Strategic plan for building public policy assessment capacities and skills in Arab countries

Result of ServiceThis consultancy is expected to result in a paper presenting a strategic plan for building public policy assessment capacities and skills in the Arab region. The deliverable will serve as a foundation for the formulation of an ESCWA project on the subject. The paper will be in English and should be 30-40 pages in length to be submitted electronically as an MS Word file. Work LocationHome-based Expected duration3 months Duties and ResponsibilitiesBackground: ESCWA’s Arab Sustainable Development Report 2024 (ASDR 2024) maps policy directions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the 22 Arab countries. The Report highlighted the prevalence of a weak or broken policymaking cycle in most Arab countries as one of the main structural impediments to SDG progress in the region. The report makes the following observations across policy areas: - Policies remain largely ineffective despite growing attention and in some cases funding, leading to serious questions regarding policy design and implementation. - Policies continue to be blind to vulnerable groups, inadvertently pushing people behind - Policies are often incoherent and fragmented, with weak coordination among different government entities, leading to high inefficiency and poor investment performance. - Policies are rarely science-informed or based on disaggregated data. - A lack of strategic foresight and greater policy focus on the short term are weakening inter-generational justice, especially in the economic and social spheres Policymaking to achieve the SDGs requires inclusive, integrated and transformative policymaking. Yet, many government institutions in Arab countries struggle with capacity and skill gaps in designing, implementing, and evaluating policies that would advance the SDGs. And despite sometimes significant investments in policy areas and/or the launch of ambitious legislative frameworks and strategies, the impact on the ground continues to be less than desired. In view of the above, ESCWA is planning to launch a project to address critical capacity and skill gaps in policy assessment among public officials for improved policymaking in Arab countries and to accelerate SDG achievement. To build and implement a relevant, efficient, impactful and sustainable project, the following questions need to be answered: - What are the main elements of a policy assessment program that would address the identified gaps as outlined in ASDR 2024? - What are the desired capacities and skills needed for effective public policy assessment in the region? What effective strategies could be used to bridge the gap between the current and desired capacities and skills? - What SDGs policy areas are ripe for testing public policy assessment tools and techniques? - What low-cost frameworks could be used in public policy assessment in the region that best integrate SDG principles such as \"leaving no one behind\" and “inter-generational equity”? - What digital tools and technologies can be leveraged for improving public policy assessment, and how? - What resources and organizations exist that ESCWA could capitalize upon through partnerships in building regional policy assessment capacities and skills? - How to create and sustain regional demand for policy assessment? How to establish a culture of policy evaluation in public institutions in the region? - What are the key factors that could contribute to the success and sustainability of a regional policy assessment training programme? Objective: The objective of this consultancy is to support ESCWA in answering the above questions and designing an effective capacity-building program that is feasible and fit for the prevailing policymaking context in the Arab countries. Duties and responsibilities: The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the Cluster Leader of the 2030 Agenda and SDG Coordination Cluster and/or delegated staff. Coordination and follow-up with the consultant will be done through e-mails, phone calls and virtual meetings. The consultant will be required to provide updates on progress and submit phased deliverables, as per the agreed timeline. The consultant will be responsible for developing a strategic plan for building public policy assessment capacities and skills in Arab countries. The consultant will outline clear objectives and concrete strategies to bridge the gap between the current and desired capacities and skills among public officials. For each proposed element, the consultant will explain the rationale and relevance to the specific context in public institutions in Arab countries. The consultant will also include examples of good practices from the Arab region or globally to support their recommendations. Specifically, the consultant will: 1. Review and synthesize available literature on public policy assessment in the Arab region, including examples of good practice and lessons learned. 2. Collect primary evidence regarding the gap in policy assessment capacities and skills in public institutions in selected Arab countries, and best approaches to bridge the gap. a. The data collection methodology is to be agreed with ESCWA and may include surveys, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions, to be undertaken remotely (online). b. Countries covered must span the various levels of development, income and population sizes in the region. Data collection must cover a minimum of 6 countries. 3. Review and synthesize existing policy assessment resources and frameworks and propose ways in which they need to be tailored to suit the regional context. 4. Consolidate primary and secondary evidence collected through the above steps into a strategic plan that ESCWA and its partners could apply for building public policy assessment capacities and skills in the Arab region. Qualifications/special skillsMaster's degree in public policy, economics, social development, or a related field is required. All candidates must submit a copy of the required educational degree. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. At least 10 years of progressively responsible experience and research in public policy formulation, implementation and analysis in the Arab region is required. LanguagesEnglish and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat; and Arabic is a working language of ESCWA. For this consultancy, fluency in English and Arabic are required. Note: “Fluency” equals a rating of ‘fluent’ in all four areas (speak, read, write, and understand) and “Knowledge of” equals a rating of ‘confident’ in two of the four areas. Additional InformationNot available. No FeeTHE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.