Kenya: Assessment and Mapping of linkages between large-scale infrastructure development and local conflict dynamics in eastern Africa.
Organization: Danish Refugee Council
Country: Kenya
Closing date: 13 Jan 2016
1.DDG IN KENYA
Danish Demining Group (DDG) is a unit within the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) specialised in Armed Violence Reduction (AVR) and Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA). DDG was established in 1998 and has been operational in the Horn of Africa since 1999. The focus of our work has increasingly moved towards AVR, including community-driven approaches to improving public security provision, conflict management and conflict analysis and sensitivity. In Kenya, DDG’s portfolio focusses on community safety and conflict management in the borderland areas of the north-western and north-eastern parts of the country, as well as conflict prevention around extractive industries and large-scale infrastructure development. Conflict analysis and GIS mapping is used to promote informed inclusive stakeholder dialogue with the view of collectively identifying and addressing conflict risks.
2.BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT
In recent years eastern Africa has increasingly been seen as an attractive region by foreign investors. East Africa is expected to record the fastest economic growth in Africa in 2015 (5.6%) and 2016 (6.7%) and is considered the most attractive region in Africa for foreign investment by the African Development Bank. A significant portion of the foreign investment is focused on the energy sector and the development of large-scale infrastructure to support it and the growing economies in the wider region.
The energy and infrastructure development sectors are expected to boost economic development in eastern Africa and carry immense potential for advancing development in some of the poorest and most deprived parts of the region. However, much of the of the investment is focused in locations that have previously received little attention from national government and foreign investors alike and where conflict and insecurity have remained insufficiently addressed for long. There are a growing number of examples to suggest that large-scale investment projects in such contexts can face significant challenges due to local conflict and insecurity dynamics and can in themselves unintentionally fuel existing conflicts and contribute to the emergence of new inter-group tensions. Relations between investors, government and local communities have in some cases become very tense even at early stages of the projects. Investors and operators often struggle to find ways to mitigate the conflict risks through engagement with local and national stakeholders. Some of this may relate to insufficient capacity for and prioritisation of stakeholder engagement, especially at the early stages of the projects but other factors, such as existing inter-communal conflicts or a legacy of bad community-state relations, are difficult for external interested parties to do much about, especially when their clients are the national governments. Investors come to see the local conflicts and insecurity as significant risks to the projects with the potential to lead to withdrawal of investors and to make potential investors stay away.
While the governments in eastern Africa now have major interest in attracting direct foreign investment to the projects, they have no clear policies for managing community tensions and conflict around large-scale energy and infrastructure projects in a manner that ensures and respects human rights. There are no coordinated efforts to facilitate cross learning and to develop approaches and strategies aimed at ensuring that conflict risks are identified and mitigated as early as possible.
While there are a growing number of examples of negative interaction between large-scale energy and infrastructure projects and local conflict and security dynamics, there is currently no available overview of where in the region this is happening or has the potential to happen. Creating such an overview is important to get a clearer picture of the extent and locations of the problem. In order to understand the extent and location of existing or potential negative impacts of large-scale infrastructure projects on local conflict contexts, the project will create a macro-level overview by mapping existing available data on the projects and the conflict context within which they are or will take place and identify areas of potential and actual negative interaction. This will then enable a preliminary ranking of risk areas and identification of areas where future conflict prevention and management efforts may become relevant.
3.PURPOSE
The project aims to contribute to the longer-term development of a more strategic approach to ensuring conflict sensitivity and good conflict prevention and management practices around large-scale infrastructure investment. It does so by creating a regional overview of planned and current large-scale infrastructure projects in eastern Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia) and systematically assessing and categorizing potential conflict risks. The project will identify conflict risks at the macro-level, what is being done to mitigate these risks by the projects and authorities and develop recommendations for further action to prevent and manage negative impacts of projects on local conflict and security dynamics. GIS mapping will be used as a tool to produce a visual overview of armed violence in contexts where large-scale investment in infrastructure development is planned or ongoing. This will enable identification of conflict risks and point to the potential and relative relevance of initiatives to prevent and manage conflict risks around the different projects in the region.
DDG is looking for one or several researchers to support DDG to implement this project in collaboration with our staff and GIS mapping partner.
4.RESPONSIBILITIES
4.1. Scope of consultancy:
The consultant(s) will produce a macro-level conflict risk assessment report focussed on planned and ongoing large-scale infrastructure development projects in Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania. The consultants will also provide content for GIS maps, visualising large-scale infrastructure projects (planned and ongoing) as well as local conflict dimensions.
Key tasks:
4.1.1. Carry out desk research to map planned and ongoing large-scale infrastructure development projects in East Africa. Identify project names, components, budget, status, location and anticipated impacts (e.g. environmental aspects, access to land, employment etc.). Potential or actual impact data should be based on available credible studies and assessments or independent expert opinion. If such information is not available, experiences of impacts from similar projects in most similar contexts can be drawn making relevant reservations explicit. DDG staff is working on ensuring that a list of projects will be available to the consultant at contract start or soon thereafter.
4.1.2. Map local conflict relations across eastern Africa (focus on the target countries but include cross border conflicts as well) using a conflict mapping approach. The mapping should visualise relations between different conflicting communities and groups. See: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/0B0eWkJgwkF0UWERkbGhsS2NGa0U for examples. DDG staff will have started the information collection about past and existing local conflicts.
4.1.3. Develop a methodology to assess potential impact of large-Scale infrastructure projects on local conflict across eastern Africa. The methodology should include a scoring system that enables systematic risk ranking. Risk levels need to be defined. The methodology should be suitable to creating a macro-level overview and assessment of potential interaction between large-scale infrastructure projects and local conflict dynamics. The methodology should be systematically applied to assess risk levels for different projects in their different locations. This should provide a sound justification for the selection of projects and areas where more detailed conflict sensitivity research and conflict prevention efforts should be prioritised. The methodology could involve the development of an overview of causes and drivers of local conflicts in the target countries and an overview of actual or anticipated impacts of the large-scale infrastructure projects and an analysis of the potential interaction between project impacts and conflict causes and drivers.
4.1.4. Present findings to peer review group and incorporate feedback.
4.1.5. Write Conflict Risk Assessment of Large-Scale Infrastructure projects in eastern Africa report (20 pages excluding annexes).
The report shall include:
1) Overview of LSI projects in EA,
2) Actors analysis (incl. Regional, National, sub-national government bodies, Investors, Civil Society Actors etc.,
3) Overview (incl. map) and analysis of conflict trends in the target countries with focus on the areas where LSI projects are planned or being implemented.
4) Methodology for identifying and assessing conflict risks,
5) Risk assessment and ranking (should be closely linked to the GIS map and ensure that the report and map complement each other,
6) Conclusion and Detailed policy recommendations to different actors groups incl. International actors including donors and loan institutions, regional, national, sub-national governments, private sector / investors, civil society actors. The report should also include: Introduction to the project (purpose and background), explanation of key concepts.
4.1.6. Provide summary text for digital GIS map (for text boxes connected with the maps) showing all the LSI projects, local conflict dynamics, identified actual and potential impact on local conflict dynamics, risks and risk rating. Work with DDG and GIS mapping partner to ensure that maps provide useful visualisation of LSI projects, local conflict dynamics and the potential relation between the two.
4.2. Methodology
1.1.1. Desk research.
1.1.2. Use of peer reviewers.
1.1.3. Data visualisation on GIS maps.
4.3 Key deliverables/outputs
1.1.4. Risk assessment methodology paper (should constitute a chapter in the final report)
1.1.5. Draft assessment report
1.1.6. Draft GIS maps
1.1.7. Final assessment report and GIS maps
5 .DDG’S RESPONSIBILITIES
DDG staff will support the research, writing and mapping activities. DDG will cover any necessary travel costs including insurance for the consultant(s).
6. REPORTING ARRANGEMENTS
The consultant(s) will report to the DDG Kenya Country Director.
7.DURATION OF ASSIGNMENT
To start as soon as possible. The assignment may be carried out by one consultant or divided between two or more consultants. The assignment shall be completed by end of March 2016. The number of days are to be agreed with DDG.
It is anticipated that the consultant will be able to complete the work within 35-40 workdays between 20th January and 31st March 2016.
8. EXPECTED PROFILE OF CONSULTANT(s)
Strong proven capacity in the following:
Conflict sensitivity and conducting conflict assessments
Knowledge of impacts of large-scale infrastructure projects on local contexts and of typical interaction between such projects and local conflict dynamics.
Strong knowledge of local conflict contexts across eastern Africa (especially Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Tanzania).
Ability to create and systematically apply a methodology for assessing potential conflict impact of large-scale infrastructure projects.
Ability to work closely with a diverse team and partners.
Excellent writing skills
Fluency in English
Experience of using data visualization as a tool for communication and analysis is highly desirable.
9. GENERAL
Commitments: DRC has a Humanitarian Accountability Framework, outlining its global accountability committments. All staff are required to contribute to the achievement of this framework (http://www.drc.dk/HAF.4265.0.html)
How to apply:
Interested consultants who meet the required profile are invited to submit an expression of interest including a CV and a cover letter explaining how the assignment will be carried out within the stipulated timeframe and the experience that makes the consultant(s) qualified for the assignment.
Applicants are requested to stipulate their daily rate, number of days they estimate the work will take and confirm that they will be able to complete the project before end of March 2016 in the cover letter.
We only accept applications made online via www.drc.dk/about-drc/vacancies/current-vacancies
Deadline is 13th January 2016. Please use subject heading Ref Large-Scale Infrastructure risk mapping consultancy.
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