Procurement Notices

Project Title

Using Strategic Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) to Accelerate the Implementation of the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022 (Strategic M&E Project).

Project Description

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Philippine country office have embarked on a partnership to strengthen the conduct of evaluations of priority government programs under the Philippine Development Program (PDP). Financed by NEDA and implemented with full UNDP country office support, the Strategic Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Project will help strengthen the capacities of NEDA and select government agencies to conduct evaluations that support the achievement of the PDP and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by enabling evidence-based decision making.

The Strategic M&E Project has the following components: 1) managing the conduct of evaluations of key themes, sectors, and/or programs under the PDP; 2) assessing the evaluation capacity of and providing learning opportunities to NEDA and other government agencies; 3) supporting the implementation of the National Evaluation Policy Framework (NEPF) through the development of implementation guidelines and other advisory services; 4) strengthening of a community of practice on evaluations through the M&E Network Philippines; and 5) developing an online portal of government evaluations.

The project seeks to leverage communication and knowledge management tools to support the project’s outputs: from the evaluation studies on various development issues, to building government capacity for monitoring and evaluation. For one, the project aims to ensure that the evaluations commissioned under it are communicated and utilized by the right stakeholders and through the right channels. Creative and high-quality knowledge products—publications and other printed material, infographics and other online promotional material, audio-visual-presentations, among others—will be required for the project’s outputs to reach and meet the needs of stakeholders. To support capacity development, the project aims to leverage available digital tools—from the National Evaluation Portal that is currently under development, to social media and other innovations—to facilitate the efficient storage, cataloguing, and utilization of knowledge assets.

The project requires the services of a Communication and Knowledge Management Consultant who shall advise and assist NEDA and UNDP in developing and implementing a communication and knowledge management strategy for the Project. S/he shall design, recommend, and implement appropriate content, tools, and channels, and knowledge products to support the utilization and dissemination of evaluations and the project’s capacity development goals. S/he shall likewise provide editorial, creative, and knowledge management direction and oversight to service providers to be hired by UNDP.

Scope of Work

Under the overall guidance of the Programme and Project Implementation Team Programme Analyst, and reporting directly and regularly to the Strategic M&E Project Coordinator, the Consultant shall:

1. Develop and oversee the implementation of a Strategic Communication and Knowledge Management Plan, which shall include the following at the minimum:

a. A mapping of key stakeholders and their needs and expectations about the project and core messages on the project broadly and targeted messages for the key stakeholders

b. A protocol for managing—particularly cataloguing, storing, and communicating—content produced by the project for the evaluations.

c. A schedule of key communication activities that support the project’s key milestones

2. Lead and/or coordinate the development of Communication and Knowledge Products that support the implementation of the various components of the Strategic M&E Project and are consistent with the Strategic Communication and Knowledge Management Plan. Responsibilities include strategic communication planning and messaging, editorial and design supervision and quality assurance, and collaboration with contractors. Products and services include:

a. For at least four (4) of the evaluation studies to be commissioned by UNDP for NEDA, (i) collaborate with the evaluation team / lead evaluator in defining the communication plan of the study; (ii) recommend and implement key messages and communication activities and products; and (iii) assure the editorial quality of the 1-page summary and executive summary;

b. Lead the development of a reader-friendly version of the National Evaluation Policy Framework (NEPF) Guidelines, including developing a work plan and content plan for the publication, leading the writing and editing of the text, and overseeing a team of content writers, designers, and other multimedia contractors hired for the purpose;

c. Develop written content for communication, including but not limited to press releases, talking points, feature articles, web content, blog posts, social media posts, brochures, and other knowledge products, among others as assigned. Design direction is expected, although the minimum design ability required would be to produce presentation slide deck;

d. Provide knowledge management and editorial services for knowledge products, particularly the editing and proofreading of evaluation and learning products, the design and implementation of knowledge translation services for evaluation and learning products.

e. Support the implementation of the evaluation community of practice and capacity development activities by recommending and implementing appropriate communication messages, products, and tools/channels to promote the M&E Network Philippines.

3. Support the implementation of the National Evaluation Portal and maximization of digital communication and knowledge management tools by, among others, (a) collaborating with the portal developer with respect to creating content to be published on or linked to the portal, and (b) Establishing a content management protocol for the portal and leading the development of the first slew of content.

4. Manage the social media accounts or groups of the Strategic M&E Project and the M&E Network Philippines, ensuring not only that there is at least one post or update per week but also that relevant conversations among the community of practice are facilitated.

5. Provide substantive support to project staff on the management of outsourced contractors for communication products—such as AVP, design, web development, and publishing consultants or firms —including the preparation of terms of reference and/or technical specifications, scouting of potential suppliers, following through on the procurement process, overseeing timely delivery, reviewing the outputs for quality prior to payment, and soliciting audience/stakeholder feedback.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

The consultant is expected to perform the abovementioned works according to the following schedule:

The consultant is also expected to submit a Monthly Status Report of a maximum two (2) pages, outlining deliverables submitted and activities undertaken, as well as issues encountered, recommendations and lessons learned.

Institutional Arrangement

1. The Consultant shall be directly supervised by the Project Coordinator of the NEDA-UNDP Strategic M&E Project, with whom all outputs shall be submitted. The Consultant shall also work closely with, and submit outputs to, the Project Officers and Project Assistants who have responsibility for the outputs for which the communication and knowledge management services are required.
2. The Consultant shall report progress, provide updates, or raise issues to the Project Coordinator on a weekly basis. The Consultant is expected to be accessible to the UNDP Project Coordinator via phone, mobile, or internet, and may be asked to report physically to UNDP on an agreed schedule and when required.
3. The Consultant is expected to collaborate closely with relevant officials and staff of NEDA and UNDP to ensure that the plans, messages, and products are consistent with their communication plans and brand manuals. As such, s/he may be required to coordinate with the Senior Policy Officer, PPIT Programme Analyst, the Communication Associate, and other officials and staff of UNDP; and with the Director and staff of the MES, the officials/staff of the Development Information Staff (DIS), and other officials of the NEDA but through the NEDA-MES;
4. In performing his/her functions, the Consultant shall consult key stakeholders in the development of communication and knowledge products and actions, during their implementation, and in the post-assessment, using appropriate tools. The Consultant is likewise expected to coordinate, consult, and/or collaborate with the contractors of the evaluation studies, the implementing agencies and other stakeholders, attend ERG meetings and other meetings, among others.

Duration of the Work

1. The consultant will be hired for a period equivalent to a total of 180 person-days spread over a period of ten (10) months.
2. The target start of work date is 1 September 2019 and end date of the contract is 30 June 2020.

Duty Station

1. The Consultant will be based in Manila but should be able to travel to locations of consultations within the country, as determined necessary by the Project Coordinator.
2. The Consultant will be required to report physically to UNDP on at least a weekly basis and when physical participation in activities, such as engagement with stakeholders and evaluation of prospective contractors, meetings and forums will be necessary.
3. The Consultant is expected to have his/her own work space, computer, and other equipment.

Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

1. Financial proposals must be expressed as a per person-day rate which should include all costs (professional fees, allowances) related to working within the Duty Station (Manila).
2. Each person-day of work delivered, according to the equivalent level of effort per output as outlined in part D, may be billed upon submission of a time sheet with the accompanying outputs. The submission of such time sheet may be made immediately after outputs have been submitted and accepted or in batches for each agreed-upon cutoff period.

Corporate competencies

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling 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 favoritism.

Functional and technical competencies

• Ability to work in a diverse and multi-cultural environment;
• Self-motivated and ability to work under pressure and to meet strict and competing deadlines;
• Displays analytical judgment and demonstrated ability to handle confidential and politically sensitive issues in a responsible and mature manner;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
• Computer literate.

Qualifications of the Successful Individual Contractor

Educational Qualifications

• At least a bachelor’s degree in journalism, mass communication, social sciences, management, development communication or other relevant fields 

Experience

• At least five years of work or consultancy experience in communication, writing, or knowledge management in government, international organizations, non-profits, etc.
• With preference to having a professional certification/ training in knowledge management, communication, project management, or other relevant fields;
• With preference to those who have worked in the context of M&E, results-based management, public financial management, public sector reform;
• With preference to those with previous employment or consultancy with government and/or UN agencies;

Language

• English and Tagalog required

Evaluation Method and Criteria

Offers will be evaluated based on combined scoring method – where the Technical Proposal will be evaluated based on qualifications in the CV. The Technical evaluation is weighted a max. of 70%.

The Financial Proposal that will be evaluated through submission of the Offeror's Letter to UNDP Confirming Insterest and Availability for the IC including Financial Proposal Template and combined with the price offer will be weighted a max of 30%;

For the evaluation of the Technical Proposal, the selection of the successful consultant must be based in the following qualifications (with the appropriate obtainable points):

Applicants who will only receive a minimum score of 70 points and above from the assessment of the CV will be qualified for the assessment of the Financial Proposal.

Recommended Presentation of Offer

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Please group them into one (1) single PDF document as the application only allows to upload maximum one document at https://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?cur_job_id=86879.

1. Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the UNDP template;
2. Personal 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. In addition, a Portfolio of Work whether attached to the email submission or hyperlinks in the CV.
3. Three (3) Sample Outputs, preferably a published article or report, research paper, infographic, communication collaterals, or other such materials that best presents the candidate’s ability to translate complex issues and topics into compelling and actionable communication. A hyperlink to the public location of the output should ideally be included in the submission.
4. Brief description, separately or as part of the CV, of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment, highlighting specialized background advantages for the scope of work and requirement (see part H above).
5. 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 UNP

You may download the editable version of the Offeror's Letter to UNDP Confirming Insterest and Availability for the IC by clicking on this link: http://gofile.me/6xdJm/bE9TCw8fU

In view of the volume of applications UNDP receives, only shortlisted offerors will be notified.