UNDP, with financial assistance from the Government of Australia, Japan, and New Zealand, has been supporting the Fiji Parliament since Fiji’s return to the parliamentary style of governance in 2014. The first and second phases of the Fiji Parliament Support Programme (FPSP) has been implemented from 2014 and completed as of December 2021. The main recommendations from the second phase terminal evaluation identified the need for continued engagement with the Fiji Parliament to strengthen and consolidate the democratic gains made by the country since 2014.

The third phase of the FPSP (FPSP-3) will be implemented from 2022 – 2024 and aims to engage more deeply on capacity development assistance, in alignment with the priorities expressed by the leadership of the Fiji Parliament. This assistance will target but not necessarily limit to; i) Increasing transparency on the work undertaken by Parliament and increasing engagement with Civil Society, ii) Strengthening effective legislative processes and scrutiny through  capacity building of the Members of Parliament (MPs) and Parliament Secretariat Staff on key issues such as gender, financial regulations, budget processes and other pertinent development issues. ii) Increasing capacity of Committee Members as well as external actors from the Civil Society to scrutinize and the oversight of public policies and spending. Capacity development will also be offered to consolidate the partnership between Parliament and civil society, in order for the latter to bolster its capacity to contribute to the work of parliamentary committees as an active and constructive partner. FPSP will continue to support the institutionalization of good practices, including modernization of Parliament through digital transformation and improved business continuity. A change management process will also be supported within the institution to ensure the Parliament continues its positive trajectory and achieves its strategic objectives. The proposed timeframe for support is four years from January 2022 – December 2025. This allows for seamless support throughout the current and next Parliament terms.

Scope of Work

Hansard is an edited verbatim record of what is said in Parliament during official debates held in Parliament Chambers. Hansard also includes records of voting on specific legislation and bills where a simple majority is required for the legislation to be adopted. It also written ministerial statements and verbal contributions made by MPs and the Speaker of Parliament.

Hansard reporters are tasked with the recording of discussions in the Parliamentary Chambers and then edited to remove repetitions and obvious mistakes but without taking away from the meaning. The report, once cleared by the Speaker, is published daily covering the preceding day and is followed by a bound final version. Before it is bound, the verbatim notes need to be indexed for easy reference purpose according to the names of the MPs, items of discussion on the Order paper, and the subject of debate.

The Hansard Team within Parliament of Fiji is currently undergoing a transition with the retirement of key and experienced staff. As such, there is a capacity gap that needs to be addressed in terms of providing the Editor of Debates with the capable and knowledgeable personnel who can assit the junior staff to quickly decipher the debates and accurately record for the timely compilation of the Hansard Report. Particular attention is required to the fact that the turnaround for producing the report is less than 24 hours. This is relevant to some sessions where the Hansard reports must in the subsequent sitting. Reporters therefore need to work through leisure hours to ensure that the report is completed before the start of the next business day.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

The key outputs, divided over 80 working days, for the 2 Hansard Reporting Consultant, can be categorized into 3 distinct categories:

1. Edited, Approved and Indexed Hansard reports for the morning session of Parliament Sitting amounting to 20 reports therefore 20 working days*;

Similarly, the second consultant will work with the team responsible for the afternoon sessions and will be assessed for 20 reports over 20 working days.

1. Edited and Approved Hansard reports pertaining to 3 committee sittings amounting to 40 reports, refer below for calculation of days**; Second consultant will also be assessed for editing the reports from another 3 committee sittings, Editor Debates will assign the consultant to the respective committees.
2. Report on In House training conducted for Junior Hansard Reporters, to be assessed over 20 working days each.

*Parliament Sitting (4 Sittings * 5 days = 20 days)

** Committee Sittings 8 sessions * 5 days per Committee = 40 Daily reports from Committees.

Institutional Arrangement

• The consultants will report to the Editor of Debates, Fijian Parliament;
• In addition to the certification from the Editor of Debates that the daily Hansard reports have been produced and made available to both internal and external audiences as per agreed timelines;
• The Training Report will be discussed with the Editors of Debates and submitted to UNDP prior to any payment being made for this output;
• The Lead Consultant will be responsible to provide all technical equipment and facilities necessary for the completion of deliverables;
• All reports and documents relating to the assignment will be submitted to the UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji.

Duration of the Work

• 80 working days between April and December 2022 (refer to Parliament Sitting and Standing Committee Calendar)  

Duty Station

Parliament of Fiji, Suva.

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills;
• Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities skills;
• Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
• Ability to plan, organize, implement and report on work;
• Ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines;
• Comprehensiveness knowledge of Hansard reporting and writing.
• Proficiency in the use of office IT applications and internet in conducting research;
• Outstanding communication, project management and organizational skills;
• Excellent presentation and facilitation skills.
• Demonstrates integrity and ethical standards;
• Positive, constructive attitude to work;

Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Educational Qualifications (Minimum):

• Secondary school education with over 10 years relevant experience in Hansard or
• Ability to meet deadlines and excellent English writing and communication.

Experience

• A minimum of 10 years’ experience working with or for parliaments;
• Proven track record of providing support in Hansard reporting and editing services to Parliament Speaker’s and senior Parliament staff.
• Good representational and liaison skills;
• Demonstrated capacity to work in a team environment, including consulting with members of the management team to resolve issues and other problems as required; and
• Demonstrated ability work effectively within strict deadlines.

Language requirements

• Fluency of English language is required;
• Knowledge of Hansard reporting and editing would be an asset.

Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

Consultant must send a financial proposal based on…

Lump Sum Amount. The total amount quoted shall be all-inclusive and include all costs components required to perform the deliverables identified in the TOR, including professional fee, travel costs, living allowance (if any work is to be done outside the IC´s duty station) and any other applicable cost to be incurred by the IC in completing the assignment. The contract price will fixed output-based price regardless of extension of the herein specified duration. Payments will be done upon completion of the deliverables/outputs and as per below percentages:

• Deliverable 1 - Submission of Hansard Reports and Committee Reports produced for the month of April and May + Training of Junior Hansard Reporters]: 25% of total contract amount
• Deliverable 2 - Submission of Hansard Reports and Committee Reports produced for the month of June and July + Training of Junior Hansard Reporters]: 25% of total contract amount
• Deliverable 3 - Submission of Hansard Reports and Committee Reports produced for the month of August and September + Training of Junior Hansard Reporters]: 25% of total contract amount
• Deliverable 4 - Submission of Hansard Reports and Committee Reports produced for the month of October, November and December + Training of Junior Hansard Reporters]: 25% of total contract amount

In general, UNDP shall not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources

In the event of unforeseeable travel not anticipated in this TOR, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and the Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

 Schedule of Payments

• Based on deliverables as stated above.

Evaluation Method and Criteria

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Cumulative analysis

The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as a) responsive/compliant/acceptable; and b) having received the highest score out of set of weighted technical criteria (70%). and financial criteria (30%). Financial score shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced proposal received by UNDP for the assignment.

Technical Criteria for Evaluation (Maximum 70 points)

• Criteria 1 Relevance of Education – Max 10 points

• Criteria 2  Special skills, Typing and Recording - Max 15 Points
• Criteria 3 Relevance of experience in area of specialization (Experience in translation of Verbal Discussion with intention to produce formal report of conversation or verbal exchanges)– Max 20 points
• Criteria 4 Relevance of experience in key areas (Parliament Experience) – Max 15 points
• Criteria 5 Experience and approach to training of subordinates – Max 10 Points

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

If the proposed bid or cumulative assessment over past 12 months exceeds USD100K, shortlisted candidates shall be called for an interview which will be used to confirm and/or adjust the technical scores awarded based on documentation submitted.

Documentation required

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications.

• Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided in Annex II.
• Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.
• Technical proposal, including a) a brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment.
• Financial proposal, as per template provided in Annex II. Note: National consultants must quote prices in Local currency (FJD)
• Completed health statement form- mandatory for all ICs to submit the completed HS form with attached proof of the medical Insurance cover.

Incomplete proposals may not be considered.

        Annexes

• Annex I – Offeror’s Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the Individual IC, including Financial Proposal Template
• Annex II – Health statement form
• For any clarification regarding this assignment please write to jean-raphael.giuliani@undp.org