Background

NOTE: Signed Offeror’s Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and availability - https://www.ba.undp.org/content/dam/bosnia_and_herzegovina/docs/Operations/Jobs/Offerors%20Letter%20to%20UNDP%20Confirming%20Interest%20and%20Availability.docx - Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability.docx - to be sent to e-mail ba.shared.hr@undp.org with Subject: Job ID 102602.

The consultancy will take place within the third phase of the Integrated Local Development Project (ILDP), a joint project of the Government of Switzerland and UNDP and the SDG Roll-Out and Support to Private Sector engagement project supported by the Government of Sweden.
For nearly 10 years, ILDP has been working in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to systematize strategic planning and development management at sub-national levels in the country. Since its launch in 2008, the ILDP has been progressively growing, both in terms of scope of work, as well as conceptual approaches applied to advance strategic planning in the BiH.
In addition to harmonizing local development planning in the country, the ILDP paved the way for the newly adopted and emerging development planning and management regulatory frameworks in both entities. As one of the flagship achievements, the Project supported the participatory development of the draft Law on Strategic Planning and Development Management in the entity of Republika Srpska (RS), that has been adopted by the RS Government, towards setting the legal and methodological grounds  for the development planning and management system in this entity.
In order to equip all government levels in RS with the “know-how” for effective application of the RS Law on Strategic Planning and Development Management and related by-laws in the forthcoming planning processes in RS, the ILDP will support the institutional partners in RS with designing a manual and training program that should assist planners at all governments levels in preparing their institutional mid-term and annual work plans in line with the new regulatory framework and Agenda 2030.
Based on significant regulatory and methodological similarities between the RS Law on Strategic Planning and Development Management in RS and the entity of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) Law on Development Planning and Development Management, the Manual and ToT program for RS will be prepared based on the existing methodological approach and experience compiled and elaborated in the Manual and ToT Program for FBiH (developed earlier with ILDP support).
Following the design of the Manual and the ToT program for RS, ToT program delivery will be organized so as to create knowledge among local service providers and practitioners as one of the key prerequisites for further sustainability of the training program. Upon the ToT delivery, the training program will be handed over to the RS Civil Service Agency and the RS Ministry of Administration and Local Self Government for institutional replication of the training program to development practitioners/civil servants at both government levels in RS.
For this purpose, under this ToR, one national consultant who will be responsible for the design of the Manual and the preparation and pilot delivery of the ToT program (hereinafter: the Consultant) will be engaged.
 

Duties and Responsibilities

The Consultant is expected to design a comprehensive and a tailored Manual and ToT Program on the Mid-term and annual institutional work plans preparation in the RS, including a ToT pilot delivery to selected development practitioners and consultants. Preparation will be based on the existing methodological approach elaborated in the FBiH Manual and ToT programe that will be adjusted to the RS regulatory and methodological requirements.
More specifically, the Consultant will be expected to perform the following tasks:
Task 1 – Design of Manual for Mid-term and Annual work planning, monitoring and reporting in RS
Prior to initiating this task, the Consultant will undertake several preparatory steps.
Firstly, the Consultant is to familiarize him/herself with the RS draft Law on Strategic Planning and Development Management and drafts of the corresponding by-laws. The Consultant will particularly focus on the draft Decree on the Implementation Documents in the RS, from the perspective of methodological and organizational approach, key elements, milestones, and timelines.
Secondly, the Consultant will review the existing FBiH Manual and ToT program on Mid-term and Annual work planning in from the perspective of the compliance with the RS regulatory and methodological requirements. Moreover, the Consultant will review the existing working examples/templates, etc., that were used by the RS Government working group for the preparation of aforementioned the draft Decree to identify similarities and suitable inputs and examples for the Manual. Initial inputs for the preparatory work will be provided by the ILDP.
Based on the initial preparatory work, the Consultant will develop a brief conceptual outline for the Manual, reflecting blocks from the existing FBiH Manual that will need regulatory and methodological adjustments (rewriting and/or inclusion of the new tools, examples and templates), in line with entry parameters stipulated below, that will be submitted to ILDP for validation.

Conceptual entry parameters for the Manual
The Manual will provide a “know-how” for future mid-term and annual institutional work planning processes in the RS. The target group of the Manual are institutional work planners and development practitioners from both government levels in the RS (the entity and local governments level). The Manual should be prepared in a user-friendly and easily understandable manner, with minimal use of the complex technical language. The “know-how” provided within the Manual would follow the key phases of the Mid-term and annual work planning, monitoring and reporting in the RS (as prescribed by the aforementioned By-Law), and will be enriched with practical examples and tools. As such, the Manual will be structured in the following manner:

Title: Manual for Preparation of mid-term and annual work planning, monitoring and reporting in RS

Introduction

1. Purpose of the Manual in the context of sustainable development management and implementation of strategic document in Republika Srpska
1.1. Purpose and methodological scope of the Manual
1.2. Implementation documents as part of the system of development planning and managment in RS
1.3. Regulatory and institutional framewok, including Agenda 2030, for work planning, monitoring and reporting in RS
1.4. Key principles for planning, monitoring, and reporting in RS
2. Mid-term and annual work planning in RS
2.1. Guidelines and instructions for mid-term work planning
2.2. Mid-term work plans preparation
2.3. Annual work plans preparation and adoption
3. Monitoring and reporting on realisation of implementation documents in RS
3.1. Monitoring of realisation of implementation documents
3.2. Annual  work reports
3.3. Development reports
4. Annexes (references to relevant regulatory framework, practical examples, templates and tools)

Based on the conceptual outline validated by the ILDP, the Consultant will draft the Manual (through redraft of the existing FBiH Manual to correspond to the regulatory and methodological requirement in RS). The Manual will have the same or similar organizational and referential approach and scale of practical examples, templates and tools as the FBiH Manual. The maximum number of pages of the Manual shall not exceed 70 pages (not including annexes). As such, the Manual will be tailored to be applicable to both governance levels in the RS. The content of the Manual can be enriched and deepened by the Consultant.
Drafting of the Manual will be organized in the two steps. Firstly, based on the validated conceptual outline, the Consultant will prepare the first draft the Manual adjusted to the RS regulatory and methodological requirements, which will be shared with the ILDP for review and feedback. After validation of the first input by the ILDP, the Consultant will submit the consolidated draft Manual for final validation by the ILDP and the RS Government Counterparts (Department for Strategic Planning within the General Secretariat of the RS Government and the Ministry for European Integration and Regional Cooperation.
The final draft of the Manual will be submitted to ILDP for approval.
Task 1 is expected to be completed by mid- November 2021 with estimated level of effort of 13 days.
Task 2 – Design of ToT Program for Mid-term and Annual work planning, monitoring and reporting in RS
Within this task the Consultant is expected to design the ToT training program, based on the existing training material that should be adjusted in term of regulatory and methodological requirements elaborated under Task 1. During the design and fine-tuning of the ToT program, the Consultant should consider the aspects elaborated below.
Training program conceptual entry parameters
The purpose of the ToT program is to equip a critical number of development practitioners/consultants from BiH (e.g from government development units, regional and local development agencies, consulting firms, individual consultants, etc.) with “know-how” required for successful preparation of the Mid-term and Annual work planning, monitoring and reporting in RS. The ToT program will last two (2) consecutive days. As such, the ToT program will consist of three major training parts:

• The first part will focus on the overview of training contents and methods; theoretical, regulatory, and institutional aspects of implementation documents and its link with RS strategic documents and Agenda 2030; key principles for planning, monitoring, and reporting in RS.
• The second part will focus on the process of mid-term and annual work planning in RS, including specific segments on: guidelines and instructions for mid-term work planning; preparation of mid-term work plan; preparation of annual work plan and its adoption.
• The third part of the program will focus on the monitoring and reporting on realisation of implementation documents in RS, including specifics segments on: monitoring of realisation of implementation documents; annual  work report; development report.

As such, the ToT program should be tailored to be applicable to civil servants from all government levels in RS.
The training package will include (but not limited to): (i) Training module agenda; PowerPoint presentation, Hand-outs for participants; exercises, check lists, reference materials (and brief knowledge test); Training evaluation form; (ii) Training manual for trainers (providing brief guidelines along the power point presentation and group exercises sessions, to be used by potential training providers, thus ensuring equal understanding and minimum quality standards in the follow up training delivery process).
During the training program design/adjustement, the Consultant will make consultations to discuss and fine-tune the ToT program to bring it to the needs and expectations of the ILDP institutional partners. The consultations will be made through the form of e-meetings that will be organised by ILDP.
The final draft of the ToT training will be submitted to ILDP for approval.
Task 2 is expected to be completed by the end of November 2021 with estimated level of effort of 3 days.

Task 3 – Pilot delivery of the Mid-term and Annual work planning, monitoring and reporting in RS
Based on the ToT program designed within Task 2, the Consultant will conduct a pilot delivery of the training programme for the two training grups, with up to 25-30 participants in each group. As envisaged, the training program will last two consecutive days. Training participants will be identified by the ILDP and the Strategic Planning Department within the General Secretariat of the RS Government.
The training program delivery will encourage active involvement of participants by using participatory training techniques, group exercises/discussion, etc.
Depending on the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, training will be delivered either in the form of a webinar or will be organized through on-site locations (Banjaluka or other nearby locations).
A questionnaire to enable the participants evaluate the training program will be provided by the ILDP while the Consultant will be required to administer the questionnaire at the end of the training and collect and analyze feedback from training participants, their perceptions and recommendations and include them in a brief report that will be submitted to the ILDP.
The Consultant will be responsible for his/her travel arrangements, while the ILDP will be responsible for overall training logistics.
Task 3 is to be completed by first half of December 2021, with estimated level of effort of 4 days.
The entire service will be delivered in the languages of BiH peoples. 

Deliverables/outputs

Competencies

Corporate competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling 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 favouritism;
• Fulfils all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment

Functional competencies:

• Strong interpersonal skills, communication and diplomatic skills, ability to work in a team
• Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback
• Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations
• Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities
• Excellent public speaking and presentation skills

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications/Education

• University degree in social studies, economy, public administration, or a relevant field. Advanced degree will be considered as an asset.

Experience

• Minimum 5 years of previous experience in capacity development or delivery of technical assistance to public sector beneficiaries in the area of strategic planning and programmatic implementation.
• Successful completion of the Training of Trainers (ToT) Program for three year and annual work planning in FBiH (verified by the valid training certificate)
• Previous experience in design of practical manuals or guidelines in the area of development planning and management, with a focus on mid-term and annual work planning, monitoring, and reporting.
• Previous practical experience in the domain of development strategic planning and management in BiH.
• Previous experience in training design and/or delivery of training to public sector beneficiaries in the area of  strategic planning and development management.
• Specific knowledge of the standardized development planning methodologies applied in BiH is considered an asset.

Languages Requirements

• Fluency in languages of peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Longlisting/Shortlisting Criteria

Qualifications as stated in the ToR

Technical Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation

Individual  will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Cumulative analysis

When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the candidate 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.

• * Technical Criteria weight-70%
• * Financial Criteria weight- 30%

Interested candidated must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

• Explaining why they are the most suitable for the work;
• Personal CV/P11, including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references.

Please scan all above mentioned documents and upload as one attachment only online through this website.

Note:

• For an assignment requiring travel, consultants of 65 years or more require full medical examination and statement of fitness to work to engage in the consultancy.
• Due to large number of potential applicants, only competitively selected candidates will be contacted for remaining steps of the service procurement process.