Background

There is broad consensus that local and regional governments (LRGs) and, in general, local governance stakeholders must be involved in the process of implementation, monitoring and reporting of the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This involvement will only be possible if local governance stakeholders and in particular LRG representatives are fully aware of the Agenda, its goals and its targets. Furthermore, they need to understand why and how the Agenda must be localized. As highlighted in the GTF-UCLG/UNDP/UN-HABITAT Roadmap for localizing the SDGs, localization means putting the territories and their peoples’ priorities, needs and resources at the center of sustainable development on the road towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. It refers particularly to:

• Raise awareness amongst the population: make the Agenda known amongst the citizenship and actors operating at local level (CSOs, private sector, academia etc.)
• Establish and/or strengthen participatory mechanisms and structures to ensure the alignment of sustainable development plans to the needs and priorities of citizens, especially vulnerable groups,
• Advocate for national and regional strategies to include the interests, needs and aspirations of LRGs and the territorial stakeholders.
• Align both strategic and sectoral development plans with the new Agenda,
• Identify, formulate and implement integrated cross sectoral project and policies,
• Monitor the implementation of the Agenda in the different territories through indicators that are aligned with the SDG indicators,
• Report on the progress of the different territories towards the achievement of the SDGs and include it into national reporting processes.

Monitoring and reporting:

The UN system has developed a complex array of 232 indicators that are the backbone of monitoring progress towards the SDGs at the local, national, regional, and global levels. A sound indicator framework helps turning the SDGs and their targets into a management tool to help countries develop implementation strategies and allocate resources accordingly, as well as a report card to measure progress towards sustainable development and help ensure the accountability of all stakeholders for achieving the SDGs.

National level data provides useful information, but often not enough to fully grasp the main challenges of those people, or even territories that are struggling to embark on sustainable development paths and are at risk of falling behind. Additionally, to be fully effective and useful, national level data need to be disaggregated by income, gender, age, race, ethnicity, migration status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant to national context. This entails considering the various levels of governance when capturing data. To be meaningful, national data cannot just be an overall presentation of where the country stands, but fully reflect the realities of the territories, the differences and any discrepancy. This in turn can allow to elaborate or adapt public policies that respond to territorial needs, both at national and sub-national level. Especially, when considering the sub-national level, the data that can be captured at the urban and territorial level can be of use to the LRGs to monitor their progress on SDG localization, whereas an overview of the proportion of local governments as a whole can be more interesting for the national level.

Many stakeholders engaged in the process of implementation, first and foremost local and regional governments, have met significant difficulties in interfacing with these indicators, considering their statistical rigour, the amount of necessary information, and the resources (financial and human) required to meet these standards.

A strong focus on establishing indicators as well as collecting, capturing, analysing and using meaningful data that can allow driving and measuring progress on sustainable development at the local level is therefore needed. Accordingly, global networks such as UCLG and institutions like UNDP, with a stable presence on the ground in all regions across the world, have a responsibility to work towards the empowerment of local and regional governments and relevant local governance stakeholders in both, the process of monitoring - including indicator establishment and data collection - and consequently improving their performance in localizing the Goals.

Within the overall framework of the UCLG and UNDP cooperation on the localization of the SDGs, it became obvious that there is a need to advance considerably on local level monitoring of the SDG implementation process. Consequently, the establishment of a cross-institutional Workgroup on local indicators and monitoring is currently under way. Some of the work streams tackled by the working group will include

• Indicator localization;
• Strategies for data definitions and collections;
• Data platforms;
• National - regional - local data integration;
• Horizontal data integration;
• Partnerships and peer to peer learning.

As a first step and to inform the inter institutional working group, UNDP and UCLG in cooperation with the Andalusia Region and the Provincial Council of Barcelona, are looking to conduct a study on existing local level indicator and monitoring systems that explores, from local point of view, applied methodologies and approaches. Further to the mapping of existing monitoring initiatives, the study should also conduct a comparative analysis and systematisation of already implemented methodologies and approaches. The study will be closely accompanied not only by UNDP and UCLG, but also by key members of the interinstitutional working group, the Andalusia Region and the Provincial Council of Barcelona, both highly committed to localising the SDGs within their own territories. The study is supposed to build on the synthesis that is being already being developed by the Provincial Council of Barcelona and other already existing works (How Sub-national Data Efforts Support SDG Achievement, April 2019). The Region of Andalucía will accompany the whole process, mobilising their relevant institutions (such as on statistics) as well as host a final event on presenting and validating the study.

Duties and Responsibilities

Building upon existing studies the objective is to conduct complete an in depth comparative study on existing approaches and methodologies on monitoring and reporting SDG implementation at local level. Based on the current analysis, the study shall analyse of the diverse methods and tools currently in use: simple and complex indicator sets, dashboards, mandalas, scorecard systems, etc. to allow to better understand strengths and weaknesses, challenges and opportunities of each approach, as seen from the perspective of LRGs. The study will be used as a working document to advance the reflection, improve exchange and collaboration on monitoring the SDGs among LRGs, local governance stakeholders, and development partners.

Proposed content of the study:

1. Mapping and overview of existing local monitoring and reporting initiatives.
2. Comparative study on methodologies and approaches, including at least:

• Local indicators and benchmark setting;
• Local data definition and collection;
• Data integration (horizontal as well as vertical; including citizen generated data sets; how to utilise third party data, etc.);
• Data visualisation platforms such as dashboards, scorecard systems, mandalas, etc.
• Reporting (including how to link local and national reporting systems).

      3. Analytical chapter aiming at:

• systematising the different approaches. Possible relevant categories could include: role of different actors within the initiative (e.g.  local, regional, etc.; other local governance stakeholders); demographic factors (e.g. capital cities, small municipalities, etc.); methodology used; national context (existing institutional frameworks for SDG implementation, level of decentralisation, etc.); and any other relevant category;
• presenting an analytical overview of the findings.
• It is expected that the consultant comes up with a set of relevant categories facilitating the systematisation and analysis.

      4. Set of recommendations based on the insights of the study focusing on relevance and replicability for LRGs of the different methodologies and approaches and possible ways forward and synergies with different institutions.

Deliverables:

1. Inception report outlining proposed methodology and time line of the study – first week after assignment start;
2. Draft study outline, including initial findings – three weeks after assignment start;
3. First draft study for revision and inputs by UCLG, UNDP, the Andalusia Region and the Provincial Council of Barcelona  -  six weeks after assignment start;
4. Second draft for revision and inputs by UCLG, UNDP, the Andalusia Region and the Provincial Council of Barcelona - eight weeks after assignment start;
5. Final study – ten weeks after assignment start;

The inception report shall be limited to fifteen (15) pages. The final scope of the study will be determined by the research and the richness of the documents encountered in the mapping exercise. As approximation it is however envisioned that the main text of the study will be not more than fifty (50) pages, including an executive summary of about three (3) pages. Annexes might be added as considered relevant and necessary by the consultant.

Related activities:

ad. 1.  

• Kick off meeting with UCLG, UNDP, the Andalusia Region and the Provincial Council of Barcelona;
• elaboration of inception report.

ad. 2.  

• mapping exercise of existing initiatives;
• conversations with selected key stakeholders (will be facilitated by UCLG and UNDP);
• elaboration of comparative model.

ad. 3.  

•  elaboration of draft study, including the analytical study and initial recommendations;
•  meeting with UCLG, UNDP, the Andalusia Region and the Provincial Council of Barcelona for final inputs.

ad. 4.  

• submission of final study.                      

Implementation arrangements:

All four institutions, UCLG, UNDP, the Andalusia Region and the Provincial Council of Barcelona, will determine a focal point facilitating contact with the consultant and relevant inputs to the study. The study can be conducted home based with several telephone interviews if deemed relevant. One - or both if deemed necessary - of the two meetings with UCLG, UNDP, the Andalusia Region and the Provincial Council of Barcelona (kick off; review meeting) will be held in person, hence travel of the consultant to the meeting venue will be paid and organised by UNDP.

Competencies

Corporate competences:

• 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.

Functional competences:

• professional in social, political, economic or administrative sciences;
• proven experience in monitoring and reporting, including indicator setting, data questions, etc;
• strong competencies in Local Governance/SDG localization;
• Solid knowledge of the SDG related monitoring framework;
• Solid experience in monitoring related data definition and collection methods;
• Solid knowledge and experience in working with LRGs and their associations;
• Solid knowledge and experience in local governance and local development;
• Solid knowledge of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and SDGs implementation frameworks at different levels;
• Capacity to work in multidisciplinary teams;
• Openness to change and ability to receive / integrate feedback;
• Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations;
• Excellent communication and writing skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced Degree (or equivalent degree/experience) in Political Science, Development Studies, Development Cooperation, Development Economics, International Relations, Urban Planning or a related field.

Experience:

• Minimum 7 years of relevant work experience.

Language:

• Excellent spoken and writing skills in English and Spanish is required; French or Portuguese is an additional asset.

Application Submission Process:

The application submission is a two-step process. Failing to comply with the submission process may result in disqualifying the applications:

Step 1: Interested individual consultants must include the following documents when submitting the applications in UNDP job shop (please note that only 1 (one) file can be uploaded therefore please include all documents in a single file).

• Personal History Form (P11), indicating all past experience of similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional referees (the template can be downloaded from this link): http://sas.undp.org/Documents/P11_Personal_history_form.doc
• An updated curriculum vitae
• Letter of interest
• Short methodological approach on how the consultant envisions the study elaboration process (max. one to two pages)
• Sample of (or link to) a reference study or similar product elaborated by the candidate.

Step 2: Submission of Financial Proposal

Applicants are instructed to submit their financial proposals in EURO or US Dollars for this consultancy to procurement.be@undp.org using the financial proposal template available here: http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_file.cfm?doc_id=45780.

The proposals should be sent via email with the following subject heading: “Financial Proposal/ART Initiative – Comparative study on monitoring SDG implementation at local level - deadline 19th July 2019. Proposals received after the deadline will be rejected. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal should be all-inclusive and include a breakdown. The term ‘all-inclusive” implies that all costs (professional fees, communications, utilities, consumables, insurance, etc.) that could possibly be incurred by the Contractor are already factored into the financial proposal. No travel expenses, except the one (or two) mission mentioned in the ToRs, will be involved as this is a home-based assignment.

Application Evaluation Process:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis methodology (weighted scoring method), where the award of the contract will 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 technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

• Technical Criteria weight: [70%]
• Financial Criteria weight: [30%]

Only Individual Consultants obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70%) on the Technical evaluation will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation – max. 100 points:

• Candidate demonstrates full understanding of ToR - 20 points
• Candidate has relevant experience in conducting relevant other studies – 20 points
• Candidate has relevant experience in monitoring and evaluation, specifically related to local development – 30 points
• Candidate’s experience in working with LRGs and their associations - 20 points
• Candidate’s experience in working with the United nations system - 10 points

Financial Criteria – 30% of total evaluation – maximum 30 points:

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

UNDP will apply a fair and transparent selection process that will take into account both the technical qualification of Individual Consultants as well as their price proposals. The contract will be awarded to the candidate obtaining the highest combined technical and financial scores. Please go the following link for the General Conditions of Individual Contracts: http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/documents/procurement/documents/IC%20-%20General%20Conditions.pdf

UNDP retains the right to contact references directly.

Payments will be made only upon confirmation by UNDP that contract obligations have been delivered in a satisfactory manner.

Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org.

Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.