Invitation to Tender to Conduct a Review of the Children’s Rights Alliance and the Development of its Next Strategic Plan

Invitation to Tender to Conduct a Review of the Children’s Rights Alliance and the Development of its Next Strategic Plan

The Children’s Rights Alliance current Strategic Plan runs from mid-2017 to mid-2021.  

Priority Issues and Objectives for 2017-2021

 

Four priority issues for the lifetime of the plan which were selected reflecting the interests of our members, gaps in the protection of children’s rights, current opportunities for change, financial constraints and where the value and expertise of the Children’s Rights Alliance is needed. We then embedded these within our six strategic objectives. The four priority issues are:

1. Child poverty rates are a significant socio-economic rights issue for children. The rates of consistent child poverty doubled from 6% in 2008 to 11.5% in 2015. A strong, united voice across society is needed for concerted action and radical rethinking of how we address child poverty which makes this a priority for this plan. This is core work for the Alliance and child poverty can be addressed across the strategic objectives for this period. It will be addressed specifically through strategic Objective 2, ensuring the Government implements a ‘whole of government approach’ with concrete actions and plans to reduce the numbers of children living in consistent poverty.

2. Early years’ reform is a priority for this plan because the timing is right to put a push on policy development and investment in the early years. The driver from a children’s rights perspective is to ensure that law reform and policy is not solely motivated by labour activation measures, but ensures that it is about the best interests of the child. It also provides leverage for the development of universal services, early intervention and prevention, re-orientating national budgeting approaches, investing in services and educational reform in order to achieve better outcomes for children (see

Objective 3).

3. Access to justice for children and young people is essential for the protection and promotion of children’s rights. With the securing of the children’s rights referendum, the reform of the Guardian ad Litem system and the recognition of the need for child friendly courts, now is the time to make a concentrated effort to this critical area for realising rights. This work will be progressed through both the core areas of the organisation’s work – monitoring and influencing policy and legislation and specifically through a body of funded work under strategic Objective 4.

4. The rights of refugee children to protection, survival and development are seriously at risk in Europe and in Ireland through the direct provision system. As a very vulnerable group, with no political weight, they need a spotlight to be placed on their experiences and lives and pressure to be built within government and in the Oireachtas to address the inhumane direct provision system and provide a reception approach that respects their rights. This work will be progressed under strategic Objective 5, placing a spotlight on grave violations of children’s rights which is central to the mission of the Children’s Rights Alliance. Other grave violations once identified will be progressed under this strategic objective, organisational capacity allowing.

The six strategic objectives set out below been developed with the aim of progressing the realisation of children’s rights and ensuring a measurable improvement in the State’s response on each of the Alliance’s priority issues.

1. To secure changes in law to give meaningful effect to children’s rights.

2. To shape national policy to give meaningful effect to children’s rights and drive momentum across the State to meet its obligations to children and young people.

3. To drive home the need to invest in children early and build political support for greater access to quality services to ensure that children’s rights are fulfilled.

4. To promote access to child-friendly justice in civil, criminal and administrative proceedings.

5. To put a spotlight on serious children’s rights violations, in particular, the rights of children seeking international protection and in direct provision.

6. To continue to build a strong membership and ensure that the Children’s Rights Alliance has the people, systems, structures, procedures and resources in place to deliver on our strategic objectives.

Deliverables and schedule of work

We expect the successful consultant to:

• Commencement of the project in early 2020.
• Provide regular progress updates to the Chief Executive either in person or by telephone.
• Provide a summary of achievements and gaps in organisational performance across the organisation.
• Outline the operating context (internal and external) in which the Children’s Rights Alliance is operating in and the prospective environment against which the next strategic plan will be developed.
• Provide an assessment of the current vision, mission and values of the organisation.
• Conduct a SWOT analysis.
• Review the current theory of change and make any necessary recommendations.
• Develop a set of priority themes with broad objectives and actions for the new Strategic Plan.
• Write up the final strategy taking into account feedback and suggested changes from the Children’s Rights Alliance and its members

Full details can be found here.

Deadline:

The closing date for receipt of tenders is: 5pm, Monday 10 February 2020

Requests for further information and completed proposals should be marked for the attention of:

Tanya Ward

Chief Executive

Children’s Rights Alliance

7 Red Cow Lane

Smithfield

Dublin 7

Tel: 01 662 9400

Mob: 087 653 1069

Email: jobs@childrensrights.ie