Job: CONSULTANT:TO DRAFT A POSITION PAPER ON RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY IN KUWAIT

Location :

Kuwait, KUWAIT

Application Deadline :

06-Oct-13

Additional Category

Management

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Post Level :

International Consultant

Languages Required :

Arabic   English  

Expected Duration of Assignment :

40 days

Background

The UNDP Kuwait Country Office has begun planning for the next four-year programme cycle, 2015 - 2018. The Country Programme Document (CPD) is the basic agreement between UNDP and the Government of the State of Kuwait. It establishes the proposed areas of work for the next programme cycle and flags expected potential outcomes that will be subsequently elaborated in the Country Programme Action Plan.

In order to elicit the views of government, private sector and civil society on the content of “Research and Technology”, as a component of The Democratic Governance consultations, meeting with stakeholders for a strategic perspective is crucial and must be guided by the UNDP Strategic Plan 2014-2017 and the global post-2015 sustainable development agenda themes. The National consultations will be conducted in accordance with UNDP’s core principles of inclusiveness, equality and respect for diversity and sustainability. Further, the consultation process will emphasis national ownership and participation. 

A series of roundtable consultative events will be held with Kuwaiti stakeholders, including a roundtable on issues pertinent to the field of governance, including knowledge and innovation. The position paper on research, knowledge and innovation will be an important component of the background paper to this roundtable and will help to identify key issues to be addressed during the discussion.

The report will be developed on the basis of initial consultative dialogue with national stakeholders and a desk review of key documents and international / regional best practices. The final version of the report will be  submitted to UNDP Kuwait to inform the position paper on governance, knowledge and innovation and to be subsequently incorporated   into the CPD drafting and planning process.

The cross-cutting issues of gender, human rights and environmental sustainability will be incorporated into all stages of the report drafting process. The paper will emphasis a cross-sectorial approach to supporting national development goals.

The consultant will conduct a comprehensive desk review of a range of global and national strategic documents, including but not limited to:

• UNDP Strategic Plan 2014 - 2017;
• Rio+20 outcome document;
• Recommendations on the post-2015 development agenda of the relevant thematic groups; Evaluation of the Role of UNDP in Net Contributor Countries;
• Next Mid-Range National Development Plan of the State of Kuwait (if yet published);
• Related National reports and assessments; and
• Arab Human Development Report 2003- Building A Knowledge Society.

The consultant will also specifically consider the scope and content of the current Mid-Range National Development Plan of the State of Kuwait, the current UNDP Kuwait CPD and CPAP, the evaluation report of the 2008 – 2012 (extended to 2014) UNDP Kuwait country programme as well as other relevant national documents.

The submission of the position paper in accordance with the stipulated timeframe will signify satisfactory completion of the deliverable.

Objective:

To support a focused, strategic and broad-based research and analysis on “Research and Technology” that will result in a significant and comprehensive contribution to the CPD drafting process.

General and specific objectives of the assignment are:

• To assess the current situation of Research and Technology in Kuwait. The analysis should be problem-driven that evaluates the utilization of Research and Technology in the business cycle, as well as the process of decision making, knowledge sharing and flow of information and its accessibility within governmental bodies, private sector and civil society;
• To undertake a gap analysis that identifies the sectors and areas that lack the utilization of Research and Technology and need to be reinforced in order to advance priority development issues;
• To take into account the International practices and efforts of numerous individuals, groups and institutions currently engaged in enhancing the contribution of Research and Technology in the development process. Also, to address relevant linkages and feedbacks between Kuwait and the regional and global scales;
• To identify entry points and areas require sectorial and focus studies and propose appropriate research approaches and methodologies;
• To address the challenges and opportunities in binding Research and Technology for sustainable development in Kuwait;
• To recommend the way forward to enhance the collaboration between government and private sectors and civil society, and how to promote the utilization of Research and Technology in developing all sectors;
• To recommend steps for the initiation of a stimulating and in-depth program for capacity building as well as to attract the best technologists, development specialists, and decision makers, in the public and private sectors and the social society, to become involved in enhancing the Research and Technology in Kuwait.

Duties and Responsibilities

The report will be completed within 40 days, starting no later than October 7th, 2013; in accordance with the below activities and timeframes:

• October 7: Reporting start date;
• November 5: Submitting of draft report;
• November 15: The final position paper will be submitted to UNDP Kuwait no later than this date. 

The consultant will conduct a desk review of all relevant documents, meet with relevant national stakeholders and counterparts, and seek technical inputs from UNDP.

The consultant will develop a comprehensive, innovative and strategic position paper on the topic (in accordance with a format to be provided by UNDP Kuwait), drawing on relevant international and regional best practice and emphasising Kuwait's research and technology areas.

Throughout this process, the consultant will work in close collaboration with the assigned focal person in UNDP office, who will guide the drafting of the position paper (including substantive inputs and review of various drafts and their clearance from RR).

The consultant will also be required to meet and brief CPD writer to provide input on the document.

Expected Outputs

All reports must be produced in the English Language.

• A position paper drafted on the basis of broad consultations, analysis and review on the topic "Research and Technology", to be shared with UNDP focal point;
• A finalized position paper on the topic covering all the areas provided in the deliverables section, for inclusion in the CPD.

Competencies

• Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty;
• Ability to undertake complex tasks within narrow timeframes;
• Excellent research, analytical and writing skills, ability to provide information and analysis in an organized manner and to present complex concepts in a clear style;
• Interpersonal skills to elicit relevant information and honest views from various types of stakeholders;
• Excellent spoken, written and presentational communication skills in English and Arabic; and
• Ability to use common office programmes such as Word and Excel.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree in the field of social sciences, IT, Management Information System and/or participatory planning for sustainable development.

Experience:

• At least 10 years' relevant work experience, including experience in developing and/or implementing relevant programmes or projects;
• Experience in drafting strategic papers and research-based documents;
• Experience in designing and implementing capacity-building programmes;
• Knowledge of UNDP global programme policies and procedures and broader UN mandates;
• Experience working in GCC countries is an asset.

Language Requirement:

• Must be fluent in English and Arabic (written and spoken).

Duration:
40 days

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals 
Applicants shall submit the following documents:

• Letter of interest/proposal, providing brief methodology on how the work will be conducted and/or approached. 
  Personal CV, including information about past experience in similar projects / assignments and contact details for referees;
• Financial proposal;
• Reference to or copies of previously developed knowledge materials, including analytical reports, research papers, case study materials, etc.

Lump sum contract

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. 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 (including travel, per diems, and number of anticipated working days).

Travel costs

All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel. In general, UNDP should 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 case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.
Evaluation method:

Cumulative analysis

Contract award shall be made to the incumbent whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
• Having received the cumulative 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 obtaining a minimum 70% from the maximum available technical score (70 points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal and will equal to 30. All other price proposals will be evaluated and assigned points, as per below formula:

30 points [max points available for financial part] x [lowest of all evaluated offered prices among responsive offers] / [evaluated price].

The proposal obtaining the overall cumulatively highest score after adding the score of the technical proposal and the financial proposal will be considered as the most compliant offer and will be awarded the Individual Contract.

Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the contract obligations in satisfactory manner.
Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org 
Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.

Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.

Applicants are asked to submit their financial proposal within their CV (as a single document).

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

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