Research consultancy: Agenda-setting report for the Borderlands Working Group

Borders and borderlands in East Africa are spaces where the nexus of security, development, crime, conflict, and politics is often at its most dynamic. National border management policy tends to have a default aim of ‘hardening’ borders through physical, symbolic, or legislative barriers. Recent discoveries of highly valuable natural resources including oil have caused the incentives for East African governments to demarcate and police the outlying areas of their territory to spike. However, hardening borders risks alienating communities and stoking, rather than reducing, cross-border insecurity. The relationship between border security providers and the communities they work within is often one of resentment and suspicion, adding to, rather than mitigating, insecurity. In sum, borderlands in East Africa are often characterised by low state presence, mistrust between local communities and the state, and high levels of crime, insecurity, and poverty.  

 

The Borderlands Working Group is a collaboration between nine agencies that aims to influence discourse, policy, and practice on border security and management in East Africa towards a community-centred approach. The Group believes that for border policy and development practices to be effective and sustainable they need to be built on engagement with local communities. The needs, interests, and knowledge of local communities in borderlands have to be at the centre to achieve secure, prosperous border areas. The Borderlands Working Group exists to influence policy and practice on borderlands through evidence-based propositions that a community-first approach to border management is feasible, sustainable, and mutually beneficial.  

 

About DDG 

The Danish Demining Group (DDG) is the coordinator of the Borderlands Working Group. DDG is a unit within the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) specialising in Armed Violence Reduction (AVR) and Humanitarian Mine Action. DDG was established in 1998 and has been operational in East Africa since 1999. The focus of DDG’s work in the region is on AVR, including community-driven approaches to improving public security provision and conflict management, analysis, and sensitivity. Conflict analysis and GIS mapping is used to promote informed inclusive stakeholder dialogue with the view of collectively identifying and addressing conflict and security risks. DDG has a growing portfolio focused on promoting community sensitive border security and management in the borderland areas in eastern and western Africa.  

The purpose of the consultancy is to provide the Borderlands Working Group with an authoritative foundational report that provides a comprehensive review of the key themes and issues affecting border security and management in East Africa, critically reviewing existing literature and identifying and setting the Working Group’s research and advocacy agenda on key thematic issues and under-researched border areas. 

 

Themes could include but not be limited to local populations’ understandings, experiences, and practices around borderlands, borders as economic opportunities, existing governmental and regional institutions, policies, and legislation relevant to border management, and borders in relation to mixed migration trends and refugeehood, among others. The report should include analysis and recommendations for the Working Group on how to engage with the issues identified.  

 

The foundational piece should also identify and provide a detailed review of existing literature on East Africa’s borderlands. These could include, but not be limited to, the Ilemi Triangle, the South Sudan/Ethiopia border, the Mandera Triangle, the Karamoja Cluster, Ethiopia/Eritrea border, among others.   

 

The foundational report is expected to set the agenda and propose future research and areas where the Borderlands Working Group should and could influence discourse, policy, and practice on border security and management in East Africa towards a community-centred approach.  

 

The desk review will be supplemented by Key Informant Interviews with key stakeholders both in east African capital cities (in person or by Skype) and in selected border areas. The study will take the form of a written report and a presentation of findings and recommendations. The consultant will plan and conduct the research according to specifications agreed with the DDG Regional Knowledge Management Officer.  

 

Scope of consultancy: The consultant is responsible for the planning and execution of a desk and interview-based study into the issues, actors, and policies that affect border communities across East Africa.  

 

The information gathered through the study will be presented to the Borderlands Working Group in report form and during one of the groups meetings. A public version of the report should also be prepared as the Borderlands Working Group’s knowledge review on East African borderlands, with evidence-based priorities for geographic and thematic regions of most interest for further research. A 3-5 page Policy Brief outlining the key issues identified in the study will also be prepared. The latter two documents will be presented to key stakeholders at a publication event organised by the Borderlands Working Group. 

 

The full report will include clearly defined recommendations, questions, and themes for further research by Working Group members, and a comprehensive list of key stakeholders that the Working Group should be aware of. The consultant will present this version and take part in a subsequent discussion at a validation workshop organised by DDG. 

a. As part of the selection process, applicants should lay out their interpretation of the ToR, including a basic workplan, budget breakdown, research questions expected to be addressed, methodology, and proposed report structure. 

b. The Inception Report should be between two and four pages long. 

c. The final scope of work and workplan will be agreed with DDG. 

a. The workplan will build on the draft version in the Inception Report. 

b. It must include both desk research with a list of sources and interviews with key stakeholders, to be identified in consultation with DDG. 

c. Costs of the activities must be included and be within the budget agreed with DDG. 

d. The workplan should include at least one mid-study meeting to be attended by the consultant and representatives of DDG in order to review progress. 

 

a. Desk research can be conducted from a site of the consultant’s choosing. 

b. Interviews should be conducted with stakeholders in east African capital cities (possibly via Skype) and in relevant border areas. Specific sites will be agreed in consultation with DDG and the Borderlands Working Group, and chosen based on evidence provided by the desk review. Sites are likely to include at least one of the Mandera Triangle, the Ilemi Triangle, the Karamoja Cluster, and the Garissa-Somalia border. The consultant should therefore be willing and able to travel to remote border regions and stay for periods of days in locations of low material comfort. Security considerations will be managed on a case-by-case basis in collaboration with DDG’s security staff. 

 

a. Study to be presented in a public report, a public 3-5 page Policy Brief, and a Borderlands Working Group members-only report.  

 

5. Present findings and recommendations of the study and the accompanying Policy Brief to a selected audience at a publication event 

a. The public version of the study’s findings and recommendations, including the Policy Brief, should be presented at a publication event with selected invitees to be arranged by DDG/the Borderlands Working Group. 

 

a) The study’s findings and recommendations should be presented to the Borderlands Working Group during a validation workshop. The consultant should be prepared to answer questions and take part in a discussion about the Working Group’s response to the study in terms of research, workshops, advocacy, and other activities. 

 

Key deliverables/outputs: 

i. An Inception Report including a basic workplan, budget breakdown, research questions expected to be addressed, methodology, and proposed report structure. 

ii. An internal final report, including tailored recommendations of further study, policy focus, areas of intervention, and a list of stakeholders for the Borderlands Working Group to be aware of. 

iii. An edited report for publication. 

iv. A 3-5 page Policy Brief on community-centred border security and management. 

 

4. DDG’S RESPONSIBILITIES 

DDG will cover/provide: 

• The cost of transportation to and from its offices when the consultant is required for meetings 

• Any costs related to organising and traveling to interviews 

• Ongoing security advice and support as necessary for travel to field sites 

• Insurance for the consultant during field work 

• All necessary project documents as requested by the consultant 

• Assistance and support in arranging meetings and key informant interviews both in capitals and in the field 

• Costs related to the design and publishing of the public version of the study and the accompanying Policy Brief 

• Logistics for the validation workshop and the publication event, such as the venue, equipment, refreshments, etc. 

 

The consultant will report to the DDG Regional Knowledge Management Officer. 

Expected 60 days (negotiable) from the date of signing the contract. 

• Submission of draft report to DDG for comments due Friday 27th October 2017 

• Submission of first draft of the Policy Brief to DDG for comments due Wednesday 8th November 2017 

• Submission of revised final draft of the public study, Borderlands Working Group study, and Policy Brief due Friday 17thth November 2017 

• Presentations at Borderlands Working Group validation workshop and external publication event to be held by Friday 8th December 2017 

 

7. PROFILE OF CONSULTANT 

Applications from teams are especially welcomed. The below specifications apply to teams in sum, not to each individual within them. 

 

Essential: 

• Educated to Master’s level in a relevant Social Sciences discipline 

• Minimum five years of demonstrable experience in research and analysis 

• Proven track record of research processes and analytical outputs with sensitivity to gender, age, ethnicity, and culture, including arranging and conducting key informant interviews 

• Experience, knowledge, and understanding of East Africa’s socio-political local and national dynamics, humanitarian contexts, especially with regard to borders 

• Willingness and ability to travel to field sites in Kenya and possibly neighbouring countries with a possible low level of material comfort 

• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of core humanitarian principles and their outworking in practical interventions 

• Fluency in English 

Preferable: 

• Published work on issues related to borderlands and/or border regions in East Africa 

• Working knowledge of Swahili, Somali, or other relevant language 

• Able to travel to DRC/DDG’s Regional Office for meetings 

• A network of contacts in East Africa willing and able to inform research and analysis 

 

DRC/DDG has a Humanitarian Accountability Framework, outlining its global accountability committments. All staff and consultants are required to contribute to the achievement of this framework (http://bit.ly/2rhGjKG).  

 

9. APPLICATION PROCESS  

Interested applicants who meet the required profile are invited to submit an Expression of Interest (EoI) in English to DRC online via www.drc.dk under vacancies. 

 

. The EoI should include:  

• A suitability statement including CV of participating consultants with details of qualifications and experience. 

• Technical proposal that summarizes understanding of the TOR, methodology and tools to be used. 

• Work-plan clearly indicating the activity schedule. 

• Financial proposal providing cost estimates and consultancy fees. Applicants are asked to submit their asking rate per full-time working month. 

• The foreseen work plan for the days. Daily consulting rate is negotiable, although will be commensurate to DRC consultancy terms and standards. 

 

The deadline for applications is 16th August 2017.