Terms of Reference
Assignment: Conducting a Study on Trust in Governance and Participation in Decision-Making in Nepal
Type : Contractual Services
Country of assignment: Nepal
Expected duration: Total 80 days spread over 4 months
Tentative Start Date: October 2024
Background
Good governance and accountability are a priority of the Government of Nepal, and, according to the National Review of Sustainable Development Goals1, are still a work in progress. The Voluntary
National Review (VNR) highlights that although ‘Nepal has made significant efforts towards creating a peaceful, inclusive and just society, it needs to fast track progress in all the areas under Goal 16 as across-cutting issue in order to realize the 2030 Agenda.’
The Asia and the Pacific SDG Progress Report: Showcasing Transformative Actions, 2024 further highlights that ‘progress towards the SDGs is impeded by inadequate data’. Out of the 231 SDG indicators, only 133 possess sufficient data to assess progress, demonstrating that the unavailability of data remains a significant impediment to achieving the 2030 Agenda. Across Asia-Pacific, on average, only 52 per cent of the indicators have two or more data points, while more than a third of the indicators lack data altogether. Despite a positive trajectory indicating an increase in yearly data availability, the pace of improvement in data availability has decelerated. SDG 5 (Gender Equality) SDG16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions) continue to have the least available data among the SDGs.2
The Government of Nepal has adopted 32 indicators to monitor and measure the SDG 16 targets, 23 of which are global indicators and nine are added in the context of Nepal. As of 2020, data was available for 17 indicators and unavailable for the remaining 15 indicators.3 According to UNESCAP, reliable data remains unavailable for 11 of the 24 globally agreed indicators.4 The Progress Assessment Report further highlights that progress across seven goals, including SDG 16, has remained slow and needs to be expedited.
Objectives
Following the adoption of the Constitution in 2015, Nepal has undergone an ambitious process to
implement a federal system of governance with federal, provincial (7), and local (753) governments
based on the principles of cooperation, co-existence, and coordination.
To further enhance the availability of data, in particular related to SDG 16, but also related to SDG 5, SDG 10, and other relevant SDG targets and indicators, establishing a foundation to measure progress against agreed SDG targets and indicators, UNDP Nepal and UN Women Nepal will conduct a ‘Study on Trust in Governance and Participation in Decision-Making in Nepal’ in collaboration with national, provincial and local government and concerned stakeholders. The Study will also serve as the data source for the indicator baseline and targets of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2023 – 2027) outcome indicators, in particular: Proportion of population who believe there are sufficient opportunities to participate in the decision-making processes of public institutions.
The Study will serve as a valuable tool for monitoring public trust in governance and inclusive
participation and meaningful engagement in Nepal’s governance at federal, provincial, and local levels. The Study’s main objective is to explore public perceptions and attitudes on issues such as the trustworthiness, transparency and accountability of public institutions, perceptions around
corruption, the level of inclusive and meaningful engagement, particularly of women and marginalized groupsin policy and decision-making, satisfaction with public-service delivery, perception of safety and access to justice, violence reporting, discrimination, and the enforcement of non-discriminatory laws and policies. Furthermore, the Study will generate data that feeds into the enhancement of major reforms related to good governance, anti-corruption, judicial reform and cross-cutting issues such as gender equality and social inclusion.
Scope of the Study
As the purpose of the Study is to generate nationally representative data to contribute to tracking SDG progress and to serve as a baseline for a UNSDCF outcome indicator, the Study should be designed to include a nationally representative sample of respondents. The sample should be inclusive in terms of governance structure (across at least three out of seven provinces (Madhesh, Bagmati, and Sudurpashchim), and from a representative sample of urban and rural local governments – at the minimum including two urban and two rural municipalities from at least three of Nepal’s provinces), geography (mountains, hills, and plains), and demography (gender, caste, ethnicity, religion, physical ability, etc.), and other socio-economic factors relevant to ensure a nationally representative sample size.
Submission of Technical and Financial Proposal
The potential and interested firm/consultant must submit technical and financial proposal showing
their keen interest to conduct this Study. Following documents are mandatory with the technical and financial proposal:
- Technical proposal and financial proposal
- Company/firm registration certificate
- VAT certificate and latest Tax clearance certificate
- Audited financial report of recent two years.
- Brief profile of the firm/NGO including evidence of past experiences
- Signed resume of the proposed experts and team members for the assignment
- Track record on list of clients for similar services indicating description of contract scope,
contract duration, contract value and contract references. - Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Policy/Strategy/Guideline of the organization
- Organization’s policy on conducive work environment/prevention of harassment, sexual
harassment, and sexual exploitation Code of Conduct - Written Self Declaration that the company is not in the UN Security Council 1267/1989
List, UN Procurement Division List or Other UN Ineligibility List
For Detailed TOR, CLICK HERE
To access additional information and documents at UNDP | Procurement Notices for further application procedures.
