IGF- Research Consultant

IGF – Research Consultant

Integrating the Impact of New Technologies in Policy-Making: Community resilience and mining infrastructure

(Location is flexible, see guidelines below)

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) is an independent think tank that delivers the knowledge to act. Our mission is to promote human development and environmental sustainability. Our big-picture view allows us to address the root causes of some of the greatest challenges facing our planet today—ecological destruction, social exclusion, unfair laws and economic rules, a changing climate. With offices in Winnipeg, Geneva, Ottawa, Toronto and New York, our work affects lives in nearly 100 countries. We are currently looking for a Consultant to work in our IGF Program.

IISD serves as the Secretariat for the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and

Sustainable Development (IGF). The IGF is a member-driven organization aimed at providing national

governments committed to leveraging mining for sustainable development the opportunity to work

collectively to achieve their goals. It is devoted to optimizing the benefits of mining to achieve poverty

reduction, inclusive growth, social development and environmental stewardship. The IGF serves as a

unique global venue for dialogue between its 80 member country governments, mining companies,

industry associations and civil society.

This position is a short-term consultancy.

Context

The IGF has conducted research on the impacts of new technologies on the mining sector, in particular for the labour market, local procurement, and local economic development. Based on the findings of the research, the IGF will develop a supplementary guidance note to complement and update the 2018 Local Content Guidance. The supplementary guidance note will focus on the impacts of new technologies—in particular digital infrastructure—on community resilience. It will be informed by a process of community engagement to foster inclusivity and ownership at the grassroots level.

• Supplementary guidance

Supplementary Guidance: Digital infrastructure to strengthen community resilience for sustainable local economic development.

Physical and digital mining infrastructures can be leveraged to support local community development. Further, significant opportunities for cooperation exist in non-mining sectors, such as agriculture, health, and education, which are often underdeveloped in mining areas. In remote areas, in particular, access to digital infrastructure, such as information and communications infrastructure and real-time data, can provide significant benefits to the local community.

Similarly, technological developments in renewable energy and automated resource management can provide basic facilities without connection to larger networks. These solutions exhibit significant potential to support communities in developing resilience to environmental and economic shocks while potentially providing a strong entrepreneurship ecosystem.

IGF will develop a supplementary guidance document to support governments and policy-makers in leveraging various aspects of new mining infrastructures to support local economic development.

This guidance will cover the following issues:

• Data and digitized infrastructure, focusing on the potential of benefiting from non-sensitive big/real-time data collected by mining companies that could become critical for communities, and shared access to high-speed connectivity for the education, health, and economic sectors. The guidance will provide recommendations for governments:

  • To design supportive frameworks to better use new technologies (such as data) as a way to address other challenges that disruptive technologies may have created for the community.
  • To navigate through the regulatory and institutional challenges that relate to data and digital infrastructure, such as data security, intellectual property rights, digital piracy, blockchain technologies, and so on.

• Access to renewable/clean energy and other climate solutions as a way to support governments in their (just) transition to a low-carbon future. New forms of partnerships or shared infrastructure will be explored. The guidance will build on existing research[1] to provide pragmatic recommendations for governments to better cooperate or negotiate with mining companies to access such solutions.

• The guidance will explore new forms of partnerships between mining companies, local governments, and local communities to improve community resilience. It will explore new ideas and provide suggestions for innovative partnerships, building on more sustainable ways of support communities (based on developments in non-mining areas, such as impact investing).

• Community engagement to improve resilience

To inform the supplementary guidance, the IGF will leverage its unique experience and value added as an intergovernmental forum to support multistakeholder engagements and dialogues around new technologies and community resilience.

The aim of these localized policy dialogues is to ensure representativity, diversity of voice, and inclusivity in the design of policy-making based on outcomes of stakeholder engagements, so that proposals for new forms of partnerships (Output 1) are reflective of the needs of local communities.

Methodology for community engagement

A series of three dialogues will be organized around specific themes in various jurisdictions (two in Africa and one in Latin America[2]) to better understand the challenges facing communities. The dialogues will provide “voices from the ground” to better inform the supplementary guidance and public policy responses to strengthen community resilience.

Responsibilities

The IGF is seeking a team of consultants to conduct the following activities:

• Conduct consultations to inform the revision of the 2018 Local Content Guidance with a focus on data and digitized infrastructure, access to renewable/clean energy and other climate solutions, and new forms of partnerships between mining companies, local governments, and local communities to improve community resilience. The consultants will bring the view from the ground to ensure the voices of communities are included in policy design in support of community resilience policies.
• Conduct structured interviews with a selection of key policy-makers, mining companies, local suppliers (in particular small and medium-sized enterprises), entrepreneurs, and start-ups, garnering any information they might provide on market opportunities as a result of new and coming mining technologies.
• Write up the results of the interviews in a short report.
• Based on the results of the community dialogues, the consultants will prepare a supplementary guidance note that will provide concrete recommendations and tools to improve local content policies in light of global trends.

The consulting experts will be supported in their efforts by the project team, particularly in terms of suggestions for interview candidates and in terms of assistance with introductions to candidates.

Expected outcomes

• A report (10­–12 pages) that summarizes the outcomes of the community dialogues, including recommendations for governments to improve inclusive stakeholders' engagement in changing contexts.
• One supplementary guidance note (10–15 pages) that will enrich the 2018 IGF Local Content Guidance, consisting of the inputs from the community dialogues.

Consultants’ skills

• At least 10 years experience in the mining sector, including in facilitation of multistakeholder dialogues that include mining communities.
• Familiarity with mining sector technology, community engagement, digital infrastructure, and sustainable development.
• Advanced degree in relevant area and/or a referenceable track record of experience with relevant content knowledge, research, dialogue convening and reporting, especially in the African context.
• Demonstratable access to local and regional networks with a broad range of expertise and experience (including mine-affected communities) ensuring that inclusive and diverse multistakeholder participation and inputs inform the consultations.
• Flexibility and ability to work independently to a deadline.

Terms of consultancy

The consultancy will be conducted between January and May 2023.

Location: remote. IISD will not be applying for residency and work permits for this position on behalf of the applicant.

Budget (lump sum): Community consultations: EUR 21,000; Senior researcher for the development of the guidance:  EUR 19,500

Application deadline: January 10, 2023

Start date: January 23, 2023

Application Procedure

All submissions must be in English. Accommodations for job applicants with disabilities are available on request.

Candidates must hold appropriate work authorization for the place located.

Applications will only be accepted through Bamboo HR.

Please include the following:

• A CV (no longer than two pages)
• A cover letter (one page)
• IISD Voluntary Self-Identification Questionnaire (optional)

Only those candidates we wish to interview will be contacted. Resumes will be kept on file for 1 year.

IISD has implemented a COVID-19 vaccination policy that requires employees who are required or choose to be at an office or participate in in-person team events or in-person meetings/events to be fully vaccinated. Anyone unable to be fully vaccinated, either because of a sincerely held religious belief or a medical condition or a disability that prevents them from being fully vaccinated, can request a reasonable accommodation.

IISD is committed to fostering a more equitable and sustainable world and welcomes candidates who uphold our values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. In addition, to correct the conditions of social injustice and disadvantage in employment around the world, we encourage candidates from historically marginalized groups, including women, Indigenous Peoples, people with disabilities, people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds, and those who identify themselves as 2SLGBTQIA+ to apply for this position. Preference will be given to the equity-deserving groups during the hiring process. We offer reasonable accommodations in our recruitment process and seek applicants' advice on how best to accommodate their needs. Please self-identify and answer our employment equity questionnaire on our applicant tracking system when you apply.

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