Building the Capacity of the Somali Office of Diaspora Affairs to Strengthen Linkages with the Somali Diaspora and Support Development in Somalia

Capacity building, including through the diaspora, is one of the main priorities of the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and has been highlighted in the Somali Compact and other strategic planning documents of the FGS. To ensure better utilization of diaspora resources and improve coordination among actors involved in capacity building, the FGS recently created the Office of Diaspora Affairs (ODA) under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Investment Promotion, which is tasked with establishing stronger links with the Somali diaspora and coordinating diaspora programming. However, the FGS has limited funding and expertise to support the ODA in becoming an effective and efficient institution able to take steps in promoting diaspora engagement in Somalia. To build the capacity of the ODA in fulfilling its mandate of facilitating the outreach and the engagement of the diaspora as well as coordinating diaspora activities, IOM plans to support the institution with funding from the IOM Development Fund in the construction of an office space, the procurement of necessary equipment, and the recruitment of essential temporary staff/consultants to help build the capacity of the institution. Further, IOM will provide training and deliver training of trainers (ToT) for ODA staff to enable them to sustainably increase their capacity. These experts will also be expected to develop guidelines, policies, an outreach strategy and ODA resource mobilization plan.