Background

I. Context

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been active and present in eastern Ukraine for the past decade, prior to the conflict, with a focus on community development, civil society development, and environmental protection. Work on addressing the specific conflict-related development challenges built on this earlier engagement, established partnerships, and started in 2015 through the United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme (UN RPP). UN RPP is a multi-donor funded framework programme formulated and led by the UNDP in collaboration with the Government of Ukraine and in cooperation with a number of partnering UN agencies (UN Women, FAO, UNFPA). UN RPP was designed to respond to, and mitigate, the causes and effects of the conflict in the east of Ukraine. It is an integral component of the UNDP Country Programme and is therefore fully aligned with the United Nations Partnership Framework (UNPF).

In October 2018, four UN agencies (UNDP, UN Women, FAO and the UNFPA) have countersigned a new joint project document, funded by the EU. The overall objective of the project is to restore effective governance, support economic recovery and promote reconciliation in the crisis-affected communities of Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts in Ukraine, thereby enhancing the credibility and legitimacy of local governments in the government-controlled areas of the regions. It will contribute to peacebuilding and prevent further escalation of the conflict in Ukraine through effective and accountable decentralization, gender-responsive recovery planning and equal access to services, as well as enhanced economic recovery and development.

Component III of UN RPP “Community Security and Social Cohesion” aims to reach some of its goals through implementation support of the projects strengthening community security and social cohesion through testing innovative legal aid, access to justice, conflict resolution and peacebuilding mechanisms at local level.

One of the objectives of the Project is to improve the efficiency of and access to justice. For this, the Programme actively supports the free legal aid system (hereinafter – FLA system) and judiciary by improving their capacity and the necessary skills on the ongoing basis to ensure the work effectiveness and services quality. Within Programmes’ support of FLA system’s and judiciary’s capacity building the development of the online (remote) courses required to ensure the availability of these training materials for the legal professionals who worik with the FLA system and for judges, paraleglas (volunteers) and other persons who want to improve their legal skills and knowledge. For this reason, the UN RPP seeks one highly qualified professional (Consultant) who could develop 8 (eight) online training courses for the FLA system’s online learning platform.

The incumbent will promote UNDP’s mandate as a gender-responsive organization with zero tolerance to any kind of discriminatory and abusive behavior, including sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse.

II. Objective of the Assignment

Under the supervision of UN RPP Community Security and Social Cohesion Coordinator the Consultant is expected to produce a series of 8 (eight) online (remote) training courses for the FLA system lawyers and paralegals and the National School of Judges of Ukraine (NSJU). This will be achieved by successfully completing the present assignment including the following:

1. The production of each training e-course envisages the development of graphic design and layout of the e-course.
2. Number of produced courses – 8 (eight), on a specified topic; source materials will be provided by UN RPP after signing the contract.
3. The scenario of each of the e-learning course should be based on the information content (source materials) provided by UN RPP.
4. Estimated duration (volume) of each e-course is from 30 to 70 pages of A4-format material.
5. Courses must be produced in Articulate Rise 360 software.

A total of 8 (eight) courses should be prepared on the following topics:

1. Communication with vulnerable groups of persons.
2. Communication and legal aid provision via phone.
3. Pension Law.
4. Inheritance Law.
5. Housing Law.
6. Labour Law.
7. Digital Security.
8. Judicial mediation.

The texts of these courses (source materials) will be provided by UN RPP after signing the contract.

This task is being performed for the needs of the FLAS and judiciary, so it will be carried out in close cooperation and coordination with the Coordination Center for Legal Aid Provision (CC) (courses 1-7), NSJU (course 8) and UN RPP.

All final products should be developed in Ukrainian.

The Consultant should ensure the mainstreaming of gender equality and women’s empowerment considerations in the field of expertise, promote a safe and enabling environment free of any kind of discrimination and abusive behavior, and use the principles of gender-responsive communications in line with the UNDP corporate standards.

Duties and Responsibilities

III. Scope of work

Scope of work (below are the technical requirements for each out of 8 courses separately):

1. Preparation stage (30 - 60 pages of A4-format theoretical material; Times New Roman, 12 pt., lines space – 1,15, graphs in *.pdf, *.xls and *.docs formats):

• study and analysis of source materials;
• adaptation of source materials: stylistic, semantic, grammatical processing of the text.

The final version should be agreed with UN RPP.

2. Production of an e-course scenario taking into account the typical capabilities of Articulate Rise 360 (30 - 60 pages of A4-format theoretical material).

The final version should be agreed with UN RPP.

3. Design work (at least 40 images):

• production of the general style of the course: graphic design, selection of a graphic theme and setting of fonts;
• selection and creation of images, illustrations, redrawing of graphics and diagrams in order to improve their quality;
• mandatory use of the customer's logos (CC and UN RPP) which will be provided by UN RPP.

The final version should be agreed with UN RPP.

4. Layout of the electronic course (30 - 60 pages of A4-format theoretical material):

• course production in Articulate Rise 360 using typical elements and interactive tasks;
• layout of text and graphic blocks.

The final version should be agreed with UN RPP.

Requirements for the interaction of e-courses with the distance learning system:

1. Each e-course must support the SCORM distance learning standard version 1.2 or 1.4 (SCORM 2004).
2. Each e-course must be delivered in separate SCORM packages, ready for download in the distance learning system.

Expected results:

The final result is the production of 8 (eight) distance courses, which will be done in accordance with the above listed parameters and transferred to CC (courses 1-7 as per section II), NSJU (course 8 as per section II) and UN RPP through Cloud Services.

IV. Deliverables

The Consultant is expected to perform activities within the scope of work and to provide the following deliverables with the given timelines:

V. Proposed Payment Schedule

UN RPP will pay the negotiated amount in 2 (two) tranches as per delivery of the  Deliverables outlined above:

Payments will be processed upon full completion and acceptance of contractual obligations where the UN RPP Community Security and Social Cohesion Coordinator signs certification of acceptance.

VI. Monitoring and Reporting Requirements

The Consultant shall work under overall guidance and direct supervision of the UN RPP Community Security and Social Cohesion Coordinator in accordance with terms of deliverable submission through meetings\calls\mails and through the operational communication with the Rule of Law and Access to Justice Specialist.

Electronic versions of reports in Ukrainian should be prepared and submitted for clearance and approval by the UN RPP Community Security and Social Cohesion Coordinator in accordance with terms of deliverable submission.

The Consultant should clearly and concisely identify the work that has been carried out during this period, list major accomplishments, and difficulties/problems encountered during the process. The report should also indicate whether the result was achieved or whether there is a delay in the implementation of the planned activities. In the case of a delay, the reasons and advised solutions should be clearly stated.

Competencies

• Ability to perform analytical and research work
• Deliver outputs in a timely manner
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills
• Sound judgment and maturity to foster a positive work environment
• Demonstrated strong analytical, coordination and facilitation skills
• Strong user of office software packages
• Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
• Demonstrates corporate knowledge and sound judgment
• Demonstrates/safeguards ethics and integrity
• Gender mainstreaming

Required Skills and Experience

VII. Experience and Qualifications Requirements

1. At least Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in IT, law, economics, art, design, mathematics, engineering or other related field;
2. At least 3 (three) years of experience in e-courses production.
3. At least 2 (two) years of experience with Articulate Rise 360.
4. Experience, proved by at least 3 (three) examples of similar to these Terms of Reference products (using Articulate Rise 360 software for moodle platform) developed.
5. Experience, proved by at least 2 (two) examples of the produced scripts.
6. Professional fluency in Ukrainian. Professional fluency in Russian is considered as an asset.

VIII. Documents to Be Included When Submitting the Proposals

Applicants shall submit the following documents:

  IX. Financial Proposal

Lump sum contract

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 (including travel, per diems, and number of anticipated working days).

The Consultant will be responsible for all personal administrative expenses associated with undertaking this assignment including office accommodation, printing, stationary, telephone and electronic communications, and report copies incurred in this assignment.

Travel costs

All envisaged travel costs and/or accommodation must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel. In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. UN RPP, however, may help (if needed) with logistics on mentioned issues around Ukraine. Should the Individual Consultants wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources. In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultants, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

X. Evaluation Criteria

1. Educational background in IT, law, economics, art, design, mathematics, engineering or other related field – 10 points max

[10 pts – Master’s/Specalist degree or higher; 8 pts – Bachelor’s degree]

2. Proven experience in e-courses production – 11 points max

[11 pts – 4 years and more; 8 pts – 3 years]

3. Proven experience with Articulate Rise 360 – 13 points max

[13 pts – 3 and more years; 8 pts – 2 years]

4. Experience, proved by examples of similar to these Terms of Reference products (using Articulate Rise 360 software for moodle platform) developed – 13 points max

[13 pts – 4 and more examples; 8 pts – 3 examples]

5. Experience, proved by at least 2 (two) examples of the produced scripts – 13 points max

[13 pts – 3 and more examples; 9 pts – 2 examples]

6. Language knowledge – 10 points max

[10 pts – professional fluency in Ukrainian and Russian; 8 pts – professional fluency in Ukrainian]

 XI. Evaluation Method

Cumulative analysis

Contract award shall be made to the incumbent whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and

b) having received the cumulative 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 70% from the maximum available technical score would 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 30. All other price proposals will be evaluated and assigned points, as per below formula:

30 points [max points available for financial part] x [lowest of all evaluated offered prices among responsive offers] / [evaluated price].

The proposal obtaining the overall cumulatively highest score after adding the score of the technical proposal and the financial proposal will be considered as the most compliant offer and will be awarded a contract.

ATTENTION!

1. UNDP documents templates are available at the following the link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/506vw4976ka77jy/AABF10LJ-JEqb843fiCK7btSa?dl=0

2. Online system does not recognise Russian or Ukrainian language, information you provide in on-line application should be in English

3. Online system allows to upload only 1 (one) file. Please combine all the files in one and then upload