Title : Research Consultant
Organization : Centre for Social Change (CSC)
Duty Station : Kathmandu with 1 time field visit in 6 palikas of Rupandehi and Sunsari district
Contract Type : Individual Contract
Duration : 4 months starting from January 20, 2022
Expected Start Date : January 20, 2022
Background:
The constitution of Nepal 2015 has devolved more power to local government. 753 local government can enjoy 22 different rights solely as provisioned in Constitution. By constitution, the local governments are more powerful in terms of resource mobilization, implementation of local level development works and public service delivery which can be termed as an effective/optimum decentralization in the federal context. By devolving more power to the local level, it was anticipated that the public service delivery will be more people oriented, economical, effective and efficient. More specifically, the government has been trying to serve the public at their doorsteps by effective public service delivery, planning and implementation of development activities with participation of people creating ownership in the mind set of locals.1
Two fundamental rights; access to Basic health facilities and education are delegated to local government. Local government has huge opportunities to deliver affordable and accessible services while it also faces challenges on capable human resource and bureaucratic hassles.
Purpose: CSC plans to conduct research on opportunities and challenges of the public service delivery in federal governance system focusing on education and health facilities. The particular local government where this research will concentrate will be the 6 local government units of Rupandehi and Sunsari where CSC has been working.
This research will be qualitative study with the use of both primary and secondary sources of data. Primary data will be gathered through FGDs, in-depth interviews, and consultation meetings conducted in 6 project locations as well as in Kathmandu. Secondary sources of data will be obtained through the various governmental and non-governmental reports, and other relevant publications.
Scope of the work:
The consultant will be expected to:
- Collect and Review documents/reports/literatures relevant to public service delivery
- Develop checklist, methodology for data collection
- Conduct Research and analyze data
- Development final report and a policy brief as final product.
The consultant will be expected to make use of their own resources to complete the assignment, but CSC team will provide support and input as appropriate.
Responsibilities: The consultant will lead this study and work together with CSC research team to gather and analyze relevant data.
Deliverables: Research report and a policy brief will be the final product of this study, which will be widely disseminated among the policymakers and relevant stakeholders from the local to central level.
Qualification and Experiences:
- Master’s degree in social science, or any other social field.
- Master’s degree with minimum 2 years professional experience in social research.
- Experienced of work/coordinating with government-federal, provincial and local level including relevant local stakeholders
- Knowledge in research designs and report preparation.
Key Competence and Abilities
- Excellent grasp of English and Nepali language (written and spoken)
- Ability to organize, set priorities and complete tasks under designated timelines
- Ability to work in multicultural and multidisciplinary environment
- Competence to work in teams and collaborations
- A strong commitment to values and principles of CSC
Duration: 4 months (January 20, 2022 to end of May, 2022)
Payment and Schedule: The consultant will be paid in two installments. Initial 40% of the total agreement amount will be paid upon the submission of the proposal and workplan. Remaining 60% of the total agreement amount will be disbursed after the submission and final approval of the final report to the organization.
Reporting: The consultant will work under direct supervision of Program Office of CSC. Besides the reports as deliverables, consultant will work in close coordination of CSC research team and provide weekly updates on progress.
HOW TO APPLY
Interested parties can send an expression of interest that includes the following to dibesh.sayami@socialchange.org.np.
- Cover letter outlining the following.
- Consultant’s professional background
- Relevant skills, experience and qualifications
- Suggested methodology
- The consultant’s expected fee for 4 months and availability during the stipulated period
- An updated Curriculum Vitae (of no more the 3 pages which shows experience with similar assignments)
Kindly put “Expression of interest: for Research on Public Service Delivery” in the title/ subject of the email. The closing date for the submission of expressions of interest is January 10, 2022.