Lead International Consultant for the Assessment of Diaspora Contributions in Somalia, New Job: Nairobi

Closing Date: Friday, 12 February 2010

CONSULTANT: LEAD INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANT FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF DIASPORA CONTRIBUTIONS IN SOMALIA

Location : Nairobi, KENYA


Application Deadline : 12-Feb-10


Type of Contract : SSA


Languages Required :
English  


Duration of Initial Contract : 4 Months

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Background

Objectives of the assignment

The UNDP Somalia Country Programme is focusing on post-conflict recovery and consolidation of peace. The Programme is composed of Rule of Law and Security, Recovery and Sustainable Livelihoods, Governance and Human Development and Economics. The cross-cutting areas/projects are HIV/AIDS, ICT, human rights and gender. UNDP has in the past undertaken studies to map out social networks of the Diaspora in the development of Somalia.

The Diaspora has been a major contributor to the Somali economy and its livelihoods through remittances, humanitarian assistance and participation in recovery and reconstruction efforts. UNDP commissioned a short study in early 2009 to understand both the areas where the Diaspora efforts are currently focused and to identify important Diaspora groupings and channels of communication with the development and humanitarian community in Somalia to enable the UN, international partners, the Diaspora and Somali stakeholders to join hands for more effective humanitarian assistance and recovery efforts in Somalia. The study was useful in providing a clearer picture about the Somali Diaspora and their attachments to their roots in Somalia. The findings of the study provided some useful insight into Diaspora activities.

UNDP wants to build upon those findings to provide continuity to the UN’s initiative to partner with and establish ways to maximize the valuable contribution that the Diaspora can make to humanitarian, recovery and development efforts in Somalia, together with the international community, the governments and civil society organizations, and identify the mechanisms for engagement and support between the Diaspora and the aid community. The proposed study provides that continuity, which will also provide inputs to the development and implementation of new initiatives to engage with the Somali Diaspora.

The partnership with the Diaspora can be an effective means to accelerate progress towards achieving the MDGs as the overall results would impact upon all of the eight development goals. This engagement can also contribute to the outcomes of the United Nations Transitional Plan (UNTP) and the Recovery and Development Plan (RDP).

The main objective of this study is to provide evidence-based information to support the Somali Diaspora to undertake development interventions and support humanitarian assistance jointly with the UN to maximize results and move forward towards sustainable peace and development.
The mission will also make an assessment of the contribution and impact of the Diaspora’s engagement in Somalia in promoting peace and development. The study should provide a policy framework and strategy, which will provide the direction for strategic interventions, and an action plan in the areas identified for support.
It is in this context that UNDP seeks to engage a Lead International Consultant to conduct a study to assess and quantify Diaspora contributions to social protection and investments in different sectors, in addition to the mechanisms through which the funds are flowing into Somalia and how this is impacting upon livelihoods, development and humanitarian response; and recommend mechanisms through which the UN can partner with the Diaspora to facilitate effective humanitarian response.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of work

The scope of work under this assignment will cover the following:

• Conduct an assessment to determine how the economic contribution of Diaspora flows can be sustained to protect social safety nets.
• Make an assessment of the investments of the Diaspora in basic social services and business in Somalia, identifying constraints and opportunities and recommending measures for expansion in these fields.
• Make an assessment of existing channels for providing humanitarian assistance and recommend mechanisms through which the UN can partner with the Diaspora to facilitate effective humanitarian response.
  The findings and recommendations of the study will be discussed at a workshop where the UN and other international partners and experts, and those engaged in joint initiatives with the Diaspora in Somalia, including a broad range of civil society organizations and the private sector, will come together to develop a common approach for future partnerships between the UN and the Somali Diaspora.

The Lead International Consultant will be responsible for the overall outputs of the mission, as well as the coordination and quality control of the assessment. As the team leader, he/she will work under the supervision and oversight of the UNDP Senior Economist and will be responsible for delineating responsibilities and extracting timely outputs from each team member. In addition, he/she will ultimately be responsible for:

• Compiling information on communication tools and channels to reach Somali Diaspora (organizations and individuals) effectively;
• Examining ways to establish channels to undertake joint efforts to achieve operational effectiveness and greater coordination for humanitarian assistance through partnerships between the UN and related Diaspora activities;
• Identifying measures required to forge close partnership between the UN and Diaspora in the provision of social services to strengthen the linkage with the local communities to provide more effective, sustainable and timely local response and access;
• Assessing the capacity of the Diaspora to engage with UN logistical resources and make better use of existing UN response capacity during times of natural and man-made disasters, with the support of the UN system;
• Examining what types of business establishments, SMEs and forms of public private partnerships related to Diaspora exist and identify the steps required to enhance capacity to create an enabling investment climate including appropriate legislations, institutions, and capacity development initiatives.

There are two stages in this initiative. The first stage is the proposed study, which will provide inputs to the second stage –the formulation of a programme for implementation on the ground. This study should be helpful in collating information on the contribution of the Diaspora, gathering gender-disaggregated data where possible, and identifying the interventions for sustaining social safety nets. These interventions can help in strengthening the backward linkages in the value chains and sustaining the small-scale initiatives to support the livelihoods of the poor. The study should also be able to identify the measures that need to be taken to create an enabling investment climate for public private partnerships, and commercial business investments. Further, the study should identify the capacity needs of the Diaspora as well as those of the government to achieve operational effectiveness and greater coordination for humanitarian assistance. These inputs will feed into a programme, which will be developed for implementation on the ground, to support Diaspora engagement and partnerships with the UN and other development stakeholders.

Work Plan/Activities

The Lead International Consultant will:

• Prepare an inception report a week after the commissioning of the study with activities detailed out in a matrix with a work plan, with stipulated timelines, a clear delineation of responsibilities among all the consultants, a methodology for the survey, a set of questionnaires and checklists to be pre-tested and finalized in the field and the proposed outline of the report.
• Review, pre-test and finalize questionnaires and checklists, conduct training of enumerators, guide and oversee the survey on Diaspora flows in Somalia, conduct interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs), collate and interpret the data and field-level information, and conduct analysis and draw conclusions and recommendations from them.
• Develop and conduct a survey on the Diaspora flows into Somalia, covering all forms of analyses under the scope of work.
• Conduct thorough background research, using both primary and secondary information, for the assessment.
• Prepare an inventory of the available literature and an abstract of the literature review, including the documentation of best practices from other conflict/post-conflict countries.
• Make recommendations based on the findings from the assessment on more effective mechanisms of increasing the impact of Diaspora flows with an action matrix.
• Prepare a draft report to be widely discussed at a workshop and assist in organizing the workshop.
• Incorporate comments and recommendations from UNDP and the workshop and submit the final report to UNDP.
• Based on the findings and recommendations of the study, formulate a project document – using the UNDP format – with the strategic interventions, and an action plan in the areas identified for support.

Monitoring and Progress controls

The Lead International Consultant will prepare a work-plan with the assistance of the international consultant and the two national consultants for the duration of the assignment, which can be reviewed from time to time as the situation dictates. He/she will also prepare a bi-weekly report, which will be reviewed to establish if the work performed meets the standards set by the Human Development and Economics Unit (HDEU).

Final products/deliverables

• Inception report with activities detailed out in a matrix with a timeline. The report should contain a clear delineation of responsibilities between the consultants; a methodology for the survey; a set of questionnaires; and the proposed outline of the report.
• Draft report to be presented to UNDP first and subsequently at a workshop.
• A final report, both in hard and soft copy, incorporating comments and recommendations from the workshop.
• A final version of the cleaned data set in a soft copy.
• An action plan for the establishment of a network of the Somali Diaspora and forging of partnership with the UN (paying particular attention to advancing the delivery of social and humanitarian services; business interventions; and sustaining of livelihoods of remittance-reliant households).
• A project document for implementation in the field.

Review/approval time

The study will commence from the beginning of March 2010 and the final draft report should be submitted at the end of July. A workshop will be organized in the first week of August to discuss the findings of the report and the consultant will submit the final report incorporating comments from UNDP and from the workshop by mid-August. The project documents should be submitted to UNDP by end-August.

Competencies

• Specific expertise or demonstrated knowledge of economies of conflict, transition, or post-conflict countries essential.
• Experience in policy design from transition or conflict countries desirable.
  

Required Skills and Experience

• An advanced degree in Economics and/or other field relevant to economic development and research specialization preferably in conflict/transition countries. 
• A minimum of 10 years of relevant work experience at the national and/or international level with extensive experience in research and policy-level analysis.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.