Consultancy: Inequality Narratives Research

Terms of reference for external consultancy

Background

Oxfam in MENA has kickstarted its work on inequality in the region just over two years ago. Fighting inequality is at the heart of Oxfam in MENA’s ten year strategy. Till date, the region has produced two major reports:

• The gendered impact of IMF policies in MENA (see link)
• For a Decade of Hope not Austerity in MENA: towards a fair and inclusive recovery (see link)

In addition, along with our partners and allies, we advocate for fiscal justice through the work on tax policies in several countries in the region, along with gender justice and equality. On the global level, Oxfam has been advocating for an alternative economic model and contributing around shaping the narrative through its inequality report released yearly during the World Economic Forum meetings in Davos as well as its Even it Up campaign.

With the support of the Ford Foundation, Oxfam in MENA has launched a project entities: “Inequality in MENA: Building a new narrative” to lay the foundation for civil society organizations and groups in the region to change the dominant narrative on socio-economic policies and drivers of inequality in the region. The main outputs of the project are: a regional convening on inequality and an inequality report.

Justification

Oxfam in MENA is looking to commission research tackling the dominating narratives fueling inequalities in the MENA region, particularly dominating narratives around debt, austerity and labour. The research will seek to identify and analyze the dominating narratives in mainstream regional media reporting-economic policies that are fueling inequalities. This work will not take the form of a usual inequality report but will seek to draw its content by examining influential and powerful opinion shapers in the traditional online and offine media, influencers, bloggers, and others. The research will pay particular focus on prevailing narratives in the reporting of recovery policies-based austerity and that would lead to further exacerbating the inequality crisis that was supercharged during the pandemic.

The research will be used to produce messaging and materials, such as social media posts and others to help in shaping public opinion. More importantly, the research and materials it will inform will be tools for civil society organizations and grass root groups to support their work and outreach to the general public, as well as their advocacy efforts against inequality and for a fair and just post COVID-19 recovery in the Middle East and North Africa region

This research in its initial phase (outline and preliminary conclusions) will be presented and discussed during the MENA regional inequality convening that will take place in March 2021. It will present a basis for common cooperation between the participating organizations in their effort to dispel the dominant narratives justifying policies fueling inequalities and assist their quest for building an alternative narrative.

The research will also feed in Oxfam in MENA and Country Offices’ influencing to reduce inequalities and their ongoing efforts advocate for a fair and inclusive recovery through the projects they are undergoing.

Objectives

General objective:

- To identify dominant, harmful narratives that justify policies perpetuating inequalities in a context of pandemic amongst the mainstream development and media actors in order to prepare key messaging on inequality in MENA that presents an alternative narrative.

Specific Research objectives:

- To get key data to document what are the prevalent narratives and imaginaries that key development and media actors (re)produce that justify policies exacerbating inequalities in the region

- To get key inputs to guide public messaging and campaigning on inequality in the framework of the regional platform/dynamic/coalition emerging from the convening with the aim to discredit and change the dominant narratives.

The research will help Oxfam shape it’s messaging and support allies in their advocacy efforts for a fair and inclusive recovery.

Contextual background and draft content

Inequalities structurally built in the MENA region for decades are now being exposed by the COVID-19 outbreak in many ways. The region faces some of the highest inequality rates in the world. It is the only region where the extreme poverty rate has been increasing since 2013. At the same time we witness an elite class continuing to amass vast amounts of wealth. The economic situation of women, engulfed in a patriarchal system where during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis women’s unpaid work is being intensified as well as their time poverty.

Inequality in the world of work manifests itself in the increasing informalization and precariousness of work, which is mainly due to flexibilization of the labor force and work relations both in the private and public sectors as part of cost-cutting strategies. These workers do not benefit from any paid leave, let alone a sick leave. These labor market inequalities are compounded with gender inequality, with women twice more likely to be unemployed, and with their labor market participation rate not exceeding 20%, the lowest in the world.

These inequalities can be traced to many factors, notably existing economic structures and past policies. Historically, rentier and quasi rentier economies allowed for governments to sustain a political model wherein they could offer full employment and universal social protection in exchange for giving up representation or freedom of association. Fiscal policies in particular have played a big role: International Financial Institutions (IFIs), such as the IMF and the World Bank, have promoted regressive tax systems in the region, accompanied by low corporate taxation and exemption of wealth and real estate , all of which have contributed to fueling inequalities in the region. Social protection systems in several MENA countries were also dismantled under IMF-led austerity programs, thus intensifying the vulnerability of the poor. The COVID crisis has provided an additional proof of the failure of these policies leading to a healthcare infrastructure unable to cope with the pandemic. Austerity policies not only increased inequality and poverty but also entrenched elite capture in the economy. Corruption and shrinking civic space have largely made the implementation of these policies possible.

Despite increased poverty and inequality, policies inspired by the IFIs, particularly the IMF, have been portrayed as a success to be replicated. In this current context of pandemic, inequalities will not only deepen but are acting as the main transmission channels of the coronavirus in the region.

The dominating narrative driving those policies resides in several assumptions about socio-economic policies, among them the argument that there is no alternative to austerity due to high ratios of public debt to GDP that do not allow for increased spending on social programs that could reduce inequality. Furthermore, for decades narratives around the need to reduce the role public sector, the inefficiency of public servants, tax policies in favor of the rich, social protection and the dominant discourse around corruption being the only problem standing in the way of the benefits of market based policies.

Narratives are all about power. For good or bad, they help us to make sense of the world around us, they shape what we "know" to be "true". Narratives are often "known" whereas stories are "told". Narratives are the many stories (not always written) which keep ideas about people, issues and agendas in place. Narratives are powerful because they act as shortcuts for our brains, our brains are hardwired for stories and the larger narratives that feed into them. They are powerful because they can activate us to think, feel and act in specific ways, often without us being aware of it. Narratives can be used to activate us in negative and positive ways: us vs them narratives can spread fear and hatred, whilst hopeful narratives can help us to think change is possible and we can be part of it. Narratives are made up of what we say and what we do.

Through this assignment, the research will seek to identify the key dominant narratives that underly harmful policies as disseminated by key actors that shape public opinions. It will interrogate on how inequality and its causes are perceived within public opinion shapers like the media and how it is translated into social imaginaries especially among young urban populations. Furthermore, it will explore the beliefs and perceptions around who is responsible to act to change the situation and the obstacles and hurdles incurred along the process. In addition to what would be the ideal situation to aim for and how to get there.

The research will analyze reporting of major media outlets in the region, as well as major influencers and opinion shapers to see how they approach central inequality issues, such as austerity, debt and taxes among others. This research will showcase the discourse, terminologies and rationale of media and opinion shapers propagating these dominant narratives in the region; deconstructing and debunking them through facts and real-life stories, while presenting the alternative that social movements and CSOs are pushing for. The research would look at the arguments, assumptions and policies pushed by powerful actors such as the International Financial Institutions through examining the media outlets and opinion shapers who act as transmitters and propagators to these arguments and assumptions, especially in light of the inequality crisis during the pandemic that also risks intensifying with business as usual recovery policies.

Deliverables

Core full document including:

• Executive summary
• Background/desk review
• Interview reports/transcripts
• The report
• Key findings
• 2 pager depicting the main narratives, debunking them and presenting the alternatives.
• Brief booklet targeted towards social movements and activists: the X myths about inequality and how to fight them back together

Suggested methodology

The research contents will be developed through:

1. Comprehensive desk review of existing work on narratives around inequality as well as of existing policies and arguments put forward by powerful policy makers such as International Financial Institutions, mainly IMF, World Bank and ERBD with a special focus on policies responding to the pandemic and recovery policies on the global level and in MENA
2. Scan and reviews of major media reports, talk shows, and others since the beginning of the pandemic and the period preceding it, as well as posts by main influencers, bloggers and opinion shapers. The media outlets and influencers will be identified in consultation with the Steering Committee of the project.
3. Interviews with key experts from Oxfam and externally, and with civil society organizations identified in consultation with Oxfam to identify the narratives
4. Interviews with key media professionals and influencers and opinion shapers being examined by the research
5. Focus group discussions with young urban university students/ journalists
6. Survey targeting urban youth
7. Human interest stories (real life stories)
8. Joint analysis of available evidence (through the above) to draft the dominating narratives, dispelling the myth and putting forward the alternative narrative.

Audience

Primary audience:

• Media outlets
• Opinion leaders

Secondary audience:

• General Public
• CSOs and movements campaigning against inequality
• International institutions like WB, IMF, ADB and OECD
• National governments.
• Researchers

Translation

The document will be developed in English and will be translated into Arabic.

Required profile

• Bachelor; Masters and/or Doctorate in economics, public policy, media or relevant related fields
• Knowledge and experience on inequalities and inequality policy related to austerity, tax, labour markets, gender and other
• Fluent in English and Arabic

Call for proposals

Interested candidates should submit:

• Technical proposal
• Budget offer
• CVs and summary of relevant previous experience

All this information should be submitted via one single email to [email protected]  by 25 February 2021 C.O.B.

Indicative calendar

To be confirmed. Final product expected by April 2021

The location is flexible