Background

Chronic political and institutional instability has marked Guinea-Bissau in the last decades. The social situation remains precarious, with one of the lowest scores on the human development index in Africa (178th out of 188 in 2016, with a human development indicator of 0.424).

Political instability and weak capacity of the public institutions has impeded the country to create conditions to implement public policies to foster development and improve the livelihoods of its population. Consequently, the State has not been able to provide the basic services such as health, education, basic sanitation and security throughout the national territory, particularly in the remote regions of the capital, where the presence of public administration is extremely weak.  Although some progress was recorded in relation to child mortality and school enrollment, the country did not achieved most of the MDGs.

The persistent political instability has led to institutional instability and great volatility of public service agents, at all levels, given that whenever there is change in government, it is followed by a complete reshuffle of ministries personnel, often associated with political affiliation. The deficit of technical capacity of the Government of Guinea-Bissau has been pointed out on several occasions, both in the identification of national priorities and in the context of capacity assessments of public institutions.

The weaknesses of public administration in Guinea-Bissau are widespread and range from lack of financial resources, limited capacity of human resources, and limited implementation of organizational and management norms and systems, etc. To contribute to address this overall governance issue, it is necessary to strengthen the capacity of public institutions through training in formulation, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of equitable and results-based public policies. This is the more important if the country is to achieve sustainable development and the SDGs

Strengthening the technical capacity of the Government for policy reforms formulation and implementation, including overall policy and aid coordination has been included in Guinea-Bissau Strategic and Operational Plan 2015-2020, known as “Terra Ranka” under the first priority of the document – Peace and Governance, which is articulated around five fields of action, being one the “reform and modernization of the administration” and another the “macroeconomic management and the reform of public finance management. Streamlining the business environment and boosting the private sector axis to create an environment that acts as an incentive for the private sector is also another priority goal.

Through the project DEVCA, since 2013 UNDP has been supporting the Ministry of Economy and Finance in its efforts to strengthen its capacity on “Aid Coordination and Policy Formulation Capacity Development” that expected  five outcomes: (i) a significant improvement of national capabilities in strategic planning, particularly in the formulation, operationalization and M&E of public policy; (ii) increase of technical and organizational capacity for quantitative and qualitative monitoring of the poverty statistics, the MDG/SDGs and the HDI, (iii) the full implementation of a result based national budget management, (iv) increased role of the private sector in creating jobs and wealth, and finally (v) the existence of operational mechanisms for mobilization and effective coordination of aid.

Over the years of its implementation, the project has provided technical and financial assistance to develop tools and instruments to beneficiary technical structures and training of a critical mass of public servants to capacitate an effective management of national development. A learning approach was developed and followed to ensure the transfer of knowledge and know-how. The project also contributed to the creation of a favorable and stimulating environment for greater public sector productivity. However, many challenges still remain in the implementation of the project and not all planned products could be achieved (for example the fully operationalization of the Aid management System), with the political instability, weak capacity and quality of human resources and the recurrent changes in government officials being the most critical ones.

Duties and Responsibilities

After about 4 years of implementation, the DEVCA project will be closed by the end of this year and as per UNDP project management policies and procedures, a project end evaluation is required. At the same time UNDP office has started a reflection on how to reorganize and revamp the current support in this strategic area, especially in light of the changes in the country context-Coup d’état in 2012, Elections in 2014, the Round Table and the current prevailing political crisis; the changes in the UN/UNDP programing cycle approach, notably the approval of the new UNDAF 2016-2020, and the approval of the CPD 2016-2020; and more broadly by the changes  brought about by the approval of the  Sustainable Development Agenda and the SDGs. 

A throughout review of the project implementation in order to identify challenges and constraints, opportunities and lessons learned and assess the results achievement to inform the next programme is therefore necessary. Therefore, the purpose of this evaluation is also to provide the senior management recommendations on the best programing approach and strategy to continue the capacity support of public institutions and especially of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, in formulation, planning, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of public policies in the context of the SDGs.

The project has been active for more than 4 years and has invested significant amount of resources. The context in which the project was designed has changed, both at country level, and corporate level, although most of the challenges remains.

The objective of the evaluation is assessing the results achieved by the project since its launch, as well as its relevance, efficiency, sustainability and impact. The evaluation will also identify the main challenges and constraints faced by the project, as well as on how they were addressed, and inform on the lessons that can be drawn from the project implementation. It is expected that the evaluation will provide recommendations for future UNDP interventions to support and strengthen the capacity of public institutions for strategic policy and reforms formulation, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation that integrate the Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063 as well as other commitments like the SIDS ACCELERATED MODALITIES OF ACTION [S.A.M.O.A.] Pathway and the New Deal for Fragile States.

In order to attain this objective, the evaluation will cover the 5 project outputs mentioned above and will take into consideration the feedback from all beneficiary institutions and development partners working in the sector (including UN agencies, fund and programs), as well as Civil Society Organizations.  In addition, the evaluation will also seek information from the core personnel involved in the project implementation activities and UNDP senior management. The evaluation will also assess the project approach to capacity development, knowledge management, south-south and triangular cooperation, and the results achieved in that regard.

The evaluation will be conducted at central level.

Therefore, the evaluation should be able to:

• Provide guidance on the current status of the project intervention in order to inform future decisions regarding the strategic direction of future programme and assess the current focus areas in light of the SDGs and other changes that have recently taken place;
• Assess whether the UNDP project is well positioned to effectively and efficiently support the vision and priorities of Guinea-Bissau in strengthening the capacity of public institutions and especially of the MEF, for strategic results-based planning and policies, and SDG mainstreaming;
• Evaluate the extent to which the project contributed to increase technical and organizational capacity of MEF for strategic Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Aid coordination, including capacity for using, monitoring and evaluation of poverty statistics, MDG/SDGs and the HDI;
• Evaluate the extent to which the project contributes to improve the business environment.
• Evaluate the extent to which the project has contributed to the mainstream of the MDG/SDGs into the Guinea-Bissau Strategic and Operational Plan;
• Evaluate the extent to which the project has supported the donors Round Table and the creation of operational mechanisms for the mobilization and effective coordination of aid;
• Assess the effectiveness and the quality of the partnership established through this project between UNDP, the government and the African Development Bank;
• Provide clear recommendations for the next UNDP Country Programme in the area of inclusive and sustainable economic growth, poverty reduction, decent work, food security, and structural transformation of the economy;
• Identify risk factors may hinder progress and propose risk mitigation/management strategies to ensure success and effective implementation.
• Provide clear recommendations to inform decisions regarding the strategic direction of the future programme; 

Competencies

Key competences

Functional:

• Strong analytical, negotiation and communication skills, including ability to produce high quality practical advisory reports and knowledge products;
• Professional and/or academic experience in one or more of the areas of the Development or knowledge management field.

Project and Resource Management:

• Ability to produce high quality outputs in a timely manner while understanding and anticipating the evolving client needs;
• Ability to focus on impact and results for the client, promoting and demonstrating an ethic of client service;
• Ability to work independently, produce high quality outputs.

Communications and Advocacy:

• Strong ability to write clearly and convincingly, adapting style and content to different audiences and speak clearly and convincingly;
• Strong presentation skills in meetings with the ability to adapt for different audiences;
• Strong analytical, research and writing skills with demonstrated ability to think strategically;
• Strong capacity to communicate clearly and quickly;
• Strong inter-personal, negotiation and liaison skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

• Master or Bachelor’s degree in economics, management, development studies and other similar areas
• Certification in Evaluation is desirable;

Experience and knowledge

• Proven 10 years’ experience in managing or/and evaluating development programs/projects, especially with UNDP;
• Knowledge and demonstrable experience in the field of capacity development for policy formulation, including with UNDP is an asset;
• Technical knowledge and experience in UNDP thematic areas, specifically in strategic planning, formulation of public policies; development of private sector; aid coordination; cross-cutting issues such as gender, capacity development; and rights-based approaches to programming is an asset;
• Proven knowledge of Guinea-Bissau general country context and public service sector is strongly desirable;
• Excellent writing, research and analysis, as well in presentation skills;
• Experience in the use of computers and office software packages as well as web based management systems
• Good knowledge on RBM

Language requirement:

• Excellent knowledge of English or French;
• Knowledge Portuguese Languase  would be an advantage.

Documents required:

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

Proposal:

• Explaining why they are the most suitable for the work;
• Provide a brief methodology on how they will approach and conduct the work;
• Financial proposal;
• Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references;
• Lump sum contracts

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 installments 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).

Travel:

All envisaged travel costs 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. Should the IC 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 Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodologies:

Evaluation:

• Cumulative analysis:
  • When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:
    • Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
    • 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 70 point would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

• Evaluation criteria:
  • Criteria A: Education background - 10pts
  • Criteria B: Experience as defined in the ToRs - 15pts
  • Criteria C: Competences as defined in the ToRs -10pts
  • Criteria D: Understating of the ToRs - 15pts
  • Criteria E: Methodology and overall approach - 30pts
  • Criteria F: Overall quality of the proposal (Comprehensiveness, structure, language and clarity) - 20pts