Background

Efficient, resilient, and well-planned road networks ensure that no one is left behind in the drive for inclusive growth. This is why roads are considered as an important foundation for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and a prerequisite for bringing communities together.

At present, only 24.6% of all provincial roads in the Philippines are of acceptable quality. Of the 12,726km of provincial core roads, 57.2% are unpaved and in need of upgrading, while 20.2% are in poor condition and in need of rehabilitation. The situation is similarly dire for the 19,098 km of non-core roads, with 67% needing upgrading and 7% in need of rehabilitation.

To address this situation, the Department for the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has launched the Conditional Matching Grant to Provinces (CMGP) initiative to improve the quality of the local road network across the country, by providing both financial investment for capital outlay, as well as strengthening the governance processes so that provincial governments are themselves able to effectively plan, design, implement and maintain their road networks. The Program addresses the underinvestment in local roads, and improvement of national-local roads connectivity to increase economic activity, and improve public access to facilities and services in the provinces. 

For FY 2017 General Appropriations Act (GAA), the Program has a total budget of P18.03 Billion under the Local Government Support Fund (LGSF). Aside from this, the DILG budget also has an allocation of P564.256 Million for FY 2017 intended to support the governance reform, quality assurance, and monitoring of road projects of the PLGUs.

The Program, however, is not only a road engineering intervention, it is also a governance reform program in local roads management (LRM) and public financial management (PFM). Thus, in partnership with DILG, UNDP has launched the project “Paving the Roads to SDGs through Good Governance (Roads2SDGs)” which aims to provide support to the governance reform and quality assurance components of CMGP through the ‘Roads to SDGs’ framework. This framework will anchor the prioritization, planning, design, implementation, and maintenance of infrastructure projects to the achievement of the SDGs, incorporating the elements of partnership building, climate change and disaster risk reduction, gender mainstreaming, and citizen participation for transparency and accountability.

In line with the quality assurance component of the CMGP/RoadstoSDGs road projects, one of the deliverables being facilitated by UNDP is the conduct of Quality Assurance Inspection to CMGP/Roads to SDGs Projects in partnership with PASUC.

The QA inspection activities of the Regional Quality Assurance Engineers from PASUC have been completed. Therefore, UNDP deems necessary the completion of Learning Session cum Assessment among UNDP, DILG and PASUC to reflect and document lessons learned and propose for ways forward to sustain the gains of the initial engagement and work towards enhanced future engagements.

Outcome

The general objective of the Learning Session cum Assessment is to draw out lessons from the partnership with PASUC on the DILG-CMGP roads projects, specifically on the experiences related to the QA inspections conducted by the PASUC engineers on road projects under DILG-CMGP. This will be achieved through a constructive and participatory process which will involve the key players from the three institutions as well as field implementers at the level of the regions and provinces.

Objectives

The Learning Session cum Assessment Workshop specifically seeks to:

1. Celebrate the achievements of the partnership and the contribution of the outputs to the goals of the road projects;

2. Review the intended and unintended results against the targets in terms of time and outputs;

3. Identify the factors that contributed or hindered the achievement of the desired results;

4. Determine the strong points and areas for improvement of the partnership and other lessons learned from the experience; and,

5. Draw up recommendations based on the partnership review on the ways to move forward and work towards the sustainability of the interventions after the initial engagement.

Expected Outputs

The following outputs are expected in relation to the Learning Session cum Assessment Workshop

• Conduct of the Learning Session cum Assessment Workshop with PASUC, DILG-CMGP PMO, field engineers and representatives of provincial local government units (PLGUs)

• Workshop Synthesis and Documentation Reports

Duties and Responsibilities

The Roads2SDGs Project Manager and the Roads Manager shall have direct supervision of the Vendor.  They may assign a focal person who shall coordinate with the Vendor. 

The Vendor shall undertake the following in relation to the Learning Session cum Assessment Workshop:

1. Design the Learning Session cum Assessment Workshop with detailed objectives, expected outputs, workshop questions and methodology;

2. Conduct the Learning Session cum Assessment Workshop;

3. Draft and submit the synthesis and documentation reports on the proceedings and results of the workshop.

4. Ensure the documentation of all the insights, agreements and all the processes that will transpire during the Learning Session cum Assessment Workshop.

Competencies

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
• Expertise in data collection and analysis
• Ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines;
• Strong analytical and research skills; and
• Excellent organizational, and communication skills;

Required Skills and Experience

Application Requirements:

Applicants are requested to upload the following documents in one file:

1. Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability that indicates the all-inclusive lumpsum contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided; If an 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 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.
2. 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; 
3. Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment, and a methodology, if applicable, on how they will approach and complete the assignment.

Complete and detailed TOR along with the application requirements can be accessed thru this link:http:// http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=51141

Kinldy submit your application to: procurement.ph@undp.org

“In view of the volume of applications UNDP receives, only shortlisted offerors will be notified.”