Restless Development is hiring a Research Consultant – State of Youth Civil Society Report to assess the current state of youth civil society in Uganda, identify key challenges and opportunities that will inform strategies to strengthen youth-led action.
Specific objectives:
- To assess how governance limitations, leadership challenges, and restrictive policy environments affect the operational effectiveness and long-term sustainability of youth civil society organizations.
- To examine the impact of recent donor funding cuts on the financial resilience and operational capacity of youth civil society organizations.
- To identify alternative funding and resource mobilization strategies adopted by youth civil society organizations in response to a shifting donor landscape.
Key Research Questions
- What extent do governance limitations, leadership challenges and restrictive legal environments affect the operational effectiveness and sustainability of youth civil society
- How have recent funding cuts impacted the financial resilience and operational capacity of youth civil society organizations?
- What alternative funding or resource mobilization strategies are youth civil society organizations adopting to adapt to a changing donor landscape.
Scope of Work
Evidence Review:
- Conduct a desk review of existing research, reports, and evaluations on youth civil society in Uganda to map the current evidence base, identify knowledge gaps, and inform the design of primary data collection tools.
- Develop tailored questionnaires, interview guides, and data collection tools for both digital surveys and qualitative consultations, ensuring alignment with the research objectives.
Youth Civil Society Consultations:
- Lead primary data collection with youth-led and youth-focused organizations through an online survey or in call discussions, ensuring participatory and inclusive approaches.
- Conduct key informant interviews with relevant stakeholders, including government agencies (e.g., Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development), umbrella bodies (e.g., Uganda NGO Forum), and regulatory institutions (e.g., NGO Bureau), to gather perspectives on the enabling environment for youth civil society.
Data Analysis and Reporting:
- Analyze qualitative and quantitative data, identifying trends, gaps, and opportunities across the sector.
- Synthesize findings into a clear, coherent narrative that provides an accurate picture of the current state of youth civil society, including sectoral challenges, effective strategies, and lessons learned.
- Highlight actionable recommendations for strengthening youth civil society, addressing barriers, and enhancing sustainability.
- Produce a draft report for review, facilitate at least one validation workshop with key stakeholders, and deliver a final report incorporating feedback.
- Produce both a comprehensive long-format report and a concise short-format report/brief tailored for wider dissemination.
Responsibilities of Restless Development
- Induction and Briefing: Provide background, strategic guidance, and clarify requirements and timelines to align the consultancy with organizational priorities.
- Review and Feedback: Review draft outputs and reports at each stage, providing timely, constructive feedback to ensure quality and relevance.
- Validation Support: Organize a stakeholder validation meeting and ensure feedback is incorporated into the final report.
- Technical Guidance: Offer ongoing support on sector context, networks, and youth civil society engagement as needed.
Key Deliverables
- Inception Report: Detailed methodology, work plan, and finalized data collection tools for digital surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions.
- Comprehensive Desk Review: Synthesis and analysis of relevant documents, policies, and previous reports, identifying knowledge gaps and informing primary data collection.
- Draft 2025 State of Youth Civil Society Report: Presenting preliminary findings from both primary and secondary research, including initial recommendations.
- Validation Workshop Report: Documenting stakeholder feedback, key insights, and suggested revisions from the validation process.
- Final 2025 State of Youth Civil Society Report: Incorporating feedback from the validation workshop, with finalized analysis, actionable recommendations, ready-for-publication content. (A comprehensive long-format report and a concise short-format report/brief)
Timeline:
- Inception Phase: 13th–20th October 2025 (7 days)
- Data Collection: 27th Oct–7th November 2025 (12 days)
- Analysis & Draft Report: 7th –13th November 2025 (7days)
- Stakeholder Validation: 17th November 2025 (1 day)
- Final Report Submission: 21st November 2025
