Senior Consultant to provide strategic guidance, facilitate access and contact to agricultural research institutes in order to support the analysis of public and private funding for agriculture research in Kenya at Biovision Africa Trust (BvAT)

Details:

Start and Duration of the Consultancy:

12 working days between January 2019 until end of August 2019

Background:

Agroecology is gaining momentum and support by an increasingly wide range of experts within the scientific community, international organizations and countries as a farming and landscape approach to improve the resilience and sustainability of food systems. Despite its promise and proven relevance at practical level, research and development related to agroecology has been thought to command only a minimal share of public agricultural research funding.

The project “A4A – Advocacy for Agroecology” is implemented by Biovision in collaboration with re-nowned experts in field of agroecology and research investments such as IPES-Food and the Institute for Development Studies (IDS). The project aims to strengthen systemic research on agroecology by analyzing the current lock-ins and leverages, followed by advocating relevant decision makers from the donor and research communities. Analyzing investments in agriculture research for development of concrete case studies allows deepening the understanding of the current lock-ins and leverages. The case studies are Switzerland as a donor country, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as the biggest private philanthropic foundation involved in Agriculture Development and Kenya as a recipient country in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Biovision seeks to hire a qualified senior consultant who will facilitate access to and establish collaboration with relevant agricultural research institutes. Further, the consultant shall supervise and support a junior consultant who will be in charge of the main data analysis of the case study “Kenya”.

Goals of the Consultancy:

The overall aim of the consultancy is to provide strategic guidance, facilitate access and contact to agricultural research institutes in order to support the analysis of public and private funding for agriculture research for development conducted in Kenya.

Main Tasks:

• Strategic guidance and support in developing a conceptual framework and the analysis of public and private funding for agriculture research for development conducted in Kenya.
• Support junior consultant in the stakeholder mapping of most influential public and private funders in agriculture research for development in Kenya
• Facilitate access to and establish working relations with key research institutes with the purpose to collect key information and data for the analysis of agricultural research projects in Kenya
• Conduct key informants interviews with relevant stakeholders of agricultural research institutes and donor organisations to complement quantitative analysis
• Support the junior consultant in the analysis of key barriers and opportunities for agroecological research

Necessary Qualifications

• University degree in natural sciences paired with an affinity for political and diplomatic processes, or degree in social sciences matched by knowledge and skills in the fields of development cooperation, and agricultural development, policy and politics
• Knowledge of agronomy, agroecology or related fields
• Excellent knowledge about the agricultural research landscape in Kenya
• Very good contacts - preferably to higher level decision makers - in the field of agriculture research in Kenya
• Very good understanding of key funders of agriculture research for development in Kenya
• Fluency in English and Swahili (preferred)

Further necessary Skills

• Ability to analyze situations quickly, including opportunities and risks, and taking appropriate, context-specific measures
• Ability to work with limited standardized procedures and need for own initiative and independent work
• Used to communicate and interact with senior and high level decision makers such as directors of research institutes and/or directors of relevant funding agencies