USAID PEEP Project

Component 2 Activity: Support Livestock and Dairy Development Department (L&DDD), for development of Policy and Strategy Unit

Scope of Work

Short Term Consultant - Policy Expert

1.      Scope of Work Summary:

The scope of this consultancy is to work in the newly proposed “Policy and Strategy Unit” (PSU) in Department of Livestock and Dairy Development Department(L&DDD),Government of Punjab, to undertake various assignment related to strategy, policy and reforms, under the guidance and supervision of COP of USAID PEEP and Secretary, L&DDD, to facilitate informed policy and strategic decisions, backed by strong qualitative and quantitative analysis.

For said assignments, he / she will carry out all required analysis, including but not limited to data collection, primary and secondary research, gap analysis of current policy, comparison of various policy options and providing findings, analysis and recommendations in the form of reports, policy note, policy briefs, policy intervention, proposal etc., with extensive consultations with the Secretary and other internal and external stakeholders.

2.      Background:

USAID-Punjab Enabling Environment Project (PEEP) has been designed to support the institutional capacity building for policy and regulatory reforms and early implementation of the same in livestock sector (livestock and dairy subsectors) of Punjab. Through this project, USAID- PEEP would work in partnership with the Punjab’s public & private sector, civil society organizations and academia to create an environment that is more conducive to the growth of target sub-sectors. The project will also develop and implement a set of activities that will result in significant policy reforms and capacity building of its partners.

The provincial Department of Lⅅ a line department is responsible for development of livestock sector through policy formulation, institutional support and service delivery in the province. Through its Planning and Evaluation cell, L&DDD is undertaking short, medium- and long-term planning in consideration of available information of livestock population, livestock products and annual growth targets of government. The section is also responsible for evaluation of various ongoing interventions.

For developing the L&DDD sector for accelerated growth, effective medium- and long-term planning coupled with right priorities and allocation of adequate resources are imperative. Setting right priorities, making strategic decisions, and formulating policy require evidence based applied research that can provide qualitative and quantitative analysis of various policy options and instruments along with their respective budgetary and socio-economic impact. Carrying out gap analysis of on-going interventions, regular operations and service delivery mechanism are also equally important to gauge the effectiveness and efficiency of current budgetary allocation. Such analysis can provide input or lead to policy and institutional reforms required to meet current and emerging socio-economic challenges.

To strengthen the policy and strategy formulation function of L&DDD, the department has decided to set up a “Policy and Strategy Unit” (PSU) in Department of L&DDD. USAID PEEP has agreed to provide technical assistance with the following objectives.

1. Strengthening strategy, planning, and policy formulation functions and processes of the department, by providing institutional support.
2. Identifying major policy challenges, and undertaking evidence based qualitative and quantitative research, either in-house or by other partners of PEEP, for developing policy recommendations for improving rules, regulations by-laws and pertaining standards, procedures and SOPs.
3. Facilitating the Department of L&DDD to develop business enabling environment through formulating conducive policies and taking strategic decisions. USAID-PEEP will engage the policy communities on various policy issues through policy dialogue, seminars, round tables, conferences and workshops and will provide the synthesized information to Department of L&DDD through newly established unit for incorporating in new policy and institutional reforms.

With this backdrop, for the proposed PSU, PEEP intends to hire the services of a short-term consultant who can work as “Policy Expert”, to undertake various assignments, related to policy and reforms in livestock sector of Punjab.

3.      Objective and Purpose of the Consultancy:

The overall objective of this assignment is to serve the proposed PSU unit as a full time technical resource for required number of days, under the direct supervision and guidance of COP of PEEP and Secretary Department of L&DDD, to undertake various assignments related to strategy, policy and reforms, that can support and facilitate the top leadership and policy makers of L&DDD to undertake decisions on strategic issues of livestock sector, that is directly or indirectly affecting the sector growth and in turn socio-economic indicators of province. In addition, he / she will provide the necessary technical advice / recommendations on strategic issues, as and when required, with quick evaluation of the subject matter.

The primary purpose of this consultancy is to provide research support to the PSU, for inputs to the policy and regulatory reforms processes, design and development of policy and regulatory interventions, processes and institutional building appropriate for post-reforms set-up.

4.      Principal Duties & Responsibilities:

1. To attend PSU office daily during designated office hours during the consultancy period.
2. To liaise with the Secretary of L&DDD on daily basis for work assignments given by L&DDD and updating him about the progress, as and when required.
3. Have a meeting with COP of PEEP, on regular basis for apprising the status and progress of the deliverable of the assigned assignments.
4. The consultant will work with Research Associate, deployed in PSU to work jointly or independently on various assignments.
5. For joint assignments, He / she will provide the technical inputs to team on policy and reforms related aspects of various assignments, as per need and requirement.
6. Hold regular meetings with internal and external stakeholders of L&DDD for extensive deliberations on the policy, reforms and strategy related aspects of the assignments.
7. Developing the situational and strategic analysis, policy notes, policy brief, policy options and recommendation (short term, medium term, long term)) as well as other deliverable, after due diligence and research work with strategic options to implement the livestock policy

5.      Specific Tasks of the Consultant:

The consultant shall use his / her education, experience, competencies, and skills to accomplish the following:

1. Have a meeting with COP of PEEP and respective professionals of PEEP, to understand the role and responsibilities of PEEP in this collaboration and setting up of PSU. Hold an initial meeting with Secretary of L&DDD to understand the purpose, objectives, functions, modalities and role of newly established PSU.
2. Develop a fair idea of all the policy and strategy document, so far been prepared for livestock sector of Pakistan / Punjab, and the approaches and models suggested therein, for a meaningful discussion and rich input.
3. In consultation with Secretary of L&DDD, identify major policy challenges, being faced by L&DDD for sector development and help prioritize areas that require improvement in their effectiveness and efficiency. In turn, identify the need of undertaking evidence based in-house or external research for developing policy recommendations for improving respective rules, regulations by-laws and pertaining standards, procedures and SOPs.
4. Provide structured technical inputs to L&DDD for identified areas of policy and institutional reforms, by preparing reports, power point presentations, analysis, etc., by undertaking the following tasks:

• Gathering data on various aspects through primary and secondary research that can be used for quality strategic decisions.
• Conducting diagnostic studies that can help evaluate the current state of affairs and evaluating the effectiveness of current policy and its implementation mechanism and available institutional support
• Completing gap analysis with respect to policy, capacity issues of HR, inadequate physical resources, policy alignment with overall development agenda of province, economic, social and cultural bottlenecks, etc. 
• Analyzing the available data of livestock, farmers, machinery, pre and export / import etc., in a systematic and structured way that can be transformed into useful information for decision makers.
• Evaluating the demographic, social, cultural and technological changes, and associated drivers to understand the future trends of livestock/ dairy sector. Such information will be useful for medium and long-term strategic thinking.

5. Provide research support to PSU for rolling-out reforms including a mapping exercise to identify key stakeholders who will be impacted by reforms and the strategy to get their buy-in.

6. Provide technical and research support to PSU on elements of the draft proposals to be submitted to provincial and federal policy makers that need policy inputs.

7. Providing technical inputs to develop PC-1 for funding for development projects and drafting relevant sections as well.

8. In addition, the consultant is supposed to provide technical inputs to other development matters, related to L&DDD interaction with Planning & Development Department, and other public and private organizations / stakeholders. The specific details shall be set forth by Secretary, as per need.

9. To undertake a quick functional analysis of L&DDD to understand the various functions of L&DDD and their role in the development of livestock sector. Moreover, the consultant will try to get quick snapshot of organizational structure and functions of each section of L&DDD to develop the foundation of his / her subsequent analysis and recommendations on various assignments.

10. Effectively coordinate the inputs of experts engaged for technical assistance to L&DDD and other technical staff of the department to translate into policy proposals.

11. To strengthen the capacity of staff of L&DDD, the consultant may be required to conduct short training sessions on various aspects of policy and institutional reforms and their effective implementation.

12. Participate in the meetings and to liaise with public and private stakeholders and experts on various aspects of livestock sector, as per advice of Secretary. Moreover, the consultant will coordinate, arrange and participate in meetings between L&DDD relevant directorates, governmental stakeholders, and experts working on behalf of USAID PEEP Project.

13. Provide written comments on draft deliverables emanating from policy and regulatory work to be carried out in the livestock sector of Punjab by various development agencies.

The analysis and recommendations of the consultant should be logical reflection and in line with international best practices, market led liberalization, globally integrated economy, electronically connected world economy, greater participation of women in economic activities, sustainability of resources, and critical benchmark of a modern livestock sector.

6.      Deliverables:

The expected output (deliverables) should include, but not limited to, the following:

1. Within 5-person days of issuance of task order the consultant should submit a detailed plan of execution;

2. Within 15-person days of the start of assignment, the consultant will provide preliminary report on analysis of the existing policy papers and organizational capacity assessment

3. The consultant will prepare a schedule of meetings and facilitate consultative workshops of the stakeholders.The consultant will be responsible for submission of comprehensive reports consisting of decisions made and follow up actions in consultation with PEEP, for the accomplishment of the assignment.

4. Monthly report, encompassing all the activities completed in the month.

5. The consultant will develop a draft livestock policy which will be vetted by the L&DDD. He will also provide following at the end of the assignment:

• Livestock policy guidelines and framework
• Draft livestock policy for Punjab vetted by the department.
• Submit final draft of the livestock policy

6. The consultant is required to make a Power Point presentation on the accomplishment of the assignment to PEEP Program Team at the end of the assignment.

7.     Job Qualifications:

1. Minimum Master’s degree from a recognized / leading Pakistani or foreign university in a related field, preferably in, Economics, Public Policy, or Development Studies.  
2. At least 15 years of professional experience of governance of public sector organizations or reform related projects, or teaching public policy, or as a consultant for developing policy papers / strategy papers / conducting policy research.
3. Experience of working in government or on various committees / boards / task force constituted to develop the vision / strategy / reforms / restructuring / transformation of sectors or ministries are preferred.
4. Sound knowledge, background, experience and understanding of livestock sector of Punjab as well as Pakistan and of other countries.
5. Strong analytical and writing skills, and experience of presenting complex technical information in a comprehensible way for non-specialist readers.
6. He / she must be well versed with the vision, policy and strategy documents about livestock sector, so far been developed by governmental or development agencies for policy and institutional reforms in Pakistan / Punjab.
7. Good communication skills and fluency in English and Urdu.

8.         Duty Station:

The duty station for this consultancy is Lahore. The consultant is supposed to attend PSU office daily during office hours.

9.   Reporting:

The consultant will report to the USAID-PEEP and Secretary L&DDD on their deliverables and will be supervised by the Secretary or his designee for the day-to-day work. All the deliverables will be approved by COP PEEP as well as L&DDD

10.   Intellectual Property Rights:

All outputs under the assignment shall be the sole property of USAID-PEEP. The consultant shall not exercise any rights, on all the outputs and cannot share the same with any outsiders without the prior permission of PEEP management.

11.          Level of Effort (LoE) 

The LoE for the assignment is 115 days.