Author Topic: What is QUESTS-MIDA?  (Read 20101 times)

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What is QUESTS-MIDA?
« on: August 13, 2010, 12:13:56 AM »
QUESTS-MIDA is Qualified Expatriate Somali Technical Support Migration for Development in Africa.

QUESTS-MIDA is a joint project between UNDP and IOM that uses skills and expertise from qualified Somali expatriates from the diaspora and provides opportunities for applying those skills for the benefit and development of Somalia.

The number of Somalis living in the diaspora has increased in size, geographical scope, professionalism and influence in the last decades. It is estimated that about one million Somalis are living abroad. QUESTS-MIDA wishes to tap into this pool of knowledge in order to assist institutional development and capacity-building of beneficiary institutions in Somalia

QUESTS-MIDA is part of the Somali Institutional Development Project (SIDP) and builds upon UNDP Somalia's previous QUESTS project . Also, this partnership makes use of IOM's rich experience in Migration for Development in Africa (MIDA)

QUESTS-MIDA's objective is to offer qualified Somali expatriates the opportunity to play a role in the development of their homeland through short-term capacity-building missions.


Initial Priorities

QUESTS-MIDA will enable qualified Somali expatriates to share and transfer their specific expertise with colleagues in key Somali institutions in a coordinated, structured, and systematic way. Assignments during the first year of the project will be identified in line with the strategy of the SIDP which is to support key public institutions in establishing and implementing core government processes. Key government institutions have been identified as the ones being crucial in running and establishing the machinery of government.  The following institutions will be targeted: Ministries of Planning, Finance, Family Affairs, Labour, Public Works; Civil Service Commissions, Civil Service Institute, Auditor and Accountant General's Offices; and the Central Bank. The strategic priorities of the SIDP will be on:

$Policy and legislative development;
$Human resource management;
$Public financial management.
 Within those strategic priorities, attention will be placed in ensuring that assignments contribute to gender equity and equality principles across the board. These priority areas have been determined through needs assessments and consultations with numerous Somali public institutions. At a later stage, the project will assess the demand and operational ability to engage in additional sectors for support.
 
2. QUESTS vs. QUESTS-MIDA
QUESTS was modelled after UNDP's global initiative Transfer of Knowledge through Expatriate Nationals (TOKTEN), which encouraged expatriate service of their nationals to volunteer their expertise in the service of their homelands for a given period. The QUESTS project began implementation in 2004, and has had approximately 150 participants in assignments over the 4-year period.
 
QUESTS-MIDA is the new version of QUESTS which addressed the limitations of the previous iteration. Where UNDP will formulate the strategic direction of the project, IOM will be the operational arm and implement and facilitate the processes for recruitment, deployment and repatriation to country of residence as well as monitoring the successful implementation of the assignment.
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3. Who is eligible to participate in QUESTS-MIDA?Qualified Somali Expatriates
Eligibility will focus on qualifications that match the criteria per specific QUESTS-MIDA assignments such as:

$Documented evidence of living abroad with legal residency or nationality status outside Somalia, including proof of right-of-return to the same country. (Neither UNDP nor IOM will be responsible for the status determination process);
$University degree (Bachelor's, Masters, PhD);
$Relevant work experience;
$At least 25 years of age (there may not be an upper age limit, but a medical certificate will be required);
$Somali-language proficient, as well as English;
$Ability to work in partnerships and adjust to difficult living conditions;
$Genuine interest and commitment to the development of Somalia and a willingness to share skills, knowledge and experience.
JUNIOR Applicant

$Minimum five years of relevant working experience in a professional area;
MID LEVEL Applicant

$Minimum eight years of relevant working experience in a professional area.
SENIOR Applicant

$Minimum ten years of relevant working experience in a professional area
Qualified Somali women in the diaspora are encouraged to apply to vacancies and participate in the project.


Follow this link to see how QUESTS-MIDA participants will be selected…

4. Somalia Institutional Development Project (SIDP)
UNDP and Somali partners designed the Somali Institutional Development Project for south central Somalia, Puntland and Somaliland. It addresses the need for the existing government structures and public institutions to function more effectively and deliver more services, especially to the poor and other disadvantaged groups. The project seeks to boost institutions' ability to create and implement policies and laws, develop human resources, and improve financial management and infrastructure. 

SIDP mobilizes Somali and regional training partners to develop capacity in the areas identified above. It offers a broad, long-term approach to institutional development, in an attempt to move away from previous piecemeal and ad-hoc initiatives.

SIDP is expected to benefit the Somali people, who will receive improved and more efficient services. Specifically, it targets staff in central ministries and agencies dealing with planning, finance, public works, women's issues, labour, civil service, accounting, and auditing. It also targets personnel in the central bank, central statistic offices, civil service commissions and institutes, and executive and legislative bodies.

Capacity development programmes through regional and Somali partners

UNDP, with regional and Somali partners, will develop the capacity of civil service employees through online distance learning, secondments to regional public institutions, large-scale training on generic and specialized skills, and on-the-job training.

Public Financial Management

With this set of activities, UNDP will seek to develop macroeconomic and fiscal frameworks, improve budgetary processes, improve financial control, accountability, and reporting, build public sector capacity to perform Public Financial Management roles in the entire budget cycle, and support parliamentary and civil society oversight of the budget process.


5. QUESTS-MIDA Project Activities
The QUESTS-MIDA project will be undertaking several activities throughout its life span.

Diaspora Skills Mapping and Outreach

QUESTS-MIDA project staff will conduct an overall mapping of the Somali diaspora to analyze skills and resource that can be used by QUESTS-MIDA for the development of institutions in Somalia. This mapping is carried out through an online survey of the diaspora (link to survey), phone conversations, as well as face to face conversations between project staff and members of the Somali diaspora.

Additional ways that QUESTS-MIDA staff will use to reach the diaspora will include the following: calendar of events – Events that will take place in the diaspora will be noted and the QUESTS-MIDA staff will attend these events in order to interact with the Somali diaspora. Contact list (Networking) - Key contacts will be identified through internet searches to discover organizations and individuals (such as notable figures with academia, religious institutions and diaspora organizations), and specific contact data will be captured, such as names, email addresses and telephone numbers.

Needs Assessments and Outreach to Beneficiary Institutions in Somalia

The QUESTS-MIDA project is demand driven and therefore assignments will be undertaken against national priorities as defined by Somali counterparts. The Somali Institutional Development Project (SIDP) will serve as a key technical partner to assist the governance institutions in these decisions but the process will be demand driven. The SIDP team will be working with the key Somali institutions to clarify how these needs can be best addressed through a QUESTS-MIDA assignment. This will help to qualify the outputs that will have to be produced as well as the expertise needed to bring the assignment to successful completion.

Matching Skills of Diaspora with Needs in Somalia

Once the institutions in Somalia have identified the needs requiring qualified Somali expatriates, the SIDP working with the beneficiary institutions through the Ministry of Planning will develop the terms of reference (TORs) for specific assignments within these various ministries under QUESTS-MIDA. The positions will then be advertised on the project website. Interested candidates may apply here. 
All the above stated positions will be based on the demand from the beneficiary institutions and the SIDP.
Follow this link to see how QUESTS-MIDA participants will be selected…

For further information visit the page:
http://www.quests-mida.org/


"you never cure a patient, you treat pain often but you always comfort the patient."
www.somalidoc.com


 

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