Foreign economic-aid-related services

Tender description

DFID Malawi has designed a new 5-year (2018 -2023) Traction programme that seeks to address specific problems that are severely hindering economic growth and undermining service delivery. DFID therefore seeks to appoint an appropriately qualified supplier to manage and deliver component 1— Issue Based Programme (IBP). This component will represent a significant change in DFID’s approach to tackling the underlying constraints to development in Malawi. It will be both explicitly more political in approach, and more integrated with the rest of the DFID portfolio. It will tackle specific problems where it is expected that material results for poor people can be achieved in the shorter-term and where changes in the way things function (institutional changes) can be achieved in the longer term. DFID Malawi has designed a new programme (Traction) Transparency and accountability for improved growth and services to address accountability challenges that are severely hindering economic growth and undermine service delivery. The purpose is to improve accountability and responsiveness of local and national government in Malawi and increase action by different groups, in order to deliver critical economic and service delivery outcomes for the poorest people. This will be achieved through changes in the way government does business and how all Malawians hold their decision makers to account. For example, through improvements in oversight, use of public finances, how budgets are allocated to reflect needs, and in how Malawians, especially the younger generation, rural and urban, demand those in power to deliver public goods rather than forms of handouts and patronage — both at election time and between elections. The programme will use a problem-driven approach to address specific issues that people care sufficiently about and where there is a likelihood of being able to tip the balance of power. DFID will support coalitions of government, civil society, private sector, politicians and others to work together for change in a number of specific areas. Different from a reactive grant-making project, the Issues Based Programme will play a proactive facilitating role, supporting collective action of different groups. It will use Malawian experts and facilitators with a deep understanding of the context and political economy dynamics, backed up with the relevant technical expertise to implement the programme. It is expected that between 6 and 8 issues will be targeted over the lifetime of the programme. Examples of issues the programme could tackle include (but are not limited to): — addressing blockages in maize and other agricultural markets, — improving water supply in peri-urban areas, — improving drug or textbook procurement, — or reducing deforestation, — as well as exploring issues impacting on growth such as trade barriers and negative consequences of the current tax regime. These issues will be identified through research to be done in the first years of the programme. Differing from a traditional civil society grant programme, a combination of small grants (to different stakeholders), technical expertise, facilitation, and media and advocacy work will be used to drive change on chosen issues. In addition the supplier will implement interventions, during the first 18-24 months, to increase oversight of public funds at local level, using proven social accountability tools that bring together both citizens’ groups and local government/ elected officials.