Target groupThe seminar is aimed at all those working on EU external assistance projects and wanting to improve their skills in drafting and/or analysing Terms of Reference (ToR): project managers, officials of beneficiary institutions / national ministries, staff of international organisations and of EU delegations, contracting partners, consultants, either through being involved in the drafting process, as stakeholders involved in the consultation mechanisms, or as bidders drafting proposals based on ToR.DescriptionTerms of Reference (ToR) are at the heart of every service contract under EU External Assistance (IPA, ENI, DCI, EDF). They are used at different stages of the project cycle, from tendering to monitoring and evaluation. Mistakes made during the drafting of the ToR are likely to become magnified during the implementation of the project, jeopardising the outcomes and reducing its impact. Therefore, a clear understanding of the function of ToR is necessary for those involved in the design as well as in the analysis of ToR.Learning methodologyThis seminar is mostly interactive. In a number of workshops, we will analyse a number of ToR documents and assess their strengths and weaknesses. According to their individual requirements, participants will work on either the design/revision of ToR or the preparation of offers. Through exercises that involve participants concerned with the design of ToR as well as their ‘end users,’ participants will gain information from various angles and learn to look at ToR from the opposite perspective with a view to increasing both the quality of the ToR and the quality of the offers written on the basis of the ToR.ObjectivesThe objectives of the seminar are three-fold:1. to give participants a thorough understanding of the specific features of ToR for EuropeAid contracts;2. to enhance the capacities of all stakeholders in the project cycle (contracting authorities, beneficiaries, and contractors) to prepare high-quality projects;3. to gain a direct experience of how the design of the project relates to the outcome and to the long-term impact of a project.