UNDP Jobs - 88260- Expert in Social Science Research and Public Servi

Expert in Social Science Research and Public Services

Location :

Tbilisi, GEORGIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

05-Nov-19 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

25 consultancy days during November 2019 – April 2020

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

Georgia has made significant progress in the development of public services. The rapid transformation by utilizing e-Governance tools and modern approaches has made public services in Georgia more transparent, accessible and comfortable for citizens. However, the positive changes in service delivery lacked the coherent unified framework and the progress was uneven across the sectors. Many elements of a complex business cycle were developed on an ad-hoc basis, while some technical and IT solutions have relied heavily on the expertise of individual employees. Lack of general framework that would ensure predictability and accessibility of innovative services and use of replicable methodologies and quality assurance systems by service provider agencies has proved to be a significant challenge in further improving public services in Georgia.

In Georgia, a large number of public services are provided by administrative entities also known as legal entities of public law (LEPL). Public services are largely designed in back office agencies and delivered by front office agencies or front office desks within an agency. The instruments used by back and front office agencies can be divided into two categories. Instruments that belong to the first category can be classified as traditional or original public service instruments as they include product, price, promotion and place. The second category of instrument is more contemporary and covers people, process and physical facility. However, these instruments are used sporadically as there is no structured approach in LEPLs to design, plan and deliver services. The management in these agencies utilize these instruments without putting too much structural or administrative thought in the process of public service elaboration. Therefore, there are structural and procedural particularities in service elaboration and delivery. There is a need for a structured and robust approach in service delivery that consolidates different elements in a predictable and easily perceivable manner.

With the goal to solve the problem, the Government of Georgia (GoG) started working on developing unified standards for public service design and delivery that will be universal across all public service provider agencies (PSPAs). The leading role in this endeavor was granted to one of the key national entities responsible for service delivery - the Public Service Development Agency (PSDA). The activity falls under the Service Delivery pillar of the “Public Administration Reform (PAR) Roadmap 2020” and is part of the corresponding PAR Action Plan 2019-2020.

With assistance of international and local experts “State Strategy on Development of Public Service Delivery” has been drafted. The document offers a set of common guiding principles and standards on the design, delivery, pricing and quality assurance of public services in Georgia. The document will create ground for the subsequent gradual adaptation and harmonization of the service quality standards across the PSPAs. It will also enhance the ability of AoG to offer unifying policy guidance and develop the capacity of PSDA to assist other agencies in improving the overall standards of public service delivery, in line with current best practices. The draft has been approved by the PAR Council’s Service Delivery Working Group and is currently pending Government approval.

One of the important goals of the “State Strategy on development of Public Service Delivery” is to establish a service quality framework for service provider agencies to continuously measure the satisfaction level of citizens and customers and hence ensure high quality of public services.

According to the Strategy, the following five objectives are to be realized under the above-mentioned goal:

Develop a nationwide public service quality index.
Introduce practice of publicly declaring and proactively presenting service quality standards to citizens and customers.
Institutionalize customer satisfaction measurement to ensure that performance levels are being reached, and ideally exceeded.
Introduce a code of conduct to ingrain the principles and values of good administration in public service agencies.
Improve the public service management portfolio and service decommissioning practices.

Duties and Responsibilities

The overall objective of the consultancy is to provide relevant advice to a local team of PSDA and Georgia’s Public Service Provider Agencies to develop a customer satisfaction measuring framework in order to continuously measure the satisfaction level of citizens and customers and hence ensure high quality of public services. The outcome of the given assignment should be the institutionalized customer satisfaction measuring process, coupled with service providers’ strengthened technical knowledge and expertise in collecting information about the level of customer satisfaction and utilizing the collected data for continuous improvement of service quality and customer experience.

Under the direct supervision of the PAR Project Manager and in close cooperation with PSDA and relevant representatives from Georgia’s public service provider agencies, the local expert is expected to assume the following duties and responsibilities:

Work in a team with PSDA as well as an international expert who will be working on development of Public Service Quality Index, in the process of working on the deliverables of the given assignment. It is important to actively cooperate with the international expert in order to ensure compatibility with principles of Public Service Quality Index;
Get familiar with the “State Strategy on Development of Public Service Delivery”, “Public Service Delivery Baseline Assessment Report”, “Service Index Concept” and documents prepared by Public Service Quality Index expert, and other relevant documentation;
In close cooperation with international expert working on elaboration of Public Service Quality Index, suggest key principles (criteria) for measuring customer satisfaction level with services they receive, covering both, physical and electronic services;
Develop a customer satisfaction measurement guideline based on qualitative and quantitative research techniques to better explore the customer’s experience with services and measure the satisfaction level among users (including perceived satisfaction by business). The guideline should incorporate standard procedures for collecting information about the level of satisfaction with public services and samples of data collection tools. The guideline should also provide advice on data processing, analysis and its usage for further improvement of public services, proposing a procedure of linking survey results to a cycle of continuous improvement in service delivery through Service Index;
In cooperation with the local team, conduct working meetings and presentations of the developed guideline with key public service provider agencies and other relevant parties and reflect the feedback in the document;
Develop a training module package (in Georgian language) for trainers that will in future deliver training to public service delivery agencies on how to use variety of data collection methods (such as surveys) to collect information about the level of customer satisfaction with public services. The training should also cover the topics of data processing, analysis and its usage for further improvement of public services. Conduct three-day Training of Trainers for selected trainers of the Training Center of the Ministry of Justice).; Develop a training module package (in Georgian language) for representatives of public service delivery agencies on how to use variety of data collection methods (such as surveys) to collect information about the level of customer satisfaction with public services. The training should also cover the topics of data processing and its usage for further improvement of public services. The two training packages will be similar although the former will be intended for the use of future trainers and the latter – for training participants. Conduct three-day training to representatives of public service delivery agencies;
Develop a final report in English language, reflecting the steps undertaken as part of the consultancy assignment, listing the challenges, lessons, learned, etc. The report should contain recommendations for further improvement;
Perform other relevant tasks as deemed necessary.

Deliverables:

The consultant is expected to produce the following deliverables:

Deliverable 1 – Step-by-step guideline (in Georgian language) for carrying out customer satisfaction surveys (and other tools for collecting information about the level of customer satisfaction with public services, such as in-depth interviews and focus groups) for public service provider agencies. The guideline should contain samples of a questionnaire, in-depth and focus group interview guides and other data collection tools, as relevant) as well as advise on data processing, analysis and its usage for further improvement of public services. Submission date – four weeks after the commencement of the assignment;
Deliverable 2 – Conduct working meetings and presentation of the elaborated guideline to the representatives of public service provider agencies and other relevant parties; modified guideline that reflects the collected feedback, if deemed appropriate. Submission date – seven weeks after the commencement of the assignment;
Deliverable 3 – Training module package (in Georgian language) for trainers that will in future deliver training to public service delivery agencies on how to use variety of data collection methods (such as surveys) to collect information about the level of customer satisfaction with public services. The training should also cover the topics of data processing, analysis and its usage for further improvement of public services. The training package should consist of detailed curriculum, teaching materials such as readings, power point presentations, exercises and other relevant documentation, as deemed necessary. Conduct three-day Training of Trainers. Working language – Georgian. Submission date – eleven weeks after the commencement of the assignment;
Deliverable 4 – Training module package (in Georgian language) for representatives of public service delivery agencies on how to use variety of data collection methods (such as surveys) to collect information about the level of customer satisfaction with public services. The training should also cover the topics of data processing and its usage for further improvement of public services. The training package should consist of detailed curriculum, study materials such as readings, power point presentations, exercises and other relevant documentation, as deemed necessary. Conduct three-day training to representatives of public service delivery agencies. Working language – Georgian. Submission date – thirteen weeks after the commencement of the assignment;
Deliverable 5 – A final report (in English language), reflecting the steps undertaken as part of the consultancy assignment, listing the challenges, lessons, learned, etc. Submission date – fourteen weeks after the commencement of the assignment.

Payment Modality:

The payment schedule will be agreed with the consultant and will be made in four (4) installments upon satisfactory completion/submission of the deliverables.

Deliverable 1 – 25 % of the consultancy
Deliverable 2 – 25 % of the consultancy
Deliverable 3 – 25 % of the consultancy
Deliverables 4-5 – 25 % of the consultancy

Competencies

Core competencies:

Demonstrated commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;
Sensitivity and adaptability to cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age;
Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.

Functional competencies:

Demonstrated ability to apply good judgment in the context of the given assignment;
Ability to conceptualize analytical frameworks based on available information and resources;
Strong communication and organizational skills as well as team work capabilities;
Excellent writing, editing and oral communication skills in English;
Ability to work toward creative, participatory and inclusive solutions;
An ability to complete the task in a timely fashion.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree in sociology, public administration or related field (minimum requirement: 10 points).

Experience:

At least five years of experience in teaching (including trainings) research methodology (quantitative as well as qualitative methods) in social sciences (minimum requirement: five years – 10 points, more than five years – additional 5 points);
Experience in undertaking at least three high-quality research studies on comparable topics. Qualified applicants will be required to submit one such study (minimum requirement: three studies – 10 points, more than three studies – additional 5 points);
At least one year of demonstrated work experience related to public services (minimum requirement: one year – 5 points, more than one year – additional 5 points).

Language Requirements:

Fluency in Georgian and English language (both written and oral).

Evaluation:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis method: Offerors will be evaluated against combination of technical and financial criteria. Maximum obtainable score is 100 out of which the total score for technical criteria equals to 70 (desk review - 50 points and interview - 20 points) and for financial criteria – to 30. Offerors that do not meet minimum requirements will be automatically rejected, while the rest will form up the long list. The offerors who obtain minimum 35 points as a result of the desk review will be invited for the interview. Offerors who pass 70% threshold, i.e. obtain minimum 14 points, as a result of the interview will be requested the financial proposal.

Financial Proposal:

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in instalments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the ToR. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount. Maximum 30 points will be assigned to the lowest price offer. All other price offers will be scored using the formula (inverse proportion): Financial score X = 30* the lowest price offer/suggested price offer.