Background

UNDP Country Office in Belarus has started preparation of the next National Human Development Report (NHDR) which will be devoted to exploring the sources of regional competitiveness in the Republic of Belarus. The project will facilitate the elaboration of the national concept of regional economies’ competitiveness, perform a comparative analysis of the socio-economic context in the regions, identify the regional economic and social “growth points”, and develop recommendations for enhancing the regional economies’ effectiveness and reducing the disparities in the quality of life in the regions of Belarus.

The NHDR will create a uniform approach to analyzing and assessing the factors, which are driving the competitiveness of the regions in the country. Within the NHDR framework the multifaceted nature of regional competitiveness will be explored with the focus on inter-linkage and interaction of its aspects (economic, social, and environmental). While studying the local development factors and the resource endowments in each region, and while developing  regional  development policy recommendations, special attention will be paid to their impact on the local quality of life, including demographics, gender aspect, the influence on the vulnerable groups’ situation, etc.

Enhancing the national/regional competitiveness is not a goal in itself, but rather a powerful tool of achieving a higher standard of living and social welfare. At the same time, empirical evidence proves that economic growth alone (GDP per capita) does not always translate into better quality of life for the general population, and is not necessarily positively correlated to human development.  Therefore, along with measuring economic dimensions of competitiveness, the NHDR will pay close attention to non-economic factors of regional attractiveness, such as, for example, access of population to social services, favourable  demographic and ecological environment, well-developed social infrastructure, general quality of life.

The team of experts will collect existing and new data on a regional basis and through these data explore a number of important aspects, including resource endowment; industrial output; SME development; innovation and technological development; availability, access and quality of public services; agriculture production; mono-company towns; the level and quality of available infrastructure for production and for supporting quality of life; closeness to capital/regional growth centers; real incomes; employment; demographic composition; mobile phone and internet penetration; and other factors for marked differences in the set of options faced by inhabitants and businesses in the various regions. The results could be presented in the forms of comparative and dynamic figures with titles that could summarize the main analytical findings.

Taking into consideration all of the above, the general objective of the NHDR will be to analyze the regional competitiveness factors in close connection with the human dimension and the quality of life in respective oblasts of the country. In addition, the research will address the issue of long-term affordability and sustainability of the socio-economic development processes, based on efficient use of the local economic, human, and natural resources, involved in the development cycle.

Duties and Responsibilities

•  A summary of the national context and challenges related to regional competitiveness and its assessment in Belarus is produced as a result of the national round table.
• National Team Leader and the International Expert are selected and contracted.
• A seminar on NHDR preparation is conducted for the involved national partners.

• the definition of regional competitiveness;
• the relevant factors of regional competitiveness and their interaction;
• the methodology for measuring and assessing regional competitiveness based on existing comparable models.

•  the structure of the Report;
• the work plan, and the terms of reference for the local specialists/experts required to perform the data collection/assessment (tentatively about 4 of them);
• the specifications for the required new data to be collected.

• the local experts are hired

•  the competitiveness analysis of each of the 6 regions of Belarus is performed and the recommendation for each region are formulated;
• the draft text is edited for data and messages consistency;
•  the text is supported by the graphical illustrative means and annexes.

• All substantive comments from reviewers are reflected in the final version
• Accompanying annexes and data bases are consolidated and submitted for production
• Report layout is agreed.

Competencies

• Proven expertise in socio-economic development issues, competitiveness analysis and its measurement, private sector development, local/regional development;
• Outstanding analytical, data-processing, statistical, and numerical skills;
• Expertise with general competitiveness assessment models and ability to adjust them to concrete settings and formulate new approaches;
• Experience in developing successful measurement/assessment methodologies in the areas related to competitiveness and/or socio-economic development is an advantage;
• Excellent writing skills in either English or Russian (both are preferable)
• Awareness of the socio-economic context in Belarus is a solid advantage.

Required Skills and Experience

• Advanced university degree in economics, social science, human development, or other related field;
• Proven expertise in competitiveness issues and related models.

• At least 10 years of relevant work experience;
• Having authored and/or edited published analytical works on socio-economic issues is a strong asset;
• Experience with consultancies in the countries of the former Soviet Union and countries with their economies of transition is an advantage;

• Proposal:

• Financial proposal – please fill in Annex II (Finance Proposal)
•  Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and at least 2 references (or contact info of 2 reference people).