Since the early 1990s, UNDP has promoted the use of ICTs as a catalyst for human development. Starting in 2001, it has increasingly focused on fostering e-governance and access to information to strengthen democratic governance in developing countries. UNDP's strategic approach centers on enhancing stakeholder participation in governance processes and enhancing delivery of basic services to the poor and marginalized - both closely related to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.

The role that ICTs can play in empowering people and fostering engagement and participation in the public sphere has been highlighted by recent event events around the globe. Nowadays, governments are facing the need to become more open,inclusive and transparent which will in turn lead to more effective and accountable governance processes. And ICTs, in particular social networks and mobile technologies, can play a key role in making this a reality.

One of the challenges that needs to be addressed relates to the specific role stakeholders across sector can have in governance processes as communications channels, platforms, and ICT tools evolve. The rapid spread and uptake of mobile devices for example brings forward both opportunities and challenges that need to be tackled if they are to foster human development.

To effectively manage its engagement with partners and stakeholders and effectively deliver services, UNDP is focusing on cutting-edge work and is now beefing up its research and policy analysis skills to support this key area of work.

Under the supervision of the e-governance and Access to Information Policy Advisor of the Democratic Governance Group in the Bureau for Development Policy, the Specialist is expected to provide research and policy analysis in support of the work of UNDP in this area. The Consultant will contribute towards the identification and compilation of materials to enhance UNDP's knowledge base and support the development of various knowledge products on e-governance and ICT for development.

The consultant is expected to undertake the following tasks:

• Collection, analysis, and presentation of quantitative data such as from official statistics, online databases, existing and new surveys, and data archives
• Collection and development of comprehensive reviews of documents published on e-governance (from journal articles, books, websites, newspapers and magazines, government reports, legislative hearings, agency reports, official archives, and so on)
• Identification and analysis of new e-governance trends and emerging technologies that can be applied to support human development in developing countries
• Analysis and categorization of UNDP portfolio of e-governance programmes and extraction of lessons learned and good practices on a cross-cutting fashion
• Drafting, professional design, production, and dissemination of reports, training manuals, case studies, practice notes, conference papers, primers, discussion notes, project documents, project reports
• Collecting best practices and lessons learned on e-governance and Access to Information, as well as developing plans for disseminating knowledge products
• Undertake other related duties at the request of the Supervisor

The consultant will be home-based and expected to come to the office frequently upon request from the Supervisor. The initial contract duration will be of 9 months.

• Excellent knowledge of e-governance for development, including innovative approaches to traditional development issues; the challenges of using ICTs in enhancing good governance; the MDG and ongoing pro-poor development efforts; and mobile technologies and social networks
• Excellent drafting ability and communications kills, both oral and written;
• Experience in conducting applied-policy research
• Advance knowledge in the use of spreadsheets, presentation software and database management tools

Education:

• Master’s Degree in a development related area.

Experience:

• Minimum of 7 years of post-graduate experience working on e-governance or ICT for Development
• Sound knowledge and understanding of development effectiveness and e-governance policies and practice
• Excellent knowledge of ICT tools and applications with a special focus on mobile technologies, Free/Open Source technologies, open standards and open government
• Ability to leverage modern knowledge management systems and “new media” for two-way sharing of knowledge
• Experience working with different development stakeholders is an asset
• Field experience with UNDP or a related development organization desirable

Language Requirements:

• Fluent in English. Knowledge of Spanish and/or French is desirable