UNICEF Pacific Expenditure Tracking and Budget Analysis for Early Childhood Development in selected countries in the Pacific: Kiribati, RMI, Vanuatu, FSM and Solomon Islands

UNICEF Pacific is conducting a budget analysis and expenditure tracking of ECD interventions implemented by different ministries at national and subnational levels in selected countries in the Pacific – Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu. This will involve collection of data on allocated budget as well as expenditure for the years 2017-2020, analysis of the adequacy of resource allocation and identification of resource gaps for full implementation of ECD interventions envisaged by the different ECD related policies in countries. Given the scope of the work, the consultancy could be fulfilled by a single consultant or a team of consultants (lead consultant is hired and would provide full accountability for all other team members as to the completion of the assignment. If you have the experience to carry out this work we would like to hear from you!

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, sustenance

Children hold the future for the Pacific, a future that is increasingly becoming bleak if countries fail to make early, smart investments. As highlighted in the Forum of Economic Ministers’ Meeting 2020 Information Paper No. 9 on ECD (PIFS(20)FEMM.Info.9), the foundation of the Pacific’s human capital relies on the full realization of every young child’s development potential. This development trajectory is threatened by children’s inequitable access to quality services in health and nutrition, education, water and sanitation, child protection, and social welfare across Pacific island countries.

The promotion of early brain development is critical so that both children and countries thrive. Public investment in children reaps many rewards—protecting and advancing their rights, creating opportunities, and facilitating contributions to shared, sustainable prosperity. Cognitive capital, which is built from the early years, could be the only avenue for isolated PICTs to be competitive in the information age, and the time to act is now.

In the face of the catastrophic human capital shock brought by COVID-19, early childhood investments offer the most effective vaccine against the long-term social and economic consequences of the pandemic. With children out-of-school and social costs escalating, investing in young children can substantially offset the human capital losses from the pandemic and prepare the future labour force for the opportunities that the crisis is creating.

In light of the above, UNICEF has been supporting Pacific island countries in making better, smarter investments in young children. UNICEF helped draft two papers on ECD and submitted this for discussion at the 2019 and 2020 Forum of Economic Ministers’ Meeting. UNICEF has also conducted initial public expenditure analyses for Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.

The support to better budgeting and financing of ECD complements current support by UNICEF to several Pacific island countries on multi-sectoral ECD policies and coordination. Early childhood development requires a comprehensive approach to policies and initiatives for children from birth to 5 years of age. An effective ECD strategy starts with core sectoral investments and subsequently works to build synergies across structures and sectors. Although major inputs are expected from both health and education sectors, the contribution of other ministries to ECD is equally important. Budgetary allocations, social welfare grants, protective services, birth registration, access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene, mobility, equality and functional infrastructure are all critical and should be linked with each other. UNICEF has been supporting 8 countries in the Pacific with developing multi-sectoral ECD policies and costed action plans. UNICEF is also the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Council for ECD, a geo-political body comprised of Ministers of social and finance sectors in 15 Pacific island countries that helps steer more coordinated investments in ECD for its member countries.

This consultancy would provide an in-depth and comprehensive analysis of public expenditure across the Pacific on early childhood development (ECD). This would help Pacific island countries understand where they stand on multi-sectoral investments in young children and facilitate evidence-based decisions on ECD priorities, especially in the wake of increasing resource constraints brought about by COVID19 and supportive of proper implementation of the multi-sectoral ECD policies. The analyses are also expected to provide Pacific-specific data to build on already ongoing discussions/papers on better investments in ECD.

Given the scope of the work, the consultancy is expected to be fulfilled by either a single consultant or a team of consultants (lead consultant is hired and would provide full accountability for all other team members as to the completion of the assignment).

How can you make a difference?

The main purpose of this consultancy is to conduct a budget analysis and expenditure tracking of ECD interventions implemented by different ministries at national and subnational levels in selected countries in the Pacific – Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu. This will involve collection of data on allocated budget as well as expenditure for the years 2017-2020, analysis of the adequacy of resource allocation and identification of resource gaps for full implementation of ECD interventions envisaged by the different ECD related policies in countries.

It would include a stock take and documentation of current spending on ECD-related programmes and initiatives by various government ministries, departments and authorities (MDAs). The expenditure analysis will also deep dive into MDAs planning and budget process, programming, initiatives and activities.

The analysis will enable:
• Greater understanding among the stakeholders of the current investment and trends in investment towards improving the ECD situation of children (and hence achieving children’s rights) in the selected countries.
• Identification of specific entry points in the budget cycle to increase financing and budget performance for ECD, including influencing policies, strategies, budgets and national laws to contribute towards establishing an enabling environment for children that adheres to human rights principles, particularly with regard to ECD.
• More informed development of UNICEF programming and support to national planning and development processes, including influencing policies, strategies, budgets and national laws to contribute towards establishing an enabling environment for children that adheres to human rights principles, particularly with regard to early childhood development.
• An assessment of whether the ECD interventions in which the government budget is spent are in line with the global evidence base and priorities set out in national policies, and identification of disparities, if any, between the actual spending and policy commitments.

Expected outcome:

The Governments of the 5 selected countries, in collaboration with UNICEF Pacific and the technical support provided by this consultancy, are expected:
• To have increased understanding of their ECD expenditure for the past three to four years (2017-2020) including (1) establishment of the monetary amount as well as the share of public investments in ECD relative to the overall level of public expenditure in the respective line ministries and (2) an assessment of the ECD interventions in which the government budget is spent are in line with the global evidence base and priorities set out in national policies, and identification of disparities, if any, between the actual spending and policy commitments.
• To use evidence gained from the analysis to (1) influence policy, programming, decision making and resource allocation with regards to investment in ECD and (2) identify specific entry points in the budget cycle to increase financing and budget performance for ECD.
Technical partners:
UNICEF will collaborate with UN agencies, development partners and international financial institutions (IFI) throughout the duration of the project.

Scope of Work and Methodology
The scope of work and methodology is outlined in general strokes below, although the specific and final details of the work is expected to be determined by the consultant in an inception report.

1. Define the Scope and Goals
Having reliable financial (allocation and expenditure) data is essential to policy makers to prioritize, to plan, and to make evidence-based decisions on resource allocation, as well as to inform routine monitoring and evaluation of policy implementation. Resource or expenditure tracking is also important for promoting efficacy, effectiveness, transparency and for advocacy purposes.

The relevant sectors which will be included in the analysis should be agreed beforehand with UNICEF and the relevant governments. The scope will be limited initially to the sectors directly implementing ECD-related interventions, programmes and policies to start the budget analysis, and the analysis will gradually expand to other sectors in the future. During the initial stage, the different interventions that have been implemented by various stakeholders/sectors at national or subnational/local levels should be listed and agreed.

2. When and Who to involve
The data collection on resource allocation should be scheduled initially when the financial allocations are integrated into the country budget documents and, approved by the Parliament. The budget allocations from the government as well as non-government sources should be included; however, any potential duplication of funding/double-counting from development partners which are already reflected in the annual workplan budget of the government should be avoided.

Ideally the people gathering and compiling the data should include technical persons who are familiar with the ECD-related programmes and financial persons, the national budget and public finance system of the country (e.g. early childhood education, maternal and child health, nutrition technical/focal staffs in ECD-related programme units from the relevant Ministries and Budget and Planning Officials including in the Ministry of Finance or Planning).

Development partners, donors, IFI’s and UN agencies who are also supporting government through budget support will be consulted during the data collection and analysis phase.

Stakeholder consultation and resource/information requirements:
During stakeholder consultations, the team will meet bilaterally with the following Ministries, Departments and Agencies to understand and collect information on budget process, planning, budgeting, prioritization, annual business/corporate plans, annual reports, expenditure reviews, ECD related program and initiatives, financing ECD programs, service delivery at sub-national level, beneficiaries, providers of ECD services, expenditure reports etc.
1. Office of the Prime Minister
2. Ministry of Finance and Treasury:
3. Ministry of National Planning and Development Coordination
4. Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock
5. Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology
6. Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development
7. Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources
8. Ministry of Forestry and Research
9. Ministry of Health and Medical Services
10. Ministry of Women, Youth, Children & Family Affairs
11. Ministry of Commerce, Industry, Labour and Immigration

3. Identify Data Sources
Main data sources for resource allocation and expenditure are reported in the approved national budget estimates and government financial statements and reports.

Other data sources will be annual business/corporate plans, annual reports, expenditure reviews, ECD related programs and initiatives plan, polices and strategies, donor reports and statement, utilization data on ECD, and services providers of ECD services databases and systems.

The data on expenditure could be gathered for both on-budget data through the government financial management system and for off-budget sources – through different platforms including aid management platforms and credit reporting systems as well as consultations with the non-government stakeholders. However, it might be challenging for off-budget CSO/NGO funding, as there might be no existing sources of data available and need to be done through stakeholder consultations.

4. Data Collection:
The following steps are proposed for data collection.

Step One: Identification - This first starts with a desk review of existing ECD related policies and programmes. The existence of common results framework for ECD or multisectoral national ECD plan and the financial management system for ECD – if available, can guide sectors to decide which budget line items to include or not.

The national budget or official financial documents should be gathered to collect data on actual expenditure or budget allocation for ECD related programmes and interventions. Key sectoral domains (health, agriculture, WASH, Education, social welfare etc.) should be identified. The relevant budget line items are identified within different programmes or departments (where available).

Step Two: Categorization: Assess whether the identified programmes or departments fall under the category of “ECD-specific” or “ECD-sensitive” investments. ‘ECD specific’ budget line items include programs that are targeted at children under 5 years old and implemented mostly by social sectors. ‘ECD sensitive’ budget line items include interventions targeted at children, women, households and communities, indirectly benefitting children under 5 years old.

Step Three: Weighting. Attribute a percentage of the allocated budget to ECD (weighting). This percentage usually is based on the categorization (Step Two), but also could be adjusted through judgement by national experts or expert opinion to estimate investments towards ECD components.

The data should be collected for the first year (2017) and should be replicated for subsequent years (2018, 2019 and 2020) if available so that temporal trends could be analyzed.

5. Data Analysis and Interpretation
Depending on the quantity and type of budgetary data gathered, a Country Investment Snapshot could combine four levels of analysis: (1) ECD-related allocations/expenditures, (2) temporal trends, (3) geographic variations and (4) resources/funding gaps against ECD commitments in national policies/plans/strategies .

The ECD-related allocations cover ECD relevant allocations and expenditure across Ministries, Departments and Agencies; ECD specific and ECD sensitive budget allocations; in-depth overview of ECD specific programmes or ECD relevant allocations across five sectors (Health, Agriculture, Education, Social Protection and WASH) or main drivers of spending. These elements allow for a snap-shot picture of budgetary allocations and public investments related to ECD in a country.

The second level of analysis identifies financial trends over time. It could also account for inflation overtime to highlight longitudinal allocation patterns across Ministries, ECD-specific and ECD-sensitive allocations, and financial allocations across sectors. When financing sources are available, the country profiles could also identify temporal variations in allocating patterns across domestic and external funding sources.

The third level of analysis disaggregates the budgetary data found in the first and second levels across space by tracking geographical patterns of ECD-related allocations. The data can also be assessed across time which captures unique geo-temporal allocations patterns across relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

6. “Advocacy Brief”: Use finance data for further decision

Following the conclusion of this exercise, an advocacy brief should be developed which highlights the summary of findings and the results could be used for improving decision making on allocations and expenditures for ECD in the country.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Preferably Social Policy, Economics, Public Finance, Public Sector, Social Science, Statistics, or other relevant area
• Education: The Lead Consultant should have at least Masters’ degree in Social Policy/Economics or preferably PhD Economics. In absence of academic degree on Social Policy/Economics, similar social science degree is required with proven experience on budget and expenditure analysis of public sector investments on social issues.
• Work Experience: At least 5 years of experience in costing and budget analysis of public sector expenditures. At least 10 years of similar experience if the candidate has only master’s degree. Experience in ECD/Education/ health/nutrition program/project development in UN system agency or organization is an asset. Experience in the Pacific is also preferred.
• Skills/Competence: Familiarity with the economic and financial issues of the Pacific, knowledge on children, adolescent and maternal health and nutrition issues, highly skilled in development of budget analysis tools and expenditure tracking
• Good economic data analysis and database management skills, ability to communicate with researchers and government officials to obtain and check facts
• Ability to summarize evidence, in writing and in workshops and meetings and writing high level policy briefs from the analysis reports

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.