Background

UNDP’s 2022-25 Strategic Plan and accompanying Integrated Results and Resources Framework (IRRF) lays out a clear and compelling roadmap to get developing countries back on track to attain the shared goals set out in Agenda 2030. 

The Plan aims to super charge development results by focusing on six signature solutions: poverty and inequality, governance, resilience, environment, energy, and gender equality. This emphasis will prioritize development interventions where the need is greatest, and help countries pursue three directions of change

• Structural transformation, particularly green, inclusive and digital transitions;

• Leaving no one behind, a rights-based approach centered on human agency and human; and development
• Building resilience to respond to systemic uncertainty and risk.

To maximize and scale-up development impact, the Plan will be anchored on three enablers: strategic innovation, digitalization and development financing.

While structural transformations are critical to economic and social progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), they must be underpinned by sustainability, inclusion and equity; plus, capacity to anticipate, respond and recover from shocks.  Therefore, while every context is unique, all are likely to feature some combination of all three directions of change. 

The evolving development landscape demands more robust monitoring approaches that demonstrate tangible, transformational changes in the populations being supported. Consequently, there is a shift from traditional, output-focused monitoring towards an emphasis on outcomes and impacts aligned with the SDGs.

As part of the mid-term review of the Strategic Plan, UNDP is seeking to engage a consultant to assess progress on the directions of change.

Duties and Responsibilities

Work on elaborating the directions of change and how they might be measured had begun through a short-term consultancy. The study that took place between January-March 2023 looked at:

Based on UNDP’s 2022-25 Strategic Plan and Integrated Results and Resources Framework (IRRF), the consultant had:

• Reviewed and revised the framing and definitions of the three directions of change that reflected both the organizational background and the understanding at the country offices worldwide.
• Suggested a measurement framework using the IRRF 2022-2025 and selected UNDP country programme documents (CPDs) from different regions.
• Advised on approaches for connecting output level results measurement to outcome level changes and impact measurement at the corporate level and distilled lessons learned from consultations with UNDP staff.

The consultant will build on this study to:

• Develop of a clear narrative for each of the three directions of change – encapsulating their relationship to the Strategic Plan ambitions and outputs.
• Assess UNDP's progress on the three directions of change. This will include examining the connection to the overall ambitions of the Strategic Plan, as well as the implementation and impact of our signature solutions and enablers - leveraging regional and country knowledge to identify key examples of progress, transforming these into compelling narratives of change for the mid-term review.
• Inform plans for capturing impact-level results more effectively. By analyzing our current efforts and outcomes, help identify and create replicable examples of success. This will guide our future strategies for measuring and reporting our contributions to the Strategic Plan outcomes.

1. EXPECTED OUTPUTS AND DELIVERABLES 

INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENT 

The consultant will work with the support of the Strategy and Futures Team in UNDP’s Executive Office of the Administrator.

The Strategy Lead, Strategy and Futures Team will be the focal person for this consultancy guided by a sounding board. A small team, comprising representatives from stakeholder bureaus, will serve as the sounding board.

DURATION OF THE WORK

The deliverables are expected to be complete over a 4-and-a-half-month period as indicated above.

The target start date for this assignment is 11 September 2023.   Target completion date is 15 January 2024.

DUTY STATION 

The consultant will be home based with travel to New York.

Competencies

Competencies: 

• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret complex information and formulate insights and recommendations.
• Ability to clearly articulate complex ideas, develop clear narratives, and translate these into compelling written reports and presentations.
• Proven experience in promoting innovations in evidence-based results reporting as well as impact measurement approaches.
• Demonstrated competence and experience in enhancing high-quality programming, results-based management and performance monitoring and evaluation.
• Proven experience in having supported international organizations in strengthening their results-based architecture over the last five years.
• Ability to deliver results under the indicated timelines   
• Excellent verbal and communications skills. 
• Ability to work effectively with diverse groups of people. 
• Capacity to work under pressure, manage stress and adapt to rapidly evolving situations. 
• Understanding of and familiarity with UNDP’s results framework will be an asset.

Required Skills and Experience

The applicant should clearly define and indicate the following:

Education:   Master’s degree in economics, Political Science, Data Science and Statistics, Development or other Social Sciences, or closely related fields.  

Experience 

Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.  

SCOPE OF PRICE PROPOSAL AND SCHEDULE OF PAYMENTS 

Interested candidates should provide lump sum fees for requested services with detailed breakdown. 

This amount must be “all-inclusive”. Please note that the terms “all-inclusive” implies that all costs (professional fees, communications, consumables, etc.) that could possibly be incurred are already factored into the final amounts submitted in the proposal. Also, please note that the contract price will be Deliverables/Outputs based - not fixed - subject to change in the cost components. 

The contractor will be paid an all-inclusive Deliverables/Outputs based lump sum amounts over the assignment period, subject to the submission of Certification of Payment (CoP) duly certified or an invoice and confirmation of satisfactory performance of achieved work (deliverables/outputs).

Payments will be based on work completed/ progress certified by the Strategy Lead, Strategy and Futures Team. The consultant would need to attach a progress report/ field travel costs (receipts) if applicable, when requesting payment.   

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF THE BEST OFFER 

Evaluation Method and Criteria 

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.  The 70% component of the evaluation criteria (rating of the qualifications and methodology) will be broken down as follows:

RECOMMENDED PRESENTATION OF OFFER 

Interested individual consultants must submit documents under point 1, 2&3 to demonstrate their qualifications. Candidates that fail to submit these documents, the application will not be considered. 

1. Letter of Interest: Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP 
2. Personal CV or P11, indicating all experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.  
3. Brief Description of why you consider yourself as the most suitable candidate for this assignment.  
4. Financial Proposal When the financial proposal is requested it should indicate the all-inclusive Deliverables/Outputs based total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided. 

The terms “all-inclusive” implies that all costs (professional fees, travel costs, living allowances, communications, consumables, etc.) that could possibly be incurred are already factored into the final amounts submitted in the proposal. If an Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP. 

Annexes to the TOR

UNDP Strategic Plan 2022-2025: Executive Board Document

UNDP Strategic Plan 2022-2025: Brochure