UNDP Jobs - 34615- Consultant: Preparation of “Drivers of MDG achieve

Consultant: Preparation of “Drivers of MDG achievements in Uganda” thematic chapter of the Uganda National MDG Progress Report 2013

Location :

Kampala, UGANDA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

13-Jan-2013

Application Deadline :

02-Jan-13 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

40 working days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

40 working days

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. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

Since the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration in New York on September 8th 2000, Uganda has been working to achieve its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the set deadline of 2015. During this time, the country has made considerable progress towards meeting these goals, having achieved, among others, the target of cutting by halve (MDG1) the incidence of absolute poverty in the country, currently at 24.5%, down from the levels prevailing in the early 1990s. It is also on track to eliminate gender disparities in education, reduce the prevalence of underweight children under the age of five, ensure universal access to anti-retroviral drugs for people with advanced HIV, and provide access to safe drinking water to its population.

As part of these efforts, the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, which is the government’s focal point for MDGs, has been regularly monitoring and reporting on progress made towards achieving key development indicators embedded in the MDG framework. Among others, the Ministry has produced threeNational MDG progress reports since 2000, one in 2005, another in 2007 and the latest in 2010, in addition to numerous studies covering various MDG-relevant topics, such as poverty, employment, pro-poor public investment, etc.

Purpose and justification:

Since the last National MDG progress report was produced in late 2010 a number of developments have taken place which warrant the production of an updated progress report in Uganda.

To start with, a number of new micro-datasets have become available as part of the Uganda Bureau of Statistics regular surveying activities. These include the 2009/10 Uganda National Household Survey, which constitutes the main source of socioeconomic data in the country, Ugandan Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS) of 2011, the 2010 and 2011 Uganda National Panel Surveys (UNPS), or the 2011 Uganda AIDS Indicator Survey (UAIS), among the most prominent and relevant for the MDGs. Altogether, these surveys provide a rich source of new updated data and information on which to report on progress towards achieving the MDGs in Uganda.

In addition, as the world nears the 2015 MDG deadline, pressure has been mounting in Uganda to produce an updated National MDG progress report. The recently launched ‘Post 2015 Development Agenda’ global consultation process, which will culminate in September 2013 with a UN General Assembly High-Level meeting on the MDGs, has heightened the need to report on progress on the MDGs at a national level before that date. In this context, Uganda is planning to hold a number of Post 2015 national consultations in the course of the next few months, process which would greatly benefit from an updated, evidence-based analysis of progress in achieving the MDGs.

Scope of work

The ensure consistency with previous work, the envisaged 2013 Uganda MDG progress report will follow a similar format to the one used for the 2010 MDG progress report. It will report, in this sense, on the latest official data available for the several indicators that define the Ugandan MDG monitoring framework and provide an evidence-based analysis of the situation of the MDGs for each of the eight MDG goals, drawing from both existing studies and primary research conducted for this report. It will include an informed consensus assessment of progress towards achieving the eight MDG goals in Uganda, using the traffic-light reporting method: On track/achieved goal (green), Slow/Stagnant progress (yellow) and Reversal on a specific goal (red).

Tentatively, the 2013 Uganda MDG progress report will be organized as follows:

Executive summary: Summary of key findings presented in the report.
Introduction: and introductory section presenting the objectives of the report, the data and indicators used, as well as other relevant methodological considerations.
Development context: an overview of the general development context in which the findings presented in the report take place.
Progress towards the MDGs: An analysis, goal by goal, on the status of each of the eight MDGs, together with an assessment of progress made towards achieving each of these goals.
Thematic chapter: “Drivers of MDG Achievement in Uganda”. This thematic chapter will examine drivers of MDG progress in Uganda.
Conclusion and way forward – Uganda and the Post 2015 International Development Agenda: Final section including concluding comments and some notes on the way forward. This section will include a summary of key messages coming out of the post 2015 National Consultation process on Uganda’s views for the ‘Post 2015 international development agenda’ global debate.

The work for the preparation of the 2013 Uganda MDG progress report will be led by the Economic Development Policy and Research (EDPR) department at the Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with other key partners. These will include the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) country office in Uganda, which will provide technical and financial support under the framework of the ‘Evidence-Based Analytical Studies’ (EBAS) project, which it is implementing as a National Implementation (NIM) modality project with the Ministry of Finance. It will also involve closely liaising with the MDG Data Sub-Committee, chaired by UBOS, which brings together relevant government institutions, including EDPR/MOFPED ‘to strengthen the coordination and harmonization of efforts aimed at collating and disseminating quality MDG related data’.

To support the work of the 2013 MDG progress report team, the EBAS project will contract the services of one (1) consultant to work on the areas outlined below.

Duties and Responsibilities

Timelines and key milestones:

The timelines for the production and launch of the 2013 Uganda MDG progress report will be determined by the MDG information and dissemination needs outlined above. Tentatively, these will entail the following:

Compilation and production of all background material – by mid February 2013
First internal draft of MDG progress report – By mid March 2013
Draft MDG progress report for dissemination – end of March 2013
Final draft for consideration and approval by MOFPED – end of May 2013
National launch of MDG progress report – end of July 2013
Global launch/dissemination of MDG progress report – UN GA meetings of September 2013

Consultancy requirements:

As indicated above, the consultant will be hired under the MOFPED-UNDP EBAS project to support the Ministry of Finance in the production of the 2013 Uganda- National MDG Progress Report. In particular, He/ she will assist with the preparation of the thematic chapter examining the “Drivers of MDG achievement in Uganda”.

The consultant recruited to provide support to the preparation of the thematic chapter will be hired for a total of forty (40) days person-days of work, to be undertaken during the time period outlined in the previous section: January-September 2013. In providing this support, the consultant will perform the following tasks:

Under the guidance of the EDPR department at the Ministry of Finance, undertake modeling work on the drivers of MDG achievement in Uganda (20 days).
Produce a background paper on the “Drivers of MDG achievements in Uganda”, which will be used by EDPR in the production of the thematic chapter in the 2013 MDG Progress report on this same topic (20 days).

Management and payment arrangements:

Throughout the assignment, the consultant- will report on their work directly to the Commissioner of Economic Development Policy and Research (EDPR) at the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development or to the person designated by the Commissioner to lead this work, and will closely liaise, when and where necessary, with other team members and counterparts, as per the requirements of the assignment.

Payments will be effectuated by UNDP based on the satisfactory completion of each of the tasks outlined above, upon the presentation of the corresponding invoice. Payments will be made for the actual days spent in undertaking these tasks, up the maximum number of days indicated in the schedule of tasks outlined in Section 5 above, and upon the presentation of the corresponding certification of work done for each of these tasks. In the event that the consultant does not make use of the full amount of consultancy days defined for this contract establishes, UNDP will not be contractually bound to make use or pay for the days which have not been utilized.

The consultant contracted to undertake this assignment will be fully responsible for the timely and quality delivery of all the outputs outlined in these terms of reference.

Competencies

Proven ability to write clear, jargon-free English.
Strong communication and presentation skills.
Ability to deliver on time.
Proven ability to write clear, jargon-free English.
Strong communication and presentation skill
Strong analytical skills
Ability to work with minimal supervision
Excellent skills in report writing

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

An advanced degree in economics or related social sciences, at a Masters level or higher. A PhD in economics or other related fields would be an asset.

Expertise and experience:

The ‘Thematic Support’ consultant recruited for this assignment will have extensive expertise conducting socioeconomic research and analysis, as per the following academic and professional requirements.
Proven record of having conducted similar research in the area of socioeconomic analysis, with a focus on modeling and statistical analysis, especially for Uganda is a must.
Proven professional experience of successfully conducting (consultancy assignments for international development and/or government organizations in areas relevant for the assignment.
Publications in the field of social science research (including at a working paper level) in areas relevant to the assignment would be an asset.

Language Requirements:

Proven ability to write clear, jargon-free English.

Evaluation method and criteria:

The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
Highest Combined Score (based on the 70% technical offer and 30% price weight distribution) where the minimum passing score of technical proposal is 70%.

Evaluation Criteria:

Technical Proposal (Maximum 70 points):

Relevance of Education – 5 points
Experience in similar research area, especially for Uganda – 20 points
Professional experience in similar consultancy assignments – 25 points
Publications – 10 points
Language Skills – 5 points
Communication and presentation skills – 5 points

Financial Proposal (Maximum 30 points):

To be computed as a ratio of the Proposal’s offer to the lowest price among the proposals received by UNDP.

Application Procedure:

Applicants are required to submit an application and proposals, which include the following documents/information in a single document (preferably in Adobe PDF format):

Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP (Annex II)
Updated Personal CV, highlighting past experience in similar assignments and with 3 professional references with contact details (email and telephone).
Financial proposal (in template provided in Annex II) stating:
a. An all-inclusive daily fee for this assignment supported by a breakdown of costs. The all inclusive daily fee shall take into account various expenses expected to be incurred by the Individual Contractor during the contract period, including: professional fee, living allowances, communication costs and consumables, etc.
b. The cost of travel from the home base to the duty station and vice versa, where such travel is required (1 return economy ticket).

Notes:

To facilitate the consultant´s calculation of his/her living allowance (in case the consultant is not based in the duty station), the current UN DSA in Kampala is USD 198. Quoted living allowances should not exceed this amount.
The actual cost of transport to duty station (if applicable) will be paid with the initial payment.

Annexes (to be downloaded from UNDP Uganda Website, procurement notices section: www.undp.or.ug):

Annex I: Individual Contractor General Terms and Conditions
Annex II: Template to Confirmation of Interest and Availability and Submit the Financial Proposal

UNDP applies a fair and transparent selection process that will take into account the competencies/skills of the applicants as well as their financial proposals. Qualified women and members of social minorities are encouraged to apply.

Please note that the system will only allow you to upload one document, therefore all the technical and financial proposals are to be attached to the CVs and uploaded together at once/as a single document.

Note: The deadline for submitting applications is 2 January 2013.