Local Citizen Participation Consultant-Short Term

SOW Title: Develop and Implement Citizen Participation Mechanisms and Platforms

Estimated LOE: 40 working days

Job Classification: Local STTA         

Reporting to: Objective.2 Lead                  

Estimated Start Date: Aug. 01, 2024.

Estimated End Date:   Sep.15,2024

Duty Station: The STTA position Covers Basrah.      

A. Project Background:

The USAID Iraq Together/Ma’an (معاً) activity (Ma’an hereafter), supports select Iraqi government entities at the national, regional, provincial, and district levels to improve service delivery performance through the use of technology and process standardization while increasing the availability of and access to information, particularly related to public services. Ma’an also fosters improved and inclusive relationships and engagement between the Government and the communities they serve. Ma’an’s goal is more equitable, efficient, and sustainable public services.

Ma’an’s objectives are:

1- Targeted Iraqi government entities improve and are more inclusive in-service delivery. The government improves service delivery through responsiveness to citizen needs, consultation with citizens, improved transparency, and use of green practices technology.

2- Strengthened democratic and participatory governance of targeted Iraqi service delivery institutions. Citizen perception of government changes through increased participation in governance, improved access to government information, and stronger role of Iraqi NGOs in advocating for communities as well as increased public education regarding citizen roles and responsibilities.

3- Response to windows of opportunity for change. Gaps in expertise and information required to improve government service delivery and increase citizen participation are addressed.

Ma’an utilizes an Accountability ecosystem approach grounded in inclusion and localization to improve service delivery and build trust. The approach mobilizes Iraqi government entities, civil society organizations, emerging civic movements, issue-based groups, media, and the private sector to co-create interventions. This approach allows diverse local partners to exercise their rights and responsibilities, learn by doing, analyze performance data, and scale what works.

B. Purpose:

The absence of citizen participation discouraged citizens from effectively participating in local government decision-making and engaging in any government-led activity. CSO, community leaders, and activities representatives expressed there are no institutionalized or practiced mechanisms for citizen participation in local government decision-making and voicing essential service delivery concerns and needs.

To bridge the gap between citizens and government at the district level, Ma’an will conduct a community mapping in the 8 districts to identify activists, community influential leaders, CSOs, social media influencers, and women and youth groups. Then, Ma’an will conduct a district-localized ecosystem mapping (accountability ecosystem pillar 2) to examine citizens’ ability to access targeted services, document the types and nature of government-citizen interaction, catalog community-level formal and informal decision-making and governance mechanisms, find emerging leaders, champions, or movements unaffiliated with CSOs, and compile windows of opportunity. The ecosystem mapping that Ma’an will conduct in each target district, will include the motivations of informal leaders as well as the demands of the local population.

Concurrently Ma’an will identify the appropriate district’s community groups and engage them through small grants in each district as the stakeholder representing communities’ interests, participation, advocacy, and discussion throughout all the interventions. The participants and approach will be refined as the process evolves.

Based on the outcomes of the ecosystem mapping, Ma’an will work with a broader range of stakeholders, as appropriate, such as civic and community leaders and influencers, citizens, women and youth, CSOs, emerging leaders or movements unaffiliated with formal groupings or CSOs, the private sector, academics, marginalized groups, and relevant government entities to bolster participation in local government decision making around service delivery, budget allocations for improving existing services and/or new projects and the distribution of service-delivery performance data through the development of a citizen participation mechanism.  

Ma’an will support holding community-led sessions to discuss priorities and solutions for service delivery challenges in the relevant sectors, Ma’an will commit to funding a couple of larger, quick win innovative ideas, through the localization fund or support from USAID IRP II (Ta’afi). This will promote participation from grassroots activists, youth, etc.

In subsequent implementation plans, Ma’an will help establish sector-specific networks and alliances that will enable emerging leaders to share ideas, strategies, and tactics — as with CSO leaders — to the greatest degree possible at in-person events. Ma’an will also consider grants to local media organizations to amplify community needs and emerging leaders offering creative solutions to those problems. Ma’an will make these sessions localized true focus-group type, open-ended, idea-generation discussions, with incentives for participation, such as prize money for open innovation competitions. Ma’an will ensure that the local government stakeholders have a role in helping to facilitate the implementation of the funded solutions and provide tangible government contributions. Ma’an will allocate resources, and, in return, the directorate or municipality must allocate some resources.

In Fiscal Year 2025, Ma’an will pursue community-led sessions with stakeholders to facilitate discussion of relevant issues and concerns. Women, youth, marginalized, and ethnic groups will also be invited to hyperlocal conversations to share their concerns with facilitators from grantees or facilitators representing those same groups in a space absent of the social dynamics of a town hall-style meeting. Examples of decisions that will benefit from citizen input include budget allocations for improving existing services and/or new projects and the distribution of service-delivery performance data.

To further implement the developed mechanisms, Ma’an will partner with local CSOs in targeted locations to hold district-level consultations with stakeholders to introduce technology and other applications to allow community monitoring of service delivery outcomes and identify reform, improvement, and digitization opportunities. The format will be 3-to-4-hour roundtable discussions comprising 15 to 20 participants.

Additionally, Ma’an will also partner with women- and youth-led platforms to conduct dialogue sessions with stakeholders to improve service delivery. Through the platforms, women and youth will help service delivery entities communicate the messages to the people on effective usage of the services leading to social behavioral change in the way citizens utilize services. Additionally, Ma’an will partner with local CSOs and other civic leaders to facilitate dialogue sessions at the district level with the platforms in a hyperlocal style that empowers members of each platform to communicate the priorities of women and youth in service delivery to the government for action. Additionally, Ma’an will assist women and youth to identify and co-create women and youth-led initiatives mainly focusing on behavior change on the government side, including increasing transparency and making government services more customer-oriented. In Fiscal Year 2025, through the localization fund, Ma’an will support the implementation of selected women and youth platforms and initiatives in targeted districts.

 C. Objectives:

Ma’an will achieve the following objectives from this consultancy:

1. Develop a citizen participation mechanism, parameters, and tools.
2. Increase women and youth engagement in local government decision making and promoting women youth led initiatives.
3. Develop guidelines for citizen-government engagement including community lead sessions, district consultations, and women and youth dialogue sessions.
4. Conduct community-led sessions in two Pilot provinces Anbar and Najaf.

 D. Responsibilities and Key Tasks of the Consultant:

Under this Scope of Work, local Citizen Participation consultant shall perform the following tasks:

– Task 1: Develop A Citizen Participation Mechanism

The STTA will work with a broader range of ecosystem stakeholders, such as civic and community leaders and influencers, citizens, women and youth, CSOs, emerging leaders or movements unaffiliated with formal groupings or CSOs, the private sector, academics, marginalized groups, and relevant government entities to identify the citizen participation parameters and tools and get ecosystem stakeholders inputs through conducting two-days’ workshop to  develop citizen participation mechanism and tools, the workshop will also engaging government stakeholders targeting PC relevant committee, GO representative, Mayor, and representatives from water, sewage and municipality, the total participant around 25 participants, the workshop purpose is to agree on citizen participation parameters, tools and mechanism that bolster participation in local government decision making around service delivery, budget allocations for improving existing services and/or new projects and the distribution of service-delivery performance data.

Task expected sub-deliverables are:

1. Workshop agenda, material, Picture, MEL requirements and WS recommendations.
2. Approved citizen participation mechanism and tools.
3. Official Government support documents that prove citizen participation is institutionalized.

– Task 2: Work with Selected CSOs to Publicize Newly Developed Citizen Participation Mechanisms and Tools.

The STTA will work collaboratively with active CSOs to utilize their networks, pages, and alliances to publicize the approved citizen participation mechanism that enables inclusive engagement of citizens with the government through a bottom-up approach. The STTA will work with PC to publicize the approved citizen participation mechanism through the PC website and Facebook pages to ensure the PC declaration of an inclusive participation mechanism.

Task expected sub-deliverables are:

1. Newly developed citizen participation mechanism published through PC and CSO outlets.
2. List of CSOs that published the approved citizen participation.

– Task 3: Develop guidelines for Develop Guidelines for Citizen-Government Engagement.

The STTA will develop guidelines for citizen-government engagement including community lead sessions, district consultations, and women and youth dialogue sessions. including community lead sessions, district consultations, and women and youth dialogue sessions.

Task expected sub-deliverables are:

1. Citizen-government engagement guidelines for community lead sessions, district consultation sessions, and women youth dialogue sessions.

Task expected sub-deliverables are:

1. A list of local solutions to address service delivery issues in water, SWM, and sewage.
2. Solutions to eliminate the discharge of untreated sewage water into the river.

– Task 4: Prepare the Final Report. Develop a final report including all supporting documents that were developed during the implementation of the designed tasks. The report will include details of each implemented task under this scope of work. The report will highlight achievements and results, recommendations and challenges, lessons learned, and proposed future interventions (if any), the report should be submitted in Arabic and or preferably in English and contain at least 12-15 pages.

Required Qualifications:

1. Bachelor’s degree or equivalent preferable in supporting community development.
2. Proven experience and knowledge related to community development and community engagement.
3. Minimum of five (5) years of experience working in international development with experience in advancing monitoring of government service delivery systems required.
4. Experience working for USAID or other donor-funded projects is strongly preferred.
5. Previous experience supporting community development, mayor, governor office, and provincial councils on issues related to practicing community participation and engagement.
6. Proven ability to work with diverse stakeholders including women, youth and people with disabilities, religious minorities, and ethnic groups.

Duty Station:

The Local Citizen participation consultant STTA will be based in Basrah and will cover Basrah and Wasit. Under this SOW, Ma’an will cover all other indirect implementation costs, including air and ground transportation, and phone communications.

Application Instructions:

To apply please fill out this form: Iraq Together Job Application Form (smartsheet.com)

Chemonics is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in its selection and employment practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, or other non-merit factors.  

Applications reviewed on a rolling basis. Position closes upon candidate selection. Early submissions encouraged for best consideration.