Background
In September 2015, the General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This global “plan of action for people, planet prosperity, Peace and Partnership” is anchored on 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the agenda’s results framework that captures universal aspirations across three dimensions of sustainable development: economic development, social development and environmental protection. The National Development Agenda of India is mirrored in the Sustainable Development Goals as the priority of the Government is to ensure that “Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas”. This in turn is the core principle of SDG to ensure “Leaving No One Behind”. In India, NITI Aayog has launched the “Transformation of Aspirational Districts Program” aiming at expediting improvement in the socio-economic status of 115 districts from across 28 states. The four core principles of the programme are - Convergence (of Central & State Schemes), Collaboration (among citizens and functionaries of Central & State Governments including district teams), Competition among districts and Mass Movement. This movement is
turning out a successful model as it has been identified from the Delta Ranking that the Aspirational Districts are performing exceptional while compared to previous phases.
Driven primarily by the States, this initiative focuses on the strengths of each district, and prioritizes the attainable outcomes for immediate improvement. The programme focusses on 5 main themes - Health & Nutrition, Education, Agriculture & Water Resources, Financial Inclusion & Skill Development, and Basic Infrastructure, which have direct bearing on the quality of life and economic productivity of citizens. 81 data-points are tracked regularly through a dashboard. NITI Aayog as the premier think tank of India is driving the agenda as a part of its cooperative and competitive federalism.
The core strategy of the programme is that; State is the main driver which focus on the strength of each district and initiates a mass movement in the district whereby it identifies the low hanging fruits and strengths of the district and act as a catalyst for development. In order to ensure a healthy competition, NITI Aayog is measuring the progress of in districts and ranks them so that they will aspire for a better performance. 81 data points related to 49 Key development indicators are being tracked through a dashboard. The key development indicators identified for progress monitoring under the Aspirational Districts Programme are a sub set of the SDG; Agenda for Transforming the World by 2030.
UNDP is providing technical support to selected aspirational districts and assisting the State Governments in North East India for catalyzing the improvisation of Human Development Indicators on a demand-based approach. The 14 Districts of North East India which have been identified for the “Transformation of Aspirational Districts” Programme are Dhubri, Goalpara, Barpeta, Darrang, Baksa, Udalguri and Hailakandi in Assam, Dhalai in Tripura, Ribhoi in Meghalaya, Namsai in Arunachal Pradesh, Chandel in Manipur, Mamit in Mizoram, Kiphire in Nagaland and West Sikkim District in Sikkim. Synergizing and localising the SDGs in the Aspirational Districts will assist in creating strong systems which prioritizes subnational contexts, needs to measure long-term progress towards sustainable Development
Human Development in the aspirational districts would require a multi-stakeholder people-centric approach which focuses on mapping the pockets of needs and deprivations, captures voices from the grassroots and transforms these voices into projects and programmes. In this regard the State Governments are working to prepare programmes and projects to fast-track the achievement on the Human Development Indicators. Government of India has prepared the resource envelope of aspirational districts by mapping the Central Sector Schemes and Programmes which are being implemented in these States. Further in order to bring sharper focus, Government has mapped the Central Sector Public Utilities with Aspirational Districts where they can support the districts by implementing focused programmes using the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Funds.
The position of Consultant – Aspirational Districts will be to support the District Magistrates/District Collectors to prepare Project Reports/Action Plans after conducting in-depth research on the low hanging sectors, identifying alternatives packages/plans to bring Sustainable Development in the districts. The Consultant will directly report to Regional Head and Technical Officer SDG, North East and will work in close coordination with the District Magistrates of the selected districts. The consultant is expected to submit an implementable Action Plan/Project Proposal focusing on the Aspirational District assigned.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Facilitate organizing round tables at the district level to discuss and identify the low hanging sectors;
- Training of all Senior District Level Officials on Vision Planning exercises and identification of key priority areas.
- Provide technical capacities to departments to identify challenges and prepare action plans for overcoming these challenges through existing schemes, innovation, greater engagement and participation.
- Greater Partnership and dialogue among partners especially districts and Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSUs) for designing sustainable projects in designated Districts;
- Developing scalable project ideas which are sustainable and long-term.
- Increasing engagement by devolving understanding on Aspirational Districts and the need for strengthening coordination for achieving better results.
- Design Vision Plans along with identification of priorities based on the data generated from the 81 data points to establish the areas which need more focus and attention.
- Identifying the aspirational pockets through a data mapping matrix to understand the pockets of most deprived areas in the district.
- Ensuring all activities and ongoing schemes and programmes are strengthened and aligned to the achievement in the Aspirational Districts.
- Build awareness on the scope of funding available for districts from NITI Aayog, State Government, NEC, CPSUs and other sources.
- Provide technical expertise for designing proposals which encapsulate vision plans, requirements of PSU/ partners, and identify and fulfill the needs of districts.
- Creating strong data validation process through engagement of district officials in ensuring all data inputs are done as per set parameters and conditions.
- Develop an understanding of the ongoing projects/programmes being implemented by the districts and the PSUs in Aspirational Districts.
- Promoting tools for Sustainable Development Goal localisation by creating a data eco-system mapping; collecting data on each of the data points from the block to develop tools for faster, efficient and validated data generation.
- Support the organization in organizing workshops and other events related to the Aspirational Districts/SDGs, including preparation of inputs.
Any other tasks assigned by the supervisor.
Competencies
Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise:
- Knowledge about India’s development administration systems.
- First hand exposure to central or state government’s work on Aspirational Districts/ SDGs
Communication skills:
- Good communication, interpersonal and presentation skills, with an ability to work in a multi-cultural environment.
Building Strategic Partnerships:
- Establish, build and sustain effective relationships, partnerships and alliances, advocate effectively and communicate sensitively.
Results based monitoring
- Identifies problems and propose solutions
- Demonstrates extremely strong influencing and facilitation skills.
Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing
- Generates new ideas and approaches, researches best practices and proposes new, more effective ways of doing things
- Shares knowledge across the organization and builds a culture of knowledge sharing and learning.
Corporate Competencies:
- Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards
- Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
Core Competencies:
- Demonstrates/safeguards ethics and integrity
- Works as a team member
Required Skills and Experience
- A minimum of bachelor’s degree in Economics, Development, Political Science or related fields.
- Master’s degree is desirable.
- Minimum 3 years’ experience in project management, project appraisal, monitoring & evaluation, policy advocacy in the areas of Governance, Poverty Reduction, development related projects
- Experience in carrying out research and preparing policy briefs
- Experience in drafting reports and reviewing detailed project reports
- Knowledge and experience related to National/State planning
- Excellent Analytical & Problem-solving skills
- Prior experience with Government, UN agencies and other international organizations is desirable
Consultancy Fee
- Consolidated Daily Fee @ Rs 3,500 for a maximum of 22 working days in a month.
Documentation required:
- Personal CV, 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.
Evaluation Method and Criteria: Evaluation and ranking will be done based on the following criteria:
- Educational Qualification: 30 Marks;
- Relevant Experience: 40 Marks;
- Interview: 30 Marks
Candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (49 marks) of 70 marks will be eligible to appear for the interview. Top scoring candidate (out of total 100 marks) will be sent offer of consultancy in order of ranking.
Interview for the shortlisted candidates would be either conducted face to face (Venue to be informed) or by telephone /over skype.
Notes:
As system allows uploading only one file, please merge above-mentioned documents to be submitted as part of application into one (1) single PDF document and upload.
Application may not be accepted, if all the above listed documents are not submitted.
The following documents can be accessed, clicking the link:
General Conditions for Individual Contracthttp://www.in.undp.org/content/dam/india/docs/procurement/UNDP%20General%20Conditions%20for%20Individual%20Contracts.pdf
Offerors Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the Individual Contractor (IC) Assignment, including Financial Proposal template
For queries, please email to: ic.india@undp.org