Terms of Reference - Consultancy for the development of the ECOWAS Policy for Gender Mainstreaming in Energy Access

The ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), in a bid to develop a regional policy for Gender Mainstreaming in Energy Access, is calling for proposals from a team of experts with a proven track record of engaging in strategic planning activities in Gender and Energy and consulting experiences in the public and private sectors.

The team will have as their main objective to develop a regional ECOWAS Policy for Gender Mainstreaming in Energy Access and an implementation strategy that will support the regional energy efficiency and renewable energy policies, as well as the SE4ALL initiative in achieving their goals of universal access to modern energy services.

Specifically, the experts shall:

1. Review and analyse the current state of affairs vis-à-vis gender mainstreaming in energy access in the ECOWAS Region. This should result in a good overview of the main barriers and gaps to gender mainstreaming in energy access, of the gaps in gender and energy expertise within the implementing institutions, and of the opportunities available.
2. Develop a policy on gender mainstreaming and energy access for the ECOWAS region, which will include measures to overcome the barriers and gaps that have been identified in the Situation Analysis phase of the assignment. The policy will be concise, have clear objectives and strategic areas of intervention, which will be used as an overall framework and will be implemented by the ECOWAS Department of Social Affairs and Gender, with support from ECREEE.
3. Develop an implementation plan that will put the policy on gender mainstreaming and energy access into practice. The implementation plan will include the main activities under the policy’s strategic areas of intervention, the implementing actors, the time schedule, key indicators against which progress can be measured, and a budget.
4. Facilitate in the validation of the Policy and Implementation Plan by the ECOWAS energy experts and their adoption by the Energy Ministers.

The goal of the ECOWAS Policy for Gender Mainstreaming in Energy Access is to address existing barriers that may hinder the equal participation of women and men in expanding energy access in West Africa and, by the extension, the success of the SE4ALL initiative and the ECOWAS Regional Policies on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency.