the Development of National Digital Divide Report (Jordan)

Result of Service

• The report prepared should be in Arabic and in electronic format. • The report submitted should not be less than 30 pages. • A 2 to 4 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 equalling more than 20 per cent of the total number of pages. The consultant shall not publish or announce or reveal the content of the report, partly or entirely, on social media or any other public channel, without ESCWA and MoDEE permission. The content of the generated document shall be the sole property of ESCWA.

Work Location

Remote

Expected duration

16 weeks

Duties and Responsibilities

I. GENERAL SCOPE The digital divide is a core development issue because it determines who can participate in the digital economy, access public services, benefit from online education and health, and compete for future jobs. According to ITU’s Facts and Figures 2025 , almost three quarters of the world’s population are now online, yet 2.2 billion people remain offline; and although the Arab States reached about 70 per cent Internet use in 2025, important divides persist in quality, affordability, skills, and use. The OECD’s work on digital divides also shows that the gap is not limited to infrastructure, but extends to income, age, education, geography and the ability to use digital tools effectively. For policy purposes, among the top related indicators the following could be used: individual Internet use, household Internet access, mobile- and fixed-broadband availability and subscriptions, affordability of entry-level broadband, device ownership, digital skills, urban-rural and gender gaps, accessibility for persons with disabilities, and the quality of online public services measured through indices such as the UN E-Government Development Index (EGDI) and related service indicators. At the UN level, reducing the digital gap is now an explicit multilateral priority. The Global Digital Compact commits Member States to advance universal, meaningful and affordable connectivity, while ITU operationalizes this agenda through its evidence base and the broader push for universal and meaningful connectivity. In the Arab region, ESCWA has played a particularly practical role through the development of specific templates and platforms for Arab decision makers to develop national policies, such as AI strategies, e-Accessibility policies. ESCWA also provides a complementary governance tool through the GEMS Maturity Index , which measures the maturity, uptake and inclusion dimensions of digital government services in Arab countries. For Jordan, a strong digital divide analysis would be expected to generate significant socio-economic gains because it would move the country from broad connectivity towards equitable and meaningful digital inclusion. In practice, such a report would help expand access for rural communities, low-income households, women, older persons and persons with disabilities; improve digital skills; raise trust and uptake in online public services; and strengthen the ability of MSMEs, schools, health providers and local administrations to use digital tools productively. This will be aligned with the national digital inclusion policy, jointly developed between the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship (MoDEE) and ESCWA and officially adopted in 2025. Recently, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship (MoDEE) in Jordan requested UN-ESCWA’s assistance in developing the national digital divide report, while aligning it with Jordan’s national AI Strategy 2023–2027 the country’s Digital Transformation Strategy 2026–2028, and national digital Inclusion policy. The main focus of this report would be (1) access, (2) use, (3) digital skills, (4) user experience, and (50 cost. The provision of this advisory service is the subject of these terms of reference. III. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES The consultant shall propose to the designated ESCWA focal point a detailed version of the national digital divide report. To produce the draft doc, the consultant is requested to conduct, among others, the main following tasks: 1. Review current or ongoing policies, strategies, initiatives, legislation and international reports related to ICT, AI, e-Inclusion and related topics in Jordan; 2. Review international and regional best practices in developing digital divide analysis and reports; 3. Review relevant previous national and international studies and reports, focusing on analysing international indicators and standards and using them as a benchmark. 4. Analyse available data from national sources (such as government entities, telecoms companies, and the Department of Statistics), assessing data availability and identifying existing gaps. 5. Identify data gaps and related needs and determine collection mechanisms. 6. Identify main national stakeholders, hold, in coordination with MoDEE team, interviews and meetings with the main national stakeholders and realising minutes of each meeting/interview summarizing the discussed points, their remarks, observations and proposals; 7. Draft the report based on national needs, gap analysis and international/ regional best practices, and obtained SWOT analysis; 8. Present and discuss, under the guidance of ESCWA and MoDEE teams, the draft report with national entities in an enlarged meeting or workshop; 9. Update and enrich the suggested draft report based on the comments received during the workshop/meeting and from ESCWA and MoDEE teams. In addition, the consultant would also ensure the following activities: (1) Contribute to national 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 and MoDEE teams. 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.

Qualifications/special skills

An advanced university degree in ICT, technology, engineering, computer science or a 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. – At least 5 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

Fluency in written and spoken English and Arabic is required. 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 written and spoken English and Arabic is required. . 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. Standardized

Additional Information

Not available.

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.