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NOTICE AT-A-GLANCE
Project ID: P175731
Project Title: SADC Regional Statistics Project
Country: Eastern and Southern Africa
Notice No: OP00352118
Notice Type: Request for Expression of Interest
Notice Status: Published
Borrower Bid Reference: BW-SADC-485077-CS-CQS
Procurement Method: Consultant Qualification Selection
Language of Notice: English
Submission Deadline Date/Time: Apr 28, 2025 23:45
Published Date: 15-Apr-2025
Description: Firm Consultancy for Training and Technical Assistance in Poverty Statistics – MPI method in 5 Member States
Details:
SADC SECRETARIAT
REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (CONSULTANT QUALIFICATIONS-BASED SELECTION) SHORTLISTING
COUNTRY: Botswana
NAME OF PROJECT: SADC REGIONAL STATISTICS PROJECT (RSP)
PROJECT ID: P175731
ASSIGNMENT TITLE: CONSULTANCY TO HIRE A FIRM FOR UNDERTAKING OF TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR COMPUTATION AND ANALYSIS OF POVERTY STATISTICS - MULTIDIMENSIONAL POVERTY INDEX (MPI) METHOD FOR 5 SADC MEMBER STATES
REFERENCE NUMBER: SADC/3/5/2/392
DATE OF ISSUE: 14th April 2025
Background
The SADC Secretariat through the SADC Regional Statistics Project has received a grant. The aim of this grant is to strengthen the institutional capacity of SADC and participating countries to produce, disseminate and use quality statistics while increasing regional harmonization and collaboration.
The Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan (RIDMP), the SADC Regional Agricultural Policy (RAP), the Industrialisation Strategy and the Roadmap, among others, are complementary guiding frameworks for achieving the regional integration agenda. SADC has also developed various Protocols for domestication and implementation by Member States including the most recent one, the Protocol on Statistics, to enhance harmonization of statistics. The operating framework for implementing statistical activities as priorities for the region is the Regional Strategy for Development of Statistics (RSDS) and is aligned to SADC Vision 2050 and RISDP 2020-30.
Demand for quality and harmonized statistics has been on the rise to monitor progress in developmental agendas at national, regional, continental, and global level. The scope of data demand cuts across economic, social, and on emerging issues such as climate change, disaster-risk, environment and others related.
The SADC Secretariate intends to apply part of the proceeds of this financing to eligible payments under the contract for hiring a CONSULTANCY TO HIRE A FIRM FOR UNDERTAKING OF TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR COMPUTATION AND ANALYSIS OF POVERTY STATISTICS - MULTIDIMENSIONAL POVERTY INDEX (MPI) METHOD FOR 5 SADC MEMBER STATES
The SADC Secretariat invites submissions from suitably qualified and interested individual consultants to conduct the training, recruited as individual consultant following World Bank Procurement Regulations dated September 2023.
Title : CONSULTANCY TO HIRE A FIRM FOR UNDERTAKING OF TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR COMPUTATION AND ANALYSIS OF POVERTY STATISTICS - MULTIDIMENSIONAL POVERTY INDEX (MPI) METHOD FOR 5 SADC MEMBER STATES
Time Commitment : 100%
Accountable : Senior Officer, Research and Statistics
Duration of Assignment: 10 months
The firms will be shortlisted using the following criteria:
| Evaluation Criteria |
Points |
| Firm specific experience related to the assignment |
40 |
| Availability of Qualified and Experienced Experts |
60 |
| Total |
100 |
Closing date is 23.59 hours midnight Botswana time on 28 April 2025 and should mention the name of the consultancy assignment. CONSULTANCY TO HIRE A FIRM FOR UNDERTAKING OF TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR COMPUTATION AND ANALYSIS OF POVERTY STATISTICS - MULTIDIMENSIONAL POVERTY INDEX (MPI) METHOD FOR 5 SADC MEMBER STATES
Firms are advised to submit their proposals during working hours for support in case of any technical problems. Expressions of Interest must be submitted as one PDF file or zipped folder bearing the name of the applicant.
The Procuring entity:SADC Secretariat
Head of Procurement Unit
Contact person: Ms. Mercy Mikuwa
Telephone:+267364 1989 / 3951863
Fax:3972848
E-mail: mmikuwa@sadc.int
Copy to: djagai@sadc.int; tchabwera@sadc.int
Annex 2 Detailed TORs
TERMS OF REFERENCE
CONSULTANCY TO HIRE A FIRM FOR UNDERTAKING OF TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR COMPUTATION AND ANALYSIS OF POVERTY STATISTICS - MULTIDIMENSIONAL POVERTY INDEX (MPI) METHOD FOR 5 SADC MEMBER STATES
1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION
1.1 Background
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is a regional community of 15 Southern African states comprising Angola, Botswana, Comoros, DRC, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Zambia. It was established at the Summit of Heads of State and Government on 17 August 1992 in Windhoek, Namibia.
SADC foundation under Vision 2050 is to attain higher levels of peace and stability, enabling the further prioritisation, pursuit, and achievement of its objectives of socio-economic development, poverty eradication and regional integration.
Poverty eradication and improvement of the well-being of the people of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region through regional integration and cooperation remain the ultimate goal for the region. The long-term objective of SADC is to reduce poverty in the region through economic growth as well as peace, democracy and stability. Specific objectives of SADC pertaining to poverty as outlined in the Treaty establishing SADC in Article 5 are stated as follows:
Recognising that poverty remains the greatest challenge confronting the SADC region, a Consultative Conference on Poverty and Development for SADC Heads of State and Government was convened in Mauritius in 2008. The objective of the conference was to intensify dialogue on regional dimensions of poverty, strengthen collective efforts to address poverty through regional cooperation and integration and to continue dialogue on the partnerships necessary to accelerate the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The main outcome of the conference was the signing of a Declaration on Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Development by the Heads of State and Government. Among others, the Heads of State and Government resolved to:
With regard to monitoring progress in poverty eradication initiatives, the Declaration further highlighted on the need to work towards the establishment of a Regional Poverty Observatory (RPO) to monitor progress made in the implementation of actions in the main priority areas of poverty eradication. It also noted the need to acquire and develop adequate capacity both at the Secretariat and Member States level to ensure effective implementation of poverty eradication programmes.
While poverty has traditionally been measured in terms of income – now classified by the World Bank as living on less than $2.15 a day PPP 2017 – the SDGs define poverty as having multiple forms, with a target to reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions by 2030. To date, most countries use a national monetary poverty measure for policy decisions. Recently, a number of policy makers have adopted official multidimensional measures that: (1) analyse non-monetary deprivations and their interconnections; (2) enable the creation of high-impact policies that address multiple interconnected deprivations and accelerate progress towards the SDGs, and (3) guide policy and provide feedback in a timely manner.
The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MP)I can be used as an analytical tool to identify the most vulnerable people, show aspects in which they are deprived and, consequently, to target resources and design policies more effectively. Because the MPI measures outcomes directly, it will immediately reflect changes such as school attendance, whereas it can take time for this to affect income, thus may show outcomes of effective policy interventions quickly.
Finally, in the understanding that each country is different, the MPI can be tailored to local context using country-specific data and indicators to provide a better understanding of country-level poverty. As of 2022, around 40 countries in the developing world have developed and adopted national MPIs as official measure to track progress and coordinate policy actions against poverty. In SADC specifically, 9 out of 16 member states have produced national MPIs.
Following this trend, countries with national MPIs are now currently using their Indices to:
• Allocate resources more effectively;
• Improve policy design;
• Identify interconnections among deprivations;
• Monitor the effectiveness of policies over time;
• Target poor people as beneficiaries of services or conditional cash transfers.
1.2 Current situation in the Sector
The SADC Vision 2050 earmarks Statistics a priority cross-cutting sector whereby by 2050, the region strategic objective in statistics is to realize a robust and responsive regional statistical system to underpin regional integration processes, including measurement of progress and impact. The SADC RISDP 2020-30 draws impetus from the Vision 2050 and thereby identify key intervention areas to achieve the expected outcome of enhanced statistical infrastructure, systems, and capacity across the region for production and effective use of harmonized regional statistics. The key intervention areas include primarily the development and implementation of policy and legal frameworks for coordinating regional statistics and capacity across the entire data value chain of the regional statistical system strengthened.
Article 11 of the SADC Protocol on Statistics refers explicitly to poverty statistics. Specifically, Member States shall produce and disseminate Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) by gender and age in accordance with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Handbook on How to Build a National MPI built with dimensions of health, education, standard of living and other dimensions tailored to their national priorities, as a common regional methodological framework to produce national and regional poverty statistics. The SADC Regional Strategy for Development of Statistics (RSDS 2020 – 30) is designed as a sectoral strategy to be responsive to data needs to pertaining to measurement of regional policies and programmes of the RISDP 2020 – 30 in pursuit to the goals of the SADC Vision 2050. The RSDS focuses of developing harmonized methodological guidelines in statistics and rolling out of capacity building and subsequent assessment/reviews including in poverty statistics.
The Regional Strategy for Development of Statistics (RSDS) 2020-30 is complementary sectoral strategy for achieving regional integration as embedded in RISDP 2020-30, for statistics sector. In line with the strategic objective, expected outcome, implementation plan and strategic outputs of Statistics as embedded in RISDP 2020-30, the 6 identified strategic intervention areas of RSDS 2020-30 priorities for implementation are as follows:
(i) Policy frameworks for development of regional statistics;
(ii) Institutional strengthening and sustainability of the SADC Regional Statistical System;
(iii) Harmonization of regional statistics;
(iv) Digital transformation of regional statistics;
(v) Capacity for data production, management, dissemination and use; and
(vi) Quality of regional statistics.
At statutory level, the SADC Statistics Committee, comprising of Head of Statistics in the SADC Member States provides policy, strategic and professional guidance for the statistical development and integration processes in the region. The Committee meets at least once a year and monitor progress in the SADC Statistics Program and oversee the implementation of statistical development. The Statistics Unit of Secretariat primary function is to co-ordinate and rationalize all regional statistical activities in line with continental and international statistical frameworks and provides technical and secretarial support to the Statistics Committee. The Committee reports directly to the SADC Council of Ministers.
SADC Secretariat, with the support from the World Bank Group is currently implementing the Regional Statistics Project (RSP) with the development objective to strengthen the institutional capacity of SADC and participating countries to produce, disseminate and use quality statistics while increasing regional harmonization and collaboration. Among the scope of interventions in this project, capacity building in the area of poverty statistics features importantly for both monetary and non-monetary measures. A significant milestone was reached in December 2024 where the SADC MPI structure was discussed and agreed. Furthermore, recommendation was made for undertaking of in-depth national trainings in MPI and technical assistance for generation of MPI using real survey data. It is within this context that this consultancy is looking for a firm (registered firm, research institutions, universities and similar institutions are eligible for the current assignment) to undertake the following core tasks that are mutually exclusive to each other in 5 Member States:
2. OBJECTIVE, PURPOSE & EXPECTED RESULTS
2.1 Overall objective
The overall objective of this consultancy is to enhance the capacity of statisticians in SADC Member States and in São Tomé and Príncipe (STP) to effectively utilize the MPI as a comprehensive tool for policy development and poverty reduction. By providing in-depth capacity-building workshops and targeted technical assistance, this initiative aims to equip national teams with the necessary skills and knowledge to compute, analyze, and interpret their national MPIs and SADC harmonized MPIs. This, in turn, will enable them to develop evidence-based policies that address the multiple dimensions of poverty, thereby contributing to the achievement of their national development plans, SADC Vision 2050 and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
2.2 Specific Objectives (Purpose)
(i) Conduct in-depth national trainings on the computation and use of the MPI (including using STATA software) for selected Member States;
(ii) Provide technical assistance (TA) to selected Member States to compute national and SADC harmonized MPIs based on available survey and/or administrative data; and
(iii) Assess gaps during training and/or technical assistance (TA) sessions, and identify the necessary support required to ensure Member States produce the SADC harmonized MPIs.
2.3 Results to be achieved by the contractor
The consultancy is expected to achieve the following results:
ii. Technical Assistance Component: Report covering the scope of work undertaken for generation of national and SADC Harmonized MPIs using real survey and/or administrative data including work processes/documentation for use by the NSO in the foreseeable future.
3. ASSUMPTIONS & RISKS
3.1 COMPONENT 1: NATIONAL TRAINING
3.1-1 Scope of Work
The selected service provider is expected to deliver for respective Member State a week-long (5 day) in-person technical training workshop to build capacity among statisticians and users of poverty statistics in the technical team in charge of computations of the national MPI. The training will include concepts and definitions of MPI including on the structure of SADC harmonized MPI with practical exercises using STATA software. This is key for the understanding of the Alkire-Foster method and how to use it to design, compute and analyse the national MPI.
3.1-2 Geographical area to be covered
The assignment will be carried out in selected Member States of SADC region
3.1-3 Target groups
This consultancy is expected to target producers and users of poverty statistics at national level.
3.1-4 Specific Work
The assignment will be carried out primarily through engagement and discussions with Central Statistics Office of respective Member State and the Statistics Unit of SADC Secretariat.
The assignment will be carried out primarily in person. This will be complemented by preparatory work for the workshops which will be home-based. In particular, the service provider shall:
3.2 COMPONENT 2: TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
3.2-1 Scope of Work
The selected service provider is expected to generate and analyse poverty indicators from mostly recent available survey and/or administrative data for the specific Member State. In addition, assessment about the structure of the SADC harmonized MPI also must be done using the survey/administrative data availability. A report must be produced with main findings of the survey data that includes work processes using STATA package as part of documentation.
3.2-2 Geographical area to be covered
The assignment will be carried out in selected Member States of SADC region
3.2-3 Target groups
This consultancy is expected to target producers and users of poverty statistics at national level.
3.2-4 Specific Work
The assignment will be carried out primarily through engagement and discussions with Central Statistics Office of respective Member State and the Statistics Unit of SADC Secretariat.
The assignment will be carried out primarily in person. This will be complemented by preparatory work for the workshops which will be home-based. In particular, the service provider shall:
4. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE- After Shortlisting Stage
This assignment is expected to be carried out by firm consultant. The firm should have proven track record of 10 years of conducting large-scale socio-economic research and providing technical support on computation of poverty statistics, focusing on multidimensional poverty studies at national, regional and global level. The composition of the technical experts has to include:
| Profiles of Experts |
Qualifications and Skills |
General Experience |
Specific Experience |
| Team Leader |
|
|
|
| Technical Expert |
|
|
|
The experts must be independent and free from conflicts of interest in the responsibilities they take on.
5. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS AND TIME SCHEDULED FOR DELIVERABLES
5.1 Reporting requirements
The consultant shall operate under the guidance of the Director – Policy Planning and Resource Mobilization (D-PPRM) and direct supervision of the Senior Programme Officer (SPO) – Research and Statistics.
All the deliverables shall be delivered to the SPO – Research and Statistics whilst the approval of the deliverables shall be the responsibility of the D-PPRM.
All reports shall be in electronic format in MS Word, Excel, STATA or others related as the case may be. The Firm shall work with the Secretariat with specific Member State sequentially. Once a training and/or a Technical Assistance is completed in a given Member State, the consultancy shall then proceed to the delivery of activities in the next Member State sequentially till all 5 Member States are covered. A maximum of 5 training and 5 technical assistance activities shall be made during the financial year ending March 2026. The following deliverables must be delivered the following in electronic format within 1 month after completion of each training and/or technical assistance per Member State being assisted:
| Name of report |
Content |
Time of submission |
| Training Report |
Document to cover results stated at 2.3 and tasks 3.1 above. The recommendations must be SMART and that can be embedded in a results-based framework for monitoring and evaluation to measure impact of the activity. |
1 month (30 calendar days) after completion of training component of 1 Member State |
| Technical Assistance Report |
Document in line with 2.3 and 3.2 above. The recommendations must be SMART and that can be embedded in a results-based framework for monitoring and evaluation to measure impact of the activity. |
1 month (30 calendar days) after completion of technical assistance component of 1 Member State |
5.2 Submission & approval of reports
Two copies of the reports referred to above must be submitted to the entities as identified at 5.1 above. The reports must be written in English.
5.3 Project Management
Overall responsibility for direct supervision of the consultancy will lie with the Senior Programme Officer – Research and Statistics. The Consultant shall be responsible for the operational day-to-day management and coordination of the consultancy work.
5.4 Management Structure
The Consultant shall report directly to the Senior Programme Officer – Research and Statistics
6. LOGISTICS AND START DATE
6.1 Location
The assignment will involve traveling to selected Member States.
6.2 Office accommodation
None required
6.3 Facilities to be provided by the contracting authority
For the expert working on this consultancy, the Contracting Authority shall facilitate for visa entry in the selected Member States, if required.
6.4 Facilities to be provided by the contractor
The contractor must ensure is the Team Leader and Technical Expert are adequately prepared and equipped for delivery of the training and drafting of deliverables. Moreover, the Consultanty Firm is expected to be fully self- sufficient in terms of international travel associated expenses in the selected Member States with laptop and related device connectivity for projector for this consultancy.
6.5 Equipment
No equipment is to be purchased on behalf of the contracting authority / procuring entity as part of this service contract or transferred to the contracting authority / procuring entity at the end of this contract. Any equipment related to this contract that is to be acquired by the procuring entity must be purchased by means of a separate supply tender procedure.
6.6 Start date and period of implementation
The intended start date is as soon as both parties have signed the contract agreement and the period of implementation of the contract will be up to 31st March 2026 from the date of signing the agreement.
7. MONITORING AND EVALUATION
7.1 Definition of indicators
The indicators to be used are timeliness, technical coverage and analytical quality of the Report as detailed in section 5 above. In addition, assessment of the effectiveness of the training to be done using pre and post test surveys with recipients of the capacity building activity.
7.2 Special requirements
The Consultant Firm must declare any potential conflict of interest between the provision of the requested services, and other activities in which a member of their consortium of group(s), or any expert proposed in their offer is engaged.
8. ASSUMPTIONS AND RISKS
8.1 Assumptions underlying the project
It assumed that the consultant firm would be procured within the reasonable timeframe and activities implemented within the schedule provided up to 31st March 2026.
8.2 Risks
The nature of the assignment presents negligible risks associated with the consultancy. Some of the foreseen risks are the following:
| Possible risks |
Risk Level |
Mitigation Measures |
|
Medium |
Monitor implementation and delivery of outputs through monthly technical meetings |
9. FINANCIAL PROPOSAL
9.1 Financial proposal
The financial proposal should be a lump sum that includes professional fees, travel costs and any other cost for conduct of the trainings in 5 countries with the split of fees individually for the 5 countries. Moving to the next member states will depend on the evaluation results of the first member states.
9.2 Schedule of payment
Payments for the assignment shall be related to the reports and their approval as follows:
10% of the contract price shall be paid upon submission and approval of the inception report and training materials
18% of the contract price shall be paid upon submission and approval of the Training Report for the first Member State trained
18% of the contract price shall be paid upon submission and approval of the Training Report for the second Member State trained
18% of the contract price shall be paid upon submission and approval of the Training Report for the third Member State trained
18% of the contract price shall be paid upon submission and approval of the Training Report for the fourth Member State trained
18% of the contract price shall be paid upon submission and approval of the Training Report for the fifth Member State trained
CONTACT INFORMATION
Organization/Department: Southern African Development Community
Name: Deepchandsingh Jagai
Address: Plot 54385, New CBD, Private Bag 0095, Gaborone
City:
Province/State:
Postal Code:
Country: Botswana
Phone: +267 364 1623
Email: djagai@sadc.int
Website: https://www.sadc.int/procurement-opportunities
