Result of Service

• The total number of substantive pages of the report prepared should be a minimum of 30 pages, in Arabic.
• A 2 to 3 pages executive summary of the report.

The completed parts should be edited and saved in MS-Word (*.docx file) or an alternate compatible format. Note that PDF format will not be accepted. It should include a table of contents to be automatically updated followed by a list of all tables and figures. The various parts should be submitted in electronic form and sent to the email of the designated focal point.

Attention is kindly drawn to the need to ensure that the final draft of the outputs be thoroughly reviewed prior to submission and to indicate the sources of tables and diagrams. References to reports and other substantive material should be clearly indicated within the text and noted at the end. It is also essential to send, with the completed output, photocopies or scans of at least the first page of books, reports and bulletins, used as reference material as well as copies of the pages quoted. The content of the generated document shall be the sole property of ESCWA. Their contents cannot and must not be presented, discussed or published without the express authorization of ESCWA.

The consultant shall keep in mind that UN-ESCWA routinely checks all deliverables for plagiarism using readily available electronic tools. All previously published content, even if written by the selected consultant, must be clearly referenced where required within the text and end-noted at the end of the study. The report submitted by the consultant must not contain quoted, previously published text equaling more than 20 per cent of the total number of pages.

Work Location

Remotely

Expected duration

15 weeks

Duties and Responsibilities

Background:

Artificial intelligence (AI) has a great role in promoting a comprehensive social and economic development of various sectors and in accelerating the achievement of SDGs. AI could help public agencies to provide better services with reduced costs, in low- and middle-income countries , create new job opportunities in the labour market, and create an appropriate opportunity for innovation and entrepreneurship. By 2030, the expected impact of AI on the economy would range from 5.6% (low-income countries) to 26.1% (China) of GDP .

In the world, many countries have developed their own AI Strategies. In France, for example, a budget of 1.5 B Euros is dedicated to transform France into a global leader in AI research, training, and industry. Four components are mentioned in the strategy (2018). The first component is related to initiatives aiming to strengthen France’s AI ecosystem and attract the international talent. Second, France will develop an open data policy to drive the adoption and application of AI in selected sectors. Third, the government will create a regulatory and financial framework to support the development of domestic “AI champions”. Finally, the government will develop regulations for ethics to ensure that the use and development of AI is transparent, explainable, and non-discriminatory. The plan is expected to cover four sectors (healthcare, transportation, environment, and defence). India has taken a unique approach to its national AI strategy by joining the economic growth, to social inclusion. This approach is called #AIforAll. The plan aims to (1) enhance and empower Indians with the skills to find quality jobs; (2) invest in research and sectors that can maximize economic growth and social impact; and (3) scale Indian-made AI solutions to the rest of the developing world.

Most Arab countries are interested in harnessing new technologies in general, and Artificial Intelligence in particular, to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs). Few Arab countries have developed their AI strategies to spell out the needed objectives, identify the role of main national stakeholders and specify the principal focus areas. In UAE, as an example, the aim of the strategy, launched in 2017, was to use AI to enhance government performance and efficiency. The UAE government will invest in AI technologies in nine sectors: transport, health, space, renewable energy, water, technology, education, environment, and traffic. In doing so, the government aims to cut costs across the government operations, diversify the economy, and position the UAE as a global leader in the application of AI . In Egypt they lunched their National AI strategy in 2019, which is a key priority for helping achieve Egypt’s sustainable development goals, create an AI Industry in Egypt, including the development of skills, technology, ecosystem, infrastructure and governance mechanisms to ensure its sustainability and competitiveness.

The United Nations is involved in enhancing the use of new technologies for sustainable development. In September 2018, the UN Secretary General launched the UN strategy on New Technologies . That included UN commitment to support member states in building capacities and promoting dialogue on normative and cooperation frameworks.
UN-ESCWA, through its technical cooperation program, is committed to provide technical assistance to its member states to boost national efforts towards the achievement of the 2030 Development Agenda.
Recently, the Communications and Media Commission (CMC) in Iraq requested UN-ESCWA’s assistance in developing an Artificial Intelligence Policy in Iraq. This aims to create a fertile environment for technical advances promoting the adoption of AI in public sector and other vital economic sectors further to enhance the social and economic factors across different sectors. Moreover, to improve the quality as well as reduce costs in many different governmental services by utilizing AI. Furthermore, accelerating economic development, fostering the entrepreneurship and innovation, and develop mechanisms and solutions to meet the challenges of the coming era, including cyber-attacks and massive data flow.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The consultant shall propose to the designated UN-ESCWA focal point a detailed version of the paper’s outline.
The proposed draft version should include the following sections:

1. Review the national digital documents and the existing policies in Iraq related to digital transformation, innovation, digital technologies, and other related national development plans.
2. Review best regional and international best practices related to Artificial Intelligence Strategies and policies (at least 3 selected regional and 3 international cases).
3. Review previous reports in addition to Artificial Intelligence international indicators, such as Government AI Readiness Index or any other related AI indices).
4. Identify main stockholders and conduct one-to-one meetings with main national stakeholders and specialized hands-on practitioners identified.
5. Contribute to sectoral workshops to discuss needs and priorities, if needed.
6. Summary of national meetings and workshops conducted with main national stakeholders.
7. Suggest a Policy for AI in Iraq that builds on the gap analysis, national needs and international practices.

In addition, the consultant would also ensure the following activities:
1. Present the draft report in a regional workshop (physically or remotely) and capture the main comments and discussions.
2. Update the draft proposal according to all received feedback and comments during the reviewing process by ESCWA.

ESCWA promotes gender equality and integration of youth through its publications and therefore the consultant should pay attention, with the help of ESCWA staff, to gender considerations and youth dimension throughout the research work to ensure that the report gives equal attention to the needs of both men and women, as well as girls and boys. Writing should use gender-sensitive language.

*World wide web Foundation (2017), Artificial Intelligence in low- and mid-income countries.
*Pwc Digital Service (2018), Sizing the price – Global AI study.
*https://www.aiforhumanity.fr/pdfs/MissionVillani_Synthese_FR.pdf
*https://u.ae/en/about-the-uae/strategies-initiatives-and-awards/federal-governments-strategies-and-plans/uae-strategy-for-artificial-intelligence
*https://www.un.org/en/newtechnologies/images/pdf/SGs-Strategy-on-New-Technologies.pdf

Qualifications/special skills

A master’s degree in ICT, technology, engineering, computer science or any other related field is required. A Ph.D. degree is desired.
All candidates must submit a copy of the required educational degree. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.
A minimum of five years of experience and research in the domain of digital technologies is required.
Previous experience in management and planning is required.
Previous experience in the delivery of research papers is desirable.

Languages

Languages English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat; and Arabic is a working language of ESCWA.

For this position, Fluency in Arabic is required. Fluency in English is desirable.

Note: “Fluency” equals a rating of ‘fluent’ in all four areas (speak, read, write, and understand) and “Knowledge of” equals a rating of ‘confident’ in two of the four areas.

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.