National Consultant – Inclusive Governance Initiative ” Startup Phase

UNDP’s “Inclusive Governance Initiative” (IGI) is designed to support countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to become increasingly accountable to, and inclusive of, their entire populations, including LGBTI people. This in turn will contribute to better laws, more responsive public sector services, and social norms that affirm LGBTI rights.

Combining country-level work with South-South cooperation, sub-regional activities, and engagement with regional institutions and networks, the Initiative will contribute to the following five outcomes:

• Strengthening the commitment and capacity of African decision makers to include and respond to sexual and gender diversity issues (including parliamentarians, judges, human rights officials, religious leaders and others).
• Strengthening the capacity of LGBTI activists and allies from other SDG-focused social movements (gender equality, poverty alleviation, health for all, etc.) to understand and work with each other and to influence decision makers.
• Including sexual and gender diversity issues and LGBTI communities in the development and implementation of laws, policies and programs.
• Stimulating demand for and use of relevant ideas, evidence, and innovations.
• Sustaining and expanding international donor funding for evidence- and community-informed LGBTI and key population regional work in Africa.

IGI’s focus on inclusive governance seeks to directly contribute to a vision of improving the capacity of States to understand and deliver on their obligations as human rights “duty bearers”. This emphasis on inclusive governance addresses a critical gap in current actions to advance LGBTI rights and inclusion in Africa, as well as resonating strongly with UNDP’s mandate, Strategic Plan and strengths. Key elements of inclusive governance are that:

• State entities need to be able to fulfil their obligations, which requires relevant institutions (judiciary, parliaments, national human rights institutions, traditional authorities, etc.) to be responsive, transparent, and accountable to all their citizens, including in the case of this initiative to sexual and gender minorities.
• Citizens – including LGBTI populations – need to be aware of their rights and commitments made to them, to be able to make their voice heard, and to hold authorities to account.
• There need to be spaces and processes for citizens and state entities to interact, negotiate, listen and learn with a view to improving outcomes.

IGI works at regional and sub-regional levels, as well as at country level.

At regional and sub-regional levels, IGI’s key strategies focus is on supporting influential champions for change to become as effective as possible in their work to support inclusion of sexual and gender minorities, and on widening the circle of such champions. In addition to working with State actors such as government officials and members of parliament, the Initiative will also collaborate with key influencers from development NGOs, religious and traditional institutions, the corporate sector, and development cooperation officials.

These terms of reference are focused on the commencement of the country-level component of IGI activities in Zimbabwe, as part of the broader regional project. The outputs, described further below, will serve as inputs into subsequent country-level work to identify ‘windows of opportunity’ for positive change and to develop a country-level strategic framework for progress on LGBTI inclusion over the next decade, in line with the SDG Decade of Action commitments. Furthermore, the outputs will be used by UNDP to identify how it can most effectively and appropriately accompany and facilitate progress towards LGBTI inclusion in Zimbabwe from 2021 to 2023.   

 Duration

The Consultant’s will work for 30 days over a 4 months period.  

Objective

 To prepare a documented analysis of human rights and social inclusion issues related to sexual and gender minorities in Zimbabwe, which can be used as both a foundation for subsequent strategy development and consultation, and as a baseline to monitor further progress.

 Roles

The work described in this document shall be implemented by a consultant UNDP Zimbabwe will introduce the consultant to key stakeholders as appropriate, to ensure that protocol is observed.  

The consultant will be involved in conducting the work described in this Terms of Reference document.   UNDP Zimbabwe represented by Sarah Musungwa/Tafadzwa Muvingi will provide overall guidance to the consultant as the work is carried out. UNDP Zimbabwe will be supported in these responsibilities by the UNDP Inclusive Governance Initiative team, represented by Melanie Judge.  

The consultant, working closely in collaboration with UNDP, will deliver the following three outputs:

1.       An M&E baseline report for Zimbabwe that gathers disaggregated data and analyses of information on key indicators relevant to IGI country-level activities so as to provide a high-level analysis of the country context and a baseline assessment for those elements of the IGI results framework relevant to country level work, including:

• LGBTI-focused and cross-sectoral legislation, policies and practices (related to, for example, laws on LGBTI rights and recognition, legal and political space for civil society organizing, enforcement or lack thereof of protective and punitive laws etc.)
• Sector-specific policies and strategies (for example, policies and strategies related to poverty, gender equality, disability, universal health care, SRHR/HIV, justice, education)
• Evidence of supportive or hostile norms and attitudes among decision makers, as reflected in parliamentary speeches, court judgements, etc.
• Capacity and commitment of LGBTI CSOs to work on and with broader development issues and SDG-focused CSOs, and vice versa

See annex 1 for the country-level results framework to which the baseline report relates. The baseline report should follow the format described in annex 1, with a summary/synthesis section of approximately 3 to 5 pages, followed by 16 sections – one for each indicator, with each section typically being about one page.

2.       A stakeholder report on key contacts in Zimbabwe relevant to the achievement of the results framework (using the annexed stakeholder template) that:

• Provides names, organisational affiliations and brief descriptor for each stakeholder or stakeholder group, including full contact details where possible.
• Rates the levels of influence of each stakeholder or stakeholder group.
• Briefly describes the degree of interest in, and support for, collaborating with IGI.
• Lists the potential roles/involvement in IGI activities; related pros, cons and risks; and relevant political incentives or disincentives for supporting LGBTI inclusion.

See annex 3 for the stakeholder report format. The stakeholder report should include the most influential LGBTI activists/influencers in the country, who focus on national issues relevant to inclusive governance (for Zimbabwe, perhaps 10 to 12 people); the most LGBTI supportive stakeholders involved in parliament, government, courts, etc. (for Zimbabwe, perhaps about 20 to 30 people); other senior and influential stakeholders involved in government who are promising as part of the “moveable middle”  (for Zimbabwe, perhaps about 20 people); and the most supportive actors / influencers outside government who can have an impact on the inclusive governance agenda (for Zimbabwe, perhaps about 15 people).

3.       A discussion paper on strategy options (with an annex that compiles key secondary documents/sources, either in hyperlinks or as attached PDFs) to inform IGI future activities in [Zimbabwe].  The discussion paper will:

• Identify and describe key strategic options (or ‘windows of opportunity’) for IGI in [Zimbabwe]. These strategic options should focus on the level of law, policy and/or strategy, and be linked to the results framework and the baseline report. Illustrative examples of strategic options are: working with the Government of Zimbabwe statistics office and other stakeholders to systematize collection and analysis of disaggregated data related to LGBTI people and issues and their intersection with the SDGs; broadening sexual and gender-based violence strategies and programs; integrating LGBTI concerns into Covid-19 socio-economic recovery strategies, including those related to social protection and to economic redress; advancing SRHR and universal health care strategies, leveraging lessons from HIV; establishment of a safe, virtual, official government platform that allow LGBTI citizens to understand, interact with and contribute to Zimbabwean policy making in real time; and/or increasing civil society organising around democratic governance and participation, including for example through direct participation of LGBTI people in political parties and/or electoral politics.
• Prioritize the strategic options and discuss related pros and cons; key risks; and potential oppositions for each.
• Link specific stakeholders or stakeholder groups relevant to each strategic option and possibly entry points for advancing country-level results with them (for example, if there is an existing network of parliamentarians in-country, or an activist cross-movement initiative, these could be listed, together with details of relevant stakeholder who might be entry points to those]

The discussion paper (output 3) will follow the completion of outputs 1 and 2 and should be approx. 10-12 pages in length. Note that outputs 1 and 2 will be confidential, internal (to UNDP) documents whilst output 3 will be a public document.

 Approach

 The Consultant will identify, collect and analyse information from primary and secondary sources, including:

Desk research:

• Grey and informal literature as well as peer-reviewed literature if available
• Draft the 2019 Legal Environment Assessment Report and other legal analyses of LGBTI/sexual and gender diversity issues in the country
• UPR and other human rights related documentation (including shadow reports and relevant documentation from HRW, Amnesty, etc.)
• Publications on the country by key LGBTI CSOs in the country and region
• Publications (if available) that pay attention to LGBTI issues within broader themes (e.g. gender-based violence, SRHR, inclusive development, etc)

One-to-one interviews and small focus group discussions (on Zoom or similar, with recordings):

Each interview will probe for:

• Baseline information (either direct data or recommendations on sources)
• Perceptions of current status of inclusion and rights
• Perception of ‘windows of opportunity’
• Perception of risks
• Level of interest regarding possible involvement in IGI, and potential roles
• Suggested priorities for possible future UNDP/UN development system work on this theme in the country
• Recommendations on other stakeholders to interview and/or involve
• Recommendations on key documents or sources of data
• The final list of interviewees will be developed together with UNDP and using a snowballing approach (approximately 15-18 people should be interviewed):

• Starting with relevant UNDP country office staff and IGI staff
• Then relevant other members of the Joint UN Team on AIDS, the Gender Theme Group, and other members of the UN development system in country – such as UNFPA, UNAIDS, OHCHR, UNESCO, UN Women.
• Then prioritizing key supportive decision makers involved with the state (ministers, senior officials, parliamentarians, judges, national human rights institution officials, etc)
• Then LGBTI CSO leaders (in countries with a large number of LGBTI CSOs, focus on those perceived to be most influential viz policy, strategy and legal issues at national level)
• Then SDG CSO leaders if possible (e.g. key CSO leaders involved in gender equality, social inclusion/social protection, human rights)

Interview follow-up

• Depending on insights and advice that emerge from the first round of interviews, the consultant may seek a second round of interviews with a small set of key actors, probing for additional ideas, contacts, or resources; and/or conduct further desk research, reviewing and synthesizing documents or other resources that were suggested by interviewees.

Functional Competencies:

• Demonstrates extensive research planning and implementation skills;
• Demonstrates commitment to human development principles and values;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Shares knowledge and experience;
• Provides helpful feedback and advice;
• Displays strong analytical skills;
• Plans and produces quality results to meet established goals in a timely manner;
• Generates innovative, practical solutions to challenging situations;
• Conceptualizes and analyzes problems to identify key issues, underlying problems, and how they relate;
• Demonstrates substantive and technical knowledge to meet responsibilities and post requirements with excellence;
• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
• Responds positively to critical feedback and differing points of view.

Education:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences or a related field.

Experience:

• At least 7 years of experience in research on inclusive governance institutions and political economy. (15 years required in absence of Master’s degree);
• A demonstrable body of written work on issues relating to governance, preferably in LGBTI and Key Population
• Demonstrable experience collaborating with a wide spectrum of actors in collaborative research;
• Experience with the UN or UNDP in governance desirable.

Language:

• Excellent command of English.

Evaluation Method and Criteria

The criteria which shall serve as the basis for evaluating offers is as follows:

Combined Scoring method – where the qualifications and methodology will be weighted 70% and combined with the price offer which will be weighted 30%.

Technical criteria for evaluation (Maximum 100%)

 Qualifications

• Criteria 1: Education – Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences or a related field (15 years required in absence of Master’s degree) – Max 15%
• Criteria 2: At least 7 years of experience in research on inclusive governance especially on LGBTI and Key Population – Max 20%
• Criteria 3: A demonstrable body of written work on issues relating to governance, preferably in LGBTI and Key Population – Max 10%
• Criteria 4: Demonstrable experience collaborating with a wide spectrum of actors in collaborative research – Max 10%
• Criteria 5: Experience with the UN or UNDP in governance desirable – Max 10%
• Criteria 6: Excellent command of English – Max 5%

 Methodology

Criteria 7: Methodology on how you will approach and complete the assignment – Max 30% 

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% of the total technical points would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Documentation required

Interested candidates must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Please group them into one (1) single PDF document:

• Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references;
• Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP
• Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price in United States Dollars (USD), supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided.
• Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment and a methodology on how they will approach and complete the assignment.
• Examples of prior relevant work at least one sample in English.