Background

Objective:

The purpose of this procurement exercise is to contract two individual consultants who will conduct a mid-term evaluation of Phase III of the Global Programme on Strengthening the Rule of Law and Human Rights for Sustaining Peace and Fostering Development and will produce a comprehensive analytical report. The Mid Term evaluation itself is being undertaken to inform UNDP and its partners of lessons learned, results achieved and areas for improvements, and will also inform the development of the fourth phase of the Global Programme.

Background:

With an in-country presence before, during and after conflict or crisis, UNDP expects to provide increased assistance in providing rule of law, justice, security and human rights assistance to countries threatened or affected by crisis and fragility. In order to meet these demands, UNDP’s Global Policy Network (GPN) has made rule of law a priority area for programmatic support and policy development.

To this end, the Rule of Law, Security and Human Rights (RoLSHR) team in the UNDP Crisis Bureau has bolstered its capacity to provide support to the field and articulated in a Global Programme for Strengthening the Rule of Law and Human Rights for Sustaining Peace and Fostering Development. UNDP’s Global Programme has been the main operational and financial instrument for UNDP globally to engage on rule of law in crisis-affected contexts. Drawing on some of UNDP’s most innovative rule of law programmes, it seeks to expand such experiences to assist UNDP Country Offices to develop multi-year, comprehensive rule of law programmes that respond rapidly and effectively to the needs on the ground. The Global Programme is currently in its third phase, which commenced in 2016 and was given a 1-year extension; the current phase ends in December 2021.

The RoLSHR programme and team now directly provide support to roughly 40 countries and have increasing responsibility to lead and support policy development and guidance in rule of law related areas, especially in the context of the SDG and Sustaining Peace agendas. The RoLSHR team also leads UNDP’s engagement with DPO, as the Global Focal Point of Justice, Police and Corrections (GFP), which was established in 2012. The ROLSHR programme also engages with OHCHR and the Global Alliance for National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) through the Tripartite Partnership to Support National Human Rights Institutions; with UNHCR to support rule of law and local governance solutions for displaced populations; and the Team of Experts (TOE) on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict; and recently launched The Saving Lives Entity (SALIENT) with UNODA.

Seven key interlinked programme areas form the blueprint for UNDP’s engagement on rule of law and human rights assistance:

• Political Engagement
• Institution Building
• Community Security
• Human Rights Systems
• Access to Justice
• Transitional Justice
• Gender Justice

Current donor partners of the Global Programme include the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States among others. In the last two years, the Global Programme has enhanced partnerships with Sweden’s Folke Bernadotte Academy and Prison and Probation Service, the Ministry of Justice of Japan, and the UNV programme to strengthen the technical capacities within the UNDP team and to support the GFP.      

The third phase of the Global Programme commenced implementation in October 2016. The programme engages in multiple rule of law and human rights initiatives at the country level and regularly receives positive feedback from the Country Teams on the ground. It also forms the basis for multiple global and policy development initiatives and has a broad range of substantive partners. The Global Programme management team periodically reviews and adjusts the standard operating procedures of the programme to address any inefficiencies in the programme implementation.

Currently the Global Programme is being implemented in the following five regions: Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa, Arab States, Latin America/Americas, with the majority of priority contexts located in Africa.

The Global Programme has also engaged DCAF - International Security Sector Advisory Team (ISSAT) to undertake various country evaluations to support the development of enhanced M&E capabilities.  The core component of support from ISSAT to UNDP’s Global Programme is the conduct of high quality learning evaluations of individual country level programmes. As such, each evaluation will engage with the specific context and activities of the programme, and identify what has been achieved, what aspects could usefully be considered by other programmes, and what types of evidence contribute to knowledge of programme success.

Three ISSAT evaluations have been undertaken in Colombia, Guinea Bissau and Central African Republic and several others such as Palestine are currently in preparation phase. These evaluations will feed into the mid-term evaluation to highlight impact, added value and lessons learned from the specific country settings and the Global Programme overall.

Duties and Responsibilities

Purpose and audience: This mid-term evaluation is being undertaken to inform UNDP and its partners of lessons learned, results achieved and areas for improvements. The finding of this mid-term evaluation will inform the development of the fourth phase of the Global Programme along with the final evaluation.

Evaluation Objectives: The main purpose of this this mid-term evaluation is to draw out lessons learned and identify further support and/or action needed to ensure proper implementation and performance of the Global Programme through the end of this programmatic phase in December 2021, as well as to develop the methodology/measurement framework that will be used for both the mid-term and final evaluation.

1. This mid-term evaluation is being undertaken to assess the performance of the Global Programme in achieving its intended results as stated in the above programme areas, as well in meeting its objectives, specifically also at the outcome level and impact achieved. The mid-term evaluation will review the Global Programme from January 2016-December 2019. Furthermore, this evaluation will inform the development of the fourth phase of the programme starting in January 2022.
2. Additionally, this mid-term evaluation will provide general insights on:

• The ability of UNDP to function as an effective provider of rule of law, security and human rights programming support; in particular, the extent to which the Global Programme is able to respond to the needs of UNDP Country Offices; UN Resident Coordinator Offices; UNCTs; and peacekeeping Missions as relevant.
• The ability of the Global Programme to leverage UNDP’s role as an international policy maker and thought leader on rule of law, security and human rights.
• The effectiveness and achievements of UNDP in forging interagency cooperation and implementation across the UN system vis a vis the Global Focal Point, the Tripartite Partnership to Support NHRIs, and other important initiatives, including with UN Women, UNODC, etc.
• The Global Programme’s contributions to UNDP’s Integrated Results and Resources Framework for the 2014-2017 and the 2018-2021 UNDP Strategic Plan. 
• The ability of the current structure of the Global Programme to manage finances and operations, meet partner expectations, and respond to the needs of priority countries.

General Evaluation Questions: The mid-term evaluation will cover the period January 2016 – December 2019 and shall cover the following central evaluation focus areas:

At the country level:

• Programmatic support: Has the Global Programme’s technical, financial, operational and strategic support been relevant and responsive to the needs and priorities of UNDP Country Offices in the field to engage on rule of law, security and human rights programming?
• Added value: Has the Global Programme modality added value to UNDP’s offer on rule of law, security and human rights in the field and in what way i.e. in flexible funding, expertise, comprehensive programming, coordination with the UN system, etc.?
• Impact: To what extent has the Global Programme contributed to improving the overall rule of law, security and human rights situation in priority countries? What examples can be shared?
• Way of working: How consistent has Global Programme support been with UNDP corporate standards of practice (e.g., prioritizing Leave No One Behind, human rights-based, nationally-owned, based on analytical assessment, adapted to country context, gender sensitive and conflict-sensitive, supportive of innovation)?  How sustainable are the results?
• Lessons learned: Identify lessons learned, best practices and innovative approaches at the field level that can inform other programmatic engagements supported by the Global Programme.

At the global level:

• Coordination and partnership: To what extent has the Global Programme promoted coordination and partnership with national counterparts, donor partners, and across the UN system? How does the Global Programme support joint engagement across the UN pillars? Is the Global Programme an effective platform for financially and operationally supporting the Global Focal Point for Rule of Law (with DPO and other UN partners)?
• Strategic positioning and policy development: How has the Global Programme shaped UNDP's relevance as an international leader and/or partner in the rule of law and human rights field(s)? Is UNDP recognized as a key actor on rule of law, security and human rights programming in complex contexts and what has the impact of this been on the organization? What is the contribution of the Global Programme to the Sustaining Peace and Prevention agendas of the Secretary-General?
• Added value: To what extent has UNDP leveraged the Global Programme to strengthen or add value to its corporate offer on rule of law, security and human rights, i.e. influencing strategic plan priorities, contributing to signature solutions through comprehensive programming, strengthening corporate monitoring, reporting, quality assurance, and communications, etc.?
• Lessons learned: Identify lessons learned, best practices and innovative approaches from the field that can be scaled up to inform Global Programme-supported policy development.

At the programme management level:

• Are the management, operational, financial and administrative structures, including SOPs and business processes of the Global Programme fit for purpose? Where are the current challenges and what improvements could be made?
• Does the Global Programme have the required resources (human and financial) to achieve its intended programme objectives? If not, where is more investment needed?
• Does the Global Programme management meet partners’ expectations? If not, what can be done to facilitate this?
• Is the trajectory of the Global Programme sustainable, assuming it should stay or grow beyond its current portfolio?  What else might be needed to ensure the Global Programme can continue to perform at a high-level?
• Is the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning capacity in the Global Programme sufficient and how could it be improved? How does the Global programme integrate results-based management? 

Scope of Work: This evaluation will be carried out by a team of two consultants with the support of the Global Programme management team and with the UNDP Rule of Law, Security and Human Rights team in New York and in the Regional Hubs as necessary. The evaluators will jointly undertake the following tasks:

• Consult with the Global Programme management team in New York on the scope of work, methodology and country case studies to be selected;
• Draft the inception report outlining the evaluation methodology as well as interview and mission plan and schedule (each consultant should be expected to travel to three countries each (Dependent on COVID-19 travel restrictions and UN guidance);
• Develop the research questions and interview questionnaires based on the agreed evaluation plan and methodology;
• Conduct interviews with the relevant UN colleagues (including UNDP staff, DPO/OROLSI and GFP entities), donors, Resident Representatives, and other selected stakeholders;
• Undertake (virtual and where possible in person) missions to the selected countries to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme at the country level, including through interviews with stakeholders, partners and other relevant actors.
• Conduct phone interviews with at least two countries agreed with the Global Programme management that do not currently receive Global Programme support to assess needs in these countries;
• Draft the evaluation report based on the findings for the review of the Global Programme management team;
• Consult with the Global Programme management team and adjust the report based on feedback;
• Submit final evaluation report to the Global Programme Management team.

Expected Deliverables: A comprehensive analytical report (not exceeding 50 pages, Word format, single spaced, in English). The report shall include, but is not necessarily limited to, the following components:

• Executive summary
• Introduction
• Description of the evaluation methodology
• Analysis of the results, impact, resources, partnerships, management/working methods, and implementation strategy
• Presentation of key findings
• Conclusions and recommendations (including for M&E framework)
• Annexes
  • Questionnaires developed by consultants and used for the evaluation
  • List of persons interviewed, summary interview and mission reports
  • Any other relevant material that supports evaluation findings and recommendations    
  • List of documents reviewed

Management Arrangements and Reporting: The consultant will report to the Global Programme Project Manager and will liaise with the whole ROLSHR team during the assignment.

General Methodology: The evaluators will rely mainly on the following methods for obtaining the necessary information: 

• Desk review of relevant programme and policy documents; Summary and outcome document of the Consultations for the Future We Want to See – Re-imaging Rule of law, Security and Human Rights
• Interviews with a wide range of stakeholders and partners (including but not limited to UNDP HQ, regional and country level colleagues, GFP partners as relevant such as DPO, UN Women, EOSG, etc., and key partners in government and civil society);
• Direct observation via missions to three countries with initiatives supported by the Global Programme (Dependent on COVID-19 travel restrictions and UN Guidance).

A detailed methodological note for the evaluation will be completed within the first two weeks of the contract in consultation with the programme team.

Expected deliverables and payment schedule:

Duty Station and travel: The consultancy will be home-based, with on-week missions to three countries selected in consultation with the RoLSHR team (Dependent on COVID-19 travel restrictions and UN Guidance). Any necessary travel missions undertaken to deliver these outputs must be at the request of the supervisor.

• The BSAFE course must be successfully completed prior to commencement of UNDP official travel.
• The selected candidate is responsible for ensuring that s/he has the necessary vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director.
• The selected candidate is responsible for obtaining any visas needed in connection with travel with the necessary support from UNDP.
• Consultants are required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under https://dss.un.org/dssweb/.

Competencies

Corporate:

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favouritism.

Professional Skills:

• Demonstrated strategic thinking and strong understanding of global developments in rule of law, security and/or human rights issues and recent policy developments and programming at country level;
• Demonstrates strong ability to manage, facilitate, and engage in discussions with multiple stakeholders in a formal setting, seeking to encourage participation in an open and collegial environment;
• Proactive in problem-solving and recommendation for conflict prevention and resolution;
• Strong ability in managing confidential and politically sensitive issues, in a responsible way, and in accordance with protocols.

Interpersonal and communication skills:

• Strong communication skills and proven ability to collaborate between different actors and high level of internal and external relationship management;
• Uses tact and sensitivity when delivering sensitive information or resolving delicate issues;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
• Remains calm, in control and good humoured even under pressure;
• Excellent interviewing and facilitation skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic qualifications:

• A minimum of a Master’s degree or equivalent in political science, development studies or other relevant social science required.

Experience:

• Significant experience (5 years minimum) in the design and evaluation of programmes related to rule of law, security and/or human rights required;
• Experience in rule of law, secutiry and/or human rights required;
• Knowledge of result-based management evaluation, UNDP policides, procesures, as well as participatory monitoring and evaluation methodologies and approaches required;
• Sound understanding of the UN system and of UNDP’s mandate and role in crisis contexts desirable;
• Experience of evaluating gender aspects of programmatic engagement desirable.

Language:

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required;
• Fluency in Arabic, French and/or Spanish desirable.

Application Procedure:

The application package containing the following (to be uploaded as one file):

• A cover letter with a brief description of why the Offerer considers her/himself the most suitable for the assignment;
• Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects and specifying the relevant assignment period (from/to), as well as the email and telephone contacts of at least three (3) professional references;

Note: The above documents need to be scanned in one file and uploaded to the online application as one document.

Shortlisted candidates (ONLY) will be requested to submit a Financial Proposal.

• The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around the specific and measurable deliverables of the TOR. Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR, and deliverables accepted and certified by the technical manager. 

• The financial proposal must be all-inclusive and take into account various expenses that will be incurred during the contract, including: the daily professional fee; (excluding mission travel); living allowances at the duty station; communications, utilities and consumables; life, health and any other insurance; risks and inconveniences related to work under hardship and hazardous conditions (e.g., personal security needs, etc.), when applicable; and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services under the contract.

• This consultancy is a home-based assignment, therefore, there is no envisaged travel cost to join duty station/repatriation travel. 

• In the case of unforeseeable travel requested by UNDP, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between UNDP and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed. In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.

• If the Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under a Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP.

The Financial Proposal is to be emailed as per the instruction in the separate email that will be sent to shortlisted candidates.

Evaluation process:

Applicants are reviewed based on Required Skills and Experience stated above and based on the technical evaluation criteria outlined below.  Applicants will be evaluated based on cumulative scoring.  When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Being 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 where technical criteria weighs 70% and Financial criteria/ Proposal weighs 30%.

Technical Evaluation - Total 70% (70 points):

• Criteria 1: Sound understanding of the UN system and of UNDP’s mandate and role in crisis contexts desirable; Maximum Points: 15;
• Criteria 2: Experience of evaluating gender aspects of programmatic engagement; Maximum Points: 20;
• Criteria 3: Fluency in Arabic, French and/or Spanish desirable; Maximum Points: 5;
• Criteria 4: Interview: Maximum Points: 30.

The top five candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (28 points) of the maximum obtainable points for the CV/P11 evaluation (Criteria 1-3 = 40 points) shall be considered for the interview (Criteria 4).

Candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (21 points) of the maximum obtainable points for the interview (30 points) shall be considered for the financial evaluation.

Financial evaluation - Total 30% (30 points):

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

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

Contract Award:

Candidate obtaining the highest combined scores in the combined score of Technical and Financial evaluation will be considered technically qualified and will be offered to enter into contract with UNDP.

Institutional arrangement:

The consultant will work under the guidance and direct supervision of the Head/Team Leader of the Rule of Law, Security and Human Rights team and will be responsible for the fulfilment of the deliverables as specified above.

Payment modality:

• Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified above and deliverables accepted and upon certification of satisfactory completion by the manager. 
• The work week will be based on 35 hours, i.e. on a 7-hour working day, with core hours being between 9h00 and 18h00 daily.

Annexes (click on the hyperlink to access the documents):

Annex 1 - UNDP P-11 Form for ICs

Annex 2 - IC Contract Template

Annex 3 – IC General Terms and Conditions

Annex 4 – RLA Template

Any request for clarification must be sent by email to cpu.bids@undp.org 

The UNDP Central Procurement Unit will respond by email and will send written copies of the response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all applicants.