Interpeace is an international peacebuilding organisation established in 1994 by the United Nations, which became independent in 2000 and works in more than 20 countries around the world, together with national partners, to ensure greater ownership of its peacebuilding actions and methodologies. Interpeace's mission is to strengthen national capacities and infrastructures to build sustainable peace through partnerships with national actors and by ensuring lasting impact. In line with this approach, since 2010, Interpeace in Guinea-Bissau has been working closely with Voz di Paz, supporting its capacities through a long-lasting and fruitful partnership. Since January 2026, Interpeace and Voz di Paz are jointly working implementing the project JOVENS FIRKIDJA DI PAZ - Strengthening youth’s role for positive change and sustainable peace.
The inclusion of young people in Guinea-Bissau’s society, politics and economy represents both a challenge and an opportunity for a society struggling towards political stabilisation. Given the constraints they face – disenfranchisement, limited political and economic opportunity (leaving them open to political manipulation), as well as often being vilified by a society which fails to recognise their potential - young people need opportunities to take charge of their own development and spaces to realise their potential as peacebuilders and positive contributors to social and political life in Guinea Bissau.
In the latest years, different consultations by Interpeace and Voz di Paz have highlighted the need to strengthen young people's capacities for conflict resolution[1] and to promote opportunities and mechanisms for youth to contribute to existing conflict resolution efforts.[2] On this premises, and drawing on Interpeace and Voz di Paz’s deep expertise in both mediation and youth empowerment, the two organizations developed the project JOVENS FIRKIDJA DI PAZ - Strengthening youth’s role for positive change and sustainable peace to address these needs and constraints in ways which are peace responsive[3] and sustainable. Responding to these calls and recommendations from young men and women, who are and will continue to be co-creators, key stakeholders and beneficiaries of the intervention, the proposed action aims to:
IMPACT: improved sustainable conflict management and peacebuilding by in-country (civil society) actors in Guinea-Bissau
OUTCOME: Civil society actors, particularly the youth, act (or engage) more effectively as agents for positive change and peace in their communities and the public arena
Concretely, it will achieve these objective and address the needs and constraints mentioned above by: 1) building capacities of young men and women using methods which are proven to have long-term impact (such as coupling capacity building with mentorship, which is increasingly recognised as an important package for ensuring more holistic skill building and transformation); 2) creating relationships and opportunities for conflict mediation and resolution through Peace Guardian Spaces; 3) providing micro-grants to grassroots youth-led associations to enable them to decide where to invest resources to resolve local conflicts and; 4) changing public discourse and promoting peaceful solutions to conflict through youth-led campaigns and awareness-raising. Spaces and products will be co-created for and by youth in all their diversity to meaningfully participate, including those most excluded from political and civic spaces such as young women, rural youth, youth with disabilities, and youth with lower education or economic power.
Interpeace is committed to rigorous monitoring and evaluation to inform the management and implementation of the project, facilitate learning and adaptation, and gather evidence that ensures progress toward intended outcomes and impacts. The project’s Logical Framework outlines impact, outcome and output-level indicators related to:
To this end, in the framework of the JOVENS FIRKIDJA DI PAZ project, a rigorous baseline assessment is required to establish benchmark values for selected indicators, validate assumptions underpinning the Theory of Change, and inform adaptive implementation. A consultant will be hired to carry out a baseline assessment to gather baseline data in response to the project's indicators, serving as a benchmark for evaluating the project's impact and outcome by comparing baseline data with data collected later.
The purpose of this consultancy is to design and implement a methodologically sound baseline study that:
The baseline will cover selected impact and outcome indicators for which baseline values are currently TBD, including:
The geographic scope shall reflect project intervention areas nationwide, with stratification by region where Peace Guardian Spaces will operate.
The consultant will implement a rigorous mixed-methods baseline study combining quantitative surveys and qualitative research. The inception report must clearly define the sampling strategy, sample size justification, stratification criteria (region, sex, age, urban/rural), units of analysis, and an indicator measurement matrix linking logframe indicators to measurable variables and data sources.
The quantitative component will include structured surveys using validated perception measures and disaggregated demographic data, collected through secure digital tools. The qualitative component will involve focus group discussions, key informant interviews, conflict mapping, and validation workshops, incorporating participatory approaches to enhance contextual understanding.
All research must comply with international ethical standards and conflict-sensitive principles, including informed consent procedures, confidentiality safeguards, EU’s General Data Protection Regulation GDPR-compliant data management, Do No Harm integration and risk mitigation measures.
The consultant will be responsible for:
The Consultant will ensure full compliance with research ethics and data protection standards
Interpeace and Voz di Paz will be responsible for:
All products will be reviewed by Interpeace MEL Global Officer and Voz di Paz Project Coordinator before being approved by Interpeace Programme Manager for Guinea-Bissau.
Considering the baseline study is key to inform the implementation of the above-mentioned project which started in January 2026, the consultancy will take place between March and May 2026.
The total available budget for this consultancy is of 11.000 Euro. Financial proposals must be aligned with this ceiling. The financial proposal must include a detailed budget breakdown, clearly indicating unit costs and justifications. Any costs not covered by the consultancy budget must be explicitly stated.
Interested consultants (individuals or firms) are invited to submit a technical and financial proposal no later than the 18th of March 2026, 12:00 am GMT
The application package must include:
Applications must be submitted electronically in PDF format to: ferrati@interpeace.org, with the subject line: Baseline Consultancy – JOVENS FIRKIDJA DI PAZ.
Late submissions will not be considered. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
[1] Agenda Juventude, Paz e Segurança: O que os jovens esperam? Interpeace/Voz di Paz 2022
[2] Recomendações participativas para tornar a gestão da terra mais pacífica e inclusive, Interpeace/Voz di Paz, 2022
[3] Peace responsiveness seeks to enhance the ability of actors operating in conflict affected or fragile contexts to be conflict-sensitive and to deliberately contribute to peace through their technical programming -in a manner that enhances collective impact, that supports inclusive, gender-responsive and locally- led change and that strengthens societal resilience to conflict and violence.
