Background

NOTE: Signed Offeror’s Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and availability - https://www.ba.undp.org/content/dam/bosnia_and_herzegovina/docs/Operations/Jobs/Offerors%20Letter%20to%20UNDP%20Confirming%20Interest%20and%20Availability.docx - Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability.docx - to be sent to e-mail ba.shared.hr@undp.org with Subject: Job ID 99339.

As the pace of digital disruption globally picks up, countries around the world are eager to move forward with e-government. More governments are pursuing digital transformation strategies, introducing e-government as a platform, integrating data systems, strengthening digital skills, and deploying use of technologies for better e-services – guided by a whole-of-government approach. Digital transformation in the public sector can provide a wide variety of benefits, including more effective delivery of public services, greater efficiency and savings for governments and businesses, increased transparency, and greater participation of citizens in public life.

The level of technology utilisation and digitalisation in both public and private sectors in Bosnia and Herzegovina is low, which slows down the country's overall development. However, with the European Union’s Digital Agenda for the Western Balkans and the domestic strategic frameworks related to e-governance as segment of the Public Administration Reform strategy, efforts in this domain are gradually gaining speed. However, digital transformation of government is a complex and demanding task that needs to be undertaken in an integrated and systemic manner.

Therefore, at the outset of the digital transformation journey, and having mind the lack of institution-based digital transformation agenda in Bosnia and Herzegovina, UNDP will support several interested institutions to conduct a digital readiness assessment, which is meant to help take stock of the current state of play, diagnose the challenges and opportunities by looking at several important segments of the digital governance ecosystem and develop recommendations for future strategic actions towards digital transformation of the institutions. In this regard, four Digital Transformation National Consultants will be engaged to provide technical and advisory support to the following institutions/local governments: the Ministry of Development, Entrepreneurship and Crafts of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the City of Gradiška, the Municipality of Centar Sarajevo and the Municipality of Novo Sarajevo. One Consultant will be recruited to conduct the digital assessment for only one public institution, based on a common methodology and approach. In their applications, interested Consultants are expected to indicate for which public institution they are applying, specifying accompanied costs. Interested Consultants may apply for all four positions, but can be selected to provide support to one beneficiary institution only.

Support for this assignment is provided through the “Digital Transformation in the Public Sector Project (2020-2024) supported by UNDP and the British Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Project for Improving Performance of Local Services (PIPLS) in Bosnia and Herzegovina supported by the Government of Sweden.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objective

The objective of the Consultancy is to deliver high quality expert support and technical assistance to UNDP and to relevant institutional stakeholders in the process of conducting digital readiness assessments and formulation of digital transformation roadmaps to guide institutions’ future efforts towards this goal.

Common methodology

To ensure consistency and comparability of assessment results across various institutions and administrations, the assessment will be based on the World Bank open source “Digital Government Readiness Assessment” methodological framework and toolkit, customized to assess digital performance at the level of individual institutions and local governments. The assessment will be expanded with the development of a digital transformation roadmap comprising strategic actions to support the digital transformation agenda within the target institutions/local governments.

The “Digital Government Readiness Assessment” methodology rests on the following important principles:

• Applying a “whole-of-institution“ and „whole-of-government“ lens.
• Taking a user-centric approach to service design and implementation.
• Leveraging technology for designing services for scale and sustainability.
• Mobilizing demand for good governance and e-service adoption.
• Promoting collaboration and shared infrastructures, platforms, and processes.
• Building capabilities, skills and culture for innovation and continuous improvement.
• Addressing cyber security, privacy, and resilience.
• Adopting legislation and regulation.
• Understanding the existing digital ecosystem.

The assessment will be based on a comprehensive questionnaire organised around nine different dimensions that represent the foundations of digital government:

1. Leadership & Governance
2. User-Centred Design and E-Services
3. Public Administration and Change Management
4. Capabilities, Culture and Skills
5. Technology Infrastructure
6. Data Infrastructure
7. Cybersecurity, Privacy and Resilience
8. Legislation and Regulation
9. Digital Ecosystem

UNDP will adjust and simplify the existing questionnaire from the “Digital Government Readiness Assessment” toolkit and will share it as a blueprint tool to be used by all selected Consultants in delivering of this assignment.

In terms of the approach, the assessment will be conducted through a collaborative process, where relevant ministry/local government representatives engage and provide reflections and information on the topics covered in the questionnaire. The interviews, interactions and meetings will be done through virtual sessions and in-person meetings / workshops will be organised only if the epidemiological circumstances allow. By deploying a participatory assessment approach, UNDP intends to support beneficiary institutional partners not only contribute to identifying the needs and opportunities, and the formulation of the digital roadmaps, but also to deepen their understanding and knowledge necessary to further lead the digital change.

Tasks

In that process, the Consultant will perform the below-listed tasks in each beneficiary institution, respectively.

Task 1: Desk review and initiation of the digital readiness assessment process

Under this task, the Consultant is expected to provide quality expert support in preparing, presenting and launching the digital readiness assessment and roadmaps development process in each beneficiary institution. More specifically, the Consultant is expected to:

• Meet with the UNDP team and receive the single assessment questionnaire from the “Digital Government Readiness Assessment” toolkit to be applied in the process.
• Conduct a desk review of available public information, data, reports and materials based on the areas of focus in the digital readiness assessment and get familiarised with the broader situation related to the beneficiary institution/local government.
• Identify key ministerial/local government leaders and public officers from the beneficiary institution that need to be engaged (through interviews, practical workshops, etc.) in the assessment and roadmap drafting process.
• Prepare a list of the main documents (specific reports, information or data) by the beneficiary institution that are not publicly availably but are necessary for the assessment.
• Initiate the process with the leadership of the ministry/local government facilitated by UNDP, present and agree on the methodology, timeline and expected results, and receive commitment on the engagement of all relevant officers in the assessment.

It is envisaged that this task will be delivered by early June 2021 and the level of effort will not exceed 5 expert days.

Task 2: Conduct the participatory assessment

Within this Task, Consultant is expected to provide high quality technical advice, analytical expertise and overall guidance in the process of conducting the participatory digital readiness assessment within the relevant beneficiary institution/local government.

Guided by the common methodology for the digital readiness assessment, as well as by the detailed questionnaire as provide by UNDP, the Consultant will conduct a series of practical interviews and work sessions with designated representatives from the beneficiary institution/local administration, so as to obtain information and insights that will help depict the current situation in the priority areas and complete the digital readiness analysis. As much as possible, qualitative information and feedback should be subjectively evidenced. More specifically, the Consultant is expected to:

• Propose a time plan for a series of meetings with the beneficiary ministry/local government, which is communicated with UNDP and agreed upon.
• Conduct the interviews/work sessions with the relevant representatives from the ministry/local government to collect information and insights based on the single questionnaire.
• Analyse the inputs and validate/get additional clarifications from the beneficiary institution and prepare a short and strategic report that captures the key findings and state of play. The assessment should follow the main areas of interest set within the questionnaire and will have at least the following structure: i) Introduction and purpose of the digital readiness assessment; ii) executive summary; iii) methodology; iv) brief description of the assessed institution/local government; v) main findings, critical gaps, state of play and opportunities for each of the eight priority areas covered in the assessment methodology; vi) annexes (e.g. questionnaire, other materials, etc.). The digital readiness assessment should not exceed 20 pages and should be developed in the languages of peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• Present the draft analysis to UNDP and to the respective ministry/local government and capture final comments and reflections.
• Complete the final digital readiness assessment and share with the beneficiary institution and UNDP. The final assessment will be approved by UNDP.

It is envisaged that this task will be delivered by late-June 2021 and the level of effort will not exceed 20 expert days.

Task 3: Formulate the digital roadmap

Upon completion of the digital readiness assessment, the Consultant will provide expert support in the formulation and agreement of digital roadmaps as short- to mid-term tools to guide priority actions in this regard (3 years duration). The digital roadmaps will comprise a series of strategic recommendations for each of the priority areas, which can be embedded within the mid-term plans and budgets of the respective institution/local government and feasibly implemented.

More specifically, the Consultant is expected to:

• Prepare and facilitate 1 or 2 participatory planning work sessions (3-4 hours each) with key institution representatives, towards drafting of potential priority actions within the digital roadmap.
• Based on the inputs, prepare the draft digital roadmap (2022-2024), with the following structure: i) Introduction and purpose of the digital roadmap; ii) executive summary; iii) development methodology and scope of the digital roadmap; iv) brief description of the assessed institution/local government and summary state of play in terms of digital readiness (from the assessment); v) main strategic actions / measures (not more than 3 per area) for each of the eight priority areas covered in the assessment methodology necessary to advance the digital governance within the beneficiary institution/local government; vi) list of all actions with indicative timeline and budget. The digital transformation roadmap should not exceed 20 pages per institution/local government and should be developed in the languages of peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• Present the draft digital transformation roadmap to UNDP and to the respective ministry/local government and capture final comments and reflections.
• Complete the final digital roadmap and share with the beneficiary institution and UNDP. The final digital transformation roadmaps will be approved by UNDP.

It is envisaged that this task will be delivered by mid-July 2021 and the level of effort will not exceed 10 expert days.

Deliverables/outputs

Competencies

Core values

• Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Plans, prioritizes and delivers tasks on time;
• Strives for and promotes excellence in performance continually;
• Participates effectively in a team-based, information-sharing environment, collaborating and cooperating with others;
• Generates ideas and seizes opportunities to support corporate strategic objectives.

People Skills

• Recognizes and responds appropriately to the ideas, interests, and concerns of others;
• Encourages dialogue and acts in accordance with inputs.

Innovation:

• Identifies new ways and approaches of work in the subject matter, customised to the specific context;
• Critical thinking;
• Scales up innovation for greater impact.

Results-Orientation:

• Uses resources, methods, partners, and information effectively;
• Analyses complex technical materials (including data) and makes concise, relevant recommendations;
• Plans and procedures quality results to meet established goals.

Communication:

• Technical writing skills, formulates written information clearly and persuasively;
• Strong communication and presentation skills.

Job Knowledge and Expertise:

• Expertise and knowledge in the digital transformation, governance, e-governance, digital innovation, e-services, participation and citizen-centric design of public services;
• Solid knowledge of the governance structure and public administration reform processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications/Education:

• Advanced university degree in public administration, economics, ICTs for development, political science, or other relevant field.

Experience:

• At least 7 years of relevant professional experience in the area of digital transformation, e-governance, e-services in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Union.
• Proven expertise in provision of technical advice to the public sector for policy analyses and formulation of strategies and action plans, including in relation to e-government and digital transformation.

Languages Requirements:

• Excellent writing and oral communication skills in the official languages of peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian).
• Good English writing and reading skills.

Other Requirements:

• Excellent computer skills (MS Office applications) and ability to use information technologies as a tool and resource, including for data visualisation. 

Longlisting/Shortlisting Criteria

Qualifications as stated in the ToR

The candidate must reach a minimum of 90% threshold to qualify for technical evaluation.

Technical Evaluation Criteria

The candidate must reach a minimum threshold of 70% on technical evaluation to be taken for final consideration.

Evaluation

Individual  will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Cumulative analysis

When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the candidate whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:
a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
b) Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

• * Technical Criteria weight-70%
• * Financial Criteria weight- 30%

Interested candidated must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

• Explaining why they are the most suitable for the work;
• Provide a brief methodology on how they will approach and conduct the work;

Please scan all above mentioned documents and upload as one attachment only online through this website.

Note:

• For an assignment requiring travel, consultants of 65 years or more require full medical examination and statement of fitness to work to engage in the consultancy.
• Due to large number of potential applicants, only competitively selected candidates will be contacted for remaining steps of the service procurement process.