Background

Bangladesh has witnessed at times conflicting trends in the sphere of democratic governance. On one hand a vibrant and active civil society including the mass media provide a range of debate on public issues that enhance the ability of the public to make informed decisions on public policy matters. On the other hand, at times the political and social environment and the confrontational nature of the political sphere can undermine the quality of this debate. The most notable example of the consequences of the nature of democratic space in Bangladesh is the long standing conflict between political parties that leads to widespread political violence, frequent boycotts of parliament and a failure to agree on key public interest issues and ground rules.

Recent manifestations of this culture of political confrontation has led to a boycott of the main opposition party of national elections in 2014 with little consensus over the options to resolve differences and long standing disputes unresolved. These trends have been persistent since 1971 with a number of elections boycotted and a general inclination to express differences through violent political protests rather than finding solutions based on a consensus around the rules of the game and on overriding principles of the public interest. A strong political culture steered by public opinion and public interest concerns can be undermined by political party interests and a refusal to engage that undermines the possibility for an overlapping consensus in politics.

Rationale for programme document:

Strong evidence from the region and in similar development context indicates that a lack of ground rules for political debate can lead to a breakdown of democratic and social order. Experience from across the region shows instability is increased when political parties take entrenched positions and refuse to engage in political discussion and debate. There is also strong evidence that where there is stability based on good governance and a consensus as to the rules of the game better policies are produced and social and economic gains are made. Where accountability mechanisms are robust and public voice strong countries perform better. Providing for the conditions for an overlapping consensus requires building platforms of engagement and strengthening the capacity of political and public mechanisms to react to opposing views.

The approach is to set out the groundwork for a longer-term programme on democratic space and social cohesion and support stronger demand side pressures on governance actors to act in the public interest. It will support build the capacity of civil society to form alliances and coalitions around key national issues and better articulate these to increase demand side pressures on the government and political parties to work towards consensus public interest positions. To respond to the need to develop stronger links between the polity and public demand side pressures the UNDP Bangladesh Country Office intends to assess the options for increasing its work in the field of democratic space by developing a cross cutting platform to engage stakeholders in a national conversation about ‘big issues’ that affect peoples’ lives. In order to respond to this need a project formulation mission team will be assembled consisting of two international and one national experts in this area.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of work and expected outputs / deliverables:

• The programme document is expected to outline the programme outcomes, outputs and activities using standard UNDP programme design tools as well as logic for engagement in democratic space.

This will include the following deliverables:

Based on a clear logic and theory of change:

• A comprehensive programme document based on UNDP standard programming design (see major deliverables below);
• Conduct a series of consultations and focus group discussions with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure the approach aligns with national context and priorities.

Consultation

The formulation will include a number of consultations with various stakeholders including internal UNDP programming, government representatives, academics, political parties, lawmakers, civil society organisations, media, youth group/representatives and socially marginalized groups, and international community.

Major Deliverables:

In particular the formulation mission will deliver:

• A series of consultations with a wide range of national stakeholders and the international community to identify areas to be included in the programme;
• A comprehensive programme document designed in line with standard UNDP formats including a narrative with a clear logic and theory of change, outputs, logframe, annual activities and workplans, risk assessment and escalation points and management frameworks. This should also include a robust monitoring and evaluation framework with clear targets and indicators;
  Identify key stakeholders and potential partners to implement the outputs of the proposed programme.
• Outline all key international and national interventions currently on going or planned in the next 24 months in similar fields in Bangladesh;
• Provide a comprehensive risk assessment for the programme with clear escalation points built into the programme design;
• Outline a suitable management and delivery structure based on a UNDP implementation model;
• Draft a detailed budget for the programme that is in line with UNDP accounting and procurement guidelines;
• Draft terms of reference for any core staffing needs of the intervention in consultation with UNDP Country Office.

Supervision and performance evaluation:

• The team will report directly to the Assistant Country Director, Democratic Governance Cluster of UNDP Bangladesh under the overall guidance of the UNDP Country Director and UN Resident Coordinator.
  

Timeframe and deadlines:

• Total duration of the assignment will be for 25 days. The duration will be split between 20 days in country mission in Dhaka and 5 days home based.
  

Payment:

• The consultants will be paid in three tranches, first payment will be made upon their arrival (20%), second tranche will be paid upon completion of stakeholder consultation (50%) and the final payment (30%) will be made after submission of the final report. A satisfactory certification from the Assistant Country Director, Democratic Governance Cluster is must to process the final payment.

Competencies

• Good knowledge of political parties in the region;
• Specific experience working in politically sensitive stakeholder processes preferably in the region;
• Demonstrated gender mainstreaming experience;
• Prior experience in and South Asia highly desirable;
• Excellent knowledge of English.
  

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree in social sciences with a focus on international relations, political science, sociology, development studies or equivalent field.

Experience:

• A minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in the field of democratic governance;
• This should include a proven track record in working with stakeholders to build capacity and confidence and designing schemes to strengthen social capital and civic virtue;
• Experience in national dialogue processes;
• Relevant field experience in South Asia, especially in politically charged environments;
• Knowledge of the political context of South Asia is required;
• Working experience with UN/UNDP or any other international organization will be an asset;
• Demonstrated management experience in the field and an understanding of UNDP programme documents required.

Language:

• Excellent writing and spoken English is required.

Evaluation of the Candidates:

• Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:
  

Cumulative analysis:

The candidates will be evaluated through Cumulative Analysis method. When using the weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will 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 a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.
  

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for Financial Evaluation.

Technical Evaluation Criteria (Total 70 marks)

• Educational background and overall professional experience in the relevant field (10 marks);
• Years of experience working in the field of governance, specially in the areas of capacity and confidence building, conflict management, peace building and negotiation process in South Asia region (25 marks);
• Experience leading national dialogue process on consensus building among different actors including political parties will be considered as an advantage (25 marks);
• Working experience with UN or any other international organizations (10 marks).

Financial Evaluation (Total 30 marks)

All technical yqualified proposals will be scored out 30 based on the formula provided below. The maximum points (30) will be assigned to the lowest financial proposal. All other proposals received points according to the following formula:
p = y (μ/z) 

Where:
p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated;
y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal;
μ = price of the lowest priced proposal;
z = price of the proposal being evaluated.