International Consultant on Social Cohesion and Early Warning and Response Systems

Six years after the annexation of Crimea and the start of the armed conflict in Donbas, the process of coalescing the Ukrainian society around a common civic identity remains complex. Ukraine comprises many ethno-linguistic identities, and various internal and external actors have been able to exploit old and new grievances to increase tensions at the regional and local level.

Since 2019, with the change of political leadership in the country and the Government, the political discourse started changing towards promoting the national unity and social cohesion in the country. The President, as well as the leadership of the Parliament and Government talk about the dialogue, returning the lost territories, winning hearts and minds of all Ukrainians, building a country of rule of law and opportunities.

At the beginning of 2020, the Government had an ambitious goal of implementing the national unity dialogue largely through youth, by organising the Youth Mobility Programme with the exchange visits of young women and men to different parts of Ukraine and their dialogue on the national civic identity of Ukrainians in an effort to try and find commonalities and points that unite the nation. Unfortunately, with the COVID-19 outbreak, this ambitious plan was revisited, but the vision for continued social cohesion work is still on the agenda of the Government.

Since 2014, UNDP has worked in the eastern Ukraine to enable local communities and citizens’ interest groups to identify their own needs related to community security, and design – jointly with the local authorities – appropriate measures or policies, as well as advocating for the allocation of resources. Through this community-based approach, the programme ensures that the most vulnerable and excluded groups of women and men are not left behind in the processes of recovery and peacebuilding in eastern Ukraine.

According to UN Social Cohesion and Reconciliation Index (SCORE) findings, young people aged 18-24 have significant potential of becoming active citizens. They have high intentions to take part in community activities, are more optimistic about the future of the country, have higher sense of agency (believing they can change things). Besides, unlike older populations, youth have much higher trust in authorities and are less skeptical about the reforms. Moreover, their distinctly pro-EU orientation is broadly in line with the overall national reform agenda. Finally, they are somewhat more tolerant to a number of marginalized groups, such as LGBTQI and migrants. 

According to SCORE analysis, there are the following entry points for encouraging greater civic engagement, yet which is characterized by non-violent attitudes: 1) ensuring economic and political security (to address discrimination based on income and political views of young men women), 2) ensuring physical security: young people with higher exposure to different adversities (crime, etc.) also have higher levels of violence normalization, 3) developing distress tolerance and collaborative problem solving skills. Young people report better socio-economic outcomes, when they are resilient to adversities and stress, which in turn can be developed through skills acquisition. Therefore, the fourth entry point could comprise training and providing seed funding for entrepreneurship, as young people both have higher desire to start their business and report relatively high entrepreneurship skills.

Over the last two months of COVID 19 lockdown, UNDP Ukraine concentrated its efforts on addressing the negative aftershock of social distancing and isolation, which had a rather detrimental effect on the overall levels of social cohesion, especially affecting vulnerable groups and remote settlements in the conflict affected areas of the country. Based on data available through SCORE analysis, we aimed at maintaining dialogue and civic engagement in most affected communities and targeting most affected groups of the population (women, youth, elderly). Activities aimed at promoting “vertical” social cohesion maintained the dialogue between national/local authorities and the population, promoting trust in the government and using digital tools for service provision to the citizens. Initiatives boosting “horizontal” social cohesion, promoted civic activism, unity in action and social responsibility, to support the vulnerable members of the communities, by promoting partnerships between CSOs, private sector and governmental service providers.

As part of its work nation-wide, UNDP has leveraged its networks of civil society partners, Ombudsperson’s regional coordinators, youth workers and homeowners’ associations to promote tolerance, non-discrimination, respect for human rights and freedoms, social cohesion and dialogue in the regions of Ukraine. This work creates ground for further nation-wide replication of the UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme (RPP, implemented by UNDP, UN Women, UNFPA and FAO) experiences on social cohesion through youth inclusion and civic participation. UNDP in cooperation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports initiated the project Social Cohesion through Youth Participation. The project aims at strengthening social cohesion and promoting a national unity dialogue in Ukraine through youth inclusion in decision making, civic participation and engagement. The project results will lay the ground and methodological framework to equip the infrastructure for youth policy implementation with the necessary processes, knowledge and skills for leading the dialogue on national unity and strengthening social cohesion among young women and men in Ukraine. It will be implemented through the development of educational and training materials and preparatory activities in partnership with the Ministry of Youth and Sport and the All-Ukrainian Youth Centre (AUYC), which serves as a knowledge hub for subnational youth centres and subnational authorities. The developed and piloted methodologies, materials and programmes will be co-owned by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, as the policy-making institution, and the AUYC that will aid in securing necessary funding and government support for the continuation of the project activities in the future in partnership with subnational authorities, thus ensuring the sustainability of the project results beyond the project timeline.

One of the activities within this project envisions the development of effective conflict monitoring and early warning mechanisms at national and local level, which can sensitize communities to the need to identify and resolve conflicts through mediation and dialogue. The proposed concept of the early warning and response system (EWRS) should apply a series of monitoring and analytical instruments to identify conflict types, phases, trends and dynamics, making it possible to diagnose and predict situations, as well as providing guidance on actions and best approaches. Since EWRS is just one of the many existing tools to prevent and resolve potential social conflicts, the proposed concept of the EWRS should be coherently integrated into the overall infrastructure for creating a sustainable peace and social cohesion. Good experiences from UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme should be considered for the implementation of this activity.  

In this context, the United Nations Development Programme is recruiting an International Consultant with relevant experience and track record. The incumbent will be part of the Democratic Governance Team of UNDP. They will work under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the project manager and Programme Specialist, Democratic Governance (Team Leader).  They will also contribute to the development of UNDP programming and the implementation of the newly launched project on Social Cohesion Through Youth Civic Participation. The incumbent will assist UNDP in assessing the situation and designing the concept of EWRS which will be an integral part of the infrastructure for peace and social cohesion.

The incumbent will promote UNDP’s mandate as a gender-responsive organization with zero tolerance to any kind of discriminatory and abusive behaviour, including sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse.

The Consultant responsible for designing an EWRS should make a thorough analysis of the existing system implemented within UN RPP programme and reflect on lessons learned, evaluations of the system by the team and by relevant external actors’ experiences of formal conflict prevention mechanisms.

An initial diagnosis of the conflict in the country is essential. This analysis will establish a baseline and prioritize areas of focus for the initial phases of implementation of the System, which should cover all pilot regions of the project (Kherson, Vinnytsia, Kharkiv, Zakarpattya, Kyiv). The scale and coverage of the System can start with 1-2 regions and gradually be extended in accordance with users’ needs and financial and human resources available. The fact that it will be gradual will allow learning to take place as implementation progresses, adjusting the operation of the System based on specific needs and lessons learned as a result of the experience.

The consultant will also be responsible for the review of existing EWRS systems worldwide and international UN and UNDP best practice and initiatives to harvest good practices and lessons learned, set the stage for the development of a comprehensive,  custom made EWRS for Ukraine which will address the contextual challenges, specific objectives assigned to it, and the human and financial resources available.  In this light, UNDP would like to resort to the services of a qualified professional to deliver the following services (non-exhaustive list):

1. Conduct an initial diagnosis of the conflict in the country and a background research of the existing EWRS systems worldwide and produce a review of appropriate systems which may be relevant for Ukrainian context. This will be shaped as an internal working document summarizing the experience of UN and UNDP and serve as a basis for the EWRS design – estimated load 10 days;
2. Gather information from representatives of key Government stakeholders (will be identified by UNDP), UN Recovery and Peace Building Programme, international technical assistance projects which are working on promoting peace and building national dialogue and present in Ukraine on their experience and discuss their view of the feasibility of EWRS, its potential organizational structure, external coordination, necessary geographical coverage and appropriate institutional anchoring  – estimated load 10 days;
3. Based on the collected information from Ukrainian and international technical assistance counterparts as well as analysis of international best practice produce a detailed report and concept of the proposed EWRS which will be relevant for Ukrainian context and should include the following components:

• Purpose of the EWRS;
• Justification;
• Objectives;
• Recipients/Users;
• Type of conflict for which the system will be constructed;
• Methodology. Combination of tools for data collection, analytical methods and IT components;
• Structure of the EWRS: Degree of centralization/decentralization; which State institutions should be involved; field entities which should be included into information and work network;
• Proposed geographical-territorial scope of the System;
• Products. What products will be developed and how often will they be delivered;
• Security concerns and safeguards to be implemented to preserve the confidentiality of information and the integrity of personnel, equipment and facilities;
• Proposed results framework and impact measurement.

The consultant will then be responsible for updating the proposed system based on the comments from UNDP, conducting an online presentation for the government representatives as well as other UN agencies, collect feedback and recommendations and produce the final concept.

4. Based on the comments provided by UNDP and approved EWRS concept the consultant will be responsible for the development of a detailed terms of reference for the EWRS – estimated load 5 days;

5. As required, develop analytical materials, concept notes and briefs, analysis of statistics and related documents related to social cohesion and peace building in order to support UNDP in programme implementation and designing the thematic programme interventions on the overall promotion of social cohesion, the national unity, confidence building and a culture of dialogue from a youth-focused, rights based approach – estimated load up to 7 days.

Deliverables and implementation schedule

Detailed deliverable requirements and schedules for their implementation will be determined in each concrete situation. The consultancy days could be used at any time within a period of 15 November 2020 to 31 January 2021. In general, deliverables expected under the contract and used to confirm the number of expert days reported would include reports, analytical papers, background documents and memos, summaries of legislative and regulatory issues and other documents.

Monitoring / reporting requirements

The Consultant will be responsible for the entire work of the maximum of 40 days and to deliver the expected outputs of the consultancy work, as noted above and as additionally specified by the direct supervisor. Upon request, the Consultant shall be able to present written or oral explanations as far as the status of the works under the present assignment is concerned. The Consultant shall keep a time-log and a record of all works completed for the consultancy days rendered.

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favouritism;
• Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Experience and qualification requirements ?

• Masters’ / Specialist degree in Law, human rights, public policy, public administration or other relevant social sciences field;
• At least 2 years of experience with conducting research, summarizing gathered data and providing writeups for international organizations or INGOs;
• Proven analytical experience in designing and managing ERS/EWRS systems as a part of peace and social cohesion infrastructure.
• Advance knowledge of English. Knowledge of other languages to enable processing materials from the non-English EU sources is an asset.

Documents to be included when submitting proposal

Applicants shall submit the following documents:

• Letter of interest/proposal including a clear indication of alignment with experience and qualifications requirements;
• Personal CV, including information about past experience in similar assignments as well as the email and telephone contacts of at least three (3) professional references;
• Writing sample of no more than 15 pages demonstrating the candidate’s ability to produce analytical products (in English);
• Financial proposal.

Financial proposal

Contracts based on daily fee

The financial proposal will specify the daily fee in separate line items. Payments are made to the Individual Consultant based on the number of days worked.

Travel

All travel arrangements will be handled by UNDP if such travel is deemed necessary. Consultations regarding travel options will be held with the Consultant prior to planning of the trips and relevant logistics.

Evaluation criteria

Educational background – 10 pts max

• 10 pts – PhD in Law, human rights, public policy, public administration or other relevant social sciences field;

• 6 pts – Master’s / Specialist’s degree in Law, human rights, public policy, public administration or other relevant social sciences field.

Experience with conducting research, summarizing gathered data and providing writeups for international organizations or INGOs – 15 pts max

• 15 pts – more than 6 years;

• 13 pts – 3-5 years;10 pts –2 years.

Proven experience in designing and managing ERS/EWRS systems as a part of peace and social cohesion infrastructure – 35 pts max

• 35 pts – the writing sample (can be from several texts for versatility) is extremely well structured, the style is concise and to the point, and the text explains complex issues in a structured manner. There are few if any at all grammatical errors, and the sample demonstrates expert-level awareness of the subject that is being reported/analyzed;

• 30 pts – the writing sample (can be from several texts for versatility) has a structure, the style may be wordy or somewhat unclear, with minor repetitions and may be harder to follow. There are some grammatical errors or misprints, but they do not, in general, spoil the impression of the analytical piece. The sample, otherwise, demonstrates significant awareness of the subject that is being reported/analyzed;

• 27 pts – the writing sample’s text (can be from several texts for versatility) is not very well structured. The style is wordy and repetitive. The narrative is not easy to follow. The text has grammatical and stylistic errors that make it hard to comprehend or that make an otherwise professional in contents text look amateurish and substandard. All these factors lead the readers to doubt the expertise of the author;

• 23 pts – the text (can be from several texts for versatility) is from an irrelevant domain, shows no capacity of the author to produce high-quality analytical texts. The sample lacks structure. The style is inappropriate, and the text has mistakes that distort the meaning or lead the readers to doubt the expertise of the author.

Language Skills – 10 pts max

• 10 pts – Advance knowledge of English. Knowledge of other European language to enable processing materials from the non-English EU sources;

• 6 pts – At least Advance knowledge of English.

Maximum available technical score – 70 points

Evaluation method

Cumulative analysis

Contract award shall be made to the incumbent whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and

b) having received the cumulative highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

* Technical Criteria weight: 70%

* Financial Criteria weight: 30%

Only candidates obtaining a minimum 70% from the maximum available technical score (49 points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal and will equal to 30. All other price proposals will be evaluated and assigned points, as per below formula:

30 points [max points available for financial part] x [lowest of all evaluated offered prices among responsive offers] / [evaluated price].

The proposal obtaining the overall cumulatively highest score after adding the score of the technical proposal and the financial proposal will be considered as the most compliant offer and will be awarded a contract.