Purpose of the assignment To support the Ministry of Justice (Adalat) and involved Government institutions to develop a Road Map for the creation of Unified State Civil Status Register by January 1, 2022 and identify needs/gaps for full operationalization of the Road Map.

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Background

Birth registration is the first step to towards safeguarding lifelong protection and the right to legal identity enshrined in the National Action Plan on Child Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. When functioning at its optimal level, Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) is a foundational system that forms the basis for answering three basic questions on people namely, who, where and how many. The United Nations recognizes the civil registration system as the most reliable source of vital statistics, needed by governments for accurate and timely planning, resource allocation and for good governance. CRVS is the basis of information required for effective implementation of universal and inclusive policies and programmes. In 2016, universal birth registration was recognized as a target 16.9 of the Sustainable Development Goals. Establishing and maintaining a CRVS system is a non-negotiable imperative, essential for achieving several of the goals and targets of the Agenda 2030 and lending itself to the key mantra of Agenda 2030 – ‘leaving no one behind’ and realization of human rights.

Timely, complete, and accurate data from civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) and functioning health management information systems (HMIS) form the foundation for appropriate decision-making regarding policies, financing and service delivery for health and protection programmes for children. CRVS is essential for effective governance and, with HMIS, has significant implications for the provision of population estimates, birth and death rates, and projections to plan, implement, monitor and evaluate maternal, newborn and child health services and other services for children.

In March 2020 the United Nations launched the UN Legal Identity Agenda, a holistic approach to civil registration, vital statistics and identity management, and a model recommended to be implemented in all Member States as a matter of priority. This model build on the universal registration of all vital events, translated into regular, reliable and accurate vital statistics and legal identity for all from birth to death.

On November 30, 2019, the Law of Turkmenistan “On Civil Status Registration” was adopted which came into force on July 1 in 2020. Article 10 of the Law specifies norms of the Unified State Civil Status Register that is envisioned to be created by January 1, 2022.

According to the Law, the Unified State Civil Status Register (the Unified Register) presents a systemized collection of documented data in the electronic format obtained as a result of the state civil status registration and performing other legally important actions by the registry offices. Information on documents issued by the competent bodies of foreign states to validate civil status registration performed regarding Turkmenistan citizens outside the territory of Turkmenistan according to the laws of respective foreign states can be included into the Unified State Civil Status Register.

Development and creation of the software of the Unified State Civil Status Register, as well as control over the software operation of the Unified State Civil Status Register is required and Ministry of Adalat (Justice) of Turkmenistan is responsible for this. Maintenance and operation of the Unified State Civil Status Register will be performed by the Department of Maintenance and Operation of the Unified State Civil Status Register established in the Central Archive of Civil Registry Office. In this regards, the order of maintenance of the Unified State Civil Status Register and issuance of information needs to be clearly specified and developed. 

Khyakimliks (Municipalities) of velayats (regions) and cities with the rights of veleayt are assigned with powers in the area of the civil status registration, which ensure creating electronic database of records in the civil registration acts in Civil Registry Offices and Gengeshis (administrative units) and feeding this database into the Unified State Civil Status Register and maintaining it.  Khyakimliks of velayats and cities which create electronic database of records in the civil registration acts in departments of civil registry offices and Gengeshis shall ensure provision of necessary equipment and logging in to the Unified State Civil Status Register. Departments of civil registry offices and Gengeshis,  diplomatic missions and consular agencies of Turkmenistan in foreign states are responsible  for creating and maintenance of  electronic database of records in the civil registration acts.

State Statistics Committee currently is responsible for the civil registration data collection and monitoring. In this regard, their role and further involvement in the register also needs to be specified.

Taking in consideration the availability of political will and normative provisions related to the Unified State Civil Status Register, as well as sufficient time specified by the law for introducing the system at the national level, and establishment of the state body authorized to perform regulatory functions on maintenance of the Unified State Civil Status Register, UNICEF is supporting the Ministry of Adalat (Justice) and is looking for an international consultant to develop a Road Map and regulatory documents to implement the Law in alignment with the best practices and international standards on civil registration and create the Unified State Civil Status Register by January 1, 2022.

The consultancy aims to develop a Road Map for the creation of Unified State Civil Status Register by January 1, 2022 and identify needs/gaps for full operationalisation of the Road Map.

Purpose of the assignment

To support the Ministry of Justice (Adalat) and involved Government institutions to develop a Road Map for the creation of Unified State Civil Status Register by January 1, 2022 and identify needs/gaps for full operationalisation of the Road Map.

Specific Tasks

• Work with international consultant on Legislation Review and it’s compliance with Law on Civil Status Registration, in line with the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966, the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness  and the United Nations Guidelines for Legislative Framework for Civil Registration, Vital Statistics and Identity Management, available at: https://unstats.un.org/legal-identity-agenda/documents/UNCT-Guidelines.pdf
• Based on Chapter VII of the United Nations Handbook on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics System, Revision (available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/Standards-and-Methods/files/Handbooks/crvs/crvs-mgt-E.pdf) map the civil registration and vital statistics business processes for the purpose of digitizing them using contemporary technological solution
• Based on the UN Legal Identity Agenda model, develop a map ensuring interoperability with other national registries and systems (digital identify, national IDs, health, education, immigration, etc) specifically in terms of classifications, definitions and operational standards
• Based on the UN Legal Identity Agenda model identify roles and potential partnerships with UN Agencies
• Identify the minimum enabling environment requirements for the country to implement the Law
• Develop Needs assessment questions to clarify the situation and propose follow-up actions
• Identify potential state and private participants in creation and operationalization of the Unified State Civil Status Register (State Statistics Committee, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health and Medical Industry, Ministry of Education, Tax Agency, Ministry of Finance and Economy, Migration Service, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Private Sector or Union of Entrepreneurs, Turkmenragatnashyk (Communication agency responsible for IT industry)
• Produce an inception report based on review of documents provided and consultations with the UNICEF and Ministry of Adalat
• Identify if revision of other legislation in the areas of passports issuance, migration, taxation and social benefits is required for full operationalization of the Unified State Civil Status Register.
• Conduct interviews with potential partners and identify the needs (human and technical capacity) for full operationalization of the Road Map and potential role of UN in support of this needs
• Prepare a Road Map for the transition to Unified State Civil Status Register, with a clear distribution of responsibilities between Adalat, Turkmenaragatnashik, State Statistics Committee and other institutions.
• Present the Road Map to UNCT and Government Agencies with concrete deadlines and responsible Government Institutions. Receive Feed-back and address the comments
• Develop a Final Report with the Road Map with the preliminary costs for each of the proposed steps and specify where additional UN support is required

Workplan and deliverables 

The consultancy will cover the period of 20 April 2021 – 20 June 2021 (20 working days) and will be deliverable based. The consultant is expected to work from home. Specific tasks may be adjusted based on current events and corporate priorities.

Reporting requirements

International Consultant will provide reports upon completion of the deliverable at the end of the assignment.

Payment schedule

The payment in US dollars will be made on a one-time basis upon satisfactory and timely submission of the Final Report.

Work arrangements

Day to day supervision and guidance will be provided by UNICEF Turkmenistan Child Rights Monitoring Specialist with consultations from Deputy Representative and Programme colleagues. UNICEF will regularly communicate with the International Consultant and provide UNICEF and UN requirements, guidance on specific questions, feedback on performance, and all other necessary support to achieve the objectives of the consultancy.

General Terms and Conditions

UNICEF’s general terms and conditions will apply to the contract awarded to the vendor.  Please note that, in the evaluation of the technical merits of each proposal, UNICEF will take into consideration any proposed amendments to the UNICEF General Terms and Conditions. Proposed amendments to the UNICEF general terms and conditions may negatively affect the evaluation of the technical merits of the proposal.  

UNICEF retains the right to patent and intellectual rights, as well as copyright and other similar intellectual property rights for any discoveries, inventions, products, or works arising specifically from the implementation of the project in cooperation with UNICEF. The right to reproduce or use materials shall be transferred with written approval of UNICEF based on the consideration of each separate case. The consultant should always refer to UNICEF Turkmenistan's support in developing the materials when publishing the results of the research conducted while in Turkmenistan in academic journals, books, and websites.

In the event of unsatisfactory performance, UNICEF reserves the right to terminate the Agreement. In case of partially satisfactory performance, such as serious delays causing the negative impact on meeting the programme objectives, low quality or insufficient depth and/or scope of the assignment completion, UNICEF is entitled to decrease the payment by the range from 30% to 50% of the contract value as decided jointly by the Contract Supervisor and Operations Manager.

Qualifications and Skills Required

• Proven expertise in Civil Registration Unified Systems development and consultancy;
• Extensive experience in having undertaken similar assignments;
• Advanced degree in IT, statistics, social sciences, or a closely related field;
• Expertise in Central Asian countries is an advantage;
• Strong analytical skills, including experience in preparation of reports;
• Excellent communication and presentation skills;
• Excellent working with people and organizing teamwork skills;
• Fluency in English is required; Knowledge of Russian is a significant advantage.

Technical Proposal

The technical proposal should include

• A cover letter, including
  • Assessment of suitability vis-à-vis the requirements of this ToR;
  • A summary of experience in similar assignments;
  • Links to/attachments of examples of similar work;
• CV of the candidate
• References

Financial Proposal

Candidates are expected to submit a lump sum financial proposal to complete the entire assignment based on the terms of reference.  The lump-sum should cover the deliverables indicated above for the period of 20 March 2021 – 20 May 2021 (20 working days). Financial proposals should be submitted in USD.

Evaluation

Each proposal will be assessed both on its technical merits and on its price. UNICEF considers both technical and financial aspects to ensure the best value for money.  The Evaluation Team reviews both the technical aspects of the offer (based on the qualifications described above) and financial offers.  The proposal obtaining the highest overall score for both technical and financial proposals together, that offers the best value for money will be recommended for the award of the contract.

A cumulative analysis will be used to evaluate and award proposals. 

Proposal Evaluation Criteria

The proposals will be evaluated against the following criteria:

1.           Technical Evaluation Criteria (70%) with the following weighting

The total amount of points allocated for the technical component is 70.                                           

•            Educational Background              -20                                                   

•            Proven experience and knowledge in development of Unified Civil Registry - 15

•            Proven experience of work in Civil Registration Systems -              15                            

•            A minimum of 5 years relevant professional experience, including experience in Europe and Central Asia - 20                                      

2.           Price Proposal Evaluation Criteria (30%)

-             Overall cost (unit costs, investments per phase, level of effort, etc.)

The price/cost of each of the technically compliant proposals shall be considered together with the evaluation of technical criteria. 

Technical proposals failing to reach a score of 60 in total will not be considered for the consultancy.

The bidders should ensure that all pricing information is provided in accordance with the following:

-             The currency of the proposal shall be in USD.  Invoicing will be in the currency of the proposal.

-             For the purpose of evaluation, UNICEF shall use US Dollars to evaluate all financial proposals.