Desk Review for the Social Innovation Lab (SIL) – Blue Economy Sector Terms of Reference (ToR)

Name of the organization: ROWAD Foundation
Sectors of intervention: Blue Economy
Country: Yemen
Period: 10 Days

INTRODUCTION

ROWAD Foundation is a non-profit organization officially registered in 2013. Since its establishment, the foundation has been working towards achieving economic development by supporting entrepreneurial and social innovation activities in Yemen. The aim is to address major challenges such as youth unemployment, food insecurity, limited access to education, and sustainable resource management through entrepreneurship, innovation, and business creation.
ROWAD Foundation seeks to launch Yemen’s Social Innovation Lab (SIL) in the blue economy sector. We are looking for a highly qualified and experienced consultant to conduct a desk review and prepare a challenge statement for the Social Innovation Lab and hackathon focused on the blue economy in Yemen.

The goal of the Social Innovation Lab is to develop and identify innovative solutions to the most pressing challenges facing the blue economy in Yemen, including fisheries, aquaculture, marine conservation, coastal tourism, and sustainable maritime resources. The Social Innovation Labs aim to support socio-economic development by linking Yemeni talent to challenges in key sectors, leveraging innovation, AI-powered insights, and fostering collaboration among relevant stakeholders.

CONSULTANCY OBJECTIVES

The primary goal of this consultancy is to conduct a desk review and work closely with stakeholders to identify and articulate a challenge statement that addresses significant blue economy-related issues in Yemen.

Specific objectives include:

• Conduct desk research on the current state of Yemen’s blue economy, including fisheries, aquaculture, marine biodiversity, coastal tourism, maritime trade, and environmental sustainability.
• Identify and analyze the full value chain of key blue economy sub-sectors (e.g., fisheries, aquaculture, coastal tourism), including inputs, production, processing, distribution, marketing, and enabling environment.
• Analyze research findings to identify the most pressing challenges and opportunities in Yemen’s blue economy.
• Develop a comprehensive challenge statement that highlights key issues and opportunities for innovation in the blue economy.
• Validate the challenge statement with stakeholders such as fisheries associations, marine researchers, NGOs, government authorities, and local communities.
• Provide recommendations on how the challenge statement can inform the design of the Social Innovation Lab and guide the selection of hackathon themes.
• Support content development for knowledge-sharing formats such as infographics, webinars, AI-generated data visualizations, podcasts, and short videos to communicate the challenges and opportunities in Yemen’s blue economy.
• Collaborate with the project team and communications unit to design and launch a call for innovators (entrepreneurs, marine biologists, AI experts, coders, designers, and youth) to participate in the Blue Economy Hackathon.

SCOPE OF WORK

The consultant will undertake the following tasks:

Desk Research

• Conduct a comprehensive literature and desk review on Yemen’s blue economy (fisheries, aquaculture, coastal and marine resources, marine biodiversity, maritime trade, tourism potential, climate impacts, and environmental challenges).
• Review existing assessments, government and NGO reports, international datasets, and policies relevant to Yemen’s blue economy.
• Utilize AI tools for data analysis, trend mapping, and visualization to extract insights and highlight priority areas.
• Prepare a comprehensive desk review report.

Stakeholder Mapping & Engagement

• Map key stakeholders in the blue economy, including fisheries cooperatives, aquaculture farms, NGOs, UN agencies, local authorities, research institutions, and coastal communities.
• Develop data collection tools (surveys, interview guides, digital forms) to validate findings.
• Conduct a validation workshop with stakeholders to refine the challenge statement.

Challenge Statement Development

• Develop a clear, concise, and compelling challenge statement that highlights the most urgent and solvable problems in Yemen’s blue economy.
• Ensure alignment with SIL’s objectives and Yemen’s broader sustainable development priorities.
• Frame challenges in a way that inspires innovation and collaboration.

EXPECTED DELIVERABLES

The consultant is expected to deliver the following (in both Arabic and English):

• Desk Review Report – covering the current state of the blue economy in Yemen, including stakeholder mapping, validation findings, and analysis of key challenges.
• Challenge Statement(s) – clearly articulating the main challenges and opportunities for innovation, supported by relevant data, local case examples, and a stakeholder map.
• Communication Outputs – inputs for infographics, AI-assisted visualizations, podcasts, or webinars to disseminate findings and inspire innovators.

TIMELINE

The consultancy will be conducted over a period of 3 weeks from the date of contract signing.

QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

The ideal consultant should have the following qualifications:

• Advanced degree (Master’s or above) in marine sciences, fisheries, environmental sciences, economics, or related fields.

• At least 5 years of experience in research, policy analysis, or program design in the blue economy, coastal resource management, or sustainable development, preferably in fragile or conflict-affected contexts.
• Demonstrated experience in developing challenge statements or innovation-oriented research outputs.
• Proven knowledge of Yemen’s maritime economy, fisheries, and coastal resource management.
• Familiarity with AI tools for research, analysis, and content development (data visualization, knowledge synthesis, NLP tools).
• Strong analytical and writing skills, with experience producing reports, presentations, and knowledge products in both Arabic and English.
• Excellent facilitation skills, including engaging diverse stakeholders in interactive workshops.
• Strong communication skills and ability to present complex blue economy challenges in simple and actionable formats.

REPORTING

The consultant will report directly to the SIL Manager at ROWAD Foundation.