Background Information:
Somalia is amid major new political and security developments that will offer a greater possibility for peace and security than the country has seen in over 20 years. Across the country, security is gradually improving and economic activity is slowly restarting. The presence of the State on the territory is being re-established in the context of a three-tiered federal system which includes the FGS, Federal Member States (FMS) and district level administration. With the support of the international community, Somalia will continue to develop modernized institutions, with the aim of restoring services. The revised Aid architecture builds upon the coordination architecture that was established to support the coordination and implementation of the New Deal Compact previous New Deal Compact architecture. The government is currently carrying out a series of processes towards which they would like external aid to align and which may affect the structure of the Somali aid architecture. On one hand consultations are being conducted to prepare a revised National Development Plan (NDP 9) which will also act as an iPRSP for the period 2020-2024. On the other hand the government, through an effective internal coordination mechanism, has recently finalized four roadmaps which identify a wide set of priorities and propose milestones and activities in the areas of Inclusive Politics, Economic Development, Security & Justice, and Social Development. The government is also committed to the New Partnership for Somalia (NPS), agreed in London in May 2017, which includes a Mutual Accountability Framework (MAF) between the Government and the international community.
The NPS and the NDP define aid management arrangements through the Somalia Development and Reconstruction Facility (SDRF) and its constituent pooled funds, administered by the UN, the World Bank, and the African Development Bank. However, the current aid management arrangements and SDRF pooled funds only address approximately 20% of the aid flows into the country, and do not provide detailed policy recommendations on how to manage broader aid flows, which remain off-budget and outside of national oversight mechanisms.
The EU is currently funding the Resilience Programme for Somalia which is based on the objective “to revitalise and expand the Somali economy with a focus on livelihood enhancement, employment generation, and broad-based inclusive growth”, financed from the European Development Fund (EDF). Under this project UNOPS has been requested by the EU to provide support by filling in the identified gaps with flexible tools and mechanisms to implement the NDP/CAS structure by establishing a Partnership Coordination Facility for Somalia. Coordinated efforts are essential in order to transform Somalia into a more resilient, and improved, economic sector with greater security, gender equity, improved human development, stronger infrastructure, and better access to basic services that is delivered by accountable governmental institutions. This transformation is hindered by slow institutions that are unable to respond quickly to emerging needs.
With the rapidly changing landscape, and the roll out of the NP9 approaching, it is envisaged that there will be a huge impact on the coordination of Resilience programming. The consultant would be asked to work with relevant counterparts, and review the existing documents – New Aid Architecture, the 4 Road Maps, NDP9, and see how best