USAID LINKSME PROJECT 

Activity C2-2022-03: Support re-engineering administrative procedures  

TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR NATIONAL CONSULTANT  

TOR 01: Support re-engineering administrative procedures in land, environment and agriculture sector  

(Vui lòng xem bản tiếng Việt tại link) 

1. Background 

a. USAID LinkSME project  

IESC – the International Executive Service Corps – is a U.S-based non-profit that seeks private enterprise solutions to problems of poverty in developing countries and around the world. By providing a mix of technical assistance and volunteer expertise, IESC works with emerging industries, financial institutions, and governments to stabilize economic environments, increase opportunity, and promote growth. We have completed over 25,000 projects in more than 130 countries worldwide.  

The USAID LinkSME project, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), supports the Government of Vietnam (GVN) in its efforts to develop, adopt, and implement policy and regulatory reforms to provide a more favorable environment for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It also works with business support organizations (BSOs) and the GVN to improve the performance of SMEs and integrate them into lead-firm supply chains. The project is implemented by the International Executive Service Corps (www.iesc.org), under a contract with USAID and an operating license issued by the People’s Aid Coordinating Committee. Click here for more information. 

b. Technical Assistance  

Vietnam has been committed to developing e-government capabilities since signing the e-ASEAN framework in 2000. To implement this commitment, the GVN has actively developed a legal framework, built capacity, and invested resources in e-government. Over the last few years, Vietnam has achieved significant results regarding internet access and e-services. The number of internet users in Vietnam has increased to 63.6 million, enabling more interaction to take place online. In addition, numerous public services are now provided online, especially services at level 1 and level 21. Currently, almost all government legal documents are available online to access and download free of charge. Vietnam has also received good international rankings for government digitalization. According to the E-Government survey conducted by the United Nations in 2018, Vietnam is ranked 88^th out of 193 countries.

To continue digitalization efforts, in 2020 the GVN set the target of providing at least 30% of public services at level 4 (the level at which citizens are able to process administrative procedures (APs) and payments online). In pursuit of this target, the National Public Service Portal was launched at the end of 2019 as the national focal point for processing APs. Through the system, individuals and enterprises can access online public services, monitor the status of settlements, process payments, assess service quality, and provide feedback regardless of time and administrative boundaries. Currently, over 1000 public services are accessible in the National Public Service Portal. The GVN has also assigned all ministries and agencies to integrate their public services into the National Public Service Portal.

In Vietnam, traditional APs are generally complicated. For online handling, the APs must be reviewed, restructured, simplified, and standardized. According to international experiences, this process is the most important and challenging part of the digitalization process for public services. Since 2020, USAID LinkSME has supported the Office of the Government (OOG) to develop a toolkit for use in reviewing, simplifying, restructuring, and standardizing AP handling processes. Based on this toolkit, the OOG has standardized various APs related to business activities. USAID LinkSME continues to support the OOG to standardize and simplify some technically complex APs for online handling.

To implement this activity, USAID LinkSME will recruit 1 national consultant to support the OOG to review and re-engineer 5 APs in the land, environment, and agriculture sectors. Specific responsibilities and deliverables are outlined below.

2. Objectives 

The objective of this TOR is to: 

• Support the OOG to review and restructure selected APs for online handling. 

3. Duties and Responsibilities 

• Review, prioritize, and select 5 APs in environment, land, and agriculture sectors for online handling.  
• Restructure and standardize 5 selected APs (agreed to by the OOG) for online handling.  
• Attend technical meetings and workshops as requested.  
• Develop and finalize report to submit to OOG and LinkSME 

4. Expected timeframe  

Review, select, and restructure APs	January – February 2023
Participate in and present at consultation meetings with related departments	March – April 2023
Develop and finalize reports	June 2023

5. Duty station and period 

Hanoi and field trip/workshop locations as required;  

6. Deliverables 

• 1 report on reviewing and restructuring 5 APs in land, environment, and agriculture sectors (in Vietnamese) 
• 1 executive summary (in English) 

The report is expected to cover at least the below sections: 

• Rationale for prioritization and selection of APs for restructuring 
• Analysis of current handling process of the APs: Dossier requirements, step, stakeholders, timeframe and payment (if any). 
• Recommendations for restructure of administrative procedures for online handing, relevant solutions and revision of legal documents (if necessary).  
• Calculation of cost saving. 

7. Monitoring and evaluation of deliverables  

The project shall evaluate the draft and final deliverable(s) based on criteria that are likely to include the following: 

• Use of the Report template provided by LinkSME or implementing counterpart, if needed, meeting the general requirements of citation and quotation  
• Focus on the targeted areas of research 
• Summary of any research conducted in the same area and an explanation of how the contemplated research will add to it 
• Identification of the intended audience and explanation of how the intended audience is expected to use the report/deliverable. 
• Explanation of the methodology used for deliverable/report writing, including the extent to which data/inputs from stakeholders were solicited, gathered, and compiled.  
• Logic and cause-and-effect analysis of issues, gaps/challenges, reasons, and recommendations. 
• Evidence-based established findings; actionable and evidence-based recommendations based on the findings.  
• The language of the report/deliverable should be well-written, clear, concise, comprehensive, and accurate. 
• An Executive Summary in Vietnamese and English emphasizing key findings and actionable recommendations (Refer to LinkSME’s guidance for the executive summary) 

Project will share the final report with counterpart and Project Management Unit for review with the same criteria.  

8. Reporting 

The consultant will work under the guidance of USAID LinkSME Business Enabling Environment Technical Assistance Managers/Advisors and the OOG. All deliverables must be submitted to USAID LinkSME and the OOG. Final deliverables shall be approved by the USAID LinkSME Project Director.  

9. Remuneration  

The contracted consultant will be paid a fixed amount, which will be negotiated based on the required tasks, the consultant’s qualifications and experiences, and IESC policy. The contracted consultant shall enjoy all other reimbursables in accordance with IESC policy. Payments shall be made in installments as deliverables are submitted and approved.  

10. Qualification requirements 

• At least a master’s degree in law, public policy, public administration, or a related field.  
• In-depth knowledge of institutional arrangement, public administration, and e-government.  
• Good experience on ICT application in public sector and e-government.  
• Experience with similar projects is preferable.  

 

Application should include the following filled forms together with a detailed CV for the project to have sufficient information for the selection process:

1. Contractor Employee Biographical Data Sheet (please download at this link)

2. Consultancy Service Proposal (please download at this link)

IESC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Please note that this position is intended for a Vietnamese national. CVs and cover letters should be submitted in English. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the position will remain open until filled. Early applications by December 14, 2022 are strongly encouraged.