Consulting Firm for Diaspora Mapping

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Background and Context

More than 2.1 million Nepali work, study and/or live overseas. In the last several years, the number of Nepali professionals who are educated and trained, and are residing, and working abroad has increased tremendously. This demonstrates Nepalis who have established second homes outside of Nepal, and which has in turn led to the development of a pool of highly educated, skilled, and knowledgeable professionals of Nepali descent in various foreign countries.

As an initiative to unite and bind Nepali diaspora under one umbrella, the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) was established in 2003. It aims to bring together Nepali diaspora, and their resources and expertise to better assist Nepal’s development efforts. Under NRNA, the network of Nepali diaspora has grown into a strong force, representing Nepali interest globally. In line with this effort, the Government of Nepal passed the Non-Resident Nepali Act (2064 B.S.), which has given Nepali diaspora a legal status. In Vision 2020 and Beyond, NRNA calls for inclusivity and unity among the diverse diaspora communities to unleash the full potential of Nepali diaspora. Simiarly, several diaspora groups exists in various countries linked to their place of origin, religion among others.

Further, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has established the Brain Gain Center (BGC) to harness the knowledge and skills of Nepali diaspora. It is a voluntary database where diaspora can register their name and address and share their skills and expertise. With the five objectives Recognize, Promote, Connect, Mobilize and Reward, the Center also aims at giving recognition to the work by individual diaspora experts and groups, promoting their contribution among government and non-governmental agencies, and fostering respect for diaspora experts among the people back home.

This proposed initiative of mapping of diaspora is complementary to and will support the government and stakeholders to explore efficient and scalable mechanisms within the diaspora to contribute to socio- economic development of the country. This mapping study will be conducted within Joint Global Programme "Making Migration Work for Sustainable Development" implemented jointly by IOM and UNDP and financially supported by SDC in eleven countries across the globe which seeks to strengthen the benefits of migration for host and destination countries and to improve socio-economic wellbeing of all community members, including diaspora members, migrants and their families. The the framework of the mapping exercise will be conducted on the basis of the the IOM Diaspora Mapping Toolkit developed by the International Organization for Migration and the University of Maastricht, which will be adapted to the country context of Nepal and specific objectives of the study.

Objective

The main aim of this study is to map and survey the Nepali diaspora’s networks, interests, expertise, expectations, and their willingness to contribute and engage in the development initiatives. Specific goals of the study include:

  • Collecting and consolidating demographical, educational data on diaspora members as well as information on knowledge, skills and expertise gained by diaspora communities abroad to expand the existing database of the Brain Gain Center;
  • Identifying specific opportunities for diaspora communities to contribute to the initiatives in different capacities and modalities such as university resource person, support in development planning process among others;
  • Formulating specific proposals (a Roadmap) on diaspora engagement which would inform the work of the consultative forum with the diaspora including MoFA, and relevant stakeholders which will be formed to jointly identify collaboration opportunities to support the development initiatives, migrant workers in their protection concerns and economic reintegration model for the returnee migrants and to institutionalize the forum.

All proposals or action plans resulting from this study will adopt gender sensitive and human rights approach and take into account the exacerbated vulnerabilities and the loss of livelihoods in the context of the global pandemic.

Scope of Work

  • The study is expected to provide first-hand information on diaspora including their ancestral origin. The list of specific countries of destination and the sampling of the study will be identified during the inception phase of the research, in coordination with NRNA and MoFA. The initial proposal for the scope of study is to focus on at least 16 countries from Africa, Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Oceania and Australia where NRNA has its regional offices.

Team Composition and Required Qualifications, Competencies and Experience

The consultant/team lead should ensure the overall quality; diaspora expert; technical writer and graphic designer as required. The consultant/institute should have at least 10 years of similar experience in diaspora engagement, mapping, mobility mapping and similar field; proven expertise working with diaspora and high skills migration, development related to aspects of diaspora, migration and sustainable development, migration law, population movement, mapping of the diaspora, migrants; policy analysis; data analysis; migration governance; development programming; or population movement or any other relevant areas. The team leader should have at least master’s degree in diaspora studies, migration studies, public policy, or a relevant field of study with 10 years of experiences in the relevant field.

The team members (as required) should have masters’ degree in their relevant field of expertise and 3 years of relevant experience.

Ethical Consideration

The consulting firm/institute should follow the principles outlined in the UNEG - Ethical Guidelines for research and/or study and IOM’s Diaspora Mapping Toolkit. Under the ethical consideration, special care will be taken to respect the confidentiality of the information provided and rights to responding or not responding. The information and data assembled in this study process will only be used for the objective of this project and not for other any kind of uses without the express authorization of IOM. The consulting firm/institute will be held to the highest ethical standards and follow IOM’s data protection principles.

How To Apply (To Be Modified Based on IOM Nepal HR/Procurement Practice)

Interested candidates should submit an Expression of Interest which should include the following:

  • A proposal which summarizes a proposed work-plan, proposed methodology and relevant experience (not more than 10 pages in total)
  • 3 most relevant previous works (preferably written as main or sole author)
  • Updated curriculum vitae
  • 3 references
  • Proposed consultancy fee (exclusive of costs to organize consultation meeting with advisory committee)

This call for proposal is open to all qualified consulting firms/institutes, including both local and international service providers. 

The Proposals must be delivered by hand or through mail to IOM with office address at [Kathmanduprocurement@iom.int] on or before [Aug 15, 2022]. No late proposal shall be accepted.

IOM reserves the right to accept or reject any proposal and to annul the selection process and reject all Proposals at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to affected Service Providers/ Consulting Firms.