Making Geographic Information Systems (GIS) work for ICI

A consultancy to develop a strategy for ICI to make better use of geospatial data and GIS technology for programming, learning and communications.

Context

ICI holds and collects large amounts of geocoded socio-economic data from cocoa growing regions of West Africa. As stakeholders in the cocoa sector are making strong commitments towards greater traceability of cocoa production, both for social and environmental sustainability motives, geocoded data collection by ICI members and partners will likely grow in scale and visibility in future years.
So far, the geospatial dimension of this data remains underexploited, but there is significant potential to do more. Theoretically, this data could be used to advance our understanding of the wider context and root causes of child labour and forced labour; strengthen links with other sustainability concerns such as deforestation; know who’s doing what, where; and support more efficient programmes; especially if combined with geospatial data from other sources, such as the location and status of key infrastructure, land use maps, location of projects. Moreover, strengthening ICI’s ability to visualise geospatial data could support ICI’s communications and advocacy.

General objective

ICI is seeking to grasp the full potential of its geocoded data with the help of GIS technology. To this end, we are hiring a short-term consultant to explore potential uses, develop a longer-term strategy and build ICI’s capacity to exploit geocoded data more systematically.

Timeframe 

April - October 2023

Scope and location 

Total of around 70 working days, spread over a period of 4-6 months, at least 50% of the time based in Geneva secretariat. Short-term travel to ICI country offices in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana may be required (e.g. to train staff).

Specific Objectives

The consultant will help ICI to:

• Take stock of geocoded data sets ICI holds and will collect in 2023/24, and define the nature, scale and associated requirements of safe handling of data for each dataset
• Work with various ICI departments to identify needs, opportunities, and risks related to use of GIS:
  1. Programme: use of geospatial data to improve programme quality, design and decision making
  2. Research and learning: use of geospatial data for research and learning purposes; visualisation of needs assessment/monitoring data; visualisation of who’s doing what, where.
  3. Communications: use of geospatial data to visualise and communicate information on operations and activities
  4. IT: effective collection, storage and processing of geospatial data, including data protection requirements and data sharing options.
• Identify other geospatial data sources (incl. farm polygons, climatic data, geolocation of infrastructure, land use maps, other available satellite imagery, etc.) which could be combined with ICI’s geocoded socio-economic data for any of the opportunities identified.
• Analyse and build ICI’s internal capacity to work with GIS. Identify the technical skills required to use the identified GIS opportunities; train staff in Switzerland, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana to implement these; and recommend longer-term measures, as needed.
• Create a web map of data shared by ICI members and partners on the presence and quality of key infrastructure in cocoa communities in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria (collected using ICI’s Protective Community Index tool).
• Advise ICI on integrating GIS-based data processing and analysis in its core activities in the longer term, how to position itself strategically in terms of GIS competences, and which partners to work with in this area.

Expected outputs 

1. Overview document of ICI’s geospatial data, including currently held datasets and any planned to be collected
2. Summary presentation of ICI’s needs, opportunities and concrete options for processing, analysing and visualizing geospatial data, by department
3. Overview, documenting potential additional geospatial data sources (open source and shared by ICI members and partners) to draw upon to meet the needs identified above
4. Capacity building:
   i. Overview, documenting of ICI’s current practice and capacities related to the collection, processing and analysis of geospatial data
   ii. Recommendations to build capacity: set out options for introductory training for staff with no existing GIS skills, and for skills development for staff with existing GIS skills
   iii. Train 2-4 staff on specific basic routine tasks identified during the consultancy (e.g. updating map contents, minor manipulations on project overview maps, etc.)

• Web map created to display information on the presence and quality of key infrastructure in cocoa communities in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria (NB. fees for software or hosting do not have to budgeted for as part of this assignment)
• Short report summarising longer-term strategic opportunities, capacity building needs and options, potential strategic partnerships, to ensure more effective use of geospatial data and GIS technology within ICI activities

Background

The International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) is a non-profit foundation that works to ensure a better future for children in cocoa growing communities. A multi-stakeholder partnership advancing the elimination of child labour and forced labour, ICI unites the forces of the cocoa and chocolate industry, civil society, farming communities, governments, international organizations and donors. ICI was created following a recommendation in the 2001 Harkin-Engel Protocol for the establishment of an independent foundation to oversee and sustain efforts to eliminate child labour in cocoa, including by implementing projects and serving as a clearinghouse for good practices.
ICI’s work includes research and innovation, technical advocacy, capacity building and the implementation of programmes to prevent and address child labour and forced labour.
ICI has offices in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana and a secretariat, based in Switzerland.

Requirements
The consultant should meet the following requirements:

• Proven advanced technical skills in GIS, processing and analysis of geospatial data, including use of ArcGIS
• Track record of consulting, advising and strategy development related to data management
• Experience with planning and delivering training on GIS
• Prior experience in the cocoa sector in West Africa or a comparable operational context (for example humantarian or development programming in developing countries, sustainability programming; or other agricultural supply chains)
• Good communication and interpersonal skills
• Good working knowledge of English and French

We invite applications from individuals registered as independent consultants, or companies.

How to apply
The consultant will be hired and managed by the ICI secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland.
Interested candidates are requested to provide the following information:
CV and cover letter (max. 2 pages), in English, specifying:

• How the candidate meets the requirements above
• 1-3 relevant examples of previous work
• A financial proposal, including daily rate (NB. any travel required outside Switzerland will be budgeted for separately and does not need to be included here)

All applications should be submitted to: hr@cocoainitiative.org by 30 March, 2023.
For any questions in relation to this consultancy, please contact Anna Brüderle a.bruederle@cocoainitiative.org