Consultant for a Research Paper on Social Networks and Elections in the Arab World

UNDP is the UN system’s provider of electoral assistance. UNDP provides support to partner countries to develop electoral laws, processes and institutions that strengthen inclusive participation and professional electoral administration, which in turn build real and perceived credibility. Because elections are about much more than what happens on election day, UNDP’s uses an electoral cycle approach to its work. This treats the election event as one of many elements that impact on the quality and magnitude of citizens’ participation including electoral system design, electoral law reform, voter registration methodologies, civic and voter education, building the capacity of electoral management bodies, political party behaviour and the quality of media coverage of electoral issues. Global planning is led by the Democratic Governance Group (DGG) of the Bureau for Development Policy (BDP) in close coordination with the Department of Political Affairs’ Electoral Assistance Division (EAD). In July 2009, UNDP launched the Global Programme for Electoral Cycle Support (GPECS) to contribute to the overall goal of deepening democracy and accelerating human development. In contributing to this larger and longer-term goal, GPECS focuses on the intermediate UNDP Strategic Plan Outcome of “Electoral laws, processes and institutions strengthen inclusive participation and professional electoral administration”. GPECS seeks to achieve this outcome by: Providing leadership, advocacy and capacity development in the field of electoral cycle support at the global level. Supporting South-South cooperation and promoting regional knowledge development, exchanges and capacity. Supporting electoral cycle development and lessons learned in key countries at the national level; and Fostering inclusive participation and women’s empowerment. The Regional Window of GPECS includes a component for each region. In case of the Regional Component for Arab States, regional priorities and activities have been developed between the Regional Bureau for Arab States (RBAS) and the Regional Center in Cairo (RCC) and the GPECS team in DGG/BDP. The GPECS Regional Component for Arab States focuses on three key priority areas of policy and programmatic intervention: Electoral Cycle Programming: Enhanced capacities of UNDP country offices and regional electoral stakeholders to use the electoral cycle in transitional and conflict affected countries in the region. Participation and Accountability: Enhanced electoral participation of youth, women and marginalized groups and social accountability of electoral processes Credibility and Integrity: Promoting regional. Learning and exchange between UNDP country offices and regional institutions and stakeholders that enhance credibility and integrity of electoral processes with significant youth involvement. In order to implement the Regional Component for Arab States and in view of the recent developments in the region in the current transitional context, UNDP is conducting a review of practice of how social networks have influenced on election behavior in the Arab world, to ultimately draw lessons learned for key stakeholders in the region (political parties, civil society, electoral management bodies, youth, women and other marginalized groups) and provide insights of use for future electoral programming in the region. Under the overall supervision and guidance of the Democratic Governance Practice Leader for Arab States and the GPECS Electoral Policy Specialist, the consultant will draft a research paper that examines the influence social networks have had on elections in the Arab States region and their influence in the development of institutions shaping elections and public demands for and engagement in these institutions

Duties and Responsibilities

Objective of the assignment: UNDP intends to hire a consultant to draft a study on the influence of Social Networks on Elections and each stage of the electoral cycle in the Arab World in view of the recent developments in the region. Scope of work: Under the overall supervision and guidance of the Democratic Governance Practice Leader for Arab States and the GPECS Electoral Policy Specialist, the consultant will be responsible for the following tasks: Carry out a review of the extent to which social networks have shaped elections in the Arab States region (the review will take the entire electoral cycle into account: pre-election, election and post-election period). Conduct systematic studies of election campaigns, public opinion surveys and interviews with candidates, campaign managers, civil society activists and other key actors in these countries. Examine how social networks have influenced the development of institutions shaping elections and public demands for and engagement of these institutions in these countries. Explore the implications social networks have for political parties and civil society, electoral management bodies, youth, women and other marginalized groups, as well as for UNDP and other international stakeholders. Draw a set of lessons learned about the impact of social networks on the electoral cycle in the Arab States region Deliverables The consultant is required to produce the following outputs: Inception paper detailing the work plan, table of contents and methodology for the research paper (15 December 2011). First draft of the research paper on Social Networks and Elections in the Arab World. The paper will look at the entire electoral cycle and will be drafted in English (1 March 2012). Final draft of the paper on Social Networks and Elections in the Arab World (30 April 2012).

Competencies

Knowledge and expertise in democratic governance, electoral assistance and democratization. Experience working in the electoral and the governance field in the Arab States region. Strong communication and interpersonal skills, ability to foster networks and partnerships, and good knowledge of information and computer technology. Excellent analytical and writing skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education: Master Degree in Political Science, International Relations, Public Policy, Development or related discipline Experience: Minimum 10 years of experience working on democratic governance, electoral assistance and democratization Proven experience working experience in the Arab States region Proven experience conducting research and producing knowledge products on electoral processes. Language: Fluency in English and knowledge of Arabic required Duration and Duty Station: The consultancy is for a period of forty (40) working days from 12 December to 30 April 2012. The consultancy will be home based. Application Submission Process: Please submit the following to demonstrate your interest and qualifications: 1. Proposal (i) Provide a brief methodology on how you will approach and conduct the work (2 pages or less) 2. Price proposal (All inclusive fee) Interested individuals are kindly requested to submit an all-inclusive consultancy fee based on your daily fee and any other costs you envisage to conduct this assignment. 3. Personal CV and/or P11 Interested individuals must submit their applications online through UNDP Online Recruitment System. Correspondence (either in hard or soft format) will not be considered until the advance stage of the selection process. Applicants are encouraged to fill and sign a P11 Form and submit it on the online application, although regular CVs are also acceptable. The P11 Form can be obtained at http://sas.undp.org/Documents/P11_Personal_history_form.doc 4. How to Submit Application To submit your application online, please follow the steps below: Download and complete the UN Personal History Form (P11). Merge your P11 and/or Personal CV, Proposals and other relevant documents into a single file. Click on the Job Title. Click “Apply Now” button, fill in necessary information on the first page, and click “Submit Application”. Upload your application. You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system. Application Evaluation Process: Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the Cumulative Analysis methodology [weighted scoring method], where the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: a) Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and b) Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation. Technical Criteria weight; [70%] Financial Criteria weight; [30%] The following criteria will be used in Technical Evaluation. Experience working on democratic governance, electoral assistance and democratization (25 percent) Proven experience working experience in the Arab States region (25 percent) Proven experience conducting research and producing knowledge products on electoral processes (30 percent) Proven language fluency in English and Arabic (20 percent)

Consultant for a Research Paper on Social Networks and Elections in the Arab World