TERMS OF REFERENCE
Capacity
Development on and Improvement of the Human Security Monitoring System[1]
1.
Background
In 1995, UNDP launched the Crimea Integration and
Development Programme (CIDP) in response to the increasing risk of violent
conflict in Crimea between the resident population and the recently
returned Formerly Deported People. In 2004, CIDP’s mandate was renewed with the
objective to foster sustainable human development in a manner that contributes
to the maintenance of peace and stability in Crimea through initiatives aimed at preventing interethnic
violence and enhancing peaceful coexistence among different ethnic
groups.
As a joint initiative of the
international donor community, CIDP pursues an integrated regional development
approach that addresses some of the key conflict risk factors by contributing to
the improvement of the socio-economic conditions of the population, supporting
positive collaborative experiences between different ethnic groups, promoting
good governance, tolerance education and minority language rights and supporting
mechanisms for dialogue and consensus-building.
The main programme components
are
-
Democratic governance: (i) community-driven
development, (ii) support to the development of an integrated strategic planning
and public expenditure management system and (iii) public services
reform;
-
Economic
development: (i) support to the development of a market-driven agricultural
cooperative sector and (ii) business environment reform
-
Promoting
tolerance through the education system
-
Strengthening capacities for social cohesion
and inter-ethnic consensus building in Crimea
Operating at the
highest level of policy-making in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (ARC), CIDP’s Project on strengthening capacities for social
cohesion and inter-ethnic consensus building in Crimea
complements the other programme components by combining an early
warning type system with dialogue-oriented processes institutionalized in the
form of the Crimean Human Security Council (HSC).
In October 2006 the Human Security and
Development Council was re-established as a consultative body under the Speaker
of the Verkhovna Rada of the ARC. The primary focus of CIDP’s assistance over
the next two years will be on strengthening the Human Security Council as a
platform for dialogue and consensus-building while further enhancing the
monitoring system, particularly in terms of the quality of reporting,
comparability of data between reports, timeliness, transparency, and the
utilization of the reports by the ARC participants in the policy-making
system.
Dialogue processes have to be
designed and implemented on the basis of a sound political, economic and social
analysis of the country/community context. Therefore, to the extent that the
Human Security Reports are perceived as presenting an objective picture of the
situation, they will continue to play a key role in facilitating the
deliberations during Council meetings. Recently, in an
attempt to better serve the needs of the members of the Council, it was decided
to split the Human Security Reports into two different types of reports, i.e.
Quarterly Monitoring Reports and Occasional Policy Papers. Whereas the
Monitoring Reports will focus on regularly presenting trends and indicators, the
Occasional Papers will focus on specific policy issues, such as land reform,
minority language rights etc, and provide policy recommendations to the ARC
authorities on the basis of full-fledged policy analysis.
2.
Overview
of Purpose and Objectives
This
assignment aims at (a) improving the methodology for the development of the
Monitoring Reports, starting with the data gathering approach, the revision of
the indicator framework that is being used for the report preparation, the
report format and dissemination, and (b) strengthening the capacity of the
research organizations sub-contracted to effectively assist in the production of
the Monitoring Reports and, to some extent, other local research organizations.
CIDP has been
supporting monitoring of the situation based on a set of indicators for some
time and considerable experience has been accumulated. However, since the
current indicator framework and reporting format has evolved over time, it is
felt that it needs to be more systematically reviewed together with the
representatives of the Council and the local research organization preparing the
reports. The
monitoring reports (unlike the Occasional Papers) should be highly structured
and follow a strict format that make it easy to use and follow trends over time
by the Council members. The Occasional Papers should provide policy analysis and
policy research on a particular topic as determined by the Council
Members.
For the reasons
stated above, CIDP seeks to engage the services of an experienced expert or
organization (henceforth ‘Consultant’), which will lead the revision of the
methodology for the Monitoring Reports, including the monitoring report format
and the indicator framework, provide support and quality assurance for report
preparation as well as train and coach the research organization sub-contracted
for the preparation of the reports.
3.
Scope of
Work and Tasks
The scope of work
consists of two phases:
Phase 1:
Revision of the methodology for the Monitoring Reports (including the
indicator framework and report format), training and preparation of a monitoring
report (26 – 28 days between September – October 2007)
Phase 2:
Backstopping the preparation of subsequent monitoring reports (3 days
every quarter between November 2007 – December 2008)
The Consultant will work
in close cooperation with CIDP’s Analytical Unit,
the local research
organization sub-contracted for the preparation of the reports (hereinafter referred to as research
organization), the members of the Human
Security Council and other relevant Crimean
stakeholders.
The consultant should closely collaborate with
other consultants contracted under this project[2]
in order to ensure consistency of
approaches, etc.
Occasionally
the Consultant will have to report to the Project Working Group established at
the Verkhovna Rada.
Progress made
shall be reported to the CIDP International Programme Coordinator upon request.
The Consultant will receive an electronic
version of all required documentation before the start of the
mandate.
The main tasks
of the Consultant are as follows:
Phase 1: Revision of the
methodology for the Monitoring Report (including indicator framework and report format),
training and preparation of a monitoring report.
Task 1.1:
Preparation (3 days, home-based)
- Study
the existing human security monitoring reports (hereinafter referred to as
Reports), discuss them with the designated CIDP specialists and provide
initial comments and observations on the existing methodology and possible
avenues for improvement. .
Task 1.2: Revision of
the monitoring system and training (8-10 days, 1st mission to
Crimea)
- Meet with some of the Human Security Council members in
order to obtain a better understanding of the situation, and the specific
needs of the Council members in making full use of the Monitoring Reports.
- Organize a participatory conflict analysis with the
Council Members to map conflict risks factors, and, on this basis, develop
relevant indicators (including from a gender perspective) to be monitored over
time.
- Revise, in cooperation with the research organization,
the approach to situation analysis, a system of indicators, the tools for
measuring the indicators and gathering data (including the use of official
statistics, public opinion polls and event data monitoring) and reporting
format based, on a mapping of conflict risk factors.
- Conduct a 2-day-training workshop and subsequent coaching
for the staff of the research organization, in the course of which the new
indicator system and format will be tested.
- It is expected that the
development of the new system will be highly participatory, involving both the
research organization as well as some of the Council Members. It is important
that the research organization feels comfortable with the new format both in
terms of its appropriateness to the situation in Crimea as well as in terms of the organization’s ability
to apply the new system.
Task 1.3: Support to the preparation of the
monitoring report (3 days, home-based)
- Remotely backstop the preparation
of the monitoring report through email and telephone conferences (e.g. review
of draft; backstopping on the methodology; data gathering process;
etc).
Task 1.4: Finalization of the revised
monitoring system and support to the finalization of the monitoring report (5
days, 2nd mission to Crimea)
- The process of finalizing the report should be used to
test the new system and to obtain feedback from the research organization and
selected Council members.
- Support the research organization in finalizing the
monitoring report.
- Finalize the revised monitoring system.
- Agree with the research organization on the procedure for
providing ongoing support to report preparation.
- Additional training
if required.
Task 1.5: Policy analysis training (7 days,
2nd mission to Crimea)
- Needs assessment and design of two partly overlapping
training programmes on policy analysis, policy research and collaborative
policy-making: (1) an intensive two-day training programme for the
sub-contracted research organizations, specifically focused on increasing the
capacity for the preparation of the Occasional Papers and Monitoring Reports
and (2) a more limited one-day programme for a wider audience, such as Crimean
'think tanks', research organizations, key advisors to the Council members
etc.
- Implementation of the training
programmes
Phase 2: Backstopping
the preparation of subsequent monitoring reports
Task 2.1: Ongoing
backstopping of report preparation (3 days every quarter until the end of 2008,
partly home-based / mission to Crimea)
- Backstop the preparation of the
monitoring reports through email and telephone conferences as well as
additional missions to Crimea by providing comments on and assisting in
revising the methodology and improving the monitoring reports; coaching the
local research organization by distance.
- Participate in the presentation of the monitoring report
to the project working group and the expert group of the Human Security
Council; assist in adjusting the report to comments they provide if necessary
and appropriate.
- Prepare
a one page executive summary of each report for an international target
audience.
4.
Modalities
of Interaction between the Consultant, CIDP and the research
organization
CIDP is ultimately responsible for the quality
of the research product, which is prepared for the Human Security
Council.
In order to carry out the research and ensure
its quality, CIDP has sub-contracted a local research organization and the
Consultant. Both parties are perceived by CIDP as equal partners complementing
their comparative advantages and competencies — the methodological expertise of
the Consultant and the local knowledge of the of the research
organization.
The monitoring report is considered approved if
all parties, i.e. the Consultant, the research organization and the designated
CIDP specialist agree to it. The latter signs the certificate of acceptance of
the final product only upon endorsement agreed upon by both the Consultant and
the research organization; after which both will be paid. The Consultant shall
participate in all key discussions and his/her opinions will be fully reflected
in the Report. All electronic correspondence should be copied to the designated
CIDP specialist.
In case disagreement between the Consultant and
the research organization can not be resolved, the final decision will be made
by the CIDP specialist.
The research organization will provide the
Consultant with all requested information which is at its disposal and shall
make every effort to obtain it in case the data are not readily available.
5.
Deliverables
- Revised methodology and indicator system, based on a
mapping of conflict risk factors;
- Conflict analysis workshop delivered
- Tools for data gathering and measuring the indicators,
including use of official statistics, public opinion polls and event data
monitoring;
- Revised report format;
- Training plan and brief report on the training, including
feedback received and recommendations for follow up
- Comments on each Quarterly Monitoring Report until the
end of 2008;
- Executive summary
of 1 – 2 pages of each Quarterly Monitoring Report until the end of 2008 for
an international target audience.
6.
Qualifications
The Consultant should have the following
qualifications:
- Relevant academic background.
- At least 10 years of experience in early warning,
conflict analysis and monitoring, policy analysis and research, the
development of data gathering and indicator systems for policy analysis,
public opinion polling and event data analysis.
- At least 5 years working experience in Eastern Europe or
the FSU; familiarity with the situation in Ukraine and Crimea would be an
asset.
- Excellent English language skills; working knowledge of
Russian would be a strong asset.
- Experience in conducting training and facilitation
national processes
- Experience of
undertaking this type of programme for the UN/UNDP would be an
asset
7.
Contact and Application
Process
The vacancy is open for both national and
international experts / organizations. Consultants are encouraged to apply to
more than one open vacancy if they have the required
expertise.
Experts are requested to
submit
- A cover letter describing their understanding of the task
and how their qualifications and experience relates to them.
- An updated CV.
- A relevant working sample prepared
by them or with their participation. In the latter case, applicants are
requested to specify the exact role in preparing those
reports.
The application should be submitted by e-mail
to: vacancy@undp.crimea.ua.
Organizations interested in participating in
the tender should download full instructions from http://www.undp.crimea.ua/eng/tender/.
For additional information, please contact
Sascha Graumann, CIDP International Programme Coordinator, at sascha.graumann@undp.org.
The deadline for submission of applications is
September 3, 2007.
Applicants will be contacted only if they are
under serious consideration.
[1] Services to be provided within the framework
of the CIDP Human Security Project, output 2.1 and 2.3., 3.3
[2] Technical assistance to this project will be
provided in the framework of four closely linked short-term assignments, i.e.
(1) Capacity Development of the Human Security Council, (2) Capacity Development
on and Improvement of the Human Security Monitoring System, (3) Capacity
Development on and Support to the Preparation of Occasional Policy Papers for
the Crimean Human Security Council and (4) Capacity Development of Key Advisors
of the Human Council Members and Staff in Analytical Departments of the
Government, Political and Civil Society Groups trained in policy analysis the
Human Security Council |
