Provision for Assessment of Evolving Governance Modalities of Service Provision amid the crisis in Sudan

Tender Description: Provision for Assessment of Evolving Governance Modalities of Service Provision amid the crisis in Sudan

The ongoing conflict in Sudan has disrupted economic activity nationwide. The conflict has reduced household and business access to inputs and resulted in a significant deterioration of economic activities and livelihood. Moreover, Sudan has been suffering from a high level of unemployment (Labor census of 2022), particularly for women and youth, which is expected to have been aggravated.  Compared to sectoral employment in 2021 half of workers are expected to lose their jobs- i.e., about 5.2 million, at the national level (IFPRI, 2023)- mainly in the service, industry, and agriculture sectors. 
There is an acute deterioration of the center of government (CoG) functions with massive negative implications for service delivery. According to the Sudan’s Constitution, local governments are mandated with service delivery. However, the States in Sudan have been highly financially dependent on the center. States receive 30 percent of national revenues as a nonconditional grant to pay for salaries and operations. Currently, MoF has stopped transferring resources to the States due to the collapse in tax collections amid the war (UNICEF - Impact of Sudan Armed Conflict on the Fiscal Situation and Service Delivery ). Moreover, the capital expenditure, which was also centrally undertaken, is also put on halt for the time being. Thus, the failure of the budgeting system at the center is having a major negative impact on service delivery at the local level. The situation is aggravated by internal displacements of four million people from the three most violent States (IOM-UN Migration, Displacement Tracking Matrix-Sudan DTM, August 2023) to the remaining 15 semi or non-violent States.
The federal system in Sudan has faced challenges in turning States into resilient local societies (LS). Despite having many untapped potentials, such as the existing decentralized structures with the capacity to set policies and generate resources, group social cohesion, and vibrant youth and women groups. Yet, the centralization of major resources and the mismatch between sub-national resources and responsibilities have weakened local institutions and hindered the development of local social contracts. Furthermore, severe poverty has led to a focus on meeting basic needs when allocating resources. While donors’ interventions apply a consultative framework in the design and execution of operations, this was never leveraged beyond the sectoral-local community's (group/village/towns) narrow context to a mainstreamed approach for the local society development agenda for the States, which is critical for sustainable development.
The inground work of UN agencies flags a positive message about local public administration taking adaptive measures to build resilience. Field observations reveal that the public administration of safer states has basically taken some adaptive measures related to local revenue mobilization and prioritization of basic expenditures in ensuring the continuation of a minimum level of economic activity and services in light of the deteriorating role of the federal level given the intensified conflict in Khartoum. The safer states have provided alternative hubs for businesses and economic activity, in addition to covering the increasing need for the provision of services not for its population only but for the increased flow of IDPs that flee active conflict states.


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