Research Assistant

Project Description

The Philippines remains one of the most climate-vulnerable countries globally, as evidenced by more frequent and intense tropical cyclones, prolonged monsoon rains, droughts, and sea-level rise. Climate change poses more significant risks to the stability of both human and natural systems if the economy continues to grow without addressing environmental degradation and social inequality, and the government fails to plan for new and emerging threats such as disease outbreaks. Acknowledging and responding to these multidimensional risks are the key to strengthening resilience.

To address this challenge, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) through the support of the Government of Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in the Philippines (DFAT), is implementing the Strengthening Institutions and Empowering Localities Against Disasters and Climate Change (SHIELD) Programme. Together with its consortium partners, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), National Resilience Council (NRC), and Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society (CBCS), SHIELD aims to transform its 11 target provinces, Metro Manila, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) into safer and resilient communities by achieving three interdependent components:

• Component 1: Government, private sector, and civil society stakeholders in targeted local government units (LGUs) are collaborating to unlock funding and implement informed and inclusive resilience actions
• Component 2: Relevant national government agencies (NGAs) are prioritizing action on local climate and disaster resilience
• Component 3: Philippine scientific agencies are producing tailored and accessible information for local resilience action
• The third outcome, led by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), focuses on translating science into practice. Specifically, it is built upon the need to generate more accurate and sophisticated scientific and technical information that will enable localities to understand, and build resilience to, the impacts on people, their businesses, critical assets, and livelihoods throughout the country. Intended to support the realization of Outcomes 1 and 2, it aims to ensure the availability, credibility, and accessibility of various datasets and information relevant to climate change, hazards, and disasters which can provide essential inputs for local resilience planning and proposal development. Furthermore, the component aims to bridge the knowledge gap by translating complex scientific and technical datasets into more comprehensible information and actionable insights. This will empower decision-makers at all levels, from national and local governments to community stakeholders, to make data-driven decisions and prioritize resilience actions.
• At present, there are numerous ongoing developments related to resilience building in the Philippines. However, there is currently a lack of a comprehensive methodology framework to measure the benefits of resilience across various sectors, including the economy, society, and the environment. This gap extends to the economic valuation of resilience investments within government operations and the evaluation of the effectiveness of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction (CCA-DRR) projects at the national and local level. Despite the presence of budget tagging mechanisms, determining whether these allocations result in measurable socioeconomic benefits remains a challenge. Resilience, encompassing more than mere disaster preparedness, constitutes a fundamental pillar of sustainable development. Therefore, there is an urgent need to articulate and quantify the resilience dividend to underscore the tangible benefits derived from resilience planning and investments. This approach is essential for ensuring that decision-makers fully appreciate and prioritize resilience-related investments in policy and planning initiatives.
• In this context, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), in collaboration with UNDP, has identified the need to establish a Conceptual Framework and Methodology for Resilience Dividend. The conceptual framework will form the basis for developing the methodology in partnership with Geoscience Australia (GA) and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO). Its primary objective is to aid decision-makers at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) to fully understand the need to invest more in resilience. Moreover, the framework will serve as a guide for policymakers, implementers, and other stakeholders in prioritizing resilience initiatives, grounded in robust, evidence-based analysis.

Scope of Work

UNDP seeks to engage the services of a Research Assistant who shall primarily support DOST- Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Unit (DRRCCU) in undertaking research work towards the development of the Resilience Dividend Conceptual Framework and Methodology. Specifically, the Research Assistant shall perform the following activities:

• Conduct desk research on relevant local and international publications, policies, guidelines, frameworks, and strategies in support to the development of the Resilience Dividend Conceptual Framework and Methodology. Prepare an annotated bibliography based on relevant local and international publications, policies, guidelines, frameworks, and strategies in support of the development of the Resilience Dividend Conceptual Framework.
• Assist in the conduct of consultation meetings and workshops, key informant interviews (KII), focus group discussions (FGD), surveys, and/or other relevant activities to validate and extend the initial results of the desk review, and gather additional insights from relevant stakeholders. Produce documentation reports synthesizing the proceedings and outputs of meetings, workshops, writeshops, and other relevant activities leading to the development of the Resilience Dividend Conceptual Framework with DOST-DRRCCU.
• Assist in the preparation of technical reports (e.g., review of related literature, concept notes, research papers, post-activity reports), presentations on the research work, and other documents related to the project.
• Coordinate and collaborate with other project component members, stakeholders, and partner LGUs and NGAs for data gathering, conduct of consultation meetings and workshops, and other activities relevant to project implementation. Prepare and maintain input materials such as communication, briefing notes, technical reports, information and data.
• Prepare relevant datasets and other empirical data for the development of the conceptual framework, including but not limited to data of national government projects on climate change and disaster resilience, disaggregated data of national government expenditure, local government budget and expenditure data, among others.
• The Research Assistant should work closely with the SHIELD Support Unit (SSU), UNDP Project Management Unit (PMU), DOST-DRRCCU, and other national and subnational partners and stakeholders.
• Period of assignment/services: The work shall be office-based, with an expected duration of 264 person-days of effort equivalent to twelve (12) working months from the signing of the contract, unless revised in a mutually agreed upon timetable between the Research Assistant and UNDP
• Proposal should be submitted directly in the portal no later than indicated deadline.
• Any request for clarification must be sent in writing via messaging functionality in the portal. UNDP will respond in writing including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry.