REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
Consultancy for Power, ICT and Transport Data Collection and Validation
AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK Statistics Department (ECST)
Avenue Joseph Anoma 01 BP 1387 Abidjan 01 Cote d’Ivoire
E-mail : b.adingra@afdb.org ; m.mzid@afdb.org; y.jmal@afdb.org;
Telephone : +225 2026 4634
- Background :
Following the Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic (AICD) study undertaken by the World Bank to achieve a major improvement in the country level knowledge base of the infrastructure sectors in Africa1 and to provide a baseline against which future improvements in infrastructure services can be measured, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has developed the AIKP program to improve on the coverage of African countries in this knowledge base.
As such, the AfDB, under AIKP program, is responsible for developing an institutional arrangement that would guarantee the sustainability and periodic maintenance of a database of infrastructure indicators for the African continent. The AIKP program has become the framework for generating knowledge on infrastructure on a long-term sustainable basis through: (i) regular collection and analysis of data covering network service infrastructures (power, water, ICT, transport (road, rail, sea and air)); (ii) defining and developing analytic knowledge products to guide policy and funding decisions and to inform development policy and program management activities; and (iii) building of necessary and adequate in-country (NSOs and infrastructure ministries & departments) and sub-region capacity to collect, process, manage and disseminate infrastructure statistics. 47 African countries are participating in the AIKP program for which fiscal data collection has been undertaken.
The African Development Bank desires to hire a Power, ICT and Transport Sectors Data Validation Specialist to assist with: (i) quality control and validation of Fiscal data collected under the AIKP data collection cycle over the period 2014-2016; and (ii) training of Country teams on methodology related to Infrastructure subsectors (Power, ICT and Transport).
Objectives of the Assignment :
The consultancy has objectives of collecting, checking and validating countries Power, ICT and transport infrastructure data, and performing quality control on data collected. The data collection should follow the manual and methodologies developed for that purpose. The data quality control will be performed collaboratively between the consultant and the Focal Person during the period of data collection.
Main Activities and Deliverables :
Only 24 African countries were participating in the AICD study. The assistance proposed will provide for initial verification of data submissions to ensure that the submission from the NSO conforms to the specification from AfDB. Specifically, the consultant will check submissions with respect Power, ICT and Transport data for :
- Entry completion-Have all potential entries been completed. If not, is there a valid reason stated?
- Entry validity-Are all values in a valid range and format for each entry?
- Financial checks- Are the sum-checks and other financial data internal verifications balanced?
- Project completion-Have all forms been submitted with fully valid entries? If not, what is the plan for completion?
- Source documentation-Has the data source document or available reference been submitted?
- Data mapping- Can the entries be verified by reference to an original source document and the derivation process be reproduced?
- The Statistics Department (ECST) invites Individual Consultants to indicate their interest in providing the above-described services. Interested Consultants shall provide information on their qualifications and experience demonstrating their ability to undertake this Assignment (documents, reference to similar services, experience in similar assignments, etc.) ;
- The eligibility criteria, the establishment of a short list and the selection procedure shall be in conformity with the Bank’s Procurement Policy for Recruitment of Corporate Consultants ;
- Please, note that interest expressed by a Consultant does not imply any obligation on the part of the Bank to include him/her in the shortlist. The estimated duration of services is Three Months (03) and the estimated starting date is 1st November 2020 ;
- Interested Individual Consultants may obtain further information at the address below during the Bank’s working hours: from 08:00 to 17:00 Hours, Abidjan Local Time ;
- Expression of interest must be received at address not later than 23rd October 2020 at 00:00 hours Abidjan local time, and specifically mentioning : Consultancy for Infrastructure Fiscal and Water Data Verification
For attention of Mrs. Adingra Bossoma Rose Marie Statistics Department (ECST) Avenue Joseph Anoma
01 BP 1387 Abidjan 01Cote d’Ivoire
Phone: (+225) 20 26 58 51
Email : b.adingra@afdb.org ; m.mzid@afdb.org; y.jmal@afdb.org
Requests for clarifications may be sent to b.adingra@afdb.org; y.jmal@afdb.org
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SHORT LIST
A shortlist of three to six individual consultants will be established at the end the request of expressions of interest. The consultants on the shortlist will be judged on the following criteria on the basis of their updated resume.
| General qualifications and suitability for the tasks to be performed | 30% |
| Experience in the specific assignment and issues described in the TORs | 50% |
| Experience with international donor agencies | 10% |
| Knowledge of the region | 5% |
| Language proficiency | 5% |
ANNEX I
TERMS OF REFERENCE
Africa Infrastructure Knowledge Program
Terms of Reference
Consultancy for Power, ICT and Transport Data Collection and Validation
- Introduction and background :
The Africa Infrastructure Knowledge Program (AIKP) is a continuing program of physical infrastructure information compilation and reporting from across Africa. AIKP covers 54 countries, which will each submit two years of national data in either of alternate years.
The organizations principally responsible at the national level are the national statistical offices (NSOs), which are beginning the process of developing the capability to produce the data. Initially, the data will be delivered to the AfDB as collected, without transformation or analysis. Over time, the NSOs will develop the capability to further process the data, thus increasing their ability to understand what the state of infrastructure development is in their own countries.
In the meantime, however, it is important for AfDB to receive data that conforms to the standard format so that it can be evaluated and processed correctly. In this regard, it is proposed to secure assistance in the collection of Power sector data. An initial verification of the submitted data will be performed by AfDB once they are submitted by the local consultant to ensure they are meaningful and do not have non-compliance issues. Specifically, AfDB will still need to verify that the data submitted :
- are realistic and complete when compared to external sources of information ;
- are internally consistent in technical terms and
- are complete enough to perform further analysis.
- Objectives :
The consultancy has objectives of collecting, checking and validating countries power, ICT and Transport infrastructure data, and performing quality control on data collected. The data collection should follow the manual and methodologies developed for that purpose. The data quality control will be performed collaboratively between the consultant and the Focal Person during the period of data collection.
The consultant will actively participate in an on-the-job training on Manuals and Methodologies developed for the field data collection and the institutional framework characterized by a strong collaboration between the focal person and the power infrastructure sector data providers in the country.
- Scope of the work :
3.1 Data sources: The target data collection source institutions can essentially be divided into four categories :
- Line ministries refer to the government ministry responsible for overseeing the power, ICT and transport sectors. They may be a useful source of national level data on the power sector, though they many not necessarily have detailed information at the operator level ;
- Many African countries have established independent regulators, and restructured the sector to promote competition in generation and private sector participation. Where they exist, regulators are typically the best single source of information about power and ICT services at the national level, and may even be able to provide operator level data ;
- Power utilities and ICT operators refer to the main operator generating, transmitting and distributing electricity either at the national or at the subnational level. A number of countries, most notably those with larger markets, have unbundled their national power utility as to separate the functions of generation, transmission and distribution into individual operators. When that is the case, these operators individually become target institutions. They are the main source of operator-level information on power provision that cannot be found elsewhere ;
- Rural electrification agencies. Many countries have created rural electrification agencies to face the challenge to extend power provision to the most remote and seemingly vulnerable areas. If this agency exists, this is potentially one of the best sources of information on rural electricity issues. 3.3 Data quality control:
Specifically, and according the Templates used for the field data collection, the consultant will collect and check power data for :
- Entry completion-Have all potential entries been completed. If not, is there a valid reason stated?
- Entry validity-Are all values in a valid range and format for each entry?
- Financial checks- Are the sum-checks and other financial data internal verifications balanced?
- Project completion-Have all forms been submitted with fully valid entries? If not, what is the plan for completion?
- Source documentation-Has the data source document or available reference been submitted?
- Data mapping- Can the entries be verified by reference to an original source document and the derivation process be reproduced?
3.4 National coordination of Data collection: When performing this assignment, the consultant will work under the direct supervision of the task-manager in the Statistics department. He/she will perform the following tasks :
- Participating actively in an on-the-job training on Manuals and Methodologies developed for the field data collection ;
- Collecting, Checking and validating Power, ICT and Transport infrastructure countries performance data ;
- Performing quality control on data collected ;
- Playing a key role for the development of an institutional framework with the respective infrastructure power sector data providers ;
- Briefing the task manager, on regular basis, on the progress made in the assignment.
- Selection Criteria :
4.1 Skills Required :
- Ease of working in a collaborative style and with good interpersonal skills; ability to work in a multicultural environment ;
- Openness to sharing information and keeping people informed; strong communications skills, both oral and written ;
- Sound experience and competence in the use of standard soft-wares ;
- Familiarity with the power sector and the concept of public finance is a plus. Preferably a minimum of 7 years working experience related to infrastructure sector and/or statistics; and
- Ability to write reports and complete tasks on a timely basis; and
4.2 Qualifications :
The candidate must possess :
- At least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent in Statistics, Economics or a related field with a strong background in infrastructure sectors ;
- Preferably a minimum of 7 years working experience in statistics, economics or infrastructures ;
- Ability to transfer theoretical concepts into practical approaches; proven analytical skills; and must be able to work in a team; and
- Competence in the use of the Bank’s standard software applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
4.3 Language :
An excellent knowledge of written and spoken English, French and, a good working knowledge of the other language, to ensure a sound understanding of the templates and financial terminology provided in the two languages.
4.4 Duration :
The consultant will be recruited for a period of three (03) months.
6.2 Qualifications :
The candidate must possess :
- At least a Master’s degree or its equivalent in Statistics, Economics or a related field with a strong background in infrastructure sectors ;
- Preferably a minimum of 10 years working experience in statistics, economics and/or Government financial statistics ;
- Ability to transfer theoretical concepts into practical approaches; proven analytical skills; and must be able to work in a team ;
- Competence in the use of the Bank’s standard software applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
6.3 Language proficiency :
An excellent knowledge of written and spoken English, French and, a good working knowledge of the other language, to ensure a sound understanding of the templates and financial terminology provided in the two languages.
6.4 Duration :
The consultant will be recruited for a period of three (03) months.