Description of Action), on a Documentation package and on Expertise France e-mission report, preparation[1] of a Comprehensive Diagnosis (refer to the “Deliverables” section for a detailed description of the scope of the Diagnosis);
• Based on the Description of Action template featuring all the sections that will need to be completed, on the Concept Note, on Expertise France e-mission report, on the draft Budget, on the above mentioned Comprehensive Diagnosis, on onsite missions and on online or in person meetings with the relevant stakeholders, formulation of a clear and strategic Description of Action to guide the implementation of the Facility (refer to the template of the Description of Action for complete list and description of each sections). The development of the Description of Action must address the identified challenges ensuring that:
  • Activities align with the overall objectives and desired outcomes as described in the Action Document and Concept Note and redefined together with Expertise France following the submission of the above mentioned Comprehensive Diagnosis;
  • The Facility remains agile and dynamic;
  • The Facility focuses on a regional approach while taking into consideration regional specificities;
  • The Facility capitalizes on ongoing and past initiatives, while also proposing innovative activities;
  • The Facility fully integrates gendermainstreaming.

III.      Assignement description

1.Assignement phases

Phase I – Kick-off meeting Expertise France, kick-off meeting with CFI (meeting organized by Expertise France) and review of the existing documents (refer to “Documents that will be provided by EF” section for details);

Phase II – Initial phase: Comprehensive Diagnosis (refer to the “Deliverables” section for details);

Phase III – Instruction mission(s): mission(s) to the Western Balkans (countries to be selected in coordination with Expertise France based on Expertise France e-mission report and the Comprehensive Diagnosis) and Türkiye in order to identify needs, meet the beneficiaries and partners of the action and to gather data to design the intervention methods and activities;

Phase IV – Intermediate phase: based on the previous phases and on the mission(s)’s inputs, writing of the first version of the Description of Action (refer to the “Deliverables” section for details and to the template of the Description of Action) and compilation of donor comments in close coordination with Expertise France.

Phase V – Final phase: based on Expertise France and the donor feedback on the first complete version of the Description of Action (Phase IV), writing of the final Description of Action and Budget.

2.Deliverables

Phase I delivrable:

• Timesheet.

Phase II deliverables:

• Timesheet;
• Comprehensive diagnosis report that will include at least: 
  • A complementary documentation review and updated context analysis;
  • For each country and on a regional (Western Balkans and Türkiye) or sub-regional (Western Balkans) levels, identification of EU accession reform sub-topics that are currently promising in terms of cooperation between civil society and public institutions and/or relevant to the current EU policy priorities in the region linked to the Reform and Growth Facility in view of the enlargement;
  • For each country and on a regional level, a mapping of existing structures for dialogue and consultations between public authorities and CSOs;
  • For each country, a gender analysis identifying the main gender issues related to democratic participation and the key levers to promote gender mainstreaming;
  • For each country, identification and mapping of key stakeholders[2] and their needs in line with the main outcomes and objectives detailed in the Action Document and Concept Note (e.g., assessment of the main constraints and opportunities for civil society involvement in public decision-making and governance regarding the EU accession process, etc.);
  • Assessment of best practices and potential pitfalls to avoid (“lesson learnt” section of the Description of Action) based on an identification of past and ongoing  international cooperation programs related to the Facility;
  • For each country, review of ongoing cooperation projects in the sector and identification of potential synergies with the Facility – the meetings with other European development agencies will be conducted in close coordination with Expertise France, whose team responsible for developing the Facility will participate in the exchanges.

Phase III deliverables:

• Timesheet;
• Mission reports featuring 1) exhaustive and detailed list of every meeting held during the mission (i.e., name and contacts of people and organizations, date of the meeting, etc.); 2) detailed summary of the meetings; 3) early results and conclusions of the mission.

Phase IV deliverables:

• Timesheet;
• Based on the template provided by Expertise France, a first version of a comprehensive Description of the Action featuring (see the template of the Description of Action for complete list and description of each sections):
  • Final context analysis;
  • Final mapping of key stakeholders;
  • Final mapping of cooperation programs structuring the sector and identification of possible synergies with other projects and other actions;
  • Final mapping of dialogue and consultations platforms;
  • Lessons learnt from previous projects and interviews with the stakeholders;
  • Theory of change of the action featuring a visual representation and a narrative and detailed intervention logic; 
  • Description of the objectives and expected outputs;
  • Proposals for activities detailing, in particular 1) their objectives; 2) the methodology they’ll rely on; 3) the resources to be mobilized; 4) the deliverable(s) they’ll be link to; 5) the list of beneficiaries; 6) detailed estimated cost with disaggregation by type of expenses (e.g., flight tickets, STEs, catering, translation, communication material, etc.); 7) narrative description of each activity;
  • Based on the gender analyses produced in the Comprehensive Diagnosis, activities or actions to strengthen gender mainstreaming within the Facility;
  • Logical framework;
  • List of the direct and indirect beneficiaries of the action;
  • Action plan (Gantt diagram);
  • For each country and at a regional level, risk analysis and mitigation measures.

Phase V deliverables:

• Timesheet;
• Final Description of Action; 
• Final Budget (detailed estimative costs per activities).

3.Documents that will be provided by Expertise France

• Concept Note submitted by Expertise France to DGENEST with DGENEST’s comments;
• Action Document written by DGENEST, “AD 01 MC CSF and Media 2024-2025-FINAL”;
• Documentation package;
• Expertise France e-mission report (featuring at least the local DUE’s main feedbacks);
• Template of the Description of Action (featuring a draft context analysis and a draft stakeholder mapping along with a detailed description of all the sections that will need to be completed during Phase IV and Phase V), “Template_Description of the Action”;
• Template for the Budget (featuring a first draft on HR costs), “Template_Budget”;
• Template of the risk analysis grid (featuring a draft first assessment of the risks), “Template_Risk analysis table”;
• Template for the timesheets, “Template_Timesheet”.

4.Additional support to be provided by Expertise France

• Missions to the Western Balkans and Türkiye: costs will be covered (transportation to the mission location, as well as a per diem to cover accommodation, taxis, and meals) – timeline, duration, specific destination(s), and agenda will be determined in close coordination with Expertise France;
• Short-term experts: costs for up to 20 days in total will be covered – the identification and selection of these experts will be carried out in close coordination with Expertise France.

IV.      Estimated timeline

V.      Workplace

Remote and expected missions to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Türkiye.

VI.      Working language

English

 _________
[1] The preparation of the diagnosis may include, but is not limited to, focus groups with key stakeholders or any other participatory methodologies deemed relevant.

[2] “Key stakeholders” refers to the following categories of stakeholders:

• Public institutional actors, at either the central or local level, who are particularly involved in reform processes related to EU integration;
• Civil society actors (including academic institutions and think tanks) who are:
  • active on issues currently on the political reform agenda of the target countries, and either;
  • already engaged in or connected to decision-making mechanisms (such as public policy monitoring, reform processes, advocacy, etc.), or;
  • grassroots actors with the potential or ambition to enter these decision-making spheres;
• Independent media outlets.

Particular attention should be paid to identifying, within these categories, representative figures of youth and minorities, as they will constitute key target groups of the Facility.