Antecedentes

Georgia has made significant progress in the development of public services. The rapid transformation by utilizing e-Governance tools and modern approaches has made public services in Georgia more transparent, accessible and comfortable for citizens. However, the positive changes in service delivery lacked the coherent unified framework and the progress was uneven across the sectors. Many elements of a complex business cycle were developed on an ad-hoc basis, while some technical and IT solutions have relied heavily on the expertise of individual employees. Lack of general framework that would ensure predictability and accessibility of innovative services and use of replicable methodologies and quality assurance systems by service provider agencies has proved to be a significant challenge in further improving public services in Georgia.

In Georgia, a large number of public services are provided by administrative entities also known as legal entities of public law (LEPL). Public services are largely designed in back office agencies and delivered by front office agencies or front office desks within an agency. The instruments used by back and front office agencies can be divided into two categories. Instruments that belong to the first category can be classified as traditional or original public service instruments as they include product, price, promotion and place. The second category of instrument is more contemporary and covers people, process and physical facility. However, these instruments are used sporadically as there is no structured approach in LEPLs to design, plan and deliver services. The management in these agencies utilize these instruments without putting too much structural or administrative thought in the process of public service elaboration. Therefore, there are structural and procedural particularities in service elaboration and delivery. Most of the agencies also lack procedures on how to manage innovative ideas in their early stages and to develop them to their full potential. There is a need for a structured and robust approach in service delivery that consolidates different elements in a predictable and easily perceivable manner.

With the goal to solve the problem, the Government of Georgia (GoG) started working on developing unified standards for public service design and delivery that will be universal across all public service provider agencies (PSPAs). The leading role in this endeavour was granted to one of the key national entities responsible for service delivery - the Public Service Development Agency (PSDA). The activity falls under the Service Delivery pillar of the “Public Administration Reform (PAR) Roadmap 2020” and is part of the corresponding PAR Action Plan 2019-2020.

With assistance of international and local experts “State Strategy on Development of Public Service Delivery” has been drafted. The document offers a set of common guiding principles and standards on the design, delivery, pricing and quality assurance of public services in Georgia. The document will create ground for the subsequent gradual adaptation and harmonization of the service quality standards across the PSPAs. It will also enhance the ability of AoG to offer unifying policy guidance and develop the capacity of PSDA to assist other agencies in improving the overall standards of public service delivery, in line with current best practices. The draft has been approved by the PAR Council’s Service Delivery Working Group and is currently pending Government approval.

One of the important goals of the “State Strategy on development of Public Service Delivery” is to elaborate a unified service design process that is based on inclusive decision-making that engages citizens, communities and non-state actors in co-creating public services, and encourages state agencies to effectively coordinate service design process. The Strategy envisions utilizing a “Design Thinking” process that guides state agencies in thinking and developing service in an innovative and inclusive manner. It orients them towards using proper research methodologies to gather data and to analyse information as well as towards engaging with their respective target audience and communities and allowing them to work together to co-create public services, to pilot or prototype a service and prepare it for implementation.

According to the Strategy, the following five objectives are to be realized under the above-mentioned goal:

• Introduce a “Design Thinking” methodology to effectively engage citizens, wider community and non-governmental organizations in co-designing and co-creating public services.
• Institutionalize inter-unit and inter-agency collaboration to align and coordinate state agencies’ activities in designing public services.
• Establish a robust legal framework for the public service design process.
• Identify the diverse nature of the administrative burden and propose possible remedies through process re-engineering and optimization.
• Design public services based on informed decisions, research evidence and robust data analysis.

Deberes y responsabilidades

The overall objective of the consultancy is to provide relevant advice to Georgia’s public service delivery agencies on how to elaborate a unified service design process that is based on inclusive decision-making that engages citizens, communities and non-state actors in co-creating public services, and encourages state agencies to effectively coordinate service design process. The outcome of given assignment should be the service provider agencies’ strengthened capacity in designing public services, by improving their ability to establish a robust service design framework that continuously engages citizens and other interested parties in the public service elaboration and co-creation process.

Under the direct supervision of the PAR Project Manager and in close cooperation with relevant representatives from Georgia’s public agencies, the international expert is expected to assume the following duties and responsibilities:

• Work with PSDA and relevant representatives from public service delivery entities to discuss, plan and coordinate development of all deliverables under the given assignment;
• Get familiar with the “State Strategy on Development of Public Service Delivery”, “Public Service Delivery Baseline Assessment Report” and other relevant documentation (such as OECD/SIGMA’s Principles for Public Services, etc.);
• Elaborate a step-by-step guideline in public service design in collaboration with the PSDA team;
• Development of the training module for public servants in unified service design methodology in coordination with the PSDA team;
• In partnership with PSDA, conduct working meetings and presentations of developed guideline to key public service provider agencies and other relevant parties; reflect the comments/suggestions in the guideline;
• Perform at least one mission to Georgia for accomplishment of the above tasks;
• Develop a final report, reflecting the steps undertaken as part of the consultancy assignment, listing the challenges, lessons, learned, etc.;
• Perform other relevant tasks as deemed necessary.

Deliverables:

The consultant is expected to produce the following deliverables:

Deliverable 1 – Step by step guideline on service design incorporating principles from the “Design Thinking” and other relevant methodologies. The guideline should serve as a detailed outline and the basis for the public service provider agencies to develop new services with user centricity in mind. Submission Date: 6 weeks after the commencement of the assignment;

Deliverable 2 – Working meetings and presentations of the elaborated guideline to the representatives of public service provider agencies and other relevant parties; modified service design guideline that reflects the collected feedback, if deemed appropriate. Submission date – eight weeks after the commencement of the assignment;

Deliverable 3 – Training module package in service design for public service delivery agencies. The training package should consist of detailed curriculum, teaching materials such as readings, power point presentations, exercises and other relevant teaching materials as deemed necessary. Conducted three-day training session. Submission date – twelve weeks after the commencement of the assignment;

Deliverable 4 – A final report, describing the consultancy process and the steps undertaken as part of the consultancy assignment, listing the challenges, lessons, learned, etc. Submission date – thirteen weeks after the commencement of the assignment.

Payment modality: 

The payment schedule will be agreed with the consultant and will be made in two (2) installments upon satisfactory completion/submission of the deliverables.

• Deliverable 1-2 – 50 % of the consultancy
• Deliverable 3-4 – 50 % of the consultancy

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:

• Demonstrated ability to apply good judgment in the context of the given assignment;
• Ability to conceptualize analytical frameworks based on available information and resources;
• Strong communication and organizational skills as well as team work capabilities;
• Excellent writing, editing and oral communication skills in English;
• Ability to work toward creative, participatory and inclusive solutions;
• An ability to complete the task in a timely fashion.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education:

• Master’s degree in public administration or related field (minimum requirement: 10 points).

Experience:

• Experience of conducting trainings in design of public services to at least five different groups of participants (minimum requirement: five training sessions – 10 points, more than five sessions – additional 10 points);
• Participation in at least five consultancy projects advising public organizations on public services related issues (minimum requirement: 5 projects – 10 points, more than 5 projects – additional 5 points);
• Experience in developing comparable knowledge products in the field of public services (minimum requirement: at least 2 guidelines related to the respective area: 5 points).

Language Requirements: 

• Fluency in English language (both written and oral).

Evaluation:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis method: Offerors will be evaluated against combination of technical and financial criteria. Maximum obtainable score is 100 out of which the total score for technical criteria equals to 70 (desk review - 50 points and interview - 20 points) and for financial criteria – to 30. Offerors that do not meet minimum requirements will be automatically rejected, while the rest will form up the long list. The offerors who obtain minimum 35 points as a result of the desk review will be invited for the interview. Offerors who pass 70% threshold, i.e. obtain minimum 14 points, as a result of the interview will be requested the financial proposal.

Financial Proposal:

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in instalments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the ToR.  In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount. Maximum 30 points will be assigned to the lowest price offer. All other price offers will be scored using the formula (inverse proportion):  Financial score X = 30* the lowest price offer/suggested price offer. All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal as well.