Final Report Writer (National Consultant)

Project Title

Promoting Freedom of Information and Freedom of Expression in the Philippines

Project Description

After the 1986 People Power Revolution and the restoration of democracy, there was hope that a culture of democracy would take root in the Philippines. The enshrinement of the right to freedom of expression in the 1987 Constitution, and the resurgence of a free press, indicated that steps were being taken in this direction.

There are, however, significant challenges to these freedoms. At the international level, the emerging phenomenon of ‘fake news’ – intentionally falsified stories disseminated across social media platforms and some mainstream news outlets – has undermined the integrity of information available to the public. Furthermore, efforts to suppress media freedom have contributed to the shrinking of democratic space. Organized disinformation does not only attenuate the news that journalists produce; it pollutes the environment for ordinary citizens, for their exercise of the freedom of expression. A society overwhelmed by manufactured false news or overly anxious about the credibility of its news media loses the capacity to tell fact from falsehood, right from wrong. As a result, the public are rendered unformed and uninformed, undermining the very principles of democracy. The Philippines has also experienced this phenomenon, with the country’s ranking in the World Press Freedom Index and other global indicators having fallen sharply in recent years.

From 2018 – 2021, the ‘Promoting Freedom of Information and Freedom of Expression in the Philippines” project has implemented various activities ranging from capacity-building of media personnel to ensure the quality and integrity of information through a regional hub network, advocacy campaigns on FOI/FOE, and research on the current state of FOI/FOE in the country.

As the Project nears its completion, UNDP is seeking a Writer-Editor based in Manila to assist in the writing, editing, and lay-outing of the Final Report.

Institutional Arrangement

The Contractor will be under the direct supervision of the Programme Analyst and HR Project Coordinator who will also review the submitted output. This shall be endorsed to the Programme Outcome Lead for the Institutions and Partnerships for the final approval.

Duration of the Work

The Contractor will be contracted for 40 person-days spread over 2 months and expected to start the work from 7 May until 15 July 2021. Effectivity of the engagement will be upon signing of the contract and will be valid until all outputs have been delivered and accepted. A period of 7 working days will be the estimated time lead for UNDP to review outputs, give comments, certify approval/acceptance of outputs.

Duty Station

Considering the COVID-19 pandemic and declaration of State of Public Health Emergency in the Philippines, all work of the Consultant shall be done within the guidelines and protocols set by the local government. During the quarantine period, the Consultant shall NOT ENGAGE in any meetings or activities OUTSIDE THEIR HOMES. Coordination/meetings shall be done through phone or online communication until such time that the quarantine is lifted. This is STRICTLY an OUTPUT/ HOME-BASED assignment; NO TRAVEL IS REQUIRED for the Consultant to complete their abovementioned tasks. Related costs for the engagement shall be borne by the Consultant and should be included in the Consultant’s Offer Letter.

Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

The Contractor should send the financial proposal based on a lump-sum amount for the delivery of the outputs identified below. The total amount quoted shall be “all inclusive fee” (professional daily fee X number of person-days, communications, etc.) that could possibly be incurred by the Consultant should be factored into the final amount submitted in the proposal.

Note: Medical/health insurance must be purchased by the individual at his/her own expense, and upon award of contract, the Consultant must be ready to submit proof of insurance valid during contract duration.

Payment to the Consultant shall be fixed and output-based regardless of extension of the specific duration therein. The consultant will only be paid upon satisfactory acceptance of the following outputs by the I&P Team Leader.

Scope of Work

The Contractor shall aid in the conceptualization of theme and titles, writing, editing, and lay-outing of the final report given the project context, objectives, collected data, lessons learned and recommendations. S/He shall gather the relevant data from UNDP, project consultants, stakeholders, and partners.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

The Contractor shall be directly supervised by the UNDP Programme Analyst and HR Project Coordinator and is expected to deliver the following results:

1. Prepare an annotated outline of the final report
2. Data gathering from UNDP, project consultants, stakeholders, and partners
3. Submit first draft of the final report using UNDPs’ template/format for reports
4. Submit edited and proofread copy of the final report

Corporate competencies

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality, and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional and technical competencies

• Ability to work in a diverse and multi-cultural environment;
• Self-motivated and ability to work under pressure and to meet strict and competing deadlines;
• Displays analytical judgment and demonstrated ability to handle confidential and politically sensitive issues in a responsible and mature manner;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities

Offers will be evaluated based on the combined scoring method :

• Technical qualifications = 70%
• Financial Proposal = 30%

For the evaluation of the Technical Proposal, the selection of the successful consultant must be based on the following qualifications (with the appropriate obtainable points)

Applicants who will only receive 70 points from the assessment of the CV will be qualified for the assessment of the Financial Proposal.

Recommended Presentation of Offer

Interested applicants must submit at https://jobs-admin.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?job_id=98441 the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Please group them into one (1) single PDF document as the application only allows to upload of a maximum of one document.

1. Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;
2. Personal CV or P11, indicating all previous experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references;
3. Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided. If an Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP.

Note: The above documents need to be scanned in one file and uploaded to the online application as one document.

Interested applicants to note that personal Medical/health insurance (to be purchased by the individual at his/her own expense) is mandatory for the issuance of contracts. Upon award of the contract, the consultant must be ready to submit proof of insurance valid during the contract duration.

The following templates / Annexes and IC General Terms & Conditions can be downloaded from http://gofile.me/6xdJm/bE9TCw8fU:

• General Terms and Conditions for Individual Contract
• Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability
• P-11 form

In view of the volume of applications, UNDP receives, only shortlisted offerors will be notified.