MINELRES: Recruitment for Consultant on MRG Study Project on impact of Roma National Strategies in Southeast Europe

[MINELRES moderator]

Original sender: Zoe Gray <ZOE.GRAY@mrgmail.org>


Dear colleagues,
 
Minority Rights Group International (MRG) is commissioning a study
project on the implementation and the impact of the Roma National
Strategies in Southeast Europe.
 
Attached is the recruitment call and draft outline. 
 
The deadline for applications is 9th December 2004 10.00 am. 
 
We welcome your applications.
 
Zoe Gray,
Programme Officer Europe and Central Asia,
Programmes Assistant for Roma.

Tel +44 (0)20 74224218 
Fax +44 (0)20 7422 4201 

Minority Rights Group 
Floors 2-4 
54 Commercial Street 
London E1 6LT, UK.
------------------------------


Minority Rights Group International (MRG) Southeast Europe Diversity and
Democracy Programme
Recruitment Call
Working Title: Implementation and Impact of Southeast Europe Roma
National Strategies on Poverty

23/11/04

Consultancy: 1 person with the combined role of Author/Research
coordinator/Researcher
Location: home based with some travel within Southeast Europe
Timing: December 2004 - October/November 05

Fee: ?2000 -2500 (dependent on experience) plus expenses
Length:  Between 8-10,000 words

Minority Rights Group International's  (MRG) Southeast Europe Diversity
and Democracy Programme is undertaking a Macro study on the
developmental impact of the Roma National Strategies on the Roma in the
region. The study will be an advocacy tool. It will have a poverty
focus; components of the strategies considered should include education,
employment and economic development, social protection, and living
conditions. 

Closing Date: 9th December 10.00 am

Background:
A number of national governments in Southeast Europe have adopted Roma
Strategies in recent years (some without resources) due to external and
internal pressure to work to improve the situation of the Roma. It is
not clear what impact the different Strategies have had partly as there
is no formal monitoring mechanism for them. There has also been little
independent monitoring or investigation of their impact. What has been
implemented and with how much success? What institutions are in place to
implement the Strategies, what support and capacity do they have? To
what extent has the Roma participated in the development and delivery of
programmes? Are there lessons to be learnt from a particular Strategy?
This study will document the implementation and the impact of these
Strategies with case studies on a number of communities. The study will
be an advocacy tool used by MRG, its partners and other Roma NGOs to
promote fair and effective inclusion of the Roma in development. It is
hoped that this study will be a pivotal with its publication at the
beginning the Decade of Roma Inclusion (to run from 2005-2015).

Publication aim: 
To document the implementation and impact of a selection of Roma
Strategies in Southeast Europe and to make policy recommendations to
improve design, conception and in particular effective and sustainable
delivery of the Strategies. This will include identifying means to
incorporate Roma experiences into improved practice and advocating for
participation throughout the processes through to implementation. The
approach will be rights based linking strategies and programmes to the
human and minority rights framework.

Methodology and Task Outline:
The study will include primary research, secondary analysis and
literature review. There will be approximately 3 focus countries. 3
selected coordinating organisations will host grassroots consultation
workshops and meetings locally with a range of participants to include
national governments representatives, implementing agencies and partners
and the Roma communities they work to empower. 

The Consultant is asked to author the study bringing context specific
experience and research to bear. The Consultant will work closely with
selected organisations and MRG, leading on the literature review, and
designing research methodologies and plans and monitoring and evaluation
together with MRG and partners. The Consultant will support and attend a
number of consultation workshops/events (total of three) and will
accompany staff on meetings on a couple of days surrounding the
workshops/events. The Consultant will have an advocacy role he/she will
attend a launch/launches and possibly some accompanying in-country
meetings. 


Author Capabilities, the selected author should possess:

- Development experience to include considerable experience of working
with the Roma
- Research experience to include working with the Roma
- Knowledge of the Roma National Strategies, their position in
international processes (SAP, accession processes, PRSP) and in the
international human and minority rights framework
- Knowledge of the international human rights framework and regional
standards on human and minority rights (International human rights law,
the FCNM, European Charter and OSCE standards)
- Understanding of the diversity of Roma (including on the basis of
gender, language, religion).
- Advocacy experience including lobbying local/regional development
actors/ development policy makers
- Preferably with the ability to communicate in Rromani

Schedule
As a guideline it is expected that the schedule will be approximately:
December: commissioning and initial preparations and background research
Late January/February - March 05: Consultative workshops
April-May 05: Compilation of data, further research, beginning of
authoring
June: authoring
July, August: drafts and editing
September: Publication
October: Launch/es

Applications for this position should be sent to:
Please submit a cover letter and CV detailing your experience for the
post and include daytime telephone contacts to zoe.gray@mrgmail.org and
neil.clarke@mrgmail.org or by post to Minority Rights Group
International (MRG) 54 Commercial Street, London E1 6LT, UK.


Working Title: Implementation and Impact of Southeast Europe Roma
National Strategies on
Poverty

Draft Outline

1. Introduction
- Some concrete illustrations of the extent that Roma experience poverty
in Southeast Europe with some examples from the selected countries. (The
study needs to address issues of diversity within the group including
groups facing multiple disadvantages (such as gender/age).
- Study Aim: to document the implementation and impact of a selection of
Roma Strategies in Southeast Europe and to make policy recommendations
to improve the process, methodology and in particular effective and
sustainable delivery of the Strategies.
- Importance of study on Roma National Strategy implementation and
impact with reference to the Roma Decade of Inclusion.
- Framework for the study

2. Roma National Strategies
- Outline of Roma Strategies: What are the Roma national strategies and
how important are they/can they be? For addressing the needs of the
Roma, in particular for the fulfilment of European union accession
criteria and commitments and for the fulfilment of international and
regional human and minority rights standards (such as European Charter,
UNDM, ICESCR, FCNM). What is their relationship to other poverty
reduction strategies such as World Bank PRSPs, EU CSPs, Millennium
Development Goals, EBRD and the role of international agencies?
- The process of the strategies (including the consultation process -
actors, transparency, timeframe) and explanation of content and
components which are focused on and those that the study will limit
itself to (Education, Employment, Credit, Social protection and possibly
housing and healthcare). Interconnectedness of the components and reason
for selection.
- Importance of recognition as a national minority, participation, and
non-discrimination for development. Roma experience of these.

2. 3 Case study experiences of the national strategies, each case should
include:
- Sector focus/es
- The Community's experience of the development issue/s (with supporting
disaggregated data) the programmatic context and national legislative
framework for Roma protection.
- What was the consultation process for the Strategy? What was its
timeframe? Availability of documents?
- What are the main components under the relevant sector/s? What should
be included and isn't and vice versa. How could the component be better
designed?
- How is the Strategy being implemented? What are the resources? What
programmes are in process? At what stage are they? Who are the
implementing actors and partners and what are their roles? What national
institutions have been created/changed to promote the Strategy?
- What role and resources do local institutions (Municipal) have for
implementation? What impact is their work having?
- What is the impact of the Strategy on the community: positive and
negative effects, and unintended consequences?
- What are the obstacles and challenges? What are the opportunities?
What can be improved?
- Some examples of the most relevant Human and Minority rights
obligations that are being filled/are not fulfilled in each particular
case.

3. Conclusion and Recommendations:
- Summing up of obstacles and challenges, opportunities. Comparative
analysis with possible lessons learnt from particular case/s. 
- What improvements can be made and means to achieve such changes (to
include participation and means to incorporate Roma experiences).
- Linking to legislative context
- There will be approximately 10 to 12 targeted-recommendations
addressed to national governments, municipalities and national and
international development actors and development policy makers.  These
could include recommendations on capacity, changes in policy, methods of
implementation or legislative change to support processes.