Terms of Reference for Recruitment of a Consultant to Consolidate a Report on Contribution of CSOs in the Country’s Development NST1 (2017-2024)

1. Introduction

Rwanda Civil Society Platform (RCSP) is a dynamic forum of 13 national umbrella Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) with affiliated sector-specific Civil Society Organizations. As the leading voice of civil society in Rwanda, RCSP plays a critical role in promoting good governance, social justice, and sustainable development. The Forum is recognized as a champion in advancing the Localization agenda aimed at empowering local actors to take the lead in development processes and decision-making that directly affect their communities.

With a vision to be “A vibrant and resilient civil society that champions citizen voices and promotes accountable governance for equitable and sustainable development”, RCSP is dedicated to strengthening the capacity, voice, and impact of CSOs through evidence-based advocacy, policy engagement, and strategic partnerships. It operates under a mission to “empower, coordinate, represent, and amplify the voice of civil society organizations in Rwanda”.

Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have operated in Rwanda for many years and have made significant contributions to the wellbeing of Rwandans across various sectors. These organizations routinely submit annual reports to the Regulator, their respective umbrella organizations, and donors. While such coordination mechanisms have captured a wide range of achievements, they frequently exhibit notable limitations in comprehensively documenting the sector’s overall impact.

In light of this background, the Rwanda Civil Society Platform (RCSP) seeks to develop a consolidated report that accurately and faithfully portrays the contributions of the civil society sector to Rwanda’s national development process. The report will highlight key achievements in all sectors of intervention by CSOs in both quantitative and qualitative ways.

The consultant will be expected to employ robust methodologies to ensure the report is credible, comprehensive, and professionally presented. These Terms of Reference outline the scope of work for a qualified consultant. The assignment involves systematically collecting significant impact data from diverse CSOs, analyzing the information, and packaging it into a high quality and coherent report. The final deliverable should present clear, evidence-based insights that demonstrate the sector’s value and inform future policy and programming.

2. Objectives of the assignment

The primary purpose of this assignment is to strengthen the visibility of Civil Society Organizations’ (CSOs) contributions and foster enhanced collaboration within Rwanda’s development process.

Specifically, the assignment aims to:

1.  Enable key stakeholders to better appreciate the critical role of CSOs in national development and promote greater collaboration among civil society, government, and other development actors.
2. Document the achievements of CSOs with a clear, credible, and comprehensive account of their contributions to Rwanda’s progress.

3. Scope of the work 

The documentation will be limited in terms of geography and time. The assignment will focus on Civil Society Organizations and their development interventions implemented on Rwandan territory during the NST 1 (2017–2024).

4. Structure and focus of the CSOs’ contribution report

The contribution report will follow the Pillars of NST 1. Data related to different sectors of CSOs’ interventions will come from relevant source and their analysis will reflect the impact made on the Rwandan communities, basing on realities of citizens’ daily life and real circumstances. 

The data will therefore base on the CSOs’ contributions in relation to indicators of NST 1 Pillars, including the following:

Economic Transformation Pillar:

• Creation of decent and productive jobs
• Increase in the urbanization rate 
• Modernization and productivity gains in agriculture and livestock (e.g., doubling productivity for key crops).
• Sustainable management of the environment and natural resources, supporting the transition to a green economy.
• Establishment of Rwanda as a competitive knowledge-based economy, including enhanced digital literacy and innovation.
• Increased domestic savings, financial inclusion, and positioning Rwanda as a hub for financial services and industrialization.

Social Transformation Pillar:

• Graduation from poverty and extreme poverty through scaled-up social protection programs and resilience to shocks.
• Eradication of malnutrition via prevention and management of all forms of undernutrition.
• Enhanced access to quality health services for all, contributing to the demographic dividend 
• Improved access to quality education at all levels.
• Transition toward a modern Rwandan household, encompassing access to basic services (water, electricity, sanitation, and housing), gender equality, and family promotion

Transformational Governance Pillar:

• Strengthened rule of law, including improved performance of the judiciary and reduced case backlogs.
• Enhanced citizen safety and security, measured by levels of public confidence and satisfaction with personal and property security.
• Reinforced Rwandan culture, values, national unity, and reconciliation.
• Improved service delivery, transparency, accountability, and citizen participation.

• Strengthened diplomatic relations and international cooperation to support national and regional development.

The data will also include the core information on CSOs’ plans to contribute to NST 2.

5. Main deliverables

The prospect consultant will accomplish several activities and the main ones are as follows:

a. Inception Report: The consultant shall prepare and submit an inception report that demonstrates a clear understanding of the assignment. The report will outline the proposed methodological approach, detailed work plan with timelines, and data collection tools, including potential sources of information.

Specifically, the inception report will address the following elements:

• Approach for identification of respondent NGOs: Mapping relevant NGOs based on the scope of the assignment and classifying them according to their respective sectors of intervention.
• Data collection approach and tools: Establishing a centralized, accessible, and user-friendly data gathering mechanism for all respondents and data sources.
• Engagement methods: Strategies for engaging with the maximum possible number of NGOs and other relevant data sources to collect, verify, and audit quantitative and qualitative data on their contributions to national development.

b. A draft contribution report: The consultant shall design and produce a high-quality, professional report that comprehensively documents the contributions of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to Rwanda’s development during the NST1 (2017–2024). The report shall clearly highlight key achievements in quantitative and qualitative terms across the main sectors, aligned with the three pillars of NST1. It shall also identify the core focus areas of NGOs’ work, partnership and collaboration mechanisms, while providing recommendations to strengthen alignment with NST2.

c. A final contribution report: Subsequent to pre-validation sessions and internal consultations, the consultant will produce the final report by incorporating comments of stakeholders.

d. A summary document for public use: The consultant shall produce a well-designed summary document capturing the key findings and messages of the report. This shall be produced in at least two user-friendly formats suitable for effective communication with diverse stakeholders, including government institutions, development partners, and the broader public.

6. Required profile

The successful consultant must demonstrate strong expertise in civil society knowledge, community development trends, policy analysis, and strong impact-based reporting, preferably with a focus on aligning sectoral contributions to national strategies. The consultant or firm must demonstrate strong data analysis, visualization and presentation.

Qualifications and experience:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Development Studies, Social Sciences, Public Policy/Political Science, Economics, Governance, or a related discipline.

• At least 7–10 years of proven professional experience in conducting research, mapping, end-line evaluations, impact assessment of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).
• Demonstrated experience in designing and producing high-quality analytical reports, preferably aligned with national programs. 
• Strong familiarity with Rwandan development policies, CSO regulatory environment, and stakeholder engagement processes involving government institutions, umbrella organizations, donors, and civil society actors.

Technical Competencies:

• Proven expertise in quantitative and qualitative data collection, verification, and analysis including the establishment of centralized data-gathering tools.
• Excellent report writing and data visualization skills, with the ability to present complex information in a clear, professional, and policy-relevant manner.
• Sound understanding of monitoring and evaluation methodologies, including the development of evidence-based insights that highlight achievements while addressing gaps. 

Additional Requirements:

• Excellent command of English (and preferably Kinyarwanda) with advanced written and oral communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to engage constructively with diverse stakeholders, including Government officials to promote learning on the importance of civil society.
• Strong organizational and project management skills to deliver the assignment within the agreed timeframe.

7. Indicative timeline

RCSP expects the completion of the assignment within 30 days of work, excluding the feedbacks and validation processes. The timeline with be flexible as the consultant will proposed a detailed calendar in agreement with RCSP.

8. Application procedure

Interested applicants should submit the following: 

1. A cover letter addressed to the Executive Director, 
2. A technical proposal, 
3. Curriculum vitae of the consultant(s), 
4. Financial offer,
5. Certificates of completion of similar assignments in the past.

The applications should be sent ONLINE through info@rcsprwanda.org not later than May 17th, 2026 at 17h00, Kigali time.