Recrutement d’un consultant individuel pour l’examen à mi-parcours du cadre stratégique d’intégration régionale de la banque 2018 – 2025, Côte d’Ivoire

Regional Development and Regional Integration (RDRI) Coordinating Department

AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK GROUP

INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT : MID-TERM REVIEW OF THE BANK’S REGIONAL INTEGRATION STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK 2018 – 2025

Request for Expression of Interest

Brief description of the Assignment : The African Development Bank is recruiting an Individual Consultant (International) to conduct the Mid-Term Review of the Bank’s Regional Integration Strategic Framework (2018 – 2025).

Department issuing the request : RDRI

Place of assignment : Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

Duration of the assignment : 80 days, within a 6 month-period

Tentative Date of commencement : 20 April 2021

Deadline for applications : 31 March 2021

Applications or requests for clarification are to be submitted by email to RDRI and addressed to: Mrs. Marina Soungalo – Email: [email protected]

DETAILED TERMS OF REFERENCE

Background and Context :

Regional Integration (RI) in support of broad-based economic and human development has been a critical part of the Bank’s mandate since its creation in 1963. Regional integration is also a key priority for the African Union “Agenda 2063”, and the regional economic communities (RECs). Regional Integration (‘Integrate Africa’) brings the Bank’s High Five objectives (High 5s) together in support of the African Union Vision for 2063 that supports regional integration and a Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) to capitalize on opportunities. These include (a) larger, more attractive markets; (b) linking landlocked countries and small-island states to regional African markets and beyond; (c) support for intra-African trade and investment; (d) an improved business environment for private sector investment; and (e) broader economic and human development benefits that come from the free flow of people, ideas, cultures, skills development, and general sharing of knowledge and information.

The Bank’s Regional Integration Strategic Framework (RISF 2018 – 2025), approved in March 2018, is the overarching framework that guides the “Integrate Africa” High 5, while the Regional Integration Strategy Papers (RISPs) are its operational instruments for the various regions. Given the importance the Bank attaches to development priorities of the regional member countries (RMCs), it has developed RISPs for each sub-region (Central, East, South, West and North) with the aim of delivering region-specific support using a results-based approach to spur economic growth and structural transformation through regional integration. The RISF, which was approved in March 2018, seeks to deepen the Bank’s engagement with the RECs, and other continental bodies, through interventions in critical areas and priority sectors with regional dimension. The RISF is therefore anchored on three pillars, namely: Infrastructure Connectivity, Trade and Investment and Financial Integration.

The RISF is being implemented through a multi-country and multi-sector approach, coordinated by the Bank’s Regional Integration Coordinating Office (RDRI), through the Bank’s regional offices to deliver on the continental “Integrate Africa” objectives. The Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Complex (RDVP), through the Regional Development and Regional Integration (RDRI) Coordinating Department is responsible for (a) overall coordination and reporting, knowledge management and performance evaluation specific to Regional Integration, and (b) leadership on larger continent-wide policy and dialogue initiatives.

While the socio-economic impacts of the current COVID-19 pandemic (‘the pandemic’) are not yet fully known, the outbreak of the virus has brought new challenges to regional integration and development across the world and particularly in Africa. The disruptive impacts of the pandemic have ranged from disruption in regional and global supply chains, restrictions on the free movement of people and goods to a global recession. By extension, the pandemic has exposed shortcomings in the current regional integration framework for Africa and delayed the entry into force of trading under the newly African continental free trade area (AfCFTA). These have included (i) policy and regulatory weaknesses (e.g., uncoordinated border closures, failure to implement legal agreements by RECs), (ii) weak trading platforms, and (iii) insufficient Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and digitalized solutions for logistical needs. All of these shortcomings have therefore led to disruption of regional and global supply chains that has undermined resilience.

Following three years of its implementation, the Bank is now in the process of preparing the Mid-Term Review (MTR) of the Bank’s Regional Integration Strategic Framework 2018 – 2025, to take stock of the progress made on its objectives in each of the regions and the continental level, as a whole.

The Mid-Term Review of the RISF will also :

• Provide an opportunity for the Bank to outline key performance indicators to be included in the RISF ;
• Take stock of lessons learned from the pandemic and review the relevance of pillars of the RISF ;
• Propose strategic initiatives for the Bank and partners to support in response to the unanticipated impact of COVID-19 on the African economy, and to prepare for future shocks.

Based on this background, RDRI seeks to recruit an individual Consultant to conduct the Mid-term review of the Bank’s RISF.

Scope of Work for Consultancy Assignment :

The overall objective of the Mid-Term Review (MTR) of the RISF is to conduct an assessment of progress in the implementation of the RISF objectives and its relevance especially in the context of the pandemic towards targets, made since its approval in March 2018 up until 2021. The MTR also serves to draw lessons that will inform the strategic focus going forward, up to its completion in 2025, and possibly feed into the Bank’s next ten-year strategy for 2023 – 2032. Drawing on the evaluation to be done, the MTR will also provide the basis for forward looking interventions to support the RI agenda, especially within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to build resilience to weather future shocks better. The MTR will also articulate the performance of the Bank in its engagement with the Regional Economic Communities and other stakeholders for the period under review (2018 – 2020).

The MTR will, in broad terms, consider the following areas: (i) developments at the regional level over the implementation period (2018 – to date), (ii) implementation and results achieved of the RISF at the continental level (iii) Portfolio performance in each of the regions and, (iv) lessons learned to improve implementation results towards 2025 targets.

For the MTR, the Consultant will analyze, among others, the following assessment points :

• Relevance of the RISF 2018 – 2025 ;
• Provide an assessment of the design and focus of the RISF 2018 – 2025 ;
• Assess whether the strategic orientation/conception of the RISF was adequate at the outset and whether it addressed the right developmental issues and constraints for Africa. This will also include an assessment of whether the right areas for dialogue were correctly identified in each of the RISPs and to what extent this dialogue actually happened, and the results produced ;
• Were the inputs and strategies identified, and were they realistic, appropriate and adequate to achieve the results?
• How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the relevance of the RISF, and what new orientation the RISF should take, if any, until 2025 to ensure continued relevance within an evolving context?
• Highlight new challenges facing the continent (especially those unanticipated effects of the pandemic), main strengths, opportunities and weaknesses that need to be addressed for the rest of the implementation period of the RISF up to 2025 and beyond.
• Assess progress made by the Bank in the implementation of the RISF.

Effectiveness – Describe the management processes and their appropriateness in supporting delivery of the RISF. To what extent did the RISF’s Monitoring and

Evaluation (M&E) mechanism contribute to meeting expected results? How effective were the strategies and tools used in the implementation of the RISF? How effective has the RISF been in responding to the needs of the beneficiaries, and what results have been achieved? Among others, this includes a candid stocktaking of the implementation of the lending and non-lending programs within the RISPs (programmed vs. actually approved) as well as results (outputs, outcomes; impacts, to the extent possible) generated by each Bank project under implementation during the RISF period to date and their contribution to the RISF objectives as well as continental development goals. How has the Bank Group multinational/regional portfolio performed? Which sectors have over/underperformed and why? What are the areas requiring intervention to improve portfolio performance?

Efficiency – Was the process of achieving results efficient? Specifically, did the actual or expected results (outputs and outcomes) justify the costs incurred? Were the resources effectively utilized towards meeting RI objectives? Are there more efficient ways and means of delivering more and better results (outputs and outcomes) with the available inputs? Could a different approach have produced better results, especially within the context of the pandemic? How has the collaboration been between the Bank, RECs and development partners on the implementation of the RISF? How efficient were the management and accountability structures of the Framework? What were the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the RISF’s implementation process?

Lessons need to be drawn at relevant levels (strategic, operational, dialogue, etc.; Bank, RECs, national and other stakeholders). Key general principles to be explicitly reflected in the document are as follows :

Principle of selectivity

Promoting green and inclusive growth/employment Building resilience within fragile contexts Promoting transformative growth/value chains Promoting gender-equality

Address specificities of Small Island Developing States. Coherence with national contexts (priorities, strategies, etc.)

Partnerships. The Bank as a connector, convener and catalyst: leveraging/mobilizing additional resources, notably from private sector investors (Public-Private Partnerships), co-financing with development partners, trust funding, etc.

Strong analytical underpinning; emphasis on becoming a truly knowledge-based Bank through relevant top-notch analytic work :

• Propose/suggest support approaches/mechanisms for each pillar: what should the Bank improve under each pillar and how should it plan to achieve those improvements, especially within the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic?
• Identify areas to improve dialogue between the Bank, RECs, national governments and other stakeholders. Key criteria to identify those areas could include sectors in which the Bank intervenes; other sectors of relevance to the regions; portfolio; etc. ;
• Analyze regional aid coordination mechanisms. The analysis will focus on niche areas that would enable the Bank to remain selective and outline the Bank’s positioning in the region ;
• Risk analysis: identify potential risks that might arise during the RISF period and propose adequate mitigation measures ;
• What are the recommendations for the implementation of the RISF going forward, especially given the lessons learned from implementation thus far and the COVID-19 pandemic?

Duration of the Consultancy Assignment :

The consultancy assignment will be required out for a period of 80 working days over six months, starting April 20 – October 20, 2021 with specific milestones to be achieved on a monthly basis. The Consultant will support the MTR process from inception through presentation to the Operations Committee and the Committee for Development Effectiveness of the Board of Directors.

Given the current virtual working policy of the Bank, the exercise will mainly consist of virtual meetings with relevant (external and internal stakeholders), desk reviews, report writing, analysis and report finalization. Upon potential return to office, the Consultant may be required to work in the Bank’s HQ or visit regional offices.

Expected Deliverables :

The following deliverables in the Table are expected from the Consultancy assignment and are further described below:

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF DELIVERABLES AND PAYMENTS

Inception Report :

1. The inception report will outline the scope of the work and intended work plan for the MTR, and key questions to be addressed. This shall be submitted within 10 days of commencing the assignment as per the proposed timeline. The inception report shall provide the Bank an opportunity to review and verify that they share the same understanding of the issues to be discussed within the MTR. The inception report should include a proposed schedule of tasks, activities and deliverables and will be discussed and agreed upon with the task team ;
2. Consultations: The Consultant is expected to support the task team in holding a series of consultations which will precede and support the report drafting process. The Consultant will prepare the relevant questionnaires for stakeholder engagement on the MTR and contribute to the discussions.

Draft reports :

A first draft comprehensive report will be prepared for peer review

A second draft, including a matrix of comments, is expected upon incorporation of peer reviewer comments, which will be validated by stakeholders including regional economic communities, donor partners and other stakeholders

A third draft, with a matrix of comments, is expected to be prepared after incorporating comments from the validation stage for submission to the Bank’s Operations Committee Secretariat (OPSCOM) for Clearance.

The Final Report for submission to the Bank’s Board Committee for Development Effectiveness (CODE):

The final report should take into account comments raised by the OPSCOM Secretariat. The content and structure of the final report (to submit to CODE) with findings, recommendations and lessons learnt covering the scope of the evaluation should meet the requirements of the AfDB’s Report format and policy which will be provided to the consultant.

Required Expertise and Qualification :

The Consultant shall have the following qualifications, expertise and competencies :

1. At least a Master’s degree in Economics, Development; Economics, Public Policy, International Development, International Relations/Diplomacy or any other relevant subject field. A PhD would be preferred ;
2. At least 10 years of experience working with international organizations and bilateral or multilateral donor agencies ;
3. Extensive experience in regional integration/multinational donor-funded projects ;
4. Knowledge and understanding of international and country-level implementation of aid effectiveness agenda ;
5. Extensive knowledge and experience in strategic programmatic work; REC engagement and regional support initiatives in developing countries ;
6. Extensive knowledge of the AfDB operations, mandate, policies, frameworks, procedures, and programme management ;
7. Previous experience in carrying out mid-term and post-term evaluations and assessments and monitoring and evaluation of programs. Experience with Mid-Term Reviews within the AfDB would be an added advantage ;
8. Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English; knowledge of French essential ;
9. Ability to travel to countries in Africa (should the Bank return to the Office within the duration of the assignment)

Reporting, Accountabilities and Remuneration :

The successful consultant will be directly accountable to the Officer-in-Charge Director – Regional Integration Coordinating Department (RDRI). The Consultant will work with the

Task team leader/Regional Integration Coordinator for day-to-day technical management of the tasks, as well as entire working group of technical experts for the MTR within the Bank, designated for the assignment.

Remuneration :

The consultant will be paid a negotiated total contract sum paid in instalments, based on the level of qualification and years of experience in line with the Bank’s guidelines for remuneration of individual consultants.

Application and Evaluation Processes :

Interested candidates are required to express their interest by submitting their CVs detailing their qualification and experiences to the email addresses provided above by 17:30 Hrs. GMT on Wednesday, 31 March 2021, and indicate “Individual Consultant Services –“Mid-Term Review of the RISF” in the subject.

The prospective consultants’ expression of interest will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Only consultants who score more than 70% can be considered for the next step and be invited to submit financial proposals.