UNDP CONSULTANT TO REVIEW COUNTRY MIGRATION PROFILES THROUGH A HUMAN DEVELOPMENT LENS

There is a range of evidence about the positive impacts of migration on human development, through such avenues as increased household incomes and improved access to education and health services. There is further evidence that migration can empower traditionally disadvantaged groups, in particular women. At the same time, risks to human development are also present where migration is a reaction to threats and denial of choice, and where regular opportunities for movement are constrained.

National and local policies play a critical role in enabling better human development outcomes for both those who choose to move in order to improve their circumstances, and those forced to relocate due to conflict, environmental degradation, or other reasons. 

In follow-up to the 2009 Human Development Report (HDR) on ‘Overcoming Barriers: Mobility and Human Development’ UNDP aims to equip country teams with the assessment tools and policy guidance needed to support governments in their efforts to mainstream migration into national development plans and strategies.

While the HDR provides a global picture of the human development implications of migration, this analysis must be extended and tailored to specific country contexts to provide a solid evidence base for the mainstreaming of migration into development policy and planning processes at the national level. 

The promotion of evidence-based policy-making on migration and development also ranks high on the list of priorities of the inter-governmental Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD).

A concrete initiative in this direction are country-specific ‘Migration Profiles’, commissioned by the European Commission and implemented by the International Organization for Migration. Accompanied by a process of inter-ministerial, multi-stakeholder consultations, ‘Migration Profiles’ bring together currently available, country-specific data on migration to support evidence-based, coordinated and strategic policy-development and data collection at the national and regional levels. Building on this ongoing initiative, UNDP intends to analyze the existing set of ‘Migration Profiles’ for their content on human development.

Duties and Responsibilities

UNDP is seeking a consultant for 2 months to undertake a review of existing Migration Profiles, including the underlying template and process, with the aim of:

• producing an assessment report on the degree to which existing Migration Profiles incorporate a human development perspective and provide a viable evidence-base for national policy formulation on the interlinkages between migration and development;
• formulating suggestions on how human development considerations can be introduced and strengthened in the existing template for Migration Profiles, as well as the underpinning consultation processes at the national and regional levels;
• identify data gaps that prevent full consideration of the interlinkages between migration and development and suggest areas for follow-up research by UNDP and other stakeholders.

In particular, the incumbent will be responsible for the following:

• Screen existing Migration Profiles for data and analysis on the human development implications of migration and migration policies, using a framework developed in consultation with UNDP;
• Review the current Migration Profiles template and make suggestions for its enhancement from a human development perspective;
• Interview a select group of stakeholders to analyze the process underpinning the formulation of Migration Profiles with a view to strengthening the role of development policy actors and constituencies;
• Screen the sources of data underpinning Migration Profiles to identify gaps and opportunities for further research.