TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR CONDUCTING A BUDGET ANALYSES
PART I |
|
Title of Assignment |
Consultancy to develop budget analyses for the SDG Joint Program (Namibia) |
Section |
SDG Joint Program |
Location |
In-Country, Virtually |
Duration |
60 working days over a period of 5 months |
- Background and Justification
To address the challenges of sustainable development financing, the Government of
The participating UN organizations (PUNOs) (comprised of UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA and ILO), will support the Government in the operationalization of the Joint Programme through evidence generation, advocacy and policy advice, technical assistance, capacity development, partnerships and systems strengthening. The range of activities will include: development of Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs); holding multi-stakeholder dialogues, alliances and networks with the Government, development banks, financial sector and investors; strengthening of capacities of public authorities and the ecosystem that can lead to a pipeline of impact-driven investments; conducting feasibility studies required to design gender-sensitive innovative solutions and products that can unlock public and private capital for the SDGs.
Towards this end, UNN seeks to collaborate with GRN’s implementing counterparts to undertake a detailed analysis of the 2021/22 National Budget to assess the extent to which it is gender and employment responsiveness while maximising investments in key social sectors most notably
Within this context, and building on the implementation experience in the region, the budget analysis serves
- Analyse and monitor budget allocations to sectors and key strategic areas that are important for
sustainable developmentand fast recovery from COVID-19 in the current fiscal year; - Assess the adequacy and efficiency of past spending to the extent possible;
- Identify concrete gaps, needs and opportunities for improving social spending to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The budget analysis will cover 6 thematic areas
- Gender (stand alone brief, scope of which to be agreed upon by the PUNOs;
gender perspectives will also be mainstreamed in the other analyses to the extent possible ) - Employment
- Health
- Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)
- Education (pre-primary to tertiary)
- Water, sanitation and
h ygiene (WASH)
In addition to the analysis on gender as a stand alone theme, the inception report should include the indicators against which the gender responsiveness of each of the sectors
The SRHR analysis will review expenditure contained within the Health and Education sectors, and other relevant sectors and programmes. Making use of demography data, a demographic lens should be applied to all SRHR expenditure, measuring how people-centered the expenditure is; capturing any considerations on age structure, sex and spatial dimensions.
Due to the multi-sectoral nature of employment creation
- Agriculture
- Industry and manufacturing
- Tourism
- Natural resources & (renewable) energy
- Public works
- Infrastructure development
Education and skills development
The scope of
- Objectives, Deliverables and Work Plan
Objectives
The main objective of the exercise is to analyse spending patterns on key social and economic sectors to achieve SDGs. The main focus will be on size, composition, equity, efficiency and financing of select sectors and programs. The analysis will be based on data
Deliverables
The
- Inception report on the assignment which provides an interpretation of the TOR, a proposed methodology and workplan, as well as an annotated outline for each of the 6 thematic budget analyses.
An overall draft analytical report and six draft budget briefs (maximum 20 pages, font 11)on the below themes ,with the other six including a section on gender responsiveness.
- Gender
- Health
- SRHR
- Education
- Employment
- WASH
- Final analytical report and
six budget briefs that include inputs and feedback by the respective lead agency as well as their respective Namibian government partners; - Excel workbook with cleaned background data
for each budget brief. - Six advocacy plans for each brief that summarises the recommendations of the budget analysis, and sets forth a plan for their implementation and advocacy. These should be based on this template
Deliverables |
Duration (# of days) |
Deadline |
|
5 |
20 July 2021 |
|
30 |
27 August 2021 |
|
10 |
8 September 2021 |
|
5 |
15 September 2021 |
|
10 |
30 September 2021 |
|
60 |
|
The analytical report should spell out all the budget analysis’s findings in
Below is a suggested structure for each budget brief
Key messages and recommendations (1/2 page)
- Summarise key findings and recommendations in order of priority.
Introduction (1/2 page)
- High
ligh t the rationale of the budget brief, methodology for the budget analysis, caveats and limitations.
Section 1. Overview (2 page max)
- Provide an overview of relevant national policies, strategies, and plans on the select thematic issue, key statistics/ indicators, and institutional framework, including coordination mechanisms.
Section 2. Size and Trends in Spending (2
- Present total spending in nominal and real terms in a fiscal year for the thematic issue and as a percentage of GDP and of annual government budget and trends over time. Also provide per capita spending and spending in relation to other areas and countries.
Section 3. Composition of Spending (2
Disaggregate total spending according to program, theme, institution and economic classification.
Section 4. Financing (2 pages max)
- Provide an overview of sources of financing, key donors, and additional financing options
.
Section 5. Budget Credibility and Execution (2 pages max)
- Discuss any budget credibility, and budget execution issues
depending on availability of data
Section 6. Equity and Decentralisation of Spending (2 pages max)
- Discuss equity
and decentralization, focusing on challenges and opportunities for improved financing
Section 7. Policy and Other Structural Issues (1 page)
- Highlight key policy and PFM issues and other challenges
to increase volume and improve quality of spending.
The briefs should also reflect information and analyses provided in the set of budget brief guidelines.
- Recommended Steps in conducting a thematic budget analysis
Step 1: Initiate the process and define the scope
Step 2: Identify finance laws, policies, strategies/plans and interventions
Step 3: Map relevant Offices, Ministries and Agencies (OMAs) and budget documents
Step 4: Collect budget data and other information
Step 5: Organize and analyze the data, and develop preliminary findings
Step 6: Organize and conduct a consultative workshop to solicit feedback on the preliminary findings
Step 7: Compile the budget analysis, and developing the report and budget briefs
Step 8: Organize and participate in the validation of the above outputs
Step 9: Finalize the report, action/advocacy plan, and budget briefs
Steps 1-3 are the foundational preparatory steps for each budet brief. The order in which they are applied is flexible and the steps tend to overlap. If a comprehensive PFM forum is in place, and stakeholders have an existing working relationship, agreeing on a scope of analysis and setting up management arrangements should be the Step 1. However, if these are not in place, the relevant agency/ies may want to begin by mapping OMAs budget, planning and policy documents and discussing the scope at a later stage.
- Payment Schedule
The Service Provider will be paid upon receipt of satisfactory deliverables as outlined above in meeting the PUNOs’ quality standards and according to the following schedule:
- First payment (30%) upon delivery and acceptance of the inception report.
- Second payment (30%) upon delivery and acceptance of the first draft budget analysis and briefs.
- Third payment (30%) upon delivery and acceptance of the final budget analysis and budget briefs, suitably incorporating all feedback received.
- Final payment (10%) upon delivery of Excel Workbook and Six Advocacy Plans
- Conditions
The contract will be established for 60 working days over a period of
As per broader UN financial and administrative policies, payment is made against approved deliverables. No advance payment is allowed unless in exceptional circumstances against bank guarantee, subject to a maximum of 30 per cent of the total contract value in cases where advance purchases, for example for supplies or travel, may be necessary. The Service Provider(s) selected will be governed by and subject to UNFPA’s General Terms and Conditions for individual consultants.
- Desired competencies, technical background and experience
The nature of budget analyses requires expert skills and understanding of economics, social development, social policy, gender and budgeting. Members of the Budget Analysis team need to be able to locate, identify, interpret and analyse a broad range of policy, statistical and budget data. The primary skills, knowledge and experience required range from
- Selection Criteria
Service Providers will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis:
When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will be made to the Service Provider 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 weighting: 70%
* Financial criteria weighting: 30%
Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 50 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation
Evaluation Criteria |
Maximum Points |
Weight % |
Technical |
||
|
|
|
Advanced university degree in economics, public financial management or related area |
10 |
10% |
Proven experience with government social sector budget analysis at national and decentralized level; |
10 |
10% |
Solid knowledge of PFM systems in developing countries (ideally Namibian context) is a major asset; |
10 |
10% |
Demonstrated ability to produce quality research and policy reports/briefs in English |
5 |
5% |
|
|
|
|
5 |
5% |
|
10 |
10% |
Demonstrated expertise in:
|
15 |
15% |
Experience with collecting and working with complex financial data sets and have advanced data analysis skills |
5 |
5% |
Total Technical |
70 |
70% |
Financial Proposal |
30 |
30% |
Total Proposal |
100 |
100% |
- Supervision
The Program Officer will coordinate
The Service Provider(s) will be jointly supervised across the thematic areas under analysis as follows:
- Health, Education and WASH – Social Policy Manager (UNICEF)
- SRHR – Health Economics Specialist (UNFPA)
- Gender responsiveness – Gender Specialist (UNFPA)
- Employment responsiveness – Employment Specialist, as well as an international expert (ILO)
- Institutional Arrangement
The Participating UN Organizations on the Joint Program will:
- Provide the Consultant with relevant documents,
- Provide the Consultant with full support in any further analysis of the data where necessary,
- Facilitate communication with the relevant stakeholders,
- Give feedback to the draft, final reports and all other deliverables prepared by the Service Provider.
All documents and data provided to the consultant are confidential and cannot be used for any other purposes or shared with a third party without any written approval from the Resident Coordinator’s Office.
- Risks
The primary risk is that the production of the different deliverables is delayed and/or of unsatisfactory quality. To mitigate this risk, the Program Officer will work closely with the Service Provider, ensuring that timelines are being closely adhered to and the different products are fit for purpose and of strong quality.
- Application process
The Service Provider is expected to provide the following:
- Cover letter (must indicate availability to assume duty)
- Curriculum Vitae
- Brief methodology clearly describing the interpretation of these Terms of Reference and a recommended methodological approach
- Financial offer in USD expressed as lump sum for the delivery of outputs as per above description. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (consultancy fee per number of anticipated working days, travel and any other possible costs).
- The joint program will cover all travel costs, including DSA, so these costs should not be factored into the daily rate.
Applications should be send to namibia-procurement@unfpa.org with the subject line “Development of a Budget Analysis” by 17h00 Central Africa Time (CAT) on 13 July 2021.
Applications submitted without this information will not be considered.