Tenders are invited for Final Evaluation and Context Analysis Study, The Civil Society Support Program - Phase I November 2025 Deadline: Wednesday, 26. Nov 2025 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 projects impact, effectiveness, and sustainability. Specifically, it will assess the projects relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact, and sustainability in line with OECD-DAC evaluation criteria, while also evaluating the programs adaptability to evolving circumstances. Based on this, the objectives of the final evaluation are as follows: Impact and Outcomes: Assess the overall impact of the project, including intended and unintended outcomes, determine Searchs contribution to identified changes, and use findings to update the project logframe and indicators with endline values. 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. Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Sustainability: Review how well the programs strategies, resources, and processes supported intended outcomes, including adaptive programming, sustainability of benefits, capacities, and initiatives beyond the project period. 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 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 T Tender Link : https://www.daleel-madani.org/calls-for-proposal
