Background
The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world’s 47 least developed countries. With its capital mandate and instruments, UNCDF offers “last mile” finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development.
UNCDF’s financing models work through three channels: inclusive digital economies, connecting individuals, households, and small businesses with financial eco-systems that catalyze participation in the local economy, and provide tools to climb out of poverty and manage financial lives; local development finance, that capacitates localities through fiscal decentralization, innovative municipal finance, and structured project finance to drive local economic expansion and sustainable development; and investment finance, that provides catalytic financial structuring, de-risking, and capital deployment to drive SDG impact and domestic resource mobilization. By strengthening how finance works for poor people at the household, small enterprise, and local infrastructure levels, UNCDF contributes to Sustainable Development Goal-SDG 1 on eradicating poverty and SDG 17 on the means of implementation. By identifying those market segments where innovative financing models can have transformational impact in helping to reach the last mile and address exclusion and inequalities of access, UNCDF contributes to a broad diversity of SDGs.
UNCDF are currently implementing a project that is developing financing solutions for supply side capital to enable the Government of Laos to efficiently deliver on their SDG commitments This project is funded by the UN Secretary General Sustainable Development Goals Fund (UN-SDGF) providing focus financing for SDG implementation, acceleration and attainment of SDG targets.
The government is embarked on a far-reaching Public Financial Management Reform (PFMR) programme in partnership with the World Bank (WB) and IMF. Included within the PFMR is the update of the current Chart of Accounts in terms of its structure, nomenclatures, encoding and tagging and the procurement and operationalizing of a Public Sector Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS). Currently the Government of Lao PDR have approved the new COA structure that will support the reconfiguration of the current COA to IPSAS standards and reassignment of expenditure and revenue code nomenclatures to meet such requirements. The new COA structure allows for tags to be incorporated that can assign public sector budget contributions to the SDGs.
The consultancy opportunity aims at designing and developing a tagging system for the COAs for both revenues and expenditures using the newly agreed COA structure. The tagging system development will include (i) a global review of tagging systems and methodologies, (ii) a methodology suitable for Lao PDR, a sound accounting solution to tag a single COA against multiple SDGs (iii) an update sample of the current COA and nomenclatures to test tagging to be determined by the Government of Lao MoF and UNCDF.
The UNCDF Portfolio in Lao PDR
Historically UNCDF have been engaged extensively in the government’s decentralization process through the National Governance and Public Administration Reform Programme (NGPAR). The NGPAR process has supported the enhancement of inclusive service delivery and local development via the strengthening public administrations, fostering of inclusive dialogue, and facilitating dialogue between citizens and state for more effective, transparent, accountable and responsive service delivery.
UNCDF are currently working with the Ministry of Finance within the sphere of the Public Finance Management Reform initiative that is following on from the 2019 National Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) assessment. UNCDF are working in partnership with the World Bank, IMF and the European Union and other Development Partners with the introduction of an IPSAS compliant CoA and a robust IFMIS that is under procurement.
Objective of the Assignment
The main objective of the assignment, in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) as the designated ministry of SDG reporting, is to support the MoF to examine the potentials and propose a design methodology to support the government to accurately report disaggregated SDG expenditure and revenues. The tagging system will take advantage of the current COA updating process and specifically work with the MoF COA committee and in partnership with UNDP, IMF and World Bank. This assignment will also complete a stock take of existing tagging systems deployed and in use (i.e., Nepal, Climate Tagging of National Accounts).
Leveraging this position and work, UNCDF, in partnership with UNDP and UNFPA are implementing the SDG Fund project “Efficiency and optimization of Lao PDR’s public budget to finance the SDGs through the National Plan”.
This joint programme will work to strengthen the national architecture for managing and allocating development finance to support more efficient and effective use of available resources at this critical moment. This will be done by drawing on the strengths of UN agencies to: support development of a practical financing strategy to support implementation of the plan; develop a context appropriate methodology to cost commitments made under the plan to support improved prioritization;? develop an evidence-based approach to supporting budget allocations through a pilot in the health sector; and implement an innovative budget tagging methodology that will allow actual spending to be tracked against priorities
Within the framework of the UNJP, UNCDF will undertake to develop and test an innovative budget tagging methodology that will allow optimized public sector budget formulation with revenues and expenditures being tracked against SDG priorities.
Duties and Responsibilities
Under supervision of UNCDF Regional Technical Advisor for Asia, the consultant will specifically work with the MoF’s Department of Fiscal Policy and Law and the COA committee in coordination with UNDP, IMF and the World Bank to provide the following TA support:
- Global review of public sector budget tagging systems that specifically address SDG monitoring or a specific thematic such as climate (i.e Nepal – Climate Tagging System);
- Development and presentation of a suitable methodology suitable for Lao PDR, a sound accounting solution to tag a single COA against multiple SDGs;
- An update sample of the current COA and nomenclatures to test tagging to be determined by the Government of Lao PDR (MoF) and UNCDF;
- Policy paper on SDG reporting on IFMIS to guide IFMIS developers and programme.
Task/Deliverables:
The consultant will deliver the following within the framework of the mission:
- Submission of work plan indicating timebound milestone deliverables and list of required meetings and consultation to enable the work to be completed;
- Desk review of tagging systems that have been developed in the region for SDG tagging or thematic tagging, i.e. Nepal climate tagging (Basic principles paper and identification of variables for tagging methodology, max 10 pages).
- Mapping of current Chart of Accounts to SDGs (Expenditures and Revenues), number of linking SDGs to agree with UNCDF and MoF (MS Excel Workbook covering all expenditure and revenues, appropriate government budget report to be provided by UNCDF).
- Development and presentation of a suitable methodology for Lao PDR, a sound accounting solution to tag a single COA against multiple SDGs (max 20 pages including description of variables, logic applied and algorithms to determine SDG contribution levels and designations per CoA);
- An update sample of the current COA and nomenclatures to test tagging to be determined by the Government of Lao PDR (MoF) and UNCDF.
- Policy paper on SDG reporting on IFMIS to guide IFMIS developers and programme (4 pages max).
Monitoring and Progress Control
The consultant will work under the supervision of the UNCDF National Programme Specialist and will work closely with the MoF’s Department of Fiscal Policy and Law; and in close consultation with Regional Technical Advisor for the Lao component of the mission.
For all Bangkok and neighbouring country related work the consultant will work under the direct supervision of the Regional Technical Advisor who will provide overall direction and guidance of the consultancy and approve key outputs and deliverables.? In addition, the consultant will also work closely with the national consultant in coordination and collaboration with UNCDF National Programme Specialist in Lao Country Office for all necessary programming, operations and logistics.
Consultancy fees will be paid upon:
(i) review, approval, acceptance of output for each deliverable and
(ii) submission of Certificate of Payment form
(iii) authorization of payment disbursement from Regional Technical Advisor based in Bangkok
Terms of Payment
The following terms of payment based upon the above-mentioned deliverables will be applicable for this Terms of Reference. Payments will be based upon a percentile of the contracted lump sum for each area as tabulated. The payment will only be made up on satisfactory completion and submission of the assignment and deliverables.
Deliverable 1: Mission Planning (30%)
- Work plan for mission and setting of agreed delivery milestones
- Organize a Lao PDR based kick-off meeting for the mission for key leading counterparts and selected relevant stakeholders
Deliverable 2:Technical Reviews & Design of Tagging System (50%)
- Mapping of current Chart of Accounts to SDGs (Expenditures and Revenues)
- Budget Tagging Methodological Paper – Detailed methods including algorithms for multiple SDG tagging of COAs
- An up-to-date sample of the current COA and nomenclatures to test tagging to be determined by the Government of Lao MoF and UNCDF.
Deliverable 3: Policy Advisory for SDG Tagging of COAs (20%)
- Policy paper on SDG reporting on IFMIS to guide IFMIS developers and programme (6 pages max).
Payment will be made 2 weeks after the submission of the entire reports for each deliverable (three payments) as tabulated.
Competencies
- Owns a comprehensive knowledge of Public Finance and / or Aid Effectiveness;
- Owns the ability to develop and formulate methodologies and associated algorithms for financial distributions;
- Has detailed knowledge of public sector Chart of Accounts inclusive of structure and nomenclature;
- Detailed understanding of global and localized SDGs and SDG Targets and Indicators;
- Able to develop standardised policy advisory papers (short version
Required Skills and Experience
Skills and Experience
- Minimum Master’s Degree in Finance related area / Development Economics / MBA;
- At least 5 years of professional experience working within either PFM projects Public Sector Finance or Aid Effectiveness;
- Proven track record and Specific knowledge of public sector budget formulation and SDG reporting processes are required;
- Proven track record and sound knowledge that demonstrate understanding of country’s context of public sector budget and financing legal framework is required;
- Able to work with senior government officials, stakeholders and relevant partners;
- Good communication skills: sensitivity and willingness/flexibility to respond to client’s needs.
Evaluation method
Applications will be rated on both technical and financial submissions.? The following selection method will be used: Highest rated proposal using the combined scoring method, which assigns the weight distribution between the technical and financial proposals.The weight distribution shall be 70% technical and 30% financial.
Step I: Longlisting/Shortlisting
Applications will be screened and only applicants meeting the following minimum criteria will be shortlisted:
- Minimum Master’s Degree in Finance related area / Development Economics / MBA
- At least 5 years of professional experience working within either PFM projects Public Sector Finance or Aid Effectiveness
Step II: Technical Review of CVs by Desk Review
UNCDF will conduct a desk review to produce a shortlist of candidates by evaluating the following criteria with the corresponding points (100 points)
- At least 5 years of professional experience working within either PFM projects Public Sector Finance or Aid Effectiveness (30 points)
- Proven track record and Specific knowledge of public sector budget formulation and SDG reporting processes are required (35 points)
- Proven track record and sound knowledge that demonstrate understanding of country’s context of public sector budget and financing legal framework is required (35 points)
Only the applicants achieving 70% of the points will be considered as technically qualified and will be reviewed further for financial evaluation.
Step III: Financial Evaluation
The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal: Lowest priced proposal/price of the proposal being evaluated x 30%.
Other Institutional Arrangements
Any travel required under the assignment needs to be agreed and pre-approved by UNCDF regional technical advisor. All the travel cost will be reimbursed by UNCDF according to UNCDF rules and regulations.
The consultant is expected to own and use his/her own equipment during and after the assignment.
Application Process
Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Proposers who shall not submit below mentioned documents will not be considered for further evaluation.
- When applying for this consultancy position, please apply with your official name as shown in the government issued identification document (e.g. passport and/or driver license). Contract award is subject to this verification;
- Summary statement of competencies in relation to the TOR
- Curriculum Vitae or Completed P11 Personal History Form with names and current contacts of 3 referees (available from http://sas.undp.org/documents/p11_personal_history_form.doc)
- Confirmation of interest and Financial proposal:?
Under section E of the Offerer’s letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the Individual Contract (IC) Assignment, please choose to indicate “An all-inclusive daily fee”. The form can be accessed through the link below:
- Earliest Availability
Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when traveling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org? If the consultant is over 65 years old, UNCDF reserves the right to require full medical certification and clearance from the consultant’s physician prior to commencing the travel.
Both individual consultants and individuals employed by a company or institution are welcome to apply. Any individual employed by a company or institution who would like to submit an offer in response to a Procurement Notice for IC must do so in their individual capacity (providing a CV so that their qualifications may be judged accordingly). If the company or institution that employs them will charge a management fee, the said amount must be incorporated in the financial proposal that the individual will submit.? No further changes to reflect additional costs shall be accommodated by UNCDF at the point of awarding the contract.
Please include all documents into one file while submitting your application.
References
UNDP’s Individual Consultant’s General Terms and Conditions are provided here:
http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/documents/procurement/documents/IC%20-%20General%20Conditions.pdf
Copyright
All products and reports related to the mission will be provided to UNCDF and be subject to associated copyrights. The contractor will not use, without prior permission of UNCDF, any the materials or data produced during the mission for any other purpose than furnishing UNCDF with a project delivery. Any use or reference to the information contained within the presented mission documents must be prior clarified and approved by UNCDF and clearly reference UNCDF as the source.
Consultant Presence Required on Duty Station/UNCDF Premise
The entire mission will be in Lao PDR. This position, however, is home-based but presence in mission base may be requried intermittently.