Individual International Consultancy on Development of a Nation-Wide Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI) Performance Indicator Framework, Viet Nam

Consultant Programme & Policy

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Background:

The Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI) is a UNICEF-led initiative that supports municipal governments in realizing the rights of children at the local level, using the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as its foundation.

The Initiative was launched in 1996 by UNICEF and UN-Habitat to act on the resolution passed during the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) to make cities livable places for all. Since 1996, UNICEF’s CFCI has helped cities in all parts of the world fulfil the rights of children, using the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as its foundation. The network of Child Friendly Cities around the world connects stakeholders who are committed to making their cities and communities child-friendly. It enables these stakeholders to build safer, cleaner, more resilient cities and communities.

The decentralization reforms in Viet Nam are rooted in national Đổi mới (economic) reforms in the 1980s, devolving responsibilities to the private sector and to the provinces. With 55% of the State's general expenditures and 75% of capital expenditures done at the sub-national level, Vietnam could be seen as a highly decentralized country by international standards[1]. The local governments therefore, play important role in ensuring the delivery of results for children.

Da Nang is the third largest city of the country, located in the central region of Viet Nam, with an adolescent and youth population of approximately 253,000 people, accounting for 26 per cent of the total population[2]. The city has been experiencing rapid urbanization and stable economic growth and among few cities/provinces which have achieved fiscal balance. Da Nang City has many positive aspects, including a Strategy for Smart City Development that aims to improve citizens' access to services. It ranked first in the Viet Nam Provincial Governance and Public Performance Index (PAPI) 2022[3] index on public service delivery and e-governance and is also among the top 10 cities/provinces in Ministry of Labors, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA)’s bi-annual index on implementation of children’s rights[4]. Many policies and social assistance programs have been implemented by the city to support children from poor households, children with disabilities and homeless children.

At the same time, Da Nang still faces development challenges. According to the Situation analysis on children and adolescents in Da Nang, major issues children in Da Nang are facing related to the lack of quality health and nutrition services in schools; water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in school and community; education (safe learning environment); social-emotional skills, mental health and psychosocial support; lack of adequate services to protect children from abuse, violence and exploitation, limited child participation and increased environmental pollution. In addition, Da Nang’s rapid urbanization is putting pressure on public infrastructure, services and spaces, threatening the environment, children’s safety and their access to essential social services. Climate change, natural disasters, environmental pollution and disease outbreaks have all had an adverse effect on children and adolescents. In particular, the COVID-19 pandemic has severely undermined the city’s service-based economy, putting pressure on all families and children, particularly poor and near poor households in the medium- and long-term due to loss of jobs or reduced income.

Da Nang has expressed its interests in participating in the UNICEF Child Friendly Cities Initiative in 2019. With the strong leadership and commitment from the city leaders, and support from UNICEF, Da Nang is on track to become Viet Nam’s second Child-Friendly City in the country, after Ho Chi Minh City. Since 2020, Da Nang has achieved significant results advancing the realization of children’s rights in the city. These include securing high level support and commitment from local government; successful advocacy to ensure that priorities related to adolescents’ health and wellbeing are reflected in local plans; the formation of strong partnerships with all related stakeholders including local authorities, private sector, NGOs and youth-led organizations; and the expansion of adolescent and youth participation in local decision making through innovative platforms, improving adolescents’ knowledge and skills and promoting knowledge exchange among medium sized cities.

The CFCI has been part of UNICEF’s programme of cooperation with the Government of Viet Nam since the period of 2017-2021, with the Ministry of Labors, Invalids and Social Affairs as the key implementing partner. In the Country Programme Cycle of 2022-2026, the CFCI is being continued under the bilateral cooperation framework between UNICEF and Da Nang City, contributing to achieving Output 4.3 of the Country Programme Document (2022-2026) on enhancing local capacity to formulate, budget and implement effective plans for children and establish innovative platforms to enable the participation of children and adolescents in decision-making. It is essential to develop a CFCI performance indicator framework as it will help guide the implementation of CFCI in Da Nang and the possibility to scale up the initiative to other cities nationwide.

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[1] World Bank, 2014

[2] Central Population and Housing Census Steering Committee (2019). Results of the Viet Nam Population and Housing Census of 00:00 hours on 1 April 2019, Statistical Publishing House.

[3] PAPI is a flagship governance program initiated by the United Nations Development Programs in Viet Nam since 2009. PAPI measures and benchmarks citizens’ experiences and perception on the performance and quality of policy implementation and services delivery of all 63 provincial governments in Vietnam to advocate for effective and responsive governance.

[4] Provincial Child Right Index, 2018. MOLISA

Purpose and Objectives:

The purpose of this assignment is to develop a nation-wide CFCI performance indicator framework which can be applied for Da Nang CFCI and be used for monitoring and evaluating its progresses and results for children towards the set target of qualifying a child-friendly city by 2030. The performance indicator framework will be used as effective tools for comprehensive and systematic assessment of Da Nang CFCI and subsequently of other provinces when it comes to nation-wide application.

Specifically, the assignment will focus on the following specific objectives:

- to select CFCI performance indicators; and

- to develop metadata for each indicator, that includes calculation methods, data sources, frequency of collection, agency in charge, and data users.

Scope, methodology and technical approach:

Scope:

The assignment’s scope covers:

- Developing CFCI indicators and their metadata that measure all aspects of CFCI according to the global CFCI guidelines and standards.

- Setting a target, in consultation with UNICEF (at VCO and RO levels), MOLISA and Da Nang authorities, for each indicator by 2030 for Da Nang to become a child-friendly city as per the global CFCI standards.

- Collecting baseline values for the proposed CFCI performance indicators.

Methodology and technical approach:

The selected consultants are expected to adopt the theory of change for CFCI and the child-rights based approach that was used for developing CFCI building blocks (see Annex VI on CFCI’s theory of change and building blocks, UNICEF Child Friendly Cities and Communities handbook https://s25924.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/CFCI-handbook-NewDigital-May-2018.pdf).

To carry out the work, it is expected that the consultants will use the following methods: (1) document review of the CFCI indicator framework from other cities in the CFCI network, international experience in the practical application of monitoring and assessment approaches and UNICEF’s guidance and available documents related to CFCI, linked up with other initiatives on SDG & child indicators as well as existing M&E framework of Da Nang City’s Action Plan (Programme of Action on Children 2021-2030), and possibly the MEL framework of Healthy cities for adolescents; and (2) consultation with UNICEF Regional office and UNICEF Viet Nam country office as well as MOLISA and relevant departments of Da Nang City.

Specific Tasks and Deliverables: as attached Consultancy Notice on development of CFCI indicator framework.pdf

Management:

The consultant will be supervised by the Chief of the Social Policy and Governance Section (SPG) who will oversee the quality and technical soundness of all products. The consultant will work in close collaboration with the PME Unit, Social Policy and Governance Section and the experts from Da Nang DOLISA as well as UNICEF RO, other programme sections of UNICEF VCO and related departments of Da Nang City.

Payment Schedule:

The payment for the consultancy will be in three installments:

- The 1st payment upon the approval of the inception report (Deliverable 1) (15%).

- The 2nd payment upon the approval of draft performance indicator framework and validation workshop (Deliverable 2) (50%).

- The 3rd payment upon the approval of final deliverables (3&4) (35%).

Performance indicators for evaluation

- Quality of deliverables meets the standards set by UNICEF and specifications outlined in the contract;

- Deliverables are submitted in a timely manner, as per the timeline in the contract;

- Technical assistance delivered in a contextualized and tactful manner, drawing on the inputs of the partners.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

This assignment will require a consultant which can meet the following criteria:

Qualifications and Experience

In view of the purpose, scope, focus of the consultancy work, UNICEF is looking for a qualified individual consultant as a lead consultant for this exercise. This lead consultant is responsible for proposing one member consultant to support him/her throughout the exercise.

Team Leader:

- Master’s degree in public policy, governance, development studies, economics, statistics and other relevant fields.

- A minimum of 15 years of relevant experience - urban planning, local governance, project planning and implementation, monitoring and evaluation. CFCI and children in urban setting experience is preferred.

- Strong knowledge and technical capacity in developing M&E indicator framework.

- Prior experience in the region is an asset.

- Proven ability to formulate clear output indicators, measurable target for each output indicator and baseline for each output indicator.

- Ability to formulate clear and concise guidance (measured by sample of relevance M& E Framework produced by consultant).

- Knowledge of Viet Nam’s socio-economic context as well as local context in Da Nang would be an asset.

- Proven capacity to facilitate multi stakeholder consultations and communications.

- Good listening skills as well as written and communication skills in English.

- Excellent team work skills particularly with local researchers.

Team Members:

- Master’s degree in public policy, governance, development studies, economics, statistics and other relevant fields.

- Minimum 5 years of experience urban planning, local governance, socio-economic planning, implementing and evaluation.

- Proven experience and skills on research, especially in facilitating key informant interviews and focused groups discussions with various groups of stakeholders; data collection and processing, data analysis.

- Demonstrated familiarity with the local social, economic and political contexts as well as good understanding and networking of Da Nang.

- Language: Excellent knowledge of written and spoken English and Vietnamese.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Assessment criteria:

For evaluation and selection method, the Cumulative Analysis Method (weight combined score method) shall be used for this recruitment:

a) Technical Qualification (max. 100 points) weight 70 %

- An advanced background degree or equivalent in public policy, governance, development studies, economics, statistics and other relevant fields, 30 points.

- At least 15 years of relevant experience - urban planning, local governance, project planning and implementation, monitoring and evaluation. CFCI and children in urban setting experience is preferred, 30 points.

- Strong knowledge and technical capacity in developing M&E indicator framework, 20 points.

- Excellent research, analytical, writing, and communication skills, 20 points.

b. Financial Proposal (max. 100 points): weight 30 %

The maximum number of points shall be allotted to the lowest Financial Proposal that is opened/evaluated and compared among those technical qualified candidates who have attained a minimum 70 points score in the technical evaluation. Other Financial Proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price.

The Contract shall be awarded to candidate obtaining the highest combined technical and financial scores, subject to the satisfactory result of the verification interview if needed.

Submission of applications:

Interested candidates are kindly requested to apply and upload the following documents to the assigned requisition in UNICEF Vacancies: http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/:

- Confirmation of availability and letter of interest;

- CV/Resume;

- Separate Technical proposal which clearly describing how the assignment will be carried out;

- Performance evaluation reports or references of similar consultancy assignments (if available);

- Separate Financial proposal: All-inclusive lump-sum cost including:

+ Consultancy daily fee;

+ International travel to/from Vietnam (if applicable). The travel cost shall be based on the most direct and economy fare.

+ In-country travel for xx days, per-diem to cover lodging, meals and any other cost associated to take over the full assignment

+ Medical insurance (health and accidental death, medical evacuation) for the entire duration of the contract.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.

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Added 1 year ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unicef.org