Terms of Reference: Consultant for Development Support of Local Government Gender Assessment and Action Planning Resources
Purpose: Contribute to the design and development of a local government gender assessment and action planning (LGGAAP) tool, as well as support the creation of local government gender inclusion and LGGAAP training materials.
Context:
Local Governments and Gender Inequality
Gender inequality globally remains endemic. While women have advanced towards equality in recent years, it will still take almost 100 years for women to catch up to men.[1] Furthermore, at the local level, women’s representation severely lags: only “15 per cent of countries… have reached over 40 per cent women in local decision-making bodies,” while in 12% of countries women’s local representation stands at 10% or lower.[2] To help eliminate discriminatory practices that limit women’s rights and their access to resources, governments around the world have incorporated gender mainstreaming into short- and long-term governance strategies. As the institution closest to the public, local governments have a critical role in closing these gender gaps.
Additionally, the global COVID-19 pandemic has strained local governments’ resources and exacerbated the need for crucial and equitable delivery of services to marginalized and vulnerable populations who have been disproportionately impacted by the virus. As a result of the pandemic, women have lost their jobs in far higher proportions than men, suffered significant financial losses, seen an increased burden of unpaid care and domestic work, faced major difficulties in accessing health and family planning services, and have reported higher rates of domestic violence. Women at the intersection of marginalized identities are at an increased risk for experiencing these negative impacts.[3]
Gender impact assessments (GIAs) are a valuable tool for understanding women’s status in a community, their experiences and interactions with government, and the impact of the government’s decisions, policies and services on their lives. A gender impact assessment tool specifically designed for the local government level – entitled Local Government Gender Assessment and Action Planning (LGGAAP) – that can be utilized globally will meet a significant need, as most gender assessment tools are currently developed for national or parliamentary contexts. The LGGAAP tool will also integrate principles of openness and transparency to help local governments applying the tool to remain open, accountable and responsive to citizens throughout the tool implementation process. To support this effort, the tool will be designed in collaboration with the Open Government Partnership’s (OGP) Local Program, to ensure effective integration with local action plans, though the LGGAAP tool itself will also be designed so that it can be used outside of OGP action plans.
Ozurgeti Municipality, Georgia
To effectively design and build the LGGAAP tool, this program will pilot LGGAAP implementation process with local government officials and civil society representatives in Ozurgeti Municipality, Georgia. In Ozurgeti Municipality, with NDI’s assistance, local decision makers have taken initial steps to look at the impact of particular policies and services, such as waste management, on different genders. In 2018, Ozurgeti established its Gender Equality Council (GEC), which includes designated elected officials and civil servants who focus on gender-related issues in local government, to help better reflect gender in decision making. Ozurgeti Municipality is interested in strengthening its GEC and better aligning local-level work with national strategies. Ozurgeti is also a new member of the OGP local program and is developing a formal OGP action plan for the first time, which Ozurgeti’s participation in this project will help to inform.
The Task and Deliverables:
The present Terms of Reference (TOR) is for a consultant who will contribute to the design and development of the LGGAAP tool and tool training materials, in coordination with NDI’s Democratic Governance (Gov) and Gender, Women and Democracy (GWD) teams. This assignment will be carried out remotely.
Key deliverables of the consultancy include:
- Review existing resources available on gender impact assessment, analysis and audit tools (including tools and approaches previously developed by NDI) and with NDI’s Gov and GWD teams, develop an outline or framework for the LGGAAP tool that will create a novel resource for use at the local government level
- Participate in meetings with OGP and other partners, as necessary
- Based on feedback for the LGGAAP framework, develop a first draft of the tool and all accompanying materials
- Revise the first draft of the tool based on feedback from NDI and other partners
- Submit a second draft of the tool, and revise as needed
- Based on the final tool, support the development of participatory training materials that will be used during immersive training sessions with local government officials and CSO representatives in Ozurgeti, to provide guidance on tool application
Conditions of Consultancy:
- The consultancy should initiate on or around May 14, 2021, with the first draft of the LGGAAP tool completed by July 31, 2021.
- Maximum compensation is USD $10,000.
Qualifications:
- International experience in gender inclusion and gender mainstreaming in government
- Knowledge and experience working with local governments
- Experience creating and conducting gender assessments, tools, and presentation materials
- Fluency in written and spoken English
Expression of Interest:
- Letter of motivation, highlighting relevant experience
- CV of the Consultant
- Writing sample from similar tool, research or relevant publications, on a relevant topic
- Full budget (daily rate x number of days, plus any associated costs)