Procurement Notices

A. Background Information and Rationale, Project Description

Citizen’s participation in governance processes is a vital aspect of development.  In the Philippines, government ensures that this is promoted and strengthened through different policies and mechanisms.  These address areas of transparency, accountability, and share in the benefits of development. For instance, local governance promotes participation through local development bodies, budget processes, and integrity measures such as the Seal of Good Local Governance Program.  Citizen’s engagement in public finance management is strengthened through, among others, the Budget Partnership Agreement (BPA) and Citizen’s Participatory Audit (CPA).    

The Local Government Code (LGC) or Republic Act No. 7160 was enacted to institutionalize a more responsive and accountable local government structure, reverse the centrist tendencies of government and to decentralize power, responsibility, and resources.  Aside from devolving powers and functions to local government units (LGUs), the LGC decentralizes governance by strengthening the mechanisms for people's participation. This is based on the principle that local leaders and residents know their own problems and can decide on the best use of resources to meet their development needs. 

In 2011, the Philippines became a signatory to the Open Government Partnership (OGP).  A national action plan anchored on the Governance and Anti-Corruption (GGAC) Plan of 2012-2016 has been implemented since then.  It aims to improve public service delivery, curb corruption and enhance the business environment in the country.  Initiatives that promote transparency, citizen participation and accountability accompanied the implementation of the action plan. Technology and innovation initiatives also supported the national plan.  Although these illustrations are not exhaustive of existing policies and mechanisms that promote citizen engagement in governance, they are indicative of the various forms and levels of people’s participation in the various arenas of governance.

On the other hand, certain considerations call for more nuanced perspective on citizen engagement in governance.  First, there is a tendency to homogenize communities in terms of policy formulation and implementation despite the complexity of socio-economic and political contexts wherein policies and programs are implemented.  Second, there is emphasis on the involvement of citizens belonging to formal organizations that results in further disenfranchisement of community members who are unorganized. Third, civil society organizations may speak different ideological languages. Diverse power constellations among them produce different opportunities but also problems that challenge their credibility and bargaining positions in dealing with government. 

Ultimately, UNDP aims to foster an enabling environment for citizen oversight, knowledge exchange, and civil society action in support of the global goal of leaving no one behind.  In doing so, it adopts participatory governance as a framework in building the infrastructure for enhanced state-society engagement. This is characterized by strengthened citizen oversight, enhanced social accountability of government, and stronger ownership of development gains by both citizens and government.   Participatory governance extends the role of citizens in relation to political decision-making.   Citizens perform roles beyond monitoring of government performance. They take part in decision-making actively. This leads to transformation of state-society relations towards effective collaborative decision-making wherein people can actively participate in shaping policies and programs that affect national and local development.  Overall, effective citizen oversight contributes to a transparent and accountable government.  It ensures delivery of good quality public service to citizens.  This also enhances access of marginalized sectors to public services.

Over the years, UNDP has consistently promoted strong citizen engagement as an approach to ensure democratic, transparent and accountable governance.  Citizens are involved in areas of monitoring program implementation, policy making, and direct involvement in the implementation of programs.    They perform roles as monitors ensuring accountability and transparency, educators who raise awareness and build capacities of other stakeholders, advocates for policy reform, and organizers for partnership building.  Under UNDP’s new Country Programme Document, platforms for citizen engagement will be strengthened to further governance reforms.  UNDP aims to encourage collaboration among stakeholders from civil society organizations, people’s organizations, national agencies, academe, and local governments in developing these strategies.

In enhancing approaches to citizen engagement, UNDP and its partners need to do the following:

• critically reflect on the complexities of previous and on-going projects to build on the lessons offered by these experiences;

• identify mechanisms to replicate successful initiatives and address gaps;

• explore strategies to fully enhance the potentials of platforms for citizen oversight.

These steps consider the previous and current initiatives and processes as well as tools developed and utilized in these initiatives.

B. Scope of Work

An individual consultant capable of facilitating focus group discussions, capturing lessons from the shared experiences, and writing a strategy paper will be engaged for the project.  Specifically, the individual consultant is expected to perform and/or deliver the following:

• Design a workshop and formulate workshop guide questions in aid of formulating a strategy paper that addresses the above stated needs to enhance approaches to citizen engagement; the workshop aims to:

  • map out capacities and level of citizen engagement in various UNDP projects

  • examine the gains and means in which CSOs and citizens performed their oversight role effectively in the course of these projects

  • identify recommendations to forge constructive relations among government, civil society, and other stakeholders, including higher educational institutions and the private sector

  • analyze the external environment, including enablers and barriers, and risks to citizens’ actions

  • identify strategies to scale up approaches to citizen engagement, e.g., joint approaches that consolidate partnerships

     

• Manage and facilitate the workshop including the plenary discussion and breakout sessions to ensure that discussions inform the workshop objectives

• Write and submit a good quality strategy paper on enhancing approaches to citizen engagement based on the results of the workshop, analysis of relevant UNDP documents, and key informant interviews, as may be deemed necessary by the IC in consultation with the Democratic Governance Team Leader.It should include a one-page summary in addition to the main paper. The strategy paper should include the following:

  • analysis of partners’ experiences in terms of level and degree of participation in various governance platforms, achievements, and lessons learned from their experiences that will inform the strategies

  • analysis of strategies that partners utilize to ensure effective engagement with government

  • proposed operational framework for effective citizen oversight based on the experiences shared by workshop participants

  • strategies for sustainability and scaling-up of initiatives for citizen oversight in relation to foreseen opportunities and challenges

  • areas for innovation and partnerships needed to achieve the desired change

• Review relevant UNDP documents as input to the strategy paper

• Incorporate the comments of UNDP and its partners to the strategy paper

C. Expected Output and Deliverables

The Contractor shall deliver the following outputs for the Project, with the corresponding timeline:

D. Institutional Arrangement

The DG Team Leader shall directly supervise the Contractor.  He may assign a focal person to coordinate with the Contractor in relation to the project.  UNDP, through the Democratic Governance unit, shall be responsible for the following:

• make available to the Contractor all necessary information concerning projects that highlight citizen engagement in governance, including background reference materials

• review, provide comments and recommendations, and approve all submissions of the Contractor on a timely basis

• arrange meeting/s with the Contractor particularly concerning the review of deliverables

Further, the Contractor shall be responsible for the following:

• Formulate and submit the workshop design and guide questions

• Facilitate the 2-day activity by ensuring the smooth conduct of the workshop, active participation of attendees, and delivery of good quality workshop outputs

• Coordinate with the Documenters during the workshop to ensure that the workshop sessions capture the needed information based on the guide questions

• Prepare and deliver a good quality strategy paper

• Respect the confidentiality of information as may be deemed necessary by UNDP, partners, and informants

• Report to the DG Team Leader, promptly and in writing, matters that may affect the conduct of the workshop and quality and timely submission of the reports and/or other deliverables

• Attend meetings as may be arranged by UNDP, particularly concerning the review of deliverables and presentation of findings

E. Duty Station

The engagement is output-based and will not require physical and daily reporting to UNDP.  The Contractor may be requested to attend meetings for activities related to the project.  Equipment, communications cost and rental fees required for carrying out the assignment shall be borne by the Contractor. Taxes will not be withheld by UNDP and shall likewise be borne by the Contractor.

F. Qualification of the Successful Individual Contractor

The Contractor to be engaged should be able to meet the following minimum criteria:

G. Duration of Contract, Scope of Price Proposal, and Schedule of Payments

The engagement covers an 8-week period within the timeframe of 30 October 2018 to 31 January 2019.

The Contractor shall be paid the total amount  all-inclusive to cover for the actual professional services rendered inclusive of travel, terminals, and food during travel of the Contractor to perform the tasks and accomplish the deliverables for this engagement. Payments shall be processed and paid in tranches upon the DG Team Leader’s acceptance of the following deliverables by the Contractor: 

• 1st Tranche - 25% upon signed contract and submission of activity design.
• 2nd Tranche - 20% upon conduct of the workshop.
• 3rd Tranche - 30% upon submission and aceptance of first draft of the strategy paper.
• 4th Tranche - 25% upon accepted of final draft of the strategy paper.

H. Recommended Presentation of Offer

The following documents are requested and kindly submit it at procurement.ph@undp.org

• Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;
• Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references; and
• Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided.  If an Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP.