Terms of Reference for the Capacity Assessment of the Democratic Governance and Peace Consolidation Programmes

Transcription

1 Terms of Reference for the Capacity Assessment of the Democratic Governance and Peace Consolidation Programmes 1. Introduction As one of the 8 pilot countries for the Delivering as One initiative, the UN in Rwanda aims at improving coherence, harmonization, efficiency, alignment, and effectiveness of the UN System s operations. To reinforce the Delivering as One process, the Government of Rwanda and the UN agreed to develop a unified UN Development Assistance Plan (UNDAP ) that is fully aligned to the Government s priorities in its Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS-II). In line with the on-going national priorities, the UNDAP is comprised of three focus areas through which the UN will contribute to the national development agenda: Inclusive Economic Transformation; Accountable Governance; and Human Development/Foundational Issues. Policy development, knowledge management and capacity development will be the key components of the UN s contribution to the various outcomes and outputs under each of these focus areas of the national development agenda. Moreover, the One Un Rwanda is keen on the full mainstreaming of the UN development drivers mainly gender, result based management, environment, human rights and capacity building. Whereas these other elements were fully assessed and captured in the UNDAP, special focus is still needed for capacity building of implementing partners to deliver in the specific areas of collaboration with One UN Rwanda. UNDP is the lead Agency within One UN Rwanda for the Accountable Governance area. As part of the UN support to this area, UNDP developed two 5-year flagship programmes, dubbed Deepening Democracy through strengthening Citizen Participation and Accountable Governance and Promoting Access to Justice, Human Rights and Peace Consolidation in Rwanda. The first joint programme aims to reinforce inclusive participation and strengthening political accountability by addressing issues of political participation, media-sector reforms, and election management and use of evidence based governance and planning. The programme will specifically contribute to the achievement of Result 2, Outcome 1 of the UNDAP which is Improved accountability and citizen participation in sustainable development and decision making process at all levels. It lays special focus on women and youth in their increased participation in decision making and development processes. The implementing partners to the programme are the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB), the Media High Council (MHC), the National Parliament (NP), The National Electoral Commission (NEC), the Rwanda Media Commission (RMC) and the National Forum for Political Organisation (NFPO). 1

2 The second joint programme will support the Justice, Rule of Law and Order (JRLOS) through strengthening the capacities of key national institutions to promote access to justice, human rights and peace consolidation. The programme will specifically contribute to the achievement of Result 2, Outcome 2 of the UNDAP which is Human rights, justice, and gender equality promoted and implemented at all levels. The implementing partners are; the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC), the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), the Ministry of Justice (the Supreme Court and National Prosecution Authority (NPPA) are supported through the Ministry of Justice (MINIJUST) and the Rwanda National Police (RNP). The One UN proposes to conduct a capacity assessment of all the implementing partners under this programmes in order to identify capacity gaps and come with a capacity development strategy as part of the exist and sustainability strategy within the framework of implementation of this programme. This assessment will focus on the specific areas of collaboration between the concerned partner and One Un to the exception of the NCHR for which the assessment will make an in-depth analysis of the capacity of the National Commission for Human Rights and its organs, to identify institutional capacity gaps that need to be addressed for the NCHR to efficiently fulfil its mandate of promoting and protecting human rights. It is in this regard that the One UN Rwanda is looking for a competent international consultancy firm to undertake a capacity assessment of the above implementing partners within the specific areas of collaboration with One UN and to develop a capacity building strategy. The following are the Terms of reference. 2. Objective of the Assessment; Conduct a Capacity Assessment of Implementing partners of the DDAG and Access to Justice Programmes Based on the Capacity Assessment findings and recommendations, identify and develop realistic, feasible and time-bound Capacity Development Strategy(ies) that can be implemented over the life of the Programmes Specific Activities a) Carry-out a gaps analysis on the Implementing Partners (IPs) structures, mandate, personnel and funding, relevant to the effective implementation of the specific programme with the view to develop their capacity. b) Conduct in-depth assessment of the capacity of the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) and its organs and identify capacity gaps; assess institutional 2

3 development of the Commission; assess its ability to foster its independence, ensure plural representation and strengthen relationships with external stakeholders; c) Assess capacity of NCHR to ensure accountability through prevention and enforcement, strengthen national integrity of the NCHR, increase public participation and build collaborations; increase mobilisation, access to and use of information, work with the international community. d) Carry out an analysis on the capacity of the IPs to mainstream gender, human rights, and environment and fully apply result based management principles. e) Assess institutional strategy, business processes, human resource management, information, equipment and communications technology in regard to the programme; f) Assess training needs and requirement of the IPs staff implementing the programme to access to training and education opportunities; g) Using the information gathered from the assessments and analysis, propose capacity development strategy and plan. 3. Methodology 1. The Service Provider must describe how it will address/deliver the demands of the RFP; providing a detailed description of the essential performance characteristics, reporting conditions and quality assurance mechanisms that will be put in place, while demonstrating that the proposed methodology will be appropriate to the local conditions and context of the work. 2. Facilitate the active engagement of all IPS in the capacity assessment and development process; 3. Include review of secondary information available; 4. Adopt a combination of participatory tools and methodologies (e.g. desk research, selfassessment, SWOT, stakeholder analysis, interview with key stakeholders) and group facilitation techniques to promote participation and buy-in; 5. Coordinate and work closely with the One UN throughout the entire capacity assessment process. 1.0 Time frame and deliverables Time frame: 30 working days. Deliverable Activity Design, methodology and detailed work plan Inception report/tools Inception Meeting, Initial briefing and methodology Time allocated 5 days 3

4 Assessment 15 days Draft report Half day workshop to present findings Finalization of report Final report 10 days Total number of working days 30 days DELIVERABLES The following deliverables are expected. Capacity gaps analysis report Capacity development strategy Action plan prioritizing capacity areas for development The NCHR will have its own separate report providing the required detailed information. a. Inception report: The firm will prepare an inception report which details the consultant understanding of the assessment and how the assessment will be conducted. This is to ensure that the consultant and the key stakeholders (the IPs and the One UN) have a shared understanding of the evaluation. The inception report will include the assessment design, methodology, questions, data sources and collection analysis tool for each data source and the measure by which each question will be evaluated. The report will include the scope of work, work plan, time frame, analysis, 3-5 days after starting the assignment. b. Draft Assessment report- The Company will prepare a draft assessment Report, in the appropriate format. The draft report will be submitted to the UNDP one behalf of the One UN and IPs. UNDP will share the report with all the IPs and key stakeholders for review and comments. UNDP will then call for a validation meeting, which will consolidate and provide the same to the consultant within 10 working days after submission of the Draft Report. c. Final Assessment report: The final report which includes the capacity gaps analysis, capacity development strategy and the action plan prioritizing areas of collaboration, will be submitted to the UNDP with a copy to each IP and involved UN agencies. 2. Duty Station The duty station of the work is Kigali, Rwanda. However, the company may be required to travel to project sites outside Kigali. 4

5 3. Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments The company shall be paid the consultancy fee upon completion of the following milestones. 30% after adoption of the inception report 30% after presentation of the draft report 40% after the approval of the final report The company fee will be paid as Lump Sum Amount (all inclusive of expenses related to the consultancy including travels inside and outside the duty station and any tax obligations). The contract price will be fixed regardless of changes in the cost components. 7. Management Arrangements UNDP will contract the company on behalf of the Government of Rwanda and the One UN. The consultant company will however report to the UNDP, lead UN agency for the two programmes. 8. Requests for Proposals UNDP one behalf of the One UN and Implementing Partners, is inviting Proposals for implementation of all outputs and activities as specified in this Terms of Reference. The proposal must be submitted in two separate envelopes one containing the technical proposal and the other containing the financial proposal: 9. Qualifications Qualified company/contractors are expected to: o Be a reputable organization/ group/ team with a minimum of ten years of proven track record in producing high quality analytical research/ assessment and consulting experience in governance mainly media, elections, human rights, peace building and justice. o The consultants group/ team may comprise a minimum of 3-5 members, of which at least one team member must be a woman. The Consultants team shall be headed by a Team Leader. The Team Leader will have: - At least Advanced university degree (Masters) in the field of law, human rights, political sciences and public Administration - Demonstrated managerial competence and experience in organizing, leading and coordinating multi-cultural technical assistance teams at the international level; - Strong substantive experience in at least one practice area of governance (media, elections, human rights, peace building and justice) ); - Extensive working experience in Africa; 5

6 - Experience working with the UN and familiar with UN programming requirements an advantage; - Excellent oral, written, communication and reporting skills; - The team members must have background in social sciences and management with extensive experience and knowledge in conducting institutional capacity assessment, strategic management, organization development and audit; o Have team members with extensive working experience and in depth knowledge of governance and human rights issues especially. o Have extensive experience in assessing National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) preferably in the Region. o Possess in-depth understanding and knowledge of the Rwanda context. o Fluency in English with excellent drafting skills is required. Knowledge of French is an asset. At least, one member of the team must be fluent in Kinyarwanda and French. o Ability to deliver on time. 6

7 10. Selection Criteria Technical Proposal Format The Bidder shall structure the technical part of its Proposal according to the format proposed in this RFP. The Technical Proposal will be evaluated against the criteria detailed below: (a) (b) (c) Expertise of Firm/ Organisation Submitting Proposal This section should describe the organizational unit(s) that will be responsible for the contract, and the general management approach towards this project. This should fully explain the Bidder s resources in terms of personnel and other resources necessary for achieving project results. This section should also provide orientation to the organisation/firm including the year and state/country of incorporation and a brief description of the Bidder s present activities (focusing on services related to the Proposal). The Bidder should describe its experience in similar projects. Proposed Methodology This section should demonstrate the Bidder s responsiveness to the specification by identifying the specific components proposed, addressing the requirements, as specified, point by point; providing a detailed description of the essential performance characteristics proposed; and demonstrating how the proposed methodology meets or exceeds the specifications. Personnel CVs for key personnel should be attached. The technical proposal should not contain any pricing information whatsoever on the services offered. Pricing information shall be separated and only contained in the appropriate Price Schedule. It is mandatory that the Bidder s Proposal numbering system corresponds with the numbering system used in the body of this RFP. All references to descriptive material and brochures should be included in the appropriate response paragraph, though material/documents themselves may be provided as annexes to the Proposal/response. Submissions will be evaluated in consideration of the Evaluation Criteria as stated below: The offer will be evaluated by using the Best value for money approach (combined scoring method). Technical proposal will be evaluated on 70%. Whereas the financial one will be evaluated on 30%. Below is the breakdown of technical proposal on 100% which will be brought to 70%: Criteria Weight Max. 7

8 Technical Expertise of Organization and Staff (Competence / Reliability) General organisational capability which is likely to affect implementation (size of the firm, strength of management and administrative support ) The company may comprise a minimum of 3-5 members, of which at least one team member must be a woman. Proven experience in capacity assessment, organization development and working Prior experience with consulting with the UN Be a reputable organization/ group/ team with ten years of proven track record in producing high quality analytical research and consulting experience on governance, media, elections, human rights, legal aid and social issues, as well as other development areas. 20% 20 Point Overall Methodology 60% 60 Management Structure and Qualification of Key Personnel 20% 20 o At least the Team Leader will have: o At least Advanced university degree (Masters) in the field of law, human rights, political sciences, public Administration, international relations, or related field; o Demonstrated managerial competence and experience in organizing, leading and coordinating multi-cultural technical assistance teams at the international level; o Strong substantive experience in at least one practice area (Governance, human rights, media, elections); o Extensive working experience in the Eastern Africa and other countries; o Experience working with the UN and familiar with UN programming requirements an advantage; o Have team members with extensive working experience and in depth knowledge of governance and human rights issues especially in Eastern Africa. o Possess in-depth understanding and knowledge of the Rwanda context. o Fluency in English with excellent drafting skills is required. Knowledge of French is an asset. At least, one member of the team must be fluent in Kinyarwanda and French. 8

9 o Ability to deliver on time. TOTAL 100% 100 9