Overview

Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) is the UK public body dedicated to supporting democracy around the world. Operating internationally, WFD works with parliaments, political parties, and civil society groups as well as on elections to help make political systems fairer, more inclusive and more accountable.

We are a problem-solving, practitioner-led organisation that offers: 

• Specialist analysis, research, and advice to inform policy makers on a range of democratic governance issues;
• High quality and impactful programmes that directly support the full spectrum of institutions in political systems to develop inclusive political processes, more accountable political systems, protection of rights and freedoms, and more pluralistic societies; and 
• International elections observation on behalf of the UK. 

Aim of this Request for Proposals

WFD is issuing this Call for Experts (“Call”) to a range of potential experts, and we would welcome a proposal from you. This Call constitutes a formal Request for Quotes.

By way of this Call, WFD seeks to commission an expert to undertake a mapping of regional networks/coalitions working on women’s political participation and inclusion in North Africa. This will include documenting the factors that facilitate and inhibit the effective working and success of such coalitions, as well as identifying gaps to understand whether a new regional network would add value to efforts to strengthen women’s political participation and inclusion in North Africa. 

Proposal submission

All proposals should be submitted in writing in English by close of business (5pm UK time) on Monday, 3 March 2025, must comply with the requirements of this Call, and must include the information requested in the Proposal Requirements below. 

The proposal should be sent electronically and addressed to: Priya Bahia, Senior Programme Manager, MENA, at Priya.bahia@wfd.org. 

The same email address should be used for any questions related to this Call. 

WFD’s standard terms and conditions for tendering and key policies are found here and WFD’s Code of Conduct is available here.

Terms of Reference

Context

Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) has been working substantively in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region since 2011 and currently implements programmes in Algeria, Morocco, Jordan and Lebanon as well as a regional MENA-wide initiative. Focus areas include: parliamentary strengthening; youth inclusion; accountability; women’s political leadership and gender equality; and climate/environmental democracy. 

WFD has been engaged in supporting democratic governance initiatives in North Africa for a number of years, focusing on strengthening political participation and representation of underrepresented groups, including women. In January 2025, Wilton Park in collaboration with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) hosted a conference that brought together women political leaders and activists from across the region to discuss the role of networks and coalitions in advancing women's political participation. 

During the conference, participants acknowledged the lack of a comprehensive understanding of existing regional networks and coalitions working on issues of women’s political participations in North Africa. To address this information gap, WFD is commissioning a consultancy to map such networks and document key information that will help inform future initiatives aimed at strengthening women’s political engagement in the region. 

Objectives

The objectives of this consultancy are: 

1. To develop a comprehensive mapping of existing regional networks/coalitions working on women’s political participation and inclusion in North Africa.
2. To document the factors that a) facilitate/enable and b) inhibit the effective working and success of regional networks/coalitions working on women’s political participation in North Africa.
3. To identify gaps in the landscape of existing regional networks/coalitions to understand whether a new regional network would add value to efforts to strengthen women’s political participation across North Africa.

Scope of work

The consultancy will cover networks operating at regional level in North Africa, specifically across Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia. 

The assignment will involve:

• Desk research.
• Design of data collection tools.
• Data collection, including through outreach to network leads/members and in-person and/or online interviews with women engaged in efforts to strengthen women’s political participation.
• Data synthesis and analysis.
• Report writing.

Deliverables

The expert is expected to produce the following deliverables, all in English:

• Inception report outlining the methodology, work plan, and proposed data collection tools.
• Draft mapping document (Word/Excel) providing key information on existing regional networks/coalitions. Depending on the number of networks/coalitions identified, the expert may be requested to additionally provide a data visualisation (eg. Google Maps) of the same information.
• Draft written report identifying key enabling/facilitating and inhibiting factors and identifying gaps in representation amongst existing networks/coalitions.
• Final mapping document and final report incorporating feedback from WFD and stakeholders.

Note: it is envisaged that the mapping document will be translated into Arabic at a later date to facilitate wider use.

Timeline

This assignment is expected to take a maximum of 18 working days, broken down as follows:

The following milestones are envisaged:

• Consultancy start date: 7 March 2025.
• Submission of inception report: 10 March 2025.
• Submission of draft mapping document and written report: 25 March 2025.
• Submission of final mapping document and written report: 31 March 2025.

Reporting

The expert will report to WFD’s program team and provide regular updates on progress. At the start of the assignment a kick-off meeting will be held to discuss methodology and expectations and agree key milestones.

Working arrangements

The expert will work remotely but will be required to conduct online and/or in-person meetings with relevant stakeholders across the North Africa region. As required, WFD will facilitate initial contact with stakeholders.

Payment

The selected expert will be awarded a contract based on the submitted financial proposal. Unless agreed otherwise at pre-contracting stage, payment will be made in two instalments, as follows:

• Payment 1, equating to up to 2 days’ work, payable following submission of the inception report.
• Payment 2, equating to up to 16 days’ work, payable following submission of the final mapping document and final report. 

Payment for both instalments will be made in full within 30 days of submission of a valid invoice and timesheet, and subject to satisfactory completion of, and acceptance by WFD, of the specified deliverable(s). 

Required experience and expertise

The ideal candidate(s) will have:

• Proven experience in mapping/research, policy analysis, or programme evaluation related to gender and political participation.
• Strong understanding of political and civil society networks in North Africa.
• Familiarity with feminist movements and gender advocacy in the region.
• Previous experience working with international organizations or democracy-support programs.
• An existing network of relevant contacts within the space of women’s political participation in North Africa.
• Fluency in English and Arabic.
• Proficiency in French.

They will also ideally be from/reside in the North Africa region to ensure contextual knowledge and accessibility.

Proposal process

Timescale

Below is the proposed timescale for this Call. Please note the dates are indicative and subject to change. 

Proposal requirements

In general, the proposal should include the following: 

1. Profile.
2. Proposed solution and how it meets the specification (scope and deliverables). 
3. Financial proposal. 
4. References.

Individual profile:  

• If the expert(s) is currently registered with WFD’s Expert Roster, the expert should refer to this in the proposal and no further information is required. 
• If the expert is not currently registered with WFD’s Expert Roster, the expert should provide a C.V. or information in the proposal document including: 

1. A summary of their professional biography and relevant career history/record of assignments; and  
2. Case studies/credentials demonstrating relevant experience and skills profile  

Proposed solution:  

• Clear explanation as to the proposed approach to meeting the specification set out in this Call.  
• Detailed project plan, including timelines, assumptions and dependencies, resourcing, and risks.  

Financial proposal:  

• Full breakdown time and cost estimates for the proposed solution in GBP or USD, including any daily rate to be applied. 
• Separate accounting of VAT and/or any other applicable tax, duty, or charge.  
• Detail of any discount applied in view of WFD’s not-for-profit status.  

References: 

If the expert is currently registered with WFD’s Expert Roster, the expert should refer to this in the proposal and no further information is required. 

If the expert is not currently registered with WFD’s Expert Roster, the expert should include details of at least three references relating to similar expert services provided in the last three years. 

Queries about this Call

Any questions related to this Call should be addressed to Priya Bahia, Senior Programme Manager, MENA, at Priya.bahia@wfd.org.  

Equal Information

Should any potential expert raise a question that is of general interest, WFD reserves the right to circulate both question and answer to other respondents, either via WFD’s website or by email. In this event, anonymity will be maintained.

Annual reports

If you operate a personal services company, please provide a link or copy of your company’s latest audited annual accounts with the proposal.

Other information

If the potential expert believes that there is additional information that has not been requested in the Call but is relevant to your proposal, please include that information as a separate attachment and explain its relevance to this Call.