DT Global Inc. is implementing the United States Agency for International Development/Office of Transition Initiatives (USAID/OTI)-funded Transition to New Sudan (TNS) Program, which supports the consolidation of Sudan’s democratic transformation through the following objectives: 

1. Enabling the government to demonstrate progress in implementing key transition processes;
2. Reinforcing civic engagement required to implement key transition processes; and, 
3. Assisting in the expansion of independent media that serves as a platform to implement key transition processes.

To contribute to these objectives, DT Global is recruiting a Consultant Pilot Program Manager to support the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning in the development of a pilot Family Support initiative.

The government of Sudan is working to put Sudan on a path to sustainable, equitable, and broad-based peace and prosperity.  A key element of this program is a shift from an economy focused on short-term consumption to one that focused on investment in people and productive capacity.  Ordinary people are the foundation of Sudan’s revolution and will always be the foundation of its economic and social achievements.

No sustainable improvements in human capital and productive capacity are possible, however, in the presence of policy distortions that result from economic mismanagement of the Sudanese economy by the past regime, including multiple exchange rates, the deterioration of the Sudanese pound, chronic budget deficits, significant misallocation of public resources, and chronic inflation that exceeded 65% in early 2020.  Chronic inflation undermines the wages of the poor and middle class, increases inequality and economic uncertainty that limits investment in productive capacity.

The government is focused economic reform, including fossil fuel subsidies that are a primary cause of inflation and exchange rate depreciation.  Building on the international experience with successful reform, and mindful of Sudan’s longer-term strategic interests, the Government a cash transfer program, the Sudan Family Support Program (SFSP). This cash transfer program is designed to mitigate the impact of reform on Sudanese, demonstrate the values of the government and its capability.

Cash transfers, an increasing popular and effective means of delivering public support in over 130 countries, have been measured to have positive impacts on cognitive development, student test scores, savings, investment in livestock and agricultural assets, purchase of agricultural inputs, reduction in child labor and hours worked and empowerment of women. The effectiveness of the cash transfer program depends on delivery systems that can reach millions of households efficiently without fraud.

The program requires pilot testing.  Based on the results of pilot tests, the program’s potential full scale-up will be determined and designed.

Objective

The objective of the consulting services is to support the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning with the process of preparing to pilot-test the design of the SFSP in six locations of Sudan, testing approximately five design choices in each location, and to learn from the pilots for the most efficient and effective national rollout of the program.

Achieving the objective above will require the Consultant to be responsible for the following tasks:

1. Agreeing with the Task Force helping to design the program, on the location and the parameters for each pilot (currently three locations in Khartoum State, Gezira, Red Sea, and West Darfur).  The parameters to be tested concern alternative methods for registration, payment, communication, and alternative institutions.

2. Organizing local teams for each pilot.  For reach pilot location, the Ministries of Finance, Interior and Labor will each contribute staff to help oversee the pilot. The Ministry of Interior will contribute its Civil Registry staff and locations. The consultant will also recruit local civil society organizations and/or Neighborhood Resistance Committees to carry out the pilot activities.

3. The pilot will focus on ensuring families in each location are registered for the program, and receive cash payments through the options being tested (mobile phone, cash cards, and banks).  Once the pilot program begins for a particular family, it will continue for six months.

4. The consultant will work to ensure that feedback methods are in place to evaluate which of the options being tested are most effective (have the lowest cost, lowest errors, and highest satisfaction of end-users).

5. The consultant will prepare a report based on the results generated at each pilot location 30 days and 60 days after the start of each pilot.  Each report will report on lessons learned at the pilot for management and further scale-up of the program nationwide.

In carrying out these functions, the Consultant will receive guidance from experts and specialists of the World Bank.

Reporting

1. The Consultant will report to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.  Until such time as the Commission and Digital Transformation Agency is established to lead the program, the Consultant will report to Magdi M. Amin, Sr. Advisor, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. For administrative and contractual matters, the Consultant will report to DT Global as the contracting authority.

2. The Consultant will provide an inception reporting within two weeks of starting the assignment confirming the approach to execution of the task.

Terms and Conditions

1. The assignment will be funded through August 31 with the possibility to extend.

2. All materials developed in the course of the project and program will be the ownership of the Government of Sudan and will be considered confidential, not to be shared without the permission of the Government.

3. The assignment may be extended, terminated or modified should the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning determine that it is necessary, with a minimum notice period to the consultant of three weeks.