Procurement Notices

Consultancy Title: Independent Evaluation Consultant

Project Name: Kiribati Trade Capacity Development and Institutional Strengthening Project

Duty Station: Tarawa, Kiribati

Duration of the Contract: 24 May – 28 June 2019 (26 days)

Consultancy Proposal should be mailed to C/- UNDP Fiji MCO, Private Mail Bag, Suva, Fiji or sent via email to etenderbox.pacific@undp.org no later than 19th May, 2019 (Fiji Time) clearly stating the title of consultancy applied for. Any proposals received after this date/time will not be accepted. Any request for clarification must be sent in writing, or by standard electronic communication to procurement.fj@undp.org. UNDP will respond in writing or by standard electronic mail and will send written copies of the response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all consultants. Incomplete, late and joint proposals will not be considered and only offers for which there is further interest will be contacted. Failure to submit your application as stated as per the application submission guide (Procurement Notice) on the above link will be considered incomplete and therefore application will not be considered.

NOTE:

Proposals must  be sent to the designated email (etenderbox.pacific@undp.org) 

 Please do NOT copy or directly email applications to UNDP staff.

If the selected/successful Candidate is over 65 years of age and required to travel outside his home country; He/She will be required to provide a full medical report at their expense prior to issuance of the contract. Contract will only be issued when proposed candidate is deemed medically fit to undertake the assignment.

1. Objectives:

The main objective of this project is to strengthen the capacity of institutions and stakeholders in Kiribati to formulate and implement trade policies that support poverty reduction, inclusive economic growth and equitable sustainable development.  The project aims to support the operations and activities of the Ministry of Commerce, Industries and Cooperatives (MCIC) as lead agency responsible for the formulation and implementation of trade policy framework and Investment Policy, aligned to national development objectives.  It will also help improve donor coordination and Aid-for-Trade (AfT) delivery in line with the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the Forum Compact.

2. Background

The Enhanced Integrated Framework for Trade Related Technical Assistance in Least Developed Countries (EIF) is a multi-donor programme which supports LDCs to be more active players in the global trading system.  The programme works towards a wider goal of promoting economic growth and sustainable development and helping to lift more people out of poverty. It assists LDCs with the following objectives:

§  mainstream trade into national development strategies;

§  set up structures needed to coordinate the delivery of trade-related technical assistance; and

§  build capacity to trade, which also includes addressing critical supply-side constraints.

The EIF had approved a Tier 1 Trade Capacity-Building and Institutional Strengthening Project in Kiribati.   The main objective of this project is to strengthen the capacity of institutions and stakeholders in Kiribati to formulate and implement trade policies that support poverty reduction, inclusive economic growth and equitable sustainable development.  The project aims to support the operations and activities of the Ministry of Commerce, Industries and Cooperatives (MCIC) as lead agency responsible for the formulation and implementation of trade policy framework and Investment Policy, aligned to national development objectives.  It will also help improve donor coordination and Aid-for-Trade (AfT) delivery in line with the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the Forum Compact.

The Republic of Kiribati, with a population of 110,136 (2015 Census), is one of the most isolated countries in the world. Situated on either side of the International Date Line, as well as North and South of the equator, it comprises of 32 coral atolls spread across 3.5 million square kilometers of ocean, an area bigger than the Caribbean Sea, and one raised atoll. More than 90 per cent of the population is concentrated in the Gilbert Islands, with over 50 per cent living in South Tarawa.

Kiribati’s long-term development path is defined by the recently launched 20 Year Vision Development plan (KV20) 2016-2036 . The KV20 is motivated by a collective aspiration for a better society by the year 2036. The vision of the KV20 is for Kiribati to become a wealthy, healthy and peaceful nation. It seeks to achieve the development aspiration by maximizing the development benefits from fisheries and tourism as key productive sectors.

The KV20 recognizes the need develop an inclusive private sector driven by a sound enabling business environment with good policy and regulatory environment that supports the interest of both consumers and producers. Kiribati Development Plan 2016-2019, which is a short-term development strategy seeks to review outdated business laws in order to align such laws with the current trade and development regime, with broader objective of ensuring that trade outcomes generate equal benefits for all. Developing an inclusive and equitable private sector, with good trade outcomes, requires a good quality infrastructure with effective and efficient metrology function

3. Scope of work/Expected Output

Methodology

Evaluation methods for delivering the outputs will include, but will not be limited to:

• Document review, including the DTIS, relevant national development policies and strategies; project proposal including the approved project document, any revision of log frames, work plans and budgets; training and capacity building plans, technical and financial progress reports, MOU, documents related to the establishment and functioning of the National Steering Committee (NSC)/National Trade Advisory Committee (NTAC);  National Implementation Unit (NIU), the implementation of the project, different supervision missions undertaken by EIF and UNDP, external review (eg..Audit Report); and any other EIF related documents

• Interviews with in-country stakeholders, including members of the NSC, Human Resources Division, direct and non-direct beneficiaries of the EIF Project team in the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and liaise with the UNOPS/TFM in Bangkok and EIF ES team in Geneva.

• Field visits, if necessary.

The evaluation will also be in accordance with the EIF Mid-term Project Evaluation Guidance Note for Tier 1 Funded Project. Evaluation methods will be discussed with the EIF Focal Point and the NIU at the beginning of the assignment. On that basis, the Evaluator will decide on the evaluation methods that are the most appropriate for the purpose of the evaluation. A detailed statement of the evaluation methods used for conducting the evaluation must be included in the Inception Report and the final report.

Indicative of Evaluation Questions

Following are indicative questions to be covered by the evaluation:

1. An assessment/overview of the overall EIF institutional set-up in the country (Focal Point, NSC, NIU and the organizational and operational links to relevant departments in the MCIC, key ministries and other relevant bodies:
   1. Titles of members of the NSC in annex, description of task, mandate, etc.
   2. Brief review of mandate and activities of the NSC and assessment of what has worked, what has not worked.
   3. Description of tasks, mandate (formalized in government decision) of the NIU, including an organogram and workflows within and between the NIU and the FP/ MCIC. This description should include a table with staff information (name, position, date of engagement with NIU, information on staff being seconded (with indication of whether with or without salary top-ups), hired for project funds or hired as consultants, information on immediate, previous position held/CV for professional staff).
   4. The organizational and operational links (including physical location) of the NIU with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives,
   5. An assessment of how integration/coordination has evolved during project implementation and how it is working.

1. Results and activities for the Tier 1 project:
   1. List and describe main results from the project, including time of start/completion for main activities.
   2. Is the project making sufficient progress towards achieving its planned objectives? Will the project be likely to achieve its planned objectives upon completion?
   3. Indicate activities undertaken by the NIU to achieve results, including detail of the DTIS Update (if any) process and state of play.
   4. Is monitoring and evaluation system in place and how effective is it to measure the progress towards results?
   5. Compare the current logframe with the original logframe, where applicable.

1. Review of trade mainstreaming processes in the country in line with EIF logical framework):
   1. Does the country have a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) (or other national development strategy), covering which period, when next one to be prepared?
   2. Describe how trade aspects have been integrated in existing/being integrated in the upcoming strategy and assess the complementarity between trade and development policies/objectives. How is the institutional set-up for PRSP preparation and consultations on trade aspects?
   3. Does the project receive adequate political, technical and administrative support from its national partners?
   4. Assess and describe if/how the Tier 1 project contributed to this process.

1. Trade policy/export development strategy:
   1. Does the country have a trade policy and/or export development strategy? Which period does it cover, and when will it be updated?
   2. Does the country have sector strategies with trade integrated into them?
   3. How has inter-ministerial coordination on trade issues been organized to support elaboration, implementation and monitoring of such strategies?
   4. Assess and describe if/how the Tier 1 project contributed to this process.

1. Engagement with the private sector and other non-governmental stakeholders on trade and trade policy issues:
   1. Does the country have a functioning public-private sector consultation mechanism?
   2. Assess and describe if/how the Tier 1 project contributed to this process.

1. Donor coordination on trade-related assistance:
   1. Are there government and donor consultations on trade-related matters?
   2. How is it (are they) organized in the country?
   3. Assess and describe if/how the Tier 1 project contributed to this process.

1. Wider mobilization of funds for trade-related assistance – formulation of Tier 2 projects:
   1. State of affairs with formulation of new trade-related assistance and identification of funding sources.
   2. Assess and describe if/how the Tier 1 project contributed to this process.

1. Sustainability:
   1. How effective has the project been in establishing national ownership?
   2. Has the project prepared for an exit plan to ensure a proper hand-over to the national government and institutions after the project ends?
   3. Are national stakeholders involved in project implementation, and are they willing and committed to continue with the project?
   4. Are the project results likely to be durable? Are results anchored in national institutions, and is there likelihood that the national institutions and implementing partners maintain the results financially once external funding ends?

Deliverables and Timelines

The consultant will be required to submit the following reports:

a.       Inception report: to be submitted to the Focal Point and NIU within 5 working days (methodology for carrying out the assignment, detailing how it is intended to deliver the proposed outputs including a tentative work plan and timelines).

b.       Draft report for stakeholder inputs, including NSC members, Focal Point, NIU, EIF Executive Secretary and Trust Fund Manager. Draft report should have same structure as final report.

c.        Final Report: on completion of the assignment. A draft version of the final report should be circulated to all stakeholders for comments, including Executive Secretary and Trust Fund Manager prior to final submission.

The final report should include the following items:

1.       Cover page

2.       Executive summary

3.       Brief background on the project

4.       Purpose and scope of the evaluation and clients of evaluation

5.       Methodology

6.       Review of project implementation

7.       Presentation of findings

8.       Conclusion

9.       Recommendations

10.    Lesson learned

11.    Annexes

Timeframe:

Commencement of Work                               D = 24 May 2019

                                                                                         (Tentative date of award of contract)

Inception Report                                                  D + 5 Days (31st May 2019)

Draft Report                                                                         D + 15 days (14th June 2019)

Final Report                                                                          D + 20 days ( 21st June 2019)

The implementation period of the evaluation process covers the period between [1st July 2016] and [10th May 2019].

The final Mid-term evaluation report will have to be delivered at the latest on [ 21st June 2019].

Payment Schedule:

Please refer to attached schedule of payment

4. Management Arrangements

The overall management of the EIF Tier 1 project evaluation will remain with UNDP as the MIE in consultations with EIF (NIU). The day-to-day supervision of the activity will rest with the EIF NIU Coordinator, in close consultation with EIF Focal Point. Administrative support (meeting arrangements, reporting to NIU, contract support) will be provided by the EIF Project Manager at with NIU.

5. Required Qualification

·       Master’s degree in international Trade, International Economics or Development related studies;

·       At least 5 years of relevant work experience in the field of M&E with Proven experience in evaluating strategies, development and trade related programs and projects;

·       Familiarity with trade and development situation in the Pacific, donor agencies procedures, monitoring and evaluation practices and in the use of basket funds, trust funds and budget support for development projects;

·         Prior experience working in small and remote island contexts, preferably in the Pacific

·       Excellent English writing and communication skills with excellent interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills

6. Resources Provided

IC is expected to have own laptop, government/EIF project is expected to provide workstation and operational support, UNDP can fund travel relating to project activities such as trade advisory role to government during trade negotiation forums.  

7. Evaluation

Cumulative analysis

The proposals will be evaluated using the cumulative analysis method with a split 70% technical and 30% financial scoring. The proposal with the highest cumulative scoring will be awarded the contract. Applications will be evaluated technically, and points are attributed based on how well the proposal meets the requirements of the Terms of Reference using the guidelines detailed in the table below:

When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract may 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 weighting; 70%

* Financial Criteria weighting; 30%

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the Technical Evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation. Interviews may be conducted as part of technical assessment for shortlisted proposals.

Submission and Documentation

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

§  Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided in Annex II.

§  Signed detailed CV , 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.

§  Technical proposal, including a) a brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment;

§  Financial proposal, as per template provided in Annex II.

Consultant must send a financial proposal based on a Lump Sum Amount. The total amount quoted shall be all-inclusive and include all costs components required to perform the deliverables identified in the TOR, including professional fee, travel costs, living allowance (if any work is to be done outside the IC´s duty station) and any other applicable cost to be incurred by the IC in completing the assignment. The contract price will be fixed output-based price regardless of extension of the herein specified duration. Payments will be done upon completion of the deliverables/outputs.

In general, UNDP shall 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 event of unforeseeable travel not anticipated in this TOR, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and the Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Template for confirmation of interest and Submission of Financial Proposal is available under the procurement section of UNDP Fiji website (www.pacific.undp.org)

Women candidates are encouraged to apply