Terms of Reference (TOR) Individual Contract (IC) Banking and Finance Expert

Transcription

1 Terms of Reference (TOR) Individual Contract (IC) Banking and Finance Expert A. Project Title: Arab Development Portal (ADP) B. Project Description The Arab Development Portal (ADP) is an initiative of the Coordination Group of Arab National and Regional Development Institutions (CG) to create a knowledge platform that promotes timely and high quality knowledge on development issues in the Arab World. The primary objective of the ADP is to improve the scope, depth, reliability, availability and use of high quality information to support development progress in the Arab World. As such, the ADP faces a number of challenges in positioning itself as a demand-driven and high quality knowledge platform that addresses the needs of a wide range of end-users in a sustainable manner. In October 2010 the Heads of the CG requested the UNDP and World Bank to jointly develop content, functionality and connectivity aspects of the ADP in a prototype form. Phase One of the project was launched in May 2013 and the UNDP and World Bank teams successfully collaborated to develop a prototype of five thematic pages; namely (i) Job Creation/Employment; (ii) Trade and Integration (iii) Private Sector Development; (iv) Macroeconomy; and (v) Banking & Finance. Each thematic template identified development challenges, current policy and/or investment priority areas; and each country template focused on growth and development pillars. The developed content included an introductory overview, sub-thematic briefs, relevant publications and data, and additional resources including toolkits, lessons learned, blogs, and events. Additionally, the developed prototype included two country pages: namely (i) Egypt and (ii) Tunisia. Phase One proved insightful in designing a project that would actively overcome the perceived challenges; whether in terms of sustaining content development or creating knowledge differentiation. During Phase One, a number of challenges came into the picture. One of the main challenges is how to make of ADP a demand-driven and high quality knowledge platform that addresses the needs of a wide range of end-users. Given the outcome of Phase One and the highlighted challenges, a new agreement was signed between OFID and the UNDP on 15 April Under the new cost-sharing agreement, Phase Two was launched and UNDP lead the full development of the ADP (content, functionality and connectivity) across 11 thematic clusters; namely (i) education (knowledge for development); (ii) gender; (iii) energy; and (iv) water and food security; (v) poverty; and (vi) demography while covering all twenty-two Arab countries. As a result and taking into consideration feedback received from members of the CG in December 2013 and March 2014 and three end-users consultation meetings held in 2013 and 2014, UNDP finalized the development of a first of its kind dynamic, bi-lingual and online knowledge platform that is home to a unique and dynamic database and a rich depository of resources and that offers advanced tools for data browsing, extraction and visualization. On April 25,, the ADP was officially launched in Amman, Jordan. A one-stop-shop, the Portal today offers a dynamic multi-source database that is home to 2,750 unique indicators, with the majority extracted from websites of National Statistical Offices of Arab states.

2 Continuous consultations with strategic end-users and a thorough assessment by the members of the CG in 2014 and 2015 paved the way for the emergence of Phase Three and Beyond. In June 2015, it was agreed by the CG members that a three-year period by UNDP would currently be the most feasible for Phase III. Within the scope of Phase Three, the ADP will maintain the scope of work identified in Phase Two in terms of consolidation of statistical content and production of brief analytical content to provide an overview of the different themes or of countries. Maintaining the timeliness of the current database and the large repository of indicators is manageable given the organizational structure and the systematic flow of work adopted by UNDP in the past couple of years. To ensure the quality of its database and reduce the cost of maintaining the timeliness of the database, ADP Phase Three will expand its current activities on three levels: using more advanced technologies for updating its database that enables SDMX sharing, strengthening the relationship with NSOs for data harmonization and data sharing, and introducing new visualization and export tools to improve the user experience. In, UNDP will create a special module for data sharing using SDMX technology, the newest tool, sponsored by the major UN and international agencies, used for data and metadata sharing that overcomes the differences in database architectures adopted by various producers of data. Besides, a total of six additional thematic pages will be added by 2018 and new topics introduced under the existing themes. With the adoption of the United Nations of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), introducing changes to the ADP database and visualization tools to allow users to track SDGs is key and would give the ADP an additional competitive edge. C. Scope of Work The UNDP is looking to recruit a Banking and Finance Expert to lead the development of ADP s database and content on banking and finance. Based on international datasets, the Banking and Finance Expert will develop the banking and finance database template for the ADP banking and finance thematic page, identify the respective international sources of the listed indicators and the hierarchy of indicators and sub-indicators in alignment with the ADP standards and provide a detailed documentation of the update process. The Banking and Finance Expert should identify the resources (publications, learning tools, etc.) to populate the thematic page. Additionally, the expert will guide the development of the banking and finance section of country pages; using national and official sources by reviewing the country-specific statistical tables compiled by research assistants. Following the identification of the SDG indicators related to the access to banking, insurance and financial services, proposed within the framework of the 2013 Global Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Banking and Finance Expert will undergo a tracking exercise to assess the data availability of these indicators at the international level. The ADP Banking and Finance Expert will work with the and ADP Advisor to develop the banking and finance thematic and related country pages. The development of the banking and finance thematic template will be critical in designing the database management system and the data entry web tool. The Banking and Finance Expert should also respond to comments of peer reviews and collaborate with the web editor. A research analyst from the ADP team will stand ready to help the Expert.

3 D. Expected Outputs and Deliverables Deliverables/ Outputs 1) Banking and finance statistical tables (2000- present) for the Estimated Duration to Complete 4th week from contract signature date Target Due Dates Outline by July 15, Complete draft by 29 July and final version by 5 August Review and Approvals Required (Indicate designation of person who will review output and confirm acceptance) thematic page (listing main indicators, suggested Arabic translation, sources used, metadata, frequency of update, data series for the 22 Arab countries, etc.) These tables should be aligned with the ADP standards. Any calculations and/or formulas used should be clearly presented. 2) Overview brief ( words) on banking and finance in the Arab Draft by 5 August and final brief by 9 August region and the main issues under this theme. 3) Review 22 country statistical tables (2000- present) prepared by 6 th week from contract signature date Draft template by 1 August and final by 22 August

4 ADP team using data extracted from the NSOs and other national sources. Country statistical tables should closely follow thematic outline. 4) Identify banking and finance-related SDG indicators and track their data availability at the international level. 5) Identify 20 recent publications (published after 2000) for each identified subtopic; (in Ar or En) 6) Additional Resources: - Identify 10 best online sources of learning; - Identify 10 best current networks of relevant practitioners and communities of practice, preferably with vibrant online presence that strike a balance between national/local and international sources. Draft template by 22 August and final by 29 August Draft by 29 July and final by 22 August Draft by 29 July and final by 22 August

5 7) Write 3-5 short blog articles (400 words) on banking and finance issues 8) Final manual documenting process of updating the banking and finance database and addressing main methodological differences across datasets 12 September Draft by 19 September and final by end-october E. Institutional Arrangement The ADP Banking and Finance Expert will regularly report to the. The Expert is expected to liase and collaborate in the course of performing the work with the ADP Advisor and research analysts. The UNDP team will provide research and statistical assistance when needed, but the Expert should guide the research analysts and be available to address their queries with respect to the national datasets. F. Duration of the Work 1 The duration of the assignment is expected to last for 50 working days throughout the four months (July October ). If the Banking and Finance Expert expects delay in the completion of the work, he/she should notify UNDP management in a duly manner. At all levels, the Banking and Finance Expert should communicate to the UNDP whether he/she needs further assistance from the UNDP team. Throughout the duration of this assignment, the UNDP team will provide feedback no later than 7 working days from the date of submission. 1 The IC modality is expected to be used only for short-term consultancy engagements. If the duration of the IC for the same TOR exceeds twelve (12) months, the duration must be justified and be subjected to the approval of the Director of the Regional Bureau, or a different contract modality must be considered. This policy applies regardless of the delegated procurement authority of the Head of the Business Unit.

6 G. Duty Station The contractor is home-based and is not expected to be present at office. Part of the assignment may require travel to attend different meetings. In such cases, all related travel and accommodation expenses will be arranged and covered by UNDP in line with applicable rules and regulations. H. Qualifications of the Successful Individual Contractor I. Education Minimum MSc degree in Banking, Finance, Financial Economics or Economics, Ph.D preferable II. Work Experience At least 10 years of professional experience in research and academic positions Experience working with UN organizations III. Key Competencies Published at least 5 articles in academic journals and/or research papers with international or regional organizations IV. Language Requirements Fluency in written and spoken Arabic and English is required. I. Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments All proposals must be expressed in a lump sum amount. This amount must be all-inclusive. Please note that the contract price will be fixed regardless of changes in the cost components. As per section G, all travels related to project implementation with prior approval will be covered by UNDP as per applicable rules and regulations. The contractor will be paid an all-inclusive fixed lump sum amount over the assignment period. The fixed lump sum amount will be paid in two installments: 50% will be paid upon submission of deliverable 3 and the remaining 50% will be paid upon timely submission of deliverable 8 (in line with the schedule of payment table hereunder): Phases Estimated due date Payment Following the successful delivery of output 3 Following the successful delivery of output 8 6 th week from contract signature date (Draft template by 1 August and final by 22 August ) Within 15 calendar days after satisfactory delivery of output 8 (Draft by 19 September and final by end-october ) 50% of the total contract The remaining 50% of the total amount

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