Deadline: 13 October 2017
Open Society Initiative West Africa (OSIWA), the International Development Research Centre, Canada (IDRC) and Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) are seeking research proposals to conduct a study analyzing the costs and benefits of community-based justice services in Sierra Leone.
The study will assess and compare the relative direct and indirect outcomes of different justice services measured against the costs of respective interventions. The study will seek to identify innovations in the provision of such services including the use of technology and innovative mechanisms for funding services in Sierra Leone. Based on the cost-benefit analysis, the project will make recommendations on strategies for scaling access to justice and provision of individual and community-oriented legal services in Sierra Leone, with Government, donors and justice service providers and organizations as the main audiences.
OSIWA/OSJI/IDRC are seeking research proposals to conduct a study analyzing the costs and benefits of community-based justice services in Sierra Leone focused on issues related to:
- family law, including child and spousal support and
- legal issues relating to land and property. The study will assess and compare the relative direct and indirect outcomes of different justice services measured against the costs of respective interventions. The study will seek to identify innovations in the provision of such services including the use of technology and innovative mechanisms for funding services in Sierra Leone.
Funding Information
Proposed budgets should not exceed USD 300,000 including all expenses, spread over the three-year project duration.
Objectives
The overall objective of the study is to contribute to the knowledge base for expanding access to justice across Sierra Leone in a strategic, cost-effective and sustainable manner. In support of that objective, the proposal should outline more specific objectives. Indicative objectives include the following:
- Develop contextually appropriate research methodologies to analyze the cost-effectiveness and impact of access to justice interventions in Sierra Leone, including developing appropriate definitions of benefits to be measured and related terms such ‘community-based justice services,’ ‘scaling up community-based justice services’ within the context of Sierra Leone and the two priority substantive themes.
- Document the input costs of providing community-based justice services, in respect to the identified focused justice challenges: a) family law, including child and spousal support and b) legal issues relating to land and property.
- Determine the direct and indirect the benefits of identified community-based justice services for individuals, communities and the broader public.
- Determine the costs and benefits of community-based justice service provision for populations in need, in respect to priority themes: a) family law, including child and spousal support and b) legal issues relating to land and property.
- Identify relevant recommendations and roadmap for scaling access to justice, with a focus on guidance to Government and donors for funding community-based justice services addressing a) family law, including child and spousal support and b) legal issues relating to land and property.
How to Apply
Organizations are invited to submit a Cover Letter (signed by a signing authority) and 12-15 page proposals.
For more information, please visit Call for Proposals.