Terms of reference

for the procurement of Consultancy services for Profile Recurring Procurements in Integrity Cities

1.    BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

General overview

The European Union Anti-Corruption Initiative (EUACI) Phase 3 is a joint EU and Government of Denmark financed programme aimed at supporting Ukraine in its efforts to reduce corruption at the national and local level through the empowerment of citizens, civil society, businesses, and state institutions.

The overall objective of the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative Phase III is to improve the implementation of Ukraine’s anti-corruption policy by supporting the key anti-corruption state institutions: strengthening oversight of reform implementation by Parliament; and at the national and local level supporting civil society, investigative media, business and local governments, thus substantially improving Ukraine’s overall performance in the fight against corruption.

The EUACI has 4 intervention areas, namely:

Intervention 1: that supports key state anti-corruption agencies in improving their effectiveness and independence;

Intervention 2: that supports the efforts of the Government of Ukraine to ensure transparent and accountable reconstruction;

Intervention 3: that supports Integrity cities in their efforts to strengthen their integrity, transparency, and accountability;

Intervention 4: that supports Ukraine’s civil society, media, and business community with a view to increase awareness of and engagement in anti-corruption activities.

The partnership with Integrity Cities

The six integrity cities with which the EUACI has entered into a partnership under its Component 3 are Zhytomyr, Chernivtsi, Nikopol, Mykolaiv, Sheptytskyy (former Chervonohrad) and Mariupol. Currently, there are no active projects in Mariupol.

These Terms of Reference (ToR) give more details about the assignment.

2.    OBJECTIVE

The goal is to minimize corruption risks during the procurement of goods by four municipal enterprises in three Integrity Cities (Zhytomyr, Chernivtsi and Nikopol).

3.    SCOPE OF WORK

The scope of work includes all activities necessary to ensure the achievement of the above objective, including, but not necessarily limited to.

Kick-Off

Present the work plan, assignment implementation strategy, and considerations to EUACI Component Team during the Kick-Off meeting.

Tasks within the project include the following measures:

1. Determine the criteria for classifying procurements of goods as profile recurring procurements.

2. Carry out a generalized analysis of procurements of goods for the years 2022-2024 by:

• Municipal Enterprise "Hospital No. 1" of the Zhytomyr City Council,
• Municipal Enterprise "Highway Administration" of the Zhytomyr City Council (MoE "UASh"),
• Municipal Enterprise "Chernivtsi Trolleybus Management" (MoE "ChTU"),
• Municipal Enterprise "Nikopolvodokanal" of the Nikopol City Council.

3. Determine for each of the four municipal enterprises a specific nomenclature of goods that belong to the profile recurring ones.

4. For each of the nomenclature items of goods classified as profile recurring, carry out an analysis of procurements made in the region where each of the MoEs is located.

5. Determine the technical, qualification and other requirements for the procurement items for each of the nomenclature items of the goods, classified as profile recurring, which contributed to the greatest efficiency, economy and competition.

6. Develop a detailed algorithm for determining the expected cost of profile recurring procurements for its use by municipal enterprises.

7. Develop a methodology for municipal enterprises to carry out profile recurring procurements, which should include, in particular: determination of the procurement procedure depending on the expected cost, the procedure for establishing qualification criteria for participants in open tenders, establishing technical and other requirements for procurement items for each of the nomenclature items of goods.

8. Hold four offline meetings with representatives of city councils and municipal enterprises to present the results of the work and discuss the procedure for implementing the proposed algorithms and methods in the work.

4.    DELIVERABLES:

The Deliverables are presented below in Table 1 with a tentative schedule.

All results are expected to be provided in Ukrainian unless otherwise agreed. Electronic copies are sent by email to the particular EUACI contact person.
 

Table 1: Summary of deliverables/outputs and the tentative timeline for delivery.

The timelines indicated in the table above are indicative. The Consultant will reflect on and update the timelines for different activities while preparing and updating the Consultant’s work plan. During the Kick-Off meeting with the EUACI Component Team, the Consultant’s work plan will be discussed, including the proposed timeline for the different activities and the submission of deliverables.

5.     TIMING

The expected duration of the assignment is 4 months, with a tentative start in January 2025 and completion in May 2025.

6.     METHODOLOGY

The Consultant will work under the supervision of Project Expert for Integrity Cities.

Based on consultations with the EUACI staff and the needs identified in the documentation provided by partners, the Consultant will prepare work plans and send them to the EUACI for approval.

7.    PAYMENT

Payment will be made in a maximum of two instalments.

The first instalment, representing a maximum of 30% of the total contract value, will be made after receipt of the Consultant's updated work plan, Deliverable 1, and invoice.

The second and final payment will be made upon receipt and approval of the Final Report with all other supporting documents, including a Final Invoice.

8.    QUALIFICATIONS AND COMPETENCE OF STAFF

CONSULTANT REQUIREMENTS

General qualifications

• Master's degree or equivalent in economics, finance, law or another related field that demonstrates the ability to perform the duties and responsibilities as described.
• Proven track record (no fewer than 5 years) of provision of services in the field of public procurements over the past 7 years.
• Experience of project implementation and cooperation with public authorities for at least 3 years.
• A minimum of two recent assignments from projects of a similar nature within the past three years.
• Fluency in Ukrainian.

9.    ESTIMATED BUDGET AND LEVEL OF EFFORT

The maximum budget available for this assignment is up to EUR 13 000.

It is assumed that the consultant will have 80 working days, including 8 days of business trips to three cities. The format of meetings (offline online) will be pre-agreed with the EUACI contact person.

This amount includes subsistence allowance for fieldwork in the partner city as well as costs related to local travel, and other project-related costs such as for example printing.

The consultant has the ability to enlist the help of other experts to efficiently and effectively tackle assigned tasks by leveraging diverse areas of expertise as necessary.

Bids will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria provided below: 

 

HOW TO APPLY

The proposals with:

1) budget proposal including daily rate and budget for business trips;

2) short methodology of project implementation;

3) CV(s) of the tender participant(s)

shall be submitted in electronic format only within the below deadline to the email: [email protected], cc [email protected] indicating the subject line «Consultancy services for Profile Recurring Procurement in Integrity Cities».

Any clarification questions for the bid request should be addressed: [email protected], cc [email protected], no later than 30 December, 17:00 Kyiv time.

The deadline for submitting proposals is 8 January 2025, 17:00 Kyiv time.

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Bidding language: English