UNICEF Consultant for Social Protection Measures in Reducing Children’s risk to Disasters and Climate Change

The Social Policy and Economic Analysis Section of UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO) in Bangkok, Thailand is urgently seeking a qualified candidate to carry out the below consultancy.

Background

In 2011, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), with financial and technical support from Reed Elsevier, commissioned field research in Indonesia, Mongolia, Philippines and Kiribati and Vanuatu to quantify and illustrate patterns and trends of climate change and disaster impacts on child survival and development. The funds enabled UNICEF to contribute to the emerging body of work on children and climate change through the production of four high quality reports, and one regional paper, a version of which was published in Environmental Development – a Reed Elsevier journal. Based on this strong collaboration, UNICEF and Reed Elsevier are launching a second phase of research focusing on the role of, and opportunities for, social protection measures in reducing children’s risk to disasters and climate change.

This study will occur in parallel to a separate process initiated by UNICEF EAPRO to assess disaster risk. The risk assessments will help identify the location of the most vulnerable populations and the factors that could help build their resilience (e.g. through risk-informed social protection).

Rationale

The Asia-Pacific region is the most disaster-prone area in the world. The majority of lives lost to disasters are concentrated here. Over the period 1975-2011, Asia accounted for 94 per cent of people affected by disasters worldwide, 82 per cent of total fatalities and 89 per cent of total economic damage (ADRC, 2011). An estimated 66 million children are affected worldwide by disasters each year.

Disasters not only threaten human life; they can have profound economic and social impacts, setting back development particularly for the poor who have the least capacity to cope. In 2011 alone, global losses from disasters caused by natural hazards were estimated at a record US$366.1 billion, with the Asia-Pacific region comprising an estimated US$276 billion of global losses (CRED, 2012). These figures do not include indirect economic costs in declines in public revenue, increased poverty and declines in human development.

Disasters also negatively impact children’s and women’s rights, and exacerbate existing vulnerabilities and inequalities. A review conducted by the World Bank on the impact of disasters on human capital showed that household income typically falls after a disaster, especially for already poor households. Disasters have been linked to decreased school enrollment through the destruction of schools and reduced household investment in children’s education, and to increased incidences of malnourishment (Baez et al, 2010; GAR, 2011). Children who do not reach their developmental potential are less likely to be productive adults. Research shows that lower physical and cognitive development can reduce earning capacity by up to 22 per cent.

Climate change will exacerbate existing risks while creating new risks of disease outbreaks or sea level rise. Considering that children constitute between one third and one half of the population in most countries in the region, their vulnerability is an important aspect of the overall risk profile.

The Role of Social Protection

Social protection, which refers to programmes that reduce economic and social vulnerability of families through cash transfer, social insurance and skills training programmes, is increasingly seen as a strategy for building resilience to disaster and climate change impacts by ensuring basic levels of consumption, facilitating investment in productive livelihood assets and strengthening capacity to manage risk.

Adapting targeting criteria and timeframes of existing social protection initiatives like cash transfers, employment guarantee schemes and livelihood diversification programmes can benefit disaster-prone and vulnerable groups at little additional cost. For example, social safety nets and DRR/CCA have been united with the HARITA (Horn of Africa Risk Transfer for Adaptation) project. As part of the PSNP the HARITA project enables Ethiopian farmers to purchase drought (index-based) insurance by contributing their (off season) labour to risk reducing projects instead of paying a premium. Other examples address poverty and livelihood insecurity as a result of disasters and climate change, such as micro-insurance for farmers and fishermen and targeted benefits packages based on food prices.

A number of countries in EAP are already implementing social protection measures. The Philippines recently introduced Conditional Cash Transfer programme which focuses on human capital investment through provision of health and education cash grants to eligible poor households. Indonesia maintains a number of social protection initiatives, including a Conditional Cash Transfer scheme as well as a family–based integrated social assistance programme, which targets the poor and near poor and includes cash transfers, rice for poor, scholarships for poor families and health insurance for the poor. It is not clear the extent to which these programmes integrate disaster risk and vulnerability to climate change in the targeting processes as a long-term strategy to reduce risk, protect economic progress and build resilience to the impacts of disasters and climate change.

More research is needed to analyse under which circumstances social protection can be used as a mechanism to reduce long-term risk, with the overall purpose of testing integrated social protection programmes schemes to build the evidence base for policy development and scaling up.

Purpose

Under the guidance of UNICEF EAPRO’s Social Protection team, Disaster Risk Reduction Specialist and Regional Emergency Chief, the main objective of this consultancy is to review and assess the role of, and opportunities for, social protection measures in reducing household disaster risk and climate change impacts.

It is intended for this study to link with UNICEF’s ongoing work on piloting child-centered risk assessments to inform policy and programmes measures that reduce risk and build resilience (e.g. through targeted social protection). The risk assessment methodology draws on child-specific data (such from Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey data and Health and Nutrition Management Information System data), hazard data, meteorological reports, climate change science and socio-economic to give a relative measure of the disaster risk /climate change vulnerability of children in a country. The assessment can help identify the location of the most vulnerable populations and the factors that could help build their resilience, for example, through risk-informed social protection.

It is hoped that the child-centered risk assessment, based on quantitative and spatial methodology, will facilitate the work of this study by identifying areas where children and families are considered highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and disaster risk high, to then be included as case studies

Proposed activities/methodology

The research should provide a systematized analysis of existing strategies, resources, tools and evidence to help governments and development partners, including UNICEF, enhance synergies and promote policies around social protection, DRR and climate change adaptation.

Literature review:

• Conduct a comprehensive analysis of current theory and conceptual linkages between social protection, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. This should include global and regional examples for good practice using social protection interventions to reduce disaster risk and/or climate change adaptation.
• Literature can include published articles, surveys or reports; “grey” literature, country reports (e.g. existing legislation and policies, including financial/budget; DRR/DRM frameworks; social protection policies/frameworks; UNICEF Social Protection Strategic Framework; Climate Change National Adaptation Plan for Action, etc.).
• The review should also include an analysis of existing social protection frameworks and vulnerability assessment methodologies and structures that aim to integrate different determinants of vulnerability (social, economic, conflict, environmental, etc.)
• Questions to consider: o What are conceptual overlaps/differences between social protection, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation (i.e. “adaptive” social protection, definitions of risk and vulnerability; social dimensions of climate change)? o To what extent can social protection systems contribute to household resilience and capacity to respond to crises – natural and man-made? o What are the key operational implications and challenges (financing, capacity, integration of climate change in comprehensive social protection systems etc)? o What tools/measures have been used and how? What are the outcomes? What are methodologies of climate change adaption and disaster risk management (ie: community based) and links with social protection programmes;

Country case studies (to overlap with UNICEF’s work on child-centered risk assessments):

• Based on the analysis of integrated social protection schemes from other regions, conduct field research to explore in detail opportunities for using existing CCT programmes, social assistance schemes and other relevant social protection schemes in three countries in EAP (e.g. Indonesia, China, Myanmar) to reduce risk to disasters and for climate change adaptation.
• Design methodology for field research including research questions, research sites, tools and methodology (to be discussed and agreed to by UNICEF and consultant). Conduct focus group interviews, surveys with representatives from non-governmental organizations and practitioners working in the specified area, government officials in charge of policy and programme implementation in related area, etc. (Where feasible, document case studies through photography as relevant for advocacy purposes.)
• Countries should be selected based on a) existence of social protection interventions; b) vulnerability to natural hazards and/or climate change (as explained above).
• Questions to consider: o What are the preventive as well as coping strategies of households to potential impacts of disaster and/or climate change (short on-set and long-term impacts)? o Are there examples of social protection measures being implemented before, during and after a crisis? If so, to whom and for what purpose? What was the impact? What was the impact on the existing social protection system? How were existing mechanisms used/expanded? Lessons learned? o How can social protection address risk and build resilience at the household level for hazard prone areas or households especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change (e.g. farmers)? Which social protection interventions (e.g. cash based, non-cash vouchers, school feeding etc.) work best when, and for what purpose (e.g. strategies to mitigate risk, to enhance capacity to cope with risks, strengthen resilience at household and community level)? For whom? Over what duration? o How can social protection interventions (e.g. cash-based interventions) evolve into medium and/or longer-term programmes? When is this desirable and/or appropriate? What structures/mechanisms need to be in place for this to develop? What other social protection mechanisms and/or instruments should be considered in this process? o What are the financial, capacity and sustainability implications of linking social protection, DDR and climate change adaptation?

Recommendations

• Based on the literature review and case studies, what are specific strategies, actions, policies and programmatic changes the government, UN/UNICEF should make with regards to social protection, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaption.
• Questions to consider: o How can social protection systems help prevent households from resorting to damaging coping strategies in difficult times? o How to strengthen governments’ capacity to plan, implement and monitor social protection interventions that are able to respond to emergencies and disasters? o How to facilitate explicit linkages between SP and DRR, in countries where both systems already exist? o How to strengthen/adjust social protection systems so they are able to respond (and be effective) in time of disasters (ie: flexibility; disaster proof systems, etc) o What is needed to expand/strengthen social protection systems to respond to disasters? (ie: financing; contingency planning to increase ability to respond)? How to ensure adequate financing for SP/DRR/CCA.

Expected Results

The main outputs include:

i. Outline and conceptual framework for research (2-3 pages) ii. Development of draft literature review based on conceptual and practical/operational linkages between social protection, DRR and climate change adaptation. iii. Field research and draft case studies iv. Final report (maximum 60 pages but strongly encourage less) – include photos/images (UNICEF Country Offices should be able to assist in attaining relevant local photos, if needed) a. Executive Summary – 1 pages b. Introduction – 2-3 pages c. Literature review – 5-6 pages d. Introduction to case studies (theoretical framework, methodology, rationale for site selection, etc. , ) -2-3 pages e. Three case studies -- 8-10 pages each (written in a format that could be used as stand along products) f. Overall analysis, drawing on common themes, challenges, opportunities – 4-5 pages g. Recommendations for policy-makers -5-6 pages h. Conclusion – 2-3 pages i. References – as needed v. 8-10 page advocacy brief (summarizing all case studies) for policymakers – include photos vi. Presentation of final report to UNICEF EAPRO (presence or via video conference) vii. Participation in regional workshop on DRR, CCA and social protection – early 2013

Duration

35 consultancy days within a 4 month time-frame (29 October to 29 February, 2013)

Activities and deadlines

Outputs/Deliverables Suggested schedule (days) Outline and conceptual framework for research 1 Development of draft literature review based on conceptual and practical/operational linkages between social protection, DRR and climate change adaptation. 5 Design methodology for field research in three countries including research questions, research sites, tools and methodologies 1 Field research and draft case studies 15 Revision and development of final report (with photos/images) 9 Advocacy report (based on larger report, with photos/images) 2 Presentation of final report at a webinar/brown bag discussion at UNICEF EAPRO (presence or via video conference) 1 Participation in regional workshop (2013) 1 Total 35 days

Management and organisation

The consultant will be hired and managed by UNICEF’s East Asia and Pacific Regional Office, in consultation with participating Country Offices. UNICEF will ensure appropriate guidance and support in close collaboration and consultation with Reed Elsevier and other UN organisations, for their engagements in key steps of the research and dialogue process, including providing in-depth comments on draft outputs. UNICEF will also ensure that guidance is provided at all stages and that expert’s input is obtained from relevant ministries and agencies. UNICEF EAPRO will provide additional background information, publications and other relevant material.

Duty station

The consultant will be home based, with brief travel for field visits, to be negotiated between the consultant and UNICEF. To the extent possible, supervisory meetings with UNICEF will be conducted via teleconference.

Qualifications or Specialized Knowledge/Experience Required:

The consultants should have the following qualifications and expertise:

• Advanced university degree (Masters or PhD) in economics, social protection, public policy, disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, and/or international development policy
• Demonstrated experience in research, especially pertaining to social protection, social policy, climate change and/or disaster risk reduction.
• Previous experience in social protection policy development or programme implementation at national level a plus
• Experience in quantitative or qualitative data collection and analysis
• Strong analytical, planning, writing, coordination and facilitation skills
• Ability to work independently and respond to feedback in a timely and professional manners
• UNICEF foundational competencies: commitment, drive for results, embracing diversity, integrity, self-awareness and self-regulation, team work and a firm commitment to the goals and principles of the United Nations.

Interested candidates are requested to provide CV, profile, daily professional fee in US dollar and availability along with a one to two page cover letter describing your expertise and how you propose to undertake the assignment, by 18 October 2012 to hrbangkok@unicef.org with copies to slekpul@unicef.org

Only short listed candidates will be notified.

How to apply: 

Interested candidates are requested to provide CV, profile, daily professional fee in US dollar and availability along with a one to two page cover letter describing your expertise and how you propose to undertake the assignment, by 18 October 2012 to hrbangkok@unicef.org with copies to slekpul@unicef.org