Head of Experimentation-Sensemaking

UNDP Accelerator Labs

UNDP Accelerator Lab Network is the largest and fastest learning global network on development challenges. We have already set up 90 labs in 114 countries embedded within UNDP’s global architecture and country platforms. We use the power of the crowd, machine learning and distributed decision making to support partners to understand problems, develop new solutions, promote more inclusive decision making, and provide better oversight of what is done. We identify grassroots solutions and stretch their potential to accelerate development.  We apply experimentation closely with government partners to grow this as a mode of operating to reduce costs of large-scale public sector reforms. Experimentation helps us learn whether particular assumptions are accurate before deploying solutions at scale, especially in the rapidly evolving contexts that often dominate development progress. 

UNDP Pacific MCO

In the Pacific, UNDP provides regional and country support to 10 countries and regional support to 5 countries, together with a total population of 2.4 million. There are three focus areas of which gender and human rights are mainstreamed: effective governance, inclusive growth and resilience and sustainable development. To serve its communities best, UNDP Pacific is looking to apply new development paradigms which are agile, iterative, and forward looking. Case in point is the opportunity to develop a coherence UN’s socio-economic response to COVID-19 with different UN agencies across the Pacific working collaboratively to address the immediate impacts of COVID-19 but also tackle the long term challenges that COVID-19 has exacerbated. This requires new approaches which can tackle complexity and navigate wicked problems. Sensemaking, systems approaches, and experimentation are three tools which are key to doing development differently.

Scope of Work

Sensemaking and support to development program coherence

• Provide guidance and support to clients (country offices and national governments) in applying sensemaking and other approaches to assess and strengthen internal coherence of their programs;

• Provide support to the clients’ strategic decision-making on logic and new directions/pivots for the increased relevance of the program;

• Lead on operationalization and continuous improvement of sensemaking approaches;

• Provide support to staff in developing their in-house capacity to apply sensemaking to ensure continuous coherence and relevance of the program.

   

Applying portfolio logic to experimentation / projects

• Help define logic and main hypotheses for the portfolio of experiments to respond to systemic development challenges at hand;

• Help develop criteria of the portfolio design and a roadmap to guide clients’ in portfolio development;

• Over time, develop a systematic approach to portfolio design.

Experiment design

• Work with UNDP and partners to map the context and nature of development challenges, with a particular focus on understanding systemic issues beyond traditional silos and classifications and identifying drivers of change, and levers for intervention;

• Map systems and assets, identify levers and logic for intervention, build hypotheses of change that are a fit to the system level challenges identified; 

• Work with colleagues from UNDP programs and government counterparts to identify logic against which to asses fit and coherence of the individual portfolios with the frontier challenges on which they are meant to generate learning;

• Identify and articulate policy options. Together with UNDP and development partners, coordinate portfolios of experiments to target multiple domains of complex problems.

   

Strategic development and operation of the UNDP Pacific MCO

• Help embed a portfolio logic in clients’ work including the existing UNDP Country Programme (as determined and agreed with the senior management);

• Working with clients to encourage reflection and capturing of insights from individual experiments, as they related to the overall portfolio logic;

• Work together with your Accelerator Lab colleagues and experts to codify and advance the Accelerator Lab practice and portfolio design in particular;

• Provide technical consultation and training for national partners and the CO  through various phases including asset mapping, developing a strategic portfolio logic, experiment design, prototype testing, and evaluation;

   

Learning, community building and working out loud

• Help systemically infuse portfolio logic into clients’ ways of working;

• Proactively use blog and social media to share findings from the experiments and portfolio implementation;

• Liaise with UNDP’s global Accelerator Lab network and share learnings and insights from the country-specific experience;

• Lead other activities related to the design and operations of the Accelerator Lab.

   

Expected Outputs and Deliverables:

The consultant is expected to deliver the following:

• Help institutionalize and continuously fine-tune sensemaking approaches;

• Develop methodologies for a portfolio approach and experiment design that are suitable for the UNDP context. Encourage their dissemination to country offices and governments through learning by doing;

• Work with clients to apply the portfolio logic, design the portfolio of experiments, and assist them in the implementation;

• Develop support materials (guidelines, templates, etc.) that can guide clients through the experimentation and sensemaking process;

• Trainings, webinars and capacity building sessions on all aspects of experimentation and sensemaking;

• Write blog posts and contribute to generating learnings and experience from experiments and sensemaking and share them within the network;

• Support the planning and implementation of activities.

• Institutional Arrangement

• The contractor will report to the Head of the UNDP Accelerator Lab

   

• Duration of the Work

• The duration of the assignment will be for one year from 11 January 2020 – 31 December2021, with maximum 240 days worked (maximum 20 days/month for 12 months)

• Suva, Fiji with travel in the region as and when requested.

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  Duty Station

Innovation

• Ability to manage organizational resources and deployment in pursuit of innovation approaches and initiatives;

• Catalyzes new ideas, methods, and applications to pave a path for innovation and continuous improvement in professional area of expertise;

• Knowledge of various sensemaking and system mapping methodologies;

• Strong facilitation skills including engagement with governments and development partners with preference for trained facilitators in collaborative methodologies (e.g. liberating structures, human centered design);

• Experience using network and system mapping tools (e.g. Kumu, loopy);

• Analytic capacity and demonstrated ability to process, analyse and synthesise complex, technical information;

• Proven ability to support the development of high quality knowledge and training materials, and to train technical teams;

Proven experience in the developing country context and working in different cultural settings.

Education:

Master’s degree in Social Science, International Development, Environmental Science, Transition or Complexity Science, Engineering, Design (e.g. industrial or service design, architecture, urban planning), Psychology or a related area.

Experience:

Minimum of 5 years of professional experience in development programming or policy; social innovation; partnership building; engagement (public and private sector) and/or resource mobilization, or;

Previous working experience in Asia and the Pacific is an asset;

• Demonstrated experience in applying experimental and portfolio logics to a specific policy area (or social issue);

• Demonstrated ability to work with systems and sensemaking approaches and methodologies;

• Demonstrated ability to work with clients to help surface unarticulated needs;

• Demonstrated ability in running co-design sessions and facilitating collaborative workshops;

• Demonstrated ability to design experiments, validate hypotheses and test prototypes;

• Demonstrated successful experience in bringing about organizational change;

• Existing networks with systems thinking and sensemaking teams globally

• Previous exposure to working with civil society, nonprofits, private sector, and government

• Previous intrapreneurship experience preferred

Language Requirements:  Fluency in the English language

Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

Lump Sum Amount. The total amount quoted shall be all-inclusive and include all costs components required to perform the deliverables identified in the TOR, including professional fee, travel costs, living allowance (if any work is to be done outside the contractors duty station) and any other applicable cost to be incurred by the Contractor in completing the assignment. The contract price will be fixed output-based price regardless of extension of the herein specified duration. Payments will be done upon completion of monthly progress reports.

In general, UNDP shall 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 event of unforeseeable travel not anticipated in this TOR, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and the Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Evaluation Method and Criteria

Individual contractors will be evaluated based UNDP cumulative analysis method.

Cumulative analysis

The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as a) responsive/compliant/acceptable; and b) having received the highest score out of set of weighted technical criteria (70%). and financial criteria (30%). Financial score shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced proposal received by UNDP for the assignment.

Technical Criteria for Evaluation (Maximum 70 points)

Criteria 1: Relevance of Education – Max 20 points

Criteria 2: Fluency of English and other languages – Max 10 Points

Criteria 3: Experience with sensemaking and experimentation – Max 50 points

Criteria 4: Existing network of practitioners and experts on sensemaking and experimentation

– Max 10 points

Criteria 5: Training in facilitation, design, systems thinking and complexity – Max 10 points

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70 points out of the total 100 obtainable points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation. UNDP may invite the shortlisted candidates for an interview which will be used to validate the technical assessment.

Documentation required

Interested individual contractors must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications.

• Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided in Annex II.

• Personal CV, indicating all experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.

• Financial proposal, as per template provided in Annex II.

   

Note: Successful individual will be required to provide proof of medical insurance coverage before commencement of contract for the duration of the assignment.

Incomplete and joint proposals may not be considered. Contractor with whom there is further interest will be contacted. The successful contractor shall opt to sign an Individual Contract or a Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA) through its company/employer with UNDP.

Annexes

• Annex I – Individual IC General Terms and Conditions

• Annex II – Offeror’s Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the Individual IC, including Financial Proposal Template

Complete proposals should be submitted to [email protected] or online through UN Jobs before the deadline.

For any clarification regarding this assignment please write to [email protected]