Terms of Reference
SPECIFIC TERMS OF REFERENCE
Technical assistance for drafting of Law on administration, by-laws and other related
legislation
FWC BENEFICIARIES 2009 – LOT 7: Governance and Home Affairs
EuropeAid/127054/C/SER/multi
1. BACKGROUND

Contracting Authority
The Contracting Authority is the CFCD (Central Financing and Contracting Department),
Ministry of Finance of the beneficiary country, within the framework of the IPA 2009
Programme, on behalf of the beneficiary country.

Beneficiary
The main Beneficiary is the Ministry of Information Society and Administration

Legal basis
The legal basis for this assignment derives from Council Regulation (EC) No 1085/2006 of 17
July 2006 establishing an Instrument for pre-accession assistance (IPA) and the relevant
Financing Agreement between the Beneficiary Country and the Commission of the European
Communities concerning the National Programme for 2009 under the Instrument for Preaccession Assistance (IPA), Component I – Transition Assistance and Institution Building
(TAIB) which includes the Project Preparation Facility (PPF) from which this assignment is
to be funded, that has entered into force on 21 December 2010.

Financing
IPA 2009-Financing Agreement for Transition assistance and institution building,
Component I

Relevant country background
The beneficiary country was granted candidate country status in December 2005. In October
2009 the European Commission recommended the opening of accession negotiations.
Since January 2011 the Ministry of Information Society and Administration is the
authorized institution for developing the aspects of human resources management of the
administration in the country and is in charge for coordination and appropriate measurement
for its implementation.
The Ministry of Information Society and Administration is responsible for:
- Legislative regulation of the administrative issues;
- Surveillance and ensuring proper application of the regulations regarding civil and public
servants;
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Terms of Reference
- Development of the policies regarding rights, obligations, responsibilities, assessment of
the civil and public servants;
- Classification and description of the working posts, salaries and allowances of the civil and
public servants;
- Running of the Register on civil and public servants;
- Preparation of strategic document for efficient and effective operation;
- Training and professional development of the civil and public servants, organisation and
conduction of the training;
- Development and coordination of the policies regarding HR management;
- Public administration reform;
- Realisation of the international cooperation in the respective issues;
- State administration;
- Administrative procedure;
- Administrative surveillance.
In December 2010 the Government adopted a new Strategy for the Reform of the Public
Administration 2010-2015, followed by an Action plan for its implementation. The Action
plan defines the following priority areas: A. Administrative procedures and services; B.
Strategic planning, coordination, policy drafting, and quality legislation; C. Civil Service
System and Human Resources Management; D. Public Finance System; E. e-Government; F.
Anti-Corruption Policy in the Public Administration.
2011 progress report by EC mentioned that significant further efforts are needed, notably as
regards recruitment policy and respect for the principles of transparency, professionalism and
independence of the civil service. The activities of this project are presented in a manner to
contribute to the requested progress towards the reforms in the public administration area.
The aspects of the administration are covered in several laws, one of which is the Law on
Civil Servants, adopted in 2000 (Official gazette 59/2000).
The Law on Civil Servants has been amended several times in order to mirror the current
developments in the field (Official gazette 112/2000, 34/2001, 103/2001, 43/2002, 98/2002,
17/2003, 40/2003, 85/2003, 17/2004, 69/2004 и 81/2005. 61/2006, 36/2007 161/2008,
6/2009, 114.2009, 35/2010, 167/2010, 36/2011).
This Law defines the status, duties and responsibilities of the civil servants, salaries,
recruitment, promotion and termination procedures, as well as performance appraisal of civil
servants. Out of approximately 110,000 employees in the Macedonian public sector, only
some 10% are civil servants covered by the Law on Civil Servants. The Law defines civil
servants as persons who perform expert, normative-legal, executive, administrativesupervisory activities and decide on administrative matters in accordance with the
Constitution and law. The Law refers to civil servants both on central and local (municipal)
level.
With regard to the public service, basic principles and standards of the status of the employees
in the field of education, health, culture, science, labour and social affairs, public enterprises
etc. are defined in the Law on Public Servants, adopted in April 2010. The Law regulates the
scope of the public service, principles and basis for recruitment, rights and duties, liability,
appraisal, termination of employment, protection of public servant’s rights and the public
servants register.
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The scattered legislation presents a severe obstacle in the everyday work as well as in the
execution of rights and responsibilities of the servants on one hand and in the regulation of
their promotion, appraisal and evaluation on the other. The above-mentioned legislative
solution has negative effects on the delivery of services to the citizens as well. The necessary
changes i.e. a new Law on Administration should contribute in overcoming of these problems.
2.
DESCRIPTION OF THE ASSIGNMENT
 General objective
The overall objective of the project is to develop administration related legislation in the
country in order to improve the quality and efficiency of the administration in compliance
with the EU standards.
 Specific objective(s)
The specific objective of this assignment is assisting the Ministry of Information Society and
Administration in drafting of new Law on Administration, related by-laws and necessary
amendments in other documents and legislation.
 Requested services
The Contractor shall:
 Analyse the existing solutions in the Law on Civil Servants, the Law on Public
Administration, the Labour Law and other relevant legislation;
 Draft new Law on Administration;
 Organise public debates for discussion of the draft Law on Administration;
 Prepare an analysis of the related by-laws and an assessment of the number of by-laws
that need to be amended;
 Propose amendments to the related by-laws and other existing legislation in
accordance with the changes with the draft Law on Administration;
 Provide related training for approximately 40 persons.
 Required Outputs:
At the end of the project the following outputs shall be produced:
 Prepared analysis of the existent legislation;
 Prepared draft of the Law on Administration;
 Organised public debates for discussion of the proposed changes in the Law on
Administration;
 Prepared analysis of the related by-laws and other related documents;
 Prepared draft amendments to the related by-laws and other existing legislation in
accordance with the draft Law on Administration
 Delivered two-day training of approximately 40 persons regarding the new legislation.
 Final report submitted
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3. EXPERTS’ PROFILES
3.1 Number of requested experts by category and number of working days per expert
1 (one) senior expert will be provided to carry out the assignment.
The working language of the project is English; the expert assigned by the Contractor must
possess sufficient proficiency in English.
The Contractor shall ensure that all services will be provided and where necessary
supplementary support/expertise will be provided through back-stopping and will be included
in the fees of the expert.
3.2 Profile and/ or expertise required (education, experience, references and category as
appropriate).
Senior Expert on public administration reform - 126 working days.
Qualifications and skills

Masters Degree Academic level1 in public administration or equivalent relevant
general professional experience of 4 years above the general professional experience
stated below.
General professional experience:

At least 10 years of general professional experience in the public administration
reform.
Specific professional experience:




Experience in drafting of legislation regarding public administration;
experience in providing advice (consulting) to government(s) regarding public
administration on PAR;
Experience in Public Administration Reform in EU member countries shall be
considered an asset;
Experience in a similar technical assistance project shall be considered as an asset.
Language Skills

Fluency in English, both written and spoken.
4. LOCATION AND DURATION
 Starting period
The tentative start will be in March 2012.
1
For reference on equivalent qualifications see EPSO website - Annex 1, (http://europa.eu.int/epso/on-lineapplications/pdf/guide-1242-171104_en.doc)
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The actual commencement of the assignment will be determined by an administrative order
issued by the Contracting Authority.
 Foreseen finishing period or duration
The overall duration of the project may not exceed 240 calendar days.
But the implementation of the activities, including approval of the final report should be
completed at the latest by November 2012.
 Planning including the period for notification for placement of the staff as per art
16.4 a)
The project is to be executed in two phases: Inception phase and Implementation phase.
The Inception phase foresees an input of 10 working days. During this period the expert
shall prepare the project plan of activities, the methodology, resource allocation, meet with
the relevant stakeholders and report accordingly in the project Inception Report, which is due
at the end of the inception phase (see section 5.).
The Implementation phase During this period the expert will work with the Beneficiary,
Contracting Authority and other relevant stakeholders to gather the necessary data and shall
review the collected documents. In addition, within this period the expert shall organise
training to the relevant involved parties for all prepared documents.
In the course of the accomplishment of the required services, the Consultant shall maintain
regular communication with the Contracting Authority and the Beneficiary. In order to enable
the project Beneficiary to gain initial understanding of the process of the assessment and
analysis, the Consultant shall work in close cooperation with the staff nominated by the
Beneficiary and the Contracting Authority.
The assignment will be organised over a total of 126 expert working days tentatively
distributed as follows:
ACTIVITY
Inception Phase/ briefing with Contracting
Authority/Inception report
Implementation phase
Final Reporting
Travel days
TOTAL
EXPERT NO. 1/ WORKING
DAYS
10
107
3
6
126
 Location(s) of assignment
The experts will be based in an office in Skopje provided by the beneficiary. The two-day
training that is to be provided by the consultant should take place in Skopje, too. The
assignment does not require travelling in the country, except for participation to potential
workshops/conferences/seminars, etc which might be organised and might take place outside
of Skopje and will possibly be relevant for the drafting of the new strategic documents.
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Terms of Reference
Participation of the expert to such events will need prior approval by the Contracting
Authority.
The Project Beneficiary shall secure one office for accommodation of the expert including
access to heating, cooling, cleaning, telephone, fax/internet. The cost related to the use and
running of the office is to be covered by the fee rates of the expert 2. The assigned senior
expert may spend up to 5 days out of the country for the purpose of drafting of the reports
required under section 5.
5. REPORTING
 Content
Inception report shall present the methodology for project implementation, initial schedule
of expert assignment and plan of project activities and timetable of outputs for the total
duration of the project.
Final Report shall cover the whole project. The Final Report shall include:
-
a complete overview of all activities implemented during the project;
-
all outputs produced within the project implementation, including financial
statement for the activities undertaken, and critical analysis for any major problems
that may have arisen during the performance of the contract, with recommendations
regarding resolving similar problems in the future and proposals for future actions.
The Contracting Authority may ask for additional reports/briefing notes during the time of the
assignment.
The Final Report shall include all previously approved reports, documents and other on CDROM.
All reports to be prepared under this Contract shall take into account the procedures laid down
in the Visibility and Communication Manual for EU external actions, which can be download
at: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/visibility/index_en.htm.
 Language
All reports shall be written in English, and where required, working documents,
dissemination material and reports should be translated in Macedonian language.
 Submission/comments timing
The draft Inception Report shall be submitted at latest on the final working day of the
Inception Phase. The Contracting Authority will provide comments on the submitted draft
Inception Report within 10 working days, following the comments provided by the
Beneficiary (MISA). Within 5 working days of receiving comments from the Contracting
Authority, the Framework Contractor shall submit the Final Inception Report.
2
For office running costs see provisions under section 6.
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Terms of Reference
Draft Final Report shall be submitted at the end of the assignment in the country. The
Contracting Authority, in coordination with Beneficiary shall provide their comments on the
Draft Final Report within 15 working days upon receipt.
Final Report shall be submitted following comments from the Contracting Authority and
should be presented within 10 working days upon the reception of the comments. The
Contracting Authority will approve the Final Report within 30 days upon receipt. The
approved final report must be accompanied by the final invoice.
Unless otherwise specified, all reports shall be submitted to the Contracting Authority who
will be in charge of transmitting them to the Beneficiary and EUD.
 Number of report(s) copies
All reports should be issued in three (3) hard copies plus one (1) electronic version (CD
ROM).
6. ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
The nature of the contract is fee-based.
 Interviews if necessary indicating for which experts/position
N/A
 When in the interest of the project, possible limits to subcontracting
N/A
 Language of the specific contract
Language of the specific contract shall be English.
 Request for a succinct methodology when needed
N/A
 Management team member presence required or not for briefing and/or debriefing
N/A
 Other authorized items to foresee under ‘Reimbursable’
The Provision for reimbursable costs covers the eligible expenses incurred under this contract.
It cannot be used for costs which should be covered by the Contractor as part of its fee rates,
as defined above. Its use is governed by the provisions in the General Conditions for
Framework Contracts.
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Terms of Reference
Eligible expenditures are: (i) per diems for each overnight stay on mission in the beneficiary
country and they cover all subsistence costs of the expert including meals, housing and intracity transportation costs (taxi, car rental and/or public transportation) (ii) international travel
costs; (iii) inter-city local travel; (iv)services (such as translation, interpretation, organisation
of trainings, public debates) including related services and costs for: printing of training
materials translation of/and additional copies of reports and training material,
accommodation, meals for the participants, renting of venues, equipment or other.
Each item under the reimbursable must be detailed in order to allow a judgement to be made
of whether the prices offered correspond to the market price. Grouping items or without
quantities is not acceptable.
The budget for reimbursable costs may not be used for the purchase of equipment.
Operational conditionality for intermediary payment if foreseen, inter alia the interim
Not applicable to this Request for Services.
Other
The Contractor shall ensure that the expert is adequately supported and equipped with office
equipment and in particular shall ensure that there is sufficient administrative, secretarial and
interpreting provision to enable the expert to concentrate on his/her projects responsibilities.
Office-running costs, which may include office communications (fax, telecommunications,
mail, courier etc.), report production, secretarial/administrative assistance, as well as the costs
of other support staff, backstopping from the HQ etc. shall be included in the fee of the
expert. No costs of this nature may be charged in addition.
The Contractor will be responsible for the daily management of the contract, distribution of
tasks and performance of activities. The Senior Expert will act on behalf of the Contractor
before the Contracting Authority and Beneficiary.
The Contracting Authority will deal with any issue that will arise on the daily management
level, if the Contractor considers being necessary for the Contracting Authority to intervene.
Tax and VAT arrangements
Under no circumstances can VAT be paid by a Community programme.
The Framework Contractor is encouraged to register the project with the Central Donor Data
Base in the Secretariat for European Affairs, which is necessary for exemption from payment
of customs and other duties as well as for the reimbursement of VAT for the project needs. In
addition, each project financed by the European Union should be registered in the Central
register at the Protocol Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the Public
Revenue Office. The registration of the project is the sole responsibility of the Framework
Contractor.
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 Special requirements
The cross-cutting issues will be addressed throughout this project. The major cross-cutting issues to be
tackled are:
Equal Opportunities and non-discrimination
Equal opportunity principles and practices in ensuring equitable gender participation in the
project will be guaranteed. Male and female participation in the Project will be based on the
relevant standards of the EU and will be assured by official announcements published to
recruit staff needed for the Project. The main criteria for recruitment will be based on
appropriate qualifications and experience in similar projects regardless of gender or age. Both
men and women will have equal opportunities.
Minority and vulnerable groups
Furthermore, minority and vulnerable groups' concerns will be reflected in all activities
programmed under IPA, in particular when it concerns public services, legislative matters and
socio-economic development.
Good Governance and Fight against corruption
Proper consideration will be taken into consideration of such issues where relevant and
appropriate throughout project activities.
Contact Authority:
Ministry of Information Society and Administration
"Mito Hadzi-Vasilev Jasmin" bb
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
http://www.mioa.gov.mk
Contracting Authority:
Ministry of Finance
Central Financing and Contracting Department
“Dame Gruev” 14, 1000 Skopje
(Postal address: “Mito Hadzivasilev Jasmin” bb, 1000 Skopje)
Fax: +389 2 3 231 219
http://cfcd.finance.gov.mk
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