THE NEDA-UNDP STRATEGIC M&E PROJECT

Using Strategic Monitoring & Evaluation to Accelerate

Implementation of the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022

Manila, Philippines
24 July 2018

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (EOI)

Prequalification towards the Establishment of a Roster of Consultants

(Individuals) for the Conduct of Independent Evaluations
Covering Various Thematic Areas of the Philippine Development Plan (PDP)
and for Other Related Purposes

(PHL-EOI-2018-002)

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Philippine country office and the National
Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) would like to invite you to submit an Expression
of Interest (EOI) to be part of a prequalified roster of firms and individuals who may later be
invited to submit proposals for the conduct of independent evaluations on various themes and
priority programs under the Philippine Development Plan (PDP). The policies and programs to
be evaluated include those on social development; economic development and infrastructure;
environmental management, resiliency, and peace-building; and democratic governance.

EOIs from eligible individuals must be submitted no later than close of business (i.e., 6:00 PM
Philippine time) of 13 August 2018 to the following address:

United Nations Development Programme

15th Floor, Tower 1, Rockwell Business Center Sheridan
Sheridan, Ortigas Center, 1554 Mandaluyong, Philippines
Email: [email protected], [email protected]

You are also invited to participate in a briefing and consultation with prospective applicants on
03 August 2018 at 10:00am in Rooms 14C & D of the UNDP Philippines office. Please send us
an email to register for the briefing or to indicate interest in participating via Skype (@undpph).

Disclaimer: This call for EOIs is for market research and for establishing a roster of prequalified consultants who may
be called later to submit a proposal under a Request for Proposal (RFP) or other relevant procurement process under
UNDP rules. Successful candidates will be included in a Roster of Evaluators that will be co-managed by UNDP
Philippines and NEDA. The inclusion of a candidate in the Roster does not guarantee a contract with either UNDP or
NEDA. Furthermore, UNDP and NEDA reserve the right, under their respective procurement policies, to solicit
proposals from and enter into contracts with potential suppliers who are qualified for the post but are not part of this
roster. The EOI process aims to hasten the contracting of consultants by UNDP for NEDA through improved market
information.
 REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (EOI)
Prequalification towards the Establishment of a Roster of Consultants
(Individuals) for the Conduct of Independent Evaluations
Covering Various Thematic Areas of the Philippine Development Plan (PDP)
And for Other Related Purposes

(PHL-EOI-2018-002)

1. Background

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) Philippine country office recently embarked on a partnership
to strengthen the conduct of evaluations of priority government programs under the Philippine
Development Plan (PDP). The project—Using Strategic Monitoring and Evaluation to Accelerate
Implementation of the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 (henceforth, “Strategic M&E
Project”)—is financed by NEDA and implemented with full UNDP country support, including
procurement support.

The project has the following components: 1) managing the conduct of independent evaluations
of key government themes, sectors, and/or programs; 2) supporting the implementation of the
National Evaluation Policy Framework (NEPF); 3) providing learning opportunities on evaluations
to NEDA and other government agencies; 4) strengthening of a community of practice on
evaluations; and 5) developing an online portal of government evaluations.

On the first component, UNDP will commission, on behalf of the NEDA, independent evaluation
studies on at least eight (8) themes and programs that are relevant to the PDP. Such evaluation
studies will assess the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, sustainability, and impact (if feasible)
of priority social and economic programs that have been implemented or continues to be
implemented by the government. The results of the evaluation studies are envisaged to inform
how policies, and programs should be designed and implemented to achieve the desired results
of the PDP, including the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals. The studies will also
contribute to the development of government’s capacity to conduct evaluations by informing
the design of M&E and data collection systems and practices.

2. Scope of Work and Responsibilities

The independent ex-post evaluations to be commissioned under the Strategic M&E Project may
include outcome evaluations, impact evaluations, process evaluations, and other types of
evaluation, or a combination of such types, as appropriate to the government policy or program
to be assessed. The evaluators (individuals) to be considered for the roster must demonstrate
specialization in at least one of the following policy and program areas:

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  Social Development – including but not limited to education, healthcare, social
protection, anti-poverty programs, rural development, urban development, among
others.

 Economic Development – including but not limited to economic and fiscal policy and
taxation, transport and non-transport infrastructure development, competitiveness and
entrepreneurship, agriculture policy, industrial policy, services and trade, among others.

 Environmental Management – including but not limited to climate change adaptation

and disaster risk reduction, delivery of services to disaster-affected areas, among others.

 Democratic Governance and Peace Building – including but not limited to anti-
corruption, government efficiency, public finance, results-based management, local
governance, peace and development, conflict resolution, among others.

 Cross-Cutting Policy Areas –including but not limited to gender and development, youth,
disability, marginalized sectors, indigenous peoples, among others.

The evaluators are expected to be able to make use of quantitative and/or qualitative methods
to analyze official statistics and program and project data gathered by government agencies, as
well as to generate new data and insights on how government programs should be
implemented to maximize positive impact and minimize risks and costs. The methods to be used
will be suggested in the terms of reference (TORs) to be released for each evaluation study.

Moreover, the evaluators are expected to demonstrate competencies in the following:

 Communication and stakeholder engagement – the evaluators will be expected to support

the communication of the study’s findings and results by, among others, preparing a one-
page brief of the study in addition to an executive summary as part of the requirements, and
helping to identify and implement communication and stakeholder relations strategies
during the conduct of the study. The TORs to be issued will make reference to this
requirement.

 Capacity development and knowledge management – especially when required by the TOR
for the evaluation study, to identify areas for strengthening monitoring and evaluation
and/or program design and implementation capacity; develop and implement capacity
building strategies and design learning modules; among others.

Policy, implementation, and capacity development support. The Project will also shortlist and
hire individual consultants to support its various work streams, including but not limited to the
design of evaluation studies, development of terms of references (TORs), and evaluation

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management; capacity development, including conducting capacity/learning needs assessments,
development of learning modules, and organizing of communities of practice (COPs); policy and
systems development and reform; and communication and stakeholder engagement.

3. Qualifications and Requirements for the Roster

Individual consultants to be considered for the roster must have demonstrable academic
and professional qualifications, work experience, and research portfolio relevant to the policy
and program areas described above in item 2. Such academic and professional qualifications
are further subdivided under three (3) consultancy bands: i) senior specialist, ii) specialist,
and iii) junior specialist / associate.

a. Academic and Professional Qualification Requirements:

Senior Specialist Specialist Associate

Academic Master’s degree in the Master’s degree in the Undergraduate degree in
Attainment relevant policy/program relevant policy/program the relevant policy/program
areas required. Doctorate areas required. Doctorate areas required. Master’s
degree is advantageous. degree is advantageous. degree is advantageous.

Work At least twelve (12) years of At least eight (8) years of At least four (4) years of
Experience relevant work or relevant work or relevant work or
consultancy experience if consultancy experience if consultancy experience if
with master’s; at least six (6) with master’s; at least four undergraduate; at least two
if with doctorate. (4) if with doctorate. (2) if with master’s.

Government and UN/UNDP Government and UN/UNDP Government and UN/UNDP

experience is an asset experience is an asset experience is an asset

For internationals, past For internationals, past Reserved for nationals.

work in the Philippines or work in the Philippines or
Asia-Pacific is an asset. Asia-Pacific is an asset.
Research At least five (5) published At least three (3) published At least one (1) published
Portfolio research work in the research work in the research work in the
(Evaluators) relevant policy/program relevant policy/program relevant policy/program
areas and/or research areas and/or research areas and/or research
output from a consultancy output from a consultancy output from a consultancy
project required. project required. project, advantageous. An
evaluation study is desired.
At least three (3) of these At least one (1) of these
research works should be research works should be In the absence of a
evaluation studies. an evaluation study. published research work,
the candidates may submit
For internationals, research For internationals, research unpublished work and/or

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 work on the Philippines work on the Philippines contribution to the research
and/or Asia-Pacific is and/or Asia-Pacific is work of other authors.
advantageous. advantageous.

b. Submission Requirements – interested candidates must submit the following at

[email protected] :

 Cover Letter specifying the following:

- Policy and/or program specialization (per item 2 above, and with specifics)
and/or policy, implementation, and capacity development support.
- Specialization in research methodology (i.e., quantitative and/or qualitative,
and which specific techniques)

 Curriculum Vitae or UN P-11 Form specifying work experience (indicating

Months and Years); academic qualifications; and professional training and
certifications (indicating dates taken/achieved).

 List/Portfolio of Research Outputs, with Evaluation Studies listed first followed

by published and unpublished research outputs. Only a list with hyperlinks to
publicly accessible websites or shared cloud storage is required at this point.
Printouts of the research outputs are discouraged. Include a) information on
contract cost, duration, and key outputs/performance indicators; b) statements of
satisfactory performance from the top clients in terms of contract value in the
past and these clients’ contact information.

 Statement of the candidate’s Daily Fee backed by a current or previous contract.

Desired Qualities for All Consultants

The UNDP gives preference to consultants who demonstrate the following values:

a) Gender Equality – achieving gender equality and gender mainstreaming are key
principles and strategies of UN system agencies, therefore, UNDP encourages the
deployment of staff and consultants (male/female) at a balanced ratio based on the
requirements. As such, firms with female key personnel, as well as female individual
consultants, will have an added advantage.

b) Integrity –UNDP implements a policy of zero tolerance on proscribed practices, including

fraud, corruption, collusion, unethical practices, and obstruction. UNDP is committed to
preventing, identifying and addressing all acts of fraud and corrupt practices against
UNDP as well as third parties involved in UNDP activities. UNDP requires all proposers to
conduct themselves in a professional, objective and impartial manner, and they must

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 always hold UNDP’s interests paramount. Proposers must strictly avoid conflicts with
other assignments or their own interests, and act without consideration for future work.
UNDP reserves the right to reject proposers who have been found to be in conflict of
interest or have otherwise been involved in unethical practices.

4. Shortlisting and Contracting

This EOI process is for market research and for establishing a roster of prequalified consultants
who may be called later to submit a proposal under a Request for Proposal (RFP) or other
relevant procurement process under UNDP rules. Successful candidates will be included in a
Roster of Evaluators that will be co-managed by UNDP Philippines and NEDA. The inclusion of a
candidate in the Roster does not guarantee a contract with either UNDP or NEDA. Furthermore,
UNDP and NEDA reserve the right, under their respective procurement policies, to solicit
proposals from and enter into contracts with suppliers who are qualified but are not part of this
roster. The EOI process only aims to hasten the contracting of consultants by UNDP for NEDA.

a. Establishment of a Roster – candidates will be screened against the qualifications and

competencies specified above and will be evaluated as such. Only firms or individuals
who attain a minimum technical score of 70 will be shortlisted and included in the roster.

Individuals
Criterion Points
Academic Attainment, i.e., academic degrees attained and specialization 30
Work Experience, including years of experience and professional training 40
Track Record, demonstrated by portfolio of work and client satisfaction 30
TOTAL 100

b. Contracting – Inclusion in the roster does not guarantee the award of a contract or other
benefit from either UNDP or NEDA other than being shortlisted to provide proposals for
upcoming contracts.

When the specific evaluation research studies will be tendered, the UNDP will seek
proposals from individuals who are relevant to the subject of evaluation based on the
policy/program area and methodological approach of the study, through an RFP or other
relevant contracting process under UNDP rules.

The most technically compliant and financially responsive proposal will be offered a
contract which will be subject to the UNDP General Terms and Conditions of the
Contract.