CONSULTANCY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF KEY INDIGENOUS DIVERSITY, EQUALITY AND INCLUSION (IDEI) ACTIVITIES

I. IPARD PROGRAM INFORMATION
1. BACKGROUND
In 2019, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) established the FSC Indigenous Foundation (FSC-IF) as the operational office of the Permanent Indigenous Peoples Committee (PIPC). FSC-IF, recognized under Panama’s Law No. 25 of June 12, 1995, is a private interest foundation. The Foundation’s mission is to create an environment that safeguards the rights of Indigenous Peoples and advocates for sustainable forest-based solutions across 300 million hectares of Indigenous Peoples’ forests worldwide. The vision is to integrate Indigenous Peoples’ global values, rights, livelihoods, ecosystem services, natural capital, and communities into forest governance, climate change governance, and market systems.
Indigenous Peoples Alliance for Rights & Development
The FSC-IF is the implementing agency of the five-year Global Development Alliance (GDA) program funded by USAID and FSC—the Indigenous Peoples Alliance for Rights & Development (IPARD). The IPARD Program is guided by three development objectives:
● Objective 1: Organize and convene a capacity-building program for Indigenous Peoples’ organizations and stakeholders;
● Objective 2: Foster an enabling environment for the recognition, effective participation and joint decision-making by Indigenous Peoples in matters affecting them; and
● Objective 3: Promote the sustainable development of Indigenous Peoples based on sustainable economic models.

IPARD uses three interconnected approaches to support Indigenous Peoples in overcoming their development challenges:
A. Multi-Sectoral Approach (MSA): The Program convenes and leverages the expertise of multi-sectoral partners to ensure that the needs of Indigenous communities are considered across a wide range of sectors.
B. Country-Focused Approach (CFA): IPARD’s programmatic strategy is driven by specific national contexts related to Indigenous Peoples, implementing a structured process to identify, evaluate, and select countries for its programs.
C. Indigenous Project Management Approach (IPMA): Leveraging FSC-IF’s networks and relationships with Indigenous leaders and organizations globally, IPARD seeks ongoing dialogue, consultation, and feedback with Indigenous Peoples to inform the Program. .
Through these three approaches, IPARD aims to empower Indigenous Peoples’ organizations and catalyze an enabling environment where Indigenous Peoples can pursue their development.
FSC Indigenous Foundation
We are Indigenous Peoples; our strategies and our future actions are shaped by ancestral knowledge, practices, cosmovision, values, and respect for Mother Earth and our past. We as FSC-IF are providers of Indigenous-based solutions, and our ancestral knowledge and traditions have driven Indigenous-based solutions for centuries. We are Indigenous Peoples; we are the owners of Indigenous-based solutions to global challenges, and the FSC Indigenous Foundation is the global vehicle to design, manage, facilitate, and scale up Indigenous-led solutions through multi-sectoral partnerships. FSC-IF is shaped to respond to key challenges and opportunities faced by Indigenous Peoples to achieve their self-development, self-governance, and self-reliance. Driven by this perspective, the way we operate differs from traditional organizational planning because our cultural and traditional way of thinking, acting, and interacting do not fit into a pre-determined Western tradition of thoughts, organizational management, or governance.

We are committed to working driven by our values of being guided by and supporting Indigenous Peoples’ values of:
1) Respect for Mother Earth—Managing our lands, waters, and ecosystems with great respect to nature and care by recognizing that we only borrow them from future generations and
2) Respect for Ancestral Knowledge—Keeping our promises to our ancestors to manage nature and the resources sustainably and respectfully.
2. CONTEXT
The FSC-IF’s Global Strategy 2023 – 2027 prioritizes Indigenous Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (IDEI) as a standalone component. This includes the ‘Indigenous Social Inclusion and Intersectionality for Sustainability’ programmatic area, ensuring social and marginalized groups within Indigenous Peoples are not left behind. Initiatives like the Indigenous Women’s Economic Empowerment (I-WEE) and the scholarship program for Indigenous youth are efforts to generate enabling environments for active participation and advocacy, and to strengthen productive capacities.
To initiate our IDEI work, FSC-IF would like to start the development of an IDEI policy, addressing diverse cosmovisions, sociocultural contexts, and challenges inherent in various population groups within Indigenous Peoples. FSC-IF seeks to recruit an IDEI consultant or consultancy firm to support in the development of this policy.
3. OBJECTIVES OF THE CONSULTANCY AND EXPECTED DELIVERABLES
General objective
To support the FSC-IF with the development of an IDEA policy which takes into account the diverse cosmovisions, sociocultural contexts, and challenges within Indigenous Peoples, including women, youth, children, elders, and individuals with disabilities and with gender and sexual diversity.
Specific Objective:
1. IDEI Policy Development: Develop Terms of Reference (ToRs) for data collection in the socio-cultural regions: Africa; Asia; Central and South America and the Caribbean, Central Asia and Transcaucasia; and the Pacific to develop an IDEI Policy that will form an annex to the FSC-IF Global Strategy 2023 – 2027.

Expected Deliverable:
1. Workplan and methodology for implementing the consultancy, taking into account the active participation of Indigenous Peoples from different Indigenous Peoples organizations or Indigenous women organizations.
2. IDEI Policy to be annexed to the FSC-IF Global Strategy.

Profile of the Offeror
● A consultant or consultancy firm with a team of IDEI experts with Master´s degree in Indigenous studies, social sciences, gender studies, community development, peacebuilding or other relevant field;
● At least 5 years of professional experience managing and implementing development activities, focused on inclusive engagement within Indigenous Peoples’ contexts.
● More than 5 years of experience working with Indigenous Peoples or Indigenous communities.
● Experience engaging men on gender-related issues and promoting behavior change methodologies;
● Demonstrated ability to influence, motivate and collaborate with others;
● Experience with gender equality, social inclusion and Indigenous People’s analyses.
● Knowledge of laws and regulations regarding human-rights and Indigenous Peoples’ rights.
● Demonstrated cultural awareness and sensitivity to the diversity of values, views and approaches to issues relevant to the FSC-IF and Indigenous Peoples.
● Membership in an Indigenous community would be a plus.
● Strong oral and written communication in English, Spanish, and French are added values.

Proposal Requirement
The proposal must include:
Technical Proposal:
• Provide a detailed methodology and timeline for completing the consultancy.
• Outline the approach for the capacity-building process.
• Describe the data collection methods to be employed.
• Identify potential obstacles and propose strategies to mitigate them.
• Detail the consultation and consent process with Indigenous Peoples’ Organizations (IPOs) and explain how they will be involved in the development and implementation of IDEI activities.
Financial Proposal:
• Include a comprehensive budget with a clear explanation of each line item.
• Ensure that taxes are included when applicable and explicitly noted in the budget.

Coordination
The consultant will coordinate with the IPARD Program Deputy Director and may present results to stakeholders, including the FSC-IF Managing Director, FSC-IF Council, IPARD Steering Committee, Permanent Indigenous Peoples Committee, FSC, and USAID.
A final electronic report in English is required at the end of the consultancy.

Conditions for payments of the products:
The products must be authorized by the FSC-IF Council in order to proceed with payment. All products must be delivered in digital format.
Deliverable Payment
Workplan and methodology 20%
IDEI Policy to be annexed to the FSC-IF Global Strategy 60%
Final report 20%

Duration of the assignment
The assignment is expected to be completed within 6 months from the day of the contract signature.

Intellectual property rights, patents and other proprietary rights
The FSC Indigenous Foundation shall be entitled to all intellectual property and other proprietary rights including but not limited to: patents, copyrights and trademarks, with respect to products, processes, inventions, ideas, know-how, documents and other materials prepared or collected by the consultant in consequence of or in the course of the performance of this consulting engagement, and the consultant acknowledges and agrees that such products, documents and other materials constitute work performed under the Indigenous Foundation’s engagement.

All material, information or knowledge shared by Indigenous Peoples’ Organizations and Indigenous leaders will be kept strictly confidential and cannot be used for any purpose other than for the development and implementation of the Indigenous-focused gender inclusion plan. This material, knowledge and information is protected by national and international intellectual property rights protection regulations.

Interested candidates should submit a proposal including:
● Methodology
● CV of the consultants
● Chronogram
● Budget (including taxes)

Deadline for submission of proposal
Two weeks