Local consultant to conduct needs assessment for www.e-draft.am platform modernization

Contract

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

Background

Through the EU funded “Accountable Institutions and Human Rights Protection in Armenia” Project (hereinafter also referred to as “Project”), UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA and OSCE support the Government of Armenia (GoA) efforts towards inclusive, accountable and effective service delivery in the field of rule of law, security, human rights and Constitutional reform. The Project strives to achieve its objectives through the following components: Human Rights, Police Reform and Constitutional Reform

Within the Constitutional reform component, UNDP, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), supports implementation of the ongoing Constitutional reform with a particular focus on developing the capacities of the Constitutional Reform Council, Constitutional Reform Commission and the Secretariat to ensure an inclusive, participatory and transparent reform process. The Project, inter alia, focuses on building the capacity of the stakeholders to hold an effective public outreach and communication campaign and maintain knowledge management for the Constitutional Reform.

The reform will deploy a number of measures to ensure public dialogue and meaningful participation of the public, civil society and professional community, which, inter alia, will include communication and visibility tools, online platform/forums to collect feedback from the public on the draft reform concept and ultimately the draft text of the Constitutional amendments. To this end, the MoJ intends to apply the existing and actively consumed e-tool – the unified website used for public discussions of the draft legislation and policy documents (www.e-draft.am) – to present the draft Concept of the reform and draft text of the Constitutional amendments for public scrutiny.

As a result of the initial review of the functionalities of the e-draft.am platform the MoJ revealed a need for enhancement and modernization to offer advanced features enabling online user engagement in constitution making processes through the review and commenting on the Constitutional Reform Concept and the text of Constitutional amendments. These enhancements will aim to allow the public to follow the process of the reform and leave comments/suggestions in relation to the text of the concept and amendments in an interactive mode, and will ensure interoperability of the platform with related legislative publication tools. Several recent international experiences demonstrate active engagement of citizens in the Constitution making processes through application of similar online tools.

To assess the scope of the enhancements and new functionalities required within the www.e-draft.am platform, the MoJ requested UNDP to support a needs assessment exercise to identify the areas and modes for improvement, which will eventually result in the development of technical requirements for such improvements.

Objective

Design and implement the needs assessment to identify the development and enhancement needs of the existing www.e-draft.am online platform to enable public engagement in the Constitution reform process.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall coordination of the Human Rights, Justice and Rule of Law Programme Manager and direct supervision of the Constitutional Reform Officer the Consultant will conduct a needs assessment over the functionality of the existing www.e-draft.am platform to recommend on enhancement tools, improvement areas and expanded technical solutions (such may include enhanced analytical capacity, improved user experience, feasibility of interoperability/integration with other online tools, etc.). The results of the needs assessment will serve as basis to modernize the platform to make it functional for the Constitutional reform drafting process.

The Consultant will conduct the needs assessment through analyzing feedback from the state institutions, civil society and expert community to assess the existing technical issues, gaps and inhibitions from the user perspective. The specific requirements deriving from the needs of the Constitutional reform dialogue will be identified through consultations with constitutional reform bodies, including the Secretariat, which is responsible for the public outreach activities of the reform.

The Consultant will develop and deliver recommendations to the MoJ and UNDP on technical requirements and solutions for enhancement of the functionalities of the platform to encompass public consultations on the constitutional reform drafting process.

The Consultant will:

• Select the interview/survey target population for consultations in close collaboration with the MoJ;
• Develop the interview guidance and questionnaire along with an online survey using advanced survey software (such as “kobo toolbox” or other platform for data collection from the target population);
• Gather data from the relevant users through a survey developed to address the identified needs;
• Conduct research and assessment of the user experience and existing inhibitions, identify areas for the improvement;
• Hold group discussions with the stakeholders to identify the needs for revisions and improvements;
• Draft the assessment report based on the synthesis of the collected data;
• Present the findings of the draft assessment to the MoJ, Constitutional reform bodies and UNDP, and solicit their feedback and comments;
• Revise the report to integrate the feedback of the MoJ, Constitutional reform bodies and UNDP;
• Develop technical requirements for the enhancement of the functionality of the platform based on the findings and agreed recommendations.

Expected deliverables of the consultancy:

• Inception report prior to initiating the assessment, submitted electronically (in English and Armenian) which will include a general approach to the assessment (analytical framework, data collection strategy and methodologies, tools, criteria etc.) along with a work plan including data collection processes. The report will be discussed with MoJ staff and UNDP, adjusted as needed and will be approved by MoJ;
• Draft needs assessment report, summarizing the methodology of the study and specifying any limitations/complications and changes to the initial design;
• Key findings, conclusions and recommendations for improvement and revision of the e-draft.am online tool to meet the set requirements;
• Detailed technical requirements for the integration of the suggested platform revisions and enhancements.

Final Deliverables:

• Needs assessment report with specific recommendations for improvement;
• Technical requirements/specifications addressing the revisions and improvements to the platform to be provided to the platform developer.

• Final report integrating the needs assessment report and the technical requirements.

  Description of Deliverables

Delivery Time

1

Inception report including the study approach and workplan developed and approved by UNDP (eng/arm)

23 November 2022

2

Draft Needs assessment report in the form of a draft report with specific recommendations for improvement needs is delivered

5 December 2022

3

Technical requirements/specifications addressing the revisions and improvements to the platform is submitted and approved

15 December 2022

4

Final report is in Armenian and executive summary in English. developed and endorsed by UNDP and the MoJ

26 December 2022

Approval of the final report by the UNDP and MoJ will be the basis for issuing the final payment to the Consultant.

Payment mode

Payment will be made in a single instalment upon completion of all tasks and approval of the deliverables by the UNDP country office and Ministry of Justice of Armenia.

Terms and Conditions for provision of services

The MoJ will support the Consultant with coordination of data collection from the state institutions, the developer and users, organization of meetings and consultations and other efforts for the successful implementation of the tasks.

Competencies

• Ability to deliver and reach the planned targets without undermining proper operational processes;
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills;
• Strong interpersonal skills with ability to establish and maintain effective work relationships with people of different social and cultural background;
• Creativity, flexibility and an innovative approach to problem solving;
• Demonstrated initiative, tact and high sense of responsibility and discretion;
• Strong teamwork skills;
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree in Software Engineering, Information Technologies or a related field.

Experience:

• Up to 10 years of professional experience in software development proven experience at senior level of specialist expertise;
• Experience in conducting needs assessments with a focus on governance, digitalization and related areas;
• Understanding of e-governance tools and the experience of their application in the Republic of Armenia;
• Experience of working with development organizations is desirable,

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English and Armenian.

CANDIDATES WILL BE EVALUATED BASED ON THE FOLLOWING METHODOLOGY:

Candidates will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants' technical qualifications, experience and financial proposal.The contract will be awarded to the candidate whose offer has been evaluated and determined as technically responsive/compliant/acceptable to the requirements of the ToR and received the highest cumulative (technical and financial) score out of below defined technical and financial criteria.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for financial evaluation.

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation - max. 70 points

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation - max. 30 points.

DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE APPLICATION.

• Financial Proposal and Availability form: OFFEROR’S LETTER TO UNDP (A total lump sum option is applicable for this assignment)
• CV shall include Education/Qualification, Processional Certification, Employment Records /Experience

General Conditions of Contract is available here: GENERAL CONDITIONS OF CONTRACT

Note: Please note you can upload only one document to this application (scan all documents that should be included in the application in one single PDF file and upload it).