GOVERNMENT FELLOWS (Consultant contract - CTC) – 8 positions per year - ROSTER

About United Nations University

The United Nations University (UNU) is an international community of scholars engaged in policy-oriented research, capacity development and dissemination of knowledge in furthering the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. The mission of UNU is to contribute, through research and capacity building, to efforts to resolve the pressing global problems that are the concern of the United Nations and its Member States. For the past four decades, UNU has been a go-to think tank for impartial research on human survival, conflict prevention, sustainable development, and welfare. With more than 400 researchers in 12 countries, UNU's work spans the 17 Sustainable Development Goals' full breadth, generating policy-relevant knowledge to effect positive global change. UNU maintains more than 200 collaborations with UN agencies and leading universities and research institutions across the globe. For more information, please visit http://unu.edu.

About United Nations University Operating Unit on Policy-Driven Electronic Governance (UNU-EGOV)

The United Nations University Operating Unit on Policy-Driven Electronic Governance (UNU-EGOV), based in the city of Guimarães, north of Portugal, is one of 14 research and training Institutes and Units that comprise the UNU system. The mission of UNU-EGOV is to support the Member States of the United Nations in transforming the mechanisms of governance and building effective governance capabilities through strategic applications of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to contribute to sustainable development, social inclusion and active citizenship. As a think tank and research unit, UNU-EGOV combines both classical research and consultancy projects.

In fulfilment of its purpose UNU-EGOV:

• carries out policy-relevant research;
• translates research findings into relevant policy instruments;
• builds capacity in localizing and applying such instruments within and among governments clients and partners within the UN system, academic and other relevant organizations;
• builds and maintains research and policy networks to share the lessons learnt, foster mutual learning, and bridge research and policy worlds; and
• monitors, evaluates and disseminates the latest developments in the area. For more information, please visit http://egov.unu.edu.

The UNU-EGOV Core Research Programme 2020-2024 is dedicated to the theme of “Governance and digital transformation for inclusive, resilient and sustainable societies”. It aims to consolidate and exploit the existing knowledge as well as to explore new learning to reach inclusion, development, sustainability and security worldwide.

Furthermore, it investigates the current and new digital governance challenges for a resilient society.

Research topics approached in the Core Research Programme include:

• Governance models and strategies for digital transformation of the public sector and society at large; 
• Smart and sustainable cities and communities;
• Standards and regulatory issues related to interoperability, usability, data and privacy protection;
• Technology-enabled innovation including models, capacities and specific emerging concepts and technologies; 
• Big data and AI including data capture, maintenance and data exchange;
• Technological service delivery, administrative burden reduction and anti-corruption, etc.

For more information, please visit http://egov.unu.edu.

Responsibilities

UNU-EGOV is recruiting eight (8) Government Fellows for a period of three months to contribute to its research, projects and activities. Two (2) Government Fellows will be recruited for every period starting on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July, and 1 October each year. The cut-off date and the selection will be made on 15 October each year. For example, for candidates that want to be fellows next year (2024), the application deadline is 15 October 2023.

Successful candidates will join international and multi-disciplinary project teams supervised by UNU-EGOV research staff.

The responsibilities will include:

• Developing real-life case studies, supported by experience of the applicant’s own organization and research developed at UNU-EGOV;

• Translating research results into relevant policy instruments;

• Applying and validating the instruments in the own organization/country;

• Developing and reviewing project deliverables;

• Disseminating project results in the own organization/country; and

• Contributing to further development of UNU-EGOV.

The candidate's research interests should be aligned with at least one of the research areas of the UNU-EGOV core research program.

Key Performance Indicators

• Quality of work produced.
• Level of engagement achieved between UNU-EGOV and their respective institutions.
• Timely and quality support on project development.

Competencies 

Values:

Inclusion — take action to create an environment of dignity and respect for all, regardless of age, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, gender expression, geography, grade, language, nationality, racial identity, religion, sex, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, social origin or any other aspect of identity

Integrity — act ethically, demonstrating the standards of conduct of the United Nations and taking prompt action in case of witnessing unprofessional or unethical behaviour, or any other breach of UN standards

Humility — demonstrate self-awareness and willingness to learn from others

Humanity — act according to the purposes of the United Nations: peace, dignity and equality on a healthy planet

Behaviours:

Connect and collaborate — build positive relationships with others to advance the work of the United Nations and work coherently as One UN

Analyse and plan — seek out and use data from a wide range of sources to understand problems, inform decision-making, propose evidence-based solutions and plan action

Deliver results with positive impact — hold oneself and others accountable for delivering results and making a positive difference to the people and causes that the United Nations serves

Learn and develop — pursue own learning and development and contribute to the learning and development of others

Adapt and innovate — demonstrate flexibility, agility and the ability to think and act in novel ways