National consultant to develop an open SDG platform

Background

At the United Nations Sustainable Summit held in September 2015, 193 UN Member States adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, operationalizing 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 specific targets.

Following the 2020 call of the UN Joint SDG Fund, more specifically its Component 1: Reinforce the SDGs financing architecture, UNDP Ukraine as the lead agency, together with the resident country agencies WHO and UNICEF, and the non-resident agency UNECE, are implementing the initiative Promoting strategic planning and financing for sustainable development on national and regional level in Ukraine. This Joint Programme outlines an integrated response to the need of the Ukrainian government to optimize resource allocation towards national development ambitions and their alignment with the SDGs agenda. It builds on two outcomes, which individually frame engagement and outputs at national and sub-national level:

Outcome 1: Ukraine´s national SDGs planning and financing architecture is improved;

Outcome 2: Decentralized SDGs development planning and financing architecture is improved at regional level.

The implementing agencies (UNDP, WHO, UNICEF, and UNECE) are individually responsible for specific activities under the two respective outcomes. Taken together, the Joint Programme will result in better ways of managing existing – and potential – finance flows for strategic change to enhance alignment of available resources to long-term development priorities and achieving the SDGs in Ukraine. Promoting and supporting establishment of Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs) is central to this ambition. Additional methodologies and tools that will be employed include Development Finance Assessment, RIA+, Budgeting for SDGs, PPP legal and regulatory frameworks review, systems for public strategic planning, health expenditure review, among others.

As lead Convening/lead agency for the Joint Programme, UNDP is responsible for the programme’s operational and programmatic coordination. Moreover, UNDP is responsible for preparation and consolidation of the programme’s reporting, provided by the other participating agencies, and for submission to the UN Joint SDG Fund Secretariat (through the RCO).

As implementing agency, UNDP is responsible for activities related to Development Finance Assessment, Budgeting for SDGs and activities focusing on review and strengthening of strategic planning and budgeting processes (at national and regional level). The activities have been designed in close dialogue with the UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub, which will provide technical guidance and support. The activities will entail direct and high-level engagement with line ministries and national authorities, International Financial Institutions, and development partners.

Implementation of SDGs require involvements of various stakeholders at different tiers of government and is necessary to collect all information for the SDGs implementation in order to update or enhance internal policy prioritization based on Agenda 2030.

In this context, UNDP is recruiting a professional with relevant experience and track record for the position of a National consultant to develop an open SDG platform for Ukraine based on the existing open code and in line with the existing guidelines https://open-sdg.org/. The incumbent will promote UNDP’s mandate as a gender-responsive organization with zero tolerance to any kind of discriminatory and abusive behaviour, including sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse.

Open SDG is an open source, free-to-reuse platform for managing and publishing data and statistics related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is built exclusively with open-source libraries and tools and can be hosted and maintained using free services.

Duties and Responsibilities

2. Main Objectives of the Assignment

The main objective of this assignment is to develop an open SDG platform for Ukraine based on the existing open code and in line with the existing guidelines https://open-sdg.org/. To set up the platform out of the box and carry out basic customisations, consultant will need to use a computer and GitHub. In order to set up the open SDG platform consultant should use the Quick start guide which gives technical instructions on the quickest way to get a copy of the open SDG platform up and running.

 

3. Deliverables

The timeframe and deliverables of the assignment are as follows:

No.	Deliverables	Tentative Timeframe
Deliverable 1	In close consultation and cooperation with the State Statistics Service of Ukraine develop methodological approaches for development of the open SDG platform for Ukraine   Expected result: TOR for the open SDG platform is developed and agreed with State Statistics Service of Ukraine	25 working days (till 15 September)
Deliverable 2	Based on the approved by the State Statistics Service of Ukraine methodological approaches and using existing guidelines https://open-sdg.org/ develop an open SDG platform and support IT unit of the State Statistics Service of Ukraine in its installation on state domain   Expected result: open SDG platform is developed and support to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine on platform installation  is provided	30 working days (till 1 November)
Deliverable 3	Support organisation of the presentation and discussion of the developed open SDG platform (all logistics will be covered by UNDP).   Expected result: draft agenda, invitation and Power Point presentation on open SDG platform developed, discussion conducted and based on the result the open platform is updated	10 working days (till 30 November)

4. Proposed payment schedule:

UNDP will provide payments upon provision of deliverables duly certified by UNDP in accordance with the table above. UNDP will be the ultimate authority to control the quality of work results and assess the Contractor’s performance during the assignment. The satisfactory completion of each of the deliverables shall be subject to the endorsement of the UNDP Project Manager.  Payments are made in three tranches as per the Schedule of payments indicated in the table above.

In particular, the payment schedule will be as follows:

Deliverable 1   30%

Deliverable 2   60%

Deliverable 3   10%

 

5. Monitoring/Reporting Requirements

The consultant will work under overall guidance of UNDP Project Manager of the Democratic Governance team, and in close day-to-day coordination with the other project consultants. Work-progress reporting/monitoring meetings will be held with Democratic Governance Project Manager on a regular basis. UNDP will be the final authority to control the quality and evaluate the work. No reports or documents should be published or distributed to third parties without approval of UNDP.

The Consultant will duly inform UNDP of any problems, issues or delays arising in the course of implementation of assignment and take necessary steps to address them.

All reports and results are to be submitted to the UNDP in electronic form (*.docx, *.xlsx, *.pptx, and *.pdf or other formats accepted by UNDP). All reports and presentations shall be submitted in English.

Competencies

Corporate competencies

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling 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 favouritism;
• Fulfils all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

 

Technical Competencies:

• Ability to work under the deadline and deliver within the schedule;
• Ability to work on complex issues under changing environment;
• Demonstrates diplomacy and tact in dealing with sensitive and complex situations;
• Strong communication, interpersonal, analysis, and planning skills;
• Knowledge of sustainable energy and environment issues;
• Strong communications skills (written and oral).

Required Skills and Experience

6. Experience and qualification requirements

Education

• Advanced University degree (Specialist) or equivalent in Information Technology, Computer Science, technical sciences or related field;

Experience

• At least 3 years of relevant experience in the field -in IT sphere or data mining or data analytics, software programming and graphics.
• Experience in the field of website/ online platforms development, and software/application design according to the basic requirements of the customer (at least 3 examples provided).
• Previous experience with a government institution or international technical assistance preferable in UN structures  would considered as an asset .
• Proven experience of R-programming is a strong asset.

Languages

• Fluency in English and Ukrainian languages is required.

 

7. Documents to be Included when Submitting the Proposals

Required
x	Letter of interest/proposal, explaining why the applicant considers him- or herself the most suitable for the position; description of specific professional experience in project management; description of specific professional experience at the national or international level in IT sphere, information about relevant 3 projects implemented by applicant.
x	Personal CV or P11, including information about past experience in similar projects / assignments and contact details for referees, including clearly stated information about previous projects
x	Financial proposal

The above documents need to be uploaded to the online application as one document. Incomplete applications will not be considered. 

 

8. Financial Proposal

Lump sum contract

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in instalments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including travel, per diems, and a number of anticipated working days).

Travel costs

The travel is not envisaged for this assignment. BSAFE course must be successfully completed before the commencement of travel. Individual Consultant is responsible for ensuring he/she has vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. A consultant is required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under https://dss.un.org/dssweb/

 

9. Evaluation criteria

-   Educational background – 10 points max

10 pts – PhD or equivalent in Information Technology, Computer Science, technical sciences or related field;

9 pts – Master’s degree or equivalent in Information Technology, Computer Science, technical sciences or related field;

• At least 3 years of relevant experience in the field -in IT sphere or data mining or data analytics, software programming and graphics – 25 points max

25 pts – 6 years and more;

22 pts – 4-5 years;

18 pts – 3 years;

• Experience in the field of website/ online platforms development, and software/application design according to the basic requirements of the customer (at least 3 examples provided) – 20 points max

20 pts –more than 6 websites/ applications developed ;

18 pts – 4-6 websites/ applications developed;

17 pts – 3 websites/ applications developed;

• Previous experience with a government institution or international technical assistance preferable in UN structures  would considered as an asset  – 5 points max

5 pts – the candidate has previous experience;

0 pts – the candidate does not have previous experience;

•       Proven experience of R-programming – 5 points max

5 pts – the candidate has previous experience;

0 pts – the candidate does not have previous experience;

• Language Skills – 5 points max

5 pts – Fluency in English and Ukrainian.

Maximum available technical score - 70 points.

1. EVALUATION METHOD

Cumulative analysis

Contract award shall be made to the incumbent whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and

b) having received the cumulative highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

* Technical Criteria weight: 70%

* Financial Criteria weight: 30%

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% from the maximum available technical score (49 points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal and will equal to 30. All other price proposals will be evaluated and assigned points, as per below formula:

30 points [max points available for financial part] x [lowest of all evaluated offered prices among responsive offers] / [evaluated price].

The proposal obtaining the overall cumulatively highest score after adding the score of the technical proposal and the financial proposal will be considered as the most compliant offer.