Provision of administrative/financial management support to seven local CSOs in Integrity Cities

Provision of administrative/financial management support to seven local CSOs in Integrity Cities.

Terms of Reference

1. Background and context

General overview

The European Union Anti-Corruption Initiative (EUACI) in Ukraine is a joint EU and Government of Denmark financed programme aimed at supporting Ukraine it its efforts to reduce corruption at the national and local level through the empowerment of citizens, the civil society businesses and state institutions. In May 2020, the EUACI entered into its phase II that runs till mid 2024.

The EUACI has three components supporting anti-corruption reforms from different angles:

Component 1, supporting key state anti-corruption agencies in improving their effectiveness and independency;

Component 2, supporing selected integrity cities in the efforts to strengthen their integrity, transparency and accountability; and

Component 3, supporting Ukraine’s civil society, media and business community in the efforts to increase awareness of and engagement in anti-corruption activities.

This specific assignment concerns the EUACI’s support to integrity cities (Component 2) and more precisely, the contribution towards: “Improved integrity awareness and practices in integrity cities”.

It is in this specific context that the EUACI is seeking a Consultant that can work closely with the EUACI and local organizations (Civil Society Organizations/CSOs) that will receive funding from the programme for the implemention of projects in partner cities.

The consultant will work with seven organizations in five cities:

- Mariupol – 1 CSO

- Nikopol – 1 CSO

- Zhytomyr – 2 CSOs

- Chernivtsi – 1 CSO

- Chervonograd – 2 CSOs

The assignment concerns addressing any and all financial management capacity gaps in the above organisations. Only a few of CSOs are capable of using accounting systems and software such as 1C and only a few of them are experienced in financial management. For the majority of the organizations the only accounting tool is Microsoft Excel and they have never had experience with project audit. The Consultant will help these organisations bridge the gap between the organisations current capacities and the level of experience and capacity required to fully meet the standards required by the EUACI for financial management and reporting.

The financing of the local projects has the following division and total amount:

#	Organisation	Budget [UAH]	Budget [EUR]	City
1	Healthy Nation- Successful Country/ Chervonograd	134,448	4,208	Chervonohrad
2	Diyj-Ja-Ty/ Chervonograd	282,100	8,829	Chervonohrad
3	Open doors/ Nikopol	329,824	10,323	Nikopol
4	Greenery/ Zhytomyr	325,200	10,178	Zhytomyr
5	NGO Endspiel / Zhytomyr	304,800	9,540	Zhytomyr
6	Chernivtsi Youth Center/ Chernivtsi	308,000	9,640	Chernivtsi
7	NGO "Mariupol Association of Entrepreneurs"/ Mariupol	328,800	10,554	Mariupol
	Total	2,013,172	63,272

A narrative description of each of the projects are provided below.

The project Healthy Nation- Successful Country/ Chervonograd will provide training activities for children and visits to local governmental insitutions. The expenditures will be related to the payment for the services of the trainers, transportation for the children, purchase of the interactive board for the school, etc. The duration of the project is about four months with a tentative start date around early-November 2021 and end in early-March 2022.

The project of Diyj-Ja-Ty/Chervonograd will be focused on the the production and dissemination of videos about integrity tools for the citizens of Chervonograd. The expenditures will be related to the payment for the services of the journalists, videographer, photographer, SMM specialist, video editing, broadcasting on TV channels transport, etc. The duration of the project depends on the readiness of certain integrity tools. For this reason, there is no fixed start and end date yet; but the project is tentatively expected to start early November 2021.

The project of Open doors/Nikopol will focus on conducting informational and educational activities for youth (trainings in integrity, photo contest) and citizens of Nikopol (informational campaign). According to the planned budget, the expenditures will cover the salaries of the staff of the organization involved in the project (manager, accountant, infomanager, trainer), administrative costs (office supplies, toner refiller, bank services) and activities costs (coffee breaks for trainings, stationaries for participants of the trainings, office rental, printing the booklets, bigboards, prizes for the winners of the contents). The duration of the project is estimated to be four months with expected start in early-November 2021 and end in mid-February 2022.

The project of Greenery/Zhytomyr will focus on the purchase of an interactive screen for the city and the production of informational/promotional videos about integrity and other initiatives in the city. The project budget only has a handful of budget lines. The duration of the project is 4 months with a start date in early November 2021 and end in early March 2022.

The project of NGO Endspiel/Zhytomyr will focus on educational activities (trainings, city quests). The expenditures involved will include: experts fee, rent, salaries of the staff, coffee breaks, SMM promotion, etc. The duration of the project is estimated to about 5 months with expected start in in early November 2021 and end in late March 2022.

The project activities of Youth Center/Chernivtsi will include the organization of an exhibition, stand-up comedy event(s), development of an electronic comic book, and the production of promotional videos. Expenditures will include the fees of anti-corruption experts, videographer and photographer, rent, salary of the staff, printing material, SMM. The duration of the project is three months. It will begin in early November 2021 and end in early February 2022.

The project of “Mariupol Association of Enterpreneurs” will focus on the organization of two events, namely an integrity business camp for young people, and an integrity forum. Expenditures will consist of trainers fee, mentors fee, rent, photographer, salaries of the staff, coffee break set, lunch set, stationery for educational program, photo operator services, branded products, etc. The duration of the project is two months. It will start in early November 2021 and finish in late December 2022.

These Terms of Reference (ToR) provide more details about the assignment

Contracting authority

The contracting authority is the European Union Anti-Corruption Initiative in Ukraine, hereinafter referred to as the “Customer”.

Beneficiary

Seven local CSOs in Mariupol, Nikopol, Zhytomyr, Chernivtsi and Chervonograd

2. Objective

The purpose of this assignment is to help local CSOs to adhere to to the General Guidelines for Accounting and Auditing of Grants channelled through National NGOs (Annex 2) and ensure that the procedures used for financial management are in compliance with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) and develop internal financial guidelines fully in compliance with these standards.

3. Scope of work and expected deliverables

Scope of work

The above objective is expected achieved through a provision of timely and adequate financial management assistance and capacity building activities to the concerned organisations; including, if required, the verification of expenditures, preparation of accounts, and the submission of relevant documents and financial statements to the EUACI.

In a more narrow sense, the scope of work includes; but is not necessarily limited to the phases and activities outlined in the table below.

Table 1: Overview of the Scope of Work involved

#	Phase	Activities	Est. Days
1	Preparation	Desk Study of the seven projects, their activities and budgets; and EUACI financial management requirements On-line meetings with the seven organisations to assess systems and practices (strengths and weaknesses) Preparation and submission of plan for support to the seven organisations, including field visits and training/capacity building activities Kick-off meeting with presentation of Consultant’s plan for support services to EUACI	5
2	Start-Up and Implementation	On-going dialogue with the seven organisations on implementation of activities, adherence to sound financial management procedures, and the collection of adequate supporting documentation for expenditures incurred Field visits with verification of expenditures and supporting documents, update of accounts, preparation and submission of financial statements along with request for release of second and final tranche	28 (including travel days)
3	Implementation and completion	Continued support to the seven organisations on implementation of activities, adherence to sound financial management procedures, and the collection of adequate supporting documentation for expenditures incurred Field visits with verification of expenditures and supporting documents, finalisation and closing of project accounts. Preparation and submission of final certified financial statements incl. documentation or an audited statement to the EUACI.	32 (including travel days)
4	Final Reporting	Preparation of Consultant’s Narrative Report on activities carried out as compared to original plan, lessons learned, and recommendations, if relevant. Presentation of Consultant’s Narrative Report to EUACI Preparation and submission of Consultant’s final financial statement and invoice to EUACI	5
		Total no. of days of work:	70

The phases and activities described in the table above are indicative, but should serve as a guide for the Consultant’s preparation of the plan to support the seven organsisations. The Consultant’s plan, including the number of days to be spend on different support activities, will be the subject for discussion during the kick-off meeting with the EUACI, as listed under phase 1 in the table above.

Expected deliverables:

The key deliverables during the assignment are presented in Table 2 below along with a tentative timeline.

All deliverables are expected delivered in soft and hard copies unless otherwise agreed upon. Soft copies shall be submitted via e-mail to the indicated EUACI contact person.

Table 2: Summary of deliverables/outputs and the tentative timeline for delivery.

#	Deliverable/Output	Timeline	Note
1	Consultant’s Plan for support to the seven organisations	2 weeks after signing the agreements	Should be submitted before and presented during the kick-off meeting with the EUACI
2	Financial statements for each of the seven CSOs (unless otherwise agreed with the EUACI), including request for release of second and last tranche, if relevant.	To be agreed during implementation based on actual cash position
3	Final Financial Statements for each of the seven projects (preferably audited, if possible) with all supporting documentation (unless otherwise agreed with the EUACI)	To be agreed during implementation based on actual progress
4	Consultant’s Narrative Report	To be agreed during implementation
5	Consultant’s Audited Final Financial Statement, Final Invoice, and supporting documents	To be agreed during implementation

The timelines indicated in the table above are indicative.

The Consultant will reflect on and update the timelines for different activities during the preparation and updating of the Consultant’s work plan. During the kick-off meeting with the EUACI Component Team, the Consultant’s updated work plan will be discussed, including the proposed timeline for the different activities and for the submission of deliverables.

4. Timeline

The assignment is expected carried out during the period from 18. November 2021 to 30. November 2022. As indicated in the table above, a total input of 70 work days is expected delivered during this period.

5. Methodology

The Consultant will work under the supervision of the EUACI Public Integrity Advisor.

Based on consultations with the Public Integrity Advisor and other EUACI staff, the Consultant will prepare his/her work plan and send them to the EUACI Public Integrity Adviser for approval at least a full work week ahead of time.

Tentatively, the assignment is expected approached through the phases presented in the table below. While the total number of days remain fixed, the exact number of days for each phase is subject for revision based on the Consultant’s proposed work plan.

6. Professional Requirements

The table belwow provides an overview of the expected qualifications and competence of the technical expert required for the assignment.

Table 3: Qualifications and Competence of Consultant’s Staff

Position	Technical Expert
1-General Qualifications	Minimum: Master’s degree in finance, accounting, business administration or a related field; At least two year of experience supporting payments, financial procedures and compliance, preferably within the context of a technical assistance project; Auditing experience – either in an organisation being audited or working for auditor; Strong budget tracking and budget analysis skills; Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.); High degree of organization, attention to detail, and ability to multitask; Interpersonal and stakeholder management skills; Good people skills and teaching/training experience. Wishes: A creative and entrepreneurial approach to overcoming barriers and making change happen
2-Adequacy for the assignment	Minimum: Experience in the provision of financial monitoring support; Practical experience with the preparation of financial reports; Excellent skills in presenting technical information in an easily comprehensible way. Wishes: Experience of work in development projects is an asset; Good communication and inter-personal skills.
3-Experience in the region and language	Minimum: Upper-Intermidiate English language communication skills (verbal and written); Good verbal command of Ukrainian/Russian, and basic Ukrainian/Russian writing skills; Experience in providing accounting, finance and auditing services to the Ukrainian civil society organizations (non-profit, non-governmental).

7. Payment Schedule

Payment will be made in maximum three instalments.

First instalment, representing 30% of the total contract value, will be made after receipt and approval of the Consultant’s updated work plan.

Second payment, representing 30% (plus reimbursables incurred during visits to the field) will be made after the completion of the start-up and implementation phase.

The third and the last payment of 40% (plus reimbursables incurred during the second round of visits to the field) will be made upon receipt and approval of the final report and all other supporting documents, including a Final Invoice and an audit report.

Payment will be based on the actual days worked, the agreed daily fee rate, and the expenses occurred by the Consultant during the period. Payment will require verification of completion of deliverables and approval by the Public Integrity Advisor of the Consultant’s deliverables and expense outlay.

Travel costs and other reimbursable costs will only be accepted if they are in compliance with the guidelines in the contract. In general, the EUACI shall not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class tickets. In the event of unforeseeable travel not anticipated in the agreed work plans, payment of travel costs, including tickets, accommodation and other expenses, must be agreed upon in advance with the Public Integrity Advisor or the Component 2 Team Leader.

8. Estimated budget and level of effort

The maximum budget available for this assignment is 12,243.62 EUR. This amount includes fees, subsistence allowance during visits to the cities, travel costs as well as all other costs related to the assignments, including for example expenses related to audit and printing. Reimbursable expenses presented in the budget will be reimbursed by the EUACI upon receipt of the appropriate documentation and in accordance with the payment schedule presented in these ToR. All proposals for this assignment should include a budget broken down by fees and reimbursable costs. During the evaluation of proposals, only fees and the total budget will be evaluated.

9. Bidding details

The bidder must submit the following information to be considered:

The CV.
Motivation letter.
Budget for the services in EUR, inclusive of all taxes or other such charges. The budget should be broken down by fee and reimbursable costs. The fee budget should indicate the fee per day as well as the total fee. The Reimbursable budget should include all other expected costs related to the assignment. The total budget (fee and reimbursable budget) must not exceed the total amount available for the assignment.

10. Background documents

The documents and links provided in the table below are intended to help provide context for the assignment. Additional documents may be provided at a later stage in the process.

Table 4: Background documents

#	Document	Provided
1	Danish Financial Management Guidelines (Annex 1).
2	General Guidelines for Accounting and Auditing of Grants channelled through National NGOs (Annex 2)

11. Background documents

The deadline for submitting the proposals is October 28, 2021, 18:00 Kyiv time.

The proposals shall be submitted within the above deadline to [email protected], indicating the subject line “Financial consultant”,

Bidding language: English.

Any clarification questions for the bid request should be addressed to [email protected], no later than October 26, 2021, 18:00 Kyiv time.

Clarification questions and answers

1) Based on the description below:

1.1. Do selected CSOs have inner developed policies on: financial management/accountant, tender procedure, HR and others? Are they going to have them before the project implementation starting?

1.2. Do all of them have at least an accountant? Those CSOs who do not have, are they going to hire one? – All the project applications envision an accountant

Response to question 1.1: This is for the Consultant to ascertain as indicated in the Terms of Reference. Please consult Phase 1 under scope of work.

Response to question 1.2: As indicated in the Terms of Reference, it will be the task of the Consultant to assess the financial management capacity (including presence of accounting staff) of each of the CSOs as well as the assistance required to meet the financial management and reporting standards described in the guidelines.

2) Will the Consultant be responsible for the quality of project implementation and narrative reports as well or only for the financial-administrative issues?

Response to question 2: The Consultant will be mainly responsible for the financial-administrative issues

3) Chapter 7. 1 General requirements for auditing from "Financial Management Guidelines October 2019" states:

The audit must be carried out by an audit company with the appropriate professional qualifications and competencies required as per the standards.

In the case we have, who will perform the audit? Based on "Summary of deliverables/outputs" - is this to be done by the Consultant?

Response to question 3: It is expected that one of the following two options will be used. In case the selected candidate is a certified auditor, he or she will be able to organize proper preparation for the audit by him/herself. In other case, a Financial consultant will need to collect all the financial documents (invoices, bills, etc.) and send to them to Kyiv office accompanied by a Financial Statement.

4) In the case of the total lockdown in Ukraine, will distance work with CSOs be accepted? What is EUACI's policy regarding this?

Response to question 4: The key objective of the assignment is to make sure that the CSOs financial management and reporting activities comply with the required standards. It is tentatively assessed that this will require up to two visits to the CSOs as described under the scope of work. In the event that the assessment of the capacity of the CSOs show that the financial management capacity is better than anticipated, the number of visits and/or the number of days spent with each of the CSOs may be less than what has been estimated in the scope of work.

5) 5.1: Did I understand correctly? that a maximum of 12,243.62 euros has been allocated to the Financial Advisor for the planned 70 working days + travel expenses?

Response to question 5.1: Yes, you understand it correctly.

5.2: And among the applicants will choose the one who will give a smaller budget?

Response to question 5.1: The candidate will be selected based on the fee level and qualifications.