Background

Background (programme/project context)

The UN Security Council Resolution 1325 reaffirms the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace processes and peacebuilding, and in post-conflict reconstruction. It stresses the importance of their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security and urges to incorporate gender perspectives in all United Nations peace and security efforts. It also calls on all parties to conflict to take special measures to protect the rights of women and girls during and after violent conflict. The UN General Assembly entrusts UN Women with a leading role in normative, operational and coordination work on gender equality, including peace, security and humanitarian response.

Since independence, the political leadership Kyrgyzstan has been overthrown twice (in 2005 and 2010) and in particular the events of April and June 2010 were violent. Inequalities in accessing justice, resources (natural, financial, political, etc.) and services are often a cause of local as well as national tensions and conflicts. Following the revolution and inter-ethnic violence in 2010 and the range of interventions funded by the Immediate Response Facility (IRF) of the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF), a further allocation of 15 million USD was made to the Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO) to support systemic peacebuilding in Kyrgyzstan and building institutional foundations to prevent recurrence of conflicts in future in accordance with its Peacebuilding Priority Plan (PPP).

The PPP, approved in June 2013, describes the strategic peacebuilding goal to implement a three-year programme with to achieve the jointly agreed three outcome results as follows:

  • Outcome 1 - Critical laws, policies, reforms and recommendations of human rights mechanisms, including UPR, are implemented to uphold the rule of law, improve access to justice and respect, protect and fulfil human rights;
  • Outcome 2 - Local self-government bodies, in partnership with related state institutions, and civil society, bridge divisions and reduce local tensions;
  • Outcome 3 - Policies, pilot initiatives and approaches are developed and implemented that enable the further development of a common civic identity, multilingual education and respect for diversity and minority rights.

10 projects formulated by the recipient UN Agencies were selected to implement the PPP. Among them, as a contribution towards achieving the PPP Outcome 2, UN Women Country Office in Kyrgyzstan has been implementing a peacebuilding project Building a Constituency for Peace which is currently in the final stages of implementation.

Description of the programme/project: Building a Constituency for Peace

Project strategy and expected results

The project Building a Constituency for Peace aims at strengthening the capacity of national and local governance structures as well as civil society (especially women and youth) to actively participate in identifying priorities. The project promotes a peaceful and safe environment for women and young people to realize their human, economic and social rights which will allow the target groups to be able to clearly voice their needs and participate in local decision-making and reduce tensions in their communities.

This is envisaged to be achieved by engaging youth in activities that build life- and livelihood skills, by sensitizing law enforcement and justice sector personnel to human rights in particular of young men and women, and by building understanding between state and religious leaders following the Theory of Change:

If communities engage in joint action towards improving their situation and the livelihoods of their members while being supported by local formal and informal institutions that are convened by local self-government integrating the community and providing for equal access to opportunities, then threats to peace, injustice and stability are met across ethnic, economic, gender and religious divisions. What unites the community has become more important than what differentiates one citizen from another. Youth avail themselves of the option to stay and engage in their community rather than migrate, based on newly acquired skills to effectively use available land resources in the context of enhanced personal security of young women and men, also in conflict prone (border) areas and across conflict divides, this consolidating peace by creating a stake of individuals and communities in the rule of law and increased loyalty to the state that provides for security and an environment where young people can gain value from deploying skills.

The expected outcome of the project is formulated as follows:

Local self-government is convening communities by engaging everyone in joint action towards all citizens enjoying equal access to opportunities. Threats to peace, injustice and stability are met across ethnic, economic, gender and religious divisions by creating a stake of individuals in the rule of law and increased loyalty to the state that provides for security and an environment where young people as agents for positive change can secure livelihoods by deploying their skills.

Under this outcome, the project envisages achieving the following three outputs:

  • Output 1.1: 9th graders of both genders and various ethnicities in the conflict susceptible PRF project area are able to effectively use scarce land resources to build successful livelihoods and understand the benefit of joint action, also across ethnic divides;
  • Output 1.2: 9th, 10th and 11th grade in 30 schools in the conflict susceptible PRF project area knowledgeable about human rights of young women and men, gender equality and how to conduct a conflict analysis taking action to address conflict causes and/or human rights infringements;
  • Output 1.3: Key individuals in each of 23 municipalities are sensitized to human rights of young women and men; aware of the duties of state and municipal servants to protect human rights, justice and peace; able to conduct a conflict analysis of their community deriving from same an action plan for what they are going to do to change the situation towards justice and lasting peace.

To date, evidence gathered by the different project monitoring measures shows, that the participants, especially young women, are more empowered and feel more confident of their ability to secure their own livelihoods and raise issues such as early marriages and limited professional choices to public discussions. More specifically:

  • Output 1.1: 33 secondary schools in the pilot sites are implementing My Prosperous Farm course where over 3,000 9th and 10th grade students are better equipped to make a decent living by cultivating the family land plot and to understand the mechanisms of market economy.
  • Output 1.2: In 30 secondary schools in seven provinces students of the 9th, 10th and 11th grade act as agents of positive change under the My Safe Peaceful School component by advocating for and monitoring the protection of their female peers' human rights by duty bearers. They are knowledgeable about human rights of young women and men, gender equality and how to conduct a conflict analysis and take action to address the causes. In support, KAP research on i) professional choices and ii) marriage choices of girls and boys has been initiated with results available in early June 2016.
  • Output 1.3: 500 key individuals across 23 municipalities – representatives of local self-governments, aiyl kenesh members or law enforcement personnel, community gatekeepers such as religious leaders, aksakal court judges, etc. have been sensitized to human rights of young women and men. They are aware of the duties of state and municipal servants to protect human rights, justice and peace and are able to conduct rights-based conflict analysis and develop action plans of their communities.

Project beneficiaries and stakeholders

The target groups of the project are firstly youth aged 15 to 24 who are to become gender equality advocates at secondary schools, vocational colleges and institutions of higher learning in the project area, and secondly, their teachers, directors and parents. Final beneficiaries are youth in and out of education in the localities under the project, as well as local self-government staff, members of formal and informal local institutions, and the justice sector.

Government counterparts in the project are the Department on Religious and Ethics Issues and Public Relations at Office of the President, the Gender Unit at Ministry of Social Development, and various district administrations and municipalities involved in the project. Responsible/Implementing parties are the Rural Advisory Service Jalalabad (RAS) and the Foundation of Tolerance International (FTI). Other stakeholders include courts of elders, religious leaders, respected individuals and the militia at the community level, and the other executive agencies and responsible parties within the PRF project portfolio.

Budget and geographical scope and timeframe

The project is implemented in 7 provinces, 13 districts and 23 municipalities/towns of the Kyrgyz Republic selected among the districts pre-identified by PRF and based on analysis of the following criteria: conflict susceptibility, border zones, under-served, and being very remote or multi-ethnic. Provinces: Chui, Batken, Jalal-Abad, Naryn, Osh, Talas, Issyk Kul.

Districts: Kadam-Jai, Jety-Oguz, Aksy, Kara-Kulja, Jumgal, Kara-Buura, Leilek, Ala-Buka, Nookat, Aravan, At-Bashy, Ak-Suu, Toguz-Toro;

Municipalities: Haiderkan, Halmion, Uch-Korgon, Yrdek, Otradnoye, Kashka-Suu, Kerben, Alaikuu, Kargalyk, Kyzyl-Jyldyz, Minkush, Chaek, Amanbayeva, Kara-Sai, Kyzil-Adyr, Bakai-Ata, Isfana, Kulundu, Sulukta, Ak-Korgon, Ak-Tam, Kara-Tash, Check-Abad.

Total project budget is 1,653,130 USD comprising of 1,602,130 USD funding from The Peacebuilding and Recovery Facility within the United Nations Peace Building Fund and UN Women contribution of 51,000 USD for the period of 33 months (16.12.2013-30.9.2016).

Project management

The project is managed by UN Women who as the executive agency bares the responsibility for the overall project outcome. The responsible/implementing parties are jointly responsible with UN Women for the achievement of the outputs. The day-to-day implementation of the project is managed by a project manager with the support of the project teams within UN Women and the responsible/implementing parties. Oversight and strategic steering is provided by the Coordination Committee with representatives from the government counterparts, UN Women and the responsible/implementing parties.

Purpose (and use of the evaluation)

As indicated in Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Plan of the Strategic Note 2015-2017 of the UN Women Country Office in the Kyrgyz Republic, a final evaluation with a special focus on lessons learnt will be conducted towards the end of implementation period of the project Building a Constituency for Peace. This final evaluation will complement the end-line assessment of the PRF Kyrgyzstan portfolio commissioned by the PBF Secretariat and the main purpose is to assess in more detail the programmatic progress and performance of the above described intervention from the point of view of relevance, effectiveness, organizational efficiency and sustainability.

The findings of the evaluation will contribute to effective programming, refining the CO approaches to women, peace and security, organizational learning and accountability, and more specifically to the development of the new Strategic Note of the UN Women Country Office in the Kyrgyz Republic for 2017-2021. The information generated by the evaluation will moreover be used to engage policy makers and other stakeholders at local, national and regional levels in evidence-based dialogues and to advocate for gender-responsive strategies to peacebuilding and conflict-prevention with a particular focus on engaging adolescents in dialogues of gender equality, human rights, and peace and security at local, national and regional levels.

Targeted users of the evaluation are the UN Women staff at the Kyrgyzstan Country Office, the responsible parties and the government counterparts at local and national levels, CSOs, and other UN agencies, donor community and development partners present in Kyrgyzstan and the ECA region and the project beneficiaries.

Objectives

The objectives of this evaluation are to:

  • Analyse the relevance of the project strategy and approach at local and national levels on peacebuilding agenda, gender equality and women’s empowerment;
  • Assess effectiveness and organizational efficiency in progressing towards the achievement of the project results, including the achievement of gender equality and women’s empowerment results as defined in the intervention;
  • Assess the sustainability of the results and the intervention in advancing gender equality through the target group;
  • Analyze how human rights based approach and gender equality principles are integrated in the project implementation.
  • Asses how the intervention and its results relate and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals;
  • Identify and document lessons learned, good practices and innovations, success stories and challenges within the project, to inform future work of UN Women in the frameworks of Women, Peace and Security agenda and beyond;
  • Identify strategies for replication and up-scaling of the project’s best practices;
  • Provide actionable recommendations with respect to UN Women’s work on women, peace and security in Kyrgyzstan, youth, peacebuilding and beyond.

Key evaluation questions

Considering the mandates to incorporate human rights and gender equality in all UN work and the UN Women Evaluation Policy, which promotes the integration of women’s rights and gender equality principles, these dimensions will have a special attention in this evaluation and will be considered under each evaluation criterion.

Relevance:

  • To what extent was the design of the intervention and its results relevant to the needs and priorities of the beneficiaries? How appropriate was the chosen focus on youth in addressing the needs and priorities of the beneficiaries?
  • To what extent is the intervention consistent with the PPP priorities and national development strategies?
  • To what extent has the project been catalytic in addressing some of the root causes of tensions identified and contributed to preventing a relapse into conflict?
  • How innovative was the chosen design of the intervention with respect to other PRF projects engaging youth commissioned by the PBF Secretariat?
  • To what extent is the intervention aligned with international agreements and conventions on gender equality and women’s empowerment?
  • What is UN Women’s current comparative advantage in this area of work compared with other UN entities and key partners in the Kyrgyz Republic?

Effectiveness:

  • To what extent have the expected results of the project been achieved on both outcome and output levels?
  • What are the reasons for the achievement or non-achievement of the project results? Has the project achieved any unforeseen results, either positive or negative? What are the good practices and the obstacles or shortcomings encountered? How were they overcome?
  • How appropriate is the project strategy of empowering and engaging youth and local self-governments as advocates for gender equality, human rights and peace and security in making a contribution to peace and stability in the country?
  • How well did the intervention succeed in involving and building the capacities of rights-holders, duty-bearers as well as the project partners?
  • To what extent are the monitoring mechanisms in place effective in measuring and informing management of the project performance and progress towards the targets? To what extent was the monitoring data objectively used for management action and decision making?

Efficiency:

  • Have resources (financial, human, technical support, etc.) been allocated strategically to achieve the project outcomes?
  • To what extent does the management structure of the intervention support efficiency for programme implementation and achievement of results?
  • Have the outputs been delivered in a timely manner?

Sustainability:

  • What is the likelihood that the benefits from the project will be maintained for a reasonably long period of time after the project phase out? 
  • How effectively has the project generated national ownership of the results achieved, the establishment of partnerships with relevant stakeholders and the development of national capacities to ensure sustainability of efforts and benefits?
  • To what extent has the project been able to promote replication and/or up-scaling of successful practices?
  • To what extent has the exit strategy been well planned and successfully implemented?

Gender Equality and Human Rights:

  • To what extent has gender and human rights considerations been integrated into the programme design and implementation?
  • How has attention to/integration of gender equality and human rights concerns advanced the area of work?

It is expected that the evaluation team will develop an evaluation matrix, which will relate to the above questions (and refine them as needed), the areas they refer to, the criteria for evaluating them, the indicators and the means for verification as a tool for the evaluation. Final evaluation matrix will be approved in the evaluation inception report.

Scope of the evaluation

The final evaluation of the project Building a Constituency for Peace will be conducted in the end of the project implementation and funding period and will cover the entire duration of the project 16.12.2013-30.9.2016. The evaluation is planned to be conducted between July and October 2016.

The evaluation includes a data collection mission to Bishkek and three selected project sites in Kyrgyzstan.

The evaluation shall cover all aspects of the project, and broadly allocate resources (time) in relation to the relative expenditure between the various project components.

The PBF Secretariat in Kyrgyzstan is initiating an end-line survey on the Kyrgyzstan Peacebuilding Priority Plan 2013-2016. The key objective of the survey is to find end-line data for the PPP indicators that relate to the three PPP outcome areas in targeted and non-targeted locations. This end-line will measure the impact of all PRF interventions by the end of implementing the PPP. The final report with in-depth analysis on the collected data is tentatively scheduled to be available by the end of September 2016. The evaluation management group will seek to facilitate synergies between these two parallel exercises.

Evaluation design (process and methods)

Methodology

The evaluation will be a transparent and participatory process involving relevant UN Women stakeholders and partners in Kyrgyzstan. The evaluation will be based on gender and human rights principles and adhere to the UNEG Norms and Standards and Ethical Code of Conduct and UN Women Evaluation Policy and guidelines (Please see section XI References below).

The evaluation is a final programme evaluation and a summative approach focusing on capturing the lessons learned during the implementation and assessing the achievement of the results at output and outcome levels will be employed. The evaluation methodology will furthermore follow a ToC approach and employ mixed methods including quantitative and qualitative data collection methods and analytical approaches to account for complexity of gender relations and to ensure participatory and inclusive processes that are culturally appropriate.

Methods include but are not limited to:

  • Desk review of relevant documents such as project and programme documents, progress reports, financial records, meeting minutes and monitoring reports, and secondary data or studies relating to the country context and situation;
  • Online consultations and discussions with Un Women senior management, programme and project management staff;
  • Semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, surveys with direct and indirect beneficiaries, implementing partners, donor and other stakeholders;
  • Field visits to and observation at selected project sites.

Data from different research sources will be triangulated to increase its validity. The proposed approach and methodology has to be considered as flexible guidelines rather than final requirements, and the evaluators will have an opportunity to make their inputs and propose changes in the evaluation design. The methodology and approach should, however, incorporate human rights and gender equality perspectives. It is expected that the Evaluation Team will further refine the approach and methodology and submit a detailed description in the inception report.

Comments provided by the evaluation reference and management groups are aimed at methodological rigor, factual errors, errors of interpretation, or omission of information and must be considered by the evaluators to ensure a high-quality product. The final evaluation report should reflect the evaluator’s consideration of the comments and acknowledge any substantive disagreements.

Evaluation Process

The evaluation process has five phases

Preparation: gathering and analyzing programme data, conceptualizing the evaluation approach, internal consultations on the approach, preparing the TOR, establishment of the Evaluation Management Group (EMG) and the Evaluation Reference Group (ERG), stakeholders mapping and selection of evaluation team.  

Inception: consultations between the evaluation team and the EMG, programme portfolio review, finalization of stakeholder mapping, inception meetings with the ERG, review of the result logics, analysis of information relevant to the initiative, finalization of evaluation methodology and preparation and validation of inception report.

Data collection and analysis: in depth desk research, in-depth review of PBF project documents and motoring frameworks, in online interviews as necessary, staff and partner survey/s, and field visits. 

Analysis and synthesis stage: analysis of data and interpretation of findings, and drafting and validation of an evaluation report and other communication products.

Dissemination and follow-up: once the evaluation is completed UN Women is responsible for the development of a Management Response, publishing of the evaluation report, uploading the published report on the GATE website, and the dissemination of evaluation findings.

Stakeholder participation and evaluation management

The UN Women Kyrgyzstan Monitoring and Evaluation Officer will serve as the evaluation task manager responsible for the day-to-day management of the evaluation and ensures that the evaluation is conducted in accordance with the UN Women Evaluation Policy, United Nations Evaluation Group Ethical Guidelines and Code of Conduct for Evaluation in the United Nations system and other key guidance documents. Moreover, an evaluation management group comprising of UN Women Country Office senior management and key programme staff will be established to oversee the evaluation process, make key decisions and quality assure the different deliverables.

The establishment of an evaluation reference group facilitates participation of the key stakeholders representing government, partner and donor organisations, other UN agencies, CSOs and project beneficiaries in the evaluation process. It will help to ensure that the evaluation approach is robust and relevant to staff and stakeholders and make certain that factual errors or errors of omission or interpretation are identified in evaluation products. The reference group will provide input and relevant information at key stages of the evaluation: terms of reference, inception report, draft and final reports and dissemination of the results. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Timeframe and expected outputs (Since this evaluation will be conducted by an international and a national evaluator the distribution of the days amongst them are indicative and based on preliminar distribution of responsabilities.)

Task                                                     Tentative Timeframe                  Estimated # of Working Days

Inception phase                                     July-August 2016          

Inception meetings                                18 – 22 July 2016                                  2

Inception report

(including two rounds of revision)           12 August 2016                                     2

Data collection phase                            August-September 2016

Desk review, online interviews etc.         July-August 2016                                   9

Field visit                                              29 August – 9 September, 2016             10

Analysis and reporting phase                 September-October 2016

Presentation of preliminary findings

(including one round of revision)               21 September 2016                               6

Draft report

(including two rounds of revision)           28 September 2016                               4

Final report

Evaluation communication products       Mid-October 2016                                  2

Expected deliverables

The evaluation team is expected to deliver:

  • An inception report: The evaluation team will present a refined scope, a detailed outline of the evaluation design and methodology, evaluation questions, and criteria for the approach for in-depth desk review and field work to be conducted in the data collection phase. The report will include an evaluation matrix and detailed work plan.  A first draft report will be shared with the evaluation management group and, based upon the comments received the evaluation team will revise the draft.  The revised draft will be shared with the evaluation reference group for feedback. The evaluation team will maintain an audit trail of the comments received and provide a response on how the comments were addressed in the final inception report;
  • Presentation of preliminary findings: A PowerPoint presentation detailing the emerging findings of the evaluation will be shared with the evaluation management group for feedback. The revised presentation will be delivered to the reference group for comment and validation. The evaluation team will incorporate the feedback received into the draft report;
  • A draft evaluation report: A first draft report will be shared with the evaluation management group for initial feedback. The second draft report will incorporate evaluation management group feedback and will be shared with the evaluation reference group for identification of factual errors, errors of omission and/or misinterpretation of information. The third draft report will incorporate this feedback and then be shared with the reference group for final validation. The evaluation team will maintain an audit trail of the comments received and provide a response on how the comments were addressed in the revised drafts;
  • The final evaluation report: The final report will include a concise Executive Summary and annexes detailing the methodological approach and any analytical products developed during the course of the evaluation. The structure of the report will be defined in the inception report;
  • Evaluation communication products: Online presentation of the preliminary findings at the closing event of the project 21 September 2016, a PowerPoint/Prezi presentation of the final key evaluation findings and recommendations, and a 2-pager/infographics on the final key findings, lessons learned and recommendations in a format preferably adjustable for individual project sites both in English and Russian.

Payment will be issued in three instalments upon the satisfactory submission of the deliverables cleared by the evaluation task manager to certify that the services have been satisfactorily performed: 30% upon the signing of the contract, 60% upon accepting the draft report and 10% upon accepting the final evaluation report and other evaluation knowledge products.

Translation/interpretation will be provided during the field visit to Kyrgyzstan.

Evaluation team composition and requirements

An evaluation team of an international consultant and a national consultant will conduct the evaluation having experience linked to evaluation, gender equality, youth, peace and security, and peacebuilding in conflict and/or post-conflict settings. The international consultant will act as a team leader responsible for coordination during all phases of the evaluation process, ensuring the quality of outputs and application of methodology as well as timely delivery of all evaluation products in close collaboration with the evaluation task manager and the evaluation management group.

The national consultant will team up with the international consultant in all the aspects of conducting the evaluation, including contributing to its substance, in performing the following duties:

  • Developing an inception report outlining design, approach and methodology of the evaluation and an indicative workplan of the evaluation team within the framework of this ToR;
  • Carrying out collection, research and analysis of relevant documentation and other data, and reporting;
  • Participating meetings with the evaluation management group, evaluation reference group and other stakeholders to review findings, conclusions and recommendations;
  • Preparation and submission of draft report, final evaluation report and communication products.

Competencies

  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
  • Proven writing, analytical and communication skills with demonstrated ability to carry out evaluations;
  • Excellent in human relations, a team player;
  • Ability to work quickly and produce concise and quality reports;
  • A commitment to quality product and deadlines.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • At least a master’s degree in economics, social sciences, international relations, peace and conflict studies, gender or youth studies or related area.

Experience:

  • 5 years of relevant experience and involvement in the evaluations of development projects;
  • Previous knowledge of the UN system, and peacebuilding interventions will be an important asset;
  • Experience/knowledge of youth, gender equality and women’s empowerment at the country level;
  • Demonstrated analytical and presentation skills and ability to collect data and structure information.

Language:

  • Excellent knowledge of English and Russian, working knowledge of Kyrgyz;
  • Knowledge of other local languages will be considered an asset.

Required skills and expertise of the international consultant

  • At least a master’s degree in economics, social sciences, international relations, peace and conflict studies, gender or youth studies or related area;
  • 7 years of relevant experience in the field of women, peace and security, including substantive involvement in at least three evaluations of strategies, policies and/or development programmes;
  • Extensive knowledge and experience of gender-responsive and human rights based approaches to evaluation;
  • Proven experience of designing and leading gender-responsive evaluations and/or applied research utilizing a wide range of approaches and methods;
  • Proven knowledge and experience of working in areas of youth, peace and security, and peacebuilding in Central Asia. Previous experience in particular in Kyrgyzstan will be considered a strong asset;
  • Proven knowledge and experience in gender equality and women’s empowerment, gender mainstreaming, gender analysis and the related mandates. Experience within the United Nations system will be considered an asset;
  • Ability to produce well written reports demonstrating analytical ability and communication skills;
  • Demonstrated facilitation and communications skills, experience in participatory approaches and methodology, and ability to negotiate amongst a wide range of stakeholders;
  • Fluent in English. Knowledge of Russian or Kyrgyz will be considered an asset.

Application procedure

Applications should include:

  • Offeror's letter to UN Women confirming interest and availability for the assignment, including financial proposal, indicating all costs relating to the delivery of outputs as per above description;
  • P11 form including past experience in similar assignments. This form can be downloaded at www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment;
  • Copies of three recently completed evaluation reports submitted separately by email to hr.kyrgyzstan@unwomen.org.

All online application must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women, UNDP or UN Personal History form (P11) in English accessible via the following link: www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment. Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment, which must be the P11. Please upload the P11 form combined with other application documents, including the financial proposal and a possible CV, as one (1) single PDF document.

Copies of three recently completed evaluation reports should be sent to: hr.kyrgyzstan@unwomen.org.

Please carefully respond to the requirements of the Terms of Reference in the P11 that you submit.

Please note that the financial proposal should all-inclusive and take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant during the contract period itemizing the following: fee rate per working day, daily subsistence allowance rate for every day in field for the purposes of the assignment, necessary local travel expenses by the most appropriate means of transportation and the most direct economy class practicable route and any other relevant expenses required for the purposes of the assignment. The financial proposal should be provided in USD; if the proposal is provided in any other currency it would be converted as per UN exchange rate on the date of post closure.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. Candidates can only be shortlisted if they profess to meet all the mandatory requirements in the Terms of Reference.  Applications without the completed P11 form are incomplete and will NOT be considered for further assessment.

The Consultant shall promote a client-oriented approach consistent with UN Women rules and regulations and commits to high standards of quality, productivity and timeliness in the delivery of tasks. The Consultant will meet and apply the highest standards of integrity and impartiality.

The Consultant must be fully dedicated to the mandate and the values of UN Women, particularly to promoting Gender Equality as a strategy to reduce conflict, improve livelihoods and ensure fairness and justice; to Women Empowerment underpinning Gender Equality promotion efforts; to inter-ethnic tolerance and concord; and to respect for diversity.

Evaluation of applicants

Candidates will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants' technical qualifications and experience, and financial proposal.

The contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

  • Technically responsive/compliant/acceptable to the requirements of the ToR and
  • Having received the highest cumulative (technical & financial) score out of below defined technical and financial criteria.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (49 points) in the technical evaluation would be considered for financial evaluation.

Technical Criteria for the assessment of the applications of national consultant - 70% of total evaluation - max. 70 points

  • Criteria A - At least a master’s degree in economics, social sciences, international relations, peace and conflict studies, gender or youth studies or related area - max. points 15 if mandatory requirement is met;
  • Criteria B - 5 years of relevant experience and involvement in the evaluations of development projects - max. points 15 if mandatory requirement is met;
  • Criteria C - Previous knowledge of the UN system, and peacebuilding interventions - max. points 15;
  • Criteria D - Experience/knowledge of youth, gender equality and women’s empowerment at the country Demonstrated analytical and presentation skills and ability to collect data and structure information - max. points 15;
  • Criteria F - Excellent knowledge of English and Russian, working knowledge of Kyrgyz - max. points 7 if mandatory requirement is met. Knowledge of other local languages will be considered an asset - max. points 3.

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation - max. 30 points

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal. All other price proposals receive points in inverse proportion.

A suggested formula is as follows: p 30 (µ/z)

Where:

  • p - points for the financial proposal being evaluated;
  • µ - price of the lowest priced proposal;
  • z - price of the proposal being evaluated.

References