UNDP Jobs - 49706- Consultant on Behavioral Insights and Policy Makin

Consultant on Behavioral Insights and Policy Making

Location :

Home-based consultancy, with a two day mission to Tbilisi, GEORGIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

22-Sep-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Up to 6 consultancy days

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

Recent evidence of public sector innovation, along with particular cases of investments made in innovative solutions illustrates that that the latter is a key driver in the process of development. Despite that, there is a lack of innovation culture and mind-set along with the scarce number of qualified professionals in Georgia.

In the absence of innovation culture, per se, PSDA has successfully managed to introduce innovative services and products during the past few years. The substantial Civil Registration Reform initiative, followed by projects of innovative character significantly raised benchmark of public service delivery and boosted citizen expectations. This has served as a powerful stimulus for PSDA to keep innovating and meeting ever-growing customer expectations. In the light of the increased expectations towards service delivery, keeping up with the possibilities offered by the rapidly developing technologies is a rather challenging task. The agency does not have in place a structured and systematic approach towards innovation, meaning that innovative ideas depend on a handful of individuals. Thus a more disciplined approach, diverse experience and skilled human resources spread across the agency could lead to new ways for government services to be designed and delivered.

Currently PSDA is at the disposal of all public institutions in Georgia, which either have no capacity or find it less feasible to maintain an in-house R&D and innovations management team. In order to effectively serve these organizations and help them attain the best possible outcomes for public and customers, it is essential to take a more structured approach towards innovations management. In support of PSDA institutional capacity building, UNDP Georgia launches 6-month project “Fostering Culture of Innovations towards improved Public Services and Citizen-centered Approach”. The initiative is implemented within the frame of Sida-funded project:” Governance Reform Fund” (GRF).

Duties and Responsibilities

The overall goal of the assignment is to develop the capacity of the Research and Innovations Management Division of PSDA to support the unit in the application of ‘behavioral insights’ in policy design and service delivery, through on-the-job trainings, joint work and mentorship sessions.

The consultant is expected to:

Conduct hands-on, on-the-job training on the application of behavioral insights in policy making for the core team of PSDA. There will be two parts to the training: 1) explaining how behavioral science can be used in public policy, entailing an introduction to key concepts and tools in using behavioral science in design of public policies and 2) explaining how Randomized Control Trials (RCTs) work in public policy with relevant case studies;
Advise on how to structure potential follow up activities, i.e. identifying key intervention points and conducting RCTs on selected policy issues PSDA is working on (promotion of eID card acceptance among Georgian citizens) The main aim of this task is to impart expertise so that PDSA will know how to determine key intervention points and how to run a simple trial in the future; the training should be practice-based, interactive and based on relevant, real-life cases;
Supply background materials and specific case studies to the core team of PSDA;
Provide recommendations as to the desired structure of the PSDA innovations team to enable the unit to develop and trial innovative policy, supporting a range of public bodies in their policy domains. These recommendations should come from the experience in designing/implementing the RCTs to address the policy issue, mindful of the existing structure and operations of the PSDA team and include suggestions on the way forward in terms of keeping the PSDA team’s skills current and up to date on the latest trends in the field.

Deliverables:

Mission report containing information on accomplishments and scope of work as well as respective recommendations, including:

Overview of the hands-on training and mentorship sessions on the application of behavioral insights in policy making for the core team of PSDA;
Observations as to the potential of PSDA to further develop innovations capacities and turn new solutions into service lines to be provided to other stakeholders (mainly line Ministries);
Provide recommendations as to the desired structure of PSDA innovations team to enable the unit to continue innovations management work in the future and serve other public entities striving to introduce innovations in their policy domains.

Implementation Arrangements:

Management arrangements

Research and Innovations Management Division of PSDA and related staff involved in the project implementation will be responsible for assisting the Behavioral Insights and Policy Making Consultant in acquiring required documentation, data and evidence, provision of proper work conditions. UNDP PCU will be responsible for arrangement of logistical issues.

Timeframe of the Evaluation Process

The entire assignment will be undertaken within 6 working days of which 2 working days are expected to be spent in the field and remaining 4 working days - for preparation and reporting.

Evaluation:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on cumulative analysis method:

Offerors will be evaluated against combination of technical and financial criteria. Maximum obtainable score is 100, out of which the total score for technical criteria equals to 70 and for financial criteria – to 30.

Offerors that do not meet Minimum Qualification Criteria will be automatically rejected, while the rest will form up the long list. The offerors who obtain minimum 35 points as a result of the desk review will be invited for the interview.

Offerors who pass 70% threshold, i.e. obtain minimum 14 points, as a result of the interview, will be requested to submit financial proposal.

Financial Proposal:

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount.

Maximum 30 points will be assigned to the lowest price offer. All other price offers will be scored using the formula (inverse proportion): Financial score X = 30* the lowest price offer/suggested price offer. All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal as well.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

Demonstrated commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;
Sensitivity and adaptability to cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age;
Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.

Functional Competencies:

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills;
Ability to adjust training programs to the existing needs and specific requirements of the trainees;
Strong interpersonal skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s Degree in Social Sciences, preferably in Public Management, Public Policy Analysis, Innovations Management or any related area (minimum qualification requirement: 10 points);

Experience:

Minimum of three (3) years of relevant professional experience in trainings facilitation, mentoring, coaching and providing constructive feedback (minimum qualification requirement: 3 years – 20 points; more than 3 years – 25 points);
Strong expertise and extensive practical experience in the area of Innovations Management, with a special emphasis on tools pertaining to innovations in public policy design adopted by leading Government innovation units (e.g. behavioral insights and policy making) (15 points);
Work experience with people of different cultural backgrounds;
General awareness of development context of Georgia, particularly public sector reforms and innovative public services developed to date.

Language Requirements:

Excellent command of written and spoken English.