Consultant for Quick Review of Legal and Policy Environment on Corporate Philanthropy and Corporate Partnership with Non-profit Sector in Vietnam

Quick review of legal and policy environment on corporate philanthropy and corporate partnership with non-profit sector in Vietnam

1.GENERAL BACKGROUND

In recent years, a number of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Vietnam have experienced funding challenges*. This has been due, in large part, to their dependance on a small number of foreign donors. As these donors have reduced their aid budgets, the Vietnamese CSOs who have directly or indirectly relied on these sources of funding have struggled to maintain their offices and support their activities. At the same time, there are compelling examples of CSOs in Vietnam and abroad that have developed innovative fundraising strategies, built partnerships with local businesses, and begun to develop sustainable models of local funding. Most Vietnamese CSOs have now turned their focus on businesses as a potential source of funding for their activities. Most Vietnamese businesses, however, question the role of CSOs and choose to focus their philanthropic giving on very clear-cut, high profile charitable activities. While some of these donations can be quite substantial, they tend to be ad hoc and unrelated to Vietnam’s longer term development goals.  As Vietnam advances into middle-income country status, foreign donor expect both the Vietnamese govern and the private sector to play an increasing role in the country’s social economic development, and they look at Vietnamese CSOs as a source of experience. Thus, bringing together CSOs and business in strategic partnership that can the needs of both, and the developmental needs of the country is of vital importance.

Where individual CSOs have demonstrated their professionalism, impact, and nuanced understanding of private sector engagement, they have had opportunities to pro-actively approach and engage businesses as partners. However, the scale of such interaction has been limited not only on both sides, with most CSOs approaching businesses as funders for their projects, and most businesses more interested in chartable, rather than developmental, giving. In addition, the regulatory environment that governs CSOs and supports corporate philanthropic partnerships with CSOs in Vietnam is relatively unsupportive. There is substantial opportunity for growth in the volume and the quality of corporate giving, but only if government and businesses appreciate the role of CSOs as partners in implementing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), philanthropic giving, and  businesses development. Strategies.   It is also essential that government improve the policy environment for corporate giving.

To address these challenges and opportunities, with funding from Irish Aid (IA)’s Vietnam Civil Society Facility (VCSF), The Asia Foundation (TAF) has initiated the project “Developing a Sustainable Civil Society Sector in Vietnam”. The project’s goal is to develop domestic resources and strategies to sustain Vietnam’s civil society sector. Three specific objectives supporting the accomplishment of this goal include: 1) strengthening the fundraising strategy and capacity of CSOs in Vietnam; 2) promoting business understanding and engagement with strategic partnership giving; and 3) supporting advocacy for an improved policy environment for CSO funding. A set of comprehensive and mutually-reinforcing interventions have been designed to achieve three project outcomes in realization of the above objectives: increased capacity and effectiveness of Vietnamese CSOs to develop domestic fundraising strategies; improved knowledge and understanding of strategic giving among Vietnamese businesses; and enhanced awareness of current policy gaps and proposals to improve the framework for raising domestic resources for CSOs.

2.OBJECTIVE OF THE CONSULTANCY

The general objective of the consultancy is to undertake a quick review of the legal and policy environment in regards to promotion of corporate philanthropy and corporate partnerships with CSOs in Vietnam. The study is commissioned as one of several interlinked activities to promote long-term and strategic partnerships between Vietnamese CSOs and businesses. Specifically, the study results will be used to inform CSOs and businesses in their decision-making and strategic planning for corporate philanthropic partnerships as well as promote the project’s advocacy workshops. CSOs and business can engage each other in a continuum of ways, from direct project funding, on one extreme, to business partnerships for social outcomes, at the other. We expect that the study will provide a reference for CSO-business engagement along this continuum, which will be used by government, concerned organizations and businesses working to promote an enabling environment for corporate philanthropy and a sustainable civil society in Vietnam.

The study aims to review relevant legal provisions and policies, and through this, to identify and assess gaps and opportunities in relation to encouragement of Vietnamese corporate philanthropy. The review will also look into the existing legal framework that allows and promotes partnership opportunities between businesses and CSOs in Vietnam with a direction of developing long-term domestic resources for the CSOs sector in Vietnam.

3.KEY QUESTIONS OF THE STUDY

The overarching questions guiding this study include:

(i)Current legal and policy environment – what are the policy gaps and opportunities that encourage corporate philanthropy among Vietnamese business?
(ii)What are policy constraints and support that enable Vietnamese CSOs to mobile domestic resources for their development?

4.SCOPE OF WORK

The study will be conducted by a qualified consultant or a research institution (the Consultant) contracted by TAF. The study will be mainly home-based secondary research of available legal documents, policies, reports and information that relate to corporate philanthropy in Vietnam. This study also include a review of available policies, regulations and procedures that support and constrain Vietnamese CSOs to raise and receive external funding, including those from the business sector. This study will be complemented by a number of in-depth interviews with key informants to solicit further information for analysis of the constraints and opportunities for both businesses and CSOs in Vietnam in regards to corporate philanthropy and CSOs fund raising and strategic partnership relationships. The Consultant will work closely with TAF and the Project’s local implementing partners to decide and arrange the in-depth interviews and information sources for the study.

Tasks and deliverables:

Specifically, the Consultant is expected to deliver the following tasks:

i)Preparation work for the study: in consultation with TAF and its local partners, the consultant will establish sources for collection of available documents for the desk review and proposed a list of key informants for the in-depth interviews.

ii)Study report outline: Based on the preliminary review of the collected information, the Consultant will have to consult with TAF on the report outline for approval before proceeding with the report writing.

iii)Conduct of the study: The Consultant will conduct collection and review of secondary data/information. The Consultant, in collaboration with TAF’s local partners who may help in arrangement of meetings, conduct in-depth interviews with key informants.

iv)The Study Report: Based on the reviewed information and documents, the Consultant will deliver to TAF a study report which provides an overall mapping of the existing legal provisions, policies and procedures/stakeholders; analysis of the findings on policy gaps and supports in regards to corporate philanthropy and CSOs fund raising. The Report should also include conclusion and recommendations that come from the desk review and interviews exercises. The final report should be presented in both Vietnamese and English.

v)A Policy Brief: The Consultant is required to synthesize and summary the study findings, conclusions and recommendations into a less than five pages Policy Brief to be delivered to TAF for used in the project’s capacity building and advocacy activities. The policy brief should be presented in both Vietnamese and English.

5.TIMEFRAME

The study is expected to commence from June to September 2015. The time allocated for the assignment is up to 60 days. The assignment will be home-based with necessary travel for in-depth interviews within Hanoi and HCMC (to be discussed with TAF).

Deliverables & Proposed timeline
1.Prepare for the study: Early June 2015
2.Develop the study report outline: End of June 2015
3.Conduct the study: End of June – end of July 2015
4.Submit the study report and procedures/stakeholder mapping: End of August 2015
5.A policy brief: September 2015
Total: 60 man-days

6.SCHEDULE OF PAYMENT

Payment will be realized based on working days. The fee per day will be established considering expertise of the Consultant. Payments will be made in installments based upon satisfactory completion of the agreed deliverables.

7.QUALIFICATION OF THE CONSULTANT

• Master degree in social sciences, law, development studies or a related field
• At least 5 years of proven experience in conducting high quality review and analysis of legal documents and policy environment
• Familiarity with corporate philanthropy issues would be an added advantage
• Strong experiences working with NGOs is also an advantage
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Excellent writing skills in English and Vietnamese

8.APPLICATION PROCESS

Interested candidates (or institutions) should submit in English their updated CV (or institutional profile) and submit it along with a cover letter either as hard copy or by email to:

Ms. Tran Giang Linh
Program Officer
The Asia Foundation
#10-03, Prime Center
53 Quang Trung, Hai Ba Trung
Ha Noi
Email: [email protected]

Closing time for applications is 5.00 PM (Hanoi time, GMT+7) on June 5 , 2015. Please note that only shortlisted candidates/institutions will be notified.

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(*):  The global financial crisis and other factors have contributed to these funding challenges.