Background

 Background

(For more informaiton : http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=44479 )

Myanmar is at a historic stage in its development. A new Constitution was adopted in May 2008 and elections were held in November 2010 with bi-elections in April 2012. Parliament and governments have been formed at the national and region/state levels. Parliamentary Elections took place in the fourth quarter of 2015. A number of reforms have already been undertaken, focusing on: good governance, human rights, socio-economic development and cease-fire agreements in a number of conflict areas. Myanmar’s vision is to become a modern, developed and democratic nation by 2030.

However, the lack of reliable, up-to-date and sufficiently disaggregated data continues to be a major source of concern for government and development partners, as is the case in many other Least Developed Countries. In addition, there is little experience and few established processes for using the available data to feed into policy-making. In order to address this, the Government of Myanmar has initiated efforts to strengthen the collection and use of statistics. Key initiatives include a new statistics law and the elaboration of a National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS).

UNDP Myanmar is providing support to the government to collect, analyze and use socio-economic data. In the past, this has included conducting two rounds (in 2005/06 and 2010/11) of a primary source of socio-economic data for Myanmar - the Integrated Household Living Conditions Assessment.

In order to continue its assistance to improving socio-economic statistics in Myanmar, UNDP is currently supporting - jointly with the World Bank – the Central Statistical Organization(CSO) of the Ministry of Planning and Finance in their implementation and analysis of a large-scale household living conditions survey (named the Myanmar Living Conditions Survey, MLCS). The survey will deliver key data to evaluate past performance and to help the new government design evidence-based policies which address the needs of the people of Myanmar. It will also deliver key baseline indicators for the new SDG agenda.

The MLCS has completed its 12-month data collection period (December 2016 – December 2017) and is now progressing into the data analysis and report production phase. Two publications will be produced, a key indicators report, and then a more detailed socio-economic report (the latter to include poverty estimates).

UNDP is seeking an experienced consultant, to provide technical inputs to data analysis (using Stata) and report production for select parts of the MLCS reports; to support ensuring technical quality and peer review the analysis and report production work of the joint CSO- UNDP-WB data analysis team; to contribute to strengthening the capacities of the CSO. All data analysis conducted must be done in such a manner as to build CSO capacity to conduct this work – as such, the consultant will be expected to spend considerable time in NPT explaining the concepts to CSO team members, ideally engaging in joint analysis and interpretation where possible. The consultant is expected to produce quality outputs as a part of a joint technical CSO-UNDP-WB team, and is expected to engage with and support team members engaged in various chapters of the report, to improve quality of the overall product.

Objectives of the Assignment
 

Key objectives of the assignment are to lead UNDP’s contribution to the analysis and report production of the MLCS, ideally with a focus on labour, income generation and financial inclusion, ensuring high-quality statistical publications, and building relevant capacity in CSO.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work and anticipated outputs

(For more information: http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=44479 )

UNDP Myanmar requires the services of an international consultant with proven and extensive experience in analyzing household survey data, to carry out the following tasks:

1. Conduct data analysis (using Stata, and following agreed formats) and produce high-quality chapters for assigned topics of the MLCS socio-economic report, with a focus on labour, income generation and financial inclusion.
2. Provide face-to-face guidance and remote supervision/mentoring for CSO staff in producing data analysis and chapter production for their assigned topics. 
3. Collaborate with colleagues from the CSO and World Bank to improve and ensure the quality of the overall product, via giving peer review comments, suggestions and feedback.
4. Participate, via remote means or in person, in meetings with the joint data analysis and report writing team.
5. Provide inputs to informal consultations and/or formal meetings with stakeholders and data users as needed to inform the analysis.
6. Continuously provide strategic and technical advice to UNDP project management on the course of MLCS analysis and report dissemination.

Provide technical inputs to the design of the launch of the socio-economic report; draft UNDP’s talking points/key messages for the event; facilitate assigned sessions; and present assigned topics.

Expected Deliverables
 

The consultant will be responsible for delivering the following output:

*A maximum of 3 trips to Myanmar are anticipated for this assignment. According to the current schedule, in-country missions are required for May (up to 20 fee-days), July or August (up to 15 fee-days), and November (up to 5 fee-days). The timeline and the duration, including the occurrence of the planned in-country mission(s) are subject to changes, given the evolving nature of the joint CSO-UNDP-WB work.

* All travel costs related to this assignment should be included and clearly described in the applicant’s financial proposal: international economy-class airfares to and from NPT, not to exceed UNDP reference airfare for most economical option on travelled route; living allowance per actual night spent in Myanmar, not to exceed UNDP’s prevailing rate for this location; terminal expenses, not to exceed USD 100 per trip.

*For trips shorter than 4 weeks, UNDP will facilitate a free on-arrival visa for the consultant. For trips longer than 4 weeks, UNDP will facilitate visas for the consultant, which are free of charge but need to be picked up at the nearest Myanmar embassy. If any costs are expected for this, they should be included in the financial proposal.

*UNDP will arrange all in-country travel(s) outside Nay Pyi Taw if such in-country travel(s) are requested from UNDP and agreed with the consultant in writing. UNDP will provide living allowance per actual night spent during the in-country travel(s), not to exceed UNDP’s prevailing rate.

*UNDP will not consider travel days as fee-days. The above stated fee-days are exclusive of travel time.

*UNDP will provide administrative and logistical support, including translators and interpreters as required.

Competencies

1. Essential Qualifications and Competencies

• Master’s degree in the field of economics, statistics, or other relevant field.
• At least 7 years’ experience in the analysis and report production for large-scale household surveys, of which 3 years spent on the analysis and report production for labour, income generation and financial inclusion topics of large-scale household surveys.
• Hands on experience analyzing complex living conditions surveys / living standards measurement surveys to analyze poverty, income generation and labour allocation.
• Demonstrated authorship of living conditions analysis in the areas of labour, financial inclusion and income generation, proven by 2 writing samples.
• Demonstrated hands on experience doing analysis using Stata.
• Record of successful capacity building on data analysis and report production.
• Excellent communication and writing skills.
• Fluency in English language. _ for more information http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=44479

Required Skills and Experience

Candidates are required to submit two writing samples.

Desirable qualification:

Experience with monetary poverty estimation a distinct advantage.

For more information: http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=44479