Historique

In 2016 UNDP has rolled out a new, multi-year initiative, “Supporting Public Administration Reform in Georgia” (PAR Project). The initiative addresses a complementary but distinct set of specific, predetermined needs in three crucial areas: Policy Development and Coordination, Civil Service and Human Resource Management, and Service Delivery.  The project aims to support the Government of Georgia (GoG) in the establishment of a professional, career-based civil service, with a unified system and universal standards for civil servants’ professional development. The new system aims to address various existing challenges, such as:

• A lack of a unified approach towards the professional development of civil servants;
• An insufficient level of coordination among training providers and other key stakeholders;
• Quality of professional needs assessment methodology and relevant practice;
• Substandard quality of civil servants’ training in some cases, etc.

In 2019 a new legislative framework creating unified standards for professional development, needs’ identification, and accreditation of mandatory training programs was developed by the Civil Service Bureau (CSB) within the wider Civil Service Reform ongoing in Georgia. However, apart from the improved framework, there is a need to guarantee the practical implementation of the new standards, ensure methodological coherence among stakeholders as well as guarantee accessibility to various professional development opportunities for civil servants. With this aim, a decision to create a unified E-Learning Platform has been made. The need for a single space for digital learning and development has become particularly critical with the recent developments and restrictions associated with the spread of the COVID-19 and related emergency situation. The planned online platform is expected to be used for several purposes, including: a) to create new ways to access learning and development opportunities including digital learning (videos, e-Learning courses, webinars, etc.); b) to provide information to different target groups (ministries, training providers, civil servants) on learning opportunities and developments in the area through a single Government portal; c) as well as to manage training administration through linking the platform with an existing Electronic Human Resource Management system (HRMS).  

The Data Exchange Agency (DEA) operating under the Ministry of Justice of Georgia (MoJ) is a key government agency responsible for e-governance development in Georgia. Thus, a critical assignment of the E-Learning system development was assigned to the given agency. The initial plan is to build the platform on an existing online portal https://elearning.dea.gov.ge/, which was developed in 2017 on the open-source Moodle platform with the support of the UNDP PAR Project. However, even though the DEA initiates the development phase including elaboration of a business analytical document, there is a need to create a content-related concept of the platform in the first place.

Devoirs et responsabilités

The overall objective of the consultancy is to recruit an international expert to develop a conceptual architecture of the platform in close cooperation with the CSB and other relevant stakeholders, such as human resource managers, representatives of training providers, civil servants and other key actors. The elaboration process shall be structured around participation and facilitation of discussions among these parties. Furthermore, it is important that the consultant focuses not just on a linear and mechanistic process of learning, but rather tries to apply a system thinking approach while developing the concept in question. Therefore, an analysis of the existing situation and understanding of business processes, needs and opportunities is an important part of the exercise.

The primary purpose of the assignment is to support the CSB in the development of a concept for E-learning Platform. The work will be conducted under the direct supervision of the PAR Project Manager and in close cooperation with designated members of the CSB. 

NB: All face-to-face meetings, workshops, training, and discussions requiring the physical presence of relevant employees will be planned in line with the existing restrictions associated with the spread of COVID-19. In particular, as organization of physical meetings will not be possible within the timeline of the present Terms of Reference due to the imposed travel restrictions, the implementation of the tasks and responsibilities presented below will be conducted through the use of remote channels of communication, as agreed between the CSB, UNDP and the consultant.

The expected duties and responsibilities are as follows: 

• To consult with the CSB, DEA and the PAR project team on an expected purpose, scope, and functionality of the platform; 
• To conduct desk review; a list of documents to be studied by the consultant shall include relevant legal provisions from the Law on Civil Service and its by-laws; project documents, researches, statistical information related to civil servants’ professional development (to be provided by the project team); 
• To identify key business processes, gaps, opportunities and needs of key stakeholders involved in the professional development of civil servants – ministries, private and public training providers, civil servants, through at least 8 online interviews and a short quantitative survey (if necessary);
• Based on the information enquired, to develop a draft outline of the platform which shall include a set of recommendations;
• To conduct a workshop/interactive discussion (using online communication tools) with the CSB and key stakeholders; collect feedback from involved stakeholders;
• Based on the agreed outline, develop a detailed concept of the platform; the document shall include the architecture of the platform, major functionalities and features, an overview of users and their rights, learning formats and types, links with eHRMS, internal communication and experience sharing tools, quality assessment mechanisms, data collection methods, etc.;
• Based on the concept, to elaborate a learner journey (path) overview;
• To conduct the second workshop (using online communication tools), which shall also include a presentation of a learner journey; facilitate discussions among the participants; collect feedback;
• To finalize the concept based on provided feedback;
• To prepare a final report with additional recommendations for further development of the platform and increasing its application by end users.

Deliverables:

1. Desk review of documents provided by the project team (2 days);
2. At least 8 online interviews with three major groups of stakeholders (HRs, training providers, CSB) and a short quantitative survey among civil servants (3 days);
3. A draft outline of the concept (3 days);
4. A workshop (using online communication tools) with participants, including an agenda, a presentation or additional resources (2 days with preparation time);
5. A detailed draft concept of the platform (incl. the architecture of the platform, major functionalities and features, an overview of users and their rights, learning formats and types, links with eHRMS, internal communication and experience sharing tools, quality assessment mechanisms, data collection methods, etc.) (7 days);
6. An overview of a learner journey (2 days);
7. A workshop with participants (using online communication tools), including an agenda, a presentation (2 days with preparation time);
8. A final concept (2 days);
9. Final report with additional recommendations for further development of the platform and increasing its application by end users (2 days).

Management Arrangements:

The work of the international consultant will be conducted in cooperation with the CSB. The PAR Project Manager will directly supervise her/her work. The consultant will be directly responsible for reporting to, seeking approval from, and obtaining a certificate of acceptance of outputs from the above-mentioned person. 

Payment Modality:

The payment will be made through three installments upon satisfactory submission and approval of the deliverables by the PAR Project Manager:

• Deliverables 1 – 3: 30% of the consultancy fee
• Deliverables 4, 5: 40% of the consultancy fee
• Deliverables 6 – 9: 30% of the consultancy fee

Compétences

Core Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Understanding of the mandate and the role of UNDP would be an asset;
• Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UNDP; 
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional Competencies:

• Strong and proven research and analytical skills;
• Proven ability to deliver quality output working under tight deadlines;
• Proven ability to coordinate with others and to work as part of a team;
• Excellent communication, interpersonal and presentation skills;
• Ability to work independently and under pressure.

Leadership and Self-Management skills:

• Builds strong relationships with the working group and with the project partners; focuses on impact and results for the project partners and responds positively to feedback;
• Cooperates with the working group effectively and demonstrates strong conflict resolution skills;
• Consistently approaches work with energy, positivity and a constructive attitude;
• Demonstrates openness to change, new ideas and ability to manage ambiguity;
• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
• Demonstrates the ability to transfer knowledge and competencies.

Qualifications et expériences requises

Education:

• Master’s degree in social science or information technology (minimum requirement: 10 points)

Experience:

• At least five years of working experience in the area of education and/or digitalization of an educational system (minimum requirement: 5 years - 10 points, more than 5 years - additional 2.5 points);
• At least three years of working experience with a public agency (minimum requirement: 3 years - 5 points, more than 3 years - additional 2.5 points);
• Involvement in the implementation of at least one project dealing with development and/or improvement of open educational resources (minimum requirement: one project – 5 points, more than one project – additional 5 points);
• Demonstrated experience in learning management systems (minimum requirement: 5 points);
• Previous experience of working with international organizations is an asset (2.5 points);
• Experience in developing online learning processes in public sector environments is an asset (2.5 points). 

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English.

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 and for financial criteria – to 30. Offerors that do not meet Minimum Qualification Criteria 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.