Background

• Since 1990, the Human Development Report has been UNDP’s flagship document, monitoring and assessing the development situation from a human-centred perspective. It has contributed to shifting the focus of development towards people’s lives. In addition to the annual global report, more than 620 national and sub-national Human Development Reports have been produced by 143 countries;
• The Global and increasingly the Regional and National reports are attracting attention by media and policy makers at all levels as they inspire related analytical initiatives and are looked to as an authoritative sources of data and analysis. It raises the stakes on quality of research, data analysis, narrative and presentation, and a non-partisan Human Development perspective;
• National reports pioneer themes and approaches based on local level context and expertise. They are supported by Corporate Policy processes;
• The reputation of HDRs creates a significant potential in all countries to attract/benefit from media and public attention. Poorly put together reports may in turn weaken the opportunity to stimulate policy debate and also more broadly affect the credibility of the NHDRs;
• This year’s NHDR for Sri Lanka will focus on the theme of Youth and Development. Sri Lanka has a population of 4.4 million young people between the ages of 15 – 29 constituting 22% of the entire population in 2011. Today’s youth will have an impact on how Sri Lanka progresses in the 21^st century. However, youth are seldom recognized as a distinct group for their pivotal role in shaping the future. Addressing the specific needs of youth so as to fully realize their potential to contribute to the country’s development trajectory is a critical challenge;
• UNDP’s NHDR 2014 will draw attention to some of the critical opportunities and challenges facing young people under the following key sub-thematic areas, with gender dimensions cutting across all of them: education, health, employment, civic and political participation, and reconciliation and social integration, NHDRs constitute a major vehicle for UNDP’s support to policy development and reforms. The analysis and recommendations of this Report is intended to contribute to an on-going process of policy development and implementation to address the opportunities and challenges facing youth in the country.
  

Scope, Objectives and Key Deliverable

• This Report will critically analyze prevailing youth policies and implementation, with a view to generating public debate around two kinds of gaps. These are gaps in implementation of policies already in place (for e.g., what bottlenecks prevent effective implementation, and what could be suggested to address these), as well as gaps in policy in addressing challenges. The analysis will contribute to considering issues from a people centered perspective and identify an agenda for action. Issues of equity, efficiency, participation and sustainability will be factored into the analysis and recommendations;
• This Report is being prepared in close consultation with the Government of Sri Lanka and non-government actors. The preparation of the Report (including quantitative and qualitative research and analysis) has been entrusted to an expert team of researchers. UNDP is seeking two Consultants to technically review, suggest substantive amendments (as required) and edit the entire draft Report in accordance with UNDP’s corporate guidelines for the preparation of NHDRs and in consultation with the Lead Author and the NHDR Team.

Duties and Responsibilities

Each of the two Consultants will be responsible to ensure that the Report:

• Provides a current and comprehensive analysis of the status of youth as well as the development challenges and opportunities facing them at national and local levels from a human development perspective. The 5 key sub-thematic areas of the Report are education, health, employment, civic and political participation, and reconciliation and social integration, along with gender dimensions cutting across each of these sub-thematic areas;
• Provides recommendations that would be valuable in informing policy-making and policy action; and
• Is an analytical and policy-oriented document of technical and comparative value in line with UNDP’s corporate guidelines that can be used nationally, regionally and globally.
  

Towards this end, the two Consultants will be responsible for, but not limited to, carrying out the following functions:

Reviewing, organizing and technical editing:

• Editing the Report’s chapters and narrative sections with a view to ensure: clarity and continuity of the argument and political focus of the Report; clarity of structure and core themes of the Report; internal consistency, both analytical and stylistic; general readability and accessibility to a broad readership (worldwide); etc;
• At the beginning of the assignment the Consultants will be required to discuss editorial guidelines for the Report with the NHDR team;
• The Consultants will do the technical editing of the Report and statistical tables in close consultation with the Lead Author and the NHDR Team;
• Attention needs to be paid to the role of boxes, graphics and tables, the objective being to bring the different components of the draft together seamlessly into a single Report; the Consultants shall also suggest catchy and concise titles for those elements;
• The technical editing will concentrate on flow and clarity of argument, sequencing, consistency (including between text and tables and figures, and integration of text and boxes) as well as content errors and deficiencies.
• The Consultants shall also ensure that the statistical data used and referenced in the Report as well as the qualitative analysis accurately reflects the data and information from the quantitative survey, Focus group Discussions and Key Informant Interviews as well as other secondary sources;
• The two Consultants will report directly to the Policy Specialist of the UNDP Sri Lanka Country Office.
  
• The Consultants will also be expected to work in close consultation with the Lead Author and the NHDR Team in achieving the key deliverables.
  

Competencies

• Demonstrates leadership, team working and coordinating skills;
• Demonstrates strong analytical skills;
• Conceptualizes and analyzes problems to identify key issues, underlying problems, and how they relate
•  Demonstrates substantive and technical knowledge to meet responsibilities and Consultancy requirements with excellence;
•  Shares knowledge and experience;
• Provides helpful feedback and advice;
• Generates innovative, practical solutions to challenging situations;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexitie;
• Responds positively to critical feedback and differing points of view.
  

Required Skills and Experience

• Degree in development, social sciences, economics or other related field. A Masters’ degree or higher qualification would be a distinct advantage

• At least 10 years of relevant experience in human development-focused research and analysis, writing, reporting, technical review and/or technical editing of documents similar/relevant to the NHDRs;
•  Experience in working with statistical data and statistical indicators, and familiarity with the logic and structure of complex statistical tables and concepts.

Technical

• Interested applicants would need to mandatorily provide examples/proof of similar work undertaken and successfully delivered/published;
  
• Applicants who have recognized publications, contributions to publications, journal articles, etc., to their name will be at a distinct advantage;
• Applicants with a strong technical knowledge of the NHDR’s thematic area of youth and development, and/or the sub-thematic areas of education; employment; health; civic and political participation; reconciliation and social integration; and/or gender empowerment, will be at a distinct advantage.

Language

• Demonstrated excellent written communication skills in English.