UNDP Jobs: CONSULTANCY FOR DEMOCRATIC PROCESS MONITORING AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM WITH NASS AND POLITICAL PARTIES

Location :	Abuja, NIGERIA
Application Deadline :	19-Nov-12
Type of Contract :	Individual Contract
Post Level :	National Consultant
Languages Required :	English
Starting Date : (date when the selected candidate is expected to start)	03-Dec-2012
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Background
Democratic Governance is a concept that emerged from the principle that an effective system of democratic governance is one which is based on representative, equitable (across gender and other categories), transparent, accountable and inclusive institutions; a vibrant, responsible and capable media; and a dynamic civil society which is engaged in the political process. The Democratic Governance for Development (DGD) Project II is a joint donor-funded project with the overall aim of strengthening the democratic character of Nigerian political processes; and promoting outcomes that consolidate and advance democratic governance and accountability to achieve the country’s stated development priorities and goals specified in the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) and the Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP). The European Commission, the UK Department for International Development, Canadian International Development Agency and UNDP contribute to this fund. DGD II consists of 4 components: Promoting Credible, Transparent and Sustainable Electoral Processes; Improving the Democratic Quality of Political Engagement; Enhancing Participation by Women, Youth and other Marginalized groups; and Strengthening Channels of Civic Engagement. Improving the democratic quality of political engagement involves various interventions primarily focusing on institutions critical for democratic development such as Parliaments, Election Management Bodies and Political parties. Parliaments are one of the key institutions in democratic system tasked with the functions of representation, law making and oversight. An effective parliamentary institution is inextricably intertwined with the existence of a viable democracy and an open society. Political parties, on the other hand, are institutions crucial for the stability and dynamics of a democratic political system. They provide the platform for citizens to associate with like-minded people, to debate among themselves and across the party political divide, and to develop a vision for their societies. Civic engagement with these indispensable democratic institutions and other democratic processes, therefore, is an important intervention in order to ensure that the institutions are carrying out their functions by representing the best interest of the public. In other words, citizen participation and engagement with these democratic institutions is essential to foster accountability and enhance citizen’s influence on democratic institutions and processes. In Nigeria, like other new democracies in the world, democratic governance and democratic system is in the making. To this effect, Important Democratic institutions in the country such as the National Assembly, the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), and Political Parties are being continuously strengthened to deepen democracy through interventions driven by the government/ the institutions themselves/ and/or in collaborations with development partners.   For instance, the Seventh Session of the House of Representatives (HoR) (2011 – 2015), in its National Legislative Agenda, has clearly committed itself to honouring the faith and trust reposed in it by the Nigerian people and is determined to chart a new course of legislative business for the benefit of the people. The Agenda has also indicated that the House is committed to improve its performance and build a new image for the legislature as “a strong, vibrant and effective legislature, able to assert itself as an important partner with other arms of government in the delivery of good governance, due process and rule of law.” Furthermore, the House has expressed its resolve to introduce a new order to address issues of transparency and integrity. Though gradual and unstructured, Political parties as well are in the process of reform, both individually within their respective party structures and collectively through inter party relations. A few of them have formed internal reform/review committees in a bid to revisit their internal policy documents such as Constitutions and manifestos.   All these commitments to reform or already ongoing reforms should necessarily require civic engagement so that the citizen is informed about the processes, take part in the processes and hold these institutions accountable to the changes they have introduced or about to introduce. This is therefore the rationale behind this activity: democratic process monitoring. The focus of this particular exercise will also be the above mentioned democratic Institutions- selected committees’ within the National Assembly and Political Parties.
Duties and Responsibilities
Aim and Objectives: The overall aim of the activity is to enhance transparency and accountability of the democratic institutions through active citizen Participation in the democratic processes, thereby resulting in increased public confidence on the Democratic Institutions and processes. The specific objectives are to: Promote the principles of transparency, accountability, integrity and primacy of the public interest, which are also essential in facilitating the oversight functions of the legislature. Enhance the public’s level of trust in the legislature through engaging CSOs in the discourse of review and monitoring of Rules and Business. Facilitate CSO – Political Parties engagement which enables CSOs to introduce issues into the Political Parties agendas. Facilitate CSO monitoring of political parties based on the promises and Policies they put forward in their manifestoes and during campaigns. Promote constructive engagement of CSO – political parties which will enhance strong people ownership of parties. Scope of Work: In order to achieve the above stated objectives and produce the intended outputs, the project intends to engage a team of consultants with existing and strong partnership with NASS and Political Parties to work closely with the relevant committees of the House; and Political Parties within the purview of the following broad areas of engagement. Engaging Selected committees and the leadership of the House of Representatives with a view to promote transparency, accountability and enhanced civic engagement; Engaging the Political Parties in Nigeria with a view to enhance political accountability. Description of Activities: The successful consultants will demonstrate that they can translate the stated objectives into practical engagement with the selected Committees of NASS and Political parties by engaging CSOs and CSO networks during implementation of the activities. Proposed activities should include: National Assembly: Work with the Committee on Rules and Business on Best Practices in legislative work which among other things includes work with the leadership of the National Assembly to institute formal procedures for undertaking oversight functions. Identify and prioritize relevant issues for engagement in the areas of rules of business and ethics regime; oversight function and issues of appropriation.  Conduct a research focusing on comparative analysis on rules of procedures and conduct of business, code of conduct, and ethics regime. Organize exposure meeting with MPs from other countries, and IPU to further garner insights in the areas of rules of business and institute formal procedures for undertaking oversight functions. Develop updated, comprehensive set of rules of procedures and conduct of business; code of conduct, and Ethics rules. Prepare template for monitoring and agree on the template and important activities, results and indicators. Work with Committee on Civil Society for improved collaboration between the legislature and civil society.  Work with the Committees on Appropriation for Improved Performance in their work. Research and engagement on best practices to reduce the number of NASS committees while clarifying competing and dual jurisdiction and responsibilities of committees. Develop visitor information center handbook. Political Parties: Work with the Political parties to strengthen internal party democracy by Identifying and prioritizing relevant issues for engagement with political parties. Organize issue based conferences to enable political parties translate the issues into alternative policies. Conduct three conferences between Political parties and CSOs based on the identified thematic areas. Prepare the proceedings of all the conferences and other CSO- Political parties engagement for publication. Work with the parties to introduce mechanisms to monitor the Performance of Political Parties. Research and engagement on improving political parties accountability. Prepare template for monitoring and agree on the template and important activities, results and indicators. Conduct monitoring of political parties based on the agreed template, results and indicators. Expected Outcomes: Enhanced accountability and transparency on the part of the NASS and Political parties; Enhanced civic engagement in democratic processes; Enhanced public confidence on democratic processes and the NASS and Political parties as democratic Institutions. Deliverables/ Outputs: Consolidated rules of procedures and conduct of business, code of conduct, and ethics rules of the House ; Interactive sessions with members of the relevant committees of the House conducted; Experience sharing meetings with MPs from other countries and IPU conducted; Research document produced on comparative analysis on rules of procedures and conduct of business, code of conduct and ethics regime; A handbook that sketches out a visitor information center; A template for monitoring of democratic process with particular reference to the NASS and Political parties; At least three workshops focusing on various themes held between CSOs and Political parties; A publication on CSO – political parties’ engagement containing the proceedings of the issue based conferences and other engagements. Documents to be included when submitting the proposals: Interested individual contractors must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications alongside their proposal:   Proposal: Explaining why you are the most suitable for the work Provide a detailed methodology on how you will approach and conduct the work (not more than 5 pages); Implementation Plan and Timelines Past experience in carrying out similar assignment with verifiable evidence All proposals must be submitted alongside signed cover letter. Personal CV including past experience in similar projects with detailed contacts relating to the project and at least 3 references.   Financial proposal: Lump sum contracts. The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. Your financial proposal shall include a breakdown of the lump sum. All other approved expenses including costs of organizing meetings, travel expenses, engaging resource persons where necessary and publications would be directly covered by the Project. Selection Criteria:   Cumulative analysis: The evaluation criteria as shown in the table below shall be used to assess all the proposals received. The award of the Individual Contractors Contract shall be made to the individual contractors whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: responsive/compliant/acceptable, and having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation. Technical Criteria weight; [70] Financial Criteria weight; [30] Only candidates that obtain a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation. The maximum 30 points will be allotted to the lowest bid, all other bids shall receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest fee e.g. [30 Points] x [Naira lowest] / [Naira other] = points for other proposer’s fees. Shortlisted candidates will be required to make a presentation to the DGD project highlighting their methodology and action plan. Quality of EOI submission (clearly demonstration ability to implement programme) 50 points Previous experience working with NASS and PP: 20 points Financial proposal: 30 points TOTAL: 100 points  Supervision: Consultants will be supervised by the Component lead under the strategic direction of the Project Director.
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
Required Skills and Experience
Education: Advanced degree in the area of Political Science preferably a Master degree with minimum 7 years post qualification experience Experience: Good facilitation skills Experience working with the NASS and Political parties in the areas of political party and legislative strengthening. Knowledge and understanding of political parties in relation to democracy and governance Knowledge of the NASS and its various committees; Clear record of working with CSO networks and coalitions Experience in democratic governance, political party strengthening and women’s political empowerment Excellent writing and presentation skills Good interpersonal skills Language Requirements: Excellent spoken and written English is also required.