SCOPE OF WORK

Position:                                 Embedded Consultant at the e-Governance Agency to support the Government Open Data Portal (Consultant)

Location:                                Chisinau, Moldova

Period of Performance:        April 2024 - December 2024

Total Level of Effort:            up to 180 days

Background

The USAID Moldova Institutional and Structural Reform Activity (MISRA) is a five-year project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Nathan Associates Inc. MISRA’s objective is to stimulate a sustainable and inclusive recovery from the regional crisis, improve the institutional, business, and trade enabling environment in Moldova by supporting Moldova’s public institutions and the private sector to accelerate the implementation of trade liberalization mechanisms, adopt structural and investment climate reforms, accelerate financial sector reforms, improve economic governance in the public sector, and enhance strategic communications between the private and public actors. MISRA builds on prior and ongoing USAID and US Government activities in the business enabling environment and trade facilitation space to strengthen Moldova’s economic growth and resilience, and by doing so, increase transparency and accountability.

The main objective of the Component 1 “Strengthening Public Economic Governance Institutions for Resilience and Accountability” is to support public institutions to implement streamlined procedures and systems, interagency coordination and good governance, and digitalization to improve transparency, public service delivery, and access to information.

Activity Overview

The Open Data Portal (ODP) (https://date.gov.md) is a public information resource that provides the public with data collected and produced by government institutions. Around 50 governmental institutions and organizations publish more than 1,170 open data sets on the open portal via the MConnect interoperability platform.

The previous version of the ODP was outdated and not functioning reliably, so MISRA supported the e-Governance Agency (EGA) with upgrading the ODP to the most recent version of CKAN (i.e., an open-source data management system used by governments worldwide)., By November 2024 the upgrade was completed, including data transfer from the old system and testing of the new portal with actual data. A new user guide and revised integration guide were prepared as well.

To sustain the ODP and provide support integrating it with all relevant government institutions and data sets, a consultant is needed to be embedded at EGA.  

Under this Scope of Work, the Consultant will provide support to EGA’s team in managing the ODP, updating and defining a series of public datasets, rising social awareness of open data initiatives, and increasing government transparency in providing improved public services to citizens and businesses.

 Responsibilities and Tasks

The Consultant will be responsible for carrying-out the following tasks for EGA in coordination with MISRA:

• Identify new institutions and open data sets to be published on ODP and report on the progress;
• Provide technical support to the institutions in publishing datasets on the ODP, ensuring data consistency and accuracy;
• Report routinely on updates made to existing datasets of government institutions;
• Organize promotion events, including meetings with public institutions and civil society, to increase public input and participation in open data efforts;
• Develop and conduct training programs for institutions/providers of open data, and report on the training programs conducted;
• Promote the ODP by creating social awareness of the Government's efforts to achieve transparency and the involvement of public institutions, civil society, journalists, private institutions, etc. in the Government's decision-making process.
• Report on increased use of the ODP.
• Provide statistical reports on institutions and published data as required; and

 Deliverables

• Monthly activity reports;
• Completion report summarizing the work completed, findings, and recommendations, using MISRA template

All deliverables must be submitted, in editable electronic format, in Romanian. 

Consultant Qualifications

• University degree in Law, Economics, Statistics, Public Policy, Public Administration, Computer Science or Engineering;
• Demonstrated work experience in data management, analysis, anonymization, or metadata management, in the last 5 years preferred;
• Abilities to work with databases and entering of data;
• Excellent teamwork, communication, management, and leadership skills;
• Ability to effectively communicate and write in Romanian required, and in English preferred; and
• Experience in IT project management is highly desirable.

 Supervisory Responsibilities and Reporting

The Consultant will provide monthly reports to the Lead of Component 1.

How to Apply

We welcome your CV and preferably cover letter at [vezi email]Moldovajobs@nathaninc.com. Please apply by March 13, 2024, with “Embedded Consultant at the e-Governance Agency” in the subject line. This short-term position will remain open until filled.