Background

Purpose
The purpose of this consultancy is to identify standards for delivering social services to older persons by civil society organisations (CSO).

Objective
The main objective of the consultancy is to develop the analysis for identifying standards with concrete recommendations for improvement of daily centres service for older persons. This analysis, and its findings, will be used by UNDP as a starting point for piloting of social service standards in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
 
Background information
Older persons in BiH face multiple challenges when it comes to ensuring good quality of life. Issues encountered by older persons primarily relate to various health and financial problems, but increasingly to social exclusion too. Hence, the existence of adequate social programs such as daily centres for this target group is of great importance. In many cases, CSOs are stepping in as a provider of social services to older persons by running daily centres. In order to ensure that the needs of older persons are addressed in professional manner, basic set of standards must be provided. Having in mind that the Regional programme on Local Democracy in the Western Balkans (ReLOaD) during its implementation period (January 2017 – January 2020), focuses its efforts on, among others, improvement of local service provision, the issue of standardisation of services provided to older persons will be explored within this consultancy.
ReLOaD is funded by the European Union and implemented by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in six Western Balkan (WB) IPA beneficiaries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the Republic of North Macedonia, Kosovo?, Montenegro, and Serbia. As part of the UNDP BiH’s Rural and Regional Development Sector’s portfolio, the ReLOaD project has an overall objective to strengthen participatory democracies and the EU integration processes. ReLOaD in BiH works with 21 local governments  with a specific objective to strengthen partnerships between local governments and civil society and to contribute to greater civic engagement in decision-making and improvement of local service delivery.

Duties and Responsibilities

This consultancy will identify standards, if existing, for providing social service to older persons in daily centres  and explore areas for possible improvements in this domain. In case that there are no standards existing, the Consultant will, based on conducted research, identify minimal standards for running the daily centers by CSOs.
More concretely, the Consultant will be expected to perform the following tasks:
Task 1: Develop a work plan, conduct a desk review and propose report outline
Under this task, the Consultant will:

  • Propose a detailed work plan outlining the approach and the timeline of duties. The work plan will be submitted to ReLOaD for comments, and upon endorsement of the requested changes, the work plan will be sent to ReLOaD for final approval;
  • Collect and analyse all documents regarding legal framework related to provision of social services to older persons; specifically, for running the daily centres. Analysis of relevant domestic legislation stipulating provision of social services to older persons will focus on entity, cantonal (in Federation of Bosnia and Hercegovina) and on local governments level. The Consultant will explore existing legal and institutional gaps and overlapping in terms of jurisdiction if existing;
  • Review and get acquainted with the existing practices in BiH, relevant publications, studies and policies, regarding the standards for provision of social services to older persons;
  • Devote a special attention to already achieved results of several EU-funded projects.  It is expected that the Consultant will explore the publications and policies developed under these projects and identify the areas that have not already been covered in detail by these and, potentially other projects;
  • Collect and review available documents related to the standardisation of social services in other WB IPA beneficiaries and identify lessons learned and positive practices that could be applicable in BiH. Special attention should be given to successful cooperation between local governments and CSOs in providing this kind of social services to older persons;
  • Map all relevant institutions and organisations to visit that needs to include all relevant institutions on entity level (e.g. Ministry of Health and Social welfare of Republika Srpska), on a cantonal level in FBiH and on a local governments level. In addition, mapping will focus on CSO active in this sector;
  • Propose report outline that will be commented and approved by ReLOaD.

It is envisaged that this task will be finalised by 25th of April 2019 and the level of effort will not exceed 9 expert days.

Task 2. Conduct field visits to relevant institutions/organisations
Under this task the Consultant will:

  • Based on the agreed work plan and the list of mapped institutions, Consultant will, in agreement with ReLOaD project, select at least 5 institutions/ministries and at least 5 CSOs from the relevant field in both entities.  Institutions/organisations selection will reflect BiH administrative structure in order to get comprehensive input on legal and institutional framework. The Consultant will then organise meetings with these institutions/organisations. The exact number of field visits will depend on the location of the selected institutions/organisations. However, it is not expected to have more than four field visits.

The Consultant will be required to organize his/her own travel and/or accommodation arrangements to different locations in which the visits will be carried out.
It is envisaged that this task will be finalised by 7th of May 2019 and the level of effort will not exceed 4 expert days.

Task 3: Develop report on establishing minimum standards for running daily centres
Under this task, the Consultant will ensure required level of quality of the report namely:

  • Provide detailed analysis, findings and recommendations for establishment of the minimum standards on social service provision for older persons reflecting on the area explored within the Task 1.

 S/he will concretely:

  • present in depth legal and institutional framework in BiH for running daily centers for older persons; 
  • provide recommendations and detailed definition of the minimum standards for establishing a daily center for older persons. This should include but limiting to: infrastructural, human resource and other organizational requirements as well as type of activities to be offered in center. The special attention should be paid on daily scope and duration of activities needed to open and run daily centers for older persons;
  • capture main issues and challenges which must be considered in relation to provision of the services to older persons concretely for running the daily centers for older person;
  • record good practice examples in the WB countries and territories that can be applicable in the BiH context.

The basic structure of the report will include the following elements:

  • Executive summary;
  • Introduction (background information, scope of the research);
  • Explanation of the methodological approach;
  • Findings of the assessment;
  • Conclusions and recommendation;
  • Annexes (list of reviewed documents, list of interviewees etc.);

The report should be minimum 15 pages and maximum 30 pages (excluding Annexes). Report will be developed in one of the official languages of BiH and should reflect all above-mentioned areas of the research. Before its finalization, the Consultant will share a draft version of the report with the ReLOaD project for comments, that will be incorporated into the final version of the document, and approval.
It is envisaged that the draft and final report will be produced by 17th of May 2019 and 31th of May 2019, respectively.
The level of effort will not exceed 8 expert days.

Deliverables/outputs

The Consultant is responsible for the following deliverables:

# Deliverables / outputs; # of days per task; Due date; Percentage

  • Task 1: Work plan developed, desk review conducted, and report outline agreed. 9 expert days  25th of April 2019 30%;
  • Task 2. Field visits to relevant institutions/organisations conducted. 4 expert days 7th of May 2019 50%;
  • Task 3: Draft report on establishing minimum standards for social service provision to older persons explored within the Task 1 produced and submitted to comments.  6 expert days 17th of May 2019; 
  • Task 3: Final report on establishing minimum standards for social service provision to older persons explored within the Task 1 produced and approved. 2 expert days 31th of May 2019 20%.

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:

  • Demonstrates professional competence to meet responsibilities and post requirements and is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results;
  • Results-Orientation plans and produces quality results to meet established goals, generates innovative, practical solutions to challenging situations;
  • Communication: strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities, including the ability to convey complex concepts and recommendations, both orally and in writing, in a clear and persuasive style tailored to match target audiences;
  • Team work: ability to interact, establish and maintain effective working relations with a culturally diverse team;
  • Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations.

 

Required Skills and Experience

Experience

  • At least 5 years of relevant experience in the field of social service area;
  • Previous experience in performing similar tasks;
  • Proven experience in developing research papers preferably in the area of social service or similar; 
  • Proven analytical skills and ability to conceptualise and write concisely and clearly.

Languages Requirements

  • Excellent writing and oral communication skills in in the official languages in BiH and in English.

Other Requirements

  • Excellent computer skills (MS Office applications) and ability to use information technologies as a tool and resource.

Award Criteria: The consultancy will be awarded to the highest qualified applicant through the combination of technical qualifications and financial offer.

Shortlisting will be conducted based on the ToR requirement. Only candidates that obtain minimum 18 points at the review of applications will be considered for the interview.
Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 point at the technical criteria would be considered for the Financial Evaluation

Review of applications (CVs, proposed methodology and writing sample provided): 30% 30

  • University degree in health, social work and relevant social sciences; 3% 3; 
  • Experience in the field of social service and experience in performing similar tasks, 5% 5; 
  • Experience in developing research papers preferably in the area of social service or similar 10% 10;
  • Quality of submitted methodology 5% 5;
  • A writing sample (research paper, analysis, report) developed by the Consultant in the subject relevant and similar to the assessment 7% 7

Documents to Be Included When Submitting the Proposals

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

1. Proposal:

  • Explaining why they are the most suitable for the work;

2. Provide a brief methodology on how they will approach and conduct the work;

3. Financial proposal – breakdown of the consultancy fee for 21 working days and travel/ accommodation expenses;
4. A writing sample (research paper, analysis, report) developed by the Consultant in the subject relevant and similar to the assessment;
5. Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references.Completed and signed the Offeror’s template Confirming Interest and Availability (please follow the link: https://popp.undp.org/_layouts/15/WopiFrame.aspx?sourcedoc=/UNDP_POPP_DOCUMENT_LIBRARY/Public/PSU_%20Individual%20Contract_Offerors%20Letter%20to%20UNDP%20Confirming%20Interest%20and%20Availability.docx&action=default);


Financial Proposal

  • 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 (number of anticipated 21 working days including the cost of travel and per diem ).
Individual consultants 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 individual consultant 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%

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.