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Terms of Reference for Consultancy Assignment
Description of Assignment:
Building Cameroon Pathfinder Impact and Investment Cases (PIICs)
Geographical Scope:
Countrywide (Cameroon)
Type of contract:
Individual contractor
Duration of Assignment:
About 30 – 35 working days (FTE) spread over a period of up to four months from the date of signing the contract
Number of consultants required:
One consultant (who may organize his/her own support resources at no additional cost to UNDP)
Required Language(s):
English and French with reports written in English
Background
Cameroon is among the countries with the highest burden of malaria globally. Despite heavy inputs of resources and efforts, Cameroon is thus far from meeting the overall objective of the National Malaria Control Strategic Plan to reduce malaria mortality by 75% by 2028 (INS, 2025). This situation seriously affects Cameroon’s economic and social development – but is also a result of a complex of economic and social development factors.
The Cameroon Pathfinder Impact and Investment Cases (PIICs) is among a series of cases-building that take place across African countries in support of the Pathfinder Endeavour – Sustainable Development with Malaria as Tracer.
https://undp-capacitydevelopmentforhealth.org/the-comprehensive-multisectoral-action-framework-for-malaria-and-sustainable-development/
In Cameroon, the PIICs is further part of the Pathfinder-Portfolio Process feeding into and reaching out to a portfolio of programmes and activities across the UNDP Country Office, development partners and government entities concerned with sustainable development and leaving no one behind.
The PIICs will be conducted at national level as well as in three districts to be identified as particularly affected by the vicious cycle between lack of development and malaria. The case building will include review of available reports and documents on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), as well as malaria, neglected tropical diseases, and enteric and zoonotic disease impact and outcome data. The case-building will also comprise further data collection in the three districts, including selective infrastructure profiling, interviews and focus-group discussions with key informants. An elaborate ‘Draft PIICs Guidance Note’ will be available and form the basis for the scheduled inception reports / discussions.
Rationale and Objective of Assignment
There is general recognition of the vicious relationship between lack of development and prevalence of malaria, neglected tropical diseases, some enteric and zoonotic diseases, that the SDGs are indivisible, and Docusign Envelope ID: 6A11DB12-B139-46E9-9B76-F43C747F5CBB
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that it thus requires comprehensive multisectoral and systems action to break the vicious cycle. However, there is limited understanding of the mechanisms and how this can actually be done on the ground.
The general objective of the assignment is to do a reconnaissance into the uncharted territory of comprehensive multisectoral action – at the same time addressing both disease, systems and sustainable development challenges, i.e., to approach answers to three key questions.
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Question 1: Where is the vicious cycle grinding the hardest?
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Question 2: Why is there a vicious cycle – losses and potential gains?
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Question 3: How can the vicious cycle be halted / inverted?
Scope of Work and Methodology
There are many more points of interest than data points. For that reason, the PIICs design is that of multiple cases within one overall frame. The Pathfinder-Portfolio Process in Cameroon has five components: Component One (national) focusing on quantitative data and statistics available at the national level; Component Two (national) Sensemaking boot camp; Component Three (three districts) listening, collecting and analyzing qualitative as well as quantitative data from various district-level sources; Component Four (national) Sense-making consensus workshop; and Component Five Pathfinder Portfolio Dynamic Management.
The Consultant will prepare complete working draft reports in English (see deliverables below), while the final published PIICS reports – including synthesizing all the components and an action plan, editing, design, layout, etc. will be undertaken by the PIICS Steering Committee, the Pathfinder-Portfolio Team, and the Pathfinder Secretariat (see institutional arrangements below).
The scope of work for the assignment is expressed in the following specific objectives.
Specific objectives – Component One (national):
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to approach answers to Question 1; and
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to establish an informed basis to select three districts for Component Two and eventual roll-out of the Pathfinder-Portfolio Dynamic Management.
Specific objectives – Component Two (national)
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Present the findings of Component One at and participate in a one-day workshop with UNDP and national level development and government partners
Specific objectives – Component Three (in three districts):
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to elucidate the situation in each district with respect to sustainable development, malaria, neglected tropical, enteric and zoonotic diseases.
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To gather information from district-level officials to do a brief infrastructure profile of the district, e.g.: internet and mobile phone coverage, and health facility coverage and conditions.
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to approach answers to Question 1 [within each case district]
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to approach answers to Question 2
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to approach answers to Question 3 Docusign Envelope ID: 6A11DB12-B139-46E9-9B76-F43C747F5CBB
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to instate a sense of “We can do it – if we do it together. Let’s try, learn and share” in the case districts.
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to provide input-materials for advocacy, communication, and resource mobilization.
Specific objectives – Component Four (national)
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Present the findings of Component Three at and participate in a two-day workshop with UNDP, national development and government partners, as well as representatives of the three districts that participated in Component Three
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During the workshop, record any comments that relate to the findings and make a short summary report thereof.
Component Five is not part of the assignment Expected Deliverables of the Assignment
Deliverable A: Inception report (about two pages)
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Specific comments on the Draft PIICs Guidance Note for Component One and any changes suggested.
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Confirmation of how the Consultant will work, and the timeline
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General comments on Draft PIICs Guidance Note for Component Three – noting that this will be revisited after completion of Component One
Deliverable B: Component One Report
An interim report submitted to the PIICS Steering Committee for review, feedback, selection of districts, and eventual fine-tuning of Component Two guidance.
The Component One report is ‘text-light’ and mainly consists of tables and maps:
1.
Introduction, including general comments, what was done by who, data availability and access, etc. (one to two pages)
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One excel-sheet: Malaria incidence by district, sorted and divided into tertiles
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Three excel-sheets NTD, zoonotic and enteric diseases by district (one each)
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Table: SDG malaria-critical indicator data availability, short narrative description of data search, and one excel-sheet (5-SDG group indicators per district) sorted and divided into tertiles
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Table: Three by three analysis (malaria x development)
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Map of high-incidence malaria districts by SDG tertiles; and maps of hotspots (districts) for NTD, enteric and zoonotic diseases
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Table: Proposal of five to ten districts with a qualitative appraisal of each for the PIICS Steering Committee to select three districts for Component Three.
Deliverable C: Component Two presentation
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A short PowerPoint presentation (20 minutes) with focus on data availability, the three-by-three analysis and mappings, as well as the qualified proposal for selection of districts for Component Three.
Deliverable D: Protocol and detailed plan for Component Three (two to five pages plus annexes) Docusign Envelope ID: 6A11DB12-B139-46E9-9B76-F43C747F5CBB
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Specific comments on Draft PIICS Guidance Note for Component Three, any changes suggested and turned into a case building protocol.
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Confirmation of the Consultant will undertake the field work,
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Detailed implementation plan, budget for field expenses and timeline
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Government approval, including ethical approval for Component Three in districts if required
Deliverable E: Component Three Reports
One self-contained report from each case district in a shape and format so it can be shared by the PIICs Steering Committee with those who participated within the districts if required.
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Main report with 15 to 30 pages, including:
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Introduction, chapters presenting results and synthesizing findings, conclusion, and recommendations.
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Maps of malaria, NTD, zoonotic and enteric diseases by sub-districts
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150 – 200-word text boxes from each individual interview
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Filled table “Development challenges in sub-districts versus Malaria incidence rates”
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Results of effort-effect simulation (Excel workbook).
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Lists of people met, interviewed – name, title, sex, age, affiliation, and contact information.
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Details on logistics, who, when, where, etc.
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Addendum – two / three pages
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Infrastructure profiling of the district with focus on internet and mobile coverage, accessibility, health facilities with short text and maps
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Additional documentation
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Disease Excel workbook, physical maps (flips), and photo-files of the same.
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Infrastructure Excel workbook, physical maps (flips), and photo-files
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Verbatim transcription of individual interviews with audio-recording
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Verbatim transcription of focus group discussions
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Physical and scanned copy of malaria x SDG assessment matrix filled.
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Excel workbook with filled effort-effect simulation tool
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30 – 50 photo / video-clip files, including, e.g., of people interviewed, participated – and people, situations and ambiances that might be used for illustration, advocacy and communication.
Deliverable F: Component Four slides and brief summary note
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A short PowerPoint presentation (total of 30 minutes) with key findings from each of the three districts of Component Three.
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Summary note of comments, questions and feedback relevant to Component Three findings that might come up at any point during the workshops, i.e., not confined to eventual interventions following immediately after the presentation.
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List of required corrections to the district reports to accommodate feedback from the workshop and the Steering committee.
Duration of Assignment Docusign Envelope ID: 6A11DB12-B139-46E9-9B76-F43C747F5CBB
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The expected duration of the assignment is about 30 – 35 working days equivalents (FTE) spread over a period of four months from the date of signing the contract. The Component One and Two work is estimated at about 5 to 8 days FTE, and Components Three and Four work at about 20 to 30 days FTE. The expected start date of the assignment is 01-FEB-2026, i.e., two weeks after the contract is offered and completion, i.e., submission of the final report is about 1-JUN-2026. For details, see the table below.
Timeline Month Milestones and indicative dates
JAN-2026
16-JAN: Contract signed
17 to 31 JAN: Consultant’s mobilization period
FEB-2026
01-FEB: Submission of inception report Deliverable A (Consultant)
06-FEB: Feedback and go ahead to the Consultant on Component One (Steering Committee)
27-FEB: Submission of draft Component One report Deliverable B (Consultant)
MAR-2026
06-MAR: Review of draft Component One report and approval for first payment (A+B) (Steering Committee)
06-MAR: Submission of draft Protocol, budget and detailed plan for Component Three (Consultant)
10-MAR: Review of draft Protocol, budget and detailed plan for Component Three and feedback to the Consultants (Steering Committee)
17-MAR: Component Two workshop – Deliverable C
20-MAR: Eventual adjustments to protocol, budget and detailed plan for Component Three; government approval of district selection and fieldwork – Deliverable D (Consultant)
20-MAR: Go-ahead and approval of second payment (C + D) (Steering Committee)
23-MAR → Field work
APR-2026
23-MAR → 20-APR: Field work
30-APR: Submission of Component Three reports
MAY-2026
08-MAY: Review of Component Three reports (Steering Committee)
26 – 27-MAY: National Sense- and Consensus Workshop (Component Four)
29-May: Submission of summary note from workshop
JUN-2026
19-JUN: Eventual adjustments to the district report – Deliverable F (Consultant)
30-JUN: Approval of final payment (E + F)
Institutional Arrangements
As mentioned, a Draft PIICs Guidance Note will be available. This note will be reviewed and adjusted as needed in connection with the discussion on the inception reports, as per Deliverable A and D and the timeline above.
The Consultant will report to the PIICS Steering Committee (UNDP-Cameroon and the Pathfinder/STIT Secretariat). The Committee will be available to answer any questions.
The first line of communication between the Consultant and the Steering Committee is through Madeleine Julie Mballa Ebengue and Cuba Gohnchu (UNDP-Country Office, Cameroon) Amount and schedule of Payments
Amount
A total lumpsum amount based on the offer by and agreed with the Consultant is payable in three installments. This amount includes all costs of the Consultant, time, and e.g., transportation and allowances during field work, consumables, etc. Docusign Envelope ID: 6A11DB12-B139-46E9-9B76-F43C747F5CBB
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An additional maximum amount to cover field work – other than the abovementioned cost of the Consultant will be added to the contract. For this part, receipts for actual expenditures will be required after completion of the field work and the balance off-set against the third payment.
Payment schedule
The payment of the above is broken down as per the schedule below for acceptance of deliveries, i.e., documentation of actual time and expenditures is not required – except for the additional amount mentioned above. Deliverable Target due date Payment Percentage
On approval of Deliverables A and B
01-MAR-2026
20%
On approval of Deliverable C and D
08-MAY-2026
50% + estimated fieldwork
On approval of Deliverable E and F
30-JUN-2026
30% - regulation
Qualifications and Experience of the Consultants
Topic areas: SDG indicators; social determinants and population health; rural development and local governance; etc.
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University degree in development economics; public health and epidemiology; social science; population and development studies; or similar.
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Cross-disciplinary competencies in data retrieval and record review; individual structured interviews; leading focus group discussions; qualitative and quantitative analysis; writing and presentation; etc.
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Documented experience in case building and study approaches, report-writing, and presentation in the above
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7 years’ experience in development economics; public health and epidemiology; social science; population and development studies; or similar Evaluation Method and Criteria
The award of the contract shall be made based on evaluation against set criteria and a final interview
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Technical criteria (scores) & Reporting criteria (scores)
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Performance in an online interview-discussion – including a short presentation
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Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.
Technical criteria (assessment of the Consultant) Score Weight (min. 50 –max. 70)
Requisite academic qualifications
20
Cross-disciplinary experiences on SDG-indicators; social determinants and population health; rural development and local governance; etc.
20
Experience with quantitative data collection and analysis
10
Experience with qualitative data collection and analysis
10
Quality of provided examples of work (structure, clarity, illustrations, and language)
10
Docusign Envelope ID: 6A11DB12-B139-46E9-9B76-F43C747F5CBB
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Only candidates with at least the minimum score of 50 points of the total technical points will be considered.
Financial Criteria (30 Points)
All technically qualified proposals will be rated out of 30 points. The maximum points (30) will be assigned to the lowest financial proposal. Proposals that exceeds the maximum budget available will not be considered.
Final interview
The three highest scoring candidates will be invited for a final interview Final Interview-discussion (45 min – on-line)
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The candidate gives a max. ten-minutes presentation on background and understanding of the task. If she/he wants to use slides for the presentation [encouraged] – these must be sent to UNDP-CO at least three working days prior to the interview-discussion and shared with all the PIICS Steering Committee members.
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Their understanding of the assignment (ToR), its feasibility, study questions and approaches
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Description of previous work that the candidate is proud of and deems relevant to the topic areas of the PIICS
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Each member of the Panel (Pathfinder-Portfolio Steering Group) asks one question to the Candidate.
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UNDP informs the candidate about next steps and timeframe for decision
Selection
After completing all the interviews, the Panel will rank the interviewed candidates and recommend one or none to be contracted.
Docusign Envelope ID: 6A11DB12-B139-46E9-9B76-F43C747F5CBB

HOW TO APPLY ?

All applications must be submitted ONLINE at : https://procurement-notices.undp.org/ 

Close Date    28/01/2026