Terms of Reference for Junior Non-key Expert Database Coordinator

1.   Introduction

These terms of reference set out the work required and person specification for the Junior non-key Expert (JNKE) Database Coordinator. The Database Coordinator will work on the EU TACSO 3 activity 5.3 – “Create and regularly update a database of all (national and regional) CSF funded projects, including those financed through sub-granting”.

A database is currently under development, based on a system (TAMIS) developed for the Eastern Partnership countries and adapted for the Western Balkans and Türkiye. The database is expected to be in place and ready to use by the end of September 2024.

A database coordinator is required to:

• ensure that the database is appropriately adapted to the situation in the Western Balkans and Türkiye.
• populate the database with currently available data on grants under the CSF and other financing instruments.
• identify sources of sub-grant data, obtain the data in appropriate formats and enter the data into the database.
• regularly update the data and ensure the integrity of the data.
• provide data analysis regularly and on request.

2.   Background

The EU TASCO 3 project has been tasked by the European Commission, DG NEAR, to monitor grants and sub-grants for civil society organisations funded by the EU in the Western Balkans and Türkiye (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Türkiye). The most appropriate option is to adapt an existing database currently developed for the Eastern Partnership region, called TAMIS. The TAMIS database will be copied and adapted for use in the WBT.

The EU currently provides grants to civil society through two main instruments, Civil Society and Media Facility (CSF) and the Global Europe Thematic Programme for Civil Society Organisations. On average, more than EUR 70 million per year is allocated for the purposes of developing civil society across the region. This is mostly distributed in the form of grants to civil society organisations. The main grantees themselves then sub-grant a proportion of the funding to other civil society organisations. Currently, data on the sub-grants is not held in any single location but dispersed across the region. Therefore it is hard for those planning and monitoring the funding of civil society to understand where the funds have gone and for what purposes.

From October 2024, the new database will be in place.

3.   Scope of work

The following are the main tasks required to put the TAMIS database into operation for the Western Balkans and Turkiey, covering three main phases – set-up, maintenance and handover.

Set-up

1. Create a mirror copy of the TAMIS database. The WBT database will be still under the same system and hosted in the same place as the TAMIS database. This means that queries can be run to extract data from both databases.
2. Populate the structure of the new WBT database, including country names, geographical data and other data specific to the region.
3. Extract data on grants from Brussels systems (OPSYS and/or CRIS).
4. Develop procedures for obtaining sub-granting data from the grantees.
5. Collect data and populate database with sub-granting data.
6. Repeat data collection regularly – estimated every 6 months.

4. Maintenance

In addition to the establishment of the database, there will be ongoing tasks to maintain the database, keep it updated and provide reporting and analysis for users. These will include:

1. Continue contact with sub-grant providers and update data on sub grants periodically. Ensure integrity of data.
2. Extract data from OPSYS/CRIS periodically to identify relevant new grants, and include data in the database, in cooperation with DG NEAR.
3. Develop report formats for regular reporting, in consultation with EUD colleagues and task managers.
4. Provide support for EUD colleagues and task managers for ad hoc queries and tailored research.

5. Handover/migration

Finally, there will be tasks related to the end of the EU TACSO 3 project and the plans for continuation or handover of the database. The EU TACSO 3 project runs to the end of June 2025, after which, the database will be migrated/transferred into OPSYS. The current plan is that by mid-2025, OPSYS will have the functionality to track sub-grants, and data from the EU TACSO 3 database will be migrated to the new OPSYS module(s). If the OPSYS module is not functioning by then, alternative plans will be needed to maintain the integrity of the database until the OPSYS module is working.

6. Scope of data

The aim of the database is to track EU support for civil society in the Western Balkans and Türkiye region. There are two main EU financial instruments which support civil society in the region, the Civil Society and Media Facility (CSF) and the Global Europe Thematic Programme for Civil Society Organisations. Funds for both instruments are managed by Brussels (DG NEAR and DG INTPA) and by EU Delegations in the region. Many of the grants under the CSF require additional sub-granting as part of the project implementation, so the funds are allocated to a wider range of organisations, including non-registered and informal organisations. These sub-grants need to be tracked and included in the database data set. Grants and funding for civil society via other instruments and from other sources may also be included.

The database will track grant funds that are awarded to organisations based in the Western Balkans and Türkiye region, or which have a substantial footprint in the region. Specifically, this would include:

• CSOs based in the region and all sub-grants they award (FSTP)
• UN agencies with regional and country projects that distribute grants/sub-grants as part of the project (e.g. ReLOaD 2, other similar projects)
• Other international organisations offering similar civil society support projects with EU funds.
• International NGOs with grants for supporting civil society in the region.
• Companies and contractors that provide support for civil society in the region (e.g. EU TACSO 3)
• European Endowment for Democracy grants awarded by EED within the WBT region (regardless of funding source).

7. Data collection

Data on grants from CSF and the Global Europe facility is currently held centrally in Brussels-based systems (OPSYS and/or CRIS). This data can be extracted directly.

Data on sub-grants is dispersed and held on a variety of systems. In some cases, such as Montenegro, there is a central database of EU funds for civil society in the country. It is anticipated that this data can be extracted and uploaded to the TACSO database relatively easily. In other cases, data will be extracted from individual sub-grant-making organisations most likely in the form of standard Excel spreadsheet templates. The data on sub-grants is expected to need a certain amount of cleaning, data validation and, probably, translation from local languages.

8.   Task management

The construction and implementation of the database will be a joint effort of the following:

• EU TACSO 3 team
• IT contractor Dev4U (contractor for TAMIS)
• Junior non-key expert as part of the EU TACSO 3 team

IT Contractor

The contractor will undertake the following tasks:

1. Modify TAMIS (current platform) to make it functional on a modular basis.
2. Build a clone of the modified TAMIS selecting only the modules that are of interest to the Balkan region.
3. Implement the Map for the Balkan region (with the first administrative level for each country of the region)
4. Ongoing maintenance and debugging.

Junior Non-Key Expert

The JNKE will be engaged for up to 88 days for the period September 2024 – end June 2025.

The expert should have the following educational background and professional experience:

Qualification and skills:

• Relevant University degree in IT, computer engineering, or equivalent professional certification in a relevant computer / database management
• Excellent analytical, research, presentation, communication and relationship building skills;
• Excellent English communication skills, both written and oral. Good working knowledge of at least one of the following languages is essential Serbian/ Bosnian/ Montenegrin/ Croatian, Albanian, Macedonian, Turkish.

General professional experience:

• At least 5 years of general professional experience, of which at least 3 years of experience in carrying out similar tasks in relevant fields such as database management and project management;
• At least 3, preferably 5 years of practical experience in civil society or donor funded projects in an international development or institutional development setting.

Specific professional experience:

• At least 3, preferably 5 years of experience in database design, database development and data management.
• At least 3, preferably 5 years of experience in working with database users to identify needs and develop solutions for their information/reporting needs.
• Excellent inter-personal skills, ability to work as part of a team.
• Excellent knowledge of logical frameworks for donor funding/international development projects, including design and application of indicators.
• Excellent Excel spreadsheet skills.
• Sensitivity to gender and diversity issues.

The JNKE database coordinator will report directly to the EU TACSO 3 Team Leader and will liaise closely with the Country Coordinators.

The EU TACSO 3 office is based in Belgrade, Serbia, but the work of the database coordinator can be remote within the Western Balkans and Türkiye.