Historique

Since early 2000s UNDP’s partnership with the Slovak Republic has been the largest initiative with an emerging donor in the region, supporting official development assistance (ODA) delivery, capacity building and public finance management reforms in partner countries. The cooperation has been framed by several projects, where Slovakia as the Donor was represented by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and Ministry of Finance. 

In line with the Medium-Term Strategies for Development Cooperation of the Slovak Republic for 2014 -2018 and thereafter 2019-2023, the Slovak Republic is looking at increased involvement of the private sector in development cooperation as a way of the sustainable economic growth and resources mobilization support. Thus, in 2014 the new component Business for Development Cooperation was introduced within the partnership with the Ministry of Finance (MFSR). It should be mentioned that Slovak Ministry of Finance is responsible for the Slovak policy toward and relations with IFIs. The newly introduced component paid specific attention to the involvement of Slovak entities in the development schemes of international financial institutions and the establishment of a contact point for private sector. Initial survey among Slovak companies doing business with Slovak ODA recipient countries and companies with experience in implementing Slovak ODA revealed limited involvement in UN and/or EU and/or IFIs funded development projects but also indicated that there is interest to be informed about the possibilities and to participate in international projects.

The Business for Development Cooperation project primary aim was to increase the involvement of Slovak private sector in international financial institutions (IFIs) and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) projects/tenders and increase the capacity for active engagement in development cooperation. Although Slovak Republic contributes to these institutions, Slovak companies have benefited from international tenders only marginally due to low awareness, insufficient information or their non-readiness. 

Based on mentioned, Rozvojmajstri and a private sector liaison officer (PSLO) were launched in 2015. A Slovak consultancy company Aspiro a.s. was selected based on an open tender to implement the project. Project activities were packed and streamlined into multi-stage sequences grouped into 4 modules (Developing the market, Power positioning, Advisory services and Executive office) with linked outputs leading to following 4 results: New market niches were Slovaks Perform well, Active promotion of Slovak expertise, Empowered companies with the drive to bid and sustainably operating Slovakia Business for Development Cooperation Programme.

In next phase of UNDP – MFSR partnership (framed by the project Public and Private Finance for Development) Business for Development Cooperation was scaled up by introducing a new tool, the Resource Mobilization Facility (RMF) that aims to support the UNDP country offices with the development investment project preparation and feasibility studies. The support from the RMF is bound to sectors where Slovakia has certain documented experience and comparative advantage and is in line with UNDP country offices strategies. Facility supports financially and with Slovak expertise. The role of Rozvojmajstri within RMF is the consultancy for the RMF implementation teams and awareness raising on RMF tenders among the Slovak business community and support to UNDP COs with preparation of tenders’ documentation. 

Location: Home-based with 3 missions: 1st to Slovakia (up to 5 working days), 2nd to Serbia (2 working days), 3rd to Montenegro (2 working days) 

Devoirs et responsabilités

UNDP would like to undertake an independent quality review to provide the Project Board, the Donor and project team with an opportunity for joint reflection with an external evaluator about the project´s achievements - outcomes (whenever possible – impact), strengths and weaknesses, as well as lessons that can be incorporated into future planning and implementation. The quality review will seek to:

• Take stock of lessons learnt and experiences so far including some case studies, if possible;
• Analyze Rozvojmajstri performance against main goals of the project, with the emphasis on the development impact of the project to date and the extent to which the project approach ensures impact,
• Assess realistically the achieved results, their impact and sustainability for Slovak businesses. Assess to what extent the project succeeded in reaching out to Slovak companies (particularly SMEs) and in offering services which are relevant for the Slovak companies,
• Identify areas for improvement as well as those that can be reinforced to amplify their success,
• Reflect on the projects’ relevance and opportunities going forward, especially taking into account the size and the structure of the market (Slovak companies with potential and willingness to engage on developing markets, demand for support mechanisms) as a leading inclusive business platform.

The findings and recommendations of the review should help assess the appropriateness of the selected approach, validate Rozvojmajstri key assets and point out lacunae of missed opportunities, provide in-depth insights into how Rozvojmajstri should move forward. 

Scope of the Review and Key Questions

The review is expected to provide objective information and essential learning for the UNDP project team, Project Board, Donor and the interested private sector actors, and the international development community.

The review is supposed to cover strategic approach, relevance of the project and the selected approach, with regards to the set objectives impact of the project, management and implementation, effectiveness of the project, sustainability and possible take-over of the project by the national institutions (SAIDC, MoF, EXIMBANKA) of the project. 

The review will reach out to all key stakeholders, including project target group, businesses themselves.

The evaluator should be guided but not limited to the scope of evaluation questions as listed in Attachment A of this terms of reference. The evaluator is expected to refine the list and specify possible additional questions.

Deliverables and payment schedule

Expected duration of the assignment is app. 23 working days between September and November 2019.

• Desk review, online meetings with project implementation team, Donor and other relevant stakeholders and preparation of Inception Report
  4 working days (September- Mid of October)
  Home based
  Deliverable 1 - Inception Report
• Mission to Slovakia: briefing, interviews
  5 working days (October)
  Bratislava, Slovakia 
  Deliverable 2 -  Mission debriefing (skype call with UNDP project manager)
• Missions to Serbia and Montenegro: briefing, interviews
  4 working days (October)
  Western Balkan
  Deliverable 3 -  Missions debriefing (skype call with UNPD project manager)
• Additional skype/phone/e-mail interviews if relevant
  7 working days (November)
  Home based
  Deliverable 4 -   Draft Report
• Finalizing the final report
  2 working days (November)
  Home based
  Deliverable 5 - Final Report

Payment Schedule:

• 1st instalment presenting 20% of the lump sum after submission of the Inception Report, upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on this contract obligation in a satisfactory manner; deadline: 18 October
• 2nd instalment presenting 80% of the lump sum upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on all contract obligations in a satisfactory manner, deadline: 29 November

Management of review process

Assignment is home-based with two field visits to Slovakia and Western Balkans. The consultant will be responsible for all personal administrative and travel arrangements and expenses associated with undertaking this assignment including office accommodation, printing, stationary, telephone and electronic communications, and report copies incurred in this assignment. 

The UNDP project manager will directly supervise the consultant and provide him or her with all documents as listed in Attachment B  of this terms of reference and UNDP country offices, MFSR and ROZVOJMAJSTRI contacts. The disbursement of payments will be approved by UNDP project manager. 

The ROZVOJMAJSTRI team will liaise with the evaluator as requested and provide him/her with all necessary information. The ROZVOJMASTRI team will be responsible for liaising with the evaluator to set up stakeholder interviews.

Written deliverables shall be presented in English and in electronic form (in MS Word format) to the UNDP project manager. 

Inception report and draft final report will be reviewed jointly by the MFSR and UNDP project manager.

The Final Report will be a stand-alone document that substantiates findings, conclusions and recommendations. The report will have to provide complete and convincing evidence to support its findings.

Compétences

Corporate competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling 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 favoritism; 
• Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Functional Competencies: 

• Strong client orientation and advisory skills,
• Excellent communication skills and drafting/writing skills in English (Familiarity with MS Office is required), 
• Strong organizational awareness,
• Ability to meet deadlines and work under pressure, 
• Strong interpersonal skills.

Qualifications et expériences requises

Education:

• Advanced (MA) university degree (or equivalent) in the area of evaluation, social sciences, economy, development studies or other relevant field,
• Additional education/specialized training in evaluation is an asset.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of experience in monitoring and evaluation, results-based management, development cooperation, policy planning and analysis, advisory support to governments or donor agencies in the area of evaluating development cooperation or private sector engagement, or similar consultancy assignments.
• Previous experience in working with international organizations/working with UN agencies is an asset.
• Demonstrated experience in applying qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods, designing and leading evaluations (proven track record of at least 3 assignments in this area).
• Demonstrated experience in writing of evaluation reports or similar documents in English (proven by 1 writing sample)
• Experience in involvement and/or mapping of private sector engagement in development cooperation, private sector development, providing business intermediary services and/or advisory services on foreign trade and business development, or similar assignments is an asset (track record of preferably 3 assignments in this area).
• Working experience with multilateral organizations and recent developments in development cooperation is an asset.
• Working experience with the Slovak ODA system and/or Slovak private sector is an asset.

Language skills:

• Proficiency (verbal and written) in English. Working knowledge of Slovak or Czech is an asset.

Ethics:

Evaluation consultant will be held to the highest ethical standards and is required to sign a Code of Conduct (please refer to Attachment C) upon acceptance of the assignment. UNDP evaluations are conducted in accordance with the principles outlined in the UNEG 'Ethical Guidelines for Evaluations'.

Evaluation of Applicants

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal.

The award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant 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.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum 70% from the maximum available technical score (24.5 points) will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal and will equal to 15. All other price proposals will be evaluated and assigned points, as per following formula: 15 points [max points available for financial part] x [lowest of all evaluated offered prices among responsive offers] / [evaluated price].

Technical Criteria: 70% of total evaluation – max 35 points:

• Criterion A (Education as specified in the announcement) – max 5 points
• Criterion B (Language skills as specified in the announcement) – max 2.5 points
• Criterion C (At least 5 years of experience in monitoring and evaluation, results-based management, development cooperation, policy planning and analysis, advisory support to governments or donor agencies in the area of evaluating development cooperation or private sector engagement, or similar consultancy assignments + Experience in working with international organizations) - max 10 points
• Criterion D (Demonstrated experience in applying qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods, designing and leading evaluations) – max 10 points
• Criterion E (Demonstrated experience in writing of evaluation reports or similar documents in English) – max 2.5 points
• Criterion F (samples of previous work - Experience in involvement and/or mapping of private sector engagement in development cooperation, private sector development, providing business intermediary services and/or advisory services on foreign trade and business development, or other similar assignments + Familiarity with the Slovak private sector) – max 2.5 points
• Criterion G (Knowledge of multilateral organizations and recent developments in development cooperation + Familiarity with the Slovak ODA system) – max 2.5 points

Financial Criteria: 30% of total evaluation – max. 15 points.

Application Procedure:

The application submission is a two-step process. Failing to comply with the submission process may result in disqualifying the applications

Step 1: Interested candidates must include the following documents when submitting the applications (Please group all your documents into one (1) single PDF attachment as the system only allows upload of one document): 

• Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the offered position. Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application. 
• 1 writing sample of evaluation report or similar document in English.
• Please make sure to provide sufficient info on similar assignments / demonstrate experience in the required areas in the “Resume and Motivation” section. 
• Filled and duly signed P11 form or CV including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees (blank form can be downloaded from http://www.eurasia.undp.org/content/dam/rbec/docs/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc); 

Step 2: Submission of Financial Proposal - Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and requested to provide a financial offer.

Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner.

Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling 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.

General Terms and conditions as well as other related documents can be found under: http://on.undp.org/t7fJs.

Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.