Oxfam Nigeria in partnership with Development Exchange Centre (DEC) in Taraba State are implementing a 54 month Project funded by the European Union (EU) in Taraba State of Northern Nigeria. The Project is titled “European Union Support to Food Security and Resilience in Northern Nigeria (PROSELL)” and is being implemented across 80 communities in 6 Local Government Areas of the State.
The European Union Pro-Sell (PROSELL) Project is a sustainable livelihood project that has recorded immense success for improving and building resilience of rural households who are predominantly smallholder farmers in Taraba State. The PROSELL’s achievements and model demonstrate the possibility of poverty eradication programmes and a proof of concept for sustainable livelihood interventions for vulnerable people. However, it has become a guiding framework for state activities to be keyed into the rescue agenda by its relevant institutions and agencies to promoting her reforms and policies. The overwhelming thought of this can only be achieved with state and non-state actor who serve as allies to promoting good governance and ensuring government action and inaction speaks to service delivery for the common good of the citizens.
The PROSELL project intervention is geared towards improving governance and strengthening resilience of farming households in Taraba State. In addition, ensuring direct impact; there is the need to promote mutual beneficial cooperation of farmers and value chain actors. Leveraging on partnership with stakeholders at the state level to promoting an inclusive budgeting of citizens group and building on the existing relationship that now transcend into collaboration from the PROSELL engagement with key MDAs on improving service delivery and ensuring fiscal transparency of the state governance approach to development which will now transcend in the build-ups of enhancing the civil spaces available for citizens group to engage effectively. These interventions are a means to influence the practice and policies of government in Taraba State to become more responsive to the priority needs of the people. The overall strategic objective of PROSELL is to build resilience of small-scale farmers, fishermen and livestock in commodity value chain and rural enterprise in Taraba State. Its specific objective are not limited to:
To increase income of small scale farmers by enhancing their agricultural productivity, market access, and job creation along crop, fish and livestock value chains.
To enhance adaptive capacities and resilience of small-scale farming households to climate change.
To promote cooperation and mutual benefits of farmers, livestock owners, and all value chain actors.
These interventions is aimed at improving the response capacity of government towards social security, safety system and ensure cooperation and mutual benefits of multi-stakeholder and strengthened local frameworks towards resilience building. The exposition of setting pace for the adoption of various citizens-oriented initiatives by the Taraba State government; the PROSELL project has invested to strengthen the state governance and administrative capability. In the fourth quarter of 2020, the project team had conducted immense courtesy and advocacy to ensuring Taraba state sign into the OGP, which was facilitated in a Participatory Review Meeting with PROACT as a follow up learning event in Abuja where the Taraba State Commissioner for Budget and Planning submitted it letter of intent to the OGP National Secretariat in the presence of the world bank representative among other stakeholders and committed to further embracing accountability and transparency for improved service delivery.
The global OGP process at every level is facilitated by robust implementation plans that identify the thematic focus of the governments and CSOs, leading to actionable adoption of key commitments areas that involves the interest of both state and non -state actors. It requires foresight for promoting accountable and transparent public institutions, in a manner that ensure citizens enjoys the dividend of democracy beyond the ballot box as opined by the Chief Executive Officer – OGP Global-Report_Volume-1.
Taraba State has taken the lead in joining the OGP as a sub-national government and have further set up its own co-created steering committee which includes civil society organization and private sector partners. As a result, the PROSELL project has taken the initiative to support the State Government, CSOs and private sector in understanding the OGP process and developing a one-year implementable State development plan that fosters social inclusion, fiscal transparency and delivery of quality services to the rural poor, as it interest the project.
Rationale
The PROSELL project influencing strategy is geared towards ensuring the local and State government can deliver a series of sustainable livelihood approaches through its provision of social services targeted to improving the lives of rural household. Additionally, the project catalytic funds have created proof of concept that can be replicated by government through its fiscal plan, hence it is therefore important that to support government in creating systems and policies in place for better plan and utilization of its resource, all which can be facilitated through the multi-lateral open government partnership thematic areas and commitments, that are focused on co-creating transparent and accountable policy implementations in the State.
The European Union Produce and Sell PROSELL project, as a livelihood agriculture based service delivery project in Taraba aiming to strengthening resilience, peace, security and governance, is very much interested in repositioning government planning and spending targeted at improving service delivery, hence its focus on ensuring the OGP state actions plans are supported to facilitate increase provision for citizens social protection and safety net issues, as well as ensuring strategic plans are in place to transform the lives of the smallholder rural farmers in a multi-sectorial designed towards achieving food security.
Assignments Objectives
The objectives of these exercise is to gain professional support for the development of an implementable OGP State action plan for Taraba State, which a clear monitoring and evaluation systems, based on the generally agreed thematic areas by the Co-creation set up.
This is also set to induct and train the committee members who would become drivers of the SAP to better ensure robust implementations and independent monitoring of the progress made.
Scope and Expectations
Taraba state OGP operations is set at the desk of the State Ministry of Budget and Planning headed by the Commissioner, and it’s expected that the Convener of Civil society in Taraba (COCST) lead become the co-chair of the OGP per the design. Other thematic leads are pending the general agreement of the committee on which commitments areas to focus on.
The following are the expectations from the Open Government Partnership, State Action Plan Facilitator;
Design a training manual that incorporates key learnings to be delivered at the workshop.
Fully facilitate and coordinate the 3days Taraba OGP State development plan formation workshop.
Ensure all committee members have greater understanding of the OGP process and practises by ways of support deliveries during the workshop.
Facilitate the review and development of the OGP State action plan.
Ensure that the committee members have improved understanding of the OGP independent report mechanism and design an evaluation methodology that will determine the level of understanding of participants.
Serve as the State OGP advisory, during the contract period.
Make presentations to Oxfam (PROSELL Team) of the draft State Action Plan.
Make a presentation to the wider group of key findings before the Ministry of Budget and Planning for validation.
Facilitate an on-site or virtual consultative review of the OGP SAP be finalization and launch.
The Consultant within the 20 days period of this assignment, would work closely with the PROSELL Program lead and the OGP Steering Committee leads to setting up a SMART OGP Action Plan.
Expected Deliverables
Deliverables of this activity will be addressing relevant governance and social accountability indicators in the logframe especially: ‘# of social accountability frameworks (by type) promoting cooperation and mutual benefits established’; ‘Taraba State has signed onto the Open Government Partnership mechanism’; and ‘Citizen’s participation across all the budgeting cycle is effective’.
Other delivery includes;
A. Training manual
B. Training and facilitation slides
C. A detail Open Government Partnership, State action plan with robust M&E framework.
D. Activity report with important action pictures and other relevant files
Profile and Requirements of the Consultant
The consultancy service for the formation of the Taraba State Open Government Partnership, State action plan will be conducted by an independent skilled consultant who will work in close collaboration with the PROSELL Project Management Team and The OGP steering committee.
The consultant must have multi-sectorial expertise with key knowledge on the Open government partnership and its ways of working; Public policy development, as well as State Government institutional framework.
Required Expertise:
· More than 5 years advanced degree/MSc degree in Sustainable development, development Studies, Public Policy Management, International relations, Economic, Political science and other related fields.
· Proven senior-level policy development, governance intervention and advocacy experience (at least 2 years) including knowledge of Northern Nigeria State Government Systems.
· Policy awareness and public interest group identification.
· A demonstrated track record of carrying out similar type of policy formulation exercise.
· Ability to interact and provide strategic mentorship and recommendations to the project team and the OGP steering Committee and its technical working group.
· Ability to provide expertise on-site and virtually in-line COVID 19 regulations.
· Excellent interpersonal and communication skills including ability to facilitate and work in a multidisciplinary team.
· Strong descriptive analytical skills and ability to clearly synthesize and present training and consultation materials in a well explanatory and understandable form.
· Ability to draw practical conclusions and to prepare well‐written reports in a timely manner.
· Familiar with other States OGP processes and their State action plans for referencing.
· Strong analytical and reporting skills, presentation skills, attention to detail, ability to meet deadlines, and proficiency in Microsoft Office packages.
· Ability to relate and communicate in local language (Hausa) is an added advantage
How to apply:
Applications Procedure
Interested and qualified consultants are expected to download the full RFQ package from OXFAM-Website: https://nigeria.oxfam.org/get-involved-work-us/procurement-consultancy
Submission shall include:
· One-page expression of interest (technical and financial proposal/RFQ)
· A detail proposal and 20days workplan including the days identified for the SAP reviews and submission/presentation of the final draft to The State steering Committee and OXFAM SCU.
· CV(s) of consultant(s) who will undertake the study, including full name, physical addresses, telephone number(s)
· References of three previous clients; Samples of previous similar assignments/links to previous reports;
· Proposed budget indicating clearly all cost as part of the proposal.
· Filled Request for quotation form
Questions:
All questions would be received in writing and sent to ngaoxfamvendors@oxfam.org on or before 14th February 2021. Responses would be uploaded on OXFAM website by 15th February 2021.
Submission:
All application should be submitted in one pdf documents, applicants could use https://combinepdf.com / or www.ilovepdf.com if acrobat abode pdf is not available.
Completed proposals (technical and financial proposal) should be submitted to NGA.Bid@oxfam.org . Deadline: 18th February 2021 at 5pm.