Final Evaluation and Context Analysis Study The Civil Society Support Program - Phase I November 2025

Search for Common Ground

Damascus, United States

November 06, 2025

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Final Evaluation and Context Analysis Study The Civil Society Support Program - Phase I November 2025

Damascus, Syria
Programs – Middle East and North Africa /
Consultant - International /
Hybrid
Search is seeking a consultant to conduct Final Evaluation and Context Analysis Study The Civil Society Support Program.

1. Context - About the Project

    • The “Civil Society Support Program” is a 24-month project with an overall goal: Empowering diverse Syrian civil society actors to contribute to the sustainable and equitable development of their communities.

      • The overall goal is supported by three Specific Objectives with their corresponding expected outcomes listed below:

      Specific Objective 1: To foster meaningful collaboration between diverse civil society actors to effectively engage with communities and key stakeholders
    • Outcome 1.1: Targeted CSOs have increased organisational and programmatic skills and capacities to develop and implement sensitive and sustainable collaborative actions.
    • Outcome 1.2: Targeted CSOs, peace club members, and community stakeholders strategically interact to contribute to sustainable and equitable development.

      • Specific Objective 2: To foster a safe and inclusive space for civil society actors, led by women, which contributes to the process of peacebuilding and democratic transformation.
    • Outcome 2.1: The network has increased internal and institutional capacities to operate a secure and safe virtual platform.
    • Outcome 2.2: To foster women-led, local, and cross-geographic community dialogue.
    • Outcome 2.3: To connect Syrian civil society, the EU, and other donors.

      • Specific Objective 3: To monitor the progress of the work of the Syrian civil society toward its priorities, including the Roadmap for the EU Engagement with Syrian Civil Society.
    • Outcome 3.1: Generation of knowledge contributing to empowering civil society and building consensus among Syrians.
    • Outcome 3.2: Syrian civil society actors gain a deeper understanding of the EU Roadmap and regularly engage in its participatory monitoring process.

Brief overview of the activities

    • Structured Capacity Building:
      • Capacity assessments were conducted for 24 CSOs with the purpose of identifying the knowledge and skills needed for effective community-based interventions. Based on these assessments, Search implemented a tailored mentoring and coaching program that included institutional coaching sessions to support CSOs in developing and applying new operational policies and procedures. Programmatic support was intended to cover areas such as fundraising and proposal development,stakeholder mapping, MEAL, Financial Management and budgeting, Project Management, reporting and other areas of expertise. Online training sessions also aimed to build the capacity of 80 Peace Club members on conducting conflict assessments, with the expectation that knowledge would be transferred to other members. Seven conflict analyses were intended to be updated accordingly. Capacity-building sessions for the network members sought to strengthen skills in member engagement, facilitation, mediation, as well as management and reporting.

      Fostering dialogue:
    • Community dialogue sessions within target area communities aimed to foster communication and collaboration between CSOs and community stakeholders, enabling them to discuss emerging needs and strategic priorities. These sessions sought to provide an opportunity for participants to collaboratively identify community needs and entry points for sustainable development, with a focus on women, youth, persons with disabilities (PWD), and other marginalized groups.
    • Cross-geography dialogues through the virtual platform aimed at transcending geographical barriers and promoted cross-learning and collaborative problem-solving among diverse communities. The purpose of this interconnectedness was to build confidence among civil society members.
    • Cross-track dialogues aimed at enhancing vertical and horizontal cohesion among civil society members and EU actors. The platform facilitated dialogues across different tracks, including Track II and III, to progressively shift towards more inclusive dialogue and priority alignment spaces.

      • Small Grant Scheme:
      To address community needs and enhance stability and social cohesion in their respective areas, target CSOs were invited to submit programmatic ideas responding to priorities identified during peace club meetings. These ideas were expected to integrate outcomes from community dialogue processes. The initiatives aimed to align with project objectives, address identified community needs, demonstrate conflict and gender sensitivity, ensure feasibility and relevance, promote collaboration among CSO partners, generate significant impact, and remain sustainable, inclusive, and innovative. The funding process was designed to be competitive and to incentivize collaboration between CSOs. Ultimately, up to 24 CSO-led interventions were intended to receive financial and technical support.
       
      Policy Briefs Development:
      The facilitators and advisors were tasked with leading the writing of the briefs as well as designing their dissemination strategy. Search aimed to provide technical support in the review of the policy briefs and to lead the copy editing and graphic design. The papers were intended to respond to priorities identified in the EU Roadmap and to feed into discussions by and with Brussels conference participants. The policy briefs also sought to document a shared understanding of selected issues and to propose sustainable, conflict- and gender-sensitive responses that considered the needs and positions of all groups, including vulnerable groups such as youth, women and girls, and PWDs.

      Monitoring  the EU Roadmap:
      Search, with the support of external research teams, aimed to conduct a participatory and inclusive baseline review of the existing EU Roadmap to assess the relevance of its priorities and indicators in light of updated contextual developments in Syria. The process was intended to ensure that the Roadmap remains aligned with current needs, challenges, and opportunities for civic actors, while providing evidence to inform future implementation and support strategies.

2. Goal and Objectives of Study

    • The goal of this mission includes two components: first, to conduct a final evaluation of the first phase of the “Civil Society Support Program” in order to assess its outcomes, effectiveness, and lessons learned; and second, to carry out a context analysis of the Syrian landscape to better understand the current socio-political environment, challenges, and opportunities. Insights from both components will directly inform the design and implementation of the second phase of the project.

      • 2.1 Final Evaluation Study
    • The endline evaluation aims to assess the overall impact of the “Civil Society Support Program” implemented by Search for Common Ground (Search), focusing on how effectively the initiative has empowered Syrian civil society within a complex and evolving context over its 24-month duration. The evaluation will provide Search and its donors with evidence to inform future program design by examining the project’s impact, effectiveness, and sustainability. Specifically, it will assess the project’s relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact, and sustainability in line with OECD-DAC evaluation criteria, while also evaluating the program’s adaptability to evolving circumstances. Based on this, the objectives of the final evaluation are as follows:
    • 1) Impact and Outcomes: Assess the overall impact of the project, including intended and unintended outcomes, determine Search’s contribution to identified changes, and use findings to update the project logframe and indicators with endline values.
    • 2) Relevance and Responsiveness: Evaluate whether the project achieved the effects envisioned in its Theory of Change (ToC) and addressed the current needs, challenges, and opportunities of civil society actors.
    • 3) Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Sustainability: Review how well the program’s strategies, resources, and processes supported intended outcomes, including adaptive programming, sustainability of benefits, capacities, and initiatives beyond the project period.
    • 4) Lessons Learned and Context Sensitivity: Identify unintended positive or negative effects on communities and stakeholders, capture good practices and lessons learned, and ensure all evaluation activities consider local conflict dynamics to provide actionable recommendations for future programming.

      • The methodology for the evaluation should remain consistent between the baseline and endline evaluations to ensure comparability of findings.

      2.2 Context Analysis
    • The outcome of the context analysis will be used as an entry point to understand and identify newly emerging local dynamics related to instability, violence, and social cohesion, especially after the political and contextual changes within the country since December 2024. This will help us to design, implement, and evaluate the development of the second phase of the program in a volatile conflict context. This shall be done in line with the following objectives:
    • Identify and analyze the context-related factors that influence and shape the outer layer of the conflict dynamics in the target communities.
    • Map and analyse the key actors, communal grievances, and resiliencies in each area, and how their societal patterns appear in the social system and affect the process of social cohesion
    • Draw and analyze trajectories or possible alternative futures of the areas based on trends and triggers, and how the peacebuilding and social cohesion process is embedded in these alternatives. 

3. Key Questions of the Studies

    • 3.1 Key Questions for Final Evaluation:

    • Criteria: Relevance
    • Research Questions:
    • To what extent has the project addressed the actual needs and priorities of Syrian civil society actors and their communities, while promoting equitable development and inclusive engagement? (reflecting on objectives, strategies, and activities)
    • Are the assumptions underlying the ToC still realistic, or do they need to be revised in light of evolving political, social, or security conditions?

    • Criteria: Coherence
    • Research Questions:
    • How well are the program’s objectives, activities, and outcomes aligned with each other and with the overall goal of empowering Syrian civil society?
    • How consistent are the program’s priorities, strategies and approaches with broader frameworks, such as the EU Roadmap or other relevant development and peacebuilding policies?

    • Criteria: Impact
    • Research Questions:
    • What long-term changes have been observed in civil society actors’ agency, capacity, collaboration, and influence on community development and peacebuilding as a result of the program?
    • What evidence-based outcomes, both intended and/or unintended, have been achieved as a result of the project's interventions?

    • Criteria: Effectiveness
    • Research Questions:
    • How successfully did the program’s implementation strategies translate into tangible outcomes for CSOs and their communities?
    • Which strategies and approaches were successful, and which posed challenges that affected results?
    • How well did the program ensure inclusive participation, particularly of women, youth, and marginalized groups, in its activities?

    • Criteria: Efficiency
    • Research Questions:
    • Were project resources (financial, human, and technical) used in a cost-effective and timely manner to achieve the planned outputs and outcomes?
    • Were monitoring, coordination, and management processes streamlined to support quality-driven implementation?

    • Criteria: Sustainability
    • Research Questions:
    • What measures have been put in place to ensure the sustainability of the project's outcomes beyond its duration?
    • How feasible are the project's strategies and interventions in terms of long-term impact and sustainability?

    • Criteria: Adaptability
    • Research Questions:
    • How effectively did the program adjust its strategies, activities, or approaches in response to changes in the Syrian context?
    • How well did the program incorporate feedback from participants, stakeholders, or monitoring systems to inform adjustments?

      • A comprehensive set of guiding questions will be provided to the consultant upon the commencement of the contract.

3.2 Key Questions for Context Analysis

    • Criteria: Conflict Dynamics
    • Research Questions:
    • What are the key factors driving instability, violence, and social tensions in the target communities?
    • How have these dynamics evolved since December 2024?

    • Criteria: Actors and Relationships
    • Research Questions:
    • Who are the main actors (formal and informal, including civil society organizations, local authorities, and community leaders) in each area?
    • How do their interests, interactions, and networks influence social cohesion and conflict?

    • Criteria: Grievances and Resilience
    • Research Questions:
    • What are the primary communal grievances, coping mechanisms, and sources of resilience in each area?
    • How do societal patterns and social structures shape the processes of conflict and cohesion?

    • Criteria: Future Scenarios
    • Research Questions:
    • What are the potential trajectories or alternative futures of the target areas based on current trends and potential triggers?
    • How could peacebuilding and social cohesion initiatives be designed to address these scenarios effectively?

4. Geographic Locations

    • The final evaluation study is expected to provide quantitative and qualitative information, including geographic and disability- as well as gender- and age-disaggregated data and analysis on CSOs, Peace Club members, SCSI members, and target communities in the following areas: Northeast (Hassakeh, Raqqa, and Deir Ezzour), Northwest (North Aleppo and Idlib), and South Syria (Daraa and Suweida), as well as SCSI members across all of Syria and the diaspora.

      • The context analysis is expected to provide insights and findings from the whole of Syria with a focus on the above-mentioned governorates in addition to Damascus, Homs, Hama, Lattakia, and Tartous.

5. Methodology and Data Collection Tools

    • Language
    • Data collection should be done in local language(s) that are most appropriate for each context, but the report and all annexes should be submitted to Search in English. The executive summary of the final evaluation and context analysis should be provided in Arabic.

      • Logistical Support
      The consultant will be responsible for organising their own logistics for data collection (permissions from local authorities, vehicles, fuel, and drivers) in all project target countries and for all regional components of this project, keeping in mind travel and other restrictions due to the security situations in many countries, and this must be budgeted into the study. Search will provide support in arranging logistics. At least one Search staff member will be available to support data collection and logistics for this study in each target country.

      In addition, Search and partners will share different elements with the external consultant:
    • Lists of participants in the project prior to the data collection stage
    • Background materials, including the project proposal, baseline study report, monitoring data, M&E plan, research reports, etc.

6. Data Quality Assurance and Management

    • The consultant will be responsible for developing a data quality assurance and management plan in conformity with Search’s Accountability to Affected Population Operational Framework and OECD-DAC Ethics principles and Quality Standards. All documents, including reports and raw data, will be reviewed and approved by the Institutional Learning Team prior to acceptance of the final product.

7. Key Deliverables and Timeline

    • Inception Report (Draft and Final):
    • Propose a detailed step-by-step methodology and work plan.
    • Include a list of stakeholders to be met.
    • Present an initial analysis based on desk review separately for the evaluation and for the context analysis.
    • Provide tools for both the final evaluation and the context analysis.
    • Raw Dataset: Excel/Word files from the final evaluation study.
    • Draft Reports: Draft Final Evaluation Report and Context Analysis Report for review by Search staff, using Search’s template.
    • Indicators Table: Updated with endline values and formatted in line with Search’s template.
    •  Final Reports:
    • a) Final Endline Evaluation Report (35 pages max in length excluding appendices), in English, using Search’s template. Elements to be included:
    • 1) Table of contents
    • 2) Research findings and conclusions for both the final evaluation and context analysis, with associated data presented according to the agreed tools and questions
    • 3) Recommendations for decision-making and future programming, including implications from the context analysis
    • 4)  Appendices: detailed research instruments, list of interviewees, evaluator's biography
    • b)  Final Context Analysis Report (number of pages to be agreed upon) in English, using a template that will be developed with the consultant.

    •  Executive Summary: 4-5 pages, template to be provided by Search, summarizing both evaluation and context analysis separately, in English and Arabic.
    • A PowerPoint: Presentation of findings from both the endline evaluation and context analysis for an online session with the donor and stakeholders (English and Arabic versions).

8. Timeline

    • The duration of the consultancy is 3 months, spanning December 2025 to February 2026.

9. Budget

    • A detailed budget should be provided for the work, including daily rates for personnel, and a breakdown of all costs related to data collection (per total number of people sampled, sites for collection, etc.), analysis, and production of deliverables.

10. Requirements of Consultant

    • Proficiency in English and Arabic;
    • More than 5 years of experience in project evaluation or the equivalent in DM&E expertise, including collecting data in interviews, surveys, and focus groups;
    • Experience in working with international organizations;
    • Experience working with peacebuilding or social cohesion programs;
    • Experience conducting large-scale quantitative surveys;
    • Evaluation methods and data collection skills;
    • Solid communication skills, cultural awareness, and sensitivity;
    • Demonstrated ability to write high-quality, methodologically sound, and analytical papers in English;
    • Experience doing similar work in MENA countries that include Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Iraq etc;
    • Ability to work with people from various social and professional backgrounds and at all levels (high-level officials to community leaders…);
    • Knowledgeable of the local governance (municipalities) context;
    • Experience in social development and peace-building in rural areas would be an asset.

    • Additional requirements related to context analysis:
    • Experience in conducting context and conflict analyses, including mapping key actors, social networks, and community dynamics.
    • Ability to provide actionable recommendations for program design based on context analysis findings.

10.1 Selection Criteria

    • Consultant proposals will be selected for:
    • 1. Relevance of methodology to the goal, objectives, and research questions for the project
    • 2. Quality of methods, conflict sensitivity approaches, and quality control measures
    • 3. Qualifications of the candidate(s).
    • 4. Proposed budget in relation to the proposed methodology, deliverables, and team.
    • 5. Timeline for proposed activities and deliverables.
    • 6.  A well-established, senior evaluation team with expertise in both evaluation and context analysis.

10.2 Applications

    • To apply, interested candidates (individuals or teams) are requested to submit the following documents:

    • Curriculum vitae of proposed consultancy team;
    • A technical proposal clearly outlining the proposed methodology, understanding of requirements, experience doing similar work, and timeline for the required deliverables. The technical proposal should not be more than ten pages (excluding annexes);
    • A financial proposal (with detailed line items per deliverable) for the completion of the aforementioned deliverables (not more than two pages)
    • N.B: As per the Lebanese taxation law, any consultant applying for this opportunity & is not registered in Lebanon, incurs an 8.5% withholding tax for services rendered. This should be accounted for in the financial proposal.
    • Short cover letter (not more than one page).
    • Firms who are applying for this opportunity should share copies of the registration documents in their country of registration.
This posting opportunity will close on 26 November 2025.
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