Belgium - Preparation and Organisation of the 2nd Forum on Research for Sustainable Development

Lot:9 - Culture, Education, Employment and Social - EuropeAid FWC Beneficiaries 127054

The present request is for one international senior expert.

Education: university degree in education, sciences, social sciences, economics, business administration, political sciences or related field.

General professional experience: a minimum of 10 years relevant professional experience;

Specific professional experience:
(i) Practical experience in the field of development and especially in the research and science sectors, namely research policy formulation and implementation in developing countries in particular in ACP countries.
(ii) Excellent knowledge of the ACP Group and the EU;
(iii) Practical knowledge of EDF procedures, and
(iv) Proven work history in ACP-EU matters.

Working languages: fluent in English and French, both orally and in writing;
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to be able to interact with staff at all levels;
Good computer skills.

4. LOCATION AND DURATION

4.1. Starting date
The duration of the Short-term expert will be 3 months starting from 1st September 2010 (tbc). The number of working days for assignment is 45 days (calculated on the base of 20 days/month).

4.2. Finishing date
The finishing date of the assignment is the 15 November 2010 (tbc).

4.3. Schedule and number of days
The Consultant will draw up a schedule of the assignment after the briefing session.

4.4. Location of assignment
The short-term expert location is the Head Office of the ACP Secretariat in Brussels, in Avenue George Henri 451.

1. BACKGROUND

1.1. Beneficiary Institution
The Secretariat of the ACP Group, representing the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States.

1.2. Contracting Authority
The European Commission (EC), on the behalf of the ACP Secretariat

1.3. Relevant institutional background

1.3.1. The Secretariat of the ACP Group of States
The Secretariat of the ACP Group was created under the Georgetown Agreement signed on 6 June 1975. Article 23 of the revised Agreement states the role of the Secretariat as follows:
- to carry out all tasks as may be assigned to it by the Summit of Heads of State and Government, the Council of Ministers, the Committee of Ambassadors and the ACP Parliamentary Assembly;
- to contribute to the implementation of the decisions of these organs;
- to monitor the implementation of the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement; and
- to service the organs of the ACP Group and the joint institutions established under the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement.
Furthermore, Article 24 of the Georgetown Agreement states that the Secretary General shall ensure that good quality technical and administrative support and services are provided by the Secretariat to the members and organs of the ACP Group.
The Secretariat carries out the tasks assigned to it by the various organs of the Group through the implementation of their decisions and its own initiatives aimed at contributing to the harmonious realisation of the Group’s tasks. Moreover, the Secretariat acts as co-Secretariat of the joint institutions, liaising between the two sides and participating in the preparation of joint technical documents and draft proposals.
The ACP Secretariat thus services all of these institutions by, inter alia, servicing meetings of ACP and ACP-EU organs, in areas ranging from simple organisation, protocol and logistics to providing specialized technical advice and documentation on issues such as trade, social and human development, finance and political affairs to approximately 200 ACP meetings a year. All of these activities contribute to the attainment of the objectives of the Georgetown and Cotonou Agreements.

1.3.2. The ACP Group Organs
The Georgetown Agreement establishes the Council of ACP Ministers as one of the decision-making bodies of the ACP Group and provides that it “shall define the broad outlines of the work to be undertaken for the attainment of the objectives” of the Group. The Council meets twice a year in regular session and has established a number of Ministerial Committees and Consultations, dealing with specific subjects, i.e.: Development Finance Cooperation, Trade, Bananas, Sugar, which usually meet in conjunction with the Council.
The Georgetown Agreement provides that the ACP members of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) act as an advisory body to the ACP Group. They meet twice a year. The Meeting of ACP members of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly is the organisation of ACP parliamentarians who are members of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.
The Georgetown Agreement also establishes the Committee of Ambassadors as one of the decision-making bodies of the ACP Group. The Agreement specifies that the Committee of Ambassadors “shall assist the Council of Ministers in the performance of its functions and shall carry out any mandate entrusted to it by the Council of Ministers”. The Committee of Ambassadors meets, on average, twice a month. It has set up 6 Subcommittees, on Trade and Commodity Protocols, Financing and Development, Establishment and Finance, Political, Cultural, Social and Humanitarian matters, Sustainable Development, Private Sector and Investment, which on average also meet twice a month as well as working groups for cotton, sugar, banana and rice. The respective Sub-Committees from time to time organizes sector-focused ACP Ministerial Meetings, such as, Health, Education, Environment, Culture, Trade, and others. The outcomes of these Ministerial Meetings facilitate the decisions of the ACP Council Of Ministers on specific subject matters of interest to the ACP Group.
Finally, the ACP Heads of State and Government have held regular meetings (5 times) since 1997 when they held their first Summit in Libreville.

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE ASSIGNMENT

2.1. Justification
Developing countries in general and ACP countries in particular are lagging behind with respect to research and development (R&D). Although available data is scarce, it is estimated that developing countries invest up to 1% of their GDP in R&D as opposed to around 2.4% for high income OECD countries. However, if one only focuses on Least Developed Countries (LDCs), only 0.1% of their GDP is allocated to R&D.
With a few notable exceptions, low investment in science and technology (S&T) in Africa has resulted in a low level of scientific infrastructure. African researchers therefore face huge barriers to progress in their work and to become well integrated in the global research communities. As a result, the continent is losing some of its best scientific and technical expertise to other regions of the world or to a few scientific poles within Africa. This is also typical in the Pacific and Caribbean regions of the ACP Group.
The 2005 revised Cotonou Agreement calls for the “development of scientific, technological and research infrastructure and services; including the enhancement, transfer and absorption of new technologies” and “the promotion of traditional knowledge”.
In this regard, the ACP Group organized the 1st ACP Ministerial Forum on Research for Sustainable Development which was held on 28 July 2002 in Cape Town, South Africa. It was preceded by a two day ACP Technical Meeting on Research for Sustainable Development attended by senior officials from the ACP Group of States and held at the same venue during the period 26-27 July 2002. The Technical Meeting finalized a Draft Cape Town Declaration and recommendations for the Draft Cape Town Plan of Action, which were presented for endorsement to the ACP Ministers’ Forum. Further an ACP-EU EU Technical Meeting on Research for Sustainable Development was held at the same venue from 29 to 30 July 2002. It was attended by senior officials for ACP and EU Member States, as well as representatives from the European Commission and the ACP Secretariat. The Cape Town Consensus was the major outcome of the Joint Forum in which mandate was given to the ACP Secretariat and the European Commission to undertake a series of activities which would culminate in a future ACP-EU Ministerial Meeting on Research for Sustainable Development.
To this end, the ACP Group is organizing the 2nd ACP Forum on Research for Sustainable Development with the overall objective of taking stock of the progress attained with respect to the Cape Town Process by reviewing the actions taken in accordance with the Cape Town Declaration, Plan of Action and Consensus. This will provide critical impetus to the ACP-EU dialogue on the importance of knowledge and innovations for development initiated in Cape Town and reinforce the ACP-EU commitment to building a sustainable partnership in science and technology.

2.2. Beneficiaries
The ACP Secretariat’s main stakeholders are on one hand the relevant Institutions of the ACP Member States and on the other the relevant International Organisations/Institution as well as the European Commission.
Based on the mandate given to it by the Georgetown Agreement, the ACP Secretariat services and assists the organs of the ACP Group and executes the tasks assigned to it by them.

2.3. Global and specific objectives
The global objective is to contribute to the successful preparation, organisation and convening of the 2nd ACP Forum on Research for Sustainable Development, scheduled to take place in Brussels, Belgium during the period 12 - 13 October 2010. The participants to this two-day Meeting will be Senior Officials from ACP research, science and technology and education institutions including relevant Ministries and Academies of Science.
The specific objective is to secure the services of a Consultant, under the management of the ACP Secretary-General, to assist with the technical preparations and organization for the Forum as indicated above.

2.4. Requested services
In order to achieve the above mentioned results, it will be required and expected from the Consultant, in consultations with the ACP Secretariat, the ACP Ambassadorial Sub-Committee on Sustainable Development, and the ACP Committee of Ambassadors (CoA) to:
- Assist with the preparation of relevant background technical documentation for the Forum in collaboration with relevant Regional and International Organisations;
- Utilise extensive relevant networks of contacts/associates/collaborators/friends in the interest of the ACP Group in its preparations for the Forum;
- In consultation with the ACP Secretariat, make recommendations regarding inter alia relevant background documents, content and format arrangements pertaining to the Forum;
- Assist in the preparation and finalization of the Draft Forum Conclusions and Recommendations and any other document(s) that will constitute the outcome of the 2nd ACP Forum on Research for Sustainable Development, and
- Assist in any other technical task and activity in relation to the Forum.
The ACP Secretariat (Political and Human Development Department) will ultimately be responsible for the organizational arrangements of the 2nd ACP Forum on Research for Sustainable Development.

2.5. Expected results
The following key outputs are envisaged:
Provision of the following document(s) (In French and English versions): Draft Forum Conclusions and Recommendations; and
Strategic planning and organisational papers regarding organisational arrangements, preparation of technical background papers and a strategy for ensuring a high Forum attendance.

PLEASE NOTE: ONLY SELECTED CANDIDATES WILL BE CONTACTED