Background

UNDP Global Mission Statement:

UNDP is the UN’s global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with national counterparts on their own solutions to global and national development challenges.

UNDP Afghanistan Mission Statement:

UNDP supports stabilization, state-building, governance and development priorities in Afghanistan. UNDP support, in partnership with the Government, the United Nations system, the donor community and other development stakeholders, has contributed to institutional development efforts leading to positive impact on the lives of Afghan citizens. Over the years UNDP support has spanned such milestone efforts as the adoption of the Constitution; Presidential, Parliamentary and Provincial Council elections; institutional development through capacity-building to the legislative, the judicial and executive arms of the state, and key ministries, Government agencies and commissions at the national and subnational levels. UNDP has played a key role in the management of the Law and Order Trust Fund, which supports the Government in developing and maintaining the national police force and in efforts to stabilize the internal security environment. Major demobilization, disarmament and rehabilitation and area-based livelihoods and reconstruction programmes have taken place nationwide. UNDP Programmes in Afghanistan have benefited from the very active support of donors. UNDP Afghanistan is committed to the highest standards of transparency and accountability and works in close coordination with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the UN system as a whole to maximize the impact of its development efforts on the ground.

Organizational Context:

Local Governance Project-Afghanistan (LoGo) is a new project, building upon the lessons from UNDP’s Afghanistan Sub-National Governance Programme (ASGP). Through LoGo project, the Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) and UNDP will jointly address the top three priorities of IDLG which are: 1) service delivery; 2) accountability; and 3) clear functions and mandates. The project builds on a new theory of change aimed at improving service delivery by enhancing the accountability and transparency of the local governments to the women and men of Afghanistan and building the capacity of the local governments to plan, budget and monitor service delivery effectively with the ultimate aim of increasing the legitimacy of the government and the trust between the state and society.

The GIRoA, with UNDP support, will focus on the following areas:

• Subnational state institutions, (Provincial Governor Offices, District Governor Offices, Provincial Sector and Technical Services department, Provincial Council, Provincial Development Committees, Moustafiats, Department of Economy), enhance their capacities in outreach, planning, monitoring and budgeting for accountable and transparent service delivery;  

• Municipalities deliver services in a more accountable and participatory manner;

• Accountability of local governance enhanced through civil society oversight organizations/groups;

• Central level government institutions develop and implement policy guidelines which improve local government accountability and service delivery.

The project will work with the relevant government ministries that cover subnational planning and budgeting, monitoring and evaluation and representative bodies as well as civic society.  These include the Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG), the Ministry of Economy (MoEc), and the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and ensuring complimentary with the other programmes, especially USAID, GIZ, UN Habitat and the World Bank.

Program Background:

Communications Unit of IDLG was promoted to Directorate last year. The IDLG’s Communications Directorate developed a communications strategy which was approved in October 2013. The goal of the strategy is that “the Afghan public is aware of, understands and supports IDLG's vision, mission, goal, policies and programmes, thereby helping IDLG to deliver on its mandate”. One of the seven key objectives of this strategy is “building the communications capacity of SNG entities” by providing guidelines and regulations, organizing trainings and technical assistance, and helping local communications units get the needed equipment and budget.  The fourth pillar of Communications Strategy concentrates on “supporting and linking with SNG unit communications” by disseminating regulations and guidelines, coordinating resources, planning communications activities and enhancing two-way information sharing between provinces and center.  

Objectives of the Assessment:

IDLG intends to hire a short-term consultant (individual) to conduct a thorough review of its communications strategy, the approach and methodology and assess how effective it has been in reaching out to Government counterparts, the relevant stakeholders and the wider public.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work and Deliverables

Under the direct supervision of the LoGo Subnational Policy Component Lead, in collaboration with IDLG Deputy Ministry of Policy, the Communication Consultant will conduct a thorough review and produce a quality report with specific recommendation for improvement. The structure and content of the report should meet the requirement of the IDLG’s Monitoring and Evaluation Policy.

The specific tasks shall be the following:

The “Review of Communications Directorate, Strategy and Activities” shall focus to:

• Assess the effectiveness of IDLG’s Communications Directorate, its approach, the adopted methodology, its capacity and overall performance;

• Assess the communications strategy and other guiding documents in place;

• Assess the Provincial Governors Offices (PGO) Communication Unit in terms of their capacity and performance;

• Review the effectiveness IDLG’s public communication and reach out through mass media;

• Examine whether IDLG is targeting the right audience, and whether efforts should be made to reach out to other audience that are currently not addressed.

The proposed approach for this assignment shall be, but not restricted to, a review of primary and secondary data. The consultant will be required to select samples from provinces for the review.  

The consultant should fulfil the objectives by conducting the following:

• Develop inception report outlining a proposed workplan and timeframe for the assignment. This can be flexible but will help IDLG manage the process;

• Develop a full draft research methodology including sampling, approach to questionnaire design, survey tool, procedures and protocols for listing work, quality assurance and data analysis and production of a report;

• Conduct the review of IDLG Communications Directorate (its capacity and performance), strategy, and activities;

• Engage with IDLG various directorates, and counterpart ministries, as well as external partners if required.

Finalize full review report and present it to IDLG leadership.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables; Estimated duration to complete and Payment percentage:

First Deliverable: 15 working days; 30%

• Inception report outlining the proposed workplan and timeframe for the assignment is developed;

Second Deliverable: 05 working days; 70%

• Final review report summarizing implementation and findings are submitted and accepted by UNDP/LOGO Project.

Payment Modality: 

Payments under the contract shall be delivery-based and be made on receipt of the specific milestone report as indicated above, and including a timesheet according to UNDP procurement formats for individual contractors. Indicated payment instalments in the table above shall be made upon approval of deliverables by IDLG office and LoGo managers. The report on deliverables will be reviewed by both the IDLG office and LoGo team. Upon receipt of final comments, the consultant shall finalise the report for formal acceptance by both parties at which point the payment shall be released.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies:

Knowledge Management and Learning:

• In-depth practical knowledge of inter-disciplinary development issues;
• Seeks and applies knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside of UNDP.

Development and Operational Effectiveness:

• Ability to lead strategic planning, change processes, results-based management and reporting;
• Ability to lead formulation, oversight of implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects;
• Ability to apply development theory to the specific country context to identify creative, practical approaches to overcome challenging situations.

Management and Leadership:

• Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
• Ability to lead effectively, mentoring as well as conflict resolution skills;
• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
• Proven networking, team-building, organizational and communication skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

• Minimum, bachelor’s degree or equivalent in media, public relation and communication, Business Administration, International Relations, Law, Public Administration, Economics, Social Sciences, or any related field. Master’s degree, however, is preferred

Years of experience:

• Bachelor's Level Degree - five years of working experience, and for master's Level Degree - 3 years of working experience. Knowledge and practical experience in public relation, communication is required;
• Strong background in journalism, media, local governance, development, community engagement;
• Excellent analytical and report writing skills;
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills including ability to facilitate and work in a multi-disciplinary team.

Language:

• Professional knowledge and ability of English, Dari and Pashto languages.

Working Arrangements

Institutional Arrangements:

• The national consultant will work under the overall supervision of the Sub-National Policy (SNP) Component Lead, in collaboration with Deputy Ministry of Policy IDLG.

Monitoring and reporting arrangements:

• The consultant will be reporting to SNP component lead and Deputy Minister for Policy at IDLG. LoGo project and IDLG office will provide office space and internet facility, logistical and other support service including transport and security applicable to UNDP national personnel, however the consultant will work closely with IDLG. The consultant however is expected to bring his/her own laptop and mobile phone and meet local communications costs (LoGo will provide a local pre-paid SIM card). Costs to arrange meetings, workshops, travel costs to and DSA during field visits (if any), etc shall be covered by LoGo project.

Duration of the Work

• Contract duration of the consultant will be for 6 weeks with maximum 30 working days.

 Duty Station

• The duty station for the contractor is Kabul, Afghanistan for the entire duration of the contract. Some field visits outside Kabul are envisaged under the contract. The Contractor will be required to report regularly and be present at LoGo project and IDLG office during the working hours, security conditions permitting. The contractor will follow the working hours and weekends as applicable to LoGo staff. Contractor’s movement for meetings and consultations shall be coordinated by LoGo project office. The contractor is at all times required to observe UNDP security rules and regulations.

Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments:

The contractor shall submit a price proposal as below:

• Daily Fee – The contractor shall propose a daily fee which should be inclusive of his/her professional fee, local communication and transportation costs. The number of working days for which the daily fee shall be payable under the contract is maximum 30 working days.

The total professional fee, shall be converted into a lump-sum contract and payments under the contract shall be made on submission and acceptance of deliverables under the contract in accordance with the schedule of payment linked with deliverables.

Evaluation Method and Criteria

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Cumulative analysis

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

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and

• Having received the 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 of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical Criteria 70 points

Technical Proposal (30 marks)

• Technical Approach & Methodology (20 marks) – This Explain the understanding of the objectives of the assignment, approach to the services, methodology for carrying out the activities and obtaining the expected output, and the degree of detail of such output. The Applicant should also explain the methodologies proposed to adopt and highlight the compatibility of those methodologies with the proposed approach.

• Work Plan (10 marks) – The Applicant should propose the main activities of the assignment, their content and duration, phasing and interrelations, milestones (including interim approvals by the Client), and delivery dates. The proposed work plan should be consistent with the technical approach and methodology, showing understanding of the TOR and ability to translate them into a feasible working plan.

Qualification and Experience (40 marks) [evaluation of CV]:

• General Qualification (15 marks);

• Experience relevant to the assignment (25 marks).

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals:

Interested National consultants (Procurement) must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document:

• Duly accomplished Confirmation of Interest and Submission of Financial Proposal Template using the template provided by UNDP (Annex II);

• Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.

Technical Proposal:

• Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment;

• A methodology, on how they will approach and complete the assignment and work plan as indicated above;

• Comprehensive work plan for entire consultancy period.