Consultants to Provide Support for Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI) Assessment

International and national consultants to provide support for Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI) Assessment

Chemonics International Inc. is currently seeking two consultants - one international and one national - to provide support for GESI assessment for the USAID-funded Vietnam Strengthening Provincial Capacity Activity.

Description of services requested

The purpose of USAID/Vietnam’s Strengthening Provincial Capacity activity is to strengthen the capacity and build the sustainability of local institutions’ provincial capacity building services so they can provide high quality, relevant interventions addressing capacity gaps, enabling provincial officials to implement and measure economic governance reforms more effectively.

USAID SPC strengthens the capacities of three existing Vietnamese institutions, namely the Startup Vietnam Foundation (SVF), a non-profit institution; the School of Government at the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (SOG/UEH), an academic institution; and the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), a government institution. The activity will improve the responsiveness, quality, and sustainability of economic governance capacity development opportunities for provincial officials offered by these institutions.

The first and second GESI assessments were conducted in 2019 and 2020 respectively.

The purpose of this assignment is to conduct the third GESI assessment with SOG/UEH and SVF, based on the results from the first two assessments, to measure and build on the progress in the past two years and address new or persistent gaps so that GESI issues are strengthened at an institutional level. This assessment will continue to explore GESI gaps and opportunities at multiple levels, examining the differing needs of male and female provincial authorities and entrepreneurs, and vulnerable populations, as well as the institutions’ internal approaches to mainstreaming of women and vulnerable populations. This will create more inclusive opportunities for economic growth, and stronger, more inclusive partner institutions. The assessment will identify specific challenges and recommendations that can be incorporated into the institutional capacity development plans of the institutions to address relevant GESI constraints.

The assessment framework will also consider and update the previous analyses of USAID’s six domains which influence how people participate in and benefit from different opportunities in society. The domains include (1) access to and control over assets and resources, (2) knowledge, beliefs and perceptions, (3) practices and participation, (4) use of time and space, (5) laws, policies, legal rights and institutional practices and (6) patterns of power and decision-making.

The consultants will produce institutional GESI assessment reports for SOG/UEH and SVF that include opportunities and recommendations for further strengthening GESI within each of these institutions will be produced. These findings will be incorporated into the capacity development process to be undertaken with each institution through project support.

This assignment will be conducted during the period of May-September 2021, mainly in Ho Chi Minh City, with briefing and debriefing meetings in Hanoi, and possibly beneficiaries/stakeholder meetings in some selected provinces. The anticipated level of effort for this assignment is 24 days for the international consultant and 17 days for the national consultant.

For further information on the scope of work for each consultant, please contact: Ms. Mai Hoang, mtthoang@chemonics.com (cc: Peter Vaz, pvaz@chemonics.com). Please submit a letter, along with a CV and list of three references, expressing your interest by April 2, 2021.