Consultancy for Developing Oxfam in Asia regional influencing Strategy at Oxfam

Developing Oxfam in Asia regional influencing Strategy

Terms of Reference for consultancy

Location: remote support

Overall purpose of the assignment: Refresh and update the Asia influencing plans into a Strategy in the light of revised Asia regional strategy, Oxfam international strategic plan, changed internal and external context and opportunities.

Background

Influencing policies and practices is core for Oxfam’s DNA and theory of change to bring transformational change. This approach has been further strengthened in last few years during the transition towards a confederation with more emphasis on influencing. OXFAM strategic plan 2013-2019 ‘The power of people against Poverty’ identified six goals to change the world along with six operational goals to change the way we work, Worldwide Influencing Network [WIN) was one of them. The WIN impact statement said:

By 2020, Oxfam will have contributed to achieve more profound and lasting change in the lives of people living with poverty and injustice. We will have done this at a far greater scale by creating a world-wide influencing network (WIN) of One Program teams, united by a common vision for change, adequately resourced, able to use the full range of influencing techniques at their disposal, and actively participating in a wider movement to fight against the injustice of poverty.

How do we define influencing?

For Oxfam, “influencing” means systematic efforts to change power relationships, attitudes, and beliefs, and the formulation and implementation of official policies, laws/regulations, budgets, and company policies and practices, in ways that promote more just societies without poverty. Depending on the context, influencing can include leveraging of programme experience, advocacy, and campaigning (including coalition building, research, policy development, lobbying, media, digital tools), mobilisation (of activists, supporters, citizens), coordinated worldwide communicating and networking, capacity development (of citizens, partners, civil society, duty bearers), partnerships and strategic funding. Duty bearers can include public, semi-public and private entities.

Our 2020 ambition is to create a more relevant Oxfam that is more globally balanced with Southern leadership more empowered, and where knowledge drives the organisation. The One Oxfam Stakeholder Model aims to ensure strong confederation ownership and strategic alignment of all our work in countries and regions. In the process of confederation building and transition, in 2017 Asia regional platform Asia was established.

A key player in this model is the Asia Regional Platform. It holds line management for the delivery of country, multi-country and regional strategies in the region. On top of providing strategic leadership and accountability, its value is on achieving regional impact (above country) and performing a connecting and convening role. The platform is designed to fulfill this mandate in an agile and efficient way.

Oxfam’s WIN ambition aimed to change the way we design and deliver our work as Oxfam. Building a Worldwide Influencing Network means a shift in the way we deliver our programs through 1) A clear focus on national change; 2) influencing embedded as an approach in all our programmes, informed by robust power, political and economic analysis and a theory of change and 3) leveraging our worldwide linkages across Oxfam to support national change and working more effectively with others.

Delivering on WIN is a responsibility of all teams in Oxfam. The Asia Campaigns and Policy Team (CPT) contributes to this overall WIN goal by supporting and leading on research, campaigns, policy and advocacy work that are strategically aligned with national change goals in the region.

The One Oxfam Asia Strategy Framework prepared in 2017/18 is anchored on Oxfam’s six global change goals (OXFAM strategic plan 2013-2019): the right to be heard; advancing gender justice; saving lives now and in the future; sustainable food; fair sharing of natural resources; and financing for development and universal essential services. Oxfam in Asia set five levers to influence the development of future scenarios. These levers describe how we seek to achieve change; they describe our chosen methods and approaches and include:

i. Rights and justice in a digital age: Ensuring data, technology and innovation-based change builds equality and reduces poverty in Asia

ii. The private sector: Promoting accountability and ensuring the Asian private sector adopts inclusive and responsible business policies and practices and that together we maximize impact in humanitarian crises

iii. Thought leadership: Transitioning into a knowledge-based organization and thought leader in Asia

iv. Partnerships: Working differently and better with others

v. Building One Oxfam in Asia: Clearing internal organizational chokepoints

Campaigns and policy team is part of Asia platform and developed its plan to contribute to One Oxfam Asia strategy framework. CPT described its aim to strengthen and scale up Oxfam’s influencing impact in the region by co-creating and collaborating with the Oxfam network across the region and globally: country teams, regional programmes, global campaign teams and affiliates.

CPT developed following objectives:

• Hold private sector accountable and influence the private sector to adopt sustainable, inclusive and equitable policies and practices
• Increase public engagement on women’s rights, inequality and climate change
• Oxfam is a leading voice in Asia to challenge gender, income, wealth inequality
• Progressive regional standards, guidelines and policies are adopted by ASEAN and other key regional platforms
• A strong internal capacity for influencing using robust power and political analysis across Oxfam’s network in the region (internal objective)*

To achieve these goals, our approach aimed to:

• Align with and linked to the long-term development programme and humantarian goals to achieve one programme ambition in the region
• Mobilize the power of Asian people, inspire them to become agents of positive change, and transform power structures.
• Engage with governments, private sector, multilateral institutions, and others in positions of power to promote the interests of the people they serve and are accountable to.
• convene, build, and work with social movements that are wide-ranging including with media, young people, and policymaker and business champions.
• Solutions that will be anchored in evidence, and we will continue to build and share our knowledge and will remain open to learning from others. We will also focus on solutions driven by data and information technology that are inclusive and innovative.

Internal and external changes

Since the adaptation of One Oxfam in Asia strategy framework and Asia platform, there has been several internal and external changes. At global level, Oxfam international has now developed new Oxfam International strategic framework (OISP) 2020-2030- Fight Inequality: Together, we can end Poverty and Injustice. OISP put forth following four major goals:

• Just economies
• Gender Justice
• Climate Justice
• Accountable Governance

Meantime, One Oxfam Asia strategy has also been reviewed during the last quarter of 2021-22. Similarly, Oxfam in Asia structure is changing and becoming a network of different entities including country programmes (Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Timore Leste), CLV cluster comprising on Cambodia, Laos & Vietnam, two southern affiliates (Indonesia and Philippines) adding total four affiliates from Asia (There are two existing affiliates in Asia Oxfam in India and Hong Kong) and two spin off in Tajikistan and Sri Lanka. Oxfam in Asia will reduce its footprint in Asia, either have phased out or will phase out from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Thailand.

The external front, covid-19 has hit hard and continuing exposing the vulnerabilities of poor people, care workers, health systems and inequality in global vaccine production and supply. It is assumed that covid-19 has further exacerbated inequality, increased poverty and its impact will last longer. In addition to covid-19 there been constant attack on civic space.

In the light of internal and external changes, Campaigns and policy team would like to refresh its Asia influencing strategy/plan. This includes our engagement with ASEAN. Oxfam’s influencing strategy in the ASEAN also gained momentum through substantial engagements with the governments of Thailand (2019), Vietnam (2020), Brunei (2021) as ASEAN chairs through its ASEAN Working group that is currently coordinating engagements with the Royal Government of Cambodia in 2022, Indonesia in 2023 and Laos in 2024 who are the incoming ASEAN chairs.

We aim to expand our influencing despite reduced footprint which may require a different approaches and models to reach more people and enlarge sphere of engagement and influence. But also need a different way of working to adjust in changed networked model of Oxfam. It will also aim to expand and co-create an influencing strategy that encompasses and aligns the priorities of all internal stakeholders including country teams, southern affiliates in Asia, multi-country programme teams and define our future relationship with spin off entities in Tajikistan and Sri Lanka.

Humanitarian being the core mandate of Oxfam, influencing strategy will encompass rights in crisis elements along with long-term development programmes to reflect one programme approach.

This assignment aims to:

• Develop Asia Influencing Strategy 2030 with two-time horizon (2022-2025 and 2025-2030)
• Develop a Meal framework with clear indicators

Expected outcomes

• Undertake a thorough review of existing influencing plans/strategies and document successes, progress made, and lesson learned including engagement with partners/allies
• Prepare draft influencing strategy with clear change goals and success indicators and MEAL framework
• Design and facilitate a workshop to present the draft strategy for discussion.

Practical steps/process

a) Mapping/stock take, and lessons learned on influencing: (desk review, FGD and 1 to 1 discussions):

o Progress on specific campaigns by CPT at regional level and collaboration and engagement with country teams, global teams, and contribution to worldwide campaigns/advocacy

o Review and understand influencing initiatives by multi country programmes

o Engage with programme quality and business development from very inception to understand and align the priorities of BD and programme quality

o Lessons learned from Oxfam in Asia’s ability to organize itself and adapt to fast-changing contexts.

b) Review current campaign strategies, ADB engagement strategy and private sector ambition ( there will be separate private sector engagement strategy)

c) Review context analysis and update it from influencing perspective especially focussing on civic space changes and challenges. The context analysis should include a power analysis that maps out the multiple actors and types of power that affect Oxfam’s influencing ambition in the region (desk review)

d) Identify emerging opportunities and avenues and map potential partnerships including civil society actors, women’s organisations, private sector, research partners and digital/data justice groups. (desk review and 1 to 1 discussions)

e) Assess risks, opportunities, and potential allies to engage with multiple power holders i.e., ASEAN, ADB, Private sector. (desk review and 1 to 1 discussions)

f) Review Oxfam Asia regional strategy and Oxfam global strategic plan and associated plans (desk review)

g) Talk to country influencing leads, regional campaign leads, media and communication leads, multi-country programme leads, selected members of Asia leadership team (country director and platform), global campaign leads, global policy leads

h) Interaction with regional influencing partners/allies including partners of multi-country programmes to review the partnership from learning point of view and lessons for future engagement

i) Talk to Oxfam in Asia influencing partners and other stakeholders such as UNESCAP, UN Women, ADB, Private sector entities and media entities

j) Design workshop with Asia advocacy leads to understand priorities, processes, progress, lesson learned and future direction

k) Design a workshop with Asia leadership team to assess their understanding and engagement in influencing, successes, priorities, and future direction with the perspective a feminist network model of Oxfam in Asia

l) Based on these conversations and literature review develop draft influencing strategy with clear goals, strategies/tactics, approaches, power analysis, success indicators, risks and resources requirement and MEAL Plan

m) Design workshop with staff for consultation on the draft and seek feedback

Timeline, Milestones, and Expected Deliverables

Time Line: Deliverable/s

• 1st week of March :Workplan
• 1st week of March : Desk review
• 2nd and 3rd week of March : Individual interviews discussion with Oxfam staff, partners, and stakeholders
• 3rd week of march : Brainstorming and review Workshop with advocacy leads
• 4th week of march : Brainstorming and review Workshop with Asia leadership team
• 1st week of April : Submit draft strategy
• 2nd week of April : Facilitate workshop to present the strategy
• 3rd week of April : Final strategy document submitted along with power point

The consultant will work closely with the steering group comprising country influencing leads, country directors, multi-country programme leads, programme quality and business development leads and regional campaign policy team. The steering group will provide necessary input for linkages of influencing strategy with long term programmes, programme quality, business development.

Required Skills and Experience

The Consultant should have detailed knowledge of the Oxfam and its influencing work and familiar with the political, economic, and civic space context of Asia, familiar with key political forums, decision making bodies in Asia. High level strategy development and design skills, including participatory processes, co-creation approaches with strong understanding of feminist principles. The Consultant should submit an Expression of Interest that includes a proposal and timeline for the scope of work, CV, and cover letter demonstrating the applicant/s suitability for the role, and an indicative budget in US dollars.

Others

• Required to adhere to Oxfam’s principles and values as well as the promotion of gender justice and women’s rights
• Understanding of and commitment to adhere to equity, diversity, gender, child safety and staff health and wellbeing principles.

Key Attributes:

• Ability to demonstrate sensitivity to cultural differences and gender issues, as well as the commitment to equal opportunities.
• Ability to demonstrate an openness and willingness to learn about the application of gender/gender mainstreaming, women’s rights, and diversity for all aspects of development work.
• Commitment to Oxfam’s safeguarding policies to ensure all people who come into contact with Oxfam are as safe as possible.

Organizational Values:

• Accountability – Our purpose-driven, results-focused approach means we take responsibility for our actions and hold ourselves accountable. We believe that others should also be held accountable for their actions.
• Empowerment – Our approach means that everyone involved with Oxfam, from our staff and supporters to people living in poverty, should feel they can make change happen.
• Inclusiveness – We are open to everyone and embrace diversity. We believe everyone has a contribution to make, regardless of visible and invisible differences.