International Consultant to Facilitate the Development of Un Common Country Analysis Tender

Procurement Summary

Country : Armenia

Summary : International Consultant to Facilitate the Development of Un Common Country Analysis

Deadline : 12 Dec 2019

Other Information

Notice Type : Tender

TOT Ref.No.: 38635913

Document Ref. No. :

Competition : ICB

Financier : United Nations Secretariat

Purchaser Ownership : -

Tender Value : Refer Document

Purchaser's Detail

Purchaser : UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (UNDP)
Petros Adamyan Street, 14 Yerevan 0010, Phone: +374 60 530000 Fax: +374 10 543811
Armenia
Email :registry.am@undp.org
URL :https://www.am.undp.org/

Tender Details

Tenders are invited for International Consultant to Facilitate the Development of Un Common Country Analysis and 2021-2025 Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for Armenia

Background

The UN General Assembly resolution 72/279 elevated the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (now renamed the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework) as “the most important instrument for planning and implementation of the UN development activities at country level in support of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda)”.

The UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (Cooperation Framework) is nationally owned, and anchored in national development priorities, the 2030 Agenda and the principles of the UN Charter. It outlines the UN development system-s (UNDS) contributions sought by national stakeholders to reach the SDGs in an integrated manner, with a commitment to leave no one behind, human rights and other international standards and obligations.

The United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in Armenia is launching the process of preparation and formulation of the 2021-2025 Cooperation Framework, as the next partnership strategy between the Government of Armenia and the UNCT towards the achievement of Armenia-s sustainable development. This process will start with the development of the Common Country Analysis (CCA) as the UN system-s independent, impartial and collective analysis of the country situation for its internal use in developing the Cooperation Framework (CF). The development of the CCA/CF will be inclusive, participatory, co-led by the UN System and the Government and premised on the tenets of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including as reflected in the UN Cooperation Framework Internal Guidance.

The UN Resident Coordinator-s Office is recruiting an international consultant, the overall purpose of engaging the consultant being twofold:

To facilitate the development of a high-quality and evidence-based UN CCA as the foundation for the new Cooperation Framework;
To facilitate the development of the 2021-2025 Cooperation Framework for Armenia.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the RCO Data and Results Management Adviser, the consultant will be responsible for preparation, implementation and administration of the assignment. The specific tasks of the consultant are outlined as following.

1. Facilitating the Development of Common Country Analysis (CCA) Document for Armenia

The UN CCA will draw from and add to existing data, statistics, analyses, reviews, research, capacities and resources from within and outside the UN system. Multi-disciplinary in nature, the CCA will seek to engender integrated, cross-pillar systems thinking, summarizing the interlinkages and integrated nature of the SDGs; multidimensional factors spanning the development, humanitarian, peacebuilding and human rights spectrum; relevant regional, sub-regional and cross-border dynamics; the country-s legal, institutional, policy and financial landscape as it pertains to the 2030 Agenda and; the root causes of crises - potential or actual - in order to prioritize our support in preventing these.

Working towards this effort, the selected consultant will fully adhere to all aspects of CCA outlined in the Consolidated Annexes to the Cooperation Framework Guidance (Annex 2 that indicates the elements of CCA) as well as UN CCA Companion Piece that offers “how to” guidance, tools and examples of how a CCA should be developed (to be shared with the selected consultant). The development of the CCA will entail, but not limited to the following:

Developing an outline and methodology for the CCA exercise in line with the UNDG guidance on the CCA process and with focus on innovative approaches to inclusive and participatory data collection (including consultations with various stakeholder groups) and analytical processes;
Facilitating discussions among UNCT, CF Management Team and UN Expert Team about the concept and findings of the analysis;
Synthesizing secondary and primary data and adding to existing data, statistics, analyses, reviews, research, studies and resources from within and outside the UN system with analytical inputs from and in close coordination with UNCT, CF Management Team and UN Expert Team.
Facilitating discussions within the UNCT and external stakeholder community, including the National Task Team, as required, on the draft CCA to validate and enrich the findings;
Drafting and revising the CCA report in line with the findings from the validation session as well as UN Development System review/feedback;
Submitting the final CCA Document.
2. Facilitating the Development of 2021-2025 Cooperation Framework for Armenia

As suggested by the UN Cooperation Framework Internal Guidance and structured by Consolidated Annexes to the Cooperation Framework Guidance (Annex 3), the development of the CF will entail, but not limited to the following in line with Roadmap (Annex 1) for the process:

Facilitating the UN internal visioning exercise; UN comparative advantage analysis; and developing the theory of change;
Facilitating the UN prioritization process - facilitating the UN, in consultation with national partners, to choose strategic priorities and related development results (outcomes and outputs) in which to invest its collective efforts, capacities and resources;
Drafting the Cooperation Framework narrative;
Facilitating the development of / drafting the CF Theory of Change, Strategic Priorities for the UNDS, Intended Development results as well as CF Outcomes and partnerships;
Facilitating the development of / drafting the CF Implementation Plan;
Facilitating the development of / drafting the CF Results matrix, including indicator definitions, as well as a costed Monitoring and Evaluation Plan;
Facilitating the UNCT configuration dialogue;
Facilitating the development of / drafting Funding Framework and SDG Financing Strategy;
Facilitating the preparation of / drafting the CF communication strategy;
Facilitating the development of UN joint workplans.


Methodology

The consultant will develop a detailed technically sound methodology for completing the assignment. The methodology shall put into consideration the human rights approach to data, international data protection standards and the UN Principles on Personal Data Protection and Privacy.

The methodology shall ensure a highly participatory process, including innovative approaches to inclusive data collection and analytical processes and pursuing engagement and partnerships with a broad range of stakeholders so that it is truly shared and owned by the UN development system (UNDS), the Government and all relevant stakeholders, including local authorities; legislative and other independent state oversight bodies; civil society; businesses; scientific and research community; volunteer groups; international organizations and financial institutions; media as well as people furthest left behind.



Roles and Responsibilities/Institutional arrangements

National/UN Joint Steering Committee (JSC)

The JSC, to be co-chaired by the UN Resident Coordinator (RC) and the most senior representative of the central Government counterpart for the UN system (the exact format TBD), will ensure strategic direction and oversight of the CF; alignment with national, regional and international development processes, mechanisms and goals.

United Nations Country Team

The UNCT, under the leadership of the RC, will provide the overall strategic oversight and guidance for the entire process, including the conduct of the CCA. The UNCT will be responsible for approving all the deliverables.

Office of the UN Resident Coordinator (RCO)

The RCO will be responsible for the overall coordination and day to day management of the assignment on behalf of the UNCT. It will provide guidance, data and analytical support as well as quality assurance, in consultation and coordination with the UNCT, Peer Support Group, the UN National and Regional Expert Team, Government entities, development partners and relevant stakeholders. The responsibility of the RCO includes but is not limited to:

Securing that UNCT provides relevant background documentation required for desk reviews;
Provision of lists of contacts in advance and additional support upon request;
Organization of group consultative meetings, briefing and debriefing sessions with the RC, UNCT, CF Management Team and the Government counterparts, where needed;
Provision of office/working space during the assignment, if required. The consultants will however, have to use their own office equipment (e.g. computer/laptop, phones);
Coordinate the inclusive and comprehensive review of the draft research results and draft reports;
Facilitate the provision of necessary inputs (reference document and written inputs, as required) to the process.
CF Management Team

CF Management team, composed of deputies of UN agencies will provide oversight for CCA and CF. It will provide quality assurance in terms of reviews, analytical support and recommendation on the draft products. CF Management team will ensure that all milestones along the CF Roadmap are met on time, and also secure effective engagement and participation of in-house UN experts and other relevant stakeholders throughout the CF development process.

UN Expert Team

UN Expert Team, composed of programme and policy staff from resident and non-resident UN Agencies, will be formed specifically tasked with:

Conducting a preliminary analysis of the country-s context in line with the CCA/CF internal guidance;
Reviewing the CCA process and information in the UNCT-s Data and Analysis Repository (to be established by DCO), on a regular basis to identify new data needs, and/or potential adjustments to existing assumptions, analyses or other outputs.
Providing technical and analytical support, including data, thematic analysis and documents collection as well as identification of key national stakeholders to be consulted for CCA and CF development purposes;
Supporting the formulation of the 2021-2025 Cooperation Framework document, including the narrative, and results, outcomes, outputs, indicators, baselines and targets.
To tap the potential of UN regional expertise, regional experts- team will be assembled by the Regional DCO from system entities interested in supporting the UNCT in undertaking the initial CCA process.
UNCT Armenia Inter-Agency M&E Group

The team will provide technical assistance in the development of the CCA and the CF, especially by ensuring that the UN prioritization is based on robust analysis of UN comparative advantage and the CF theory of change and results framework are logical and measurable.

National Task Team

National Task Team will be convened, involving national partners from various sectors, to validate and enrich the CCA product. Once the CF design process kickstarts, UN Expert Team and National Task Team will join efforts to serve as the core design/drafting team for the 2021-2025 Cooperation Framework for Armenia.



Tentative Timeline and Deliverables

Overall, the process of developing the CCA and the CF is expected to take eight months, covering the period of December 2019 to July 2020.

The consultant is expected to finalize the CCA assignment within thirty (30) working days, from the date of signing the contract, spread between December 2019 and February 2020;
The consultant is expected to complete the development of the CF within fifty (50) working days from the date of signing the contract, spread between December 2019 and July 2020.


Application Deadline: 12-Dec-19 (Midnight New York, USA)

Type of Contract: Individual Contract

Languages Required: English

Starting Date: (date when the selected candidate is expected to start)
18-Dec-2019

Duration of Initial Contract :
18 December 2019 - 31 July 2020 (Indicative 80 consultancy days)

Duration of Initial Contract: 18 December 2019 - 31 July 2020 (Indicative 80 consultancy days)

Documents

 Tender Notice