TERMS OF REFERENCE UNICEF Belize

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1 TERMS OF REFERENCE UNICEF Belize Position Child-focused Social Budget Analysis and Capacity Building for Child-focused Programme Budget Planning and Monitoring Consultancy Duration Start Date: 1 June End Date: 15 December Grade Duty Station Supervision Programme Component A. Background: L4 International Consultancy Home Based (with an estimated 30 days in Belize City) Joint UNICEF-Ministry of Finance Steering Committee Evidence-based advocacy and capacity building for child and gender-sensitive social policy and programme development with a strong equity focus Article 4 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child provides for the obligation of States to invest the appropriate resources for guaranteeing that all the rights safeguarded by the convention are fulfilled to the maximum extent of their available resources. The safeguarding of these rights require States to engage in budgeting processes that allocate the necessary amount of resources to provide access to social and protection services for all children in order for them to be able to reach their full potential. States at different levels of development, or facing different economic circumstances, may thus be able to ensure different levels of implementation of policies that help fulfil children s rights according to the principle of progressive realization of rights. There is ample evidence 1 that seeks to highlight the linkages between policy development and child rights compliance i.e., about investing resources to ensure children s right to health, education, and protection from violence, exploitation, and discrimination, social protection and socioeconomic progress for society at large. In addition to the ethical imperative in recognizing children s rights, there are complementary links between social and economic policy and positive implications of social investment on children for economic development and productivity gains in any country. Therefore, well-articulated and gender responsive - economic and social policy decisions in general and for children in particular could play a crucial role in promoting gender equality, equity, social justice and facilitate economic growth and poverty reduction. In the fall of 2014, UNICEF Belize and the Ministry of Finance of Belize signed a Rolling Work Plan, which identifies public financing for children to be an area of high relevance for the country. The agreed activities are aimed at strengthening the national capacities for child-focused programme budgeting and monitoring, as well as for knowledge generation on investments in children B. The Country Context: Belize Belize is situated on the Caribbean coast of Central America, bordered on the north by Mexico s Yucatan Peninsula, and in the south and west by Guatemala, with a very small direct sea link to Honduras in the south. The second largest barrier reef in the world - a draw for diving and water sports tourism - lies off the Caribbean coast of Belize. It is a relatively small country, with a diverse landmass of almost 23,000 square kilometres, but with only a population of 358,899 in The country is divided into 6 districts: 1 Reed, N. Chai, J. and Anthony, D. Right in Principle and in Practice: A Review of the Social and Economic Returns to Investing in Children. UNICEF Division of Policy and Strategy, Statistical Institute of Belize website, All data on population estimates in the ToR uses information taken from the SIB Website from June

2 Corozal and Orange Walk in the north, Cayo in the south-centre and west, Belize in the centre and coast, Stann Creek on the southern coastal area, and Toledo in the far south, west and southernmost coast. Children and adolescents (aged 0-19) comprised 46.21% of the total Belizean population; specifically, 166,305 of mid Of these, 8,247 were under-1yrs; 33,857 were 1-4yrs, 43,669 were 5-9yrs, and 41,964 were 10-14yrs, and 38,568 aged yrs. The political context for Belize also reflects its location and multiple populations. It is an active Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member and a member of the Central American Integration System (SICA), as well as a member of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Group of African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries (ACP). The structure and distribution of poverty is a key factor underlying general inequities in socioeconomic status in Belize, which are in turn related to other inequities in education, health, economic participation, and social participation. In this respect, the 2014 UNDP Human Development Report lists Belize with a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.732, placing it at number 84 out of 187 countries with comparable data and below the Latin America/Caribbean regional aver- age of According to a recent Caribbean Development Bank Report Belize reflects a Caribbean pattern of economic growth without a reduction in poverty. In April 2009, the Country Poverty Assessment (CPA) Team conducted a Living Standards Measurement Survey (LSMS) in which a variety of data were collected across all districts in Belize. The percentage of Belizean households that are poor (includes vulnerable and generally poor) was 31% in When measured as a population indicator (individuals, not households), 41.3% of Belizeans were poor in Moreover, the percentage of Belizeans who were indigent in 2009 was 15.8%, an increase of 46% just from 2002, when the rate was 10.8%. The burden of poverty falls heavily on children the child poverty rate is 50%, with 21% indigent, with increases since 2002 falling primarily in the age range 5-17 years old. Children s experience of risk, vulnerability and deprivation is shaped by characteristics of childhood poverty that is multidimensional and embracing both monetary and non-monetary aspects of poverty and also reflects children s situation over the course of the lifecycle. The percentages of the population that are poor and indigent are almost the same for males and females. Belize s economy grew by 4% in 2012, but then growth slowed down to 0.7% in Recent data from the Statistical Institute of Belize showed strong growth in the 2 nd quarter of 2014 of 8.2%, signalling a potential return to higher GDP growth rates. Belize is characterized by a low inflation rate hovering around 1.5-2% annually. Total public debt was 76.4 percent of GDP (US$1,235 million) at end of 2013, of which 85 percent is external debt and 15 percent domestic debt. With the introduction of programme budgeting in Belize s 2014 budget, it has now become timely and important to generate evidence on the benefits of measuring and tracking investments in children. Significant budgetary allocations towards the education and health sectors have been made, but there have been no specific efforts to capture how much of it actually goes towards addressing pressing issues affecting children, and what is the relationship between increased investment in these areas and outcomes for children. Monitoring and reporting on budget allocations for children is a key first step in making sure that funding matches policies that deliver results. C. Scope of Work: In the National Development Framework for Belize entitled Horizon 2030 Strategy, the Government of Belize has made a commitment to work towards promoting healthy and productive citizens throughout the Life Cycle ; it has also develop education support systems and services and Implement multi-year planning of activities and budgets and require regular reporting on clear and measurable objectives. 2

3 Among others. 3 Undoubtedly, these initiatives would require political commitment coupled with targeted investments which are best identified through the national budget. In order to bring about effective change and ensure the objectives of Horizon 2030, the rights of children and adolescents must be placed at the centre of public policy, and of budgetary policy in particular. The volume and use of public resources assigned to ensuring compliance with the rights of children and adolescents are crucial indicators of the priority that states grant to these rights. Increased and more equitable social investment is key for the implementation of rights. In light of this analysis, UNICEF promotes social investment in children as a regional priority in Latin America and the Caribbean. Together with allies and counterparts, UNICEF supports states in translating their political commitments into budgetary policy decisions, while also supporting initiatives to monitor and analyse public expenditure at both the national and local level. These initiatives seek to influence a more equitable and efficient allocation of public resources, as well as increased transparency and public participation in social investment decision-making. 4. The general purpose of the study is to advise policy decisions regarding how to make available more financial resources in the national budget for investment in children without jeopardizing the fiscal sustainability. Furthermore, the study should provide tools for capacity building of responsible staff in child-focused programme budgeting and monitoring public expenditures and investment in children. The main purpose of the monitoring should be to produce official, relevant and timely information about the allocation and implementation of social expenditure (general or child focused), and make it available to relevant actors in government and civil society. Ultimately, the monitoring should be used to generate reports, thereby bringing about greater transparency and accountability in public institutions, while also promoting greater social and financial surveillance of national social investments. Enhanced capacity for planning and child-focused programme budgeting is expected to yield more adequate allocations to childrelated social sectors and assist in the overall implementation of programme budgeting across all Government institutions. Considering Belize s middle income status, it is important to underline that the study s purpose is not to generate a needs-based assessment of resources but to generate a positive assessment of resources necessary for the realization of rights, already available to the Government of Belize. The analysis to be conducted during this research and capacity building exercise, should commence by agreeing on the definition and classification of social investment. The definition should be characterized by the following attributes: - The definition should be integral, encompassing the totality of social expenditures, allowing for disaggregation of child related expenditures and spending on basic services - The definition should be official, agreed and endorsed by the Government, especially the Ministry of Finance Thereafter, the analysis should follow a strictly agreed methodology ensuring substantive measurement of social investment for children by singling out elements of the budget affecting children, ensuring an equitable and gender-based perspective. The work should also involve an efficiency assessment component in terms of links between policy / programmes / budget plans and expenditure, including specific issues identified (linked to specific policies). 3 Government of Belize. National Development Framework for Belize - Horizon 2030, Investing in Children and Adolescents Arguments and Approaches for Advocacy, UNICEF Regional Office for Latim America and the Caribbean,

4 D. Objectives: The specific objectives of the study are to: Define what is considered a child-focused expenditure; in agreement with all relevant ministries Analyse the existing national budget policies, mid-term 5 trends in social expenditures and investments in social policies and nationally defined priorities and programmes for the needs of children in Belize; Analyse the existing allocation and operational effectiveness and efficiency of direct/indirect public allocations for children, and the degree to which gender responsive budgeting and policy development has impacted this efficiency and effectiveness; Prepare recommendations for increasing effectiveness and efficiency and review the impact on public finance of national development priorities for children; Develop training modules on child-focused gender responsive programme budgeting, and conduct trainings for Ministry of Finance staff, and for staff from policy and planning units from social sector ministries (Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports; Ministry of Human Development, Social Transformation and Poverty Alleviation; and Ministry of Health) Develop child-focused gender responsive social budget expenditure monitoring through child focused budget tagging integrated within the existing budget information system, and an accompanying user manual. E. Deliverables: There are four specific deliverables corresponding to one or more objectives as outlined above. These deliverables and the timeframe are presented in the table below Deliverables Deliverable 1 Work plan and an Inception Report The inception report is envisaged as a brief report prepared by the contractor to summarize the preliminary findings of the initial in-country visit and stakeholder meeting, the agreed common definition of childfocused expenditure, as well as to provide guidance on the scope and feasibility of the proposed assessment. The work-plan will contain the planned meetings with stakeholders, activities under the specific deliverables and corresponding deadlines. Timeline Early June 5 Depending on availability of data, this analysis should encompass annual social investment for the past 7 to 10 years. 4

5 Deliverable 2 Objectives: Analyse the existing national budget policies, mid-term trends in social expenditures and investments in social policies and nationally defined priorities and programmes for the needs of children in Belize; Analyse the existing allocation and operational effectiveness and efficiency of direct/indirect public allocations for children, and the degree to which gender responsive budgeting and policy development has impacted this efficiency and effectiveness; Prepare recommendations for increasing effectiveness and efficiency and review the impact on public finance of national development priorities for children; Mid June to end September The key sources of such analysis will include but not be limited to official budget (budget execution), policy and planning documents such as annual detailed budgets (for time period year 2005 to current period), ministry budget documents ( Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Human Development, Social Transformation and Poverty Alleviation, and other line ministries), social programmes for children, multiple indicator cluster survey (2011), Country Poverty Assessment and LSMS 2009, survey of living conditions, national census data (2010), and Central Bank data and Treasury data. The deliverable(s) from this objective will be: A. Analytical report (max. 80 pages excluding annexes and bibliography), an equity based, gender sensitive Child-Focused Public Social Expenditure Review and Analysis (with individual subcomponents on the national legal framework and macro level policies, budget planning, formulation, execution, reporting, audit and monitoring.) The Social sector expenditure analysis is a key element of this report. The report should focus on four priority areas: education/ecd, health, child protection and social protection. The analysis will include but not be limited to social expenditure as a % of total government expenditure, sectoral expenditure on children as a % of total government expenditure, social expenditure and GDP, breakdowns within each sector for spending on children, trends over time (time series) and also spending per child over time, and spending based on identified government priorities. Comparative analysis using data of countries with similar levels of economic development in the Latin American and Caribbean regions should be considered provided there is adequate data available. The recommendations might focus on: September Increasing allocation efficiency of public allocations that benefit children. Improving on linkages between national social priorities and needs of the children with budget planning and implementation processes. Explore mechanisms to improve on incorporating children priorities into current budget processes and social policies. Deliverable 3 5

6 Objective: Develop training modules on child-focused gender responsive programme budgeting budget tagging, and conduct trainings for Ministry of Finance staff, and for staff from policy and planning units from social sector ministries (Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports; Ministry of Human Development, Social Transformation and Poverty Alleviation; and Ministry of Health) The deliverables for this objectives will be: B. Develop and produce child-focused gender responsive training materials (modules) for government civil servants who are involved in the planning and budget preparation process. The modules should be based on the information generated during the research phase of the child-focused public social expenditure review, and use the data to ensure maximum benefit for the recipients. The modules should contain best practices in child-focused social budgeting and should incorporate the highest standards of public finance management. September - November C. Deliver training 6 for XX number of public officials based on the developed modules Objective: Deliverable 4 Develop budget tags for child-focused gender responsive social budget expenditure monitoring through chid focused budget tagging integrated within the existing budget information system, and an accompanying user manual. November D. The child budget tagging should enable real-time tracking of budgetary allocations for children, monitoring social expenditure and continuous reporting on actual spending. The tool will be based on the outcome of the first deliverable and should follow the structure of the report. The tool should be made available to staff at the line ministries responsible for the budget preparation and planning. Although it is anticipated that this tool be easy to use and populate, an accompanying user manual should be prepared to be disseminated to the primary users who would have the authority to input the information. F. Methodology The consultant/contracting institution will work under the guidance and supervision of a joint Ministry of Finance of Belize and UNICEF Belize steering committee, which will be set up for that purpose. The national budget analysis methodology will consist of literature review and secondary data analysis through multiple sources available for Belize. The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development will ensure availability of data in coordination with all the national stakeholders. The consultant/contracting institution is also expected to conduct meetings and consultations with key national stakeholders. The consultant/contracting institution will work closely with UNCIEF Social Policy Specialist to ensure that, where possible, the methodologies used draw on child and gender-responsive analytical and budgeting tools. 6 This activity may be transformed into a training for trainers (ToT) activity, depending on the outcome of discussions and planning in the early stage of the consultancy 6

7 G. Deliverables and Timeframe: A consultant will submit the above mentioned deliverables and will prepare; - Deliverable 1: A draft work-plan and proposed list of stakeholders to meet during the first in-country visit (by 10 June) and an inception report following the completion of first country visit (by 25 June) - Deliverable 2: draft Child Focused Social Public Expenditure Review and Analysis (by 10 September ) - Deliverable 3: finalized training modules, endorsed by steering committee (by 15 October 15), and training conducted (15 November ) - Deliverable 4: Child Budget tagging completed and quality validated by steering committee (by end November ) # Deliverables Duration (# of Days) Deadline 1 a) A draft work-plan and proposed list of stakeholders to meet during the first in-country visit (a) and an inception report following the completion of first country visit (b) (completion triggers 15% of payment of total fee) 2 Finalized Child Focused Social Public Expenditure Review and Analysis, which incorporates the views and comments from Steering Committee 15 (includes travel days) a) 10 June b) 25 June (Completion triggers 35% of payment of total fee) 45 Days 10 September 3 a) finalized training modules, endorsed by steering committee, and b) and training conducted (completion triggers 35% of payment of total fee) 25 days (includes travel days) a) 15 October b) 15 November 4 Budget tagging completed and quality validated by steering committee 10 days 30 November (Completion triggers 15% of payment of total fee) All deliverables will be reviewed and commented upon by the Steering Committee, and it is expected that these comments be incorporated in the final products by the consultant/contracting institution. All deliverables, correspondence and communication are to be submitted in English. The editing/proofreading of the final products, including the final report is the responsibility of the consultant/institution. As a result of this process, it is expected that the country will be better able to monitor and report on the investment in children, link outcomes and results in the areas affecting child rights and wellbeing to increased/reduced spending, and be better positioned to respond to the needs and emerging problems 7

8 that affect the lives of children. The country is looking to become a leader in this area in the region and wider, and this will present an opportunity to share experiences through international cooperation. Minimum qualifications required Advanced university degree in social sciences, economics, statistics, public finance management, development studies, social or public policy, with specialization in social budgeting or public finance management. Skills and Experience - At least 10 years of professional experience in international development. - Demonstrable proficiency in technical expertise and proven record of conducting social budget analysis, fiscal space analysis for social protection, quantitative data analysis, benefit incidence analysis and/or PFM experience is an asset. - Strong knowledge of child rights and human rights. - Excellent communication and advocacy skills. - Strong analytical and writing skills. - Fluency in English. - Experience in working with multiple partners and agencies and national governments in an international setting, familiarity with the Central American/Caribbean region is considered an asset. Duration of Contract The total contract time period for the consultant will be 95 working days over the period 1 June 15 December How to Apply All applications are to be submitted ECTRONICALLY ONLY. Interested consultants/institutions should submit their technical (60% of final evaluation grade) and financial (40%of evaluation grade) proposals as separate files, along with their individual and company credentials to two separate addresses as follows: italev@unicef.org joseph.waigh@mof.gov.bz The deadline for receiving applications is Monday, May 4 th. Incomplete, and applications received after the deadline will not be considered. For any questions and queries please contact Ilija Talev, Social Policy Specialist, UNICEF Belize at , or italev@unicef.org 8