| Overview : The overall objective of this contract is to Support the “Integration Policy Indicators” measurement process of the migrant population in the prioritized countries in Latin America and map and identify gaps and opportunities to identify key information sources related to human mobility. The migration landscape in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has rapidly changed over the last decade, making immigrants’ integration a high priority on the regional policy agenda. Flows of immigrants into many countries have increased drastically in recent years, especially in the context of the Venezuelan crisis. Integrating immigrants, including refugees and asylum seekers, into the labor market and society is vital for promoting social cohesion and economic growth of host countries and the ability of migrants to become self-reliant, productive citizens. It is also a prerequisite for the host population’s acceptance of further immigration. However, many preconceptions shape public perceptions of immigrants. It is therefore crucial to provide policy makers and the public with solid facts and figures. In many respects, international comparisons of integration outcomes are challenging. First, because the characteristics of immigrant populations vary across countries and change over time. Second, comparing immigrant outcomes from country to country can be used to assess the success of “integration”, only if it considers country-specific economic and social contexts. Third, international comparisons often suffer from a lack of reliable and harmonized data across countries. National data must therefore be adapted to comply with common categories and definitions, losing some of their specificity and links with country specific characteristics. However, international comparisons bring much added value to indicators at the national level. They can act as benchmarks for assessing national performance and help interpret the magnitude of differences, for example, whether a 5 percentage points lower employment rates for immigrants is little or a lot. They thus provide a tool for promoting exchange of experience and for identifying shared concerns. International comparisons can also help focus on the right issues and identify challenges that are not necessarily visible from evidence from individual countries. Measuring integration calls for a benchmark against which outcomes can be assessed. The standard approach is to compare the outcomes of immigrants with those of the native-born. The most common way of measuring the outcomes of a target group against those of a reference group is as differences in outcomes expressed in percentage points. The OECD, UNDP and IDB suggest preparing a joint monitoring of outcomes of immigrants in LAC countries. Following the example of the OECD-EU “Settling-In” publication, and depending on data availability, the indicators would likely include: • Immigrants’ qualifications: origin and level; participation in training • Labor market integration: employment, unemployment, and job characteristics • Living conditions: income, poverty, housing conditions, health • Social integration: migrant acceptance/attitudes towards migration, discrimination… These indicators would be presented and analyzed along several different dimensions (nationality/origin; rural vs. urban area; men vs. women; recent vs. longstanding immigrants; age). The indicators would be enriched by contextual information on immigrant populations, including socio-demographic characteristics compared with those of the native-born; specific factors related to the immigrant population (such as countries of origin and length of residence) and information on the composition of immigrant households, compared to native-born households. Within this joint initiative, UNDP leads the building of “integration policy indicators” which include government interventions, policy and institutional changes, the adjustment and establishment of policies, as well as the setup and modification of formal mechanisms. The main idea is that output indicators are important to measure because we can use these measurements to investigate whether better outputs lead to better outcomes—or when, why, and where this is the case. By the moment of the consultancy starts, there will be a consolidated proposal of a set of “integration policy indicators” (related to Regularization, Education and skills, Labor market, Entrepreneurship and financial inclusion, Health and social protection, Civic participation, and social cohesion, among others) for migrants in 12 LAC countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, Mexico, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, and Trinidad and Tobago). Period of Assignment /Services duration: Sixteen (16) weeks. Estimated start date: August 15th, 2021 Proposal should be submitted only at the following email: procurement.rblac.regionalhub@undp.org, Your proposal should be submitted under subject/reference: 18840-2021 - Individual Contract for – “Consultant on Data Analysis, Policy Indicators and Human Mobility”.
NO later than Monday, August 16th, 2021 at 15:00 (UTC /GMT -5), time of the Republic of Panama. Any request for clarification must be sent in writing, or by standard electronic communication to the e-mail indicated above NO later than Tuesday, August 3rd, 2021 at 15:00 (UTC /GMT-5), time of the Republic of Panama. Procurement Unit RSC LAC will respond by standard electronic mail and will send written copies of the response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all consultants. The procedures for the acquisition of services will be the ones indicated by the United Nations Development Program. This process is directed only to one individual. Any proposal received by more than two individuals jointly or legal entity will be rejected. Likewise, all the proposals from consultants involved in the elaboration of the present Terms of Reference will be rejected. | 
