Terms of Reference
ABA ROLI DIGITAL PRIVACY CURRICULUM CONSULTANT – South Africa

• Organizational Overview

For 30 years and through our work in more than 100 countries, the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) and our partners have sought to strengthen legal institutions, support legal professionals, foster respect for human rights, and advance public understanding of the law and citizen rights. In collaboration with our in-country partners-including government ministries, judges, lawyers, bar associations, court administrators, legislatures and civil society organizations, we design programs that are responsive to local needs and that prioritize sustainable solutions to pressing rule of law challenges.

• Context

The right to privacy is foundational, serving as a “gateway”[1] right undergirding others including expression, association, and access to information, essential pillars of Internet Freedom (IF). Despite its primacy, privacy online continues to face long-standing challenges, particularly as societies and governments continue to grapple with the delicate balance between individual safety and broader public security. Online privacy also faces emerging challenges posed by the rapid development of new technologies that both enable and propel data collection at unprecedented scale. While some jurisdictions have enacted legislation, the degree to which they are enforced varies across jurisdictions and levels of governance. Moreover, legislation centered primarily on data protection is insufficient to address the full spectrum of human rights concerns, as it does not adequately protect against complexities introduced by networked privacy considerations and the interconnected nature of data. Data protection and privacy regulations in many cases also fail to meet the unique needs of local populations in particular jurisdictions or vulnerable communities therein.

• Project Overview

To improve understanding of these challenges, building on our complementary programming in other regions, ABA ROLI and our partners are implementing a project to foster the promotion of digital privacy rights for marginalized populations in East and Southern Africa. The program aims to advance policies and practices, through coordinated advocacy and improved jurisprudence, that safeguard democracy-affirming digital privacy rights by strengthening capacity of legal advocates to engage on digital privacy rights issues.

Through this project, ABA ROLI will augment our existing Right to Privacy trainings – which are currently tailored to jurisdictions in Asia – by developing training modules covering domestic legal frameworks, policies, judicial mechanisms, and issues of salience pertinent to digital privacy rights, with a particular focus on marginalized communities, in each of the five target jurisdictions: Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Ethiopia, and South Africa. The training modules will provide lawyers and law students with a refined understanding of privacy, privacy’s intersection with technology, and the legal mechanisms used to protect privacy in each respective jurisdiction.

• Scope of the Assignment

Working under the oversight of ABA ROLI and with feedback from our partner organizations, the consultant shall develop content suitable for a hybrid training program that consists of an in-person as well as On Demand audience. Training resources should address the following learning objectives:

• Review and present data privacy regulations and practices in South Africa, including a jurisdiction-specific overview of: the right to privacy, surveillance legal landscape, data protection, policies, and sectoral initiatives.
• After the completion of the module, training participants will be able to:
  • Define and understand the data privacy regulations and practices in South Africa.
  • Have a firm grasp of case law and case studies related to strategic litigation in online privacy in COUNTRY.

• Deliverables:

The following are the expected deliverables;

• Prepare an inception report detailing the consultant's understanding of the assignment, methodology and a proposed work plan
• Outline for the South Africa -specific module, including identification of: learning outcomes, and exercises suitable for both in-person and On Demand learning.
• Draft curriculum, including scripts for On Demand content, group and individual exercises and required/recommended readings to be reviewed and approved by ABA ROLI.
• Finalized curriculum including all rights to content granted to ABA ROLI.
• Support ABA ROLI in producing On Demand content (reviewing products, providing feedback, assist in revising based on feedback from others) and ABA facilitators and trainers to utilize resources (participating in consulting training session with facilitators and trainers to answer any questions).
• Where relevant/appropriate conducting training (in-person or On Demand).

• Duration of the Assignment

The assignment is expected to last 10 to 15 working days in November 2024, exclusive of time for ABA ROLI to review and provide feedback.

• Preferred Qualifications and Experience of consulting team

• Subject matter expert on digital rights, digital privacy, and data protection with thorough grasp of human rights and adjacent legislation
• Demonstrated experience in, and understanding of, digital rights in South Africa
• Experience in adult education learning modalities and strategies, and developing virtual and On Demand training content.
• Experience working in Justice Sector programming and training material/curriculum development is a plus.
• Proficiency, if not fluency, in English and one or more regional languages.
• Ability to work on tight deadlines and produce quality work.

• Application Instructions

Interested and qualified experts must submit an application comprised of the following materials:

• Technical proposal (1-2 pages);
• Contact information for at least 3 referrals;
• Timeline/workplan for delivery of the key outputs;
• Estimated budget.

Applications must be submitted by 5pm East Africa Time on Monday October 28, 2024.
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