Tenders are invited for Baseline Assessment of the Regional Durable Solutions Secretariat (ReDSS)s Shared Agenda 2025-2027. Closing Date: 8 Sep 2025 Type: Consultancy Themes: Health/Protection and Human Rights Terms of reference, August 2025 1.Who is the Regional Durable Solutions Secretariat? ReDSS is a secretariat working on behalf of 14 international and national NGOs working on forced displacement in East Africa, the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes region. We were established in 2015 in response to a desire by the NGO community to be more proactive in shaping durable solutions policy and programming in the region. Our team works both a regional and country level and focusses on the translation of evidence and research into policies and programmes that can better deliver for displacement-affected communities. We do this through a range of activities, including: convening key stakeholders at multiple levels to produce consensus around collective actions that can be taken; supporting new evidence generation through commissioning and undertaking research and analysis; and building the capacity of key actors through delivering training and developing tools and guidance. We do not implement programmes directly, and by maintaining this distance are better able to play a neutral role across the system. 2. Background The search for durable solutions to the protracted displacement situation in East, Horn, and Great Lakes Regions of Africa remains a key humanitarian and development concern. This is a regional/cross-border issue, with a strong political dimension, which demands a coherent and collaborative multi-actor response that goes beyond the existing humanitarian agenda. The Regional Durable Solutions Secretariat (ReDSS), established in 2015, is a coalition of 14 NGOs that serves as a coordination and information hub to drive durable solutions for displacement-affected communities in the East, Horn, and Great Lakes regions of Africa. ReDSS enhances joint learning, informs policy, builds capacity, and fosters coordination, acting as a catalyst to stimulate forward-thinking and policy development on durable solutions. ReDSS has established country units in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and a coordination unit for the Great Lakes in Burundi. The country units are supported by a regional coordination unit based in Nairobi. The objective is to retain collective efforts contextualized per country while maximizing regional impacts through cross-border and cross-country learning. Additionally, the goal for ReDSS is to ensure collective efforts can demonstrate impact at scale while ensuring focus and value add at local level. ReDSS Shared Agenda Strategy 20252027 and Baseline Assessment Purpose ReDSS and its coalition of members have developed our 20252027 Strategy and Theory of Change grounded in the recognition that durable solutions are deeply political, non-linear, and highly context-dependent processes. The strategy explicitly seeks to confront the systemic political, economic, and social barriers that continue to undermine the effectiveness of displacement-related policy and programmingparticularly in protracted displacement contextsand to support displaced populations to progressively realize durable solutions. The strategy outlines four interlinked strategic goals: Strategic Goal 1: Improve the ability of decision-makers within the aid system to design and implement conflict- and politically sensitive policies and operational decisions that enhance the rights and protections of displacement-affected communities. Strategic Goal 2: Strengthen access to equitable and sustainable economic opportunities for displacement-affected communities, increasing their agency and resilience. Strategic Goal 3: Enhance social capital and inclusion to promote a stronger sense of belonging, safety, and cohesion between displaced and host populations. Strategic Goal 4: Bolster the overall capacity, coordination, and learning of the aid system to more effectively support area-based, locally led solutions processes. These goals will be pursued through a three-pronged approach: Generating and translating context-specific evidence; Building skills and capabilities through learning, policy engagement, and programme support; Convening and brokering collaboration among diverse actors including governments, donors, civil society, and communities themselves. The problem: Why a Shared Agenda is needed Despite years of engagement by governments, donors, and humanitarian and development actors to create enabling environments for durable solutions, major gaps persist. Structural challengesas well as donor funding cuts, increasing climate shocks, renewed conflict, and economic fragilityare compounding existing vulnerabilities and straining the capacities of both host communities and formal systems. The result is a shrinking space for long-term (re)integration and prevention efforts, with operational focus and funding diverted toward short-term, life-saving interventions. While such responses are urgent and necessary, they are not sufficient to address the underlying drivers or consequences of displacement. Over 20 million people remain displaced across the East, Horn, and Great Lakes regions, many facing entrenched conditions of marginalisation, material precarity, and limited access to rights and services. Urban and peri-urban areas have become the primary destinations for displaced populations, putting additional pressure on fragile infrastructure and social systems, and exacerbating inequality, exclusion, and policy fragmentation. Without an increased and sustained recalibration toward inclusive, longer-term, and locally driven solutions, the cycle of displacement and humanitarian dependency will continue. ReDSS response: The Shared Agenda In response to these realities, ReDSS has developed a Shared Agenda to serve as a collective framework guiding the coalitions efforts to strengthen solutions programming and coordination over the 20252027 period. Co-developed with members and partnersincluding government institutions, local actors, international organizations, and donorsthe Shared Agenda is a practical roadmap to shift how durable solutions are conceived, designed, and delivered. The Shared Agenda prioritizes: Community participation and agency in decision-making and implementation; Leadership and accountability of local governance systems in driving solutions processes; Integrated, area-based approaches that foster synergies and avoid duplicationespecially in urban and peri-urban settings where displacement intersects with broader development challenges. 3.Purpose of the Baseline Assessment To inform and enable effective implementation of the Shared Agenda, ReDSS is commissioning a comprehensive baseline assessment. This assessment will establish the initial conditionsboth external and internalthat will shape the operationalization of the 3-year strategy. The purpose of the baseline is threefold: Assess Contextual Dynamics: Understand the political, institutional, and socio-economic factors influencing the prospects for durable solutions in priority countries; Evaluate ReDSS Internal Systems and Capacities: Assess the relevance and readiness of ReDSS governance, learning, MEL, member engagement, and communications systems to deliver on the strategy; Generate Actionable Recommendations: Provide tailored recommendations to support implementation and inform adaptive strategy management over time (immediate, mid-term, and end-line stages). The assessment will cover ReDSS core countries: Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Uganda, with additional analysis to support strategic engagement in the Sudan regional response and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Findings from the baseline will serve as a key reference point for monitoring change and measuring impact during the end-line evaluation planned for early 2028. 4.Guiding Questions Component: Political Opportunities & Barriers Guiding Questions What ReDSS evidence products have been disseminated and used over the last 3 years? Are there documented cases or references showing influence on policy/strategy formulation? How do policymakers and practitioners describe the value of ReDSS materials? To what extent are displacement-affected communities consulted in decision-making (policies, programmes)? Are there formal mechanisms (e.g., representation, consultation forums) in place to support their participation? What mechanisms exist for consulting displacement-affected communities in decision-making (policies or programmes)? How do key stakeholders perceive ReDSS added value in promoting politically informed, conflict-sensitive solutions? Data Source ReDSS Community Accountability Study 2025 Interviews with government officials and donors Review of policies, strategies, meeting Reports FGDs with community leaders and CSOs Component: Economic Barriers & Opportunities Guiding Questions Do communities have legal or informal access to employment and income-generating activities? What barriers (legal, social, administrative) exist in accessing economic resources, including documentation, work rights, access to finance etc.? Are there notable differences in economic activity across gender, age, or location? What sectors are displacement-affected persons most active in economically? What national or local programmes are promoting economic inclusion of displaced communities Data Source FGDs and surveys with community representatives Interviews with local authorities and private sector actors Desk review of relevant national/local regulations Component: Social Barriers & Opportunities Guiding Questions What formal/informal social networks support displaced populations, and how inclusive are these spaces (by age, gender, displacement status)? How do communities perceiv Tender Link : https://reliefweb.int/job/4172111/rfp-ro01-003921-baseline-assessment-regional-durable-solutions-secretariat-redsss-shared-agenda-2025-2027
