A proposed consultancy supporting Action Against Hunger Pakistan to identify and assess high-impact local partners through a rigorous due diligence framework.

Comprehensive Due Diligence and Partner Selection for Action Against Hunger Pakistan

Proposed Project | Trend Nova World (Private) Limited

Project Overview

This proposed consultancy supports Action Against Hunger (ACF) Pakistan in conducting a comprehensive due diligence process to identify, assess, and shortlist high-impact national implementing partners. Submitted by Trend Nova World (TNW), the assignment responds to the growing need for transparent, accountable, and localization-driven partnerships within Pakistan’s complex humanitarian landscape.

The consultancy is designed to go beyond conventional compliance checks, applying a structured and evidence-based framework that evaluates technical competence, institutional resilience, governance integrity, and value alignment. The objective is to ensure that selected partners are not only capable of delivering quality programs in Nutrition, Health, WASH, and Food Security & Livelihoods, but are also equipped to manage risk, safeguard communities, and uphold international humanitarian standards.

Strategic Context and Rationale

As humanitarian operations in Pakistan increasingly rely on local partners, the risks associated with inadequate governance, weak financial systems, or limited safeguarding capacity have become more pronounced. At the same time, effective localization requires trust-based partnerships that balance local access and contextual knowledge with global compliance and accountability requirements.

This assignment is grounded in a “Localization with Integrity” paradigm—recognizing that sustainable humanitarian impact depends on partners who combine community legitimacy with strong institutional systems. The consultancy supports ACF’s localization strategy by providing a defensible, transparent, and risk-aware partner selection process, aligned with Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS), Sphere Standards, and ACF’s internal protocols.

Purpose and Objectives

The primary purpose of the assignment is to support ACF Pakistan in selecting reliable, ethical, and technically capable local partners for current and future humanitarian programming.

Key objectives include:

Conducting a structured due diligence process for prospective partners
Assessing compliance, governance, financial systems, and technical capacity
Evaluating alignment with safeguarding, gender equity, and disability inclusion principles
Identifying institutional risks and mitigation measures
Providing ACF with a ranked shortlist and a strategic partnership roadmap

Methodological Framework: The Four-Tier Integrated Approach

Trend Nova World will deploy its proprietary Due Diligence and Capacity Maturity Model (DDCMM)—a diagnostic framework designed to assess an organization’s humanitarian readiness under operational pressure.

Tier 1: Compliance and Administrative Screening

This initial tier serves as the integrity gateway, ensuring baseline legal and ethical viability. Activities include:

Verification of legal registration and regulatory standing
Review of recent audit history and financial documentation
Screening for anti-corruption, AML/CFT, and “Do No Harm” compliance

Organizations failing to meet minimum compliance requirements are filtered out at this stage, safeguarding ACF from reputational and fiduciary risk.

Tier 2: Technical and Programmatic Vetting

The second tier assesses sectoral depth and programmatic quality, with a focus on Nutrition, Health, WASH, and Disaster Risk Reduction.

Key elements include:

Review of past project performance and technical complexity
Benchmarking against Sphere Standards, CHS, and ACF technical guidelines
Assessment of human resources, including qualifications and active engagement of technical staff

This tier emphasizes technical maturity the ability to design and implement interventions that are contextually appropriate and life-saving.

Tier 3: Governance and Operational Capacity Assessment

Institutional sustainability is examined through an in-depth review of:

Internal control systems, procurement processes, and financial management
Governance structures, board independence, and decision-making processes
Integration of safeguarding, PSEA, gender equity, and disability inclusion into policies and practice

This tier evaluates institutional resilience, ensuring partners can responsibly manage grants and scale operations without compromising accountability.

Tier 4: Field Verification and Risk Mapping

The final tier provides a reality check through field-level verification across multiple provinces. Activities include:

Interviews with beneficiaries, field staff, and local authorities
Physical verification of offices, storage facilities, and operational assets
Observation of safeguarding practices at community level

Findings are consolidated into an ACF-customized Risk Mitigation Matrix, categorizing financial, technical, reputational, and security risks, alongside practical capacity-building recommendations.

Deliverables and Timeline

Over the course of the assignment, key deliverables include:

An inception report outlining methodology and tools
An application screening and filtering report
Draft and final due diligence assessment reports
A ranked shortlist of recommended partners
A strategic partnership and capacity-strengthening roadmap

Team Composition and Added Value

The consultancy is led by a dual-lens expert team, combining deep humanitarian sector knowledge with institutional and financial governance expertise. This structure allows TNW to assess partners not only on what they deliver, but on how sustainably and ethically they operate.

The team’s collective experience spans:

Humanitarian response and localization
Governance, finance, and institutional strengthening
Safeguarding, gender equality, and disability inclusion
Risk management and donor compliance

Quality Assurance and Ethical Commitment

Trend Nova World applies strict quality assurance protocols, including:

Standardized weighted scoring matrices to eliminate bias
Evidence-based validation for all assessments
Secure data management and confidentiality safeguards
Conflict-of-interest controls and ethical field engagement

Safeguarding and PSEA principles are embedded throughout the process, ensuring respectful and responsible engagement with communities and partner organizations.

Expected Outcomes

The assignment is expected to deliver:

A transparent and defensible partner selection process
Reduced fiduciary, operational, and reputational risk for ACF
Stronger alignment between localization goals and accountability standards
A pipeline of vetted, high-potential local partners
Clear recommendations for partner capacity strengthening

Project Status

This consultancy has been formally submitted and is currently positioned within Trend Nova World’s Project Pipeline as a strategic localization, due diligence, and institutional strengthening initiative supporting humanitarian programming in Pakistan.