Researcher to produce a policy paper on Good Governance in Crisis Management

About LTA

The Lebanese Transparency Association - No Corruption was established in 1999 with the aim of reducing rampant corruption in Lebanon, promoting the principles of transparency and accountability, establishing the rule of law and respecting the fundamental rights inaugurated in international laws and the Lebanese Constitution, by focusing on systematic improvement, building alliances, and encouraging civil society organizations to take measures towards transparency and accountability. LTA later became the national chapter of Transparency International.

LTA has worked to enhance transparency in the public and private sectors in Lebanon for more than a decade, by implementing a number of projects that ranged from contributing to the development to lobbying the anti-corruption laws (such as the draft law on the Right to Access to Information, the Whistleblowers Protection Law, the Asset and Interest Declaration and the Punishment of Illicit Enrichment Law etc....), and the monitoring of parliamentary and municipal elections since 2009, in addition to other projects aimed at empowering youth and municipalities on issues related to good governance.

LTA was chosen as a member of the first Independent Oversight Board (IOB) for the Reform, Recovery and Reconstruction Framework (3RF), which was launched in response to the aftermath of the Beirut Port explosion.

Vision

A Lebanon with well governed, transparent and accountable institutions, free of corruption and built on the rule of law.

Mission

To promote transparency and integrity as well as prevent and fight corruption through collaboration, advocacy and active engagement, in public, private and non-governmental organizations.

Project Background

The project is a multi-partner effort funded by the German Federal Foreign Office and driven by two local Lebanese based organizations: LTA and Lebanese Crisis Observatory (AUB), and supported by the expertise and networks of TI-S.

The goal of this two-year project is to ensure greater accountability and transparency of humanitarian aid and reconstruction efforts particularly for those most affected by the Beirut port explosion. To produce this change, the project will apply a multi-stakeholder approach targeting local civil society including journalist networks, Lebanese state actors and citizens, particularly those most affected by the port explosion.

With a civil society that is better equipped to play its role as watchdog, a greater mass of informed and empowered citizens ready to hold duty bearers accountable, and state actors who feel confident, supported and pressured to advance and implement accountability reforms; this will produce a more sustainable ecosystem of actors better able to identify, monitor and reduce the risks of corruption and ultimately nurture a stronger culture of accountability, integrity and transparency in Lebanon to avoid future tragedies similar to the port explosion.

This project aligns with the German Federal Foreign Office’s Transformation Partnerships objectives to promote a strong civil society able to both hold state accountable, as well as support state structures to implement accountability reforms.

Scope of work

Following the developments in the multi-faceted financial, political, and socio-economic crisis in Lebanon, particularly in the direct aftermath of the Beirut Port Explosion, minimal response was and still is characterized by near-paralysis on an institutional level from supposed first-respondents to crises in Lebanon due to political deadlocks and lack of financial capacity. There is a crucial need to assess the performance of stakeholders responding to the crisis.

Under this project, LTA is looking into producing a policy paper on good governance in crisis management with a focus on the post-explosion crisis. Given the significance of the topic, it is essential to understand the landscape of stakeholders involved in the management of the crises in terms of their prerogatives, capabilities, governance and impact. In order to ensure that the current crisis is being managed in line with internationally recognized best practices, the proposed policy paper also aims to provide an analytical review to the internationally recognized best practices on good governance in crisis management and produce a set of localized indicators of good governance in managing crises. The indicators and the subsequent scores derived for the different stakeholders involved, will be the foundation for recommendations to integrate best practices into the institutional structures of targeted stakeholders.

Accordingly, the paper will focus on mapping stakeholders involved in crisis management in order to identify the key actors responding to the multi-faceted crisis occurring in Lebanon and to better understand their application of good governance measures and practices. State institutions, CSOs, Aid providers, and other parties related to crisis management will be at the center of the mapping exercise as per their involvement in different sectors and the nature of their response. Based on the mapping and indicator-based assessment, recommendations tailored to each stakeholder will be issued to aid them in reinforcing good governance practices within their institutions and in operations. The policy paper will be utilized by LTA to develop an advocacy campaign targeting the main local actors within the field crisis management.

Proposal Submission

1. Required Competencies:The Researcher should have the following knowledge and experience:

• PhD in social sciences (preferably Law, Political Science, or a specialized master in the topic of the study, in this case anti-corruption regulations or legislative tools is required).
• Proven record of relevant publications.