Opportunity from CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness
Terms of References & Election Process for Sub-regional representative for the Black Sea CSOs
Background
CSOs have been engaged for many years in the international multi-stakeholder development
effectiveness agenda. Since 2007, CSOs have actively participated in the High Level Fora on
Aid Effectiveness and since 2011 CSOs are formally recognized as independent development
actors in their own right.
Until 2012, CSOs have organised themselves mainly through two development effectiveness
networks: BetterAid and the Open Forum. In March 2012 in Cebu, Philippines the two networks
decided to merge. The new CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness (CPDE) was
created as an open platform that unites CSOs from around the world on issues relating to
development effectiveness, in particular in the context of the Global Partnership on Effective
Development Co-operation (formed in June 2012 as a result of The Fourth High Level Forum on
Aid Effectiveness, Busan 2011).
European Representation within CPDE
Europe is represented in the governance structure of the CPDE – Global Council (please see
below Annex I) through four regional representatives:
Regional representative for whole Europe
Sub-regional representative for EU CSOs
Sub-regional representative for the Balkans CSOs
Sub-regional representative for the Black Sea CSOs
The current Terms of Reference concerns the mandate and election process of the
representative as follows:
The Black Sea Sub-region refers to the CSOs coming from the following EU and Non-EU
countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, the Republic of Moldova,
Romania, the Russian Federation, Turkey and Ukraine.
Mandate of the CPDE Sub-Regional Representative
During the 2-year mandate, the CPDE Sub-Regional Representative has the following
responsibilities:
Represent their sub-region in the Global Council by actively participate in the annual
meetings, conference calls and other activities as required.
Coordinate and develop joint work together with the other (sub) regional representatives;
Actively promote Istanbul principles, CSO Development Effectiveness and Enabling Environment
among the Sub-region;
Ensure that the sub-region is strongly represented in the Global Council participating;
Inform, consult and be accountable to the civil society in their region through the structures
that articulate the participation and engagement in the CPDE, with the support of BCSDN and
FOND for the Black Sea region.
Guarantee a good governance of the CPDE by promoting transparency and accountability of the
different structures of the CPDE, including the co-chairs;
Oversee the implementation of the programs, the accomplishment of the strategy and action plans
of the CPDE with regard to its region;
Inform the regional CSO constituencies on the work and strategies of the CPDE and collect
and represent the interests and perspectives of the working groups, acting inclusively (with the
support of the BCSDN and FOND for the Black Sea region).
Mandate of the European Representative
During the 2 years’ mandate, the CPDE European Representative has the following
responsibilities:
Represent the European Region in the Coordination Committee;
Represent the European Region in the Global Council and develop joint work together with
the EU sub-regional and non-EU sub-regional representatives;
Ensure that Europe is strongly represented in the Coordination Committee and Global
Council by participating actively in the meetings, preparatory sessions and other activities as
required;
Inform, consult and be accountable to the European Civil Society (both EU and Non-EU, national
and regional) through the structures that articulate the participation and engagement in CPDE
with support from the regional secretariat of the European Region;
Guarantee a good governance of the CPDE by enhancing the transparency and the multiple
accountability of the different structures of the CPDE including the co-chairs;
Oversee the implementation of the programs, the accomplishment of the strategy and action
plans and the performance of the secretariat;
Inform the European CSO constituencies in the region on the work and strategies of the CPDE
and collect and represent the interests and perspectives of the working groups, acting inclusively;
Be knowledgeable of the specific context, needs and challenges of both EU and Non-EU
sub-regions and communicated with them accordingly.
Election of the representatives
All organizations and individuals that have history in working with CPDE directly or through their
networks are invited to apply.
The elections for the representative of the Black Sea Sub-Region will be organized by FOND
Romania as the CPDE focal point for that region.
The elections for the representatives of the EU and the Balkans Sub-regions will be organized by
BCSDN as the regional secretariat.
The elections for the representative of the whole Europe region will be organized jointly by BCSDN
as the regional secretariat with the support of FOND Romania.
Interested candidates for the position of CPDE Representative must submit by 24th July, 6 PM,
Romanian time, at [email protected] the following documents in English:
● CV;
● Motivation letter including reference to relevant expertise and explaining their vision on
the future engagement of this sub-region;
● Mandate from his/hers organization ensuring the time and resources for the candidate to
participate in the Global Council.
Elections will be held through an online voting process and the results of the voting will be
announced by the end of July 2021. Each sub-region votes for their own representatives, while
all regions vote for the representative for the whole Europe region.
A Supervising Committee, comprising 1-2 members from the European Region, will oversee the
voting process and its compliance with the established rules and overall procedure. For more
details, please read the information in the document on the voting process.
ANNEX I
CPDE Governance Structure
Global Council
The CPDE global governance body is called the Global Council (GC) and it is a representative
decision-making body on one hand and effective day to day management on the other. Thus, it
must be sufficiently representative of countries and groups but also cost-efficient.
The GC shall meet once a year in order to provide leadership and ensure accountability regarding
the work of the CPDE. It will oversee all aspects and areas of work through reviews of reports,
reviews of the work plans of the CPDE, approval of policies, admission of new constituencies and
focal persons, formation of committees, and election of co-chairs. This body also will oversee the
secretariat, develop annual action plans and ensure adequate fundraising for the plans of the
operations of the CPDE.
Coordination Committee
The day-to-day work of the Global Council is overseen by a smaller body, the Coordination
Committee (CC), composed of members of the GC constituencies. It acts under the supervision
and mandate of the GC.
The CC is responsible for the following:
• Following up on the decisions of the GC in between GC meetings
• Representing the CSO Partnership
• Facilitating policy development
• Preparing the draft agenda and reports for the annual GC meeting
• Facilitating the setting up, coordination and coherence of the working groups,
• Overseeing the work of the secretariat;
• Approving the draft annual budget for the CSO Partnership;
• Forming a Finance Committee within the CC.
• The CC should meet at least twice a year.