Request For Proposal – Political Economy Analysis In Adjumani District, West Nile, Uganda 14 views0 applications

Background

Aga Khan Foundation and World University Service of Canada (WUSC) are conducting joint scoping activities in Uganda around the refugee response.

Aga Khan Foundation The goal of the Aga Khan Foundation is to bring together the required human, financial and technical resources to assist the poorest and most marginalized within strategic geographies especially women and girls, such that they achieve a level of self-reliance and improved quality of life. The Foundation’s commitment spans priority development sectors – health, education, early childhood development, agriculture and food security, economic inclusion and civil society.

In Uganda, the Foundation has been improving the quality of life for marginalized and vulnerable populations since 1992 and has offices in Arua, Koboko, Yumbe and the Central region. The Foundation’s portfolio in West Nile includes education, Early Childhood Development and economic inclusion programs targeted primarily at youth, children and women. Programming in this region straddles refugee settlements and host populations. In some instances, activities have directly impacted those populations. The Foundation adopts a partnership based approach – working closely with national and local government, civil society organizations and the private sector.

World University Service of Canada WUSC is a Canadian organization with a regional office in Nairobi. WUSC works with a diverse network of students, volunteers, institutions, governments, and businesses to improve education, employment, and empowerment opportunities for youth. WUSC implements a portfolio of programs focused on improving access to high quality education for marginalized children in refugee camps and host populations in northern Kenya.

In the recent past instability in South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo, has resulted in an influx of 1.25 million refugees into West Nile. Uganda’s Refugees Act of 2006 reflects international standards of refugee protection and enables the provision of longer term development initiatives. The Act encompasses the right to work, move freely within the country, become gainfully employed and live in dignity. The allocation of land for refugee households further promotes their self-sufficiency. Despite the Act’s progressive framework, its implementation is not necessarily consistent. In addition, the current focus on humanitarian programming does not sufficiently address longer term developmental needs for refugees and host communities.

Here, Aga Khan Foundation and WUSC become well positioned to effectively design interventions that address the longer-term needs of refugee women, men, girls and boys, and host populations. Of note, the refugee response is being managed by the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), but this responsibility will transition to District Level Governments (DLGS) –enabling the Foundation to leverage its existing partnerships with DLGs.

It is against this backdrop that Aga Khan Foundation and WUSC seek to better understanding the dynamics between humanitarian and development programming approaches for refugees and host populations. To this end, the Foundation and WUSC will carry out a Political Economy Analysis (PEA) in Adjumani, a refugee hosting district that has been profoundly affected by the refugee crisis.

Key Question

Within this context, AKF and WUSC pose the following central question to be answered through this PEA:

What are the barriers and opportunities for DLGs and civil society organizations to engage effectively and inclusively, to better and more equitably assist the poorest and most marginalised women, men, girls and boys within the refugee and host communities, until a level of self-reliance and improved perceived quality of life is achieved?

Objective

To provide AKF, WUSC, and other development and humanitarian agencies with an improved understanding of the incentives, agendas, relationships and players that drive decision-making, resource allocation and coordination in refugee hosting districts, and that influence the capacity of local government and civil society to engage effectively in the refugee response.

AKF and WUSC will use this information to:

1. To design contextually specific, inclusive programs to support short-term and long-term refugee and host-community needs and to better serve the most vulnerable communities within West Nile with the goal of increasing quality of life among refugee and host-communities.
2. To inform and improve programme decisions with respect to strengthening the capacity of DLGs and civil society.
3. To engage more effectively and inclusively with power brokers and stakeholders within West Nile^[1].
4. To coordinate results with other development and humanitarian agencies conducting similar analysis in the region.

Recipient

The recipient of this work will be AKF and WUSC. Parts of the work will be shared with other development partners and Government, subject to the prior agreement of AKF and WUSC.

Scope of Work

The PEA will look at dynamics between the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), central and field based, District Local Governments (DLGs), local civil society organizations and DPs on the ground in three refugee hosting districts. The PEA will provide analysis of the drivers and players involved in determining the level of DLG and civil society engagement and responsibility in the refugee response, and will identify potential entry points for strengthening their role in order to improve inclusive and gender responsive direct services and building an enabling environment for coordinated, effective action can take place.

The refugee response coordination mechanisms, how they work and the degree of DLG and local civil society engagement will be outlined by district. The PEA will review the form and function of OPM engagement in the District, and consider how this fits with mandates, and how it may influence power and other dynamics in the District. It will also look at district planning, the extent to which all populations are integrated into district development plans and other district planning cycles, and the underlying or obvious reasons for variation from district to district. The role of DLGs in mediating potential conflict between host communities and refugees and in encouraging a harmonious co-existence will be explored. In addition, the PEA should provide an overview of the current status of the refugee population in the district, including detailed demographic and socio-economic data where possible. Specific inclusion and gender dynamics will also be assessed to identify key gaps and barriers to participation and benefit and enable further programming to meet the needs of the most marginalized and advance gender equality and inclusion.

The PEA will also look at dynamics within DLGs. It will shed light on dynamics between local government officials, including representatives of line ministries, and the political leadership. Further, it will look at the dynamics within, between and among civil society actors in these districts, and how the refugee influx is influencing these relationships.

Key questions will include:

Complementing the key question articulated above, in general, the PEA will address questions with operational relev ance to AKF and WUSC and other actors to improve the effectiveness, inclusive and gender responsiveness and sustainability of the refugee response. The set of questions below is only indicative and must be elaborated by the firm in further discussions with AKF and WUSC:

1. A) Key problems and issues undermining the role of DLGs in the refugee response and host community engagement

1. What are the key barriers to DLGs playing their full potential role in reference to the refugee response?
2. What are the political economy drivers of these problems, including both central government and DLG dynamics?

1. B) Key problems and issues undermining the role of CSOs in the refugee response and host community engagement

1. What are the key barriers to CSOs playing their full potential role in reference to the refugee response?
2. What are the political economy drivers of these problems, including both central government and DLG dynamics?

1. C) Key problems and issues undermining inclusive service delivery and support

1. How are the needs, challenges, opportunities and aspirations of men and women, boys and girls, different among the target population?
2. How are the needs, challenges, opportunities and aspirations of people with disabilities, different among the target population?
3. What are the decision-making and participation structures, rules, regulations and norms among the target population? How do these differ for men and women? Are people with disabilities able to participate equally in decision-making processes?
4. Are there barriers to access and use of services (or provision of goods) within the target population? Are these barriers different for men and women? Are people with disabilities able to equally access services? What factors influence these barriers (social, cultural, physical, financial, etc.)?
5. What are the political economy drivers of these problems?

1. D) Actors, drivers and incentives relevant to strengthening the sustainability of the refugee response

1. What is the relationship between DLG officials and OPM officers in refugee hosting districts? What are the incentives/disincentives for OPM systematically involving all actors, including DLGs, in the district?
2. What are the politics/dynamics/relationships between officials and politicians in DLGs that could affect capacity to respond to local population needs?
3. What are the politics, drivers and incentives at play in the central government between OPM and relevant line ministries in the refugee and host community situation?
4. What other key influencers are important, how are they organized and what are their incentives?
5. How can the relationships between the actors be described?
6. What is the existing relationship (frequency of interaction, level of trust, extent to which initiatives are carried out in partnership) between civil society actors and the DLGs?
7. What is the level of capacity of local civil society organisations’ internal systems? What is the level of capacity of civil society organisations to address humanitarian needs? Do civil society organisations specifically have experience with programming with refugee populations?
8. To what extent do local civil society organisations have existing relationships with target beneficiaries?

1. E) Competencies, capacities, challenges and risks

1. Describe and analyse the institutional capacities and constraints of the key institutions (DLGs, OPM, line ministries) to deliver on their roles and mandates in the refugee context in the focus districts.
2. Describe and analyse the institutional capacities and constraints of the key CSOs to deliver on their roles and mandates in the refugee context in the focus districts, including the ability to deliver gender responsive and inclusive programming.
3. What processes exist to increase the institutional capacities? How can these processes be enhanced and what are the constraints?
4. Where are DLG incentives most aligned with achieving development objectives? Where are they least aligned?
5. Based on this, what are the entry points to address the key gaps and challenges?
6. What are the strengths and weaknesses of current (or past) capacity building interventions for DLGs with respect to operating in refugee hosting districts and the political economy realities?
7. How can existing interventions be amended to better reflect and respond to the political economy?

1. F) Partnerships

1. What catalytic role can AKF and other development partners play in supporting improvements to the gender responsive, inclusive and sustained refugee response in Uganda?
2. Which strategic partnerships can AKF build to achieve more sustainable results towards improved quality of life refugee and host communities?

1. G) Recommendations

Based on the above questions and analysis, recommendations should be developed to give guidance to AKF and other development partners on how to support the Government of Uganda and local civil society to strengthen the sustainability of the refugee response. Recommendations should consider which primary influencers AKF needs to engage with to deliver results, and how AKF can mitigate potential risks.

Sample questions:

1. What power shifts are required to strengthen the sustainability of the overall response?
2. Which key actors/influencers should AKF target? How?
3. What are the possible entry points to initiate positive change? Who and what should we avoid? Who are the existing actors we need to ensure we are interacting with?

Methodology

The PEA will begin with a brief desk review of key documentation and existing literature relevant to the key question and objectives. The consultant will share these findings and initial analysis in the inception report, which will form the basis for an initial dissemination and engagement meeting with key interested parties led by AKF and supported by the consultant.

The majority of the PEA will consist of field work following the desk study. The consultants from the selected firm will spend 2 weeks in the target refugee hosting district. The consultants will spend some time in dialogue with CAOs and other district officials, as well as local civil society organizations, including women’s and gender equality organizations, to establish a contemporary understanding of challenges faced in the context of the refugee response. The consultants will also spend some time shadowing OPM officers and civil society leadership by accompanying them on field visits, and attending sector coordination meetings organised by OPM and DPs near the settlements. The consultants will carry out key informant interviews with DLG officials, line ministry representatives, DLG politicians, OPM, DPs and NGOs active on the ground, representatives of host communities and representatives of the refugees. The consultants will ensure representation of perspectives and experiences of women, men, girls and boys from marginalized groups, in both host communities and refugee populations. This may be done either through interviews, focus group discussions or consultation workshops. Throughout this process the consultant will ensure close engagement with AKF and WUSC staff assigned to the PEA process for learning purposes.

The third element of the PEA will be the political analysis of dynamics between national level institutions involved in the refugee response, and their various incentives. This will involve attendance at national level coordination meetings where appropriate, and interviews with key actors from OPM, National Planning Authority, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Local Government and other line ministries instrumental in the response. The consultants from the selected firm will also meet with relevant DPs and NGOs headquarters in Kampala.

A clear articulation of the methodology for this work should be outlined in the proposal, and is subject to approval by AKF and WUSC.

OUTPUTSKey deliverable, Indicative content and Due date**

1. Inception report

• Initial findings and analysis from desk research.
• Proposed approach: this should include which approach to PEA the consultant follows, i.e. DfID, USAID, WB, etc?
• Approach to facilitating the learning through shadowing of AKF staff
• Tools for facilitating the process
• Timelines for the consultative processes and report completion
• Dummy table of contents for the PEA report 10 Days from start date

2. Draft report

• Context analysis
• An assessment of the political economy landscape, the agents, agendas, inputs, processes, networks and feedback loops that drive decision making
• All the key questions in section above and any other critical areas that the consultant(s) deems necessary to this assignment 40 days from start date

3. A detailed final PEA report

• Incorporating comments from AKF and WUSC No later than 45 days from start date

4. An abridged (less politically sensitive) report to be shared more widely

• Excluding politically sensitive information No later than 50 days from start date

5. A presentation of findings to AKF, WUSC and DFID

• Half day meeting/workshop with powerpoint in Kampala

Suitable date in January determined by AKF

Timeframe

The target start date is November 1, 2017. The number of days is estimated at 40, but is negotiable and can be discussed with the firm based on submission of a proposal and methodology.

Reporting

The consultant(s) will report to Colin Rasmussen, AKF – Head of Program Quality and Learning.

Evaluation Criteria

Selection will be made through a competitive process. Applicants will be evaluated by a technical committee based on the below criteria. Applicants that either neglect to respond to the any of the criteria below or do not follow the parameters of the page limits provided may be disqualified from the evaluation.

Approach (maximum 3 pages)

• Understanding of context
• Based on the TOR – Proposed methodology

Capacity (maximum 4 pages)

• Experience in doing PEAs
• Experience in East Africa and ability to work in Uganda
• Experience and knowledge of refugee issues, gender equality and inclusion
• Summary profile of staff who will contribute significantly; include level of effort of each person (See below requirements on Skills and Expertise)

o As annex, please provide CVs of all staff listed in the summary profile (no page limit)

Financial (maximum 2 pages)

• Budget that demonstrates value for money with notes as needed

Skills and Expertise Required

• 10+ year’s expertise in the functioning of public sector institutional structures, organizational behaviour and incentives mapping and theory e.g. principal-agent problems;
• 10+ year’s expertise of applied political economy analysis and the use of various methodologies, as well as the application of analysis to develop recommendations for development programming;
• 10+ years of experience working in research and analysis in East Africa (including Uganda), and ability to demonstrate knowledge of the region’s/country’s culture and social norms;
• Expertise in the functioning of informal networks and drivers of decision-making;
• Proven ability to tap into informal networks, obtain information, triangulate it, assess its reliability;
• Knowledge and experience using gender analysis and inclusion frameworks
• Work in the humanitarian sector an asset.

^[1] This may result in designing programs involving working with actors that AKF would not typically deem desirable to work with.

How to apply:

Application Process

Applicants must respond in full as per the evaluation criteria at the end of the document by the due date in order to qualify for consideration.

Submission: Applications should be submitted online to [email protected]

Deadline: October 31, 2017, before 5pm EAT.