International Consultant - Exploration and Learning Community, Bangkok Regional Innovation Center

Consultant

Contract

This is a International Consultant contract. More about International Consultant contracts.

Background

Project Title: Bangkok Regional Innovation Center

Project Description:

Global development challenges have become increasingly interrelated, requiring us to take interdisciplinary approaches and seek non-linear solutions. Important development trends like urbanization, climate change, and inequality pose significant challenges on our path to achieve the 2030 agenda of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemics laid bare structural weaknesses from global economy outstripping planetary boundaries, including impending disaster of climate change to entrenched poverty and inequality both between and within many countries.

The long emergency nature of the current crisis and the impending second wave is a critical driver for re-thinking and delivering radical change to the development as we know it. This is where UNDP sees that potential of ‘innovation dividend’: to deliberately transform policies and institutions that can deliver fairer outcomes for current and future generations. Though the scope and scale of these concerns are way beyond the purview of any single entity, the innovative and actionable responses could be generated with collective efforts from governments, international organizations, private sector, civic society, academia/think tanks, and other partners.

Until now, following several years of implementing innovative approaches in development, UNDP in Asia Pacific has managed to significantly diversify its partner base, develop new skill sets and harness new resources. And as an important development actor, UNDP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific (RBAP) strives to support countries to design effective solutions to tackle complex development challenges and accelerate action on the progress towards achieving the SDGs, through collaborations with changemakers and other stakeholders in the ecosystem to strengthen the network of knowledge, experience, resources and capacities.

UNDP Regional Bureau for Asia Pacific established its Regional Innovation Center (RIC) in Bangkok, Thailand in 2018 with the aim of providing a new momentum to its innovation efforts and grounding them in system transformation approaches. RIC has been since focusing on developing distinctive policy capabilities for system level innovation, working in close cooperation with country offices and government counterparts across the region. RIC has actively promoted a shift beyond single point solutions toward portfolio approaches to innovation, with the aim of increasing the relevance and coherence of UNDP’s offer to governments. To this aim, it has invested in developing core assets such as UNDP’s portfolio sensemaking and acceleration protocol and a system design framework. It has also developed key relationships with leading public sector innovation and system change experts in the region and beyond.

The exploration function will be the discovery, engagement and learning support engine enabling RIC and its clients to identify emerging development trends and probe into the systemic impacts and risks on economies, societies, and livelihoods brought by the radical changes in distruptive technology, social transformation, and environmental challenges. The exploration function will also drive the convening of external partners around joint learning journeys on unknown areas, stimulating a new type of demand for UNDP services. It will also play critical role of facilitating of expanding learning community of UNDP AP to support the strategic pivot around system transformation, in particular in the aftermath of Covid-19.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

1. Horizon scanning of trends and opportunities for the Regional Innovation Center:
   • Identify and document emerging development trends, with a particular focus on the edges and ‘below the radar screen’ events and players, and systemically map their impacts on the economy, society, and livelihood;
   • Proactively explore and identify the new methods/approaches and frontier knowledge to tackle development challenges against the background of long-term emergency of COVID-19 and shifts in underlying trends, such as urbanization, aging society, climate change, etc. to inform RIC’s research and experimentation agenda;
   • Contribute to the formulation of the RIC’s service lines and development priorities based on finding from the horizon scanning, and demand from clients such as governments and UNDP country offices;
2. Partnership and resource mobilization:
   • Map potential partners across the public and private sectors with versatile expertise to strengthen RIC’s capacity in service delivery; thereby expanding the distributed network of RIC at the regional and global level;
   • Explore the available funding and investment opportunities from multiple sources and attract them for the development of RIC and implementation of projects;
   • Jointly with the UNDP COs and relevant regional programme teams engage with clients to formulate pipeline of projects responding to their needs and demands for the Regional Innovation Centre's services;
   • Coordinate the partnerships and communicate the activities and progresses of relevant projects with partners;
3. Help foster and outward looking organization culture and support development of the Regional Innovation Community:
   • Support identification and development of future skills required for the RIC and its clients, such as governments, country offices, and partners with focus on system transformation;
   • Help coordinate a community of practice for heads of exploration in Accelerator Labs;
   • Support design and facilitate learning journeys for the innovation community in the region;
   • Help embed a culture of horizon scanning and attention for the ‘edges’ in country offices, Accelerator Labs and partner governments. Deliver training on horizon scanning;
   • Support the implementation of the broader research and innovation agenda;
4. Working out loud:
   • Share findings from the exploration on future trends, new methodologies/approaches, potential partnership, funding opportunities, and others with UNDP and external partners;
   • Support regional innovation community in adopting ‘working out loud’ approach, including in building UNDP’s portfolio on system transformation;
   • Proactively use blog posts and social media to share insights, attract partners and help position UNDP at the forefront of the exploration of new trends. Commission content on emerging trends when necessary;
5. Operation of the Bangkok Regional Innovation Center:
   • Support the monitoring and evaluation of the projects/initiatives and report the progress and outcomes to the related partners;
   • Organize and implement knowledge sharing and network events;
   • Support other activities related to the design and operation of RIC

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

The expected outputs and deliverables are closely linked to the project work plan and the scope of work defined in the project document of the Regional Innovation Center. They will be reviewed and approved upon the delivered quality by the Head of the Regional Innovation Center. The expected areas of prioritized deliverables are:

1. Ongoing work of exploration throughout the duration of the assignment:
   • Produce maps of emerging trends in development both at the regional and country level; identification of outliers and edge cases that point to the future that is already here;
   • Review of the new approaches adopted by edge innovators in the ecosystem whose solutions are fit for identified problems;
   • Mapping, identification and engagement of potential partnership opportunities;
   • Review of future skills and capacities relevant for the RIC, governments, country offices, Accelerator Labs and partners
2. Partnership and resource mobilization:
   • Development of external network with public and private sector partners in the innovation community;
   • Maintenance of healthy relationship and communication with partners;
   • Guidance on strategic partnership building and engagement for RIC
3. Outward looking organizational culture:
   • Trainings on horizon scanning;
   • Regular scans of relevant trends;
   • Learning journeys for the regional community and engagements for UNDP i-teams and Accelerator Labs;
4. Working out loud:
   • Blog posts and other social media content that support the exploration of new areas of interest for the organization
5. Operation of the RIC:
   • Organization of the knowledge sharing and networking events related to RIC work;
   • Support the planning and implementation of RIC activities.

Deliverables/outputs:

Deliverables/ Outputs

Estimated Duration to Complete

Target Due Dates

Review and Approvals Required

a) Ongoing work of exploration

Ongoing throughout 12 months

31 December 2021

Head of Regional Innovation Centre

b) Partnership and resource mobilization

Ongoing throughout 12 months

31 December 2021

Head of Regional Innovation Centre

c) Outward looking organizational culture

Ongoing throughout 12 months

31 December 2021

Head of Regional Innovation Centre

d) Working out loud

Ongoing throughout 12 months

31 December 2021

Head of Regional Innovation Centre

Institutional Arrangement

The Exploration and Learning Community Consultant will be directly supervised by the Head of Regional Innovation Centre. S/he is expected to work closely with the programme team and operation team in UNDP related to the initiatives in the RIC and support to advance the broader innovation agenda in UNDP.

Working space, facilities, personnel, project information related to UNDP and the RIC, as well as logistical support will be provided as needed throughout the assignment of the contract.

Duration of the Work

240 working days over 12 months (01 January 2021 till 31 December 2021)

Duty Station

Bangkok, Thailand with possible travel for missions

The Exploration and Learning Community Consultant in the Regional Innovation Center is expected to work at UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub and/or Regional Innovation Center (if different). If there is any travel, the mission would be agreed with supervisor in advance. Travel will be arranged by UNDP or the consultant based on UNDP travel policy.

Scope of Price Proposal:

Consultant must submit a financial proposal based on daily fee. Consultant shall quote an ‘all-inclusive’ daily fee for the contract period.

The term ‘All inclusive’ implies that all costs (professional fees, travel costs, living allowances, communications, consumables etc.) that could possibly be incurred by the Contractor are already factored into the final amounts submitted in the proposal

In general, UNDP shall not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.

In the event of unforeseeable travel not anticipated in this TOR, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and the Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed. Travel will be arranged by UNDP or the consultant based on UNDP travel policy.

In case that the Individual Contractor arranges his/her own travel, travel costs shall be reimbursed at actual but not exceed the quotation from UNDP approved travel agent. The provided living allowance will not exceed UNDP DSA rates. Repatriation travel cost from home to duty station in Bangkok and return shall not be covered by UNDP.

Payment schedule:

Payment will be made on a monthly basis upon certification by the supervisor on actual number of days worked in a month.

Individual Contractor must submit a completed and signed Certification of Payment Form, duly approved by the Individual Contractor’s supervisor, which shall serve as the basis for the payment of fees.

Competencies

• Demonstrated commitment to UN’s mission, vision and values
• Demonstrated sound judgement, diplomacy and sensitivity to confidential matters
• Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines and work under pressure
• Open mind and eager to learn
• Innovative forward thinking, good coordination, organizational skills, and teamwork
• Respect for individuals, gender, and cultural differences

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree or higher in Business Administration, Public Administration, Economics, Social Science, International Relations, International Development or related fields.

Experience:

• A minimum of 7 years of professional experience in development programming or policy and social innovation;
• A minimum of 5 years of professional experience in partnership building and engagement (public and private sector) and resource mobilization;
• Demonstrated capacity in horizon scanning;
• Proven professional knowledge and experience in at least one of the following: Future thinking and Foresight, research, and Systems Mapping;
• Key awareness of key global and regional trends;
• Demonstrated access to networks of edge innovators.

Language:

• Excellent written and spoken English required.

EVALUATION OF CANDIDATES:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Cumulative Analysis: The candidates will be evaluated through Cumulative Analysis method. When using the weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
• Having received the highest score out of set of weighted combine technical evaluation of desk review and interview (70%), and financial criteria (30%). Financial score shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced proposal received by UNDP for the assignment.

Technical Evaluation (Total 70 points) – 70%

• Criteria A: Proven professional experience in development programming or policy and social innovation (max 10 points)
• Criteria B: Professional knowledge and experience in at least one of the following: Future thinking and Foresight, research, and Systems Mapping (max 5 points)
• Criteria C: Appropriateness of the proposed methodology and approach (5 points)
• Criteria D: Demonstrated capacity in horizon scanning and key awareness of key global and regional trends (max 10 points)
• Criteria E: Professional experience in partnership building and engagement; and access to networks of edge innovators (max 10 points)
• Interview (max 30 points)

**Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% of the total technical points would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Financial Evaluation (30%)

Financial proposals from all technically qualified candidates will be scored out 30 marks based on the formula provided below. The maximum marks (30) will be assigned to the lowest financial proposal.

All other proposals will receive points according to the following formula:

• p = y (µ/z).

Where:

• p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated;
• y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal;
• µ = price of the lowest priced proposal;
• z = price of the proposal being evaluated.

DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSAL:

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

• Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability and financial proposal using the template provided in Annex III. (Consultant must send a financial proposal based on Daily Fee. Consultant shall quote an all-inclusive Daily Fee for the contract period. The term “all-inclusive” implies that all costs (professional fees, communications, consumables, etc.) that could be incurred by the IC in completing the assignment are already factored into the daily fee submitted in the proposal.
• Personal CV and P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.
• Technical Proposal (maximum two pages), including
  • A brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment; and
  • A methodology, on how the applicant will approach and complete the assignment based on the scope of work and expected outputs/deliverables.

**Failure to submit the above-mentioned documents or Incomplete proposals shall result in disqualification

**Please group them into one (1) single PDF document as the application system only allows to upload maximum one document.

The short listed candidates may be contacted and the successful candidate will be notified.

ANNEXES:

Annex I - TOR Annex II - General Terms and Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Individual Contractors Annex III - Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability and financial proposal Annex IV - P11 Form for ICs

All documents can also be be downloaded from: UNDP Procurement Notice for this Job

Apply now

Added 3 years ago - Updated 3 years ago - Source: jobs.undp.org