Procurement Notices

Project Title: Paving the Roads to SDGs through Good Local Governance

Project Description and Objectives

Efficient, resilient, and well-planned road networks ensure that no one is left behind in the drive for inclusive growth. This is why roads are considered as an important foundation for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and a prerequisite for bringing communities together. In 2016, only 24.6% of all provincial roads in the Philippines are of acceptable quality. Of the 12,726km of provincial core roads, 57.2% are unpaved and in need of upgrading, while 20.2% are in poor condition and in need of rehabilitation. The situation is similarly dire for the 19,098 km of non-core roads, with 67% needing upgrading and 7% in need of rehabilitation.

To address this situation, the Department for the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has launched the Conditional Matching Grant to Provinces (CMGP) initiative to improve the quality of the local road network across the country, by providing both financial investment for capital outlay, as well as strengthening the governance processes so that provincial governments are themselves able to effectively plan, design, implement and maintain their road networks.

The Program, however, is not only a road engineering intervention; it is also a governance reform program in local roads management (LRM) and public financial management (PFM). Thus, in partnership with DILG, UNDP has launched the project “Paving the Roads to SDGs through Good Governance (Roads2SDGs)” which aims to provide support to the governance reform and quality assurance components of CMGP through the ‘Roads to SDGs’ framework. This framework will anchor the prioritization, planning, design, implementation, and maintenance of infrastructure projects to the achievement of the SDGs, incorporating the elements of partnership building, climate change and disaster risk reduction, gender mainstreaming, and citizen participation for transparency and accountability.

Part of the local governance reforms initiated under the partnership with CMGP Program is on enhancing capacities of DILG and PLGUs on Government Procurement, RA9184. Various difficulties were observed particularly in procurement planning, in the conduct of actual procurement processes, and challenges in contract management resulting to delays in project implementation and delivery of basic services. In 2019, UNDP Roads2SDGs and DILG- CMGP conducted several batches of trainings on Procurement and on the new indicator system of the Agency Procurement Compliance Performance Index (APCPI) to key functionaries of DILG regional offices and provincial local government units (PLGUs). One of the priority recommendations is the development of a web-based

Procurement Monitoring System (PMS) that aims to facilitate the monitoring of procurement activities of the Local Government Units (LGUs) and at the same time to provide appropriate technical assistance to the Provinces.

In the implementation of the “New Normal” due to COVID-19 pandemic, web-based Procurement Monitoring System will minimize physical or face-to-face interactions, as procurement activities will be mostly via electronic transactions.

Further, in the advent of the implementation of the Supreme Court ruling on the Mandanas and Garcia petitions, the proposed Procurement Monitoring System will also expedite the tracking of the performance of the LGUs in procurement.

In view of the aforementioned, the Roads2SDGs Project needs to engage an Individual Consultant, an expert on the Government Procurement, especially on Republic Act 9184, otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act (GPRA).

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

The Consultant is expected to submit a summary of activities, and accomplishment reports to the Project Manager. Each payment shall be made within two weeks after the receipt of the approved summary of activities and accomplishment reports. Below are the deliverables required from the IC:

Institutional Arrangements

Under the overall guidance of the Project Manager and working closely with the Road Sector Manager, the consultant will coordinate all the activities, outputs, and other relevant concerns in the development of the Procurement Monitoring System

Duration of Work

The duration of this engagement is 30 days spread over Four (4) months.

Duty Station and travel

The Consultant should be willing to travel to the locations where the meetings and workshops will be conducted.

Payment of travel costs including tickets should be agreed upon, between the UNDP and the Consultant prior to travel and will be reimbursed on actuals in line with UNDP rules OR shall be arranged by UNDP.

Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

The Vendor shall be paid all-inclusive to cover for the actual professional services rendered except for food, accommodation, and allowances during travels that will be identified by the project later.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Consultant shall lead and prepare the Terms of Reference (ToR) for engaging a systems development consultant or service provider who shall develop the Procurement Monitoring System (PMS) for Provincial Local Government Units. The Consultant shall ensure that the System will be responsive to the procedures of the R.A 9184 and/or compliant to the requirements of the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) as applicable.

Specifically, the Consultant is expected:

• To facilitate meetings/workshops (virtually, via Zoom, MS Teams, or other platforms, as appropriate) with UNDP, DILG and other relevant stakeholders to discuss concerns on the preparation of the ToR for the Development of the Procurement Monitoring System – to include the definition/finalization of its technical specifications; the elicitation processes; the actual development; and the eventual hosting, management, and administration of the System;
• To coordinate, oversee and serve as Resource Person during meetings, elicitations, pilot testing of the Procurement Monitoring System, and related milestones, as applicable;
• To update the Procurement Guide for the PLGUs; and,
• To submit a Final Report on the engagement.

Competencies

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;

Required Skills and Experience

Candidates will be evaluated based on the Combined Rating methodology:

• Technical qualifications = 70%
• Financial Proposal =    30%

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

Applicants who will only receive 70 points from the assessment of the CV will be qualified for the assessment of the Financial Proposal. 

Recommended Presentation of Offer

Interested applicants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications at this given link https://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?cur_job_id=94340. Please group them into one (1) single PDF document as the application only allows to upload maximum one document. 

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; and
3. 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. 

Interested applicants to note that personal Medical/health insurance (to be purchased by the individual at his/her own expense) is mandatory for the issuance of contracts. Upon award of the contract, the consultant must be ready to submit proof of insurance valid during the contract duration.

The following templates / Annexes and IC General Terms & Conditions can be downloaded from http://gofile.me/6xdJm/bE9TCw8fU:

• General Terms and Conditions for Individual Contract
• Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability
• P-11 form

For any clarification, please write to procurement.ph@undp.org 

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