II. Background

National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) along with UN Women, India is currently implementing a programme entitled From Opportunities to Capacities: A Multi-Sectoral Approach to Enhancing Gender Responsive Governance in India.

This second phase of the UN Womens programme aims to strengthen capacities of national and

sub national governments for gender responsive design and implementation of key schemes and policies, to ensure better outcomes for women. The programme builds on learnings from the first phase (implemented between 2011-14), which highlighted the need to build capacities of key government functionaries in addition to elected representatives on GRG, to integrate gender issues while formulating, implementing and monitoring government programmes and schemes. This was seen as necessary for achieving the overall objective of gender equality and women empowerment mandated in several national and international normative frameworks. The programme is being implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Panchayati Raj across six states, namely Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Odisha.

UN Women partnered with NIRDPR in the first phase of the this programme and in this second phase UN Women aims to consolidate the efforts taken so far to build a body of evidence, to inform and enhance the capacity of governance institutions to better respond to the real opportunities for gender equality and womens empowerment that have been created through progressive legislation, policies and programmes. This will help to enhance Gender Responsive Governance in India.

III. Objective of the Consultancy

The emphasis on gender responsive governance is enshrined in the Human Rights-Based Approach. In fact, the principles of equality and non-discrimination are the cornerstones of international

human rights agreements, which additionally recognize that men and womens rights are

inalienable, integral and indivisible. The Vienna Declaration of Human Rights, CEDAW, the Beijing Platform for Action and other legally binding documents clearly says that women have a right to fully and equally participate in political, civil, economic social and cultural life, at the national, regional and international levels. Therefore, any form of discrimination that would prevent women and girls from upholding and claiming their rights has to cease.

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To describe a governance system that is pro Gender Equality and Womens Empowerment, UN Women and The International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW) in 2013 defined Gender Responsive Governance as "a process that embodies measures, attitudes and practices of different stakeholders, both men and women, at different levels of governance, with a clear purpose of

impacting issues that foster womens empowerment and promote gender equality and social justice.

It is a process that promotes and sustains the ability of women to fully participate in the governance and development process, enhances their ability to raise critical questions about inequity and collectivise without fear and pressure and ensures gains from the services".

Various empirical studies have further demonstrated, that for governance to be good and effective, participation of women, both as elected representatives and as citizens is critical. GRG therefore foregrounds the following:

Evidence of the meaning of governance and gender responsiveness within governance.

Womens perception of public roles as elected representatives and its consequent implications

on their participation.

Re-examination of the structural and institutional barriers that limit both the participation of

women and the inclusion of gender issues for discussion within the space of the panchayat.

Exploration of the costs of not allowing the political participation of women, not on women,

but on development and social justice.

Despite the significant strides made in womens representation in governance, womens marginality

has not been holistically and adequately addressed. In fact, there is limited evidence on whether these institutional interventions have indeed enabled women to break barriers to develop individual assertiveness and challenge institutions and ideologies, such as patriarchy, that have impeded them from claiming their rights.

The pervasive problem of gender inequality in India is conditioned as a result of a set of complex and interacting factors, perpetuated by entrenched cultural practices. These often depend on the extent to which the political and institutional systems (1) recognize the need for gender mainstreaming, (2) support the interests of women in the policy & decision-making process, and (3) install and operate (informal) support and enforcement mechanisms for gender mainstreaming (Shekher, Raabe, & Birner, 2008)

In this context, NIRDPR would like to engage a consultant to develop three simple GRG matrixes with key indicators, which will act as an instrument to measure womens participation in governance structures and decisions making, and gender responsiveness in policies and their outcomes at the state, district and gram panchayats across India. The proposed GRG matrix will have to be developed keeping view of the available secondary data brought out by the government.

It is foreseen that over time, this matrix will help each state to evaluate their GRG initiatives at the three levels, take course corrections if need be and further enable an improvement in the status of women in India, as well as contribute to meeting India's commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals.

The GRG matrix for each level can include but should not be limited to the following domains.

(i) At the Gram Panchayat level: For instance, the GRG matrix at the Gram Panchayat level may cover the following indicators but not limited to:

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Status of women (quality of survival, workforce participation, skill acquisition, access to control over resources, VAW) Nature and quality of womens participation in panchayats, CBOs, parallel bodies,

standing/functional committee Access to/coverage of government policies/schemes Intersectionality: women from marginalised groups/single women/Female Headed Households

This can be used by the Gram Panchayat to prepare their Gram Panchayat Development Plan.

(ii) At the District Level: For instance, the GRG matrix at the District level may cover the following indicators but not limited to:

Status of women Access to/coverage of government policies/schemes (Social Protection, Employment & livelihoods, access to financial services)

Nature and quality of womens participation in PRI (including in leadership position/decision

making)

Policies/Interventions to address gender specific needs/strategic gender interests This can be used by the District Panchayat to prepare their District level plan and make their plan more gender sensitive.

(iii) At the State level: For instance, the GRG matrix at the State level may cover the following indicators but not limited to:

Temporary Special Measures/Affirmative Action measures introduced Policies/Interventions/resources to address gender specific needs/strategic gender interests

(departmental level) Resources allocated/utilised (departmental level) Nature and quality of womens participation women in governance processes & decision

making positions (in legislature/legislative committees/civil services) This can be used by the State government to prepare their Gender Sensitive State Plan and can enact legislations and frame policies for Gender Responsive Governance.

IV. Scope of work

The consultant will undertake the following tasks:

(i) Secondary Review

Undertake comprehensive review of exiting Gender and Governance indices and indicators Review & map secondary data sources on Gender & Governance at the state, district and panchayat level

(ii) Develop and pilot test the GRG matrix measure

Based on the secondary review, develop a GRG matrix with key indicators for the state, district

and panchayat level. Pilot test the matrix at all three levels (2 states, 4 districts and8 GPs) Present draft matrix to expert groups/working group at NIRD&PR, and incorporate inputs Finalise the GRG matrix

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V.

VI.

VII.

VIII.

(iii) Develop and disseminate knowledge products

Develop a guidance book/manual on how to operationalise the GRG matrix at the three levels

Develop a working paper on Evaluating GRG at the State, District and Gram Panchayat level

Participate in a policy consultation to discuss GRG indicators and recommendations with

stakeholders, policy makers, practitioners, government partners, and academia;

Finalize aforementioned deliverables based on inputs received from key stakeholders;

Work schedule

The anticipated duration of the contract is 3 months. The consultant will work from home for NIRDPR and will visit NIRDPR as and when required.

Deliverables

The consultant is expected to deliver the following key outputs:

1. A framework with inception note which will include on what will be measured, who will use this data and how will it help the government in meeting the SDGs.
   
   
2. Timeline for all the deliverables
   
   
3. Draft GRG Matrix for all three levels
   
   
4. Final GRG Matrix incorporating comments from UN Women and NIRDPR
   
   
5. Monthly progress report to NIRDPR on completed tasks and progress towards planned outputs
   
   
6. Draft a guidance book/manual on how to operationalise the GRG matrix
   
   
7. Final guidance book/manual on how to operationalise the GRG matrix after incorporating comments from UN Women and NIRDP
   
   

Payment schedule

The total duration of the engagement the consultant is expected to be three months and the total payment allocated for this consultancy is Rs. 2,50,000/-(Rupees Two Lakhs Fifty Thousand only).Payments by NIRDPR are delivery-based. Any deliverable not meeting the required specifications will have to be reworked and resubmitted at no additional cost to NIRDPR. The proposed payment schedule for this assignment is monthly payment upon submission of progress reports on completed tasks, outlined against planned outputs. Based on the report and satisfactory performance, payments will be made by NIRDPR.

The consultant will work under supervision of the Principal Investigator at NIRDPR and Programme Specialist at UN Women, New Delhi. The supervisors will have frequent interactions with the consultant at various stages in order to brief the consultant on the assignment; agree on the process and clarify the deliverables; provide feedback and comments on intermediary products; and track the progress made by the consultant. The supervisors will evaluate the consultants work and certify delivery of work.

IX.

X.

XI.

Place of work and official travel involved

The consultant will work from home and will come to NIRDPR, Hyderabad as and when required and use his/her own laptop. In case of official travel, NIRDPR will reimburse the TA/DA associated with such travel. However, prior approval is required for travel purpose.

Qualifications and specialized knowledge/experience required

Essential Qualifications:

Education: Masters degree in subjects related to Gender Studies, International Development, Economics, Social Sciences or any other relevant qualification.

Experience: Minimum 5 years of experience working on issues of gender equality, womens rights and

public policy; Expertise on gender statistics /gender sensitive data systems; Excellent analytical and writing skills in English; Ability to work independently and with minimal supervision.

Personal Competencies:

A high level of organizational and coordination skills. High level of attention to detail. An excellent command of the English language both written and oral. Ability to produce quality work within a deadline and under pressure. Highly developed communication skills. Motivated and has the ability to work independently as well as in a team environment.

Desirable Qualifications:

Ph.D in subjects related to Gender Studies, International Development, Economics or any other Social Sciences

How to apply

Consultants who are interested in the assignment should submit the following documents: Cover Letter CV Proposed work plan

The relevant documents should be mailed to unwomennird@gmail.com or can be sent to:z

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The last date for submission of application is 2nd October, 2017.

In deserving cases, the institute can relax the essential qualification. Candidates who have applied for this post earlier need not apply again.

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