Background

With an observed temperature increase of 2.1°C over the past 70 years, Mongolia is among the countries most impacted by climate change. Increased temperatures, coupled with decreased precipitation, have resulted in a drying trend impacting pastures and water sources and shifting natural zones. Changes have also been observed related to the frequency and intensity of extreme events, including disasters brought about by dzud (summer drought followed by harsh winters, low temperatures, and higher snowfall), drought, snow and dust storms, and flash floods, and both cold and heat waves. Responses to climate impacts by herders have, furthermore not been informed by climate information or by the potential impact of those responses on land and water resources. Unsustainable herding practices and livestock numbers are further stressing increasingly fragile ecosystems and related ecosystem services. 

The “Improving Adaptive Capacity and Risk Management of Rural Communities in Mongolia’’project funded by the Green Climate Fund was launched in March, 2021. The project will be implemented by the Ministry of Nature, Environment and Tourism (MET), the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry (MoFALI), and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for 7 years in Dornod, Sukhbaatar, Zavkhan, and Khovd aimags.

The objective of the proposed project is to strengthen the resilience of resource-dependent herder communities in four aimags vulnerable to climate change.  The proposed project seeks an integrated approach to address climate change impacts on herder livelihoods and on the natural resources on which they rely.  This will require strengthening the capacity to generate climate models for longer-term climate-resilient planning while reconciling the ambitious economic development goals of the livestock sector with the limits of increasingly fragile land and water sources due to climate change. To do this, the project complements significant investment from the Government of Mongolia related to the livestock sector and natural resources management, while addressing the key barriers through strengthening the computing and capacity needs for long-term climate-informed planning, investments in water access points, and support to the policy transformations needed to remove incentives for maladaptive herder practices.  

To address the barrier related to capacity, the project will strengthen the capacity of National Agency for Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring (NAMEM) to collect and analyze the data necessary for climate-informed planning. This will include investments in computing equipment and data storage, as well as technical training to enable climate-informed and risk-informed livestock planning. 

UNDP will procure a High-Performance Computer (HPC) for NAMEM to increase the functional performance and storage capacity of a high computing system to obtain more precise, advanced, impact-based forecast and prediction with high temporal and spatial resolution will be achieved through the introduction of the HPC system. Weather forecast and climate prediction products will be improved and there will be an opportunity to apply these products into development planning of socio-economic sectors.

The objective of this assignment is to provide technical advisory services to UNDP in the procurement of the High-Performance Computer (HPC) and related components (software, power supply, cooling system, installation and staff training), to be used by  NAMEM

Duties and Responsibilities

The Consultant shall:

1. Advise UNDP on the adequacy technical specifications to be included in the solicitation documents including:

• Review the technical specifications and terms of reference including HPC system, firmware, Weather Research Forecast (WRF) Software, Universal Power Supply (UPS), Cooling system and services to be procured.
• Review the draft bidding document, market research, and procurement strategy.

2. Respond to technical queries from bidders and participate in the pre-bid conference to assist in answering technical questions from bidders.

3. Participate on behalf of UNDP in the technical evaluation of the bids received, including:

• Technical requirements.
• Financial requirements.
• Support UNDP with technical clarifications to the bids.

4. Provide technical advice to UNDP and the offeror in a kickoff meeting after the contract award and develop a detailed delivery schedule.

5. Provide technical advice to UNDP during the contract kickoff and receipt of the equipment.

• Conduct quality assurance of delivery and installation of the high-performance computer and its components according to the contract.
• Support UNDP in certifying receipt of the HPC system in line with the offered specifications.

Expected Outputs and deliverables 

The table below outlines the list of key deliverables and estimated dates of completion:

Competencies

Leadership: ability to work in an autonomous way and take the lead on the assignment.

Communication: ability to listen, adapt, challenge information and identify solution.

Delivery: ability to get things done in a timely manner.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced university degree (Master's degree or higher) in computer science and other related fields;

Experience:

• At least 5 years of experience working in the implementation of hardware projects. 
• Proven experience in working on at least 2 similar assignments involving the procurement of HPC systems is mandatory,
• Working knowledge of software developed for meteorology forecasting models is an advantage.
• Experience in Central Asia region is an advantage

Languages:

• Fluent command of written and spoken English language is required.
• Fluency in Mongolian is considered as an advantage

Institutional Arrangement

The consultant will be supervised by the Project Manager of the GCF project with secondary reporting to the  Operations Manager of UNDP Country office in Mongolia.

Duration of the Work

14 working days over 9 months.

Duty Station

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia or home based with travel to Ulaanbaatar for deliverable 5.

Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

The 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 fees, travel costs (if needed), and any other applicable cost to be incurred by the IC in completing the assignment. The contract price will be a fixed output-based price regardless of the extension of the herein specified duration.

Recommended Presentation of Offer

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

• Cover letter with a summary statement of competencies in relation to the TOR.
• Curriculum Vitae.
• Completed and signed P11 - Personal History Form with names and current contacts of 3 referees (available from http://sas.undp.org/documents/p11_personal_history_form.doc).
• Signed financial proposal for the assignment outlining: 1) Total professional fee 2) Other professional expenses (such as insurance, taxes, etc.).
• The financial proposal form is available at http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_file.cfm?doc_id=29916).

Incomplete proposals may not be considered. Only the successful candidate will be notified of contract award.

Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer

Evaluation Method

Applicants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

• Preliminary Evaluation - Step I: Screening.
• Technical Evaluation Weight - 70% (Step II: Desk review 50 points + Step III: Interview 50 points = 100 points).
• Financial Evaluation Weight - 30% (Step IV).

Step I: Screening

Applications will be screened and only applicants (1) Having submitted completed documentation and (2) meeting the following mandatory criteria will progress to the pool for shortlisting:

Education:

• Advanced university degree (Master's degree or higher) in computer science and other related fields;

Experience:

• At least 5 years of experience working in the implementation of hardware projects. 
• Proven experience in working on at least 2 similar assignments involving the procurement of HPC systems is mandatory,

Languages:

• Fluent command of written and spoken English language is required.

Step II: Desk Review

A desk review will be conducted to produce a shortlist of applicants according to the criteria listed below. Only applicants who obtain a minimum of 70 points at this stage shall be invited for the next step.

Education:

• Advanced university degree (Master's degree or higher) in computer science and other related fields (10 points)

Experience:

• At least 5 years of experience working in the implementation of hardware projects. (40 points)  
• Proven experience in working on at least 2 similar assignments involving the procurement of HPC systems is mandatory (20 points)
• Working knowledge of software developed for meteorology forecasting models is an advantage (15 points).
• Experience in Central Asia region is an advantage (5 points)

Languages:

• Fluent command of written and spoken English language is required (5 points)
• Fluency in Mongolian is considered as an advantage (5 points)

Step III: Interview

All candidates who obtain 70 points and above at the desk review shall be invited to an interview.

Step IV: Financial Evaluation

Only applicants who have obtained scores above 70% on the total of Steps II (20 points) + III (80 points) shall be considered technically qualified and will be subject to further review for a financial evaluation.

The following formula will be used for evaluation of financial proposals:

Lowest priced proposal / Price of the proposal being evaluated x 30.

Award Criteria

The contact shall be awarded to the best applicant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
• Having received the highest combined score: Technical (desk review and interview) 70% + Financial 30% = 100%.

Conflict of Interest 

The selected Consultant shall not be associated to the potential suppliers (including manufacturers or suppliers of HPC products). This prohibition applies to:

1. Financial interest: Such as the receipt of, or the right or expectation to receive, any income (consulting fee, honoraria, salary, allowance, forbearance, forgiveness, interest in real or personal property, dividend, royalty derived from the licensing of technology or other processes or products, rent or capital gain); and ownership interests consisting of any stock, stock option, or similar. 
2. Personal or professional interest: Such as belonging to any related supplier organization or enterprise over which the consultant, alone or together with an immediate family member (i.e., employee's spouse or domestic partner, and dependent children) exercises a controlling interest. These interests also involve any corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, firm, franchise, association, organization, holding company, joint-stock company, receivership, business or real estate trust or any other nongovernmental legal entity organized for profit, non-profit, or charitable purposes; or any executive position or membership with the suppliers regardless of compensation; or any position that includes responsibilities for a significant segment of the offeror’s operation or management of a business.

Consultants incurring in conflict of interest shall be disqualified from the process.

Application 

Individual consultants and persons employed by a company or institution are both welcome to apply. Any individual employed by a company or institution who would like to submit an offer in response to a Procurement Notice for individual consultant must do so in their individual capacity by providing a CV so that their qualifications may be judged accordingly. Women candidates or women-owned businesses are strongly encouraged to apply. This vacancy is open to both qualified international and national consultants.

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.

If you meet the qualifications of the announced assignment, please submit the following documents by the deadline of 18:00 pm, 1 August 2022 by Ulaanbaatar time (GMT +08:00). Detailed information and required qualifications can be found in the Terms of Reference (TOR), which is available in the list of attachments.

Please submit your proposal to bids.mn@undp.org with subject line: Ref: MNG/IC/2022/099 - HPC Expert