Individual Contract Policy

Supplemental guidance:

78. 
    The CV and the P-11 of an individual typically contain the same information. Business units have a choice of requesting only CVs to ensure wider competition, in recognition of the fact that some very high level individuals are not willing to rewrite their CVs into a P-11 Form. If CVs were requested at the time of solicitation, the business unit must ensure that the final selected candidate fill out a P-11 form for non-staff at the time of contracting. The P-11 is important to UNDP because of the statement at the bottom where the individual accepts that misrepresentation and material omission may result in the termination of his/her contract without notice. This applies even if the individual will be signing a reimbursable loan agreement.
    
79. 
    Some business units solicit financial proposals only from shortlisted individuals. While this approach may seem to simplify the evaluation process, it almost always leads to higher fees, since candidates know that they have already been identified as qualified and responsive. UNDP’s bargaining power declines. It is a best practice to request financial proposals when CVs are requested.
    

If the assignment is advertised

80. 
    A procurement notice is posted on the UNDP website and in any other place or manner deemed strategic and highly likely to yield good results (e.g., in specialized magazines, on websites or through networks of other organizations or clients).
    
81. 
    The notice will be based on the Individual Contract Procurement Notice template and will include information on the background of the assignment and required competencies, including knowledge and academic qualifications, experience and language. The terms of reference should be attached. The evaluation method must be decided at this stage and identified in the procurement notice. The procurement notice should remain visible for 10 working days after it is announced.
    
82. 
    Regardless of the sourcing method used in generating offers, it is important to observe the following:
    

1. 
   All documents required should be presented in one envelope, email or attachment to an online application.
   
2. 
   If the business unit prefers to segregate the financial proposal, it shall implement the appropriate mechanism for this, but shall only enforce the separation of envelopes for contracts exceeding US $100,000.
   
3. 
   Only individuals should submit an offer, not their employers, even if a reimbursable loan agreement is anticipated. The focus of the selection process must remain on the individual, and it is the IC policy that applies to RLAs.  If the business unit would like to focus on the company’s credentials, it should use a request for proposal process instead.
   
4. 
   Individuals employed by a company or institution who would like to submit an offer in response to a Procurement Notice for IC must do so in their individual capacity, even if they expect their employers to sign an RLA with UNDP.   
   

Receiving offers

83. 
    Offers responding to the procurement notice should be received by the procurement unit by a stipulated deadline. Offers may be received by hand delivery, fax or email. For the last two, a dedicated fax number or email account must be used to ensure confidentiality.
    

Evaluation method

 

84. 
    The requesting unit shall establish an ad hoc three-member evaluation team to conduct an evaluation and interview if required. The number of members may vary according to the complexity of the terms of reference, but should never be less than two. At least one member must be from a unit other than the requesting unit. At least one member must be a UNDP staff person, and he/she shall take the role of chairperson of the team. The team will conduct the shortlisting, and assess and rate each shortlisted candidate based on the documents submitted, as well as review the results of reference checks, until a final candidate has been identified for the award of an individual contract
    
85. 
    Personnel holding UNDP contracts but with non-staff status (i.e., an individual contractor or service contract) may be voting members of the evaluation team under the following conditions: 
    

1. 
   The majority of the evaluation team comprises UNDP/UN staff;
   
2. 
   The inclusion of the non-staff person is necessary for strategic reasons (e.g., critical knowledge or expertise of required services, etc.) and not merely for purposes of meeting the minimum number of members; and
   
3. 
   The non-staff person has signed a Declaration of Impartiality.
   

 

86. 
    Procurement staff involved in the selection process must function as the Secretary to the evaluation team and will be expected to:
    

1. 
   Render guidance to team members on policy issues; and
   
2. 
   Prepare the evaluation report supported by matrices of ratings, notes and minutes of the evaluation process.
   

87. 
    A procurement staff person must not be a voting member of the Evaluation Team, unless he/she was not involved in the preceding stages of the selection process, and is one of the few staff most technically competent to determine the suitability of candidates.
    

 

Pre-evaluation Stage

88. 
    If offers were generated through an open advertisement and a shortlisting is required, the evaluation team shall conduct the shortlisting process. It must ensure that all shortlisted candidates have met the following requirements: 
    

1. 
   They are of comparable qualifications that sufficiently, if not fully, address the requirements of the terms of reference; and
   
2. 
   They have all submitted the Offerors Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability and provided all required information sufficiently.
   
   
   
   

89. 
    If no shortlisting is required, the evaluation team shall also ensure compliance with the above conditions. Procurement staff shall brief the evaluation team on all actions undertaken prior to the evaluation, including, but not limited to, the venue and duration of advertisement, or the sources of the offers (e.g., which roster they are from, etc.) if not an advertisement.