Call for Expressions of Interest in Consultancy to Develop an EAC Policy on Social Protection and Welfare

Donor Agency: United States Department of Labour (USDOL) & UK (Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office)

Executing Agency: ILO Country Office for Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan

Implementing agency: ILO

Geographical coverage: The Partner States of the East African Community

Assignment period: October and November 2023 (30 Days)

Contract Type: External Collaboration (EXCOL)

Consultancy type: International consultant

1.0 PROJECTS OVERVIEW

The Strengthening Capacity of Governments to Address Child Labour and/or Forced Labour, and Violations of Acceptable Conditions of Work in Sub-Saharan Africa, (CAPSA) is a three-year project funded by the U.S. Department of Labour (USDOL) to enhance enforcement of the legal framework and policies pertaining Child Labour and/or Forced Labour/Trafficking in Persons, and Violations of Acceptable Conditions of Work. This includes improvement of assistance services for victims of child labour and forced labour and strengthening partnerships to accelerate progress in addressing child labour, forced labour and violations of acceptable forms of work.

The project-level objective is to strengthen the capacity of the Governments of Kenya and Uganda and the East African Community (EAC) to address child labour, forced labour/human trafficking and violations of acceptable conditions of work. In support of achieving this objective, the project has three outcomes, which are:

• Outcome 1: Improved enforcement of the legal framework and policies pertaining to child labour, forced labour, and violations of acceptable conditions of work.
• Outcome 2: Improved assistance services for victims of child labour and forced labour.
• Outcome 3: Strengthened partnerships to accelerate progress in addressing child labour, forced labour, and violations of acceptable conditions of work.

Better Regional Migration Management is a project funded by the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office of the United Kingdom Government. The programme focuses on strengthening the capacities of countries in East and Horn of Africa to govern labour migration by using evidence-based policies, enhancing migrant workers’ qualifications and skills, and actively engaging the social partners. The BRMM programme covers 3 inter-related components of intervention, namely:

1. Labour migration policies and programmes that support fair and productive migration in East Africa and Horn of Africa are evidence-based and gender sensitive;
2. Labour migration governance is fair, equitable and effective recognizing skills and facilitating social inclusion and decent work;
3. Labour migration governance is strengthened through being more inclusive of social partners.

Terms of Reference for the consultancy to develop a draft EAC Policy on Social Protection

1. BACKGROUND

The development of an EAC policy on social protection draws the mandate from Article 120 of the Treaty Establishing the East African Community where the Partner States undertake to closely co-operate amongst themselves in the field of social welfare with respect to (a) employment, poverty alleviation programmes and working conditions; (b) vocational training and the eradication of adult illiteracy in the community; and (c) the development and adoption of a common approach towards the disadvantaged and marginalised groups, including children, the youth, the elderly and persons with disabilities through rehabilitation and provision of, among others, foster homes, health care education and training.

Further,Partner States, in Article 39 of the Protocol on the Establishment of the East African Community Common Market undertake to coordinate and harmonise their social policies to promote and protect decent work and improve the living conditions of the citizens of the Partner States for the development of the Common Market.

The Partner States commit to coordinate and harmonise their social policies relating to (a) good governance, the rule of law and social justice; (b) promotion and protection of human and peoples’ rights; (c) promotion of equal opportunities and gender equality; (d) promotion and protection of the rights of marginalised and vulnerable groups; (e) promotion of African moral values, social values and ethics; and (f) promotion of unity and cohesion among the people in the Community.[1]

As such the Partner States undertake to implement programmes to: (a) promote employment creation; (b) strengthen labour laws and improve working conditions; (c) eliminate compulsory and forced labour; (d) promote occupational safety and health at the work places; (e) abolish child labour in particular the worst forms of child labour; (f) promote formal education to advance social development; (g) promote vocational and technical training; (h) expand and improve social protection; (i) promote social dialogue between the social partners and other stakeholders; (j) promote the right of persons with disabilities; (k) promote sports; (l) prevent and manage HIV and AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis; (m) prevent and manage the outbreak of epidemics and other diseases in order to improve the general hygiene and health of the people; (n) prevent social vices such as alcoholism, drug abuse or substance abuse and perverse behaviour; (o) eliminate human smuggling and trafficking; and (p) eliminate ignorance, diseases and poverty.[2]

The Partner States shall, in implementing the above programmes: (a) promote, preserve, and mainstream cultural activities and heritage in development initiatives; and (b) adopt measures and programmes aimed at promoting the welfare of the vulnerable groups.

Social Protection and Welfare is further provided for in the EAC development agenda and was defined in the 1st Strategic Plan for Gender, Youth, Children, Persons with Disabilities, Social Protection and Community Development as; “ a range of public actions carried out by the state and others in response to unacceptable levels of vulnerability and poverty, which seek to guarantee relief from destitution for those sections of the population who for some reasons beyond their control are not able to provide for themselves”.

The strategic plan (updated to the 2nd edition) recognises the centrality of social protection for social policy enhancement, illustrates the various preventive, promotive, protective, and transformative actions and proposes various recommendations for implementation through policy and programming.

The 2nd Strategic Plan which is to be implemented in line with the 6th EAC Development Strategy considers the following priority actions.

1. Undertaking a study on institutional bottlenecks that infringe on the rights of the poor and the marginalized to access social services;
2. Conducting baseline analysis of existing policies on Social Protection and Social Welfare in Partner States;
3. Developing and adopting the EAC Policy on Social Protection;
4. Adopting inclusive social protection frameworks (Child, HIV sensitive and consideration of marginalized groups and populations on the move);
5. Establishing and supporting regional and national social protection forums;
6. Assessing portability of social security benefits among EAC Partner States;
7. Conducting regional South-South cooperation and international exchange visits on social protection; and
8. Establishing partnerships for supporting social protection mechanisms.

[1] Article 39 (2) of the EAC Common Market Protocol

[2] Article 39 (3)

2.0 RATIONALE FOR DEVELOPING THE REGIONAL POLICY ON SOCIAL PROTECTION

Various meetings of the Sectoral Council for Gender, Youth, Children, Social Protection and Community have observed that there is a need for the EAC to fast-track policy and programming on social protection given that:

1. Accountability is required for the different strategies and commitments on Social Protection at different levels i.e., at the regional level regarding the provisions of the EAC Treaty, the Common Market Protocol and the EAC Vision 2050, continental level under the African Union Social Policy Framework and globally in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. The Sectoral Council has called for the establishment of a Forum on Social Protection to be convened every two years for learning and sharing good practices- and to be linked to annual national social policy conferences. There is no reference to the Durban Call to Action or any of the areas of focus on the ILO on issues of Social Protection, decent work agenda, ILO principles of social justice and Social Protection Floors Recommendation and ILO Conventions/standards that pertain to the right to social protection.
2. There is no budgetary support for social protection programming at the regional level. For good policy frameworks and protocols to come into force, they need to be supported by adequate budget–resource allocation to operationalize the policies.
3. Unregulated Labour Migration is becoming a challenge in the region: there is a need to amplify policies to respond to the changing dynamics of labour migration (such as diaspora engagement, remittances, and trafficking in persons)- There is also a need for accountability of remittances, better monitoring of recruitment agencies, lobbying for minimum wage laws.
4. EAC needs to strengthen the monitoring role, especially conducting midterm assessments and summative evaluations of the strategic frameworks in the social sectors (gender, youth, children, social protection, education, labour, health etc.).
5. There is a need for harmonization of regional policies and national plans of action in the various related sectors (health, labour and social development, gender, education, youth and children, HIV, education etc.)
6. There is a need for the promotion of Social Dialogue, massive sensitization, awareness promotion and capacity building on beneficiary rights and the importance of social security for all citizens of EAC Partner States.
7. There is a need to integrate and revise African traditional social protection systems in existing structures*.*

3.0 OBJECTIVES to the assessment

The aim of the consultancy is to undertake a comprehensive review of existing literature (published, programme documents and other literature) of current policies, practices, and knowledge on social protection in the EAC Partner States and regionally (including similar economic and social institutions in Africa); and use the review in a consultative process to draft a policy guidance document that will facilitate the development of a regional policy on social protection.

4.0 SCOPE OF WORK AND DELIVERABLES

The tasks required to achieve the above aims, and the expected deliverables involve the following main activities:

1. Preparation of a detailed inception report underlining the proposed methodology, clear action plan for the study and timelines. The inception report should include a list of major sources of literature that will be covered as well as a list of experts to be interviewed. Literature should include ILO publications (standards, reports, recent project activities) that are relevant to social policies, particularly the coverage of vulnerable groups including migrant workers. Updated quantitative information about social protection programmes and schemes in concerned countries reflecting legal and effective coverage with social protection collected for the ILO’s World Social Protection Data Base will be made available in the process of drafting and for further evidence-building and consultations with EAC in the process of policy drafting.
2. A desk-top document and literature review to highlight current policies, practices and knowledge on social protection and inclusive social protection mechanisms in the EAC Partner States**.** The focus will mainly be on how social protection is conceptualized using ILO’s framework of comprehensive social protection systems based on international social security standards highlighting the extent to which Social Protection programmes in the EAC are effectively reaching all populations including those in the informal sector, the most vulnerable particularly children, young people, persons with disabilities and those affected by HIV and AIDS. The section will also highlight the implementation of legal and effective coverage gaps and challenges that will constitute a rationale.
3. A mapping of social protection mechanisms in each Partner State to determine the requirements for effective coordination and capacity building needs for enhanced coordination of social protection provision. This phase of the study will largely entail the development of a detailed 4W (Who is Where, doing What, When) matrix as a basis for the development of an integrated regional social protection policy. This will include a review of the principal social protection programmes in the Partner States; the lead agencies; the population covered and target beneficiaries; as well as opportunities for extension of legal and effective coverage; opportunities for progressive extension of coverage; and an outline of financing options.
4. Development of a draft regional social protection policy. Drawing largely from activities (ii) and (iii) above, the consultant will develop a draft regional social protection policy. The draft policy will include proposed priority actions for integrated social protection at national and regional levels. This entails drafting test guidelines and standardsfor (i) delegation from regional to national to subnational governments; and (ii) coordination of social protection interventions at local levels, and linkages between these levels of coordination.

5.0 PROPOSED TIMEFRAME AND WORK PLAN

The contract stipulates that the study should be undertaken and completed over 30 days in the period between October and November 2023.

PAYMENT SCHEDULE

1. 30% upon submission of inception report including his/her understanding of the assignment, detailed methodology notes, research and analysis tools and a realistic and detailed work plan
2. 30% upon submission of a comprehensive review document which encompasses the examination of current policies and practices related to social protection in the EAC Partner States, assess their alignment with the ILO’s comprehensive framework, analyze the effectiveness of programs reaching diverse populations, especially vulnerable groups in the informal sector, and identify gaps and challenges in legal and practical coverage
3. 20% upon delivery of a detailed mapping report which includes a comprehensive mapping of social protection mechanisms in each Partner State
4. 20% upon submission of a draft regional social protection policy including proposed priority actions for integrated social protection at national and regional levels, guidelines, and standards for delegation from the regional level to national and subnational governments and coordination mechanisms, fostering linkages across different levels of social protection interventions.

ASSIGNMENT SUPERVISION

The consultant will work under the supervision of the ILO BRMM project Chief Technical Advisor, the ILO CAPSA Project Manager and the EAC Principal Gender and Community Development Officer. The EAC will ensure leadership and coordination of the policy’s design process.

6.0 QUALIFICATIONS OF THE CONSULTANT

1. Advanced university degree (Masters) in social sciences, public policy, development studies, Monitoring and Evaluation or any other related discipline relevant to this assignment.
2. Technical understanding of the social protection system and good knowledge of international social security standards and their application to regional and national policies.
3. Demonstrated track record of successfully facilitating participatory strategy development on the national level; experience with supranational strategy development will be considered an asset.
4. Demonstrated ability to write reports, make presentations, facilitate participatory workshops, conduct focus group discussions, and facilitate training.
5. Previous experience in carrying out similar assignments is desirable.
6. Experience dealing with the AU, the EAC and other regional mechanisms will be an added advantage

Competencies

1. At least five years of experience working and/or researching social policy, and social protection policy design
2. Application of international social security standards into comprehensive policies
3. Design of SMART monitoring frameworks
4. Strong familiarity with the human rights-based approach for disadvantaged groups and its application to informal justice systems
5. Strong oral and written communication ability
6. Experience with desk reviews, FGDs and with working with CSOs
7. Fluency in written and spoken English
8. Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages.

Evaluation Criteria

– Expertise and qualification

• Applicant has an advanced university degree (Master) in social sciences, public policy, development studies, Monitoring and Evaluation or any other related discipline relevant to this assignment.
• Maximum Score – 10
• Applicant demonstrates a strong technical understanding of social protection systems and possesses a solid knowledge of international social security standards, along with the ability to apply this knowledge to regional and national policies effectively.
• Maximum Score – 10
• Applicant has a proven track record in successfully facilitating participatory strategy development at the national level and experience in supranational strategy development
• Maximum Score – 10
• Applicant exhibits proficiency in various communication skills, including report writing, presentation delivery, facilitation of participatory workshops, conducting focus group discussions, and providing training.
• Maximum Score – 10
• Applicant has previous experience in conducting similar assignments
• Maximum Score – 10
• Applicant has experience in engaging with regional bodies such as the African Union (AU), the East African Community (EAC), or other regional mechanisms
• Maximum Score – 10

– Proposed approach to deliver the ToR’s scope of work

• Applicant demonstrates (via submitted technical proposal) their expertise working on developing policies. The technical proposal includes a realistic work plan.
• Maximum Score – 20
• Based on the submitted proposal, the applicant demonstrates the appropriate approach/methodology to be used to deliver on the objectives of the assignment including any innovation/new idea proposed.
• Maximum Score – 20

– Total – 100

• Minimum Acceptable Score for the Proposal to be considered for financial evaluation – 70

How to apply

Application

Interested consultants can send questions if any to the ILO’s Procurement Unit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (ADDIS_PROCUREMENT@ilo.org) until 20 September 2023. Questions will be answered and shared with the interested organizations by Close of Business on 22 September 2023.

Completed technical and financial proposals are to be submitted to ADDIS_PROCUREMENT@ilo.org by Close of Business on 29 September 2023.