TERMS OF REFERENCE
Consultancy for the
Development of UNICEF’s engagement strategy with the African Diaspora on children’s rights
1. Background:
The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child. This position is reinforced by the Convention on the Rights of the Child which is the main guiding document for UNICEF, further providing the basis for programming, advocacy, and operations around children’s needs. The Convention is also a powerful instrument to promote policy change through advocacy with partners.
UNICEF’s Medium-Term Strategic Plan (MTSP) 2006-2013, as well as the midterm review of the MTSP highlight the crucial role of partnerships and collaborative relationships for realizing children’s and women’s rights and achieving internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals. Similar emphasis has been made in the 2014 – 2017 Strategic Plan further calling for effective and efficient partnerships aimed at enhancing results for children.
Partnerships and collaborative relationships cut across every aspect of UNICEF’s work, helping to bring about results that no organization can achieve independently. UNICEF believes that partnerships and collaborative relationships are critical to deliver results for children and to realize their rights. Since its inception, the organization has worked with a broad range of partners all over the world in order to achieve such outcomes. These partnerships and collaborative relationships are established and implemented at a global, multi-country and country levels. UNICEF works with Governments to develop and implement child-focused programmes and policies; with civil society organisations (CSOs) to advocate for policy change and to deliver services for children; with the corporate sector to mobilize resources and to promote child- and women-friendly business and marketing practices; with the media to raise public awareness about children’s issues; and with knowledge partners such as universities and think tanks to strengthen the evidence base for programmes and advocacy activities.
The international landscape of development partnerships has evolved significantly over the past decades. There is an international consensus today that partnerships with public and non-public actors are crucial for achieving internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals. To adapt to these developments and to explore the full potential of working with others for children, UNICEF is broadening its approach to partnerships and collaborative relationships by engaging in new ways of working together, building on the strengths of different groups of the society and providing unprecedented opportunities to bring about sustainable improvements in children’s development opportunities[1].
In its efforts to constantly mobilize and leverage resources and development results for children, UNICEF has begun to analyze the contributions by the African Diaspora in promoting children’s rights globally and more particularly in their home countries.
While it is well established that African Diaspora make important contribution to the national economic growth process through remittances and that they are a major source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), African governments, donors and international agencies are increasingly recognizing the actual and potential contribution of the Diaspora to national development priorities, including in the social sectors. The African Union has held various consultations and fora with the Diaspora in order to develop a framework for integrating them into the continental development agenda. There have been various initiatives by individual African countries to engage with the Diaspora. These initiatives have not always yielded the desired results, but the potential of mobilizing expertise, knowledge, capacity and financial resources of the Diaspora toward national programmes for health, education, water and sanitation through an engagement framework and roadmap, is worth exploring as we embark on the new Sustainable Development Goals.
2. Objectives
The overall objective of the consultancy is to identify the different African diaspora groups and networks in Europe and what they have been engaged in vis-a-vis their countries of residence and more especially their countries of origin. It is worth looking at the possible areas and approaches of collaboration and engagement with African Diaspora networks and groups on children’s rights in their home countries and thereafter develop a strategy and collaborative framework that will form part of UNICEF’s innovative partnerships initiatives.
The consultancy will:
2.1 Provide data on African Diaspora organizations in Europe in particular:
- the existing groups and networks;
- the profile (human capital, membership and numbers per country of residence and origin, professional background, expertise, financial capital, advocacy capacity, interests, priority areas they are engaged in, etc);
- areas of donors and development partners engagement with the Diaspora.
2.2 Assess the mechanisms in both home and host countries that could facilitate meaningful and sustainable engagement of the Diaspora in promoting children’s rights through the provision and access to basic social services as well as supporting positive social change that benefit children:
- contribution trends including remittances and participation of the Diaspora in social development projects in their home countries both at family and community levels;
- existing platforms for their advocacy and their participation in policy discussions with national governments, development partners and civil society organizations;
- examples of practices on engaging the Diaspora on development activities relevant to the social sectors and to children’s rights.
2.3 Design a strategy and identify key actions of UNICEF’s engagement with the African Diaspora:
- opportunities to mobilize Diaspora investment and entrepreneurship for children globally and in the countries of origin;
- approaches in harnessing the intellectual capacity of members of the African Diaspora groups and networks and leveraging their knowledge, capacity, resources to support the implementation of the Medium Strategic Plan for children 2014-2017 in Africa.
3. Outputs
The consultancy report (maximum 25 pages) should include:
a) An executive summary
b) An introduction
c) Key finding (s) under each objective/questions including challenges
d) Conclusions
e) Strategy and key actions
f) Any annexes separately attached to the report
Deliverables / Deadline / Amount payable (US$) breakdown /Outline of the analysis covering point 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 above / 15 May 2015 / 20% of fees
Draft report / 15 June 2015 / 30% of fees
Final report approved by UNICEF / 15 July 2015 / 50% of fees
4. Consultancy process
UNICEF is looking for an institution with very good knowledge of and experience in African Diaspora networks, their activities and collaboration on development issues to carry out the present consultancy.
Interested teams/institutions with appropriate qualifications and experience are requested to submit a brief proposal of not more than 4 pages containing the following information:
a) Proposed method and approach to the scope of the work outlined in the terms of reference
b) Comments on the Terms of reference, if any
c) Detailed organisational/team profile and evidence of similar work undertaken
d) Draft timeframe to complete the proposed work
e) Proposed total budget, including breakdown of items
5. Budget and payment
The first payment of 20 percent of the agreed upon consultancy fees will be made upon submission of the outline of the analysis, followed by an additional 30 percent after presentation of the draft report. The final payment (50 percent) will be made once the final report has been submitted and is approved by UNICEF.
6. How to apply
Please submit your application in accordance with point 4 above to Ms. Aichatou Diawara-Flambert () and cc Mr. John Mosoti () with subject line “Consultant – African Diaspora” by COB 25 April, 2015.
UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.
[1] Based on UNICEF Strategic framework for partnerships and collaborative relationships E/ICEF/2009/10