Short Term Consultant - ICT Expert

 

A consulting firm of repute requires the services of an ICT Expert for a Punjab-based Project, as per following detail.

 

1.      Scope of Work Summary:

 

The consultancy has the following major scope:

• to help establish and operationalize the proposed “Policy and Strategy Unit” (PSU) at the Department of Agriculture (DOA), Government of Punjab;
• to undertake a series of assignments related to ICT based improvement of internal systems and processes for effective operational management of DOA, under the guidance and supervision of Secretary Department of Agriculture; and
• to facilitate undertaking informed strategic decisions, policy and institutional reforms by DOA, that can help transform horticulture sector through ICT based service delivery and data collection.

 

For this assignment, the consultant will carry out all required comparative analysis of various ICT technologies and applications, their level of sophistication, cost implications, viability for common farmer and their possible impact on crop productivity, governance and financial and operational efficiency, after extensive consultations with the Secretary and other internal and external stakeholders, as well as taking into account the successes and lessons learnt of comparable countries. The consultant will also help develop the systems and work processes that can ensure sustainability of the unit.

 

 

2.      Background:

 

The Project has been designed to support advocacy for policy and regulatory reforms and early implementation of the same in agriculture sector (horticulture, livestock and dairy subsectors) of Punjab. This project would work in partnership with the Punjab’s public & private sector, civil society organizations and academia to create an environment that is more conducive to the growth of target sub-sectors. The project will also develop and implement a set of activities that will result in significant policy reforms and capacity building of its partners.

The provincial Department of Agriculture (DOA) is a line department, responsible for development of agriculture (including horticulture) sector through policy formulation, institutional support and service delivery in the province. Through its Planning and Evaluation section, DOA is undertaking short, medium and long term planning in consideration of available information of crops, land and farmers, and annual growth targets of government. The section is also responsible for evaluation of various ongoing interventions.

For developing the horticulture sub-sector for accelerated growth, effective medium and long term planning coupled with right priorities and allocation of adequate resources are imperative. Setting right priorities, making strategic decisions, and formulating policy require evidence based applied research that can provide qualitative and quantitative analysis of various policy options and instruments along with their respective budgetary and socio-economic impact. Carrying out gap analysis of on-going interventions, regular operations and prevailing service delivery mechanism are also equally important to gauge the effectiveness and efficiency of current budgetary allocation. Such analysis can provide input or lead to policy and institutional reforms required to meet current and emerging socio-economic challenges.

To strengthen the policy and strategy formulation function, Department of Agriculture has decided to set up a “Policy and Strategy Unit” (PSU) in the Department. The Project has agreed to provide technical assistance with the following objectives.

 

1. Strengthening strategy, planning, and policy formulation functions and processes of the department, by providing institutional support.

 

1. Identifying major policy challenges, and undertaking evidence based qualitative and quantitative research, either in-house or by other project partners, for developing policy recommendations for improving rules, regulations by-laws and pertaining standards, procedures and SOPs.

 

1. Facilitating the Department of Agriculture to develop business enabling environment through formulating conducive policies and taking strategic decisions. The project will engage the policy communities on various policy issues through policy dialogue, seminars, round tables, conferences and workshops and will provide the synthesized information to Department of Agriculture through newly established unit for incorporating in new policy and institutional reforms.

 

E-governance and e-agriculture are getting importance in each policy function. PSU will also undertake studies / assignments to identify and evaluate the scope of ICT tools and applications to help grow the horticulture sub-sector.

Since, across the world, many of the public policy interventions, e-agriculture, and extension services are based on ICT, the expertise of an ICT Expert will be available to the proposed unit who will carry out various assignments, related to ICT based performance solutions in horticulture sub-sector of Punjab.  

3.      Objective and Purpose of the Consultancy:

 

The overall objective of this assignment is to help establish the proposed PSU, to assist in its sustainable operationalization, and to serve the proposed PSU as a technical resource, under the direct supervision of Secretary Department of Agriculture. Working at PSU, the consultant will undertake various analysis and comparison of various ICT based models. The consultant will facilitate and support the top leadership and policy makers of DOA by suggesting technological solutions, and providing technical inputs to various proposed ICT initiatives with the aim at improving DOA internal operations, service delivery to farmers, and introducing emerging concepts of e-agriculture through new policies and reforms.

 

 

4.      Principal Duties & Responsibilities:

• To report to the Project COP at the beginning of the consultancy and provide regular updates on the status and progress of the deliverables of the assigned assignments.
• To attend PSU office at designated office hours during the consultancy period.
• To liaise with the Secretary of DOA on daily basis for work assignments given by DOA and updating him about the progress, as and when required.
• To work independently or jointly on various assignments with a small team of consultants, having expertise of economics and public policy, deployed in PSU.
• To provide the technical inputs to team on policy and reforms related aspects of various joint assignments, as per need and requirement.
• To hold regular meetings with internal and external stakeholders of DOA for extensive deliberations on the various technology related aspects of the assignments.
• To develop the short concept notes / proposals of ICT based interventions, along with providing recommendation, after due diligence and research work.

 

5.      Specific Tasks of the Consultant:

 

The consultant shall use his / her education, experience, competencies, and skills to accomplish the following:

 

        I.         Have a meeting with Project COP and respective professionals, to understand the role and responsibilities of the Project in joint collaboration and setting up of PSU. Hold an initial meeting with Secretary of DOA to understand the purpose, objectives, functions, modalities and role of newly established PSU.

     II.         Develop a fair idea of current ICT regime in Punjab Agriculture Department, emerging concepts of e-agriculture in comparable countries, and various models, piloted by donor agencies in Pakistan at small scale.

   III.         Identify and prioritize major challenges in sector development, service delivery, and operational management, in consultation with Secretary of DOA,  that could be addressed by introducing the ICT based innovative approaches to implement robust strategies and interventions to transform horticulture sub-sector.

  IV.         Undertake a quick functional analysis of DOA to understand the various functions of DOA and their role in the development of horticulture sub-sector. Moreover, the consultant will try to get quick snapshot of systems / processes of each wing of DOA in order to scan the scope of ICT based applications.

     V.         With the clear understanding of the innovative ICT-based approaches for horticulture, identify and quantify the scope of ICT projects in current operational management and service delivery areas to improve productivity, efficiency, transparency and effectiveness. Technology use to transform the existing horticulture practices, especially in small farms by providing continuous advisory services, weather forecast, pest and disease prevalence, market rates information, etc., through mobile phone and website could be some potential areas.

  VI.         Work on developing ICT based models / applications that can help collect crop data in real time and to estimate the total individual crops production in Punjab, to preempt shortage or glut in market, by taking necessary steps.

1. Provide structured technical inputs to DOA for identified areas to introduce ICT based projects, by preparing feasibility, technology options analysis, process flow, technology specifications, cost implication, etc.
2. Develop TORs and tender documents / PC1 for hiring the services of IT companies, if DOA decides to develop any software / application / database.

  IX.         If required, provide project management support to DOA to coordinate / monitor the ICT service providers, to ensure the quality and specifications.

     X.         As per need basis, provide technical inputs to all matters having ICT angle, that come in discussion with Planning & Development Department, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food, and other public and private organizations / stakeholders. He /she will provide strong technical support and guidance to other teams working in / with DOA. The specific details shall be set forth by Secretary, as per need.

  XI.         Provide written comments on ICT related proposals, emanating from Punjab Board of Information and Technology (PBIT), Marketing Information Wing of DOA, development agencies, etc.

1. Participate in the meetings and to liaise with public and private stakeholders and experts on various aspects of horticulture sub-sector, as per advice of Secretary. Moreover, the consultant will coordinate, arrange and participate in meetings between DOA relevant directorates, governmental stakeholders, elected representatives and experts working on behalf of the Project, as and when required.

 

The analysis and recommendations of the consultant should be logical reflection and in line with international best practices of ICT models, e-governance, e-agriculture, sustainability of resources, and critical benchmark of a modern horticulture sub-sector.

 

6.      Deliverables:

 

1. In the first five working days of consultancy, in consultation with Secretary of DOA, the consultant will develop Scheme of Work (agenda), along with list of deliverables, milestones, and work plan for the consultancy period and will be shared with the Project and DOA for joint approval.
2. A monthly progress update in the form of presentation in the joint meeting of the Project and DOA.
3.  Monthly report on every 3^rd working day of next month, encompassing all the research work, analysis and other tasks completed in last calendar month.
4. Final report after completion of consultancy assignment.

 

7.      Job Qualifications

• At least Master’s degree in Computer System, Computer Engineering, Information Systems, Software Development or related field.
• A minimum of ten years of relevant work experience in the government, academia, international agency or the private sector, working with multiple ICT projects.
• Practical experience and familiarity with ICT-based innovative concepts for agriculture / horticulture. He / she must be well versed with the various ICT based development model / approaches used in agriculture / horticulture sector of various countries.
• Knowledge about application of ICTs for rural areas and development, commonly known as “ICT4D”
• Good understanding of horticulture sub-sector of Pakistan and of other countries.
• Experience in determining end-user requirements and designing the concept of product to meet those needs.
• Knowledge of SMS, USSD and IVR.
• Knowledge and / or experience the languages and applications related to this scope of work and relevant to the ITC tools being used in other countries in horticulture sub-sector.
• Basic understanding and exposure to coding (Java, html, PhP, python, etc.)
• Basic understanding and exposure to GIS.
• Strong analytical and writing skills, and experience of presenting complex technical information in a comprehensible way for non-specialist readers.
• Good communication skills and fluency in English and Urdu.

8.      Duty Station:

 

The duty station for this consultancy is Lahore. The consultant is supposed to attend PSU office daily during office hours.

 

9.      Reporting:

 

The consultant will report to the Project and Secretary Agriculture on their deliverables, and will be supervised by the Secretary or his designee for the day-to-day work. All the deliverables will be approved by the Project COP as well as DOA. The Project, thru the sub-contracting consulting firm, will pay the consultancy fee whereas Department of Agriculture will facilitate the consultant by providing office, stationery, furniture, IT equipment, and other support including conveyance, if required, for accomplishment of assigned tasks.

 

10.  Duration of the Assignment:

 

This assignment is planned for a duration not to exceed 60 days LOE (based on five working days) extendable up to 120 days based on satisfactory performance and deliverables evaluated jointly by the Project COP and Secretary of  DOA.

 

The consultant will work for 40 hours a week, in line with the working schedule, chalked out by Secretary or his nominee. The Secretary or his nominee will sign the time sheet of the consultant.

 

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