Background

UNDP’s Bangkok Regional Hub supports UNDP Country Offices in the Asia and Pacific region by providing access to knowledge and advisory services, with a focus on Democratic Governance and Peacebuilding, Resilient and Sustainable Development, and Inclusive Growth and Poverty Reduction. The Bangkok Regional Hub serves as the Secretariat for the Asia Pacific Development Effectiveness Facility (AP-DEF), a country-led regional platform, chaired by the Government of Bangladesh, which supports countries to implement their national agendas on development finance and cooperation. The Facility is a platform for regional dialogue, cooperation, and sharing of country knowledge and experiences. It is responding to the growing demand from countries in Asia Pacific to establish evidence and analysis, and introduce policy and institutional reforms for managing the increasing complexity of domestic and international sources of finance for development.

UNDP’s Bangkok Regional Hub and AP-DEF have been developing the Development Finance Assessment (DFA), a tool to respond to the growing demand from countries in the region to establish evidence and analysis, and introduce policy and institutional reforms for managing the increasing complexity of domestic and international sources of finance for development. DFAs were introduced as the very first development finance studies of their kind, seeking to bring together fragmented approaches on the use of the different sources of funds that may not all be primarily dedicated to address development challenges.

The DFA provides governments with data and analysis on the quality of their national development strategies/ plans and country results frameworks, changing trends in development finance and their alignment with national priorities and results. It aims to examine aspects that affect the national development planning and budgeting, including macroeconomic context, national development plans, relations between national planning and budgeting, progress on MDGs and readiness for SDGs. The analysis on financial flows includes analysis of each individual financial flow and their respective relevance to finance national development goals, with a focus on effectiveness. It also helps formulate recommendations for how institutions and systems might be adjusted to ensure that different sources of development finance are managed within a coherent framework, which better supports the implementation of the SDGs.

The Agenda 2030, with its ambition of being transformational, will present significant challenges for governments, in particular for their traditional fiscal planning and budgeting capacities and performance. The Third International Conference on Financing for Development held in Addis Ababa in July 2015 opened the discussions on how to mobilise the unprecedented amounts of financial resources that will be required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is expected that countries will face an increasingly complex landscape of development finance to manage at the national level, as domestic public and private resources increase, and the sources of external resources diversify.  The SDG Agenda will demand both significant increases in capacity and resources as well as changes in the way existing resources are used and prioritised.

To address these challenges and achieve sustainable development, countries will need to develop new, more effective and integrated approaches to managing public and private finance.  The Addis Ababa Action Agenda assumes that countries will use their own national development strategies and plans to respond to the SDGs and calls for the adoption of Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs).  These frameworks should provide a structure for governments to form and implement a strategic, holistic, results-driven approach to financing their development objectives. This approach should help countries set a strategy to effectively mobilise the investments they need, and provide a structure that supports coherence across government in channelling resources to the areas they are most suited.

This new approach introduces the need for an integrated vision of fiscal planning and management that transcends traditional public financial management and also aligns resources of private nature. Such strategy for mobilising resources should be commensurate in scale and in a manner consistent with the results they are aiming for. It should provide clarity on the roles that all actors—public and private, domestic and international—are best placed to play in contributing to that vision and for mobilising and fostering investments. In short, an integrated national financing framework is a system of policies and institutional structures that a government must set in place for managing a holistic and more strategic approach towards financing.

A conceptual model for integrated national financing frameworks has been explored in detail, together with illustrative country examples, in the AP-DEF 2016 Regional Report, Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the Era of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda: Progress on Establishing Integrated National Financing Frameworks in the Asia-Pacific Region. The concept covers six building blocks and, critically, the way that they interact and work together in a single, integrated system:

1. Leadership that facilitates institutional coherence is essential for bringing together actors across and outside government to build an integrated approach, ensuring alignment in policies and providing overall results-oriented direction for financing policies.
2. A clear vision for results that the country wants to achieve is the foundation of an integrated national financing framework on which financing plans and targets are built. It sets out the sustainable development outcomes and impact that the country wants to realise and is typically articulated in a national development plan. The vision for results should set out a realistic formulation to consider the affordability and financial resources needed to achieve the goals.
3. A financing strategy takes the long-term vision for results and develops estimates for the costs and types of investments needed. It provides the framework within which specific financing policies to mobilise resources can be developed and operationalised. For many countries, the financing strategy would be a significant extension of existing medium-term financing framework approaches.
4. Financing policies develop and deliver plans to mobilise each type of finance, in a scale and manner consistent with the financing strategy. They govern the mobilisation and use of particular types of finance, and cover a range of policies such as medium-term expenditure frameworks, tax revenue strategies, national aid policies, and industrial development strategies.
5. A robust monitoring, evaluation and learning system is an essential ingredient of a results-focused financing strategy. Systems that can effectively monitor progress from government efforts to mobilise financing, to the outcomes of investments mobilised and the results they contribute toward can inform more effective approaches to the use of finance.
6. An enabling environment for accountability and dialogue is essential to build the trust necessary to mobilise financing from stakeholders outside government, to make sure policies are being designed and delivered effectively and to ensure a voice for citizens, civil society, business, development partners and other actors in development.

The establishment of an INFF represents an ambitious long-term endeavour. While such frameworks do not exist so explicitly in most countries, many on-going initiatives and policy and institutional reforms in the areas of public finance and results-based management provide countries with a good starting basis to build upon.

The findings emerging from DFAs provide useful data and analysis for discussing reforms at country level, and stimulating evidence-based dialogue and exchange among countries in the region that face similar change processes. Examples of DFAs’ impact in this area include: i) the restructuring of government departments to take a more integrated approach to managing finance for development across institutions or bringing closer together the planning and budgeting processes; ii) the development of new integrated policy frameworks that seek greater coherence across external financial flows; and iii) proposals for new policy dialogue structures for governments and their partners, providing a multi-stakeholder platform that could be used to review SDG implementation.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work:

An individual consultant (the Consultant) will be engaged in assisting UNDP to provide technical assistance and guidance for countries on establishing and strengthening INFFs in 1-2 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The Consultant will also be responsible for designing suitable tools and approaches in the form of both research and direct technical assistance, identifying lessons and areas for exchange, facilitating knowledge sharing and working with the UNDP team to track good practices and opportunities for South-South exchange and new areas of work for expanding the understanding and strengthening of INFFs.

In the context of UNDP’s offer to governments on financing the SDGs and the work of AP-DEF, the Consultant will undertake work in the areas of country support and consultations, technical assistance to countries, technical support to financing solutions and regional level research and analysis.

Objectives of the Assignment

Technical assistance to countries

• The Consultant will provide technical assistance to 1-2 countries in support of the establishment or strengthening of specific INFF building blocks following on areas of interest and recommendations from the DFA. Delivering this assistance will include:
  • Review of DFAs completed and underway to identify possible entry points for action and policy support
  • Consultations with government and development partners to determine exact focus of DFA follow-up actions. In addition to responding to the needs of relevant institutions around strengthening the INFF, lessons from the DFA process will be collected to shape the design of country support to other contexts
  • Development of a concept note specific to the country context which details the approach to technical assistance

Regional technical support to financing solutions  

• Based on lessons from DFAs, AP-DEF regional consultations and knowledge products, produce an analytical piece which identifies specific strategies and solutions demanded in the region. This will include a scan and analysis of key challenges and opportunities for countries and exploration of specific areas and INFF building blocks. The piece will help identify priorities for governments and which strategies are of the greatest interest in terms of priorities. For example, possibilities include the need for national resource mobilization strategies or monitoring and evaluation systems for INFFs
• Based on the DFA Methodological Guidance Note, conceptualize how actions after the DFA report can link to Financing Solutions as a package of services and tools from UNDP BRH in relation to UNDP regional and country office programming. This will include conducting data collection and analysis on how the methodology of the DFA can be built upon to link to follow-up actions in building INFFs and a compendium of support initiatives (from UNDP and beyond) which showcase useful tools but also gaps where services should be developed
• Design a package of 3-4 financing strategies and solutions which could be in the form of assessments, training, learning opportunities, etc.
• Identify opportunities for countries to learn about specific financing strategies or tools in the form of a concept note for a regional knowledge exchange around the 3-4 financing strategies or solutions

Regional level analysis and research

• Support, implement and provide quality control for ongoing Development Finance Assessments and DFA follow-up in the region; provide support UNDP BRH in ongoing research and analysis on Financing for Development agenda and its relevance at country level

• Explore elements of INFF building block indicators and how progress on establishing INFFs can be effectively measured, tracked and shared among countries
• Provide technical support to AP-DEF Steering Committee activities and regional consultations with technical contributions to contribute substantively to South-South knowledge exchange on lessons and good practices

Expected Outputs, Deliverables and Timelines:

Instituation Arrangement

 The Consultant will work under the supervision of the BRH’s Governance and Development Effectiveness Advisor

Duration of the Work:

The duration of the assignment is from (estimated) 4 May 2017 – 30 April 2018 with maximum 100 working days worked.

Duty Station:

The assignment will be home-based with 1-2 missions to Asia Pacific region. Travel will be arranged by the Consultant. UNDP will reimburse travel costs as per the UNDP travel policy.

Competencies

Competencies:

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrate integrity and ethical standards;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favouritism;
• Promote the vision, mission and strategic goal of UN

Functional Competencies:

• Effective team player, with good communication, diplomatic and inter-personal skills;
• Has ability to communicate clearly and present coherent and well-founded arguments;
• Demonstrates openness to change, responds positively to feedback and different point of view;
• Excellent communication skills including presentations, networking and interpersonal skills;
• Has ability to synthesize large amounts of information into succinct written reports;
• Proven experience in writing, editing and proof reading; Strong analytical skills.

Special skills requirements

• Proficiency of spoken and written English is required;
• Research experience in the areas of public finance, budget review and public expenditure review, as well as on relevant topics of private finance, are required;
• Previous work on Development Finance issues in the Asia-Pacific region an advantage;
• Proven knowledge of the concept of Integrated National Finance Frameworks (INFF) and their adaptation at the country level will be considered a significant asset;
• Familiarity with UNDP’s DFA and Financing Solutions toolkit with previous DFA studies considered an asset;
• Experience advising Governments at the country level on public policy reforms and financing strategies
• Excellent writing skills required, as demonstrated by previous research/analytical reports on relevant topics;
• Ability to lead consultations with senior Government officials required;
• Sound grasp of substantive policy issues in the public finance field;
• Excellent knowledge of data collection, analysis and statistical tools are essential;
• Advanced quantitative and econometric skills and experience with related data analysis tools are an advantage.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

Relevant degree or equivalent advanced degree in economics, public finance, public policy and administration, international relations, development studies or related field.

Years of experience:

Minimum of 7-10 years of relevant professional work experience on development finance and public policy.

Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

 Payments will be made monthly, upon receipt of timesheet record and certification of number of days worked.

Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer 

Cumulative analysis

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.

Technical Criteria for Evaluation (Maximum 70 points)

• Criteria 1: Relevance of education – Max 10 points
• Criteria 2: Minimum 7-10 years of relevant work experience on development finance and public policy– Max 20 Points
• Criteria 3: Research and advisory experience on public finance, budget review, and public expenditure review, as well as on relevant topics of private finance – Max 20 points
• Criteria 4: Experience advising Governments at the country level on public policy reforms and financing strategies – Max 10 points
• Criteria 5: Evidence of previous research/analytical reports on relevant topics – Max 10 points

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Annexes :

• Annex I - ToR_Country Support for Establishing Integrated National Financing Frameworks : http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_file.cfm?doc_id=105888
• Annex II - General Conditions: http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_file.cfm?doc_id=105891
• Annex III - Daily Financial proposal and Offeror's Letter To UNDP Confirming Interest and Avail for IC http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_file.cfm?doc_id=105893

All documents can be downloaded at : http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=36965