Terms of Reference: Rapid Assessment of the Role of CSOs in Civic Education Before and After the CSO Proclamation No. 1113/2019

Location:  Ethiopia

Organization: Coalition of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations for Elections (CECOE)

Deadline: Open Until Filled

Job Description

1. Background

CECOE is a non-profit, non-governmental civil society organisation comprising over 190 member organisations. CECOE was licensed by the F.D.R.E. Authority for Civil Society Organisations (ACSO) in 2019 with registration number 4748 under the Civil Society Organisations Proclamation 1113/2019, to enhance and coordinate the role of Ethiopian CSOs in election observation, voter education, preventing electoral conflicts, and providing capacity building and support for its member organisations. CECOE is a member of the East and Horn of Africa Election Observers Network (E-HORN), African Election Observers Network (AfEONet), and a member of the Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors (GNDEM), which connects regional networks and individual monitoring organisations across more than 88 countries worldwide.

Since its establishment, CECOE has conducted observation missions for various electoral events. These missions include the Sidama referendum, the 6th General Election, the South West Peoples Region referendum, the South Ethiopia Region referendum, the Wolaita Sodo referendum rerun, the outstanding and re-elections in Benishangul Gumuz, Afar, South Ethiopia, and Meskan and Mareko and the 7th General Election. For these citizen observations, CECOE has deployed 8119 observers.

With financial support from Agence Française de Développement (AFD), through the Civil Society Innovation Fund II (CSIF II) Program, CECOE is implementing a project whose primary objective is to foster inclusive democracy, civic participation, human rights and peacebuilding throughout Ethiopia by strengthening civil society actors. The intervention builds on the pivotal role local civil society organisations play in advancing dialogue, building trust, preventing conflict, encouraging civic participation and fostering accountable democratic systems.

From 1991 until 2009, associations in Ethiopia were registered and governed under the Civil Code of 1960 (Articles 404–482), which placed few restrictions on their areas of work, and CSOs carried out civic and voter education, notably ahead of the 2005 elections. The Charities and Societies Proclamation No. 621/2009 changed this: Ethiopian Residents Charities and foreign charities, which included any organisation receiving more than 10% of its funds from foreign sources, were barred from working on human and democratic rights, conflict resolution, and civic and voter education, which sharply reduced the number of CSOs engaged in this work. The Organisation of Civil Societies Proclamation No. 1113/2019 repealed these restrictions: CSOs may now raise funds from any lawful source and engage in any lawful activity, including civic and voter education, and the Authority for Civil Society Organizations is overseen by a Board with a majority of civil society representatives.

Since 2019, civic and voter education by CSOs has expanded considerably. CSOs accredited by the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) have delivered voter education for the 6th and 7th General Elections and for regional referendums, and CSOs have reached new regions and target groups, including women, youth and persons with disabilities, through community dialogues, media and digital platforms. However, there is little systematic evidence on the scale, quality, results and progress of these efforts compared with the period before 2019. CECOE therefore seeks a rapid assessment to inform discussions at its annual Civic Education Conference and the future programming of its members and partners.

2. Objectives

Overall objective

The primary objective of this assignment is to conduct a rapid assessment comparing CSOs’ role in civic education under Proclamation No. 621/2009 versus Proclamation No. 1113/2019, generating actionable recommendations for CECOE, its members, and partners.

Specific objectives

• To map active CSOs and compare how the civic and voter education landscape evolved between the pre- and post-2019 legislative regimes.
• To assess the progress of Proclamation No. 1113/2019 on CSOs’ legal mandates, funding streams, reach, and operational delivery.
• To evaluate the outcomes of CSO civic education initiatives across both regulatory periods.
• To identify operational challenges, institutional coping mechanisms, and successful implementation models.
• To formulate evidence-based recommendations for key stakeholders to present at CECOE’s annual Civic Education Conference.

3. Scope of Work

The assessment will cover:

• Geographic scope: national, covering federal-level CSOs and regional CSOs across Ethiopia’s regions and city administrations.
• Thematic scope: civic and voter education delivered by CSOs, and the legal framework that governs it: the Civil Code (Articles 404–482), Proclamation No. 621/2009, Proclamation No. 1113/2019 and ACSO directives.
• Time period: the period under Proclamation No. 621/2009 (2009 to 2019) and the period under Proclamation No. 1113/2019 (2019 to date), with brief reference to the pre-2009 Civil Code period as a baseline.
• Actors: national and regional CSOs , ACSO, NEBE, the Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations Council, selected donors, and community members reached by CSO programmes.

The consultant will carry out the following tasks:

• Map CSOs working on civic and voter education and compile a CSO database.
• Review and compare the legal framework across the three periods.
• Document CSOs’ civic education efforts, results and progress before and after 2019.
• Identify challenges, coping strategies and good practices, and formulate recommendations.
• Prepare the rapid assessment report and a PowerPoint presentation, and present the findings at the annual Civic Education Conference.

4. Methodology

The consultant will use a mixed-methods approach combining:

• Desk review of relevant laws, directives and literature, including the Civil Code (Articles 404–482), Proclamation No. 621/2009, Proclamation No. 1113/2019 and ACSO directives, together with NEBE reports and CSOs’ programme reports, evaluations and monitoring data, to document their efforts, results and progress.
• Mapping and survey: a national mapping of CSOs working on civic and voter education, using the ACSO registry, CECOE member lists and a short survey.
• Key informant interviews with a purposive sample of 15–20 CSOs (national and regional, including women-, youth- and PWD-focused organisations) and with ACSO, NEBE, the CSO Council and selected donors; remote interviews where field access is limited.
• Focus group discussions, where feasible, with community members reached by CSO civic education programmes.
• Review of CSO civic education efforts, results and progress under Proclamation No. 621/2009 and under Proclamation No. 1113/2019.

The detailed methodology, data collection tools, sampling and work plan will be set out in an inception report for CECOE’s approval.

5. Deliverables

6. Duration of the Assignment

The total duration of the assignment is 15 calendar days from the date of contract signing.

7. Required Qualifications

• Educational background: Master’s degree in Law, Political Science, Human Rights, Civics & Ethical Studies, Sociology, Public Administration, Development Studies or a related field.
• Relevant professional experience: at least 4 years of experience with Ethiopian CSOs in civic/voter education, democracy programming or election observation, combined with a proven track record of executing rapid assessments and actor mapping under tight deadlines, and a deep contextual understanding of regional socio-political and CSO operating dynamics across Ethiopia’s regions.
• Core competencies and technical skills
  • Strong ability to synthesise data rapidly into concise, actionable rapid assessment reports suitable for institutional review.
  • Proficiency in designing professional PowerPoint slides and presenting complex research findings clearly to key stakeholders.
  • Fluency in written and spoken English and Amharic.
  • Working knowledge of Ethiopia’s CSO legal framework (the Civil Code, Proclamation No. 621/2009, Proclamation No. 1113/2019 and ACSO directives).
  • Experience in qualitative research and legal or policy analysis.

8. Reporting and Supervision

The consultant will report to CECOE’s Programme Manager and work closely with the CECOE programme team. CECOE will provide its member list, introduction letters to CSOs and stakeholders, and conference logistics, and will review and approve the inception report, the draft report and the final report. All data, tools and outputs produced under this assignment belong to CECOE and may not be shared or published without CECOE’s written consent.

9. Application Requirements

CECOE invites qualified individual consultants or consulting firms to apply. Interested applicants are required to submit the following documents:

• A technical proposal demonstrating a clear methodology, conceptual clarity and planned delivery strategy for the assignment.
• A detailed financial offer with a breakdown of total costs and unit costs for service provision.
• Updated Curriculum Vitae (CV) highlighting relevant competencies and institutional engagements.
• Evidence of previous work or deliverables from comparable assignments focusing on human rights, peacebuilding, governance or civic affairs.

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