advisory services

Haroon Akram-Lodhi has undertaken a wide variety of advisory work, including sustainable rural livelihood analysis, gender-aware poverty and vulnerability assessments, gender and economics capacity building, and gender and macroeconomics advisory activities. Some of his advisory activities include:

36. Gender, Livelihoods and Local Investment Advisor, UN Capital Development Fund, April 2019 onwards, New York, US. Duties: to provide external advice on the gender-responsiveness and food security implications of proposed UNCDF investments in least developed countries; to develop a technical training programme for local government officials in least developed countries on designing gender-responsive local investments.

35. Gender and Agricultural Productivity Advisor, UN Women Mozambique, on behalf of the UN Women Regional Office for Eastern and Southern Africa, January 2022 – December 2022, Nairobi, Kenya. Duties: to quantify the gender gap in agricultural productivity in Mozambique; to investigate the principal drivers of the gender gap in agricultural productivity in Kenya; to evaluate gender gaps in on-farm responses to climate change; to provide budgeted policy recommendations for action; and to write a technical report of the findings.

34. Gender and Economics Advisor, CARE Vietnam, April 2021 – October 2021, Hanoi, Vietnam. Duties: to provide advice on the design, implementation and reporting of advisory-focused field research into the distribution of unpaid care work among ethnic minority communities in Vietnam.

33. Gender and Agricultural Productivity Advisor, UN Women Zimbabwe, on behalf of the UN Women Regional Office for Eastern and Southern Africa, January 2021 – December 2021, Nairobi, Kenya. Duties: to quantify the gender gap in agricultural productivity in Zimbabwe; to investigate the principal drivers of the gender gap in agricultural productivity in Zimbabwe; to evaluate gender gaps in on-farm responses to climate change; to provide budgeted policy recommendations for action; and to write a technical report of the findings.

32. Gender and Economics Advisor, The World Bank, on behalf of the Ho Chi Minh Political Academy, Hanoi, Vietnam, April 2018 – December 2020. Duties: to develop a curriculum on gender and economics for the Ho Chi Minh Political Academy; to develop a training manual for the delivery of the curriculum; to deliver capacity building to lecturers tasked with delivering the curriculum; to oversee the delivery of the curriculum.

31. Gender and Poverty Retained Advisor, United Nations Development Programme Gender Team, October 2011 to 2021, New York, US. Duties: to provide gender-responsive economic analysis and policy-oriented advice on aspects of the Gender Team's program of activities between 2011 to 2021; to provide best practice gender-responsive policy advice for emerging priority areas at short notice; to facilitate the development and implementation of the Global Gender and Economic Policy Management Initiative.

As part of his long-standing relationship with the UNDP Gender Team in New York, Haroon Akram-Lodhi has contributed significant inputs into the training materials that are used in the Short Course on Gender and Economic Policy Management, which is part of UNDP's Global Gender and Economic Policy Management Initiative. The training materials for the Asia - Pacific region are available below, while materials for the Arab States are currently in preparation:

Module 1: Gender and economics

Module 2: Gender-responsive policy analysis

Module 3: Unpaid work

Module 4: Gender, data and indices

Module 5: Employment and labour markets

Module 6: Gender and poverty

Module 7: Gender and macroeconomics

Module 8: Gender and macroeconomic strategies in Asia and the Pacific

Module 9: Gender and trade

Module 11: Gender and finance

Module 12: Good governance, public financial management and gender-responsive budgeting

This training material can be used by anyone as long as the United Nations Development Program is formally acknowledged.

30. Gender and Economics Advisor, UN Women Zimbabwe, July 2020. Duties: to deliver a training of trainers workshop on gender and economics to faculty in the Department of Economics, University of Zimbabwe.

29. Gender, Economics and Climate Change Advisor, UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, July 2019 onwards, Bangkok, Thailand. Duties: to provide advice on costing gender in climate action interventions across the Asia-Pacific region; to write policy advice documents and policy briefs.

28. Gender, Economics and Environment Retained Advisor, United Nations Poverty-Environment Initiative (PEI) Africa, November 2015 to 2018, Nairobi, Kenya. Duties: to provide gender-responsive environmental economic analysis and policy-oriented advice on aspects of the PEI Africa's program of activities between 2015 to 2018; to provide best practice gender-responsive policy advice for emerging priority areas at short notice; to facilitate capacity-building in gender, environment and economy as and when needed.

27. Gender and Agricultural Productivity Advisor, United Nations Development Programme – UN Environment Poverty-Environment Initiative and UN Women Regional Office for Eastern and Southern Africa, June to February 2018, Nairobi, Kenya. Duties: to investigate the principal drivers of any gender gaps in agricultural productivity in Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda through a series of rigorous focus-group discussions in three regions of each country; to evaluate gender gaps in on-farm responses to climate change; to provide costed recommendations for action; and to write technical reports and policy briefs on each country.

26. Gender and Agricultural Productivity Advisor, UN Women Eastern and Southern African Regional Office / United Nations Development Programme – UN Environment Poverty Environment Initiative Africa, January to May 2017, Nairobi, Kenya. Duties: to evaluate the capacity to estimate the cost of the gender gap in agricultural productivity for Ethiopia and Rwanda; to provide preliminary estimates of the cost of the gender gap in agricultural productivity in Ethiopia and Rwanda; to provide recommendations as to how to use the preliminary estimates of the cost of the gender gap in agricultural productivity in Ethiopia and Rwanda to develop a future programme of work.

25. Gender, Agriculture and Food Security Advisor, UN Women Uganda, June – October 2016. Duties: to prepare a Gender and Agriculture in Uganda Situation Analysis; to undertake a gender review of interventions under the 11^th European Development Fund for the European Union Delegation to Uganda; to prepare a Gender and Equity Capacity Development Plan for the Ministry of Agriculture; to validate a Gender and Equity Compact for the Ministry of Agriculture; to undertake capacity-building for senior and junior civil servants in six ministries responsible for the agriculture and food security sector.

24. Gender and Economics Advisor, UN Women Vietnam, December 2015. Duties: to prepare and deliver a capacity-building workshop on gender and economic policy analysis to civil servants and academicians from around Vietnam.

23. Gender and Economics Advisor, UN Women Uganda, February – June 2015. Duties: to prepare and deliver a capacity-building workshop on gender and economic policy analysis to civil servants from Ugandan ministries, departments and agencies; to prepare and deliver a capacity-building workshop on engendering statistics to civil servants from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics; to prepare a project proposal on long-term capacity-building in gender, economics and statistics for UN Women Uganda; to review existing project proposals on gender, economics and statistics for UN Women Uganda.

22. Gender and Social Protection Advisor, UN Women Vietnam, April 2015. Duties: to prepare and deliver a capacity-building workshop on social protection to provincial leaders of the Vietnam Women's Union.

21. Gender, Poverty, Environment and Macroeconomics Trainer, United Nations Development Programme / UN Women / United Nations Environment Programme, on behalf of the Poverty – Environment Initiative Africa, August 2014. Duties: to prepare and deliver a capacity-building workshop on poverty, environment and gender-responsive economic plan

20. Gender Economics Trainer, UN Women Vietnam, June 2014, on behalf of the Vietnam Women's Union, Hanoi, Vietnam. Duties: to prepare and deliver a capacity-building workshop on gender-responsive economics and social protection to members of the Vietnam Women's Union in the central provinces.

19. Gender and economics advisor, UN Women Vietnam, February 2014, on behalf of the Institute of Family and Gender Studies, Hanoi. Duties: to provide tailor-made training on gender and the economics of social protection to Vietnamese researchers.

18. Gender and Macroeconomic Policy Adviser, UN Women, May 2012 – May 2013, on behalf of UN Women, New York, US. Duties: to prepare a policy brief on engendering the macroeconomic investment climate.

17. Gender and Economics Policy Adviser, UN Women, January - February 2013, on behalf of UN Women, New York, USA. Duties: to prepare the Issues Paper for the 57th Meeting of the Convention on the Status of Women.

16. Rural Livelihoods Adviser, Rochon Genova LLP, Spring 2012, on behalf of Slate Falls Nation, Canada. Duties: to prepare a livelihoods analysis of the activities of the Slate Falls People in the 1930s, as part of their efforts to secure compensation for dispossession from Ontario Power Generation.

15. Gender and Economics Adviser, United Nations Development Programme Gender Team, January 2010 - October 2011, on behalf of the United Nations Development Programme’s Bureau of Development Policy, New York, USA. Duties: to provide analytical, technical and programmatic support to the Gender Team’s Gender and Economic Policy Management Initiative Africa.

14. Lead Consultant, School of Finance and Banking, Kigali, Rwanda, March - April 2011, on behalf of UN Women's Regional Bureau for East Africa, Kigali, Rwanda. Duties: to facilitate the preparation, delivery and adaptation of the United Nations Development Programme's Gender and Economic Policy Management Initiative – Africa Short Course on Gender Responsive Economic Policy Management into the Gender and Economic Policy Management Initiatative – Rwanda.

13. Rural Project Planning Advisor, International Institute of Social Studies (ISS)-Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) Project on Upgrading the Capacity of Local Authorities in Planning and Managing Socio-Economic Development in Rural Vietnam, Hanoi, Vietnam, January 2005 - July 2006, on behalf of the International Institute of Social Studies and the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences. Duties: to undertake a needs assessment of local authorities with regard to rural project planning; to undertake a needs assessment of training facilitators within VASS; to formulate and deliver the project proposal; to assist in the development of a sustainable rural livelihood planning training curriculum to be delivered to provincial and district cadres; to monitor the implementation of the sustainable rural livelihood planning training curriculum in the field; to evaluate the effectiveness of capacity building by VASS at the local authority level; and to liaise with senior members of VASS, with provincial, district and commune cadres, and with ISS staff.

12. Gender and Economics Consultant, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris, France, July 2006. Duties: to undertake a needs assessment of gender, planning, policy and economics training requirements for 40 members of the Network on Gender Equality of the Development Assistance Committee; to conceptualize and prepare tailor-made capacity-building training materials in gender, planning, policy and economics; and to deliver training in an intensive two-day workshop.

11. Gender and Development Masterclass Resource Person, ZEF, Rheinisch Friedrich Wilhelms Universitat, Bonn, Germany, July 2006. Duties: to provide oral, written and summary comments to papers of participants regarding the conceptualisation of gender relations, the state of the art of the topic and the argumentative structure.

10. Gender Consultant, Joint Evaluation of General Budget Support, International Development Department, University of Birmingham, October 2004 - October 2005, on behalf of the UK Department for International Development and others. Duties: to develop guidelines for the Joint Evaluation designed to ensure an adequate coverage of gender issues in the development of the log frame and the analytical process; to critically evaluate the draft inception report of the Joint Evaluation; and to critically evaluate the draft Final Report of the Joint Evaluation.

9. Rural Livelihoods Advisor, United Nations Development Programme, New York, April 2005 - June 2005. Duties: to review the structure of Yemen’s rural economy, to evaluate the impact of development interventions on the sustainability of rural livelihoods and the environmental, and to recommend a planning and policy framework for enhancing sustainable rural transformation in Yemen.

8. Land Reform and Poverty Reduction Project, United Nations Development Programme, New York, September 2004 - March 2005. Duties: working in conjunction with colleagues, design an analytical framework for an international research programme on sustainable land policies in developing and transitional economies; assist in the formulation of a workplan for the the programme; working with a national consultant, produce a country policy profile of the sustainability of land and forestry policies in Vietnam between 1981 and 2005; assist in the facilitation of a comparative workshop on the outputs of the project in 2005; assume principal responsibility for writing a summary of comparative findings from the project; undertake final editing of all papers for publication.

7. Gender, Macroeconomics and PRSPs Masterclass Trainer, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, June 2004. Duties: design a participant-focused and exercise-based training in gender, macroeconomics, PRSPs and gender budgeting for gender experts working in Royal Netherlands Embassies in 35 priority countries; implementation of training in an intensive two-day Masterclass.

6. Gender Statistics Consultant, United Nations Development Fund for Women/United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, March 2003. Duties: working with a team of technical consultant-trainers to design the training process for a Workshop in Gender Statistics for Gender Responsive Policy Analysis and Advocacy; preparing training materials and presentations for the Workshop; delivering training to an invited group of regional representatives at the Workshop; preparing a resource kit upon completion of the Workshop; and preparing the final Training Manual.

5. Gender Macroeconomic Policy Advisor, National Committee for the Advancement of Women in Vietnam, June 2000. Consulting Firm: MDE Consulting, 1 Bis Hoang Dieu Street, P 10, Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on behalf of the United Nations Development Programme. Duties: capacity building amongst research teams formulating planning and policy advice for the National Plan of Action for the Advancement of Women; monitor and assess policy proposals developed by research teams; provide detailed advice to researchers assessing employment and economic status.

4. Gender Budgets Advisor, Vietnam Public Expenditure Review, October 1999-June 2000. Consulting Firm: MDE Consulting, 1 Bis Hoang Dieu Street, P 10, Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Royal Netherlands Government. Duties: assist in the establishment of a gender analysis within the public expenditure review process; monitor and assess the gender analysis within public expenditure review documents; evaluate the macroeconomic analysis of the public expenditure review from a gender perspective.

3. Rural Development Advisor, Vietnam-Netherlands Research Programme, May 1998 - June 1998. Consulting Firm: Institute of Social Studies Advisory Services, PO Box 2502 LT The Hague, The Netherlands, on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Royal Netherlands Government. Duties: acting project advisor, Vietnam-Netherlands Project for MA in Development Economics, with responsibilities for thesis supervision, teaching inputs in rural development and environmental economics, counterpart training in research methodology, rural planning and policy, and field work, and strengthening the research component of the 1998-2002 phase of the project.

2. Principal Consultant, The Netherlands Consultative Forum on the European Commission’s Green Paper on the future of EU-ACP Relations on the eve of the 21st century, April 1997 - September 1997. Consulting Firm: International Institute of Social Studies Advisory Services, PO Box 2502, LT The Hague, The Netherlands, on behalf of the Directorate-General for Development, European Commission. Duties: assist in the design of a consultation facilitation framework and schedule for Dutch civil society, including identification of possible respondents, selection of participants, and preparation of consultation protocols; conducting and recording consultations with participants at focus group meetings; facilitating and recording a Consultative Forum Seminar between focus groups; co-writing of final report; debriefing of sponsoring agency.

1. Evaluation Field Manager, SCARP Mardan Socio-Economic Impact Evaluation, Peshawar, Pakistan, June 1996 - January 1997. Consulting Firm: Cowater International Inc, 411 Roosevelt Avenue, Ottawa, Canada K2A 3X9, on behalf of the Canadian International Development Agency. Duties: assist in the design of the research framework, including design of the log frame, survey instruments, selection of data management software, preparation of data input systems, development of data analysis systems, preparation of training manuals, development and testing of research protocols, allocation of team responsibilities, preparation of evaluation schedule, preparation of financial management plan, and submission of workplan; supervision of all project activities in the field, including establishment of operations, recruitment and training of staff, initial contact with study villages, consultations with government bodies, supervision of male field researchers, supervision of logistics coordinator, supervision of deputy field manager, supervision of research assistant, supervision of office administration and logistical support, and preparation of progress reports to sponsoring agency; data analysis; final presentation of farm economics information; debriefing of sponsoring agency and concerned parties; writing of chapters on farm economics and markets contained in the final report.

Pro bono policy advice has also been given to a variety of governmental and non-governmental organizations, including ActionAid UK, ActionAid Vietnam, Deloitte Touche Tomatsu (UK), Ernst and Young (UK), the European Commission Directorate-General I External Economic Relations, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Government of Fiji Ministries of Trade and Commerce and Finance and Economic Planning, Oxfam Great Britain, PriceWaterhouseCoopers (South Africa), PriceWaterhouseCoopers (Vietnam), the Reserve Bank of Fiji, the Tanzania Police Force, the United Nations Development Programme in Vietnam, the Vietnam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the World Bank’s Operations Evaluation Department.