UNDP Jobs - 74874- Consultancy - Developing Report on Methodological

Consultancy - Developing Report on Methodological framework for 2018 Africa Data Revolution

Location :

Home-Based

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

23-Oct-2017

Application Deadline :

10-Oct-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

03 Months

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

In July 2017 at the second Africa Open Data Conference in Accra, Ghana, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), UNDP, Open Data for Development, the World Wide Web Foundation, among other partners, jointly launched the first biennial Africa Data Revolution Report. This first Report assessed the challenges and opportunities of the data revolution and its contributions to African countries’ pledge to achieve sustainable development and inclusive growth for all following the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union Agenda 2063. The 2016 Report aimed to assist countries on the continent in charting their way towards strengthened national data ecosystems by identifying common problems, sharing home-grown examples and lessons learned and coming up with actionable recommendations applicable in the regional, national and local contexts. It also reviewed the current state of data ecosystems in Africa in terms of the diversity of data actors and their capacity needs, legislative and policy frameworks, technological infrastructure, tools and platforms, and the dynamic interactions between them.

The drive for data openness is recognized as a priority by international statistics communities. In the Addis Ababa Action Agenda adopted at the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, all UN member states have noted the importance of drawing on new, open data sources to meet user needs. In January 2017, during the first World Data Forum in Cape Town, South Africa, the High-level Group for Partnership, Coordination and Capacity-Building for statistics for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development introduced the Cape Town Global Action Plan for Sustainable Development Data. Among key objectives, the Global Action Plan aims to modernize governance and institutional frameworks to allow national statistical systems to meet the demands and opportunities of constantly evolving data ecosystems. In order to achieve these objectives, member states at the United Nations Statistical Commission agreed to take action to explore ways of revising the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics to include relevant and appropriate aspects of open data initiatives, and to encourage national statistical offices to embrace the open data initiative and ensure stakeholders of the national statistical system as part of part of the process.

To help address these important challenges and identify needed actions for African national statistical systems, UNDP is working with partners to prepare the second Africa Data Revolution Report, which will focus on the theme of open data. The report will discuss the major issues related to the promotion of open data in Africa and its impact on national data ecosystems. The second report will follow the similar format as its predecessor, with improved methodological narratives and country assessments to enhance the quality and relevance of the report.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Policy Specialist for Data for Development and the guidance of the core partners team, the consultant will develop a methodological research framework for the 2018 Africa Data Revolution Report.

The consultant will be responsible for producing the following key deliverables and tasks:

Undertake a framing study on the relevance of open data for Africa and the substantive scope of the 2018 Africa Data Revolution Report
Develop a methodology and guidelines for research at national and regional levels;
Prepare a template for harmonized outcomes of country research;
Identify candidate countries for case studies
Propose an outline for the 2018 Africa Data Revolution Report

Expected outputs and deliverables:

Preliminary list of candidate countries and regional initiatives for case studies, by 31 October 2017
Final draft of methodological research framework for 2018 Africa Data Revolution Report, including conceptual scope of the report, template for country research results, and final list of countries and regional initiatives for in-depth case studies, by 15 December 2017
Proposed outline of the 2018 Africa Data Revolution Report, by 20 January 2018

Competencies

Strong communication and presentation skills in oral and written form
Strong computer skills and experience in the use of web based communication and information tools
Good interpersonal and teamwork skills and proven ability to work in a multi-cultural setting and teams with diversity of background and skills, while at the same time being capable of working independently to agreed work plans
Demonstrated organizational and planning skills, and ability to meet deadlines and to manage multiple tasks effectively and efficiently
Understanding of the evolving 2030 Agenda monitoring issues is an asset

Required Skills and Experience

Academic qualifications:

Master’s Degree in development economics, statistics or any other related field is required.

Experience:

Minimum 10 years of experience in development evaluation, monitoring or measurements is required
Experience in research, policy analysis or advocacy on open data, statistics and indicators for monitoring and accountability of national and international development priorities is required;
In-depth knowledge of national statistical systems and experience in supporting the deployment of open data in national and regional data ecosystems in Africa is required;
Knowledge of UN policies on data and statistics for sustainable development, SDG indicators, international standards for open data is highly desirable;
Demonstrated excellent analytical, writing and editing skills are required;
Prior working experience with development agencies or developing countries context would be an asset.

Language:

Proficiency in English is a required
A second UN language preferably French or Arabic is desirable

Application Procedure:

The application package containing the following (to be uploaded as one file):

Online application with brief description of why the Offer considers her/himself the most suitable for the assignment; and
Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects and specifying the relevant assignment period (from/to), as well as the email and telephone contacts of at least three (3) professional references.
A two-page methodology on how the Offeror will conduct the work including a Work Plan and approach in delivering the required outputs within the assignment period.

Note: The above documents need to be scanned in one file and uploaded to the online application as one document.

Shortlisted candidates (ONLY) will be requested to submit a Financial Proposal.

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around the specific and measurable deliverables of the TOR. Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR, and deliverables accepted and certified by the technical manager.
The financial proposal must be all-inclusive and take into account various expenses that will be incurred during the contract, including: the daily professional fee; cost of travel from the home base to the duty station and vice versa, where required; living allowances at the duty station; communications, utilities and consumables; life, health and any other insurance; risks and inconveniences related to work under hardship and hazardous conditions (e.g., personal security needs, etc.), when applicable; and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services under the contract.
This consultancy is a home-based assignment, therefore, there is no envisaged travel cost to join duty station/repatriation travel.
In the case of unforeseeable travel requested by UNDP, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between UNDP and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed. In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.
If the 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 a 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.

The Financial Proposal is to be emailed as per the instruction in the separate email that will be sent to shortlisted candidates.

Evaluation process

Applicants are reviewed based on Required Skills and Experience stated above and based on the technical evaluation criteria outlined below. Applicants will be evaluated based on cumulative scoring. When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

Being 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 where technical criteria weighs 70% and Financial criteria/ Proposal weighs 30%.

Technical evaluation - Total 70% (70 points):

Criteria 1: Experience in research, policy analysis or advocacy on open data, statistics and indicators for monitoring and accountability of national and international development priorities: Weight = 10%; Maximum Points: 10

Criteria 2: In-depth knowledge of national statistical systems and experience in supporting the deployment of open data in national and regional data ecosystems in Africa Weight = 20 %; Maximum Points: 20
Criteria 3: Knowledge and experience of UN policies on data and statistics for sustainable development, SDG indicators, open data Weight = 10 %; Maximum Points: 10
Criteria 4: Demonstrated excellent analytical, writing and editing skills Weight = 25 %; Maximum Points: 25
Criteria 5: Previous working experience with development agencies or developing countries context Weight = 5 %; Maximum Points: 5

Candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (49 points) of the maximum obtainable points for the technical criteria (70 points) shall be considered for the financial evaluation.

Financial evaluation - Total 30% (30 points):

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

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

Contract Award:

Candidate obtaining the highest combined scores in the combined score of Technical and Financial evaluation will be considered technically qualified and will be offered to enter into contract with UNDP.

Institutional Arrangement:

The consultant will work under the guidance and direct supervision of Policy Specialist for Data Development, Strategic Policy, BPPS and will be responsible for the fulfilment of the deliverables as specified above.

The Consultant will be responsible for providing her/his own laptop.

Payment Modality:

Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified above and deliverables accepted and upon certification of satisfactory completion by the manager.
The work week will be based on 35 hours, i.e. on a 7-hours working day, with core hours being between 9h00 and 18h00 daily.

Annexes (click on the hyperlink to access the documents):

Annex 1 - UNDP P-11 Form for ICs

Annex 2 - IC Contract Template

Annex 3 - IC General Terms and Conditions

Annex 4 - RLA Template

Any request for clarification must be sent by email to cpu.bids@undp.org

The UNDP Central Procurement Unit will respond by email and will send written copies of the response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all applicants.

Additional Questions:

Can you confirm that you have at least ten years of relevant work experience in development monitoring, evaluation or measurement?
Can you confirm that you have experience in research, policy analysis or advocacy on open data, statistics and indicators for monitoring and accountability of national and international development priorities?
Are you a former staff of the UN/UNDP? If yes, please clarify the reason of separation.
Are you a UN/UNDP retiree?