1.Background

The SDGs Roadmaps Decision Support System Project aims to promote an institutional interface for science with policy planning in support of the 2030 Agenda in the Arab region and explore ways to develop optimal relationships between the National Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) actors to ensure that they work together towards creating a sustained and purposeful STI sector.

This aim will be achieved by implementing ESCWA1 Technology Centre’s new inclusive approach for supporting science-policy nexus in the Arab region; this approach has two main dimensions as follows:

1.  A “Top-Down” approach, in which ESCWA will work with national government agencies to support them in designing their STI multi-modality Roadmaps for SDGs and enhance their capacities to assure evidence-based policymaking and inclusive community engagement in decision making.

2.  A “Bottom-Up” approach, in which ESCWA will empower local communities and

support them with technical knowledge, tools, capacities, and facilities.

The project activities are designed as a step by step process to achieve the desired outputs, which are:

•     Support governments to design STI multi-modality Roadmaps for SDGs

•     Mobilise communities to utilise their capacities for supporting the Roadmaps.

•     Enhance capacities on evidence-based decision making.

The specific process steps are shown in Figure 1 below:

1.2 Objectives

Specifically, ESCWA and its partners would like to design a roadmapping toolbox for policy makers for one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will be either Digitilisation or Green Transformation.

The toolbox is likely to contain the following information and items:

•     General information on the overall purpose of the toolbox and the expected outcome from its application.

•     A ‘User’s guide’ in the form of a PowerPoint slide deck showing the appropriate sequence for using the tools and a simple assessment to indicate what tools to apply in a given context.

•     An example of the application of the toolbox (using anonymised data or examples available to the working group) of either in its most appropriate sequence or its most commonly used sequence.

•     General information on each individual tool including its theoretical background within the toolbox and the expected outcome from its application.

•     Each tool tabulated as a template, chart, schematic or question set.

2:Approach

In order to achieve ESCWA’s objectives as outlined under Section 1, Introduction and objectives, a programme is proposed that comprises three overarching phases, summarised below:

•     Scoping and design

•     Roadmapping toolbox development

•     Small scale testing and refinement

•     Training of local facilitators (optional)

2.1 Scoping and design

This is essentially a planning phase where the roadmapping toolbox objectives and expectations are clarified and agreed, and the overall project programme is developed in greater detail. This would include meetings and discussions with the ESCWA team and external stakeholders when appropriate, initial toolbox designs and customisation to ensure those objectives and expectations are met.

This phase will achieve the following:

•    Confirm, based on input from the ESCWA, the aims, scope and objectives of the roadmapping toolboxes (taking into consideration the users and stakeholder groups). Agree the priority stakeholder groups for the toolbox development.

•    Identify the key areas of knowledge to be included in the roadmapping toolboxes, to inform a preliminary design.

•    Clarify the design and schedule for the overall project programme that will respectively consist of a series of online meetings and associated offline activities.

•    Identify the relevant stakeholders and decide the selection and numbers of participants from each stakeholder group to consult and help with the toolbox.

•    Gain agreement on roles and responsibilities of the consultant and the project team, for the successful delivery of the project programme and other deliverables.

These will be achieved through a combination of regular conference calls and email correspondence between the consultant and the Project team.

2.2 Roadmapping toolbox development

a. Initial design

We anticipate that a working group will be established consisting of a small number of policy makers and ESCWA personnel (3-5 people in total) and the team of the consultancy institution invovled. The working group will be communicating regularly via conference calls and email correspondence as required to agree the following items:

•     the desired outputs from the toolbox

•     the relevant information to be included

•     the appropriate analysis that need to be conducted and

•     the overall practical utility and application of the toolbox (in terms of types of users, time required to apply the toolbox etc.)

If any external input is required at this stage from the wider stakeholder group, it would be the responsibility of the working group (ESCWA and the policy representatives) to collect this input.

The ESCWA roadmapping process is schematically shown below in Figure 2.

After discussions with ESCWA, the consultant has created an initial draft of a potential toolbox that could support all the steps of this process. This is shown in more detail in Table 1 below information about this toolbox regarding the specific tools proposed is presented

Part of the initial design phase would be to agree on the most appropriate tools and customise them to make them ready for use by policymakers. An example of customising a specific tool (a roadmapping landscape) for reducing carbon emissions is shown in Figure 4

below.

b. Initial application of the toolbox with existing data

If possible, existing information/data from the working group will be used to test the different tools and ensure their design is robust and appropriate. We anticipate a limited number of applications (1-2) to take place with existing data to ensure that the initial design of the toolbox meets the overall stakeholder requirements.

2.3 Small scale testing and refinement

It will be important to conduct a small-scale testing of the roadmapping toolbox to allow for further improvements and refinements, before it is deployed in a larger scale in a global pilot program. Research has demonstrated2 that this is an efficient way to validate and improve a toolbox. If this is desirable, we propose to trial the toolbox once with appropriate and different stakeholders to ensure that the toolbox is robust and applicable to most cases.

2.4 Training of local facilitators

If desirable, UNESCO Cairo in collaboration with the consultant can design a training course for local facilitators to train them in the use of individual tools within the toolbox as well as the process for using the toolbox itself. The training course would be delivered in a series of live online modules via an appropriate web-conferencing platform (e.g. Zoom) and online collaborative whiteboard platforms (e.g. Miro). The training course will accommodate up to 10 delegates.

The course will be designed using an extensive range of learning techniques and will accommodate a range of preferred learning styles (activist, theorist, pragmatist and reflector). The training methodologies for the course will include presentations, active facilitation, group discussions and presentations, experiential learning exercises, case studies, personal reflection and peer reviews. To ensure effective online training delivery, our approach is based on the following principles:

•     Collaborative, hands-on approach to the course, where delegates would have an opportunity to learn concepts and principles and test their understandings through practical application and case studies

•     Small parallel groupings of delegates to maximise the quality of discussions, hands- on collaboration and learning

•     Short sessions (splitting longer sessions if necessary), each one no more than 2.0 hours

•     Use of various user-friendly collaboration software and platforms such as ZOOM and

Miro whiteboards.

The sessions could be spaced out over several weeks to accommodate the availability of the delegates and also to give them the opportunity for reflection time.

2.5 Project review

The Consultancy Company would contact ESCWA and its partners to carry out a project review after completion of the project. This would include an assessment (of overall quality of project delivery versus expectations) and a discussion of next steps ESCWA regarding the design and development of the roadmapping toolbox. The review will be conducted typically within three months of project completion (or at a time – agreed with ESCWA – most appropriate given the nature of the project and the application of its outputs). It will be carried out via telephone conversation and/or email correspond.

3. Deliverables

The primary deliverables will be:

•     One roadmapping toolbox relevant for one SDG that can be used by policy makers, containing 5-10 tools

•     General information on the overall purpose of the toolbox and the expected outcome from its application

•     A ‘User guide’ in the form of a PowerPoint slide deck showing the appropriate sequence for using the tools and a simple assessment to indicate what tools to apply in a given context

•     An example of the application of the toolbox (using anonymised data or examples available to the working group) of either in its most appropriate sequence or its most commonly used sequence

•     General information on each individual tool including its theoretical background within the toolbox and the expected outcome from its application

•     Each tool tabulated as a template, chart, schematic or question set

Furthermore, if task and 2.4 is selected the deliverable below will also be provided:

•     Approximately ten hours of interactive roadmapping toolbox and tool training delivered via live online sessions.

In addition, ESCWA will be provided with one complimentary copy of the following:

•     Textbook on roadmapping: Roadmapping for strategy and innovation – aligning technology and markets in a dynamic world, by R Phaal, C Farrukh and D Probert, (2010), Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge, ISBN 978 -1-902546-

82-7.

•     T-Plan guide: Phaal, R., Farrukh, C.J.P. and Probert, D.R. (2001), T-Plan: the fast- start to technology roadmapping – planning your route to success, ISBN 978-1-

902546-09-4, Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge.