(Offre en anglais) TADAEEM project recrute un Applied Political Economy Analysis Consultant Retour vers les opportunités

Applied Political Economy Analysis Consultant

Call for Applications

Background

TADAEEM project is implementing USAID’s Tunisia Accountability, Decentralization and Effective Municipalities. This 4-year governance project aims to help the Government of Tunisia decentralize governance to the institutions closest to its citizenry and continue to strengthen its nascent democracy. Deloitte, alongside a team of subcontractors, will work to enhance citizen participation in the process of governance as well as the government’s capacity to deliver the services that citizens prioritize. The project team will work in 11governorates, 31 adjacent municipalities, and with the central government in Tunis to ultimately strengthen the ecosystem of stakeholders and institutions across the country.

Objectives

The Applied Political Economy Analysis (APEA) consultant will develop quarterly APEA summaries to be included in the TADAEEM quarterly reports and a stand-along annual APEA report covering the entire project year, which may be either problem driven or sectoral, depending on the needs of the project and current events.  The exact timing of the Annual APEA will be determined in conjunction with USAID.  The quarterly summaries and annual report will assess what changes have occurredand determine why these changes are happening in the context of TADAEEM’s intervention.Annual APEA reports should not be theoretical in nature but rather problem based APEA’s tomake concrete programmatic recommendations as a result of the APEA findings.

The APEA should follow the USAID Applied Political Economy Analysis Field Guide (https://usaidlearninglab.org/library/applied-political-economy-analysis-field-guide) as well as be in line with international research quality standards mutually agreed upon in advance, and in conformity with the laws of Tunisia, especially those related to the protection of human subjects in research. In addition, the consultant must submit their list of individuals and organizations to be interviewed in advance for USAID approval, when interviews are determined to be needed.

Specific Tasks

• Review TADAEEM reports and conduct interviews with key project staff to identify areas of change to be included in quarterly APEA summaries. Identify any additional staff or stakeholder interviews required to elaborate the identified areas for inclusion in quarterly APEA summaries. Review relevant studies, articles and literature to support and document identified changes that have the potential to affect TADAEEM interventions and include literature review lists in quarterly APEA summaries.
• Identify with TADAEEM technical staff the purpose and profile of the Annual APEA. This includes documenting the APEA questions or lines of inquiry, scope, purpose, stakeholder groups to be included and use for TADAEEM.  The APEA profile may include legal framework, key actors and organizations. The APEA purpose and profile document should be approved internally prior to proceeding any further with the research in order to ensure that the APEA is aligned with project needs.
• Desk review and key informant interviews (approved by USAID in advance) conducted to document foundational factors behind the APEA questions/topic. The consultant may reference pertinent sections of the TADAEEM National APEA to avoid duplication of effort on historical context.  However, the problem-driven or sectoral APEA should focus on how broader national and historical events have affected the specific problem or sectors, which are the focus of the current APEA.  The report should include a literature review segment to recognize relevant studies orassessments generated by non-USAID actors.
• Depending on the APEA line of inquiry, it may be necessary for the consultant to conduct some field visits in coordination with TADAEEM regional staff in order to gain a better understanding of the context at the governorate and/or municipal level.
• The consultant should ensure that the quarterly APEA summaries and final APEA report addressed the following broad areas of inquiry on the specific APEA topic:
  • Rules of the game. This section includes an analysis of informal and formal institutions (rules and norms) that shape the behavior of people and groups operating in the sector. Political institutions reflect and affect the distribution of power, political competition, policy making, budgetary processes, and sector management. Economic institutions concern ownership of assets, the operation of markets, competition, land management, etc. Interactions between the elite, including service providers, and the people are also governed by norms and rules (institutions) as well as ideas.
  • The here and now. Each sector will be impacted differently by current affairs and trends. Questions to ask include, how do current events affect the sector? Are new actors, networks and issues emerging as others disappear? What influence have they, how is it used, and how does that affect the sector/rents/services?
  • Sector dynamics. How are political and economic processes affecting the performance of the sector, rent-creation and distribution, services, production, etc.? Explore how an individual sector’s characteristics affect politics, performance and services. What opportunities for reform are opening up?
• The draft quarterly summary and annual APEA report will be submitted to TADAEEM for comment and review. The consultant will document all comments received at a minimum by archiving email messages and/or tracked changes in various document versions – in order to verify final recommendations should any comments from various sources be conflicting.
• After TADAEEM approval, the report will be submitted to USAID for their review and approval. The consultant should note that they may be called upon to provide additional information and or revision work based on USAID’s inputs.

Deliverables:

• APEA line of inquiry, purpose, and profile submitted for TADAEEM approval, along with estimated timeline for each phase of work
• Complete list of key informant interviews to be conducted by organization and geographic location for prior approval by TADAEEM and USAID
• Quarterly APEA summaries submitted to TADAEEM for approval in line with established Project reporting deadlines
• Annual APEA draft report submitted for TADAEEM approval in line with established Project reporting deadlines
• Annual APEA Final report addressing all comments, requests for additional information or revisions, as needed

Level of Effort

The position is a consultancy with a limited Level of Effort to be determined in consultation with the selected consultant.

Reporting Requirements

Submissions are to be made to the TADAEEM Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Manager, and are subject to the review and approval of the Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) and Chief of Party (COP), as well as any other reviewers designated by TADAEEM leadership.