Antecedentes

UNDP Global Mission Statement

UNDP is the UN’s global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with national counterparts on their own solutions to global and national development challenges.

UNDP Afghanistan Mission Statement

UNDP supports stabilization, state-building, governance and development priorities in Afghanistan. UNDP support, in partnership with the Government, the United Nations system, the donor community and other development stakeholders, has contributed to institutional development efforts leading to positive impact on the lives of Afghan citizens. UNDP has working in Afghanistan for more than 50 years on challenges related to climate change, resilience, gender, governance, health, livelihood and rule of law. Over the years UNDP support has spanned such milestone efforts as the adoption of the Constitution; Presidential, Parliamentary and Provincial Council elections.

Guided by the government and its Development Councils, UNDP’s work is fully aligned with the Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework and National Priority Programmes and is carried out in close coordination with partner UN agencies under the One UN Framework. As the UN’s development network, we connect the Afghan government and people with the resources and information they need to drive their own development according to their own priorities, as well as to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

UNDP has played a key role in the management of the Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan (LOTFA), which supports the Government in developing and maintaining the national Police force and in efforts to stabilize the internal security environment. Major demobilizations, disarmaments and rehabilitations and area-based livelihoods and reconstruction programmes have taken place nationwide. UNDP Programmes in Afghanistan have benefited from the very active support of donors. UNDP Afghanistan is committed to the highest standards of transparency and accountability and works in close coordination with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the UN system as a whole to maximize the impact of its development efforts on the ground.

Organizational Context

Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan (LOTFA)

The new LOTFA consists of two Projects. One Project, the Support to Payroll Management Project (SPM), provides exclusively for full MOIA payroll management until December 2016. The second LOTFA Project, MOIA and Police Development Project (MPD), is cantered on developing national capacity for self-sustained reform and improvement of the MOIA as an institution, and the police services as instruments for citizen safety and maintenance of the rule of law. The two new Projects were jointly developed by GIROA, MOIA, UNDP, donors and other partners.

Support to Payroll Management Project (SPM)

The SPM is a dedicated payroll management project with approximately 40 national staff and 3 international staff working closely together with MOIA staff from the Budget & Finance, HR and ICT departments to ensure timely payment of Salaries and incentives to the Afghan National Police (ANP) and Central Prison Department (CPD) officers.

The expected outcome of the SPM project is GIROA’s (i.e. MOIA) ability to independently manage all non-fiduciary aspects of payroll for the ANP and CPD, including producing relevant reports for donors in their specified formats. MOIA should also be able to manage the full range of functions related to payroll, i.e. human resources, accounting, and information and communication technology in a seamless manner.

Since its development the project has been divided into six outputs as follows:

• Output 1 entails having in place updated legislative, policy and regulatory framework and business processes, implemented and functional in support of independent MOIA payroll management.
• Output 2 entails MOIA personnel (in Payroll, Human Resources (HR), Finance and Budget as appropriate) being able to independently undertake all payroll inputs, processing and validation tasks to agreed and measurable standards, using the reliability, accuracy and timeliness of personnel data and payroll to support improved evidence-based planning, prioritization and decisions.
• Output 3 covers MOIA’s payroll systems which should electronically be linked with HR systems, implemented and operational nationwide, and covers all pertinent and validated personnel. Three interconnected activity results are to be achieved for the overall achievement of this Output.
• Output 4 covers the provisions of the necessary infrastructures to support the full functionality of MOIA payroll systems during and after the SPM project.
• Output 5 is the core function of the SPM project as it entails the transfer of funds, on a timely and regular basis, to MOF for Police Pay.
• Output 6 is the SPM Project management component which is to ensure that the rest of the outputs get implemented in accordance with the project document and in a timely, efficient, accountable and effective manner.

Purpose of the Evaluation

The Evaluation has two major purposes and derived research questions:

• Purpose of Accountability - to account for the results achieved with the resources allocated to the SPM project. Specifically, to assess the extent to which the design or the implementation process of a development intervention have contributed to its success, to identify the failure or success factors, identifying the conditions in which the SPM project can be successfully replicated
• Purpose of Learning – to learn from experience by understanding whether the SPM project has worked or not and the reasons for its failure or success. Specifically, to assess whether the resources allocated to the intervention have resulted in the planned outputs, outcomes and eventually impacts and whether the resources have been spent efficiently

This Evaluation is planned to be end-of project and independent as well as intended to assess the relevance, performance, management arrangements and success or failure of the project. It looks at signs of potential impact of project activities on beneficiaries and sustainability of results, including the impact to capacity development.

A team of International Consultant and the National Consultant will work with the teams of UNDP, LOTFA (SPM and M&E) under the supervision of the Deputy Resident Representative to produce an independent evaluation report.

Deberes y responsabilidades

Objective of the Assignment:

The evaluation is forward looking and will capture effectively lessons learnt and provide information on the nature, extent and where possible, the potential impact and sustainability of the SPM project. The evaluation will assess the project design, scope, implementation status and the capacity to achieve the project objectives. It will collate and analyse lessons learnt, challenges faced, and best practices obtained during implementation which will inform the programming strategy in the next programming phase of UNDP Afghanistan 2021-2026.

The evaluation is expected to cover all project’s outputs (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), and specifically review the mid-term evaluation recommendations and evaluate progress made since it was carried out, particularly:

1. Status of coordination pursuant to the ANP Human Resources Management, ANP IDs issuance by the MOIA, issue of “ghost police” and the payroll system;
2. Effectiveness of WEPS system’s transition into a new APPS and its data cleansing process;
3. Status of “Payroll Unit Plan” and accompanying “Payroll Unit Capacity Building Plan” including a detailed “blue print” for staffing of a new Payroll developed with the support of the project;
4. Status of Training and Capacity Building of MOIA staff to fully assume responsibilities of the Payroll Unit;
5. Payroll transition issues and status of outstanding donor conditions (three of the twelve conditions remained unmet as at last mid-term evaluation of YY2017-2018);
6. Status of training for female MOIA personnel to perform payroll functions;                                                                       Assess the status of recommendation of the mid-term evaluation (YY 2017-2018)
7. Assess the project design in terms of its relevance to the overall development situation at the national level; relevance to national strategies, and relevance to beneficiaries;
8. Assess the cost-efficiency of project interventions;
9. Assess the project impact on MOIA’s IT development, transparency and efficiency;
10. Assess relevance and effectiveness of the project’s strategy and approaches for the achievement of the project objectives;
11. Assess performance of the project in terms of effectiveness, efficiency, and timeliness of producing the expected outputs;
12. Assess the quality and timeliness of inputs, the reporting and monitoring system and extent to which these have been effective;
13. Assess relevance of the project’s management arrangements; identify advantages, bottlenecks and lessons learn with regard to the management arrangements;
14. Analyze underlying factors beyond UNDP control that affect the achievement of the project results;
15. Provide recommendations to key project stakeholders for future projects/ programme development;

Specific attention must be given to the evaluation criteria as defined by OECD/ DAC: relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability and impact. The Evaluation should answer the following evaluation questions:

Relevance. The extent to which the objectives of the SPM project are consistent with beneficiaries’ requirements, country needs, global priorities (SDGs) and partners’ and donors’ policies. This includes looking whether the overall objectives of the intervention are conform to existing policies, whether this policy represents a priority for the partner country and, for intervention targeted to the administration, the extent to which the design of the intervention and its implementation take into account the actual functioning of the administrative system.

• What is the value/relevance of the intervention in relation to the national and international partners’ policies and priorities;
• How effective was SPM in garnering national ownership of the activities;
• What were good practices? Where was the project not able to deliver on enhancing national ownership and why;
• How much support did the Government provide to SPM’s efforts to garner national ownership;

Effectiveness. The extent to which the SPM’s objectives were achieved, or are expected to be achieved, taking into account their relative importance. Provide a comprehensive analysis of the effectiveness of implementation of SPM, with regards to the relation between the inputs, outputs, and activities, analyzing whether these are logical and commensurate with the needs and resources allocated to the project. Analyze the quality of program design. Analyze whether activities are achieving satisfactory results in relation to stated objectives short and long term. The evaluation should review all outputs of SPM and respond to the below questions:

• Has SPM successfully delivered on the results as identified under each of the project outputs? What were the major factors that influenced the achievement or non-achievement of the objectives;
• Did the ANP and GDPDC personnel funded through SPM received their monthly remunerations in a timely and effectively manner in all 34 provinces;
• How has sustained salary payment of ANP led to increased presence of ANP across the country? Is there a logical correlation between the amount of funding towards salary payment and growth of the police force over time;
• Has the Web-enabled Electronic Payroll System (WEPS) and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) contributed towards accountability and transparency in police salary payment at police payroll stations (PHQs, ANCOP, ABP and CPD);
• How effective was the governance arrangement of the project? To what extent has there been collaboration and communication among UNDP, donors and MOIA at the central level? How effective have the capacity development initiatives undertaken by SPM been? Have the initiatives been adequate and resulted in sustainable capacity in the target MOIA departments at the central, provincial and regional offices;
• How effective has SPM been in addressing the challenges in salary payments through different mechanisms i.e. WEPS/ APPS, Trusted agent and mobile money;
• Has the capacity development support of SPM to the ANP led to an increased public financial management capability within MOIA;
• How effective and efficient were the lines of reporting between UNDP and MOIA, and how clear was the division of responsibilities and accountability of various functions and activities between the government and UNDP;
• How was the overall project designing process? Was it designed though a consultative process with MOIA counterparts, donors and other stakeholders;
• Was the oversight role provided by the UNDP country office effective? Were there oversight control mechanisms in place and was UNDP successful in fulfilling this function;
• How effective was the international partners’ role in SPM including funding, implementation of activities, communication and overall coordination?

Efficiency is assessed through a measure of how economically resources/inputs (funds, expertise, time, etc.) are converted to results. Particularly,

• How efficiently were funding, staff, and other resources used to achieve the expected results of the project?
• Based on cost-benefit analysis what conclusions can be drawn regarding ‘value for money’ and cost related efficiencies or inefficiencies in implementing SPM?
• What was the quality and timeliness of the implementation of activities and the responsiveness of the project to adapt and respond to changes and challenges?
• What were the risks and how effective was expectation management?
• Were the organizational structures, management, planning and implementation processes effective and efficient?
• Did the project/intervention use the resources in the most economical manner to achieve its objectives? Have the resources invested led to the achievement of the intended results?
• How effective and efficient was UNDP’s support in each of the various areas where UNDP was involved (UNDP support at the central, provincial, operational and technical level)?

Sustainability. Sustainability is understood as the continuation of benefits from a development intervention after major development assistance has been completed.

• What is the sustainability of the results achieved, with focus on capacities built and ability of the institutions to operate with reduced international technical assistance in the future?
• How predictably and regularly had resources been supplied to SPM?
• To what extent were SPM capacity building initiatives/trainings sustainable and what are the longer-term effects?

Impact. Positive or negative, primary or secondary long-term effects produced by the SPM project interventions, directly or indirectly, intended or unintended.

• What were the unintended effects from the SPM project interventions (negative and positive[1])?
• What are the results of intervention in terms of changes in the lives of beneficiaries against set indicators?
• To what extent has SPM impacted the wider objective of re-building the ANP? What changes, both positive and negative, both intended and unintended, can be attributed to the interventions?
• What is the estimated impact of the SPM funding on overall security in the country?
• What were the intended and unintended aspects of the program related to the political, security and developmental dimensions?

Expected Deliverables:

The estimated time for the consultant to conduct this evaluation is 20 working days over a period of one month and is scheduled to start in October 2020. A tentative timetable is outlined below that could be amended in consultation with UNDP.

• Desk review (3 days) 10%
• Support finalization of the evaluation design and methods and preparing the detailed inception report (3 days) 10%
• In-country evaluation mission (visits to the field, interviews, questionnaires) – (7 days) 20%
• Analysis of the information collected and preparing the draft report (3 days) 10%
• Stakeholder meeting and presentation of the preliminary findings (1 day) 10%
• Incorporating comments and submission and acceptance of final evaluation report (3 days) 40%

The key output of the mission will be the Evaluation Report in English. The structure and content of the report should meet the requirements of the UNDP Monitoring and Evaluation Policy.

The Report should contain:

• An executive summary
• Description of the development intervention
• Findings
• Be analytical in nature (both quantitative and qualitative)
• Be structured around issues and related findings/lessons learnt
• Include conclusions
• Lessons Learnt
• Include recommendations
• Annexes

Methodology:

One International (Team Lead) and one National Consultant will be hired to engage in a consultative process with the relevant GIROA institutions, International Community, LOTFA Project Board members, UNDP Country Office (CO), and to assess the challenges and processes and provide recommendations for the future.

The team leader will propose an evaluation methodology and agree on a detailed plan for the assignment as part of the evaluation inception report. The national consultant will assist the team leader with research (for example revising documents in Dari and Pashtu), facilitate meetings with national counterparts and provide translation services.  The methodology will include:

• Desk study: The evaluation team should examine all relevant SPM documents (including project design, work plans, progress, quarterly and annual progress reports, assessments, board documents, monitoring reports, etc.). These documents will be provided by UNDP;
• Development and finalization of methodology: The evaluation team will have a kick-off meeting with relevant counterparts and will finalize the tools for collection and analysis of data. This will be done in close consultation and discussion with UNDP CO, SPM project management, National Director for the project, MOIA and MOF staff and donors;
• Interviewing line ministries and stakeholders: The evaluator should also hold interviews with line ministries’ officials at central and sub-national level of MOIA, and MOF. The team will also interview local communities, men and women. Furthermore, senior management and other key focal points in SPM, senior management and other key focal points in UNDP, key managerial and advisory staff in LOTFA, and representatives of all donor partners contributing to SPM need to be interviewed (key informant interviews, focus group discussions, as appropriate);
• Review and finalization of report: The draft of the evaluation report will be shared with all stakeholders for feedback/ comments and inputs incorporated as applicable in the final report.
• Evaluation Reference Guidelines
• Evaluation Product (Deliverables)
• The deliverables of the evaluation are comprised of:
• Evaluation Work Plan: A work plan specifying the start and end date of the evaluation to identify how and when the evaluation team is going to conduct the evaluation;
• Evaluation Inception Report: An inception report should be prepared by the evaluation team before going into the full-fledged data collection exercise. It should detail the evaluation team’s understanding of what is being evaluated and why, showing how each evaluation question will be answered by way of: proposed methods, proposed sources of data and data collection and analysis procedures. The inception report should include a proposed schedule of tasks, activities and deliverables, designating a team member with the lead responsibility for each task or product. Prior to preparing the report, a detailed report format should be submitted for UNDP’s approval;
• Presentations of preliminary findings;
• Draft Evaluation Report: A draft report for review and inputs from all project partners;
• Workshop: A half-day workshop for all relevant stakeholders at central level where the evaluation team presents and seeks consultation on its findings and recommendations;
• Final Evaluation Report: A final report of no more than 40 pages plus annexes to be submitted to UNDP.

Evaluation Ethics

The evaluation will be conducted in accordance with the principles outlined in the Ethical Guidelines for Evaluation (UNEG 2008) and the evaluation team must take measures to ensure compliance with the evaluator code of conduct (e.g. measures to safeguard the rights and confidentiality of their sources, provisions to collect and report data, particularly permissions needed to interview or obtain information about children and young people, provisions to store and maintain security of collected information; and protocols to ensure anonymity and confidentiality).  The evaluation will also be in line with the UNEG and UNDP Evaluation Norms and Standards.

Payment Modality: 

Payments under the contract shall be delivery-based and be made on receipt of the specific milestone report indicated above, including a timesheet per UNDP procurement formats for individual contractors. This shall be as indicated above, and shall be deemed delivered upon the approval of the by Senior Deputy Resident Representative.

WORKING ARRANGEMENTS

Institutional Arrangements:

The International Consultant will work under the overall supervision of the Senior DRR Programmes and Chief, G4P Unit at UNDP Afghanistan. The consultant shall work in close collaboration SPM Project Manager and National Consultant Evaluation Specialist

The G4P Unit will provide office space and internet facility, logistical and other support service including transport and security applicable to UNDP international personnel. The consultant however is expected to bring his/her own laptop and mobile phone and meet local communications costs (UNDP will provide a local pre-paid SIM card). No costs are expected to incur to arrange meetings for this consultancy.  

Duration of the Work:

The performance under the contract shall take place over total contract duration of 20 working days, excluding joining and repatriation travel days. The target date for the start of work will be 10 Oct 2020 depending on the availability of the selected consultant and the completion of the formal IC recruitment process in accordance with the rules, regulations and procedures under UNDP.

Duty Station

Home Based

Competencias

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Maturity combined with tact and diplomacy;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favouritism.

Knowledge and skills requirement:

• Shows ability to communicate and to exercise advocacy skills in front of a diverse set of audience

• Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues in a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic environment;
• Builds strong relationships with clients and external actors;
• Ability to work independently with strong sense of initiative, discipline and self-motivation.
• Knowledge of Afghanistan’s social, political and economic situation 
• Knowledge of UNDP and its mandate in the area of democratic governance and programme development
• Excellent analytical/conceptual thinking
• Excellent interpersonal/communication skills

PROCEDURES AND LOGISTICS

• This is a home-based assignment

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Academic Qualifications:

• Advanced university degree in relevant disciplines (e.g., public administration, business administration, international relations, peace and conflict studies, political science, social science, Law and related fields).

Experience:

• The international Expert must have solid understanding of research methods and a minimum of 10 years of work experience in the relevant areas as specified below:
• Security sector or police reform, institutional strengthening and capacity building of which at least five years should be experience of working for, or closely partnering with, international organizations working in a developing country context;
• Experience in conducting first-hand project evaluations in the UN context utilizing a variety of methodologies;
• Advanced degree in financial management, business administration, law, public affairs or international developments studies;
• Experience in evaluation of law enforcement and capacity building projects;
• Extensive experience in conflict countries, institution and state building initiatives;
• Knowledge of Afghanistan country context and the state’s institutional framework;
• Experience in undertaking evaluation reviews/studies and impact assessments of development projects; knowledge of management and implementation of trust funds will be an advantage;
• Ability to present information in transparent and comprehensive manner;
• Written and spoken fluency in English, knowledge of local languages is an asset.

Language:

• Fluency in written and spoken English is a requirement. Knowledge of Dari, Pashto is an advantage.

PRICE PROPOSAL AND SCHEDULE OF PAYMENTS

Shortlisted candidates (ONLY) will be requested to submit a Financial Proposal.  The consultant shall then submit a price proposal when requested by UNDP, in accordance with the below:

1. Daily Fee – The contractor shall propose a daily fee, which should be inclusive of his professional fee, local communication cost and insurance (inclusive of medical health insurance and evacuation). The number of working days for which the daily fee shall be payable under the contract of 20 working days.
2. The total professional fee shall be converted into a lump-sum contract and payments under the contract shall be made on submission and acceptance of deliverables under the contract in accordance with the schedule of payment linked with deliverables and at the end of assignment.

UNDP reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if work/outputs is incomplete, not delivered or for failure to meet deadlines.

Evaluation Method and Criteria:

Individual consultant will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

1. Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
2. 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%

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical Evaluation (70%)

Qualification, Experience and Technical Proposal (70 marks):

1. General Qualification (15 marks);
2. Experience relevant to the assignment (35 marks);
3. Technical Proposal:  Brief methodology and workplan on how the consultant will approach and complete the work (please see mandatory question on jobs site for inputting response) (20 marks).

Financial Evaluation (30%):

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

p = y (µ/z), where

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals:

Interested international Consultant must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document:

1. Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.
2. Technical Proposal (can be attached with CV or response can be provided to mandatory question on jobs site):
   1. Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment;
   2. A methodology, on how they will approach and complete the assignment and work plan as indicated above.

All materials developed will remain the copyright of UNDP Afghanistan.  UNDP Afghanistan will be free to adapt and modify them in the future.

Annexes (click on the hyperlink to access the documents):

• Annex 1 - IC Contract Template (for information);

• Annex 2 -  Financial Proposal Template using the template provided by UNDP (to be completed at later stage upon request by UNDP);
• Annex 3 – IC General Terms and Conditions (for information);
• Annex 4 – RLA Template (if consultant wishes to be recruited through an employer) - (for information).

Note: Incomplete application will result in automatic disqualification of candidate.