TACS
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Technical Assistance Service Contract for the Implementation of the Project
“Capacity Building of Civil Society in the IPA countries and Territories”
EuropeAid/127427/C/SER/Multi.
TERMS OF REFERENCE
For a Senior Short-Term Expert (STE) commissioned to facilitate the preparation of a Research
Study regarding the development of social entrepreneurship in Albania
Background of the assignment
The general objectives of Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organizations – TACSO Project are to
strengthen the overall capacities and accountability of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) within the IPA
beneficiaries, to guarantee the quality of services of CSOs and create a sustainable role for the CSOs in
the democratic process. The main purposes of the project are to:


Increase and improve the capacity and actions of CSOs and to
Improve the democratic role of CSOs.
An important activity under this heading is provision of support to policy level issues, addressed
through a combination of measures including organization of regional conferences, commissioning
of case studies and reports, organization of study tours, etc. In this context, TACSO Albania Office
has considered the development of social enterprises (SE) as an alternative and independent instrument
aimed at boosting the financial autonomy of CSOs, in order to support social and economic growth in
the country, represents a good alternative both from the technical and legislative accomplishment.
Since 2000, efforts to operate social enterprises are made by various Albanian CSOs in setting out to
ensure their sustainability. Enforcing the underlying participation and the democratization processes, in
the course of the year 2012 more than 100 CSOs got together and laid the foundations of the Albanian
Social Enterprises (ASE) Forum. The ASE Forum is aimed at developing social services and welfare by
promoting the activities of operating social enterprises and giving birth to the new ones. The ASE
Forum is also promoting the establishment of the network between social enterprises in Albania and
those operating in the Balkan region with the aim to train social entrepreneurs, improve the legislative
framework, etc. In late 2012, in collaboration with TACSO Albania Office, more than 140 different civil
and institutional actors involved in the process formally joined the Forum.
In order to investigate the specific Albanian embryonic model of social enterprise and the potentials of
an ever growing process, in July 2012, the ASE Forum, led by the Steering Group of volunteers
launched a long range survey focused on the features and the economic and social needs of the potential
social enterprises in Albania. The survey collected a qualified dataset based on the questionnaire
responses of over one hundred CSOs conducting social oriented economic activities. These dataset has
to be fully elaborated in order to reveal the trend, status, profile, features and the role of potentials
enterprises in Albania.
TACSO Albania Office • Rr”Donika Kastrioti”, Kotoni Business Centre, 2nd Floor • Tirana, Albania • t: +355 4259597 • e-mail: info@tacso.org
SIPU International AB Sweden • Civil Society Promotion Centre Bosnia and Herzegovina • Human Resources Development Foundation Turkey
Foundation in Support of Local Democracy Poland • Partners Foundation for Local Development Romania
TACS
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
The main purpose of this assignment is to initiate a process of collection of evidence and stimulate
the public debate about the role of social entrepreneurship in providing policy responses to
Albania’s current socio-economic challenges.
Specific objectives include :
-
Defining the profile, features and role of the potential social enterprises in Albania;
-
Producing analytical evidence about the state of affairs of social entrepreneurship using direct
survey data made available by ASE Forum;
-
Mapping and identifying relevant stakeholders that can contribute to the debate on social
enterprises;
-
Identifying the institutional and financial measures suitable to support the development of social
entrepreneurship in Albania.
Scope of the assignment
The STE will provide assistance to the Steering Group of ASE Forum to conduct a research study
regarding the scale of development of social entrepreneurship in Albania.
More specifically, in focus of this study will be the assessment of:
-
Relevant profiles of potential Albanian social enterprises (the ones that have experiences and
potentials of transforming themselves from CSOs to social enterprises)
The relevance of the implied methodologies: description of the legislative and financial
instruments that can support such transition?
Limitations and obstacles to the development of social enterprises in Albania.
Activities to be carried out
-
Define methodology and appropriate analytical tools in cooperation with ASE Forum and
TACSO Albania Resident Advisor;
Collect, review and analyze relevant data
Prepare report with findings and recommendations
Present the report in an enlarged Conference with Social Enterprises’ representatives, EUD
representatives and TACSO LAG members
Deliverables/results
By the end of the assignment, the STE should have finalized the:
-
Research plan with methodology;
Research report with findings and recommendations. A tentative agenda of the research is
presented in ANNEX 1, attached to these ToRs;
All deliverables should be in English.
TACSO Albania Office • Rr”Donika Kastrioti”, Kotoni Business Centre, 2nd Floor • Tirana, Albania • t: +355 4259597 • e-mail: info@tacso.org
SIPU International AB Sweden • Civil Society Promotion Centre Bosnia and Herzegovina • Human Resources Development Foundation Turkey
Foundation in Support of Local Democracy Poland • Partners Foundation for Local Development Romania
TACS
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Location of Assignment
-
The STE will be working home-based and will maintain contacts with the Steering Group of
ASE Forum and Resident Advisor of TACSO Albania Office.
Duration and timing of the assignment
The assignment is planned to take place from February 1, 2013 and conclude on February 21, 2013 with
a duration of eleven working days in total.
Activity
Working days
Preparation phase
1
Collection (desk study, interviews) and analysis of relevant data information
6
Report preparation with findings and recommendations
3
Preparation of PP presentation and participation at LAG meeting
1
Total
11
Profile of the STE
Senior STE:
-
Advanced university degree in Social or Political Science, Economics or other relevant
disciplines;
At least 15 years of working experience in economic and social research;
Proven working record of at least 10 years as senior economic analyst, providing coaching and
leading to various research groups;
Working in at least 10 similar assignments (project and analysis of survey data);
Excellent communication skills and fluency in spoken and written English;
Good knowledge of the Albanian economic and social context.
Preference will be given to local/international experts who have been collaborating with the
Forum of Social Enterprises.
Applicants must be independent and free from any conflict of interest. Note that civil servants and other
staff of a beneficiary public administration may not be recruited as STE unless to prior written approval
has been obtained from Contracting Authority.
Monitoring and evaluation of the STE
The activity will be monitored by the Resident Advisor.
The STE will deliver a mission report to TACSO Albania Office and ASE Forum before remuneration
Application procedure
Application must be in English and entail the following:
-
Letter of intent and availability, information on financial requirements. Note that the fee includes
costs for travel and accommodation, when necessary.
- Proposal for research methodology and proposed structure of the final report
- CV in EU format
- 2 references from similar assignments.
The applications should be sent no later than January 24, 2013 by email to info.al@tacso.org
TACSO Albania Office • Rr”Donika Kastrioti”, Kotoni Business Centre, 2nd Floor • Tirana, Albania • t: +355 4259597 • e-mail: info@tacso.org
SIPU International AB Sweden • Civil Society Promotion Centre Bosnia and Herzegovina • Human Resources Development Foundation Turkey
Foundation in Support of Local Democracy Poland • Partners Foundation for Local Development Romania
TACS
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
ANNEX 1
Social Enterprises in Albania – Research Report (90-100 pages)
Preface (by the sponsors of the initiative: ASE Forum, TACSO Albania Office)
Introduction (15-20 pages)
- An overview of social economy
- Understanding the relevance of social enterprises as a policy instrument in the Albanian
context
Survey results (30-40 pages, including tabs & graphs)
Questions, Objective, Focus of the study
Which CSOs of the ongoing experiences in Albania have the potential of transitioning into a social
enterprise?
What instruments can support this transition?
1. Introduction. Objectives and methodology
- The [universe of] potential social enterprises in Albania
Dataset definition and methodology
2. The survey. Interviews and emerging themes
2.1 Evidence from survey data
- …
- …
- …
- Limitations to the development of social enterprises [in Albania]
2.2 Evidence from direct interviews (structured interviews, ab. 5 questions mainly on
qualitative aspects)
3. Comparative analysis (Social enterprises – Personal and Social services in Albania; Social
enterprises Albania – Social enterprises in the European Union – nesst.org research) (10
pages)
4. Instruments for the development of social enterprises in Albania (20 pages)
4.1 What changes will be necessary in the legislative framework to accommodate the
specific needs of social enterprises
4.2 A How To Guide to Work Integration through Social Enterprise in Albania
4.3 Budgetary/financial instruments to support social enterprises
4.4 Other contributions
5. Conclusions and Recommendations (5 pages)
TACSO Albania Office • Rr”Donika Kastrioti”, Kotoni Business Centre, 2nd Floor • Tirana, Albania • t: +355 4259597 • e-mail: info@tacso.org
SIPU International AB Sweden • Civil Society Promotion Centre Bosnia and Herzegovina • Human Resources Development Foundation Turkey
Foundation in Support of Local Democracy Poland • Partners Foundation for Local Development Romania