Terms of Reference for Online dashboard development Consultancy

(EU PINS ER2 Program)

Background

Action Against Hunger plans to contribute towards ending under nutrition and hunger (SDG 2) by improving the health and nutrition status of children and mothers by rapidly expanding and enhancing coverage of nutrition specific intervention in the targeted districts of Sindh province. This will be achieved through the joint implementation work of EU PINS (Program for Improved Nutrition in Sindh) partners and other EU programmes in Sindh. The aim of PINS program is to improve the nutritional status of under five children (U5) and of Pregnant and Lactating Women (PLW) by addressing malnutrition through provision of effective nutritional services at the community and facility level that meet nationally and internationally recommended minimum standards of care for the population. The intervention will have both treatment and preventive interventions planned in order to enable implementing partners to achieve both short and long term objectives. The program will also aim to enhance capacities of the Government of Sindh to effectively implement the multi-sectoral strategies and contribute in sustainable reduction of the burden of under nutrition in the province. Specific objectives include provision of nutrition care and treatment for children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM), prevention of under nutrition in early childhood through promotion of appropriate infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices, prevention of micronutrient deficiencies in women and children through provision of multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS), and strengthening local capacity to integrate community based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) into primary healthcare systems. In addition to SDG2, the proposed action will contribute directly to SDGs that are directly related to nutrition- (1-6, 8, and 15-17) and indirectly to all SDGs, as well as to Pillar IV of Pakistan’s Vision 2025.

Rationale

Action Against Hunger conducted a pre- assessment on the existing MIS system and It was observed that all related reporting tools are available in the field and  data is recorded in excel sheets manually  but no online software exists in Sindh province to record nutrition beneficiaries’ data at individual level. Action Against Hunger will develop an online MIS and Dashboard in collaboration the Government of Sindh – Planning and Development department and will provide technical support to include online MIS dashboard on its website to directly link with all require indicator/ results compulsory in AAP (Accelerated Action Plan) and PINS. The enhanced version of MIS software will be used in all PINS interventions reporting. MIS software will be linked with nutrition specific ER 2 and nutrition sensitive intervention ER 3 indicator results on one dashboard (such as the system used by MSNC in Punjab). This action will support all internal and external stakeholders to compile and analyses the program performance indicators and trends. In addition to this, the MIS will support to generate reports on performance of targets and achievements, malnutrition status and relevance of nutrition specific and sensitive activities.

As the dashboard will be used by various stakeholders for different purpose, Action Against Hunger will start with a consultation with implementing partners and stakeholders to agree on key features of the dashboard, and to ensure collaboration, rather than duplication with other systems. This consultation will also form part of the wider process of development. The process of development is expected to take about three months given that piloting will also be completed. Once developed, the dashboard will be rolled out for both PINS co-applicants as well as other stakeholders. This will include an official launch event intended for non MIS specialist to familiarizes them with the use of MIS for programme decisions.

Objective

Under the overall guidance of PINS ER2 team and supervision of Sr. IM Manager – Islamabad, as well as in close cooperation with the IM Manager-Karachi, the PINS ER2 dashboard development consultant will have to achieve following objectives:

• The consultancy will result in the production of a comprehensive set of nutrition specific and nutrition sensitive intervention indicator (in the form of a dashboard) linked to the AAH centralized database.
• The consultancy will help inn creating a dashboard to provide and  generate reports on performance of targets and achievements, malnutrition status and relevance of nutrition specific and sensitive activities with varying level of access.
• To build the capacity of the relevant staff of  AAH to manage the dashboard on a sustainable basis through specific training, help documents and tutorials.

Duties and responsibilities

It is proposed that the consultancy is divided into 6 principle tasks, which are as follows:

Task 1 (tentative)

Desk review

The consultant will review all necessary background materials and tools and elaborate a proposed concept, methodology (including a list of any further key resource persons to interview including PINS ER2 partner and PINS ER2 Focal Points) and will produce a preliminary outline for the Dashboard together with guiding questions.

10 Days

(01st to 10th Oct 2018)

Task 2

Interviews with key resource persons and members of the PINS ER2 Technical Committee

The consultant will then undertake interviews and consultations needed in order to have all necessary information in order to be able to produce a first draft of the Dashboard.

O5 Days

(10th to 15th Oct 2018)

Task 3

Provide first draft of the Dashboard The consultant will then develop and share with the AAH IM the first draft of the Dashboard. The IM will closely coordinate with PINS ER2 partners and focal points to provide initial feedback.

15 Days

(15th to 30th Oct 2018)

Task 4

Consultation with the technical working group  The consultant will facilitate discussions during a Technical Committee meeting and ensure to collate and consolidate all input and feedback from the members in order to produce an enhanced concept, methodology and outline for the Dashboard.

O5 Days

(01st to 05th Nov 2018)

Task 5

The Consultant will then lead a testing phase of the Dashboard

The Consultant will lead this process in close collaboration with the IM and Focal Points in order to test the Dashboard in PINS ER2-target districts. The PINS ER2 IM which will facilitate contacts with PINS ER2 partners and focal points on the ground. The consultant will be responsible for collecting the feedback and lessons learnt into a refined version of the Dashboard.

30 Days

(06th Nov to 05th Dec 2018)

Task 6

Provide the final version of the Dashboard including training and user manuals (Hard and Soft) The consultant will produce a final version of the Dashboard embedded in a report which will act as a guide for internal and external stakeholders complete with guidelines, practical examples and recommendations.

20 Days

(06th Dec to 25th Dec 2018)

Task 7

After the development of dashboard for the next six months the consultant will provide troubleshooting/revision of dashboard as per feedback from internal and external stakeholders .

 6 months

(from 1st Jan 2019 to 30th June 2019)

 Deliverables

The Deliverables shall be submitted in electronic format to the Sr. IM Manager and shall include the following: -

 Submit a document outlining the concept, methodology and preliminary outline for the dashboard at the end of the desk review phase (task 1);

Produce first draft of the Dashboard (task 3);

 Produce final version of the Dashboard embedded in a report which will act as a guide for internal and external stakeholders complete with guidelines, practical examples and recommendations.(task 6)

Deliverables in details

• Successful development and operational PINS ER2 Dashboard on web with an independent IP
• Dashboard should directly have link with PINS master database (SQL Server) and should automatically update upon uploading data on server
• Dashboard should provide targets and achievement against each activity in visual and live charts and graphs (to be developed in latest technology)
• Dashboard should provide user a friendly IDE to review progress on desired time i-e monthly, quarterly, annually or overall program tenure
• Dashboard should provide flexibility to administrator for providing user right or rights can be limited according to user need
• Detailed user manuals/written instructions on the use of the system and update it according to the needs.
• Training and coaching activities provided to IM team. All documents have to be provided in English and approved by Sr IM manager. By providing highest state-of-the-art technical expertise, the outputs shall result in the successful implementation and achievement of PINs ER2 objectives

Management Arrangements

• The consultant will be hired for 3 months and will be deployed in Karachi and 3 visit of Islamabad office
• Organizational Setting: The consultant will work under the guidance IM Manager and in the direct supervision of Sr. IM Manager. The consultant will work closely with the PINS ER2 representatives for substantive aspects of the assignment.
•  Contributions: The IM Unit will provide all the necessary information for tasks achievement and will facilitate the meetings, as needed.

  Travel

Transportation and accommodation for all envisaged field trips will be covered in consultant fee.

Health

The consultant is responsible for his own health insurance.

Equipment:

The consultant is responsible for his own equipment.

Financial Arrangements and taxes Payment will be disbursed in monthly installments based on actual days worked and upon submission and approval of deliverables and certification by the Sr IM Manager that the services have been satisfactorily performed. Taxes on payment will be deducted in accordance to prevailing Pakistan tax law. Filing of personnel / firm tax returns be your responsibility.  

20% of payment shall be withheld and total retention money shall be due for release upon successful completion of 6-month grace period. Competences

• Good knowledge of and experience working with nutrition specific and nutrition sensitive data
• Excellent writing and IT skills
• Excellent communication skills,
• Effective problem solving, self-improvement, analysis and synthesis,
• Effective team work,
• Effective independent work, adaptability, creativity.

  Required Skills and Experience

• Relevant to the assignment advanced degree in IT technologies, statistics or other relevant field
• Other trainings in the area of assignment will be an asset .
• At least 5 years of professional experience in database management MS SQL (Mandatory);
• At least 5 years of professional experience in designing, implementation and administration of web-based information management system and online dashboards
• At least 3 years of professional experience in programming language i-e Node JS, Php, Asp.net or similar platforms .
• At least 2 years’ experience working with governmental organizations or programs in the development of software and database management systems is required;
• Proven analytical skills and ability to conceptualize and write concisely and clearly;

  Language

Fluency in Urdu and upper intermediate level of English is required.

  Evaluation Procedures

A two-stage procedure will be used in evaluating the candidates:

 A) Technical evaluation (max.70 points) – 70%

B) Financial evaluation (max.30 points) – 30%

Technical evaluation includes written  - 3 pager proposal will be represented through desk review of applications on the basis of its responsiveness to the Terms of Reference (TOR).

 The candidates will be evaluated in two stages: technical evaluation and financial evaluation

Only Consultants obtaining a minimum of 70% on the Technical evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation – max. 350 points:Nr.

Criteria

Maximum points

• Relevant University Degree (under-Master’s – 20 pts, Master’s– 30 pts, and above – 40 pts) 40
• At least 5 years of professional experience in database management MS SQL(at least 5 years – 30 pts, each year over 5 year – 15 pts, up to a maximum of 80 pts) 80
• At least 5 years of professional experience in designing, implementation and administration of web-based information management system and dashboards (at least 5 years – 30 pts, each year over 3 year – 15 pts, up to a maximum of 80 pts) 80
• At least 3 years of professional experience in programming language i-e Node JS, Php, Asp.net or similar platforms (at least 3 years – 20 pts, each year over 3 year – 10 pts, up to a maximum of 50 pts) 50
• At least 2 years’ experience working with governmental organizations in the development of software, database management systems and online dashboard design and development is required (at least 2 years – 20 pts, each year over 2 year – 10 pts, up to a maximum of 40 pts) (Preferred) 40
• Proficiency in Urdu and upper intermediate level of English is required (Urdu-30 pts, English - 30 pts). 60

Maximum total technical scoring

350

In the Second Stage, the financial proposal of candidates, who have attained minimum 70% score in the technical evaluation , will be compared.

 The cumulative analysis scheme will be applied with a total score being obtained upon the combination of weighted technical and financial attributes. Cost under this method of analysis is rendered as an award criterion, which will be 30% out of a total score of 500 points. The Contract will be awarded to the candidate obtaining the highest cumulative score. The following formula will be applied in calculating the financial score:

S = Fmin / F * Y

S - score received on financial evaluation;

Fmin - the lowest financial offer out of all the submitted offers qualified over the technical evaluation round;

 F - financial offer under consideration

y - maximum number of points for the financial proposal

  Application process and requirement

• Application deadline: COB (10 working days after advertisement)
• Bids must include the following:
• Proposed methodology with work plan for undertaking the assignment
• Consultant Firm profile along with CV of proposed individual(s)
• Detailed financial proposal for the activity including taxes.