Antecedentes

The “Horizons. Strengthening community resilience in Abkhazia” (Horizons) project is aimed to promote the social and economic resilience of local communities, especially youth, through improved access to high quality health and education services in Abkhazia. In doing so, the project aims to increase the space for reconciliation, confidence-building and social cohesion, thus expanding the ‘horizons’ of local communities affected by 1992-1993 conflict. The project is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in cooperation with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The 5-year project intends to achieve its goal through reaching targets within and across three primary objectives of the program:

• Improved access to quality health services for vulnerable populations in Abkhazia;
• Improved access to quality education, skills development and social participation opportunities for children and youth;
• Enhanced dialogue across respective youth and professional groups;
• Enhanced Business Development Skills and Access to Vocational Trainings for Young People

The Horizons project focuses on the following key outputs: improving the healthcare system through expanding HIV/AIDS prevention and providing screening on STIs, Hepatitis B and C, and TB; improving maternal and child health care services; and expanding learning and social participation skills and opportunities for youth in Abkhazia; enhancing business development skills and access to vocational trainings for young people.

In Abkhazia persistent barriers to economic activity and income generation are affecting especially youth, who lack employment opportunities as well as the entrepreneurial skills necessary to start and develop their own business or income generating activities. Among the key factor hampering economic activities are: an uncompetitive economy, low productivity and shallow markets; non-transparent land ownership and market structures; low levels of entrepreneurship and innovation; low quality services (including agriculture extension services).

UNDP is planning to set up and equip two Business Education Centers (BECs), one covering the Eastern and one the Western part of Abkhazia, to coordinate serve as a space in support of business development across all 7 districts of Abkhazia and provide technical, advisory, and capacity strengthening support to existing and new business initiatives, with a particular focus on innovative business ventures in urban settings and on youth entrepreneurship.

UNDP intends to:

• Conduct an assessment of the existing business development sector including: existing initiatives in support of private entrepreneurship; current gaps (in terms of financial or human capacities) that may hinder business development, especially for young people; legal framework for start-up development; available production infrastructure;
• Prepare a Business Development and Support strategy identifying key stakeholders, enablers and potential spoilers of the initiative, as well as the recommended specific services to be provided by the Business Education Centers to be established under the Horizon project.

Deberes y responsabilidades

The Consultant will work under overall guidance of CPR Team Leader at UNDP and under direct supervision of the Project Manager and in close coordination with the Programme Officer and the Project Officer on Business Education and VET. 

Summary of Key Functions:

• Assessment of the business development opportunities in Abkhazia with a focus on existing policies, regulations (including legal framework) and needs (human resources, technical, financial) with particular focus on the key elements hindering further development of private entrepreneurship especially for young entrepreneurs;
• Elaboration of a Business Development and Support Intervention Strategy for UNDP,  in order to better address identified needs and problems.

Assessment of business development sector in Abkhazia, including the existing policy/legal framework, to identify and map key issues and assist UNDP in addressing the gaps and challenges in an evidence-based manner:

• The assessment is to identify gaps impeding access to markets and effective establishment of value chains that micro and small entrepreneurs face in Abkhazia; it should provide analysis of the state of programmes and production infrastructure in support of business development in Abkhazia. The assessment should also analyze prevailing urban development trends, business activities, and development preferences of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in urban settings. The assessment may also identify areas for improvement and/or professional development of existing providers and beneficiaries of business skill development initiatives (including, human resources gaps), enhancement of their competences with focus on young entrepreneurs; and needs of support services for existing and potential urban entrepreneurs. The assessment shall analyze linkages between entrepreneurship and the education sector. 

Business Development and Support Intervention Strategy in Abkhazia for UNDP, based on key findings and recommendations of the Assessment:

• The assessment will define the grounds for elaborating a strategy detailing existing and potential entry points for relevant interventions by UNDP in the area of Business Skills Development, including the concept of BECs operations.

Deliverables and payment modality:

• Assessment of the business development sector in Abkhazia with the focus on existing policy/legal framework and needs (human resources, technical, financial): 60% of total consultancy fee;
• Elaboration of a Business Development and Support intervention strategy for UNDP in order to better address identified needs and problems: 40 of total consultancy fee.

The consultant shall be paid lump sum in 2 installments (according to deliverables stated in ToRs) after the satisfactory completion of each task as certified by UNDP. Travel costs will be paid per conducted mission.

Description of deliverables and timelines:

• Consultation with UNDP staff in Tbilisi and Sukhumi; briefing the consultant on current state of affairs for better understanding of the context as well as estimated outputs he/she is expected to produce: 2 days (including travel to Sukhumi);
• Logistical support to travel to Sukhumi will be provided by UNDP;
• Field visit within Abkhazia to collect data and information for the assessment report (pending on clearance of access to Abkhazia): 8 days
• Translation services (if needed) will be provided by UNDP;
• Drafting and finalization of the assessment report: 5 days (home based);
• Drafting and finalization of the Intervention Strategy: 4 days (home based);
• Revision of the assessment and the strategy based on the feedback provided by UNDP team, if required: 3 days (home based).

Arrangements:

Missions: The Consultant is expected to complete assigned deliverables through traveling to Tbilisi and Sukhumi, 1 time (up to 10 travel days) within the period of 1 September – 30 November 2018: the mission to conduct the assessment, and draft the strategy through meeting key partners, stakeholders and experts, collecting necessary data and working collaboratively with UNDP team in Abkhazia.

Total number of working days: In total, up to 22 w/days for the duration of 1 September 2018 – 30 November 2018, out of which up to 12 w/days are envisaged for home-based work prior to mission trip to Tbilisi and Sukhumi and after completing of the mission trip; and from total up to 10 travel days: up to 8 work/travel/days are envisaged for the mission to Sukhumi and up to 2 work/travel days for the mission to Tbilisi. UNDP will support with local transportation and arrangement of meetings in Tbilisi and Sukhumi. 

Competencias

Core Competencies:

• Demonstrated commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;
• Sensitivity and adaptability to cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age;
• Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.

Functional Competencies:

• Excellent drafting skills and ability to collect field data;
• Strong analytical and quantitative and qualitative research skills;
• Ability to work independently and achieve quality results within tight schedules;
• Ability to work under pressure with several tasks and various deadlines.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in economics, social sciences, business administration or relevant field (minimum qualification requirement: Master's degree - 5 points; Ph.D. - additional 3 points).

Experience:

• Minimum 10 years of work experience in the field of private sector development, as well as relevant experience in designing and implementing research consultations (minimum 10 years to up to 15 years – 14 points; more than 15 years - additional 4 points (depending on nature of expertise, relevance, international nature of work etc.));
• Extensive experience in the thematic area of the private sector support (including start-up development), value chain development, MSMEs (both farm and non-farm including extension services to agriculture), market accessibility, etc.;
• Recorded track of at least 1 similar written assessment/strategy as international assignments (to be reflected in application form or CV) (minimum qualification requirement: 1 report – 9 points; more than 1 relevant report – additional 5 points).

Language Requirements:

• English - fluency in both written and spoken (a must);
• Russian - fluency in spoken (a must); written (an asset).

Evaluatoin:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on Cumulative scoring analysis, against combination of technical and financial criteria. Technical evaluation stage encompasses desk review of offers and interviews. Offerors not meeting any of minimum technical qualification requirements will be automatically excluded from the list of offerors for further technical evaluation. In addition, offerors not meeting Language requirements will as well be disqualified. Maximum obtainable score is 100, out of which the total score for technical criteria (desk review and interview) equals to 70 points (70%) and for financial criteria 30 (30%). Offerors who meet language requirements and pass 70% of maximum obtainable scores as a result of desk review (i.e. 40 x 70% = 28 points) will be considered as short-listed Offerors, and will be invited to the interview. Those offerors passing 70% threshold of maximum obtainable scores as a result of the technical evaluation (desk review and interview), i.e. obtain minimum 49 points will be shortlisted and requested to provide financial proposal.

Financial Proposal:

Short-listed Offerors will be requested to provide financial proposal. The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount (with indication of specific sub-components of the payment, including daily fee, travel costs, living allowance etc.), and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables. The total amount quoted shall be all-inclusive and include a breakdown of all cost components required to perform the deliverables identified in TOR. The payment will be performed in two (2) installments paid upon submission of deliverables and its approval by the Project Manager. Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. UNDP will 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