Terms of Reference (TOR) for the consulting agency to design and implement ICT Solutions for governance in the selected local units of Karnali Province

Terms of Reference (TOR)

for

the consulting agency to design and implement ICT Solutions for governance in

the selected local units of Karnali Province

1. Background

Terre des hommes Foundation (Tdh) with its headquarters in Lausanne is a leading Swiss child relief agency. Founded in 1960 and active in Nepal since 1985, Tdh in consortium of Sahakarmi Samaj (SS), Dalit Development Society (DDS), Center for Dalit Women Nepal and IM – Swedish Development Partner has been carrying out a four years European Union funded project “Enhancing Citizen’s Participation in Sub-National Good Governance in the Context of Federal System in Nepal” in 12 local units of Salyan, Kalikot and Jajarkot districts of Karnali province. The project aims to strengthen the capacity of citizens to independently play their role in the governance and development processes, and build an empowered civil society for an inclusive and participatory democracy conducive to inclusive and sustainable growth.

Tdh is leading the Information Communication Technology (ICT) in local governance under this project. Through the ICT for governance as an innovative method and awareness and capacity development activities, ICT solutions will support local governments (LGs), Civil Service Organizations to increase access to information and will become means of government-citizen interaction. The ICT solutions is expected to promote civic engagement and interface with LGs directly on governance issues. This will promote transparency and accountability practices in local governance with active participation of citizen. This Terms of Reference (ToR) is developed for the consulting company/ service provider to provide services to develop and implement web and cell phone-based solutions or complement to the existing application developed by Nepal Government and other agencies.

About the project

The constitution of Nepal 2015 has established local, provincial and federal governments with an increased authority vested upon elected local and provincial governments. There is increased responsibility at the local and provincial level for effective service delivery and accountability toward its citizens. For this, public decision-making and subsequent implementation must be participatory, transparent, responsive, equitable and inclusive. This assures the views of all citizens, notably the most vulnerable and excluded are taken into account and local authorities are responsive towards them. With the dissolution of previously existing local forums, there is currently a significant gap of knowledge and capacity on the federal system, on local planning process and civic participation among the community-based organizations (CBOs).

The new constitution emphasizes civic freedom and liberty providing space for CSO engagement in governance but efforts made are not adequate to promote civic space in Nepal. The grassroots organizations and CSOs also lack sufficient management capacities and have weak internal governance, capacities and knowledge to deal with local governments. They lack sufficient information on thematic sectors in order to improve their civic engagement and access to services/resources.

Considering the above-mentioned elements, the overall objective of this project is to contribute to enhance citizens’ participation in sub-national (local and provincial) good governance in the new federal system in Nepal.

The specific objectives of the project are:

• to enhance participatory and cooperative relationship between citizens and local governments by strengthening public governance, accountability and transparency
• to establish cooperation and dialogue among local governments, between local and provincial governments and ministries to improve overall local service delivery and ensure reflection of local needs in programs and policies.

Expected results

• 3,150 citizens from about 600 grassroots organization including women, youth, Dalit & marginalized people are represented, empowered & mobilized to ensure inclusive, participatory & accountable local governance.
• Local Governments (LGs) in 12 municipalities are equipped to design and develop inclusive plans, policies and ensure their implementation, with the active participation of Community Groups (CGs) and CSOs.
• Provincial government and Local Governments work constructively and collaboratively in promoting local good governance.

Target groups

In 12 local units, there are a total of 374 Health Mother Groups (HMGs), 42 Health Facility Operation and Management Committees (HFOMCs), 25 WASH related CG, 815 farmers group, 180 other CSOs, 67 youth’s clubs, 58 child clubs, and 362 Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs). The project has targeted these CSOs with 8475 target group members. The target group of this project includes –

1. 3150 direct rights holders from grass root organizations living in 12 local units of Jajarkot, Salyan & Kalikot districts with a focus on women, youth and children, marginalized groups and minorities including Mother’s group and Listening Discussion and Awareness (LDAG) members.
2. CSOs: 557 members of Citizen Awareness Centre (CAC), CBNOs, NGO Federation of Nepal, district chapter, Persons with Disabilities (PWD) focused CSOs/NGOs, Human Rights Alliance (HRA), District network of Child Clubs, Federation of Drinking Water and Sanitation Users Nepal (FEDWASUN), Youth Forums etc.
3. Government institutions and (government-established) committees: 3873 elected representatives of local governments, District Coordination Committee (DCC), ward offices, Social Development units of local units, National Youth Council, FCHVs, DWASH-CC, M/RMWASHCC, HFOMCs.

Project districts and local units

1. Jajarkot district: Bheri, Shivalaya, Junichande and Chhedgad
2. Kalikot district: Khadachakra, Naraharinath, and Sanni Triveni
3. Salyan district: Siddha Kumakh, Kapurkot, Triveni, Kalimati, and Darma

2. Objective of the assignment

The overall objective of the assignment is to design/adapt and implement ICT solutions for digital e-governance system promoting citizen-government interaction, transparency and accountability in the two local units (to be identified) from any of the three project districts; Salyan, Jajarkot and Kalikot within November 2020.

The specific objectives of the assignment are;

• To identify appropriate and innovative ICT solutions to be developed and deployed at selected local units in consultation with CSOs, Tdh, consortium partners and relevant rural municipalities and federal ministries.
• To develop and deploy identified ICT platforms (web and mobile based as relevant) aimed at raising awareness on local laws, programs and policies, citizen’s charter, notices, Point of Interest mappings and information dissemination, etc. 
• To establish ICT based mechanisms for citizen-government interface in the selected local units in order to promote transparency, accountability, quality and effectiveness of services, planning and policymaking.

3. The scope of the assignment

The scope of the assignment additional to the objectives is as follows. 

• Conduct need assessment on the current status of local governments in terms of adopting ICT to strengthen e-governance and ultimately promoting 
  • access to information to the public
  • improving delivery of services
  • engaging citizens and CSOs with local governments
  • transparency and accountability at the local level. 
• Develop and deploy relevant ICT tools and platforms as identified based on the need assessment of respective LGs to improve state-citizen dialogues. These tools will primarily be based on web and smart phone-based technologies. 
• Develop training manuals and technical documentation for each of the identified tools and applications.
• Conduct necessary capacity development support on usage and adoption of developed tools to Local Government representatives and other relevant stakeholders. 
• Conduct necessary consultation with Tdh, consortium partners, respective local authorities and other relevant stakeholders before and during the implementation.  
• Follow up and provide technical support remotely as well as in person (wherever needed)
• Deploy the developed tools in the two local units.

As the similar ICT intervention will be carried out in the other four local units of the project districts in 2021, the level of performance and the results of this assignment could help the selected service provider/firm to get the 2021 assignment.

4. Methodology

• The service provider/firm undertakes assessment on major system component for database and application server, open source technologies and implementation process for digital e-governance system that gives details conceptual architecture; which will lead to development of web and mobile based applications as defined in objective and scope of work and recommend the most suitable implementation strategy and approach. 
• Implement activities as planned, agreed with close consultation and coordination with respective local units, Tdh and consortium partners in the districts. Follow up with technical input/support.

5. Key deliverables

• Assessment report on current status of the selected local governments on their efforts towards promoting e-governance. The report will also capture the priority solutions/expectations of local governments.
• Project inception report outlining detailed scope of work, specifications of the tools to be developed, tools implantation and usage framework, role of concerned local government, Tdh and other stakeholders for successful implementation of the tools 
• Development and deployment of technological solutions i.e. web and mobile phone-based tools or mechanisms or systems as identified in the project inception report. 
• User manuals and technical documentations for each of the tools developed as part of the project
• Training and Support to LGs and other stakeholders as required
• Final report on tools usage and their impact for each of the LGs.

6. Proposal outline

The proposal should be written in the provided outline below. 

• Project Introduction (Max. 1 page): This section needs to demonstrate understanding of the project and the ToR, how proposed activities, solutions and methodologies are linked with the project objectives/results. 
• Proposed activities (Max. 3 Page): The proposed ICT solutions and activities, process/methods of implementation need to link with the results
• Gender and Social Inclusion (GESI) (Max. 1 Page): How this assignment includes citizens of various groups in the community, include participation of women and marginalized groups, youth etc. 
• Coordination and Collaboration (Max. 1 page): Explain how you coordinate and collaborate with the government authorities (at different level) and other stakeholders to achieve the results.
• Sustainability (Max 1 page): Explain how the proposed ICT solutions and implemented activities will continue after the phase out of the project.

7. Reporting

• Inception report
• Report of the two local units (after handover of the system to local units)
• Final report

8. Required experience and expertise of service provider/firm 

• The consulting firm/service provider should have an expert in Information Technology to work as a lead consultant to design/adapt and implement, reporting (Lead expert having more than 5 years of experience)
• Proven track record of developing mobile app and other innovative ICT solutions 
• Working experience with government for ICT related assignments (especially ICT solutions for local governments) 
• Understanding of context of local government in the new federal structure of Nepal will be an added value 
• Consultant/firm should be registered in VAT

9. Logistics

• Tdh and the selected consulting firm will agree on the field level visits (mainly local travel) later. However, the consulting firm/individual shall be responsible to pay the logistic and travel related expenses in a cost-efficient way.

10. How to apply

Interested qualified service providers/firms are requested to submit their applications along with the following documents by Sunday, 24 May 2020 by 5:00 PM Nepali time via email: npl.contact@tdh.ch.

• Cover letter (1-page) justifying relevant experience, expertise, and qualifications. 
• Updated CVs (3-pages max) of proposed consultants highlighting the relevant experience, expertise and qualifications 
• A detailed proposal with methodologies and results, and action plan (as per the provided outline) and financial proposal (1-page max) including per day rate and total consultancy service fee in NPR. including applicable VAT or consultancy taxes. 
• Reference of previous or current assignment (contact details)
• Tdh reserves the right to seek further details and documents from shortlisted service providers/firms during the course of proposal evaluation and negotiation process.
• Tdh reserves the right to reject/dismiss this procurement process without furnishing any reasons to applicants/potential service provider.

11. Evaluation criteria 

Total scoring is 100 points that include 70 points on technical expertise (consultants' relevant expertise and experience, proposed concept with methodology, process and sustainability etc.) and financial scoring 30 points (cost-effectiveness and realistic budget plan). The evaluation criteria are given below.