Location: Yangon, Myanmar
Deadline: Monday, 16 September 2013
Description
Deadline: Monday, 16 September 2013
Description
POST TITLE: Research Associate, Sub-National Governance Mapping
AGENCY/PROJECT NAME: UNDP Myanmar, Pillar 1 (local governance)
COUNTRY OF ASSIGNMENT: Myanmar
CONTRACT DURATION Myanmar (3.5 months)
1) GENERAL BACKGROUND
Myanmar is in transition, with numerous reforms underway to strengthen the democratization process. The 2008 Constitution provides basic principles of democracy, rule of law and human rights, and the separation of powers. There is a strong commitment of the Government of Myanmar to further roll out and implement a complex reform agenda at multiple levels including and with a specific emphasis at the local and sub national level. To contribute to an enhanced basis for policy dialogue, and to support decision making, planning and engagement for national stakeholders and development partners, UNDP will conduct an analysis of the state of Sub-national Governance in an initial group of 6 States and Regions of Myanmar between August 2013 and April 2014 with an option to complete all 14 State/Regions by August 2014. This initiative aims to respond to scarcity of data and to provide a critical contribution to the ongoing reform process.
The purpose of the mapping exercise is to better understand the state of governance in Myanmar at both state/region and township level, from both the supply and demand side perspective, i.e., from the institutional and people's perspectives. The mapping exercise will identify the opportunities and challenges that exist in the area of sub-national governance, in order to contribute to policy discussions on regional and local governance in an informed manner. It is expected that this mapping exercise will build on the momentum of reforms, and contribute to a further consolidation of the democratic transition process in Myanmar.
The Sub-national Governance Mapping exercise will therefore provide national stakeholders with the necessary data and information to make better informed decisions/produce better informed policies/better plans for improved service delivery and democratic governance at local level. The people of Myanmar (including the poor and most vulnerable) will provide much of the content of this mapping exercise; it gives them an opportunity to express their perceptions. Additionally, it will make UNDP and other International Development Partners with relevant baseline data to improve programming, indicator development and progress monitoring. The outcome of this mapping exercise will be used as a basis to design and refine jointly with the government counterparts UNDPs future work on local governance in Myanmar.
2) OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT
The objective of the assignment is to assist the Project Coordinator in implementing the Sub-national Governance Mapping project in the first 6 states and regions. UNDP has already engaged a Project Coordinator to manage the project. An international expert (lead consultant) for developing the overall framework and methodology for sub-national governance mapping, is also on board. The research associate will work closely with the project coordinator (PC) for the implementation of the mapping exercise.
3) SCOPE OF WORK Within the overall framework of UNDP's Pillar 1 (local governance) and the proposed methodology for sub-national governance mapping, the research associate will be responsible for the following tasks:
1. Prepare an initial compilation of existing research and documentation on decentralization and local governance in Myanmar.
2. Prepare and maintain an inventory of research institutions or consultants in Myanmar who can be contracted to undertake the governance mapping exercise.
3. Prepare, maintain and update a list of civil society organisations in Myanmar (national and/or state/regional levels) which can be involved in the governance mapping exercise and other activities of Pillar 1.
4. Assist in the sector choice by conducting first of all an indicative sector analysis of the most likely sectors to be included in the mapping exercise (health and education), especially focusing on ongoing our recently completed sector analyses or assessments.
5. Draft letters of invitation, agenda and minutes of meetings of the Advisory Committee and various Technical Committees, for the approval of the Project Coordinator.
6. Assist preparation of travel request, visa request and other logistics requirements in close coordination with other programme associates of Pillar 1.
7. Participate in the development of the governance mapping tools - Citizen Report Cards, Community questions and guidelines for community, township and state level dialogues.
8. Assist in the preparation of TORs and tender documents for research institutions; develop comparative capacity- assessment matrix to facilitate decision making
9. Assist and participate in preparation and delivery of Training of Trainers for research institutions, UNVs and any others, on the implementation of the governance mapping framework.
10. Assist and participate, under the close guidance of Project Coordinator, in quality assurance of data collection and data entry of the sub-contractors/researchers.
11. Support the compilation and synthesis of state/regional-level reports into a consolidated report, in English.
12. Provide overall substantive and logistical support to missions of the PC and international consultant to various states.
13. Any other tasks as assigned by the Project Coordinator.
Deliverables:
1. A comprehensive list of existing research and documentation on decentralization and local governance in Myanmar.
2. An inventory of research institutions or consultants in Myanmar who can be contracted to undertake the governance mapping exercise and initial capacity assessment matrix.
3. An overview of ongoing and recently completed studies in the most important service sectors (health and education)
4. An inventory of civil society organisations in Myanmar (national and/or state/regional levels) which can be involved in the governance mapping exercise and other activities of Pillar 1
5. Compilation of minutes of all Advisory Committee meetings and meetings of various technical committees
6. Draft consolidated report for the pilot phase, in English
4) DURATION OF ASSIGNMENT,
DUTY STATION AND EXPECTED PLACES OF TRAVEL
The research associate will be recruited for a period of 3.5 months, starting from the 15th of September 2013 and ending on the 31st of December 2013. The duty station for the assignment will be Yangon, but the research associate will be expected to travel frequently (especially during the actual implementation of the mapping exercise) to different regions/states in the country.
5) PROVISION OF MONITORING AND PROGRESS CONTROLS
Regarding all operational matters, the research associate will report to the Project Coordinator on a day-to-day basis.
6) DEGREE OF EXPERTISE AND QUALIFICATIONS
An advanced University Degree in any of the following disciplines: Political Science, Development Studies, Urban and regional planning, statistics or other relevant social science disciplines Minimum 5 years' work experience in the field of democratic governance and development, including implementation of evaluations or assessments at the local level in Myanmar Experience in managing field surveys including training of enumerators, field supervision, date entry and analysis.
Knowledge of UNDP's approach to participatory governance mapping Experience in training and capacity-building Excellent communication skills, including the ability to write in English in a clear and concise manner.