Recrutement d’une firme pour mener une enquête sur la perception de la prestation de services publics dans 54 pays africains, Côte d’Ivoire

AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

International Consulting Firm to Conduct a Consultancy Assignment for a Public Service Delivery Perception Survey Across 54 Africa Countries

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AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE

Avenue Joseph Anoma

01 BP. 1387, Abidjan 01 Cote d’Ivoire

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1. Public service delivery remains a pressing issue throughout Africa due to the low rate of change of quality of life of the African people. Public services have the power to improve people’s quality of life, enhance their opportunities and ultimately accelerate the achievement of the development goals such as the Bank Group’s Ten-Year Strategy, the Banks High 5s and African Agenda 2063 and the sustainable development gaols (SDGs) ;
2. The measurement of public service delivery is often done in isolation focusing on small number of attributes that can result in undesirable or even perverse outcomes, such as poverty traps. While there are wide-ranging governance indicators tracking election behaviours and other measures tracking progress in public service delivery in select sectors including the Mo Ibrahim Index of Governance (IIAG); The African Development Bank annual Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) scores; the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI); Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI); the UNDP’s Human Development Index (HDI); the World Bank’s World Development Index (WDI) and the Service Delivery Indicators on health, education; the Africa Development Bank Electricity Regulatory Index for Africa, African Infrastructure Development Index, and the Africa Regional Integration Index, there is no comprehensive index of public services delivery to monitor progress in public service delivery across all the key sectors including-power, energy, agriculture, human capital, gender empowerment, industrialisation and trade competitiveness, regional integration, and human wellbeing such as access to clean water and sanitation, education, health and technology delivery services. The widely used indexes are limited in coverage and most have been criticised for being expert based ; 

3. There is growing recognition that measuring inputs and outputs alone is not enough to understand how service delivery works in practice. Citizens have a direct experience of the efficiency, adequacy, accessibility, and reliability of public services. Capturing the citizens perception of quality of services and their assessment of public services delivery is crucial as it provides valuable information to improve service delivery and governance of local governments

4. To this end, the African Development Institute hereby invites qualified International Consulting Firms to indicate their interest in the “Consultancy Assignment to Conduct a Public Service Delivery Perception Survey in 54 Africa Countries.” The survey data is meant to contribute to the African Development Institute current work on the development of a composite indicator – the Public Services Delivery Index (PSDI) that covers the full stream of public services across all sectors and across the Banks’ High 5s including: power, energy, agriculture, human capital, gender empowerment, industrialisation and trade competitiveness, regional integration, and human wellbeing such as access to clean water and sanitation, education, health and technology delivery services that can help to enhance transparency and accountability in public service in Africa ; 

5. Under the direct supervision and guidance of the Senior Director of the African Development Institute, the Consulting Firm will undertake the following tasks : 

• Conduct a public services perception survey on quality of services delivery in the 54 African countries among adults 18 years and above ;
• Produce cleaned dataset of selected indicators of public service delivery ;
• Produce country survey data reports, including descriptive for each variable/ indicator, and a comprehensive comparative data report for all the countries.

The consultant is expected to submit an expression of interest with a draft PSDI perception survey plan that gives an indication of the study approach including the :

1. The total sample size and sample for each country. The sample should be statistically powered to allow tracking of important changes in public services delivery indicators over time within each country. The sample should be nationally representative on a household level within each country and for selected analysis domains (i.e. rural/urban) in each country for the target population ;
2. Data collection methods, for example whether the survey will be done online and/ or offline, face-to-face, telephonic etc. and whether it is self-administered and/or interviewer assisted survey, or a hybrid of all methods noting the digital divide in Africa ;
3. The approach to selection of survey participants ;
4. The number of key informants’ interviews (KII) and Focus group discussions (FDGs) to be held in each country where possible, and the process of recruitment of the participants ;
5. Survey team’s recruitments, training, and supervision including coordination with local authorities and approvals where necessary ;
6. Survey data management plan – for both the quantitative and qualitative including the data management system(s), data quality checks and data cleaning ;
7. Survey data analysis plan for both the quantitative and qualitative data ;
8. Measures that will be taken to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of those participating in both the surveys and the qualitative discussions ;
9. Any other relevant information the firm proposes to ensure quality public service perceptions data for tracking public service delivery.

6. Essential Specialized Skills/Competence of the consulting team/ firm : 

The requisite skills and experience for team members to participate in undertaking this assignment include : 

Work Experience : 

1. At least 10-year experience leading mixed methods study design and analysis for economic data collection, data management and analysis and production of data survey reports ;
2. At least 5 years’ experience developing and conducting large scale survey including household surveys ;
3. At least 5 years’ experience in research data management; database design including data structures, and access controls etc.; and production of summary data factsheets ;
4. Experience with statistical packages, for example SPSS, R, STATA among others ;
5. Good understanding of the diversified development challenges in public service delivery in Bank’s Regional Member Countries- the 54 African countries ;
6. Team with excellent verbal and written communication skills in French or English, with a good working knowledge of other languages. A history of successful research ethics applications for household survey studies ;
7. Experience in working and managing relations with multiple stakeholders, and working in multicultural environment.

Essential knowledge and skills required to meet the demands of the assignment :

1. At least a master’s degree or higher in Social sciences (i.e. Economics, Statistics, International development, Research Methods, Public Policy, or related field). A PhD will be an added Advantage ;
2. Project Management experience and ability to meet deadlines are essential ;
3. Excellent analytical and report writing skills ;
4. Exceptional diplomacy and cross-cultural skills ;
5. Facilitation & presentation skills ;
6. Good written and oral communications skills ;
7. Be nationals of one of the member countries of the Bank

7. Deliverables : 

The selected consulting firm will produce : 

• A detailed Study plan for the assignment ;
• Survey launch report ;
• Country data fact sheets and reports including descriptive for each variable/ indicator on public services delivery perceptions survey ;
• A comprehensive comparative survey data report for all the countries.

8. The African Development Institute invites qualified International Consulting Firms to indicate their interest in providing the above-described services. Interested consulting firms shall provide information on their team’s qualifications and experience, demonstrating their ability to undertake this assignment (CVs, documentation, references for similar services, experience in comparable assignments, etc.). The applicant should also highlight the implementation plan for the assignment. For any questions on technical aspects of the assignment contact [email protected], copy to [email protected]

9. The eligibility criteria, the establishment of a short list and the selection procedure shall be in conformity with the Bank’s Rules and Procedures for the Use of Corporate Consultants. Please note that interest expressed by a Consultancy Firm does not imply any obligation on the part of the Bank to include them in the shortlist ; 

10. The estimated duration of services is four (4) months after signing of contract ; 

11. Place of assignment : The assignment will be undertaken from the consulting firm’s duty ; 

12. Interested International Consulting Firms incorporated in the African Development Bank’s member countries may obtain further information at the email address below during the Bank’s working hours : 8:00 to 17:00 ; 

13. Remuneration :

The fees will be negotiated upon contract signature based on the financial proposals and taking into consideration the requisite qualifications of the team members and experience of the firm.

14. Expressions of interest must be received at the email addresses below no later than 10 November 2020 at 17:00 local time in HQ, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire and specifically mentioning “Consultancy Assignment to Conduct a Public Service Delivery Perception Survey in 54 Africa Countries.”;

E-mails : [email protected] and [email protected] with copy to [email protected]

15. Establishment of the Shortlist : 

A shortlist of three to six consulting firms will be established at the end of the request of expressions of interest period. The criteria for consulting firms to make it to the shortlist will be judged based on the criteria below :

 Eligibility of consulting firm : 

• General qualifications and experience in the areas of expertise ; 
• Consulting firm’s relevant experience with similar assignments ;
• Availability of requisite skill mix within the personnel of the company during the period planned for the execution of the contract ;
• Experience working in developing regions, with emphasis on Africa.