Background
On 1 January 2021, UNDP launched its new Digital, Inclusive, Accessible: Support to Digitalisation of State Services in Ukraine (DIA Support) Project. The project is made possible due to the support of the Government of Sweden and is carried out in close collaboration with the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine (MDT) and other government stakeholders. The project duration is planned till December 2023.
The project builds on extensive UNDP experience in two areas: administrative service reform and reengineering and digitalising public administration processes with broad citizen and expert engagement. The ‘State in a Smartphone’ initiative launched in Ukraine, will only succeed if appealing and accessible civic digital education is developed and widely implemented to help close digital gaps in knowledge and skills, and bridge the digital divide between generations and groups of Ukrainians with different social backgrounds.
No less important for proper project implementation is ensuring that electronic services designed with UNDP assistance are rooted in properly developed regulations of different calibre: ranging from laws and Cabinet of Ministers Decrees to Ministry-level ordinances, instructions and standard operational procedures. Apart from properly legitimizing the electronic services in question, they ought to be underpinned by the Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) and, narrower, a gender lens, and be devoid of corruption-related risks.
At the global level, the digitalisation of customer-oriented services and the development of mobile technologies that involve citizens in creating new solutions while leaving no one behind meet several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at once. The creation of digital services – particularly mobile-based – contributes to an improvement in the quality of public administration and a reduction in corruption.
This, in turn, promotes the development of effective, accountable and inclusive public institutions capable of responding to the needs of women and men belonging to different groups, in line with SDG 16 to ‘Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.’ Another aspect related to creating more accessible and inclusive electronic or mobile services is in line with Goal 4 to ‘Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.’
Digitalisation in certain aspects may also have an impact on SDG 5 of Gender Equality, which aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, as currently they seem underrepresented among both groups – developers and final beneficiaries of digital services. Throughout the DIA Support Project, UNDP promotes ideas of gender-sensitive and accessible IT and services and the transformation of policies to reflect those priorities. While the project is not explicitly designed to target gender equality, the selection of target groups for the digitalised services includes gender considerations.
UNDP is looking to conduct the mid-term review of the DIA Support project to review the project progress against the initial plans, project document and cost-sharing agreement, assess the risks and challenges, provide an overview of lessons learned and recommendations on possible adjustments to the project activities, results and resource framework as well as inform the process of mid-term budget revision. The incumbent will promote UNDP’s mandate as a gender-responsive organization with zero tolerance for any kind of discriminatory and abusive behavior including sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse.
Duties and Responsibilities
2. MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT
The main objective of the assignment is to conduct the mid-term review (MTR) of the project with the aim to review and assess the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, visibility, and sustainability of the project in order to consider the obtained results during the second phase of the DIA Support Project implementation. The Consultant will be responsible for conducting all necessary activities for producing the MTR report as well as preparations connected to the information gathering and analysis. The Consultant will assure that the review process is objective, transparent, operational, gender-responsive, forward-looking and independent, thereby giving credibility to its findings and recommendations.
The mid-term review should be focused on the following aspects:
- The continuing relevance of the project (approach, objectives, modalities of implementation, etc.);
- The interim results with regard to the indicators of progress;
- The effectiveness of the approach being used to produce these results;
- The efficiency of project management, including the delivery of inputs in terms of quality, quantity and timeliness; and the monitoring system;
- The views of the direct beneficiaries on the preliminary outcomes and on the consultative process taking place for the project;
- The development of recommendations on sustainability of the project results.
- The need to further adjustment of the course of action considering the ongoing war in Ukraine and specific conflict-related challenges.
The review aims also at providing recommendations for further development of the project activities to identify problems and constraints and propose immediate actions.
3. DESCRIPTION OF RESPONSIBILITIES / SCOPE OF WORK
The Consultant will work under the direct supervision of the DIA Support Project Manager, and he/she will be tasked with producing the following deliverables:
- Review and analyse the documents provided by UNDP to obtain a better understanding of the project goals, context and results, including but not limited to project documents, project budget sheets, assessments conducted by the project, previous monitoring and review reports, other project related reports.
- Conduct necessary consultations and interviews with the Country Office, the project staff, the donor, and other project partners to collect data. Find out how the project management and the Government officials assess the project, their concerns and suggestions. Clarify issues that emerge from the preliminary analysis of the project and that require hard and soft data to substantiate their reasoning.
- Review the project implementation, identifying its strengths and weaknesses; assess the achievement of results and objectives.
- Review the adjusted workplan of the project aimed at addressing the war-related challenges.
- Draft the first version of the review report. Review the draft report with project management and the UNDP country office to ensure factual accuracy.
- Discuss findings, recommendations and lessons learned with the DIA Support Project Manager.
- Finalize and submit the final technical report upon delivery of the assignment, including a PPT presentation of the MTR key findings.
- Present the report to the programme and project teams and all project stakeholders including the main beneficiaries, key partners and the donor.
To ensure the delivery of the above tasks, the Consultant will:
- Liaise and ensure constant communication/coordination with UNDP project team regarding all aspects of the assignment;
- Submit all the deliverables for review, comments and approval to UNDP project team as requested;
- Hold consultations with UNDP project team as requested.
4. MEASURABLE OUTPUTS OF THE WORK ASSIGNMENT / Deliverables
Deliverables expected under the contract should be achieved in accordance with the following schedule:
Deliverable # | Deliverable essence | Deadline |
Deliverable 1 | Prepare the Work Plan for developing the Mid-Term Review (MTR) Report This includes the initial review of the project documents and the first exchanges with project counterparts. The work plan should include the list of interviewees, key documents and materials that the consultant will review for this process, as well as the methods, sources, and procedures for data collection and a concrete timeframe for the work plan milestones. The work plan may have attachments with examples of interview scripts and survey questionnaires (both in Ukrainian and English) to be used for the data collection. The work plan also should frame a common agreement and understanding with the UNDP Country Office, the project team and relevant partners of what is to be produced by the Consultant. Expected results: the work plan (up to 5 pages) with attachments is submitted by the Consultant and approved by UNDP | 10 working days after the contract is signed |
Deliverable 2 | Information Gathering, Analysis and Drafting of Report This phase includes the review and analysis of the documents provided by the DIA Support project according to the MTR work plan, the conduction of planned mini-surveys, consultations and interviews with the project staff, project partners and beneficiaries to collect qualitative data, the review of the project implementation, identifying strengths and weaknesses, assess the achievement of results and objectives, and draft the first version of the MTR report in accordance to the structure agreed with UNDP. The draft should be agreed upon with the project management and the UNDP Country Office to ensure factual accuracy. Expected results: draft version of the MTR report (in English) is submitted by the Consultant and approved by UNDP | 35 working days after Deliverable 1 is accepted or earlier |
Deliverable 3 | MTR Briefing In this stage of review, the Consultant initiates a briefing session to discuss the review findings, recommendations and lessons learned with the Project Manager, where the project team may suggest adding more analysis on certain aspects of the report. The briefing can be arranged online depending on the security and epidemiological situation. Expected results: minutes from the briefing session, PPT presentation of the briefing (in English) | 10 working days after Deliverable 2 is accepted or earlier |
Deliverable 4 | Report finalization and presentation The final step of the assignment should include the finalization of the report taking into account the suggestions in discussions held during the MTR briefing, as well as the public presentation of the review findings with recommendations to the project team and all interested parties including the project stakeholders, key partners and the donor. The presentation can be arranged online depending on the security and epidemiological situation. The final report will consolidate the overall progress, innovations, and lessons learned based on concrete evidence and cases to be strongly considered during the second phase of the DIA Support Project implementation. The final report should include detailed references and/or annexes to substantiate its findings. The report is expected to be as free as possible of technical jargon in order to ensure accessibility to its wide and diverse audience. The expected document is a comprehensive review report (up to 30 pages without annexes, single spacing, Myriad Pro font, size 11) that includes, but is not limited to the following components:
Expected results: the final report in Word format; final PPT presentation with the review summary, key findings and recommendations prepared and delivered during the joint meeting of interested parties (in English). | 10 working days after Deliverable 3 is accepted or earlier |
Note: All the deliverables are to be fulfilled in close collaboration with the DIA Support Project Manager, Communications
Manager and Gender Specialist. Validation of reports to be conducted through obtaining a written
consent of the participants of interviews, holders of data/information, open sources approving the
outcomes of the analysis, information/data and other outcomes presented in the reports. The Consultant
should respect differences and accord equal spaces and dignity regardless of interviewees’ gender,
race, sexual preference, ethnicity, ability, or other markers of identity. All materials produced by the
Consultant should be in line with UNDP’s principles of gender-responsive communications. Acceptance and
approval of the deliverables to be issued by the DIA Support Project Manager upon receiving formal confirmations
from Communications Manager and Gender Specialist.
5. MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS
The Consultant will report to the DIA Support Project Manager and will work closely with DIA Support Project Policy and M&E Associate, and/or UNDP Country Office Strategic Planning, Partnerships and RBM unit.
The Consultant will be responsible for all personal administrative expenses associated with the assignment. In case any public events are planned as part of the present assignment (e.g. the presentation of the review report), the Consultant will not be responsible for the logistics of events, but might be asked to contribute to the preparation of technical requests. UNDP will cover the conference costs (including possible printing, food, accommodation etc.) on its own. Also, the Consultant’s area of responsibility will not include hiring personnel, e.g., the data collection assistants.
6. MONITORING REQUIREMENTS / TERMS OF PAYMENT
The Consultant will work under the overall guidance of the DIA Support Project Manager and in close day-to-day coordination with the project team’s M&E focal point. The Consultant will duly inform UNDP of any problems, issues or delays arising in the course of implementation of the assignment and take necessary steps to address them.
UNDP will be the final authority to control the quality and evaluate the Consultant’s work. The satisfactory completion of each of the deliverables shall be subject to the endorsement of the DIA Support Project Manager. Each deliverable will be submitted in a draft for comments and feedback before finalisation. No reports or documents should be published or distributed to third parties without the approval of UNDP.
All reports and results are to be submitted to the UNDP in electronic form (*.docx, *.xlsx, *.pptx, and *.pdf or other formats accepted by UNDP). All reports and presentation materials shall be submitted in English.
UNDP will provide payment upon provision of each deliverable duly certified by UNDP in accordance with the schedule below:
Deliverable 1 – 20%
Deliverable 2 – 40%
Deliverable 3 – 20%
Deliverable 4 – 20%
Competencies
- Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
- Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
- Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
- Treats all people fairly without favouritism;
- Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.
Required Skills and Experience
8. EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS REQUIREMENTS
- Advanced university degree (Master’s/Specialist’s or equivalent) in Economics, Management, Statistics, Social Sciences, Public Administration, Business Administration or other relevant fields;
- Proven practical experience – at least 3 examples – in designing and conducting development evaluations, providing consultancies and/or monitoring, evaluation/review based on qualitative and quantitative research;
- Proven experience in, and knowledge of, the area of public services, digital governance, or digital transformation in the public sphere, including the gender/human rights dimensions is considered as a strong asset;
- Proven experience with UN funded projects/ programmes or other international technical assistance projects;
- Fluency in English and Ukrainian.
9. DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS
Applicants shall submit the following documents:
| Personal CV, including information about the candidate’s relevant experience as well as the email and telephone contacts of at least three (3) professional references; |
| Financial proposal in line with the information presented in Section 4. Measurable outputs of the work assignment/deliverables; |
| Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability (template may be found at https://cutt.ly/Bzs6D4A) ; |
| Samples of at least 3 previously prepared programme/project analysis documents. In case of confidentiality please provide the list of prepared reports with a brief explanation of the work done with reference contacts. |
10. FINANCIAL PROPOSAL
Lump sum contract
The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (please, refer to Section 4 Measurable outputs of the work assignment/deliverables). 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 Cost by Components.
Travel
All travel arrangements will be handled by UNDP if such travel is deemed necessary. Consultations regarding travel options will be held with the Consultant prior to the planning of the trips and relevant logistics.
11. EVALUATION CRITERIA:
- Educational background – 11 pts max
- 11 pts – PhD degree or similar in Economics, Management, Statistics, Social Sciences, Public Administration, Business Administration or relevant fields;
- 10 pts – Advanced university degree (Master’s/Specialist’s or equivalent) in Economics, Management, Statistics, Social Sciences, Public Administration, Business Administration or other relevant fields.
- Proven practical experience – at least 3 examples – in designing and conducting development evaluation/review, providing consultancies and/or monitoring, evaluation/review based on qualitative and quantitative research – 24 pts max
- 24 pts – 6+ examples of evaluation/review designed and conducted;
- 21 pts – between 4 and 5 examples of evaluation/review designed and conducted;
- 17 pts – 3 examples of evaluation/review designed and conducted.
- Proven experience in, and knowledge of, the area of public services, digital governance, or digital transformation in the public sphere – 6 pts max
- 6 pts – proven experience in the area of public service, digital governance, or digital transformation in the public sphere;
- 0 pts – no experience in the area of public service, digital governance, or digital transformation in the public sphere.
- Proven experience with UN funded programmes or other international technical assistance projects – 24 pts max
- 24 pts – cooperation with 5 and more UN funded programmes or other international technical assistance projects;
- 21 pts – cooperation with 2-4 UN funded programmes or other international technical assistance projects
- 17 pts – cooperation with at least 1 UN funded programme or other international technical assistance projects.
- Language proficiency – 5 pts max
- 5 pts – fluency in Ukrainian and English.
Maximum available technical score – 70 points
EVALUATION method:
Cumulative analysis
Contract award shall be made to the incumbent whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:
a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
b) having received the cumulative highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.
* Technical Criteria weight: 70%
* Financial Criteria weight: 30%
Only candidates obtaining a minimum 70% from the maximum available technical score (49 points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation
The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal and will equal to 30. All other price proposals will be evaluated and assigned points, as per the below formula:
30 points [max points available for financial part] x [lowest of all evaluated offered prices among responsive offers] / [evaluated price].
The proposal obtaining the overall cumulatively highest score after adding the score of the technical proposal and the financial proposal will be considered as the most compliant offer and will be awarded a contract.