Republic of Moldova

National consultant in the area of risk assessment of corruption in public procurement

Vacancy Number: Pr15/01138

Location:	Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline:	14 Oct 2015, 16:30 (GMT+2:00)
Type of Contract:	Individual Contract
Starting date:	21 Oct 2015
Reference to the project:	Strengthening the corruption prevention and analysis functions of the National Anticorruption Center Project
Expected Duration of Assignment:	October 2015-January 2016, up to 29 working days
Submission Instructions: Proposals should be submitted by pressing the "Apply Now" button no later than October 14, 2015. Requests for clarification only must be sent by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail olga.crivoliubic@undp.org. UNDP will respond by standard electronic mail and will send written copies of the response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all applicants.
Supporting Documents: Individual Consultant Procurement Notice OECD Methodology for Assessment of National Procurement Systems Terms of Reference Personal History Form (P11) UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract

Ms. Olga Crivoliubic.

Background

One of the most vulnerable sectors, which is exposed to corruption risks, is public procurement. A resent analysis of corruption risks in public procurement in the EU (Identifying and reducing corruption in public procurement in the European Union ), notes a number of practices having a negative character towards the procurement process, including bid rigging, providing illicit commissions, conflicts of interest, intentional mismanagement or ignorance, etc. According to the estimations conducted in five different sectors, corrupt/grey cases in public procurement generate a public loss of 18 % of their projected costs.

In 2014, the EU updated the existing legislative framework adopting new directives on public procurement in order to ensure better legal protection for the financial interests of the EU public procurement process. In order to strengthen the anti-corruption actions, European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) has introduced new indicators on the entire scope of the procurement process, called “Red Flag” to warn Member States and contracting authorities to respond appropriately to effectively prevent fraud and corruption in the system.

In Moldova, the Court of Accounts reports show that public procurement remains a sector with a high risk of inefficient use of public funds. National procurement system is characterized by a series of negative practices, resulting from poor management of the public procurement process. Weaknesses in the sector are determined by the low capacity of actors involved in procurement process to prevent fraud and corruption practices.

The sociological research "Corruption in Moldova: perceptions and experiences of businessmen and households" conducted in 2014 by Transparency International - Moldova[1], indicates the persistence of informal payments offered by economic operators to public officials to win tenders of about 10% of the amount of contracts.

A recent research Public Acquisitions in Moldova: Problems and Solutions (2014) developed by a local think-tank Expert-Group, suggests that the legal and normative framework, even if not perfect, is not the main cause generating risks and loss in public procurement. The experts say that main causes are the weak system of control over the procurement process and results and an inadequate risk management. The contracting authorities pay little attention to the analysis of the existent constraints with the view of developing new measures to improve the situation. The experts also mention that the system of public procurement is strongly affected by the situation in justice sector, passivity of the law enforcement institutions, opacity in political competition, traditions, quality of business sector, etc.[2].

 Assessment of corruption risks across different sectors, including public procurement, is part of the National Anticorruption Strategy of the Republic of Moldova 2011 – 2015[3], approved by Parliament Decision no. 154/21.07.2011. The Strategy highlights that prevention of corruption in public procurement procedures requires excluding the privilege of influence given to economic operators concerning the conditions for submission of bids, increasing transparency of the organization and conduct of public tenders, preventing conflict of interests and their respective treatment while selecting the auction winner, etc.

NAC has a clear mandate to prevent corruption including through the provision of the methodological and other support in conducting corruption risk assessments within public authorities and institutions through training and consultation, monitoring and analysis of data on corruption risks and coordinating the development as well as the execution of the integrity plans.

UNDP, through its project Strengthening the corruption prevention and analysis functions of the National Anti-corruption Center (NAC) aims to strengthen the capacities of NAC in the field of risk assessment of corruption and provision of methodological support to identify and reduce corruption in public procurement, offering as the tools raising awareness and training for contracting authorities managers and staff, as well as for private sector entities. For this, the project intends to engage an international consultant that working in a team with a national consultant and in close collaboration with the relevant NAC’s units will carry out a comprehensive assessment of corruption risks in public procurement and elaborate an optimal risk indicator system based on the “red flag” concept., using the OECD Methodology for assessment of national procurement systems.

[1]http://transparency.md/ro/cefacem/publicatii/216-sondaj2014

[2] http://expert-grup.org/en/biblioteca/item/969-achizitii-publice-moldova&category=180

[3]http://cna.md/sites/default/files/snadoc/national_anti-corruption_strategy_2011-2015_republic_of_moldova.pdf

Scope of work

The main objective of the assignment is to perform a comprehensive assessment of corruption risks in public procurement, including mapping of integrity risk areas and recommended measures for integrity/corruption risks mitigation; and elaboration of an optimal risk indicator system based on the “red flag” concept.

 The national consultant will work in a team with international consultant and will support him or her in developing and delivering the report on assessing the corruption risks characteristic to the national system of public procurement. The consultants will use as reference the OECD Methodology for assessment of national procurement systems.

 The assignment will consist of two phases.  The first phase related to the mission of the international consultant (tentatively scheduled to take place on 27 October- 6 November 2015) will involve the review of relevant background documents, national legislation, materials, and reports prior to and during the mission, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews involving officials from NAC, Public Procurement Agency, Court of Accounts, Ministry of Finance, line ministries, and other relevant institutions. It may also include interviews and/or focus group discussions with key external partners and civil society organizations to discuss possible solutions based on their familiarity and knowledge of Moldovan public procurement system.  The second phase, related to the mission of the international consultant which will be undertaken at least one month after the first phase, will involve the presentation of the draft assessment report of corruption risks in public procurementwith required inputs/recommendations and an optimal risk indicator system based on the “red flag” concept, discussion of the recommendations and their validation. Final assessment report will be submitted to the NAC and UNDP after the second mission.

For detailed information, please refer to Annex 1 – Terms of Reference.

Requirements for experience

Academic Qualifications:

• Master’s Degree or equivalent ( 5 years of  university studies ) in Economics, Finance, Law or other relevant field;

Years and sphere of experience:

• At least three years of relevant experience in consultancy area in public procurement/public finance and experience in anti-corruption area.

Competencies

•  Previous experience in working with audit institutions and/or anti-corruption agencies is considered an asset;

•  Good knowledge of national system of public procurement and knowledge of effective mechanisms for identifying and reducing corruption in public procurement;

• Practical experience in expertise of the regulatory framework related to public procurement/public finance area;

• Extensive demonstrated experience in developing analytical studies/reports related to public procurement/corruption risks in public sector;

• Effective communication and strong analytical skills;

• Knowledge of English, Romanian and Russian.

• Working knowledge of one or more additional languages relevant for Moldova, including Bulgarian, Gagauzian, Romani, Ukrainian or sign language is an asset;

 Personal qualities

• Proven commitment to the core values of the United Nations; in particular, is respectful of differences of culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, language, age, HIV status, disability, and sexual orientation, or other status;

• Responsibility

• Capacity of collaboration and teamwork

• Flexibility

• Punctuality

• Creativity/resourcefulness

Documents to be included

1. Proposal: explaining why they are the most suitable for this position and providing examples reflecting the competencies for each of the qualification requirements (particularly providing details on the previously implemented similar projects and assignments and previous experience in the fields related to this consultancy as described in the terms of reference);
2. Financial proposal: in (USD, specifying a total lump sum amount and the number of anticipated working days);
3. Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and the contact details of at least 3 reference persons.

Financial proposal

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables. Payment will be made upon the successful completion of the tasks assigned and submission of the assessment report.  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 shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including fee, taxes, communication costs, travel, per diems, and number of anticipated working days).

Travel

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.

 No trips are envisaged under this assignment.