TENDER FOR A COUNTRY DIALOGUE RESEARCHER, JULY 2015
Tender: Country Dialogue Researcher in Ghana
Title: TENDER: Country Dialogue Researcher for Ghana
Published by: International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)
Date published: 9 July 2015
Deadline date: Midnight 26 July 2015
Type: Grant or consultancy contract
Summary
The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) is a policy and action research
organisation. We promote sustainable development to improve livelihoods and protect the
environments on which these livelihoods are built. We specialise in linking local priorities to global
challenges. IIED is based in London and works in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and the
Pacific, with some of the world’s most vulnerable people. We work with them to strengthen their voice in
the decision-making arenas that affect them — from village councils to international conventions. IIED
is a company limited by guarantee, incorporated in England. Our annual report for 2013-14 is available
here.
IIED is launching a dialogue series to identify collaborative solutions for promoting a formalised, rightsbased artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector through improved relations between government,
large- and small-scale mining and other stakeholders.
IIED is seeking expressions of interest for a Country Dialogue Researcher (“the Researcher”) for an incountry dialogue on artisanal and small- scale mining in Ghana. The dialogue will aim to accelerate
progress towards a more inclusive and responsible Ghanaian mining sector through improved multistakeholder collaboration. It will be focused on local priorities whilst contributing towards learning
between countries on the major issues that have an impact on the sector globally.
The primary function of the Researcher will be to draw together local knowledge and research by
producing: the pre-dialogue country diagnostic on ASM, as well as any other necessary papers to
inform the dialogue, stakeholder mapping, and post-dialogue analysis of change and impacts. In
advance of the dialogue, the Researcher will be expected to work closely with IIED and a Country
Dialogue Convenor organisation (“the Convenor”). The Convenor will also be appointed by IIED, and
will be responsible for organising and hosting the dialogue.
The Researcher will be an individual who should be highly knowledgeable of the local context, social
and cultural realities, local mining priorities and how to engage the full range of sector stakeholders
(from national government to local ASM communities). The researcher should have a post-graduate
degree and demonstrable relevant experience, including responsible positions in developing countries.
A Terms of Reference can be found at Appendix 2.
Tender Scope
The maximum fee payable for this project is 10,000 GBP. This is to cover professional services of the
researcher and does not cover the costs of travel and expenses. The start date will be 1st August 2015,
with a dialogue to be held in November 2015. The contract with IIED will end following post-dialogue
activities in January 2016.
How to respond
The full details of this tender are available here. All interested applicants must submit an expression of
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TENDER FOR A COUNTRY DIALOGUE RESEARCHER, JULY 2015
interest in accordance with the Terms of Reference, by email to Abbi.Buxton@iied.org, cc
Frances.Reynolds@iied.org, by midnight, 26 July 2015 with a subject line of “TENDER: Country
Dialogue Researcher for Ghana”. Candidates should make themselves available for possible telephone
interviews between 28 and 30 July.
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TENDER FOR A COUNTRY DIALOGUE RESEARCHER, JULY 2015
Appendix 1: IIED’s global series of multi-stakeholder
dialogues on ASM
The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) is launching a global policy dialogue
series on artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) to support a more inclusive and responsible mining
sector.
The first of these country dialogue processes will be held in Ghana. IIED will be working with a countrybased convenor and researcher to engage stakeholders, host the dialogue and shape the agenda
based on local priorities.
In parallel to this first country dialogue, IIED is developing partnerships with the Alliance for
Responsible Mining and others to jointly shape and deliver the global programme.
The global programme will develop a common framework and tools for supporting local organisations in
delivering country-based policy dialogues. These dialogues will be focused on local priorities whilst
contributing towards cross-country learning on the major issues that have an impact on the sector
globally. They will aim to further understanding of ASM-LSM-government issues at all levels, spur new
collaborations and initiatives to drive change across the sector, improve trust and understanding across
stakeholder groups and accelerate progress towards a more responsible and inclusive mining sector.
This work builds on IIED’s reputation across natural resource sectors as a convenor, supporter of local
partner organisations and provider of a neutral space for dialogue for multiple stakeholders (whether
government, private sector, or grass roots civil society organisations).
A focus on formalisation, rights and government
Over the last few months and through a ‘visioning workshop’ in April, IIED has engaged key
stakeholders across the sector in identifying what the global priorities for the ASM sector are.
A backgrounder to the workshop was written based on 35 interviews with multiple stakeholders
(including government, miners, and civil society), and identified four priority issues – vulnerability,
minerals rights and governance, formalisation, and migration and security – and a number of key
process points – to agree roles and responsibilities through dialogue, improve our knowledge of the
sector and, most importantly, amplify ASM voice.
During the workshop, stakeholders agreed on the priority issues – formalisation, rights and government.
We captured some of these thoughts on issues and dialogue here. Over the next few weeks, IIED will
shape the content gathered into a background paper that will be used by local organisations during the
dialogue process to guide their identification of local priorities and link national processes to the global
debate.
A locally driven dialogue process
Our proposed dialogue process will work through and alongside local organisations. This approach
acknowledges the unique in-country issues and creates the local ownership needed for action on
challenges of scale, priority and replicability. And it builds on best practice proven by IIED (see
http://pubs.iied.org/16554IIED.html) and others (see http://theforestsdialogue.org/publications).
Each dialogue will work through three phases: engaging the stakeholders around an issue (Phase 1
‘Engage’); exploring the challenges and solutions (Phase 2 ‘Explore’); and changing policy and practice
in line with those solutions (Phase 3 ‘Change’).
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TENDER FOR A COUNTRY DIALOGUE RESEARCHER, JULY 2015
Figure. The three stages of dialogue
Phase 1: ‘Engage’
Each dialogue will begin by helping all participants better understand the local context, stakeholders
and institutions. This will inform the identification of specific in-country issues for the dialogue to focus
on — common problems that require collaborative solutions and new forms of cooperation and action.
Several mapping exercises will help us identify:
 The in-country policy processes that a dialogue should seek to inform and engage to leverage
changes in line with the dialogue findings.
 The key in-country stakeholders that should be represented in a local dialogue, the nature of their
interactions, and how to engage them effectively. We will pay special attention to capturing and
representing ‘unheard’ voices, whether they be junior general managers, civil servants, diggers,
landowners, or traders and financiers.
We will prepare a pre-dialogue country report, incorporating in-country research, to inform the first
formal dialogue.
A dialogue needs to be “a sustained effort at the local level”. IIED will work with a Country Dialogue
Convenor to coordinate and host the field dialogue, manage communications, and arrange logistics for
the field dialogues. This approach, while being consistent across countries, will also serve to secure
local ownership and the continuation of the dialogue process in the longer term.
We will hold a series of meetings for specific stakeholder groups before the dialogue. We want to hear
what the different groups think the issues are, understand their problems and hopes, and jointly
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TENDER FOR A COUNTRY DIALOGUE RESEARCHER, JULY 2015
consider how a dialogue process might address these challenges. IIED staff will be present throughout
the process, aiming to help build trust and confidence with local partners and stakeholders.
Phase 2: ‘Explore’
In-country field dialogues will then serve to make the issue at hand more tangible. These dialogues may
take place in countries or locations where conflicts have been resolved, as a way of profiling potential
solutions. Each one will take place over four days: two days in the field and two days in a workshop
setting. Each one will work to:
 build the knowledge base through representations from each stakeholder group;
 identify the key challenges and barriers;
 identify and prioritise possible solutions; and
 agree on appropriate next steps.
Phase 3: ‘Change’
Post-dialogue, IIED will work with local partners to promote shared solutions identified through dialogue
and disseminate the findings to key audiences, locally and globally.
Together we will work with dialogue participants to develop and commit to plans for change in policy
and practice.
Where the dialogue identifies the need for ongoing dialogue and learning to target longer term changes
in policy and practice, IIED will work with local organisations to develop multi-stakeholder, learning and
leadership groups to continue to drive this work. IIED will facilitate cross-country learning within a global
programme of dialogues including targeted learning and sharing events.
Lessons on process will be incorporated into the global programme and inform further in-country
dialogues worldwide.
Finally, IIED will work with the Country Dialogue Convenor and Researcher to monitor and track the
impacts of dialogue in-country and across key global stakeholder groups.
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TENDER FOR A COUNTRY DIALOGUE RESEARCHER, JULY 2015
Appendix 2: Terms of Reference for the Country
Dialogue Researcher
Mandate
The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) is launching a dialogue series to
identify collaborative solutions for promoting a formalised, rights-based artisanal and small-scale mining
sector through improved relations between government, large- and small-scale mining and other
stakeholders. The Country Dialogue Researcher will play a key role in achieving the goals of this
project.
1.
This work will take place across the following timescales:
Aug 2015 – Nov 2015
Nov 2015
Nov 2015 – Jan 2016
Pre-dialogue
•
Building the capacity and structures for an effective
field dialogue
Dialogue
•
Running an effective field dialogue
Post-dialogue
•
Sharing and supporting the implementation of solutions
The primary objectives of the Country Dialogue Researcher are to:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
(vii)
(viii)
Conduct research to support the dialogue – its content, participation and agenda: primary
research, engagement and writing responsibilities for pre-dialogue diagnostics,
stakeholder mapping and engagement, pre- and post-dialogue papers and materials, postdialogue change management based on dialogue outcomes
Develop dialogue objectives within IIED’s global ASM research framework (formalisation,
rights and government)
Using your knowledge and research, advise the Country Dialogue Convenor and IIED on
appropriate field dialogue locations, participant list, dialogue agenda and pre-dialogue
meetings
Take part in pre-dialogue meetings with individual stakeholder groups (e.g. with
government, with ASM, with larger private sector, with civil society), and participate in these
meetings along with one or two IIED staff
Take part in the dialogue, presenting the background diagnostic where necessary and
helping IIED to synthesise the dialogue report
Support ongoing learning network activities in country and through the global programme,
including networking with other dialogue researchers from other countries
Develop an agenda for change and support a potential ongoing Learning and Leadership
group within the country
Work with IIED to undertake monitoring and evaluation of the outcomes and impacts of the
dialogue process
Essential Criteria
The Researcher should be highly knowledgeable on the mining sector in Ghana and committed to using
research to inform dialogue and using dialogue to catalyse change.
In particular the Researcher should be able to demonstrate experience and skills in:
 Conducting research on issues related to mining in Ghana including field-based research
experiences with local mining and ASM communities;
 Effectively communicating research results to key stakeholders including local communities,
government, private sector and other civil society actors;
 Managing and delivering complex research projects, including field trips
 Delivering work on time and to a high standard
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TENDER FOR A COUNTRY DIALOGUE RESEARCHER, JULY 2015
Activities and outputs
The activities and outputs of the Country Dialogue Research, in line with the dialogue process identified
above, are:
Pre-dialogue:
(i)
Mapping key stakeholders for the dialogue topic in Ghana, the nature of their involvement,
and identify potential ways for more effective involvement. This information will support the
country Convenor to identify dialogue participants;
(ii)
Preparing a background paper as the basis for discussion for the dialogue. The global
framework of formalisation, rights and government should inform this research;
(iii)
Developing dialogue objectives within the global research framework and based on
background paper
(iv)
Using your knowledge and research to advise the Country Dialogue Convenor on
appropriate field dialogue locations and dialogue agenda
During the dialogue:
(i)
Presenting research results at the dialogue
(ii)
Contributing to dialogue discussions and note-taking to support the production of a
dialogue summary
Post-dialogue:
(i)
Producing dialogue summary in collaboration with IIED team and the country Convenor
(ii)
Continuing networking and knowledge contribution to the global programme through
January 2016.
Conditions of participation
Interested applications are invited to submit an expression of interest (EOI) and standard CV. The EOI
should be no more than four pages and cover:
1. Your comments and interpretations of the TOR and expected outputs
2. Proposed research methodologies for undertaking research activities
3. A statement of your relevant expertise, including evidence of past experience and success
against the “Essential Criteria” listed above
4. Contact information for two professional references
Applications should be emailed to Abbi.Buxton@iied.org, cc Frances.Reynolds@iied.org, by midnight,
26 July 2015 with a subject line of “TENDER: Country Dialogue Researcher for Ghana”. Applicants
should make themselves available for possible telephone interviews between 28 and 30 July.
www.iied.org
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