The coronavirus disease (COVID19) was officially declared as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020 as it affected more than 110 countries and territories. Its rapid spread is causing negative impacts on health systems and economies around the world. As of 17 August 2020, there have been 164,474 confirmed cases of COVID19 positive individuals in the Philippines nationwide.

In the Philippines, the entire island of Luzon was placed under ‘enhanced community quarantine’ from 16 March 2020 to curb its spread. The pandemic was considered as a “new” problem that not everyone was able to prepare for. Government agencies as well as private sector actors have encountered challenges in developing programs and initiatives that will be able to cater to the needs of the people. Meanwhile, the COVID19 has already shown its socio-economic impacts as the weeks under ECQ progressed, with the lockdown restricting movement, productivity, and trade. The vulnerable and marginalized sectors have suffered the most, as without a daily income for subsistence, must now rely on the social amelioration package prepared by government.

While the government has taken a hard-lined stance to instill law and order, its policy decisions and response strategies will need to be supported with evidence, if they are to be accurate and effective. There is already a need to prepare for the recovery phase, which must balance the need to restart economic activity with the need to contain the rate of infection. The issue, however, is the fact that critical sources of data are still fragmented across technical solutions, databases, public and private organizations. There is no central platform that is able to capture the critical sources of data to give a holistic picture of the situation - taking into account not just health but also socioeconomic considerations - for the IATF and local governments.

With this, the UNDP Philippines aims to establish the COVID-19 Pintig Lab similar to the Pulse Lab in Jakarta, that will provide real time data driven policy recommendations to national and local governments. Specifically, the Pintig Lab will provide a data warehouse that will combine data sources from multiple systems, process available data, and conduct advanced qualitative and quantitative analysis to provide real time information and a comprehensive set of policy recommendations to decision-makers.

The Pintig Lab requires the services of a Consultant who shall provide technical inputs and expertise in the development and implementation of a Command Centre platform for the COVID19 response and recovery nationwide. The Consultant will also provide inputs and expertise in all socioeconomic recovery initiatives, projects, and policy papers of the Lab. Socioeconomic recovery efforts will focus on supporting BARMM and LGUs with data to inform their decisions.

Timetable of Deliverables

The Consultant shall implement the following activities and/or deliver on the following outputs:

Deliverables / Outputs

Expected Level of Effort

Review and Approvals Required

Proposed workplan

2 person-days

Senior Policy Advisor, Impact and Advisory Team

and

Pintig Lab Project Manager

After conferring with key officials and stakeholders of UNDP

Monthly reports indicating the technical inputs, advice and guidance and programmatic support provided.

87 person-days

TOTAL ESTIMATED LEVEL OF EFFORT

89 person-days

The estimated levels of effort identified above are indicative and may be adjusted based on the situation and needs, but with prior decision by UNDP.

Governance and Accountability

Overall direction and guidance shall be provided by the UNDP Senior Policy Advisor, Impact and Advisory Team.
Though the Consultant’s outputs and deliverables shall be reviewed, quality assured, and accepted in consultation with the consortium or its key members, this contract is executed and managed under the operations policies and procedures of UNDP. The Pintig Lab Project Manager or Senior Policy Advisor shall formally accept outputs and cause the processing of payments.

Expected Duration of the Contract

The consultant will be hired for an estimated 89 person-days over 8 months. The target start of work date is 1 May 2021 and the maximum end date is 31 December 2021. In the event of continuation of work requirement, availability of funds and satisfactory performance, the duration can be extended for up to another one year.

Duty Station

The duty station is in the UNDP Philippines Country Office in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila. The Contractor is not expected to be present at the UNDP Philippines Country Office and a flexible work schedule will be mutually agreed upon. The Consultant is expected to have his/her own workspace, computers/laptops, software, and other facilities and equipment to deliver his/her outputs remotely.
Due to various Community Quarantine (CQ) measures, the Contractor is expected to implement this project with a Work From Home (WFH) arrangement for its personnel based in the Philippines in compliance with the rules and guidelines set by the Philippine Government’s Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF). For out of country personnel, the Contractor is expected to implement the appropriate working arrangements that complies with the rules and guidelines of the respective jurisdictions where its personnel reside, especially those on physical distancing and home quarantines. Hence, meetings and coordination, whether regular or irregular, shall be conducted through digital collaboration and conferencing tools by default.
Should rules and guidelines on physical distancing and home quarantines be recalled or modified in the respective jurisdictions where personnel involved in this project reside, the UNDP and the Contractor shall exercise flexibility and prioritize the physical and mental well-being of all project personnel and stakeholders with view to attending meetings with government counterparts where necessary.

Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payment

The Contractor should send the financial proposal based on a lump-sum amount for the delivery of the outputs identified in Section D. The total amount quoted shall include all costs components required to deliver the services identified above, including professional fees and any other applicable costs (i.e. health insurance, communications, etc.) to be incurred by the Consultant in completing the assignment.
Medical/health insurance must be purchased by the individual at his/her own expense, and upon award of contract, the contractor must be ready to submit proof of insurance valid during contract duration.
The contract price will be fixed output-based price. Any deviations from the output and timelines will be agreed upon between the Contractor and UNDP.
Payments will be done upon satisfactory completion of the deliverables by target due dates. Outputs will be reviewed and certified by the Outcome Lead, IAT Team, UNDP prior to release of payments as follows:

Deliverables / Outputs

Expected Due Date

Tranche Payment

(% of Total Contract Amount)

Monthly Report 1, including work plan

28 May 2021

Monthly Report 2

28 June 2021

Monthly Report 3

28 July 2021

Monthly Report 4

28 August 2021

Monthly Report 5

28 September 2021

Monthly Report 6

28 October 2021

Monthly Report 7

28 November 2021

Terminal Report: Submission of technical report that summarizes technical support and supervision provided, milestone achievements, and recommendations for Pintig Lab sustainability

28 December 2021

100%

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work and Outputs

The Consultant shall perform the following:

Facilitation of government, private sector, and CSO data-partnerships for the Pintig Lab.

Review global and national strategies and program interventions related to data-driven COVID19 response and recovery;
Outreach meetings with potential and existing partners, facilitating agreements in regards to data-sharing or joint research activities;
Contribute to preparation of Terms of Reference and design for such events as training (curricula, courses, schedules), study tours, conferences and workshops, and to advise UNDP on the joint approval and sign-off of these documents;
Contribute to preparation of Terms of Reference for recruitment of international and national consultants and experts, and advise the UNDP on joint identification, selection and approval of such advisors and consultants; and
Support the strategy and development of data sharing agreements with Pintig Lab priority partners.

Technical support and supervision of the data research and analytical processes of Pintig Lab

Lead the data research and policy development process with a team of UNDP staff and / or private data science firms, which include: finalising the research and policy agenda; establishing the methodology and setting the workplan, data prototyping and analysis;
Provide technical support in the debriefing of the analysis to partners;
Contribute to formulation/improvement of an effective monitoring and evaluation system of the Pintig Lab and report on progress; and
Contribute to drafting of the development strategy of sustaining the Lab in a longer term.

Technical support for Pintig Lab’s socioeconomic recovery initiatives, projects, and policy papers

Lead use case development to demonstrate the importance of using the socioeconomic dashboard and non-traditional datasets and the value of government and non-government partners adding their datasets to the socioeconomic dashboard portal;
Colloborate with Data Scientists, Data Engineers, and Economists working on the socioeconomic dashboard portal and local fiscal research to ensure for quality control;
Provide technical support and supervision of research and analytical process specific to LGUs, including BARMM; and
Support UNDP Country Office needs for data-driven programming decisions in line with socioeconomic recovery.

Competencies

Corporate competencies

Demonstrates integrity by modeling 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 favoritism.

Functional and technical competencies

Ability to work in a diverse and multi-cultural environment;
Self-motivated and ability to work under pressure and to meet strict and competing deadlines;
Displays analytical judgment and demonstrated ability to handle confidential and politically sensitive issues in a responsible and mature manner;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities

Required Skills and Experience

Professional Qualifications of the Successful Consultant

The Consultant shall have the following minimum qualifications:

Ideally with an advanced degree in data science or closely related fields such as analytics, information technology, innovation. At least a university degree in the said fields as well as in economics, statistics, political science, development studies, social sciences, public administration, business management, or other relevant fields. Specialized training is advantageous;
At least seven (7) years of professional experience in development programming, including providing of technical advise and guidance on key decisions at strategic moments in the project implementation. Previous working experience in similar position in UN agencies or International organizations would be advantage.
At least five (5) years of work experience on technology and innovation related project implementation.
Demonstrable professional knowledge and/or experience in the following areas is preferred:
1. Development, use, and deployment of disruptive technologies, including data science and machine learning, artificial intelligence, internet of things, deep learning, complex systems, among others. Deployment of such technologies in the development space is advantageous;
2. Use of social innovation and entrepreneurship approaches such as design thinking, behavioral insights, user research, experiment design, foresight, systems thinking and research, anticipatory governance, regulatory sandboxes, human-centered design, among others;
3. Design, financing, management, and/or monitoring and evaluation of development programmes and projects for international organizations, government agencies, and/or non-government organizations, with preference to those with resource mobilization experience.

Offers will be evaluated based on the combined scoring method :

Technical qualifications = 70%
Financial Proposal = 30%

For the evaluation of the Technical Proposal, the selection of the successful consultant must be based on the following qualifications (with the appropriate obtainable points):

Qualification

Maximum Points

Obtainable (100 points)

Education

At least a Master’s in the field of data science and data analytics field. Masteral degree = (20 points; additional 2.5 point for each specialized training up to a maximum of 10 points.

Doctorate degree (25 points, additional 2.5 points for each specialized training course up to maximum of 5 points

Experience

At least seven (7) years of relevant professional experience in data science / analysis and tools i.e phyton,tabeaus, sql and the like (20 points; +2.5 per additional year of professional experience). Work experience in UN and international organizations (+2.5 points)
At least five (5) years of work experience in technology and innovation project implementation (15 points; +2.5 per additional year of professional experience).

At least one (1) sample work /publication demonstrating professional knowledge and experience on disruptive technologies, in social innovation tools, and/or in program and project management. = 15 points for at least one of these areas; additional +2.5 for each additional area)

Language

Minimum: fluency in spoken and written English.

pass / fail

TOTAL

100

Applicants who will only receive 70 points from the assessment of the CV will be qualified for the assessment of the Financial Proposal.

Recommended Presentation of Offer

Interested applicants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Please group them into one (1) single PDF document as the application only allows to upload of a maximum of one document.

Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP.
Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experiences from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.
Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided. If an Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP.

Note: The above documents need to be scanned in one file and uploaded to the online application as one document.

Interested applicants to note that personal Medical/health insurance (to be purchased by the individual at his/her own expense) is mandatory for the issuance of contracts. Upon award of the contract, the consultant must be ready to submit proof of insurance valid during the contract duration.

The following templates / Annexes and IC General Terms & Conditions can be downloaded from http://gofile.me/6xdJm/bE9TCw8fU: