UNDP Jobs - 53291- International Consultant

International Consultant - Evaluation of International Aid Transparency Initiative

Location :

Home-based

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

16-Feb-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

45 working 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

The International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) is a voluntary, multi-stakeholder initiative that seeks to increase the transparency of development cooperation and increase its effectiveness in tackling poverty. IATI was launched at the Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Accra in 2008, and was designed to support donors in meeting their Accra commitments on transparency and simultaneously serve the information needs of developing countries to enable the planning and management of national budgets based on more accurate and timely information on resource flows. The outcome document for the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (Busan, 2011) included a specific reference to IATI in paragraph 23c, requiring all Busan endorsers to, “implement a common, open standard for electronic publication of timely, comprehensive and forward looking information on resources provided through development cooperation,” by December, 2015.

Today, almost 300 organisations publish development cooperation data to the IATI Standard, including traditional bilateral and multilateral donors as well as national and international NGOs, humanitarian actors, private philanthropic foundations, development finance institutions and private companies. The initiative is governed by a multi-stakeholder Steering Committee (Chair - the Netherlands; Vice Chair – Bangladesh), which comprises representatives from all IATI membership categories and meets twice each year. Technical advice on the Standard is provided by an active technical community, the IATI Technical Advisory Group (TAG), which meets annually.

IATI was initially hosted by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID). In September 2013, following a competitive process to set new hosting arrangements in place for a three year period, the Secretariat role was assumed by a consortium comprised of UNDP (coordinator), UNOPS (financial trustee), the governments of Ghana (partner country outreach) and Sweden (donor outreach), and Development Initiatives, a UK-based NGO (technical lead).

IATI is funded through a combination of membership fees and voluntary contributions. Decisions made by the Steering Committee in relation to governance of the initiative are codified in a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) document.

At its October, 2014 Steering Committee meeting, IATI members agreed on the need for an external evaluation of the initiative in 2015 (noting that such an evaluation has not previously been undertaken) and formed a working group to guide this process and ensure its independence. The evaluation is to be carried out by an independent consultant, addressing progress and impact at both the political and programmatic levels and forming recommendations for the way forward. The scope of this consultant’s work is laid out below.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

The evaluation will review progress against the original aims of IATI as set forth at the Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Accra (2008) for donors to disclose regular, detailed and timely information on development expenditure, in turn enabling governments of developing countries to plan and budget using accurate, forward-looking information as a basis for policy and decision-making.

The evaluation will take into account lessons learned by IATI through the process of establishing an open data standard and, in doing so, will consider the initiative’s impact and associated challenges such as sustainability, local impact in partner countries, relevance, ownership, cost effectiveness and visibility/brand. The evaluation process will be supported by a survey of IATI members, publishers, and other interested parties, to be conducted by the Secretariat and focusing on operational feedback (technical, governance, financial aspects, etc.). The survey is to be carried out in advance of the consultant’s start date and will inform the consultant in his/her work.

The evaluation will take stock of the following areas, highlighting strengths, weaknesses and challenges, making concrete recommendations where appropriate:

What have been IATI’s main accomplishments in increasing the transparency of development cooperation information available to partner countries since 2008? What factors have contributed to successes and what challenges were experienced during this period? What gaps and challenges need to be addressed to meet the Busan Commitments in 2015 and strategically position IATI to advance aid transparency within and beyond the post-2015 landscape?
What progress has IATI made politically within the overall aid architecture, including the implementation of the Busan common open standard and global development processes such as the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation, the UN Development Cooperation Forum and discussions around the post-2015 agenda? What are the most relevant political concerns for IATI in the post-2015 development landscape?
What programmatic elements have been successful in i) promoting the visibility of the initiative and use of data at the partner country level and ii) promoting the use of data portals by donors? How can IATI extend the applicability of the Standard to benefit a broader range of stakeholders in the future? The extent and ways in which publishers have themselves benefitted from the process of implementing the Standard will also be examined.

Specifically within the aforementioned areas, the evaluation is expected to cover the following aspects:

Political:

In answering this question, the consultant is expected to address the following:

The extent to which the original aims of IATI (as outlined in the Accra statement) have been achieved;
Position and standing of IATI within the global aid architecture;
Outreach, visibility and awareness of IATI at global, regional and country levels;
Potential contribution of IATI within and beyond the post-2015 development agenda;
Assessment of IATI as a brand synonymous with aid transparency; and
Gaps and challenges to be addressed in strategically positioning IATI to advance aid transparency within and beyond the post-2015 landscape.

Programmatic:

In answering this question, the consultant is expected to address the following:

Effectiveness of IATI’s current systems and processes in achieving its goals both now and in the future;
Existence of appropriate structures and frameworks in partner countries to support the effective use of data at country level and integration with public financial management systems;
Ease of access to IATI data and its use for other purposes beyond transparency including donor accountability and monitoring of progress in other international monitoring processes (i.e. the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation’s Transparency Indicator);
Extent to which IATI data is useful in the context of both donor and partner country accountability;
Assessment of how and where members and other stakeholders feel that IATI’s approach, technical support and outreach could have greater relevance to their work in the context of the post-2015 international transparency agenda; and
Consideration of possible linkages between IATI and other transparency/open data initiatives to enhance future interoperability;
In addition, the following components (supported by the results of the previously mentioned membership survey) may be taken into account by the consultant in answering the evaluation questions and forming conclusions on political and programmatic aspects.

Technical:

Availability and utility of tools, systems and frameworks to guide and support publishers to the IATI Standard;
IATI community involvement and contribution to upgrade processes;
Interoperability/synergy with other data standard bodies;
Frequency and range of upgrades to the standard; and
Fitness for purpose of tools such as the registry, the datastore, the dashboard and the support arrangements for these tools and their users.

Governance:

Review of efficiency and effective functioning of IATI as a multi-stakeholder network, including relevance and relative powers of main governing bodies (Secretariat, TAG, working/sub-groups); and
Degree to which IATI is inclusive within its membership including the quality of its consultations (accessibility, responsiveness, ability to facilitate knowledge exchange, etc.).

Financial:

Review of the extent to which limitations on funding impacted IATI’s programmatic work in 2014;
Sustainable funding arrangements in comparison to analogous multi-stakeholder initiatives; and
Comparative analysis of funding modalities under different governance structures (i.e. pre-2013 leadership by DFID as compared to the post-2013 consortium-led Secretariat.

Process

The evaluation consultant is expected to apply relevant techniques in accordance with industry best practice and to apply rigor in their work. The consultant is expected to draw on primary and secondary sources of data and apply quantitative and qualitative data collection and analytical methodologies appropriate to answering the evaluation questions (including interviews with current IATI members or publishers as relevant). The consultant shall also seek quantitative and qualitative input through a range of methods, and is expected to apply a sensitive balance between exercising rigor in the conduct of this evaluation whilst at the same time showing respect for resources available for this work. For example, where evaluations are currently being undertaken or recently concluded by members, the consultant is expected to take note and identify areas of overlap or synergy. Full access to historical documentation will provided by the Secretariat including relevant supporting documentation from both members and the Secretariat, including on governance, funding and operational issues; background information, evaluations, IATI progress reports, etc., in order to facilitate this work. The evaluation will be guided overall by the IATI Evaluation Working Group, with day to day support provided by UNDP. The consultant will work closely with the Working Group to deliver the agreed workplan, adhering to clear milestones for deliverables.

As IATI is global in scope, the evaluation is expected to seek the views of all key stakeholder groups, including all publishers, members, and other commentators within the transparency and open data communities. In advance of the consultancy, quantitative data will be gathered through a survey of all member groups, highlighting relevant areas for further exploration, potentially in addition to the questions proposed above. The survey will be conducted by the IATI Secretariat and questions will encompass political, programmatic, governance-related, technical and financial components for assessing end users experience with IATI. The consultant may also wish to conduct further interviews with IATI members and other key stakeholders to collect supplementary qualitative data. However, there will be no travel budget provided for face to face meetings or field visits, although the consultant will be funded to present their findings at the IATI Steering Committee meeting in June, 2015 (location TBC).

Deliverables

The consultant is expected to work initially with IATI Evaluation Working Group members to refine the evaluation proposal and agree upon milestones for providing a near-final draft report electronically no later than 1 June, 2015, allowing a further two week period for editing. The report should not exceed 30 pages, plus annexes, and should include an executive summary (maximum 4-6 pages) detailing main findings.

Outline deliverables are provided below to guide the development of candidates’ proposals, and should include the following items, at minimum:

Final evaluation design, methodology, and workplan;
First draft report;
Edits;
Final draft report including executive summary; and
Presentation of the report during the June IATI Steering Committee, June 2015 (location TBC).
Interview notes/working papers/raw data gathered should be part of the final package and provided to the IATI Secretariat.

Duration

The consultant is expected to start work in mid-February, 2015 and the evaluation shall be completed before the beginning of June, 2015.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Excellent client orientation and interpersonal skills;
Ability to communicate effectively at all levels of the organization and with external stakeholders;
Ability to manage complexity and work in a highly-pressured environment with extreme deadlines, managing many tasks simultaneously;
Exercises the highest level of responsibility and is able to handle confidential and sensitive issues in a responsible and mature manner;
An excellent team player, projecting a positive image and ready to take on a wide range of tasks to create an enabling environment for the supervisor, focusing on results for the client; and
Impeccable analytical skills and able to research, analyze, draft, and present convincingly.

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity and fairness, by modelling the UN/UNDP's values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UN/UNDP; and
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced university degree in international relations, development studies or related areas, including relevant work experience.

Experience:

A minimum of 10 years of experience in the field of international aid and development, including conducting evaluations;
Experience using a wide range of analytical tools and methods for undertaking both quantitative and qualitative research on relevant policy and technical issues;
Awareness of the political sensitivities and relationships in a multi-stakeholder, international initiative;
Extensive experience in governance and organizational/funding issues for multi-stakeholder networks;
Strong awareness of development effectiveness principles from the perspective of a developing country;
Knowledge of key international development processes and policy areas such as the post 2015-agenda, Financing for Development, transparency, data revolution, etc.;
Knowledge of international development architecture, including the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation, OECD/DAC processes, multilateral and bilateral donors, providers of South-South Cooperation and other financial flows;
Experience with international standard-setting bodies;
Awareness of the key issues and actors in international aid effectiveness processes; and
A responsible, innovative, solution-oriented manner with a consultative approach and the ability to work under minimum supervision and tight deadlines.

Language:

Proficiency in written and spoken English, essential;
Good working knowledge of French is an asset.

Application Procedure

Applicants should submit the following documents/information no later than 16 February, 2015:

A detailed proposal for the evaluation, including methodology and timeline together with information on whether the contractor intends to use the services of a sub-contractor;
Curriculum Vitae/P-11 form indicating relevant experience in similar projects and two references in relevant fields; and
Letter expressing interest and clearly identifying how the candidate(s) meets the required skills and experience. If the candidate intends to use the services of a sub-contractor, the detailed CV of that person should also be included.

Selection Criteria

In addition to the proposal, candidates will be evaluated against the following criteria as evident in the submitted CV:

Interview:

All shortlisted candidates will be interviewed (via telephone or Skype) by a panel to be appointed by the Evaluation Working Group, based on the skills and experiences requested in this notice (five questions, worth a total of 70 points). Interview scores will be used in the calculation of an overall score which will also take into consideration also the all-inclusive financial quote, with a 70-30 weighting. The candidate having the highest technical score combined with the lowest financial quote will be offered the consultancy.

Payment:

Payments will be linked to milestones following a schedule to be prepared as part of the contract.