Result of Service

The consultancy will also include the following activities, undertaken in coordination with the national consultant(s):

Institutional and capacity assessments in what relates to Science, Technology, and Innovation in the country.
Participate in stakeholder engagements/workshops facilitated by the national consultant.
Oversee, in close consultation with the national consultant(s), and provide quality assurance to participatory assessment processes to collect qualitative and quantitative data, including surveys, focus group meetings and interviews.
Parsing and synthesizing large amounts of information into analytical insights
Carrying out high-quality research and producing knowledge products.
Developing policy and action-oriented recommendations in science, technology, and innovation.
Project planning and reporting arrangements, including working in professional teams

Work Location

Remote

Expected duration

12 months

Duties and Responsibilities

Science, technology, and innovation (STI) are key instruments for the socio-economic transformation of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and their sustainable development. For the purposes of this study, technology refers to hardware, technical know-how, technical skills, and software applied to solve development-related challenges. LDCs suffer from deficits in their Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) capacities, absorptive as well as adaptive capacities, and lag substantially behind both emerging and advanced economies. The importance of STI is recognized both in the Doha Programme of Action for the LDCs for the Decade 2022-2031 (DPoA) as well as the Decade of Action for the SDGs. The DPoA highlights the importance of using STI to address multiple vulnerabilities and achieve the SDGs, making this a central priority for sustainable and lasting graduation of LDCs. It calls for renewed and stronger partnerships between LDCs and their development partners, including governments, the private sector, and civil society. The DPoA also recognizes the UN Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries as a focal point for LDCs in the area of STI. Since 2019, the UN Technology Bank has been conducting Technology Needs Assessments (TNAs) in LDCs. The primary purpose of the TNA is to identify the technologies and technical know-how that the LDCs need to address key development challenges and, in the long term, assist them to develop the technological and innovative capabilities required to achieve growth, promote structural transformation, and attain the SDGs. It is in this context that the UN Technology Bank has been requested by the Government of Zambia to undertake a Technology Needs Assessment. The TNA is implemented in close partnership with the Ministry of Technology and Science (MoTS) as the national focal institution and under the guidance of an inter-sectoral TNA Steering Committee. Zambia has been classified as a Least Developed Country (LDC) since 1991 and is working towards graduation from the category, supported by efforts to strengthen productive capacities, diversify the economy, and enhance human capital. Zambia’s long-term development vision, Vision 2030, aims to transform the country from a predominantly agrarian economy into a prosperous middle-income country driven by knowledge, innovation, and value addition. Science, technology, and innovation (STI) play a central role in this transformation, and addressing remaining gaps in innovation capabilities, technology adoption, and knowledge-intensive production through the targeted and strategic use of STI will be critical to sustaining Zambia’s development gains and advancing its ambition of inclusive, resilient, and innovation-led growth. The Government of Zambia, through the Ministry of Technology and Science, leads the TNA as a nationally owned and stakeholder-validated process. The timing is opportune: the preparation of the Ninth National Development Plan (9NDP) offers a chance to anchor the TNA’s findings and recommendations in national planning, budgeting, and implementation. Purpose and Scope of Assignment In general, the challenges facing the LDCs are numerous, and they cut across sectors and income levels. Thus, in principle, LDCs need all sorts of technologies (both hard and soft) to tackle immediate challenges and accelerate the development process. However, access to the diverse range of technologies they need is neither easy not feasible - partly because of the high cost acquiring technologies and partly because LDCs have low-level of absorptive capacities, which limit their ability to absorb, learn, assimilate, and upgrade the acquired technologies. This makes the TNA a useful tool for pinpointing specific areas where appropriate and relevant technological solutions can be used to help LDCs overcome some of the obstacles to development. The assessment intends to provide critical insights about the functioning of the national innovation system, present an overview of the existing gaps and challenges in accessing, utilizing and developing technologies, and understand how the national policy framework in the areas of STI impacts national sustainable development. The TNA will rely on a wide conceptualization of technology and look at technology as the systematic knowledge and skills used in the process of production or service delivery. This knowledge can be embodied in products or processes. The consultancy will help Zambia achieve its medium- and long-term development goals by prioritizing technologies and technical know-how that advance structural transformation, productivity, and sustainable development. The consultant will: (a) identify sectors, activities, social concerns, and environmental challenges where technology can boost value addition, competitiveness, and inclusive growth; (b) determine the technologies and know-how needed to meet development objectives in these priority areas; and (c) identify ways to mobilize public and private investment in technology-driven development. The assessment will be conducted in close coordination with national consultant(s), who will lead stakeholder consultations. Under the supervision of the UN Technology Bank, the international consultant will work closely with a national consultant(s) to undertake the following tasks:

Analyze Zambia’s national development context and Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) ecosystem, including the functioning of the National Innovation System (NIS), policy and institutional frameworks, innovation and R&D capacities, skills base, technology absorption capacity, and ongoing STI initiatives, including indigenous technologies, with due consideration to existing national frameworks such as Zambia’s Vision 2030, the Eighth National Development Plan (8NDP, 2022–2026), the Ninth National Development Plan (9NDP) currently under preparation, and the Transformative Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy and Implementation Plan (2025).
Lead inclusive stakeholder engagement across government, academia, business, research institutions, and other relevant actors to identify high-potential sectors, subsectors, and economic activities within Zambia’s national development priorities. Assess their development trends, technology needs, and FDI implications. Use a transparent, evidence-based methodology combining development and STI indicators, qualitative analysis, and stakeholder consultations. Agree on the methodology and selection criteria with the TNA Steering Committee for validation; the Committee will then select two to three priority sectors.
Identify and prioritize technologies using transparent weighted scoring, with criteria and weights agreed by the Technology Experts Group and validated by the TNA Steering Committee. Assess alignment with Zambia’s development goals, the SDGs, structural transformation and sustainable LDC graduation, alongside barriers to technology acquisition, deployment, diffusion and scale-up. Evaluate feasibility, including potential institutional or market adopters and a credible deployment pathway; high scores alone are insufficient without these conditions.
Assess country readiness to adopt prioritized technologies, including policy, regulatory, financing, institutional, capacity, and skills factors. Evaluate their suitability for public and private investment by reviewing existing investment flows, potential private-sector engagement, and public-private partnerships that could drive adoption and innovation.
Integrate cross-cutting considerations throughout the analysis, including trade and export diversification, import substitution, gender equality and inclusion, environmental sustainability, and regional and South–South cooperation opportunities.
Develop actionable and investment-oriented recommendations to strengthen STI capabilities, address identified barriers, enhance capacity-building and skills development, and support sustainable technology transfer, adoption, and diffusion.
Identify concrete, bankable opportunities for investment in STI areas, including technology adoption for value chain upgrading and related capacity development, that can engage the private sector, investment promotion agencies, and development partners, fostering an implementation-focused approach for technology adoption and innovation-led growth.
Coordinate with the UN Technology Bank, MoTS as the national focal institution, the TNA Steering Committee, its Technical Working Group, and national consultants to agree on methodology, analyze findings, draft and revise chapters, incorporate feedback, and finalize a high-quality report consistent with UN Technology Bank guidance. The Working Group will coordinate and review technical work; additional experts may participate only with MoTS and Steering Committee approval.

Qualifications/special skills

An advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in Economics, International Development and Trade, Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, Innovation Studies or related areas is required. A first-level university degree in similar fields in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. - At least ten (10) years of working experience in research, international development, trade, science, technology and innovation, or related area is required. - Extensive knowledge of the innovation systems, technological learning and absorption processes and the policy and regulatory environment required for capacity building in STI is required. - Experience in qualitative and quantitative research methods, data collection, and data analysis, including gender disaggregated data analysis, techniques is required. - Strong analytical writing, communication and stakeholder-engagement skills are required. - Research and publications on international development related matters are required. - Good understanding of the development challenges facing developing countries, especially Least Developed Countries (LDCs), is desirable. - Practical experience of foreign direct investment gained through working with an investment promotion agency, industrial park, special economic zone or similar organization or experience working on foreign investment projects is desirable. - Familiarity with Zambia or the Southern African region, and prior experience with Technology Needs Assessments or comparable country-level STI assessments, is desirable.

Languages

Fluency in oral and written English is required.

Additional Information

The international consultant will report directly to the UN Technology Bank and work in close collaboration with the national consultant(s) and the Ministry of Technology and Science.

All reports and supporting matrices to be submitted to the UN Technology Bank in electronic form in English.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.

INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANT TO CONDUCT THE TECHNOLOGY NEEDS ASSESSMENT (TNA) IN ZAMBIA