A. Project Title

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

B. Project Description 

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Philippine country office recently 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 M&E Project will help strengthen the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) capacities of NEDA and key government agencies. This, in turn, will support the achievement of the PDP as well as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through evidence-based decision making.

A key component of the project is the commissioning, on behalf of the NEDA, of independent evaluations on a broad range of themes and programs that are relevant to the PDP and SDGs. The results of the evaluation studies are envisaged to inform how policies and programs are designed and implemented to achieve the desired results of the PDP also to contribute to the strengthening of the government’s M&E systems.

The Scoping Study on the Planning-Programming-Budgeting Linkage in the Philippines aims to assess how planning and budgeting reforms, particularly the institutionalization of Public Investment Program (PIP), Philippine Development Plan Results Matrix (PDP-RM), Program Expenditure Classification (PREXC), and the Results-Based Performance Management System (RBPMS) have contributed to strengthening such linkage. Specifically, the firm shall develop a strategy, using contribution analysis and/or other appropriate methods, to undertake the scoping of how agencies’ operations are aligned with broader sectoral goals and how coherent are these agencies’ and their programs’ targeted outcomes and outputs with the PDP and SDG goals. The scoping study shall initially focus on three (3) PDP Chapters: 1) Ensuring People Centered, Clean, and Efficient Governance; 2) Accelerating Human Capital and Development; and 3) Accelerating Infrastructure Development. Currently, the Project is procuring the services of an M&E Consulting Firm to produce case studies on a selection of programs under these PDP chapters to illustrate how the PDP-RM, PIP, PREXC, and other reforms have been implemented and have contributed to strengthening the planning-programming-budgeting-implementation results linkage.

The project requires the services of an Evaluation Adviser who will assist NEDA and UNDP in ensuring that the study commissioned not only meet acceptable quality standards but also provide opportunities for capacity development for NEDA officials and staff. The Evaluation Adviser will a) review key outputs of the evaluation studies commissioned, from Procurement to Final Report; b) provide advice to the project on how to improve study design, tools, and quality; and c) provide assistance in communicating and translating outputs to become understandable and relevant action points for the NEDA, DBM, and UNDP Management.

C.     Scope of Work

Under the overall guidance of the Senior Policy Advisor, the Outcome Lead for Institutions and SDG Partnerships, and the Accelerator Lab Head of Experimentation, and reporting regularly to the Strategic M&E Project Coordinator and the Project Officer for the Programs and Projects Monitoring System (PPMS), the Evaluation Adviser shall perform the following services;

1. Review of Evaluation Outputs – The Adviser shall review outputs and reports prior to contracting and the quality of outputs of the evaluators, to wit:
2. Participation in Bid Evaluation – the Adviser shall participate in the evaluation of technical and financial bids submitted by bidders, providing expertise on assessing proposed methodology and capability to deliver study objectives that will support policy reform, capacity development, and stakeholder engagement.
3. Inception Report – prior to acceptance, review the quality of the contractor’s inception report in terms of its alignment with the TOR and the appropriateness of the framework, methodologies, and tools
4. Interim Report - prior to acceptance, review the quality of the contractor’s proposed enhancements to the framework, methodology, and data generation tools based on pilot findings
5. Draft and Final Evaluation Report – prior to acceptance of the draft report and final report, review the quality of the methodology as implemented, data gathering and/or analysis, findings, and recommendations

The Adviser shall review the quality of the abovementioned outputs based on the guiding principles and evaluation standards set by the NEPF (NEDA-DBM Joint Memorandum Circular No. 2015-1) and generally accepted international norms on evaluation quality, including but not limited to those promoted by the OECD DAC, the United Nations Evaluation Group, UNDP, and other international entities.

1. Provide assistance in communicating and translating outputs to become understandable and relevant action points for the NEDA, DBM, and UNDP Management.

D.     Expected Outputs and Deliverables

The abovementioned works and outputs shall be delivered during the following timeframe:

E.      Institutional Arrangement

1. The Consultant shall be directly supervised by the Project Coordinator of the NEDA-UNDP Strategic M&E Project and the Project Officer for PPMS, with whom all outputs shall be submitted and through whom all communications shall be coursed or copied.
2. When necessary, the Consultant will be required to coordinate with the Senior Policy Advisor, the Outcome Lead for Institutions and SDG Partnerships, and the Accelerator Lab Head of Experimentation of UNDP; and with the Director of the Monitoring and Evaluation Staff (MES) and other officials of the NEDA and other relevant stakeholders.
3. The Consultant shall report progress, provide updates, or raise issues to the Project Coordinator and Project Officer for PPMS on at least a weekly basis. The Consultant is expected to be accessible to the UNDP Project Coordinator via phone, mobile, or internet.

F.     Duration of the Work

1. The consultant will be engaged for a maximum of twenty (20) person-days spread over ten (10) months.
2. The target start of the work date is 5 June 2020 and the maximum end date is 5 April 2021.

G.     Duty Station

1. The Consultant is ideally based in Manila to participate in meetings, consultations, and other in-person activities required.
2. The Consultant is expected to have his/her own workspace, computers/laptops, software, and other facilities and equipment.
3. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and declaration of State of Public Health Emergency in the Philippines, all work of the individual consultant shall be done within the guidelines and protocols set by the local and national government. During the quarantine period, the IC shall NOT engage in any meetings or activities OUTSIDE THEIR HOMES. Coordination/meetings shall be done through phone or online communication until such time that the quarantine is lifted, during which this will be STRICTLY a HOME-BASED assignment; NO TRAVEL IS REQUIRED for the IC to complete their abovementioned tasks.

H.      Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

1. Financial proposals must be expressed as a per person-day rate which includes professional fees, allowances, income tax, communications expenses, etc.
2. Medical/health insurance must be purchased by the individual at his/her own expense, and upon award of contract, the consultant must be ready to submit proof of insurance valid during the contract duration.
3. Each person-day of work delivered may be billed upon submission of a time sheet or report, the submission for which may be made immediately or after the delivery of outputs:
4. All other workshop expenses (venue, food, transportation, etc.) shall be borne by UNDP.

Corporate Competencies

·         Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN mission, vision, values, and ethical standards

·         Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability

Other Competencies

·         Demonstrates strong analytical skills and mature judgment well-planned and organized;

·         Ability to work in close collaboration with a group of national and international experts, to meet strict deadlines and plan the work according to priorities;

·         Demonstrates the capacity to plan, organize and execute effectively;

·         Ability to establish effective working relations in a multi-cultural team environment;

·         Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;

·         Facilitates and encourages open communication in the team and with stakeholders;

·         Excellent written communication and presentation/public speaking skills

I.     Qualifications of the Successful Individual Contractor

The Consultant to be hired shall have the following minimum qualifications.  The passing score is 70 out of 100 obtainable points.

J.     Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer

The offer will be evaluated based on a Combined Scoring method where the qualifications will be weighted a maximum of 70% and combined with the price offer which will be weighted a maximum of 30%.

Top shortlisted bidders may be called for an interview to further assess fitness for the role.

The criteria for the technical scoring will be the following:

K.     References

Please also refer to the National Evaluation Policy Framework, the UNDP Handbook on Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluating for Development Results, and the Terms of Reference for the Scoping Study on the Planning-Programming-Budgeting Linkage in the Philippines

L.      Recommended Presentation of Offer

Interested bidders must submit the following:

1. Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;
2. 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;
3. 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.
4. Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided.

Offerors must upload in one (1) file the aforementioned 4 documents at https://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?cur_job_id=91380. Templates for a) P11 Personal History Form and b)  Offeror's Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability are available through the link below. UNDP General Terms and Conditions for Individual Contractors  are also available:

http://gofile.me/6xdJm/bE9TCw8fU

Please see the deadline for the submissions above. In view of the volume of applications, UNDP receives, only shortlisted offerors will be notified.