Background
- Background and Project Description
Background
Timor-Leste is a small island developing state (SIDS) and least developed country (LDC), which restored its independence in 2002. The National Parliament of Timor-Leste has made considerable progress since its creation in 2002 and aims to become an inclusive and transparent institution by 2022, open to the participation of all and supporting the fulfillment of citizens’ aspirations for a democratic and prosperous nation, inspired by the values of mutual respect, equality and solidarity. To achieve these aspirations, the Parliament is seeking innovative solutions to increase the participation of citizens in the democratic process.
With the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, developing innovative digital solutions to ensure Parliament’s business continuity has become an utmost priority. UNDP Timor-Leste has provided various types of support to the National Parliament for its digital transformation, particularly for its immediate COVID response, including: 1) ICT equipment and access to Zoom/DocuSign for remote meeting of Party bench leaders and the Governing Council and 2) situation room to facilitate virtual meetings.
Project Description
UNDP has recently received a request from the National Parliament for assistance to develop a mobile app. The Parliament App will be a platform that will facilitate interactive engagement between the people of Timor-Leste and this institution. Furthermore, the app will also be key in effectively communicating on its work across functions – Representation, Legislation, Oversight, Budget scrutiny and allocation – in normal times and in times of emergency. This initiative will therefore advance a dual objective, one of increased citizen engagement with/participation in the work of Parliament and a second of digital transformation of this key democratic institution to make it better fit for 21st century challenges (including pandemics and other emergencies) and opportunities.
The expected results of the project are that the National Parliament of Timor-Leste:
- Is more open and transparent with citizens;
- Engages proactively and regularly with citizens, enabling a better public participation in both normal times and emergency situations that will be reflected in more inclusive policies and legislation and increased accountability and public trust;
- Manages the legislative process in a more responsive, effective and transparent way.
UNDP, on behalf of the National Parliament of Timor-Leste, is therefore seeking to hire a qualified consultant to carry out the assignment to conduct a feasibility study for a comprehensive mobile application platform (that could be implemented in stages).
- Scope of Work
The National Parliament is committed to develop a policy of openness and transparency with the aim of making its work known to citizens. To this end, it is developing a number of initiatives to ensure that citizens and civil society contribute to parliamentary legislative work. Of these initiatives, the creation of a mobile application stands out. It will help to strengthen these relations and will contribute decisively so that citizens can be well informed about parliamentary work and debates.
Through this platform, citizens will be able to engage with the National Parliament by listening to parliamentary debates through a direct link to Radio Parliament, participating in inquiries, carrying out petitions, contacting directly with their representatives, sending written contributions about the legislative process of bills, and consulting legislation that is being debated and many other functions. The mobile app will also enable the civil society participation in the innovative initiative of parliamentary openness and transparency called Lian Povo (People's Voice).
The mobile application will integrate the information systems available in the National Parliament and will be developed as user friendly platform to facilitate the access to all parliamentary information.
Details of the ToR and other required form to be submit such as, P11 form, PSU_ Individual Contract Offerors Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability, IC Terms of References, can be downloaded from this link: https://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=69682
Application deadline before COB, 18 September 2020 (TLS Time), Any request for clarification must be sent in writing, or by standard electronic email communication to procurement.staff.tp@undp.org
Duties and Responsibilities
The assignment involves conducting a feasibility study for the development of a mobile application platform for the Parliament. Prior to initiating the feasibility study, the selected consultant will be required to submit an inception report explaining how the study will be conducted with clearly stated objectives, a list of stakeholders to interview, etc. Once the approach cleared by the UNDP project staff, the selected consultant will start the study and produce two reports, a draft one mid-way for review by the UNDP project team and Parliament Secretariat, and a final one which will include:
- Findings of the feasibility study – Technical, economic, and operational feasibility, namely the needs for its institutional sustainability and the key features including any data collection device so that is possible to report how it has contributed to increasing citizens’ engagement with their representatives;
- Roadmap/Guideline for each phase (incremental development through several stages) (including sequence, scope, functions and required budget for each stage, institutional sustainability);
- Detailed plan to develop the 1st stage of the Parliament App.
- Explanatory meeting on app features with the mobile application developer.
To complete the feasibility study, the consultant will engage and/or work closely with the Secretariat of the National Parliament, including the IT and Communication departments. Moreover, the contractor will consult with at least five members of Parliament about the development of the app.
The findings of the feasibility study will be the foundations for the development of the Parliament APP, which will be a separate assignment.
Competencies
Education:
- Bachelor and Masters Degree in areas relevant to the assignment, such as Computer Science.
Experience:
- At least 8 years of proven experience in developing mobile applications;
- At least 3 years of relevant experience in the sector of international development;
- Demonstrated expertise in developing mobile applications for civic engagement with high levels of use from the targeted audience;
- Verified practice on developing mobile applications for UN agencies, development partners, governments and/or civil society organisations;
- Previous experience in conducting feasibility studies would be highly desirable;
- Knowledge of how parliament works;
- Country experience in Timor-Leste is an asset.
Required Skills and Experience
Functional/Technical Knowledge:
- Excellent mobile application development skills, with proven proficiency in developing mobile applications;
- Excellent time management and ability to produce outputs as per agreed deadlines;
Language Skills:
- Excellent written and spoken communication skills in Tetum and Portuguese, including editing;
- Good working knowledge of English (written and spoken) is desirable;
Special Skills:
- Experience in working with government institutions;
- Familiarity with the Timor-Leste political system and knowledge of Tetum language will be considered an asset