| Overview : The Government of Lesotho is embarking on the process of formulating the third National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP III). The current National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP II) is reaching the end of its implementation period in 2022/23. The country is developing a new NSDP III in a precarious economic environment plagued by weak economic growth, high unemployment, persistent political instability and high poverty levels. The emergence of COVID-19 pandemic has further weakened Lesotho’s macroeconomic performance threatening gains made in human capital accumulation and poverty alleviation efforts. The highlighted development challenges facing Lesotho require robust response that will set the country on the desired growth trajectory in order to achieve sustainable development. In its quest to achieve this aim, Lesotho will also continue mainstreaming of the regional and global development documents such as the SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2020- 2030, African Union Agenda 2063 and the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development (SDGs) in its development planning. It is against this background that the Government of Lesotho, through the Ministry of Development Planning is seeking the services of a suitably qualified development expert to coordinate the process for developing the National Strategic Development Plan. The consultant will work in consultation with the Ministry of Development Planning to design the programme for NDSP III planning, establish mechanisms for stakeholder consultation, management and oversight, facilitate data collection and analytical process required in the process, and production of the NSDP III. The NSDP III is expected to inform the national planning and budgeting cycle for the 2022/23 fiscal year | 
