REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (EOI)
INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANCY
CONSULTANCY SERVICES TO CONDUCT A MID TERM REVIEW OF THE AUABC 2018-2022 STRATEGIC PLAN
Reference No. AUABC/CONS/2020/02
I: Background to the Consultancy
The Member States of the African Union adopted the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (AUCPCC) at the Second Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union held in Maputo (Mozambique), on 11th July 2003. The Convention entered into force on 5th August 2006, thirty (30) days after the deposit of the fifteenth (15th) instrument of ratification. To date Forty-four (44) countries have ratified the Convention and are States Parties to it.
The Convention, pursuant to Article 22(1) established the African Union Advisory Board on Corruption (AUABC or the Board) as a follow-up mechanism for the Convention with the following objectives;
- Document and analyze corrupt activities;
- Advise the AU and member states on all matters relating to corruption;
- Monitor and report on implementation and compliance with the Convention; and
- Engage in advocacy and outreach to prevent corruption.
In an effort to establish direction and focus, the Board has been developing and implementing strategic plans and currently is implementing its second series of five- year strategic plan that was adopted in 2018 and implementation ends in 2022.
The Strategic Plan provides guidance for the implementation of projects and programmes towards the achievement of the Board’s short-term vision of becoming “an efficient organization that provides relevant support to Member States in the sustainable implementation of the AU Convention and the fight against corruption in Africa.”
The 2018 – 2022 Strategic Plan seeks to achieve four objectives:
- Provide a road-map that clearly defines the actions of the Board in planning, decision making and resource allocation;
- Provide a strategic framework and common standards of responsibilities which allows the Board, stakeholders and partners to align on how goals are achieved, and the flexibility to respond to rapid and unforeseen developments;
- Create a solid link between the Board, partners and stakeholders who will assist it in its mission (short term), measure the degree of progress in fighting corruption in Africa (medium term) and to considerably reduce the effects of corruption on good governance and development in Africa (longer term); and
- Provide a platform to align the activities of the Board with the wider African Union agenda, specifically, the AU Agenda 2063 (Aspiration #3) and the framework for the African Governance Architecture.
The vision of the Board is articulated in the Four Strategic Pillars as below:
- Enhanced legal framework to combat corruption;
- Strengthened capacity of State Parties to combat corruption;
- Enhanced outreach and cooperation activities; and
- Strengthened institutional capacity of the Board and the Secretariat.
Implementation of the Strategic Plan is done through yearly annual programme interventions that comprise of key identified activities, deliverables and key results areas. The year 2020 marks half-way through the implementation of the Strategic Plan and presents an opportune time to reflect on the progress made so far in achieving the objectives of the strategic plan. Further the mid-term review will provide feedback that will guide the Board to optimize delivery of its mandate.
II: Objectives of the Consultancy
- General objectives
The general objective of the consultancy is to review and determine to what extent the objectives of the Strategic Plan have been realized as well as provide recommendations on how the Board can optimize results.
Secondly, the review shall be responding to the call by the African Union Executive Council for all AU organs to align their medium term strategic plans to the First Ten Year Implementation Plan of the Agenda 2063 which runs 2013 to 2023. The midterm review has therefore provided an opportunity to the Board to align its strategic plan to the required timeframe of 2023.
- Specific objectives
Specifically the review will;
- Consolidate and determine the status of overall progress on the implementation of the Strategic Plan;
- Determine the progress on achievement of the objectives of each of the four strategic pillars;
- Identify major challenges and opportunities that may have impacted the progress achieved this far;
- Determine the impact of the Board’s activities and services provided to AU Member States;
- Provide practical recommendations to ensure the Board maximizes achievement of results in a timely manner as well as transform its vision statement to make it more aspirational;
- Align the implementation of the remainder of Strategic Plan to the First Ten Year Implementation Plan of the Agenda 2063
III: Scope of the Consultancy
The Consultant is expected to faithfully review the progress on the implementation of the Strategic Plan at mid-way of its execution and provide recommendations to optimize achievement of results.
The scope of work for the Consultant will include but not limited to:
- Review relevant Board’s documents including policy documents, reports, publications, and other related documents;
- Identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that have affected the execution of the strategic plan;
- Determine what it would take to accelerate the implementation of the strategic plan;
- Identify the resource needs for the implementation of the plan in the remaining time frame;
- Design relevant tools for the monitoring and evaluation of program implementation for the remaining period of execution of the plan; and
- Identify the key stakeholders to be consulted and interviewed in the review process.
- Review the structure for delivery of the Strategic Plan
IV: Deliverables, Reporting Requirements and Time Frames
It is estimated that the consultancy shall be undertaken in 30 consulting days spread over a period of 3 months. It is expected that most interviews will be virtual (via telephone/skype/Zoom). The Consultant shall be required to submit an inception Inception report, including the proposed plan of work 7 days after signing of contract. The consultant will identify key stakeholders and list of interviewees and develop the information data collection tools and conduct interviews and reviews. The Consultant will be expected to present a draft report which will be discussed and approved by the Board. The main deliverables will be a report on the status of implementation of the strategic plan and report on achievement of results and an ME tool. The second deliverable will be a plan to accelerate execution of the strategic plan to optimize achievement of results. The final deliverable is expected to be submitted by 30th December 2020.
V: Consultancy fees
The Consultant will be selected under the fixed budget selection method (lump-sum amount) and payment shall not exceed USD 10,000.00 as consultancy fees for this assignment. The first tranche of 40 percent will be paid after submitting the inception report and its approved by the Board. The second tranche of 60 percent will be paid after submitting the final approved report.
VI: Qualifications and Skills
The Board will consider the following aspects in selecting the consultant for this task:
- The consultant(s) should have post-graduate qualifications in Social Sciences such as Political Science, Law, Economics and Management;
- At least 10 years’ experience in strategic planning and management;
- Have reviewed more than five (5) organization’s strategic plans;
- Experience in evaluating institutions/projects/strategic plans that deal with issues of governance;
- Experience in participatory methods of research, gathering and synthesizing the perspectives of various stakeholders;
- A very good knowledge of the African Union and its’ Organs specifically treaty based Organs.
- Excellent verbal and written communication in English and proficiency in French is an asset.
- Must be from African Union Member State
VII: Evaluation and qualification criteria
For evaluation of the expressions of interest, the following criteria will be applied:
- General Education and Qualification(s) (10 points);
- Experience in reviewing strategic plans (50);
- Other experience related to the assignment (20) points);
- Technical approach and methodology (20 points)
VIII: Submission of Proposal
Interested individuals are requested to submit the following documents for AUABC’s consideration:
- Up-to-date Curriculum Vitae
- Technical Proposal which will include understanding of the assignment, detailed work plan (including technical approach and methodology)
- Financial proposal
IX: Submission
- EOIs must be submitted to: [email protected] with Copy to [email protected]
- The Title of the Assignment and Procurement reference number should be clearly indicated in the subject matter of the email
- The deadline for submission is 14th October 2020 at 15:00Hrs East Africa Time (GMT +3)
