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Introduction
The AfriFOODlinks project led by ICLEI-Africa invites applications to join an exciting 20 city research initiative, the AfriFOODlinks project. The AfriFOODlinks project led by ICLEI-Africa wishes to contract researchers located in, or with a work-related footprint in Mbale, Uganda. Mbale has been designated as one of the “Hub Cities” within the AfriFOODlinks project. Government officials from Mbale are part of the project and have an agreement with the AfriFOODlinks project leadership organisation, ICLEI-Africa, to support and actively engage food systems research taking place in Mbale City.

This is a contracted research position, led by designated AfriFOODlinks project partners with connections to or association with the Hub City. The project lead and coordinator for Mbale City is Rikolto. The AfriFOODlinks project partners are responsible for coordinating research and related activities within the AfriFOODlinks project and engage the wider AfriFOODlinks network of city level researchers connected to the different work packages. The contracted work carried out by the appointed Mbale City Contractor is essential in the wider knowledge generation process within the AfriFOODlinks project.

Background
The AfriFOODlinks project has four key areas of focus, all of which fall within the expected areas of focus of the contractor:
• Supporting the generation of novel and path-leading urban food systems knowledge;
• Participating in and supporting the development of a network of urban food system researchers across the partner African cities – this includes travel to some project meetings;
• Engaging other AfriFOODlinks work packages to support and guide views and positions in areas of multi-level governance, agri-food system entrepreneurship and innovation and urban food environments;
• Actively engaging government actors, specifically city officials and where necessary political actors, and sharing project information and concepts while also feeding insights from these engagements back into the project.

Prospective contractor is required to partner with AfriFOODlinks project partners through the AfriFOODlinks project lead, ICLEI-Africa, and partner contracting organisation, Rikolto.

The contractual partnership is limited to the agreed fixed amount and in accordance with the time/duration of the contract period.

The contracted period is time bound and linked to the agreement between the contractor and the AfriFOODlinks partner contracting organisation which is Rikolto.

The contracted work entails three (3) areas of work or tasks. These include a research component, a case study component (including two (2) designated case studies), and a knowledge sharing component. These are discussed in greater detail below.

The contractor will report to Rikolto’s project lead in Mbale.

Contractor Expertise Requirements
• The contractor is expected to have an existing knowledge of Mbale City’s food system with a track record of publications and outputs associated to Mbale City’s food system, but with a clear knowledge of how it intersects with the national food systems.
• Having worked in and with knowledge of the following key urban food system areas would be an added advantage:
 The state of food security in the Mbale
 An understanding of nutrition related considerations in Mbale, specifically in terms of how place and inequalities drive certain food system and nutrition related outcomes.
 Understanding of the urban governance activities, processes and challenges in Mbale.
 Understanding of the nature, challenges, changes in and opportunities associated with the urban food retail environment, specifically the operations of the formal and supermarket systems and the informal food retail sectors in Mbale.
 How the food system of, Mbale is linked to wider regional, inter-country, and international processes.
• A demonstration of having worked with or led wider projects with academic and practitioner partners would be advantageous.
• The contractor is expected to have completed a doctoral degree in a relevant area of study (e.g. urban studies, food systems, food security, nutrition security, human geography – urban, sustainable development). Applicants with a relevant Master’s degree and significant relevant experience will also be considered.
• The contractor should have a track record of both academic and public-facing writing outputs and have a knowledge of qualitative research methods, policy review methods, and excellent writing skills in academic and non-academic registers.
• The contractor can either work as an independent contractor or put together a team to ensure coverage of skills. In both cases, the time allocations and funds available will remain the same.
• Included in the person months allocated to this work is time set aside for project meetings and engagement but per an agreed schedule.
• A key aim of the AfriFOODlinks project is to build a legacy where a network of African Urban Food System researchers is convened, where this network is able to continue once the project is complete. The contractor might be asked to contribute to and comment on proposals to secure further funding for such a network on completion of the project.
• Applicants should have well-developed and professional interpersonal and communication skills.
• As the project has an explicit focus on broader development challenges, including inequity, informality and development limitations, including race and gender, ideally the applicant is well versed in de-colonial and intersectional approaches to research.
• As the project has a pan-African focus, applicants should have a broad knowledge of urban challenges across Africa, but with active knowledge and research in Mbale and a track record of relevant research and publication.
• Fluency in English is a requirement.

Scope of Work
The successful contractor will join an interdisciplinary team and will be expected to satisfactorily complete the following tasks:
Task 1: Research
• Conduct desk top research on food and urban systems in Mbale including the following key research activities: Data, trends, and materialities for engagement in the immediacy and across scales and the above-mentioned urban food system areas of focus. A template of required areas of enquiry is attached as Annexure 1. As a result, the researcher shall develop;
o ‘State of the City Food System’ report
o City-scale food and develop a report with collated images, narrative accounts, and recommendations.
o Summary report on the form and activities of Mbale City knowledge hub
o Knowledge Hub & Guidance note on its use and function.
o Summary report of convenings of the Community of Practice
• Conducting grounded research activities, the extent and scale of which will be agreed upon, including ethnographic work aimed at understanding and activating agency and illuminating the detailed richness of everyday food struggles.
• Support processes to assess and evaluate existing food-related governance (policies, processes, structures, capacities) and Mbale’s Food System needs and dynamics.
• Assess the barriers to the development of profitable and sustainable small scale and informal agri-food businesses in Mbale and identify entry points to strengthen the small-scale circular entrepreneurial ecosystem in the city.
• Document business and investment cases along key food value chains contributing to nutrition and circularity in Mbale.
• Map vulnerable consumers’, schools and food retailers’ environments in agreed areas in Mbale and develop a food environment report. In the same vein, undertake categorization of different consumers (low income, middle, high) and the markets through which they access the food.
• Actively engage in work package activities, identifying key learning areas during the report writing contract period.
Document and report on learnings and the implications for urban food policies. For all these tasks, the contractor is expected to attend planning meetings for purposes of planning and alignment with the respective work packages.

Task 2: Knowledge Sharing
• Following completion of the above tasks, the contractor will be expected to participate in a maximum of four (4) virtual meetings over the duration of the AfriFOODlinks project. These meetings form part of the knowledge generation process and are intended to support the sharing of urban food system-related information, perspectives, challenges, opportunities, and possible pathways going forward.
• These meetings will be virtual and will be scheduled with 6 weeks prior notice. A separate fee is allocated over and above the report and case study fees, to contribute to preparation and participation time in these meetings.

Application Requirements and Process
Applicants are required to submit a brief proposal – of no more than 5 pages – to eastafrica.recruitment@rikolto.org and cc AfriFOODlinks@iclei.org documenting skills and indicate areas of expertise as per the contractor expertise requirements listed above, by no later than 4 September 2023.
The 5-page document needs to be supported by the following:
• CV/CVs of contractor or contractor teams. Female applicants are strongly encouraged to apply.
• A brief summary of relevant past outputs to demonstrate alignment to and skills related to this work – with no more than five lines describing each output (with URL links where possible)
• A one-page listing of previous projects and engagements to demonstrate alignment to this work.
• An expected budget with clear demarcation on number of days to be involved for each activity costs divided into the following:
 Staff/consultancy/contractor costs
 Research staff activities
 Case study staff activities
 Active research costs
 Post research and report writing
 Knowledge sharing and meeting attendance costs
 Travel costs

AfriFOODlinks is committed to the pursuit of excellence, diversity and in achieving its gender, equity and development aspirations (These form part of the AfriFOODlinks proposal and can be accessed here).
Rikolto and AfriFOODlinks project lead, ICLEI-Africa, reserves the right not to appoint.