Background
The Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA) adopted at the Fourth UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in Istanbul, Turkey in May 2011, constitutes an ambitious policy agenda agreed by the international community to address the challenges faced by the LDCs, based on the fundamental tenets of mutual accountability and enhanced international cooperation.
The overarching goal of the IPoA is to overcome the structural challenges faced by the LDCs in order to eradicate poverty, achieve internationally agreed development goals and enable them for graduation from the LDC category. It also recognizes that the LDCs represent an enormous potential for world economic growth, stability and prosperity.
The United Nations General Assembly in its resolution 73/242, decided to convene the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries at the highest possible level, including Heads of State and Government, in 2021, with the following mandate:
- To undertake a comprehensive appraisal of the implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action by the least developed countries and their development partners, share best practices and lessons learned and identify obstacles and constraints encountered as well as actions and initiatives needed to overcome them;
- To identify effective international and domestic policies in the light of the outcome of the appraisal as well as new and emerging challenges and opportunities and the means to address them;
- To reaffirm the global commitment to addressing the special needs of the least developed countries made at the major United Nations conferences and summits, including in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the Paris Agreement and the Sendai Framework;
- To mobilize additional international support measures and action, in addition to domestic resources, in favour of the least developed countries and, in this regard, to formulate and adopt a renewed partnership between the least developed countries and their development partners, including the private sector, civil society and governments at all levels.
The Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries will be proceeded by two regional preparatory meetings and two intergovernmental preparatory committee meetings.
Objectives of the assignment
The consultant will prepare a national report with a view to assess progress, obstacles, constraints and actions in the implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action and to determine priorities for the next 10- year programme of action. The national report should be based on national level preparations for the Fifth United Nations Conference on the LDCs. The report will feed into regional level preparations to be undertaken in 2020. The report should be structured along the guidelines attached herewith, which will promote consistency and comparability. It will include one or two concrete examples to showcase best practices and/or policies and strategies that have advanced implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action and potential to be replicated in other LDCs.
It is to be noted that the national report will feed into a synthesis report, which aims to highlight among others, initiatives, policies or actions that contributed to positive change in meeting the objectives set out in the priority areas of the IPoA. The rationale is to assess the progress made during the implementation of the IPoA at the national level. As such, the report should synthesise, among others, success stories to encourage peer learning and replication among LDCs. The report should also highlight challenges that hindered LDCs from meeting the objectives set out in the PoA. This report will build on an earlier report, which focused on ‘Lessons learned from five years of implementing the Istanbul Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries’. (See at:http://www. ipoareview.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/06/Lessons Learned Syears Implement IPoA LDCs lowres.pdf)
Duties and Responsibilities
- Prepare the National Report as per the UN-OHRLLS guideline (attached)
- Coordination among the relevant Ministries/Divisions/ (50)/Agencies those are implementing IPoA
- Review / assess the followings in the process of preparing the report:
- Existing plans, polices, implementation reports, achievements, challenges
- Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA) for the LDCs
- National Action Plan for the IPoA
- Mid-term Review of the implementation of IPoA (Bangladesh National Report)
- Analyse inputs received from the relevant Ministries/Divisions/Agencies
- Assess achievements of the relevant Ministries/Divisions/Agencies against the targets / actions set out in the National Action Plan for IPoA
- Liaise with the relevant Ministries and organisations for clarification and additional information, if needed
- Lessons learned from five years of implementing the Istanbul Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries (at:http://www. ipoareview.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/06/Lessons Learned Syears Implement IPoA LDCs lowres.pdf)
- Five Year Plans, Perspective Plans, MDGs, SDGs
- GoB-Donor coordination
- Assess the level of coherences and synergies among mentioned national and international goals & Programmes
- Development Partners’ (DPs) contribution for implementation of IPoA
- Assess Bangladesh’s preparedness for the Fifth UN Conference for the LDCs, and identify future actions
- S/he will consult with ERD from time to time according to necessity during preparing the report
Deliverables
- The consultant will draft an Inception Report technical report (in two weeks)
- S/he will assist organizing consultation meetings with the relevant Ministries/Divisions/Agencies for feedback on the draft report and will be engaged till finalizing the report in stipulated time
- S/he will assist preparing necessary brief and Power Point on the draft and final report for presenting at different forums in-country and abroad
Expected Output | Timeline in workings days (estimated) |
Inception report including timeline, methodology, approach | 10 |
organizing consultation meetings with the relevant Ministries/Divisions/Agencies for feedback on the draft report Draft report | 80
|
Final report on preparing necessary brief and Power Point on the draft and final report for presenting at different forums in-country and abroad. |
Reporting
- The consultant will work under the guidance of the Wing Chief/Joint Secretary (DE Wing/Branch) and report to the Head of Partnerships unit, UNDP Bangladesh, who will also carry out a performance evaluation at the end of the assignment.
Duration and Duty Station:
- Duration of the assignment is for 90 working days over a period of 3 months. The duty station will be Dhaka.
Competencies
Core Competencies
- Demonstrates integrity and fairness by modeling UN and Government values and ethical standards;
- Demonstrates professional competence and is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results;
- Display cultural, gender, nationality, religion and age sensitivity and adaptability;
- High sense of relational skills, including cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability, with a demonstrated ability to work in a multidisciplinary team.
Functional Competencies
- Excellent analytical and writing skills in an engaging and succinct manner;
- Good knowledge and understanding of the Government and UN system, familiarity with UNDP mandate
Language:
- Proficiency in English.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- Advanced university degree in Economics, developmental Studies or related subject areas.
Experience:
- Relevant work experience of at least 10 years in development, economic policy analysis, or governance;
- Experiences in the focus areas, especially as they are related to the Bangladesh context or a similar context;
- Experience (with evidence) of similar works;
- Experience in quantitative and qualitative data collection methods and - analysis including literature review, surveys, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, etc.
Cumulative analysis-
The award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant up on Cumulative Analysis/evaluation and determined as:
- 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;
Only candidates obtaining a minimum 70% mark in technical evaluation will be considered eligible for financial evaluation.
Technical Evaluation Criteria (Total 70 marks)
Criteria | Weigh | Max. Point |
Technical: | 70% | 70 |
Educational qualification | 20% | 20 |
Specific experiences in the focus areas, especially related to the Bangladesh context or a similar context research experience with National, International organization | 20% | 20 |
Demonstrated experience of undertaking report writing, presentation | 20% | 20 |
Experience in quantitative and qualitative data collection methods and - analysis including literature review, surveys, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, etc.
| 10% | 10 |
Financial Evaluation (Total 30 marks)
All technical qualified proposals will be scored out 30 based on the formula provided below. The maximum points (30) will be assigned to the lowest financial proposal. All other proposals received points according to the following formula:
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.
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 installments 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 (including travel, per diems, and number of anticipated working days).
Financial Milestone
Expected Output
| % of the payment and tentative deadline |
| 20% of the total payment;
|
| 80% of the total payment;
|
|
DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS
Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:
Proposal
- Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;
- 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;
- Brief description of why the candidate is the most suitable for the work with a sample of relevant task performed in recent past (E.g. online Links, report, research works, write up etc.)
- Financial Proposal: Financial Proposal has to be submitted through a standard interest and availability template which can be downloaded from the link below: