| Overview : There has been an increasing recognition in the critical linkages between development and conflict and social cohesion. Violent conflict erodes hard-won development gains and tears the social fabric of communities. Development that is inequitable is often a root cause of conflict and does not foster a cohesive society, where equity is a necessary condition for social cohesion. Local development, where sensitive and responsive to conflict and social cohesion, has immense potential to mitigate conditions that create or exacerbate conflict dynamics and to enhance conditions that facilitate or strengthen social cohesion and peace. In order to achieve this potential, local development and poverty eradication efforts have to go beyond ‘typical’ responses, and be developed, implemented and monitored for achieving social cohesion and peacebuilding outcomes. This calls for improved policy frameworks, conceptual frameworks, capacities and critically, commitment for mainstreaming conflict sensitivity and social cohesion responsiveness into local development. UNDP Myanmar will soon initiate a series of activities to facilitate knowledge-management, capacity-development and policy formulation on conflict sensitive and social cohesion responsive development in Myanmar. The objective of this initiative is to contribute to mainstreaming conflict sensitivity and social cohesion responsiveness into local development and poverty eradication programmes being undertaken in Myanmar through support to knowledge-management, capacity-development and policy actions. Against this background, UNDP wishes to identify a consultancy organization to facilitate the knowledge-management activities under this initiative. The consultancy organization shall establish a two-member Consultancy Team to undertake this assignment consisting of a Team Leader (international) and a National Expert. |
