NOTICE OF CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

CONSULTANCY SERVICES for IOM MUSLIM ALMS RESEARCH INITIATIVE

Maximum budget: USD 20,000

Performance period: Six months

Nature of the Consultancy:

Established in 1951, IOM is the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration and works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. With 173-member states, a further 8 states holding observer status and offices in over 100 countries, IOM is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It does so by providing services and advice to governments and migrants. IOM is part of the UN system as a related organization.

In 2015, the IOM Council adopted the first Private Sector Partnerships strategy. One area of private sector engagement is individual giving. Within this area IOM wishes to explore Muslim Almsgiving which can be in the forms of zakat, sadaqah, etc. to be able to help eligible persons in need. The overarching goal of this research initiative is to provide a roadmap for how IOM can prevail as a player in the role of collecting and distributing Muslim alms. As Muslim alms collection and distribution is a process strictly regulated by Islamic law, it is important for IOM to establish a system which is in full alignment with Islamic regulations and demonstrate the Organization’s legitimacy in fulfilling this role. Furthermore, IOM needs to identify the most appropriate institutional mechanisms with which to carry out the collection and distribution of Muslim alms. Toward these ends, this research initiative will establish an institutional framework for Muslim almsgiving supported by the leading expertise on Islam as well as leading religious authorities. This initiative will utilize a two-pronged approach:

The first step is a Research Report concerning the collection and distribution of zakat, sadaqah, etc. The research will draw upon Islamic scholarly and scriptural sources and interviews with leading religious authorities, Islamic finance institutions, legal experts, UN agencies and others as needed. The resulting report may determine IOM’s legitimacy to act as an intermediary agent in the collection and distribution of Muslim alms, identify the necessary conditions for IOM to fulfill this role and provide recommendations for how the organization may move forward.

The second step is the establishment of a set of Draft Guidelines providing specific institutional mechanisms through which IOM can implement Muslim almsgiving into its operations. The Draft Guidelines will draw upon the recommendations of the first report and situate them within IOM’s organizational structure. The Draft Guidelines will then be presented to the administration for review and endorsement.

Main Deliverables:

• Deliverable 1: Research Report

• Deliverable 2: Draft Guidelines

The Research Report will be written by the Service Provider in coordination with the Donor Relations Division (DRD) of IOM under the overall supervision and guidance of IOM Muslim Alms Taskforce and will contain the following content, without precedent to be adjusted:

Section 1 – Introduction

• Introduction: research context and goals

• Methodology

• Description of sources used

• Outline of the Report

Section 2 – Literature Review

• Scriptural analysis (Quran, Hadiths, and others as needed)

• Review of Islamic scholarly opinion and analysis

• Review of collection and distribution mechanisms used by other UN agencies and other national, international and religious organizations

Section 3 – Interviews

• Interviews with leading religious authorities, legal experts, Islamic finance institutions, UN agencies and others as needed

• Analysis of results of interviews

• Fatwas

Section 4 – Policy Implications and Recommendations

• Policy implications and recommendations for IOM

Section 5- Conclusion

The Draft Guidelines will be written by the Service Provider in coordination with the DRD under the overall supervision and guidance of IOM Muslim Alms Taskforce, and will contain the following:

Section 1 – Introduction

• Purpose

• Rationale

Section 2 – Guidelines

• Framework for action

• Actors – delegation of a hierarchy, roles and responsibilities for respective departments/divisions and staff members of IOM

• Communications

• Lines of communication between actors – correspondence, phone calls, email & internet, visits and other

• Access to data rules – specifying who/which departments/divisions may access which data

• Eligibility – criteria for beneficiaries of Muslim almsgiving

• Procedures – step by step procedures for the purposes of the collection and distribution of Muslim Alms

• Collection

• Distribution

• Monitoring and evaluation

Section 3 – Conclusion

Implementing Partners and Roles:

• Service Provider – design of the Study, literature review, interview design, interviews, analysis of research results, writing of the Research Report, writing of the Draft Guidelines;

• IOM Muslim Alms Taskforce – provide overall oversight and guidance to DRD and the Service Provider; validate the Research and Guidelines;

• IOM Donor Relations Division – directly supervise the Study, collaborate and provide expertise to the Service Provider as needed, facilitate outreach to those selected to be interviewed, review the Research Report and make inputs, review Draft Guidelines and make inputs;

• IOM Regional and Country Offices – provide expertise and facilitate outreach to those selected to be interviewed.

Required Qualifications and Experience:

· Master’s degree in Islamic Banking and Finance, Islamic Law, Islamic Theology or a related field from an accredited academic institution with five years of relevant professional experience.

· University degree in the above fields with seven years of relevant professional experience.

Languages:

IOM’s official languages are English, French and Spanish.

For this assignment, fluency in English and Arabic is required (oral and written).