CfA: Study on trends in peacebuilding and conflict transformation for forumZFD

Position

Consultant (freelance).

Background

ForumZFD supports people on the path to peace and strives to help overcome war and violence. We are currently working with peace consultants in Germany, as well as eleven other countries in Europe, the Middle East and South East Asia. Our Academy for Conflict Transformation offers a learning space for professional, international peace work. Through dialogue events, educational work and campaigns, we actively advocate for civil peace policy. ForumZFD thereby follows a systemic approach to conflict transformation that views conflict and its progression as a complex system and deals with its structural causes, as well as the actions, the behaviour and the attitudes of the involved parties.

ForumZFD is recognized by the German federal government as a member of the Civil Peace Service (CPS) consortium. Our work is financed through public and private grants, donations and membership fees.

Rationale of the assignment

Currently, forumZFD is rolling out its new organizational strategy for the years 2023-2027.

Part of this strategy is to (re)define the focus on topics and approaches on which forumZFD will be working on in the future.

For this purpose, forumZFD is calling for offers for the conduction of a study.

The aim of this study is to identify and assess current or future trends in peacebuilding and conflict transformation that fit within the general approach and organizational capacities of forumZFD. Of interest are in this regard for example “Shrinking Spaces”, the Humanitarian-Development-Peace-Nexus, Environmental Peacebuilding, Feminist Peacebuilding, as well as other topics and approaches. In addition, the study should take into account the current key areas of engagement of forumZFD, which are Dealing with the Past, Peace Education and Communities for Peace.

All of the identified topics should be assessed regarding their potential and relevance vis-à-vis the individual corners and the overall synergies for the triangle of forumZFD’s core expertise which entails programme work, qualification and peace policy.

Procedure and deliverables

Between June and August 2023, the consultant(s) will be tasked to

• familiarize themselves with forumZFD structure and its current work
• identify and outline/describe relevant current and future global trends on topics and approaches within peace and conflict work which have the potential to be addressed or implemented by forumZFD and why forumZFD should address them
• explore the potentials of the identified topics for connecting peacebuilding work in the programmes with peace advocacy that is aiming at influencing policies and political structures (in Germany and beyond)

Between September and October 2023, the consultant(s) will

• present an inception report within the first two weeks
• present their initial findings in the form of a written report
• discuss their findings with forumZFD staff
• incorporate the feedback into a final report
• submit a two-pager of the findings after the agreement on the final report.