TERMS OF REFERENCE NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCE ORGANISER FOR The 8th AfrEA International Conference

Transcription

1 Office of the Prime Minister TERMS OF REFERENCE NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCE ORGANISER FOR The 8th AfrEA International Conference Theme: Evaluation of SDGS: Opportunities and Challenges for Africa Uganda (Kampala): March INTRODUCTION The African Evaluation Association (AfrEA) was founded in 1999 in response to a growing demand for information sharing, advocacy and advanced evaluation capacity building in Africa. AfrEA serves as an umbrella body for Voluntary Organizations for Professional Evaluation (VOPEs) networks. The AfrEA VOPEs are slowly and surely gaining national and global visibility. AfrEA has three categories of members numbered as follows 1 : 33 national associations and networks of monitoring and evaluation (M & E), International Institutions (6) and 658 individual members. Its head office is located in Accra, Ghana. It is also a resource for individuals in countries where national bodies or VOPEs are absent. The governance structure currently consists of the following entities: (a) The General Assembly (GA) (b) The Board and its Committees (c) Executive Committee (d) The Secretariat AfrEA s objectives are to: - Support evaluations that contribute to real and sustained development in Africa; - Promote Africa rooted and Africa led evaluation through sharing African evaluation perspectives; - Encourage the development and documentation of high quality evaluation practice and theory; - Support the establishment and growth of national evaluation associations or VOPEs; - Facilitate capacity building, networking and sharing of evaluation theories, techniques and tools among evaluators, policymakers, researchers and development specialists; - Empower members to influence national M&E policy in their respective countries and represent Africa on the global stage of M&E a notion becoming increasingly prevalent across African states. One of the pivotal roles that AfrEA plays in international evaluation is that of hosting the AfrEA Biennial International Conference. The conference forms the foundation of networking, knowledge sharing and capacity building activities for member associations, individuals, funders, partners and stakeholders related to the evaluation discipline, globally, but particularly in Africa. The Uganda Evaluation Association (UEA) working in partnership with the African Evaluation Association and the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) seeks to organise an international conference during 27 th to 31 st March 2017 in Kampala Uganda. It is in this regard that UEA seeks to contract a national conference 1 Statistics of July

2 organiser to work along side an international counterpart to ensure the hosting of a successful conference. 2. PURPOSE In order to ensure the success of the above-mentioned conference it is necessary to appoint a Professional Conference Organiser to organise the conference in conjunction with AfrEA and the Conference Task Force and national sub-committee. The National Expert shall work closely with the International Expert to ensure adequate and timely preparation, implementation and monitoring of the 8th AFREA Conference pre, during and post event. 3. SCOPE The national consultant will work under the supervision of the international consultant, assisting him/her in all activities related to the conference organization. The National and International conference organisers will work closely as one team. The international consultant is the team leader and responsible for this assignment: The successful national Consultant will assist in coordinating the budgeting, preparation and management and monitoring of all logistical issues and arrangements related to hosting a successful and professional Meeting. Working closely with an international counterpart and the Conference task force led by,afrea in collaboration with UEA and Office of the Prime Minister, the Consultant will also review the event concept note and recommend improvements. The national Consultant will support the development of meeting schedules for the Conference Task Force, National conference sub-committee and working groups and identification of venues where business of these committees is conducted. The national consultant will support and ensure that the National Conference sub-committee and all working groups meet as scheduled and action is taken on the resolutions. The national Consultant should assist the international consultant in all weekly reports and feedback to the Conference Task Force on progress made in the preparations and achieving the intended results. Furthermore, the national Consultant shall assist in identifying suitable service providers, as needed, and liaise with these service providers regarding rooming, banqueting, IT equipment and support and other related arrangements. Additionally, the national Consultant will assist in overseeing the invitation and registration process and coordinate air travel and transportation arrangements for ALL participants. A detailed breakdown of responsibilities is outlined below: 3.1 Assist in preparations and Management of the Conference: i. Review of the Conference concept note to recommend improvements; ii. Budgeting for the conference; iii. Ensure that all contacts and actions taken with suppliers are noted and communicated to appointing authority for approval; 2

3 iv. Negotiate terms and conditions and appoint sub-contractors; v. Monitor budget vs. disbursements; vi. Identifying and liaise with potential sponsors. 3.2 Assist in the participants management: i. Establish the list of participants; ii. iii. iv. In collaboration with the International Expert, send out Invitations to ALL participants, including meeting chair(s), speakers, facilitators, etc; Follow up on invitations via telephone, , fax; Administer registration through website and compile confirmed registration list of participants, speakers, support staff, event management team, ushers, etc; v. Identify and secure accommodation block booking for self paying participants at alternate hotels and manage travel bookings/reservations for speakers; vi. vii. viii. Prepare and send out Information Note to all participants (arrival details, hotels, visa requirements, general city info; etc.); Facilitate arrangements for visas for participants, as needed; Protocol arrangements for VIPs, including arrival and departure at airport with the relevant Ministries. 3.3 Assist in Conference Venue arrangements: i. Arrange and ensure all Meeting rooms (for plenary and break-out sessions) are arranged and ready for the Meetings as required (as per specified meetings schedule); ii. iii. iv. Ensure all required audio-visual equipment is available in all the rooms as required; Ensure light catering as well as service maintenance are promptly available as would be required for all equipment/services and facilities in and around the meeting rooms; Arrange and manage participants registration on site; v. Design and make up name tags/badges for all participants, speakers, Media, VIPs, etc; vi. Support the preparation, production and efficient distribution of materials that will be used at the conference; vii. Organize and keep notes/minutes of all conference sessions. 3.4 Assist in Communication & PR: i. Prepare and set- up a one-stop general information support service/information kiosk for participants; ii. iii. Arrange simultaneous interpretation for all sessions as required (English- French); In liaison with AfrEA/UEA/National conference sub-committee and Communication Officer, arrange publication of print media articles in local and international newspapers (one 10 days before, other on first day of the Conference and other day after the Conference); iv. High profile interviews -TV during the Conference; v. Press conference. 3.5 Assist in other general logistical arrangements and event management: i. Arrange and manage VIP transport; ii. Set up a secretariat room incl. adequate staff; iii. Planning and organization of all the meals, cocktails and other social events during the Conference; iv. Design and printing of banners for the Conference; v. Design or source conference bags; 3

4 vi. Arrange for pens and writing pads for participants; 4. QUALIFICATION AND EXPERIENCES The Consultant can be an individual or a firm. The Consultant should possess the following qualifications and experiences: A bachelor s degree, preferably in marketing, public relations, hospitality management, business or communications. Proven strong interpersonal skills, able to communicate and work with diverse people at national, regional and international level. At least five (5) years of experience in organising and managing similar events. Recent experience in last three years in organising/coordinating a large conference in Uganda Required skills and experience Experience in managing high level corporate events. Proficient in the use of the latest versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and mail merges; and web searches. In-house capability in the use of design software such as Adobe Indesign. Excellent communication skills, including writing, proof reading skills, and speaking. Excellent interpersonal skills both in person and by phone, with high professionalism. Ability to accomplish projects with little supervision. Excellent customer service ethic and high expectations for quality. Excellent attention to detail. Skill in public relations and media mobilization. Skill in organization in order to coordinate several events simultaneously. Ability to work with a highly creative team. Self-motivated with energy, drive and enthusiasm. Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines and work under pressure. Excellent written and oral communication skills in English; a working knowledge of French will be an asset 5. CONTRACT DURATION The consultant will work for 2-4 days per week for 6 months running from October 2016 to March 2017 until the Conference takes place, on a part-time basis. 6. LOCATION The tasks will be executed in Kampala, Uganda. The consultant will use the UEA office located at the Uganda Management Institute (UMI) as a focal point of operation. Expenses incurred in relation to the tasks described above will be reimbursed as and only when authorization is given by the AfrEA/UEA line manager. 7. REPORTING 4

5 The Consultant will be accountable to the AfrEA conference task force. The day-to-day assignment and contact will be managed through a Focal Person i.e. the National Task Force Team Leader - to whom the Consultant will report directly. The Consultant will frequently liaise with the International Expert to ensure coherence and consistence in Conference planning and execution. 8. EVALUATION CRITERIA 8.1 General Selection will be based on 60% technical and 40% financial. Each bid will be given a Technical score. A proposal shall be rejected at this stage if it does not respond to important aspects of the Terms of Reference or if it fails to achieve the minimum technical score of 75%. The consultant, best qualified as per the technical score, shall be invited for fee negotiations. The formula for determining the final scores (sf) is the following: Sf = 100 x Fm / F, in which Sf is the financial score, Fm is the lowest price and F the price of the proposal under consideration. Final Score = 0.3 Sf St. with St being the technical score. 8.2 Technical Criteria The following criteria will be used for the evaluation of the bids: Details Education/professional qualifications 10% Five years proven experience in organising and managing similar events locally or internationally Recent experience in last two years in organising/coordinating a large conference in Uganda or East Africa Rate 20% 20% Supportive documents presented and company profile 10% Total Technical 60% 8.3 Pricing Proposed price for this exercise must be fixed, must be VAT inclusive and should be quoted in US dollars. Price should only include the consultant s fee and not include cost relating to the events or facilities for the conference. A detailed schedule of the cost including an explanation of the services included as well as excluded should be provided. 9. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS Applicants are requested to submit separately a technical and financial proposal - by to: President, Uganda Evaluation Association (UEA) Attn: Rosetti Nabbumba Nayenga rnabbumba@gmail.com copied to asiimwejt@gmail.com, darlingtonsenoga@yahoo.com and Augustine.ngendakuriyo@afrea.org 5

6 Closing date for receiving offers is Tuesday 20 th September a.m Ugandan Time. 6