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Recruitment of Expert Consultant Team - State of Volunteerism in China Report

 

TERMS OF REFERENCE

 

Post Title: Expert Consultant Team - State of Volunteerism in China Report

Project reference: “Strengthening Volunteerism for Development in China through the Beijing 2008 Olympics”

Location: Beijing with travel to selected provinces.

Working Language: English and Chinese

Duration of contract:  30 days in July - August 2010

Background

The UNV programme began in China in 1981 in support of the UN system. Under the administration of UNDP, UNV volunteers initially served as language trainers and in the mid-1990s the programme shifted its focus to national and institutional capacity building.  To date more that 198 international and 105 national UNV volunteers have served in China in fields including poverty alleviation, micro finance, environmental protection, cultural heritage protection, HIV and AIDS prevention, migration and NGO development. 

The Government of China’s emphasis on developing a “harmonious, well-off society” has provided a favorable context for the promotion of volunteerism in recent years. In 2007, UNV supported the drafting of volunteer regulation in Beijing and continue to provide inputs into the drafting of the national volunteer legislation. There are now local volunteer regulations in over 20 provinces in China. In 2008, the response to the SARS epidemic, Wenchuan Earthquake and Beijing Olympic Summer Games placed a strong spotlight on volunteerism in China. Furthermore, the private sector is increasingly contributing to China’s development agenda through corporate social responsibility initiatives.

Significant contributions made by volunteer action have been recognised by government counterparts and received nationwide media coverage during the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. In partnership with the government partners, UNDP and UNV have continued to harness Olympic volunteers to promote volunteerism for development.Volunteerism for development in China will continue to be integrated in the next UNDAF 2011-15 in the areas of climate change adaptation, poverty reduction and South-South Cooperation. There is now a unique opportunity to build on a large pool of willing volunteers nationally towards strengthening a national volunteer infrastructure towards a sustainable development agenda in China.

In order to do so, it is an opportune moment to take stock of the different forms of volunteerism in China, to document and celebrate the achievements as well as to identify opportunities to enhance volunteerism for development.

Purpose

The overall idea of conducting this research on all the different forms of volunteerism in China was initially considered as an assessment of the state of volunteerism in China since the International Year of Volunteers in 2001, in time for the tenth anniversary of the International Year of Volunteer in 2011. More significantly, the need for the review has become stronger as the role of the government, voluntary organizations and other stakeholders is under revision in light of new needs, social dynamics and technologies.

Since 1998, there have been many studies conducted on volunteerism in China, particularly on volunteer management, voluntary organisations and provincial volunteer regulations. There is now an opportunity to consolidate all the studies and draw out good examples of volunteerism for development in China which covers both the formal structure, process and function of volunteerism as mandated and implemented by the government, mass political organizations as well as other forms of volunteerism performed by academia, civil society and private sector in general. Given the growing inequalities in social capacities and evolving socio-economic needs, the research findings will help to identify potential policy areas of relevance and growth on how volunteerism can contribute to China’s development in the future.

Given such a unique context in China, the main purpose of this research is to acknowledge, review and analyse the different forms of volunteerism that have developed, define volunteerism for development in China, survey the existing mechanisms of civic and volunteer engagement at all levels and the role of the government in maximizing and supporting these efforts to achieve development goals.

Key Objectives

I. To strengthen the national volunteer infrastructure in China by enhancing understanding of its capacity to become more relevant and effective in achieving sustainable development in line with the Government of China’s development priorities, the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) 2011-15 and Millennium Development Goals.

i) Analysis of the various forms of volunteerism in China which has emerged since 2001 and the dynamics between national, provincial (rural and urban) and international volunteerism.

ii) Organisational review of volunteer management in terms of policies, organizational structure, functions and financial resources through selected case studies of key volunteers associations. Outline existing policies and legislative framework.

iii) Determination of the level of quality and productivity in the performance of volunteers, volunteer organisations and measurable socio-economic contributions of voluntary work. Outline existing measurement tools, methodologies and standards.

iv) Assessment of the role of different actors and sectors, with special focus on the government, mass youth associations and private sector. Review of current partnerships and cooperation    arrangements between all stakeholders.

v) Review of the benefits of volunteer intervention and impact on poverty reduction and development in China, outline existing measurement methodologies and standards.

II. Make Recommendations towards:

i)  Creating an enabling environment for a national volunteer for development infrastructure – legislation, policies, tax incentives, etc.

ii) Improving volunteer management capacity – effectiveness of the systems in identifying and responding to development needs, providing and managing volunteers in key development sectors, particularly, poverty reduction, climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, civic engagement and south-south cooperation.

iii) Resource mobilization capacity, opportunities and sustainability.

iv) Increasing linkages between local/urban volunteer groups to mainstream development/rural partners.

v) Opportunities to strengthen volunteerism for development according to Government of China’s development priorities and UNDAF 2011-15.

Components of the Research/ Key Areas of Focus/ Issues to be addressed

The research will have two components: a desk study and an in-depth research.

Desk study will be a literature review of existing materials on volunteerism in China in preparation for the full-fledged research. The in-depth research will consist of interviews and focus group discussions with key government agencies, volunteer associations and volunteers based on a standard questionnaire. Organisations which are part of interview process and case studies will elect focal points to provide relevant information. The report will provide comprehensive and concise information on the state of volunteer system in China. It will comprehend general activity of volunteers within programmes and projects executed by government, local, international and foreign volunteer organizations. The end product will be a synthesis report highlighting key issues and recommendations.

Key issues to be addressed:

1. Background on the System - Spread, Reach, Depth and Intensity of Volunteer Intervention in China since 2001.

Description of the current system:

i) Stakeholders - individual volunteers, voluntary organizations, government, youth associations, private sector, charitable foundations.

ii) Mechanisms/ Structural Framework

iii) Functions of key stakeholders

iv) Volunteers – profile and demography of current volunteers.

v) Society awareness, - public perception of volunteers, volunteerism and volunteering for development in China, current and future perspectives and expectations.

vi) Contextual relevance - China’s development priorities and needs, role of urban and rural volunteers for development.

In-depth Review will examine the relevance, performance (effectiveness and efficiency) and success (impact and sustainability) of the volunteer system in China during the period. Based on this, the review should provide recommendations to determine what structures and processes are needed to ensure successful and sustainable interventions.

2. Key Achievements – Existing Forms of Volunteerism and Volunteerism for Development

- Contributions of volunteerism to sustainable development in China. Awareness about benefits of volunteerism. Potentialities for developing volunteerism further in the country.

- Impact or influence on China’s National Development Plans and key goals of the United Nations such as the UNDAF priorities, Millennium Development Goals (MDG), and other UN conventions/ agreements;

- Impact on and impressions of the communities they have served (cultural, economic, social and maybe political). Assess how volunteers have been transformed as change agents in their respective communities/work;

- Sustainability of volunteer programmes and achievements.

3. Volunteerism for Development in China in the Future

- Policy perspectives and practices in government, NGO, academic and religious organizations, the private sector and other major stakeholders as well.

- Impact of services provided through key national and provincial volunteer associations (including CYVA/CASW/BVF), through national programme and of other volunteer organizations;

- Factors within the System that have enabled volunteers to contribute towards the fulfillment of immediate development objectives and outputs, and impeding factors.

- National and sub-national coordination mechanism/ platform between key stakeholders in support of volunteerism for development.

- Best practices and knowledge products from the various experiences of stakeholders in order to provide continuous sharing and advocacy of these lessons to a wider public.

Expected Outputs

1. A policy paper based on the research findings. The Consultants should prepare a report, including an executive summary, which records significant findings, draws conclusions, and highlights important lessons learned from experiences of the volunteer system in China. The report should identify areas and activities in which the System has been more successful and make suggestions in relation to key development priorities, partnerships and networking.

2. A set of recommendations towards the strengthening of the volunteer for development system towards national development goals. The report should further include specific recommendations as stated above on types of systems, structure, function and organization as well as standardized performance measurement and indicators.

3. Strategic plan in advocating and implementation of the recommendations to concerned government body, organizations and other actors.

The final report will be shared with all partners concerned, policy-makers, UN agencies and general public.

Timeline

End-June              Recruitment of Research Consultant Team

Early July              Briefing Meeting with National UNV Steering Committee         

July/August            Desk review and determine selection of case studies and standard

                      questionnaire.In-depth research through interviews,focus groups

                      discussions and field visits.

12 August             Presentation of complete draft report for feedback and consultation.

27 August             Final Report presented and submitted

4.      RELEVANT EXPERIENCE AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS

The consultants should have:

- University degrees at the post-graduate level in the social sciences, international development of related field of study.

- 8 years work experiences in the evaluation of national programmes and policies and with government and voluntary organizations.

- Competence in sample survey techniques and computerized data processing

- Good analytical and report writing skills

- Good people and communication skills

- Knowledge of volunteerism and its various forms in China would be an asset.

- Fluency in English and Chinese

5.      FINANCIAL REMUNERATION

Specific remuneration will be based on the qualifications and experience of the consultants and proposed rates. Payment arrangements can be agreed upon appointment. Final payment will be disbursed upon completion and delivery of outputs and that the services have been satisfactorily performed.

6.      APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

Interested applicants are required to submit most recent CVs/resumes and a 1- to 2- page proposal to include the following:

1. Resumes of Consultants – consultant team consisting of at least one international and one national consultants are preferable.

2. Brief description of the applicant(s)’ understanding of the work and requirements including any aspects that need to be looked at which may not have been included in the ToR but which is also important to the achievement of the report’s objectives;

3. Proposed approach and methodology – a clear and comprehensive description of the interested applicant(s) proposed approach and methodology for accomplishing the required data/information intended to be generated as inputs to the report findings;

4. Proposed work plan for duration of maximum 30 days – should reflect the detailed tasks and activities and corresponding timetable for accomplishment of the work and delivery of outputs within the specified period for the consultancy services;

5. Implementation Plan (chronological succession of step-by-step activities and timeframe) and estimated budget (include consultancy fees and related travel costs)

 

Applications are to be sent by email to unv.china@undp.org with “Expert Consultant Team - State of Volunteerism in China Report” marked in the subject line.

 

Application deadline: Wednesday, 30 June 2010

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