Terms of Reference
- Background:
Last fiscal year the government of Nepal introduced two new bills, the E-Commerce Bill and the Education Bill. Both of these bills were drafted by the bureaucracy without accounting for the concerns of the stakeholders and with superficial understanding of these sectors. The e-commerce bill disclosed that Nepal’s bureaucracy had little or no knowledge about the vastness of e-commerce transactions while the education bill revealed that the bureaucracy still holds the authoritarian mindset that undermines the role played by private educational institutions in human capital formation. Both these bills led to massive outcry from the general public, and the introduction of the education bill in the parliament led to protests from the public school teachers at the capital city.
Such instances are commonplace in the Nepalese policy realm. The policies/laws are generally drafted by the bureaucrats under the leadership of the minister from the concerned ministry. The policies so drafted are based on populist agenda and lack support from evidence-based studies. The process seldom accounts for the necessities of the concerned stakeholders and thus invites consequences that were not originally intended.
Nonetheless, we are seeing some positive signs in Nepal’s policy landscape as evidenced by a bill which was recently registered in the parliament that mandates adequate consulting with the relevant stakeholders. The registration of this bill opens up avenues for Samriddhi and other like-minded organizations to have a greater say in the bill drafting process where the findings of our research studies can be shared with the bureaucrats and parliamentarians for assisting them in formulating evidence-based solution to policy problems from a liberal stand-point rather than an interventionist approach previously undertaken.
But, one of the major challenges we face is the lack of understanding of liberal policies among the general people. Populist policies are popular because they are easy to sell. Therefore, we at Samriddhi believe that if we can educate people, especially young people on liberal ideas, we can create a critical mass in support of evidence based liberal policies. In this regard, Samriddhi has already been working continuously to educate young people on liberal ideas and values with context to Nepal’s policy problems with kind support from The Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom.
In the year 2024, Samriddhi aims to engage with individuals who seek to learn more about alternative solutions to policy problems through a competitive selection process. In this process, the alumni of the previous programs supported by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation will be given special priority as they are already familiar with Samriddhi’s nature of work. This will further help strengthen their knowledge on liberal values and ideas along with equipping them with additional skills that will solidify these ambassadors of liberty and the freedom movement. As an organization devoted to the ideals of freedom, Samriddhi has more than a decade long experience in working with federal-level policy makers through interaction with intellectuals, bureaucrats, non-elected political leaders, communities, business sector, and youths. Our objective is to offer policymakers with the knowledge and resources they need to design liberal policies that can truly drive the country’s economic change.
- Program: The Policy Research Fellowship
2.1 Objective:
- To immerse the participants in the values of a liberal society who will act as the young champions of liberalism in Nepal.
- To help the participants understand the realities of policy making and assist them in finding liberal solutions to the policy problems.
- To familiarize the participants on tools to advocate for necessary reforms with primary policy stakeholders.
- To help participants learn about international experience of change making and help them internalize the process.
2.2 Output:
- Two highly intensive engagement cohorts focusing on the delivering knowledge on liberal ideas, liberal solutions to policy problems, and advocacy techniques.
- A total of 20 op-eds based on the liberal values and ideas published in national daily newspapers.
- One compendium of 10 evidence-based papers of 2000-3000 words focusing on policy solutions
- to specific economic sectors that will assist policy makers in making policy decisions.
- A reader which will be a compilation of 30-40 articles on classical liberal ideas around the theme ‘Liberalism’ that will be shared with all participants at least two weeks prior to the event.
- A colloquium of 12 sessions each of moderated discussions on key principles and insights of liberalism
2.3 Outcome:
- A network of like-minded individuals who will promote ideas of free society.
- ● Participants of the engagement will be the liberal ambassadors of change to implement liberal solutions to policy problems.
- ● At least 50 parliamentarians will be engaged and will be made aware of the problems hindering the growth of the intended economic sector with the hope they might bring about a policy response that can bring positive change.
- Methodology
The program has two components that will engage 8 participants in an intensive learning experience where they will be educated on liberal values and ideas through liberal texts, readers and discussions based on such texts. Throughout the duration of the program, the participants will be asked to conduct a study whose findings will be shared with the policy makers. The participants will also engage with sectoral experts who will share their knowledge further enhancing the participants’ understanding of the sectoral problems and methods used to advocate for change.
In the similar manner, the participants will also have the opportunity to engage with parliamentarians who will share their experiences of policy making further helping the participants to understand the nooks and crannies of policy making. This will serve as a win-win option as the participants of the program will get the opportunity to expand their network, knowledge and the parliamentarian will have access to young intellectuals who can provide them with the perspective of youths.
Finally, the participants will also get to learn international experiences of policy making and success stories of reforms which will help them understand why the liberal movement is necessary throughout the world and how it can help bring a positive change.
At the end of the first cohort and the beginning of the second cohort, the participants will engage in discussion sessions based on liberal texts with experienced and knowledgeable session moderators. The program intends to encourage the exploration of ideas through discussion among a small group of individuals from a range of disciplines and expertise. Participants will be shared a list of articles around the theme liberalism which they will read and sit at an informal setting to have a moderated Socratic discussion on.
The two cohorts of participants will be trained on liberal ideas and values and will be engaged on thematic basis allowing them to dive deeper into the problems created by policy barriers in the specific sector. This
will help them to be trained in liberal ideas and values and have an in-depth knowledge of the sector allowing them to readily provide liberal solutions to the policy problems.
- Call for Quotations
In order to deliver this Fellowship, 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] (Samriddhi Foundation), [email protected] (Nabina Prajapati) via email, 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 16 February, 2024. Contract award will be communicated after 22 February, 2024 to all the applicants.
4.1 Curriculum Developer (X1)
- Develop a comprehensive curriculum for The Policy Research Fellowship. This curriculum should cover:
- At least 1 task of developing a Advocacy Campaign
- 12 to 15 training sessions on idea of liberalism
- Discussion sessions on the idea
- Political economic reading materials
The Consultant should have the following qualifications:
- Have a Master’s degree or higher.
- Have at least 5 years’ experience of working in Nepal-based organisation.
- Understand policy process in Nepal,
- Prior experience of having developed curriculum for trainings.
Preference will be given to candidates who have developed training curriculums in the past
Duration: The consultant will work on this project for a total of 10 days.
Remuneration: Negotiable. The Consultant is required to offer their quotation first.
4.4 Program Coordinator (X1)
The Program coordinator will be responsible for:
- Working with Samriddhi Foundation to communicate selection results with fellows
- Compile reading materials and all other reference materials to be used in the fellowship.
- Coordinating with the guest lecturers, communicating fellowship’s expectations with him/her and making necessary arrangements as per the guest lecturer’s session plans.
- Conducting pre and post tests of the fellows
- Ensuring record-keeping of all sessions
- Handling fellow’s queries and issues throughout the fellowship
- Overall logistical support of the fellowship
The consultant should have the following qualifications:
- Have a Bachelor’s degree or higher in Social Science,
- Have at least 2 years’ experience of organizing and coordinating workshops and trainings,
Preference will be given to candidates who have worked with public policy institutes in the past
Duration: The Consultant will work on this project for twenty days per batch. A total of two fellowships will be conducted in 2024.
Remuneration: Negotiable. The Consultant is required to offer their quotation first.