Mission
The mission of the Childwatch International Consultancies are to strengthen the capacity of child research within the Key Institutions (KIs) of the Childwatch International Research Network (CWI).
The consultants will:
• discuss specific needs and potentials of KIs
• be a resource in capacity building
• facilitate cooperation between international partners
• enable study of child issues relevant to the global community
• when possible make recommendations relevant to CWI KIs.
Who benefits from the work of a Consultant?
Visits from a CWI Consultant will primarily be offered to existing KIs in the CWI network, both those that are well established and those that are new members. However, by facilitating cooperation with other institutions, locally, nationally and internationally, other child research communities could also benefit from the consultants’ work.
How will the Consultants work?
The KI will be offered a consultant visit for up to one week. During this time the consultant will:
• learn about the institution, what their visions, missions and specific projects are
• learn about the economic resources of the institution and discuss funding strategies and possibilities
• learn about and discuss the administrative structure of the institution
• learn about how the KI is situated and linked to other institutions in the country or region and discuss how working together is organized
• discuss the relationship to Key Stake Holders with whom the KI work with in the country or region, such as funders and administrators
• possibly give a seminar on substantive topics related to CWI work
• also discuss present and planned projects at the KI in relation to CWI
Preparing for a visit, the KI should
• undertake a short self-study of the institutional well being
• give a brief description of the KIs activities and goals and include this in a small portfolio for the consultant (containing e.g. the Annual Report and other documents describing the work of the institution)
• list a set of expectations for the visit and for the future
• prepare oral presentations of work done by the institution
• consider if this could be an opportunity to make a seminar open to other parties
The consultant will give oral feedback on issues that are raised during the discussions and provide a brief written report.
What can be gained from these visits?
The intents of the visits are to provide:
• validation and credibility to ongoing tasks and projects
• assistance in initiating projects with international partners
• independent consulting on specific challenges of the KI, such as funding, relationship to external organizations, institutions, administrators or other local interests.
Other possible research outcomes for the KIs and for the CWI Network are:
• to create affiliations between KIs which can be consolidated through further networking
• to co-ordinate expertise amongst the KIs
CWI will gain:
• a better awareness of the strengths and skills located in the KIs
• information about what difficulties and challenges are faced by KIs, and suggestions for effective ways to meet challenges
• an overview to assist approaches to capacity building, by pooling the experiences of the different consultants from their visits to members of the network
Who are the consultants?
The consultants are senior members of the CWI Network. CWI will assign a consultant to the KI that best fits the needs and schedules of both KIs and consultants. All consultants are dedicated to sharing and consolidating their experiences to benefit the CWI network as a whole, and the individual KIs who are a part of the network.