UNDP inviting Proposals from suitably qualified firms/companies for consultancy services to conduct a comprehensive end of project evaluation for the SQAM project
| END OF TERM EVALUATION FOR SQAM PROJECT | ||
|---|---|---|
| Procurement Process : | RFP – Request for proposal | |
| Office : | Malawi Country Office – MALAWI | |
| Development Area : | CONSULTANTS | |
| Reference Number : | 54110 | |
| Link to Atlas Project : Non-UNDP Project | ||
| Documents : SQAM Advert SQAM TOR SQAM RFP | ||
Overview :
Over the years, Malawi’s standardization, quality assurance, accreditation and metrology infrastructure has been inadequate to support the growth in exports. The Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) is the national enquiry point required by the World Trade Organization (WTO) under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade. MBS sets and implements standards and conducts conformity tests on selected imports and exports. However, certificates from MBS have not been recognized on regional and international markets and exporters have been incurring high costs to obtain certification overseas. Generally, infrastructure at MBS has not been adequate to meet the growing demands for the provision of SQAM services within Malawi.
To address the deficits in the national quality infrastructure, the “Development of a Robust Standardization, Quality Assurance, Accreditation and Metrology (SQAM) Infrastructure in Malawi” project was developed with funding from the European Union (EU), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Malawi Government. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), provided specialized technical support, while the MBS was the lead implementing partner responsible for overall project implementation. The purpose of the SQAM project was to contribute to a more adequate, effective and sustainable National Quality Infrastructure (NQI) in Malawi in accordance with international and regional principles and practices (e.g. Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Southern African Development Community (SADC), by supporting the improvement of the performance of the Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS).
Implementation of the project started in 2012 and ended in December 2018 with an intention of achieving internationally recognized accreditation of the conformity assessment services of the MBS, contributing to an efficient and adequate National Quality Infrastructure in Malawi by 2018. This was to have direct benefits for Malawian enterprises, and indirect, long-term benefits for Malawian citizens in terms of improved protection of consumer rights and safety.
It is against this background that United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Malawi in conjunction with the Delegation of the European Union (EU), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) is inviting Proposals from suitably qualified firms/companies for consultancy services to conduct a comprehensive end of project evaluation for the SQAM project in Malawi, with a view to assess project success against project objectives/outputs broken down by evaluation criteria, documenting lessons learnt and proposing recommendations.