Call for Proposal: Budget Recommendations for FY 2020/21

Terms of Reference

Background

As Nepal enters the eighth week of the lockdown, the current Covid-19 pandemic is the biggest shock that any government of modern Nepal has had to face. As per the current estimates, the economic growth is set to hover around 2%. Many businesses have been shut, leading scores of Nepalese to lose their jobs. Likewise, Nepal is looking at as many as five million Nepali migrant labourers in the brink of potentially losing their jobs. As such, the pressure to generate new employment opportunities is bigger today than ever before.

This is also the leading problem at hand for the government, as it sets to prepare the budget for the fiscal year 2020/2021; perhaps secondary only to the emergency response that it has had to do at the moment.

Alike the years before this, the government has made an open call to all stakeholders to submit their institutional recommendations for the budget. As an economic policy think tank based in Nepal, Samriddhi Foundation is looking to produce policy briefs in three of the areas that it has been working on continuously over the years – tourism, agriculture and regulatory reforms to ease doing business in Nepal.

This call for proposal is to hire consultants to lead the said researches and generate practicable policy prescriptions for the government to commit to, as it announces the budget for the new fiscal year. 

Outputs, Outcomes and Plan of Action

S.NOutputExpected OutcomePlan of Action
1Three briefs on Bills that are going to serve as market-promoting recommendations to the government  Knowledge is produced to share with the government  Draft the policy briefs under the leadership of the research guide (Consultant) and conduct a stakeholder consultation meeting on the same to garner ownership on the paper as well as generate additional issues that should be covered by the policy briefs.  
2One public discussion session on each research paper.  At least 35 people (including all three discussions) including legal experts, sectoral experts and opinion leaders engaged in the process in order to secure their buy ins on our briefs  These public sessions will involve sectoral experts, journalists, economists and popular opinion shapers. Having them all at the table and letting them see that we pick some issues from this discussion will secure their buy- ins and support for our briefs.  

Call for quotations

In order to deliver this project, Samriddhi invites quotations from interested consultants for the following tasks and responsibilities. Interested individuals or consulting agencies are requested to send in detailed quotations including estimated costs, and detailed resumes to:

Either [email protected] via email, or,

 via post to Samriddhi Foundation, PO Box No.: 8973, NPC 678, Kathmandu, Nepal, or,

hand deliver the quotation to Samriddhi premises at 664, Bhimsengola Marga, Minbhawan Kharibot, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Kindly mark the positions that is being applied for on the cover of the envelope. The quotations should reach Samriddhi by 23 May, 2020, no later than 5.00 PM Nepal Standard Time. Contract award will be communicated by 24 May, 2020 to all the applicants.

Position: Research Guide

The Research Guide will be responsible for:

  • Providing overall direction to the study,
  • Conducting qualitative interviews and consultation meetings with relevant stakeholders to gather information on the stakeholder’s views and position on policy reforms of issues being studied,
  • Highlighting international best practices, and
  • Preparing the final policy brief.

The Lead Research consultant should have the following qualifications:

  • Have a Master’s degree or higher in Social Science (preferably economics),
  • Have at least 5 years’ experience in policy making,
  • Have an understanding of policy process in Nepal,

Preference will be given to candidates who have participated in policy reform process in the past

Duration: The Researcher Guide will work on this project for a maximum of seven days.

Position: Research Assistants

The Research Assistants will be responsible for:

  • Conducting reviews of the Bills that have been selected for study under this project,
  • Mapping stakeholders related to the respective Bill being studied
  • Conducting qualitative interviews and assisting in consultation meetings with relevant stakeholders to gather information on the stakeholder’s views and position on policy reforms of issues being studied,
  • Studying international best practices and doing a comparative study
  • Initial drafting of the policy brief

The Research Assistant should have the following qualifications:

  • Have a Bachelor’s degree or higher in Social Science (preferably economics),
  • Have an understanding of policy process in Nepal,

Preference will be given to candidates who have participated in policy reform process in the past

Duration: Two Researcher Assistants will work on this project for seven days each.

Position: Program Coordinator

The Program Coordinator will be responsible for:

  • Assisting the Research Guide in coordinating all meetings and in gathering information,
  • Providing assistance to the Researcher in gathering information and tabulating information,
  • Providing logistic assistance in order to coordinate meetings, and
  • Procuring materials, and coordinating printing, and, dissemination activities, as per the need.

Candidates applying for Program Coordinator position should have the following qualifications:

  • Have a Bachelors degree or higher in Social Sciences (preferably economics), and,
  • Demonstrate an understanding of hosting stakeholder consultation meetings.

Preference will be given to candidates who have worked in program assistant capacity in other projects.

Duration: The Program Coordinator will work for seven days.

Position: Editor

The Editor will be responsible for:

  • Editing the content generated by the Research team for clarity, language, and logical consistency, and,
  • Proof reading and copy editing the final layout of the study before printing.

Candidates applying for Editor position should have the following qualifications:

  • Have a Bachelors degree or higher in Social Sciences (preferably economics),
  • Have at least 5 years of experience in editing publications, and,
  • Have a sound knowledge of either English or Nepali language and of academic writing.

Preference will be given to candidates who demonstrate sound writing skills.

Duration: The Editor will work for three days on each publication.