Back Consultant in Common Assessment Framework (CAF)

Background

Georgia has made significant progress in the development of public services. This rapid transformation was achieved by utilizing e-Governance tools and modern approaches, and it has made public services in Georgia more transparent, accessible, and comfortable for citizens. However, the positive changes in service delivery lacked a coherent unified framework and the progress was uneven across all sectors. Many elements of a complex business cycle were developed on an ad-hoc basis, while some technical and IT solutions have relied heavily on the expertise of individual employees. The lack of a general framework to ensure the predictability and accessibility of innovative services, and the lack of replicable methodologies and quality assurance systems by service provider agencies, has proved to be a significant challenge in further improving public services in Georgia.

In order to solve the problem, the Government of Georgia (GoG) started working on developing unified standards for public service design and delivery to be universal across all public service provider agencies. The leading role in this endeavor was granted to one of the key national entities responsible for service delivery - the Public Service Development Agency (PSDA). The activity falls under the Service Delivery pillar of the “Public Administration Reform (PAR) Roadmap 2020.”

With the assistance of international and local experts the “Policy Document on Common Principles of Service Design and Delivery” has been drafted. The document offers a set of common guiding principles and standards on the design, delivery, pricing, and quality assurance of public services in Georgia. The document will create the grounds for the subsequent gradual adaptation and harmonization of service quality standards across service provider agencies. It will also enhance the ability of the Administration of Government (AoG) to offer unified policy guidance and to develop the capacity of the PSDA to assist other agencies in improving the overall standards of public service delivery, in line with current best practices. The draft has been approved by the PAR Council’s Service Delivery Working Group and is currently pending Government approval.

One of the important parts of the Policy Document envisages the implementation of Common Assessment Framework (CAF) in all service provider agencies, to help state institutions plan and improve organizations in their entirety, including the strengthening of service processes and customer orientation. A tool of Total Quality Management, the CAF provides a fairly simple, free, and easy to use framework suitable for self-assessment of public sector organizations and aims to improve their performance on concepts such as results orientation, customer focus, leadership and constancy of purpose, management by processes and facts, involvement of people, continuous improvement and innovation, mutually beneficial partnerships, and corporate social responsibility.

Unified Service Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Patrol Police Department is one of the first public service delivery agencies in Georgia to implement the CAF.

Duties and Responsibilities

The overall objective of the consultancy is to support the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Patrol Police Department’s Unified Service Center in the implementation of the Common Assessment Framework. The international consultant will work with the Unified Service Center. The ambition is that after this first self-assessment round, the Center should be able to run a similar project on its own, based upon the knowledge and experience gained during the round. The consultancy will encompass several trainings, coaching, on-site and remote communication with the representatives of the Center, and other means as deemed appropriate by the consultant.

All face-to-face trainings and coaching requiring physical presence of relevant employees will be planned in line with the existing restrictions associated with the spread of COVID-19; in case organization physical meetings will not be possible due to the disease related limitations, alternative ways of communication/trainings will be considered and agreed with the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Patrol Police Department’s Unified Service Center, including through application of online communication tools.

Under the direct supervision of the PAR Project Manager and in close cooperation with relevant Unified Service Center team, the CAF consultant is expected to assume the following duties and responsibilities:   

• Develop a CAF implementation plan and update its supporting documents (such as training materials, etc.);
• Implement the CAF according to the implementation plan in the Unified Service Center and conduct all related activities (training, coaching, etc.);
• Support the Unified Service Center’s team in the implementation process through effective communication;
• Develop reports as described below;
• Support the development of the draft and final self-assessment reports;
• Make four missions to Georgia (ten consultancy days) to consult the Unified Service Center and conduct trainings;
• Perform other tasks as deemed necessary.

Deliverables:

The consultant is expected to produce the following deliverables:

• Deliverable 1 – A detailed CAF implementation plan and materials (readings, Power Point presentations, training materials, etc). Submission date – three weeks after the project commencement.
• Deliverable 2 – Mission 1 (2 on-site mission days): 1) Conduct preparatory meetings with the project team and management. 2) One day induction training for the project team and the management. 3) Support the project team to define a communication plan and to elaborate documentation on the CAF project. Coach the team to translate the key messages with the right media to the target groups. 4) Support info session(s) towards all staff by preparing the message and delivering the presentation to the staff. 5) Support the Center in composing the self-assessment team (SAG) and coach the team by giving feedback on the criteria to compose the groups and the decisions to be taken. Submission date – Six weeks after the project commencement.
• Deliverable 3 – Mission 2 (3 on-site mission days): 1) Conduct two-day training to the self assessment team, introducing the CAF and how to work with it in order to become well trained assessors. Prepare the self-assessment group president and secretary for the self-assessment, coaching them on their role, behavior, and methodological and technical issues. Submission date – Three months after the project commencement.
• Deliverable 4 – Mission 3 (2 on-site mission days): 1) Coach the self-assessment group to carry out the assessment on the job, consulting it on how to come together for seven half day consensus meetings, and give recommendations for preparing the individual and group self-assessment reports. 2) Conduct meetings with the SAG, discussing problems and prioritizing them.  Submission date – five months after the project commencement.
• Deliverable 5 – Mission 4 (3 on-site mission days): 1) Conduct a two-day seminar with the SAG to prioritize the actions, providing the methodology and facilitating the meetings in order to prioritize and select the actions. 2) Support and coach the team in drafting an action plan with concrete timing, project leaders, an action monitoring plan, and other important components. Support the team in communication on the action plan(s) to all staff. 3) Prepare a final report (the report should describe the overall work done, any problems that have arisen, and an approach to overcome them). Submission date – six months after the project commencement.

Payment modality:

The payment schedule will be agreed with the consultant and will be made in four (4) instalments upon satisfactory completion/submission of the deliverables:

• Deliverable 1 – 25 % of the consultancy
• Deliverable 2 – 25 % of the consultancy
• Deliverable 3 – 25 % of the consultancy
• Deliverable 4 & 5 – 25 % of the consultancy

Competencies

Core competencies:

• Demonstrated commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;
• Sensitivity and adaptability to cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age;
• Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.

Functional competencies: 

• Demonstrated ability to apply good judgment in the context of the given assignment;
• Ability to conceptualize analytical frameworks based on available information and resources;
• Strong communication and organizational skills as well as team work capabilities;
• Excellent writing, editing and oral communication skills in English;
• Ability to work toward creative, participatory and inclusive solutions;
• An ability to complete the task in a timely fashion.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree in Public Administration or related field (minimum requirement: 15points)

Experience:

• At least three years of Common Assessment Framework related experience (i.e. research, training, consultancy) (minimum requirement: 3 years - 10 points, more than three - additional 2.5 points);
• At least two projects related to consulting government entities in capacity building or public services related issues (minimum requirement: two projects – 10 points, more than two projects – additional 2.5 points)
• Proven knowledge of development of public services in Georgia through practical experience or academic background will be an asset (5 points)

Language requiremetns: 

• Fluency in English language (both written and oral) (5 points).

Evaluation:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis method: Offerors will be evaluated against combination of technical and financial criteria. Maximum obtainable score is 100, out of which the total score for technical criteria equals to 70 and for financial criteria – to 30. Offerors that do not meet Minimum Qualification Criteria will be automatically rejected, while the rest will form up the long list. The offerors who obtain minimum 35 points as a result of the desk review will be invited for the interview. Offerors who pass 70% threshold, i.e. obtain minimum 14 points, as a result of the interview will be requested the financial proposal.

Financial proposal:

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 instalments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the ToR.  In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount. Maximum 30 points will be assigned to the lowest price offer. All other price offers will be scored using the formula (inverse proportion):  Financial score X = 30* the lowest price offer/suggested price offer. All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal as well.