Consultant - Design of the Good Governance Framework at Catholic Caritas Foundation of Nigeria (Caritas Nigeria)

Background

• The history of the Good Governance as a thematic area of focus, for Caritas Nigeria, dates back to the onset of the 21" century, when the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), started developing an effective framework for promoting integral human development in Nigeria.
• The conference also focused on building a platform, which would provide practical perspectives to the challenges of the Social Teaching of the Catholic Church in the contemporary world, which ensures citizens feel a sense of belonging to their nation and participate actively in the promotion of the common good.
• Consequently, the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria through the Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC), a unit in the Department of Church and Society began interventions on behalf of the Church to address issues around injustice and to promote the common good.
• In 2005, the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, inaugurated a Think Tank, which would provide the reflection and articulation of points for the various issues and challenges facing society.
• The Think Tank was to function as the advocacy and policy repository of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria.
• It was similarly, saddled with the responsibility of advising the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria on so cial, political, and economic issues, while facilitating and disseminating the Church's position on governance issues in forms which are detailed and effective.
• All the activities of the Think Tank were to be carried out in line with the Social Teachings of the Catholic Church.
• This design, which prioritized effectiveness and maximum impact, focused implementation of its activities through the Na tional Coordinator who doubled as the CSN Liaison Officer in the National Assembly.
• Over the years, there have been several contributions made by the Think Tank, as well as efforts made towards legislative engagement and direct interventions in communities through Caritas Nigeria, after its establishment in 2010. Some of these interventions cuts across:
  • National Assembly Monitoring Policy Advocacy (both at the National and Diocesan levels)
  • Civic Education (voters and citizens' rights)
  • Election Observation
  • Peace building Gender Mainstreaming.

Context

• The Church in Nigeria, desires to have a framework that guides its activities in good governance which is the bedrock of development in every society.
• The framework will consider contributions of all ac tors in this sector, and articulate the various areas/themes that can lead to a robust intervention in good governance by the Catholic Church in Nigeria.
• The Good Governance Framework of the Catholic Church in Nigeria, will exist to address the persistent gap within Nigeria's political culture led and perpetuated by political parties while strengthening direct engagement between duty bearers such as legislators, judiciary, INEC, and the civil society. the Catholic Church will work towards enhancing the political participation of everyone including marginalized groups; and ensure the conformity of democratic institutions to set standards through its elections observation exercises, policy and legislative engagement activities and access to justice programs.
• Interventions in this respect will work towards addressing the gaps that exist within political parties, National and State Assemblies amongst others to create and promote more inclusive political discourse, political commitments, and public policy-making that are people-oriented.
• The interventions will also target work that will increase the pool of legal & policy reforms, and other initiatives that will lead to quality governance useful for promoting integral human development.

Expected Results and Outcomes
The Consultant will:

• Through a contextual analysis, highlight the challenges around good governance in Nigeria with factual evidence
• Conduct an internal assessment of the Catholic Church's interventions in Good Governance in Nigeria
• Harness the Sustainable Development Goals on good governance and how the Church can respond.
• Assess other global instruments and advice Caritas Nigeria accordingly.
• Define what the Good Governance Framework of the Catholic Church in Nigeria should be and ensure the Framework aligns with Caritas Nigeria's Strategic Directions
• Highlight other potential thematic areas of focus for good governance, after the assessments and context analysis
• Map existing Catholic Church agencies such as Catholic Lawyers, FBOs, NGOS, Donors involved in good governance interventions, for possible collaboration.

Key Working Relationships/Organizations:

• Internal: JDPC, Health, Education, Family & Human Life, other CBCN agencies, the CBCN
• External Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Catholic Agency for Overseas development (CAFOD), Misereor, Caritas Germany and other development partners.

Required Qualifications
Proposals will be accepted from consultants with verified previous experience in facilitating partner ship development and strategy. The consultant should possess the following combination of skills and expertise:

• Post-graduate Degree either in Development Studies, Social Sciences, or other related disciplines and with formal research skills
• Minimum of 7 years of experience in strategy development
• Demonstrated experience in research and the use of participatory methodologies
• Excellent facilitation and report writing skills.