Background |
The UNDP project �Strengthening Parliamentary Governance in Moldova� (SPGM) is designed to address the main needs of the Parliament of Moldova in the areas of legislation making, oversight and representation during the on-going process of domestic reform spurred by closer relations with the EU. The project is also assisting in making the Parliament�s legislative activity more open, transparent and participatory through establishing tools and mechanisms for the engagement with the Civil Society, professional associations and general public. Project interventions will offer and encourage equal opportunity for male and female participation.
The World e-Parliament Report noted that Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have become essential tools in supporting the work of legislative bodies throughout the world.[1] The advantage of automation within parliaments is threefold: more information and documents on the website; increased capacity to disseminate information and documents; and more timely delivery of information and documents to members.
In this context, to increase the level of transparency of legislative process, the Permanent Bureau approved the e-Parliament Concept in 2015. With UNDP support, the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova (PRM) has already initiated the process of developing the e-Parliament Information System. The audit and analysis of ICT performance and capacity to implement e-Parliament Information System is currently ongoing. Ultimately, the goal is to commence the introduction of the e-Parliament modules across different parliamentary processes in 2016 and 2017. The Parliament is also working to finalize its new website.
One of key elements of a well-functioning e-Parliament Information System is the digital archive and preservation. The digital technology opens up totally new perspectives, when the electronic storage and digital conversion of non-digital materials (paper documents) is now possible and can imply considerable qualitative improvements to the daily work of the Parliament.
Currently, all registers of recorded documents of the Parliament are maintained manually due to the lack of an automated system. The use of ICT instruments is very limited. For instance, in order to distribute a working document created electronically, a large number of hard copies have to be prepared. This leads to waste of time and materials, while in the case of an electronic document the distribution and archiving processes would be cheaper and more efficient.
Parliament�s archive is a functional compartment from the Secretariat of Parliament. It keeps the institutional memory of the Parliament. In its activity, the Parliament�s archive is guided by the Law no. 880-XII from 22.01.1992 on the archive capital of the Republic of Moldova; the Decision of the Government no.352 from 27.05.1992 on the approval of the archive capital of the Republic of Moldova; the Regulation no.15 from 16.06.2015 regarding the organization and functioning of the Archive of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova. The Division on Information and Analytics of the Secretariat of Parliament is ensuring the integrity and security of documents kept in the Parliament�s archive. Currently, the parliamentary archive includes 2800 files, each file containing 250-300 pages.
In line with the applicable legislation, all main documentation of the Secretariat is stored for a number of years (up to 75 years). The documents that have national value are handed over to the National Library. The internal, outgoing and incoming electronic correspondence are kept during five years at the work place, without being archived.
Currently, archiving and preservation of parliamentary documentation in accordance with best practices and international standards is one of areas where the Parliament of Moldova requires support. The damages to the parliamentary building in the 7th of April 2009 demonstrations resulted in loss of basically all the parliamentary archive. In 2011, with UNDP support, a draft Concept on Digital Archive of the Parliament of Moldova was developed. However, due to political instability, the Concept was not finally approved. Since the standards and technologies in this area are still very much evolving, the Concept needs to be thoroughly revised and updated.
Therefore, the reasons for creating a digital archive emerge from the need of the Parliament to:
- increase the access to stocks of documents, by providing online access to information held on paper;
- improve searchability of needed documents and records;
- ensure easier and more productive way of using digital documents instead of those held on paper;
- reduce wear and tear on highly important records; and
- reduce the storage space and printing costs.
At the same time, challenges related to long-term preservation of electronic documents, threats of technical obsolescence of the digital environment, uncertainty about both the legal status of electronic documents and future costs of preservation of such documents, copyright and transmission of documents outside the archiving system needs to be overcome.
[1] http://www.ipu.org/pdf/publications/eparl16-en.pdf
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Duties and Responsibilities |
The Project intends to contract an experienced ICT consultant to revise and update the Concept on Digital Archive of the Parliament of Moldova, provide substantive input and strategic advice aiming to support the implementation of a full digital archiving solution within the Parliament of Moldova.
The following key issues, but not only, shall be considered when developing the digital archiving and preservation solution:
- Ensure that an appropriate and well-structured digital archiving facility or collections repository is described. Thus, digitalized printed documentation, as well as existing electronic records shall be safely deposited and properly accessed, curated, and maintained for the future;
- Ensure that digital archive is in compliance with existing national legislation and policies (Law on Personal Data Protection, Decision of the Government no. 618 of 05 October 1993[1] , Rules and Procedures of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova (Law no. 797 of 02.04.96) and other related national provisions);
- Ensure that digital archive follows existing international standards and guidelines on how data should be structured, preserved and accessed:
- ISO 14721:2012 � Open Archival Information System (OAIS), which provides a high-level framework for designing a preservation organization[2];
- ISO 18492: 2005 � Long-term preservation of electronic document-based information, which includes technology-neutral guidance on media renewal, migration, quality, security and environmental control;
- ISO 15489:2016 � Information and documentation � Records management for defining the roles, processes and methods for a digital preservation implementation where the focus is the long-term management of records. This standard outlines a framework of best practice for managing records to ensure that they are curated and documented throughout their lifecycle while remaining authoritative and accessible.
- Standards relating to file formats, including XML, CSV, PDF, JPEG, TIFF and others;
- Other related international standards and guidelines;
- Ensure that digital archive is flexible and able to handle many types of documents � digitized and electronic documents, media, pictures and files;
- Ensure that digital archive is able to capture both �official� as well as �unofficial� documents and to separate confidential records from non-confidential ones;
- Ensure that the principles of non-disclosure, copyright, data protection and security are in place.
In order to achieve the stated objective, the Consultant will have the following responsibilities:
Prepare a detailed work plan to be applied for respective assignment:
- Carry out a desk review of the following documents:
- The Concept on e-Parliament Information System, approved by decision no. 19 of 18.11.2015 of the Standing Bureau of the Parliament;
- Report on the ICT needs of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, drafted with the support of the United Nations Development Programme, June 2011;
- Strategic Development Plan of the Integrated Information Space of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova for 2011-2015, approved by decision no. 13 of 27.07.2011 of the Standing Bureau of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova;
- The draft Concept on Digital Archive of the Parliament of Moldova;
- Current national legislation and available policies on archiving processes and requirements;
- Best practices, as well as international standards and guidelines on archive digitization and preservation;
- Get acquainted with existing infrastructure of the Parliament, thus understanding the legal and institutional environment for operational flows of the PRM work;
- Analyse the World e-Parliament conferences reports and other relevant publications. Ensure that the main principles are considered in the process of conceptualizing the digital archiving information system.
- Conduct initial meetings with relevant parliamentary staff, concept�s author, ICT experts currently performing the audit and analysis of ICT performance and capacity to implement e-Parliament Information System and specialists from other entities (i.e. E-Governance Centre).
Based on desk review and initial meetings findings, review and prepare amendments for updating the existing Concept on Digital Archive of the Parliament of Moldova. This activity should include, but is not limited to, the following:
- Check if the scope and objectives are clearly formulated;
- Check if all of the roles and functions of a typical digital archive are well described;
Check if all the business processes are well defined;
- Check if the proposed ICT architecture responds to the Parliament�s needs and is compatible with the design of e-Parliament Information System;
- Check if the copyright and data protection aspects, as well as proposed information security requirements are in line with national and international standards;
- Check if the estimative costs and cost-benefit analysis to implement the digital archive are defined;
- Advise if the scanning to be done in-house or by a contractors;
- Indicate what is the timescale for producing the digital assets;
- Check what resolution is required for scanning, and what impact does this have on the amount of IT storage space needed;
- Check the referencing system to be used for the images;
- Advise on how long will the digital asset be required for;
- Check if the risks and mitigation measures for well-functioning and sustainable digital archive are well described;
- Update the infrastructure requirements.
Develop a Roadmap with milestones towards implementation of a full digital archiving solution proportionate to Parliament�s needs. The Roadmap shall specify concrete steps with tentative timelines to enable detailed planning and implementation of the archiving solution. The document shall address, but is not limited to, the following issues:
- Legal issues (new policies and regulations to be developed and approved, if necessary);
- Technical and infrastructure requirements;
- Internal institutional arrangements;
- Action Plan with estimative budget and tentative timelines for software development and acquisition period;
- Security and data protection issues;
- Digitization and post-digitization issues;
- Training requirements (users);
- Testing phase and integration with e-Parliament Information System etc.
Provide other programming related tasks required by the Secretariat of Parliament.
The consultant will have to undertake two missions to Moldova (tentatively) during the period October-November 2016.
INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the UNDP Parliament Specialist for substantive aspects of the assignment, and under the guidance of the Senior Project Officer � for administrative aspects. The consultant will report to the Parliament appointed representative and the Parliament Specialist of UNDP SPGM project.
The Parliament will provide consultant with working space, access to Internet, a printer and a telephone line.
Timeframe
The timeframe for this assignment is planned tentatively through October � December 2016. The Consultancy should involve about 30 days of work. The exact schedule of mission in Moldova shall be coordinated in advance.
Language
All communications and documentation related to the assignment will be in English. Before submission of the deliverables, the consultant will discuss the draft documents with the parties involved (i.e. Parliament, UNDP and other stakeholders) so that the final products reflect their comments.
[1] http://lex.justice.md/viewdoc.php?action=view&view=doc&id=303445&lang=1
[2] http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=24683
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Competencies |
- High level of familiarity with major development trends in ICT, and the ability to innovate electronic systems for the Archives;
- Knowledge of ICT policies and regulatory framework of the Republic of Moldova will be an advantage;
- Knowledge of metadata regimes for discovery, recordkeeping, and data management;
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Required Skills and Experience |
Academic Qualifications:
- Master's Degree or equivalent (5-year university degree) in IT management, Computer Sciences, computer engineering or other relevant discipline;
Work experience:
- At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in designing, implementing and embedding electronic records and archive ICT management systems;
- Previous experience of designing and implementing enterprise level ICT systems (SAP, Oracle, SAYLT, Open Source etc.) at government or private sector;
- Proven certifications in IT programming area is an asset;
- Working experience with Parliament and/or government institutions is a strong advantage.
Language:
- Fluency in English;
- Knowledge of Romanian and Russian will be an advantage.
DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS
Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:
- Cover letter with description of relevant previous experience, as well as of proposed methodology for undertaking the current assignment not exceeding 5 pages;
- Financial proposal (LUMP SUM) in USD, specifying requested amount per day (fee) and all related costs (e.g. DSA, travel, phone calls etc.);
- Duly completed P-11 form with three references.
EVALUATION
Initially, individual consultants will be short-listed based on the following minimum qualification criteria:
- Master's Degree or equivalent (5-year university degree) in IT management, Computer Sciences, computer engineering or other relevant discipline;
- At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in designing, implementing and embedding electronic records and archive ICT management systems;
The short-listed individual consultants will be further evaluated based on the following methodology:
Cumulative analysis
The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:
a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
b) having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.
* Technical Criteria weight � 60% (300 points);
* Financial Criteria weight � 40% (200 points).
Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 210 points would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.
Technical evaluation scoring:
- Master's Degree or equivalent (5-year university degree) in IT management, Computer Sciences, computer engineering or other relevant discipline � 20 pts;
- At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in designing, implementing and embedding electronic records and archive ICT management systems - up to max. 50 points;
- Previous experience of designing and implementing enterprise level ICT systems (SAP, Oracle, SAYLT, Open Source etc.) at government or private sector - up to max. 40 pts.;
- Proven certifications in IT programming area is an asset - up to max. 30 pts.;
- Working experience with Parliament and/or government institutions is a strong advantage - up to max. 30 pts.;
Proven commitment to the core values of the United Nations, in particular, respecting differences of culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, language, age, HIV status, disability, and sexual orientation, or other status.
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UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. |
