A. BACKGROUND

Mongolia received credit from the International Development Association (IDA) for the Strengthening Fiscal and Financial Stability Project (SFFSP). The Objective of the SFFS Project is designed to improve fiscal policy and sustainability in a mineral-based economy, protect the poor and vulnerable, and restore confidence in the financial sector. The project is designed into five components: (I) Strengthening Macroeconomic and Fiscal Management; (II) Improving the Efficiency of Public Financial Management; (III) Enhancing Financial Sector Stability; (IV) Strengthening the Social Protection System; (V) Project Management and Monitoring. The objectives are to Strengthening fiscal responsibility and implementing relevant policy measures, improving fiscal discipline, strengthening the resiliency of the banking system, improving public expenditure quality in social protection, providing support for Project implementation, coordination, monitoring, and evaluation, including, inter alia, audit arrangements, reporting requirements, procurement, and financial management activities respectively. For more details, please refer to the Project Appraisal Document Report No. PAD2269. The objective of sub-component D1 is to support the Government’s efforts to improve public expenditure quality in social protection through (a) strengthening the design, targeting, operations, and performance of social welfare programs to protect the poor and vulnerable; (b) strengthening the governance and FM aspects of social welfare programs. 

The Social Welfare Law was revised in 1998, 2002, and 2012. In addition, the Mongolian Parliament passed the new Law on the Rights of People with Disabilities in 2016, and it revised the Law on the Elderly and the Law on Benefits and Concessions for Honored Elderly in 2017. Currently, there are the following six laws that govern social welfare activities in Mongolia:

• Law on Cash Allowances for Honored Mothers (2010)
• Law on Social Welfare (2012)
• Law on the Rights of People with Disabilities (2016)
• Law on the Elderly (2017)
• Law on Benefits and Concessions for Honored Elderly (2017)
• Law on Providing Benefits to Mother and Single Parent with Many Children (2017)

Under this legal framework, Mongolia provides a wide range of social assistance programs to its citizens, such as social welfare pensions that support elderly people, persons and children with disabilities, and vulnerable children; caregivers allowances; emergency assistance; food stamp assistance; community-based social welfare services for target groups; social welfare concessions for elderly and disabled people, that include discounts for housing rent, heating fuel, as well discounts for treatment in a sanatorium, purchasing prosthetic and orthopedic support; cash allowances for ‘honored mothers’; and benefits and entitlements to certain discounts for elderly citizens with state merits.

According to the 2021 report, the total cost of social welfare, including the Child Money Program, was 1,975.5 billion MNT. The costs related to social welfare measures/programs totaled 2% in 2019, but with the inclusion of the Child Money Program, the costs totaled 4.4% in 2021. (The social welfare measures/program costs without the Child Money Program were 517.1 billion MNT. Total child monetary benefits of 1.4 trillion MNT were distributed in the form of savings from the Minister of Finance's package budget). However, these costs have been 2.1%, 5.9%, and 12.6% of the state budget in 2000, 2019, and 2021, respectively.

In 2022, a total of 517.1 billion MNT (not including children's money) was spent on social welfare. Child allowance was spent in 2022 from the budget package of the Minister of Finance. Funds spent on social welfare measures in 2022 will be 1.0 percent of GDP (excluding child benefit). In 2022, 2.8 percent of the national budget is spent on social welfare.The budget allocated to social welfare (excluding child money) amounted to 2.1 of the GDP. This share was relatively higher than other developing and emerging countries where the average share amounted to 1.6 of GDP, with the median country spending 1.2 percent of GDP (World Bank, 2014). 

The NSO announced that the poverty rate dropped from 28.4 percent in 2018  to 27.8 percent in 2020 by 0.8 percent. In 2020, it was estimated that 64.7 percent of the poorest quintile received welfare support, and 35.3 percent of the poorest did not receive any welfare. 

The majority of social welfare programs are designed as categorical programs, except the food stamp program (FSP) which targets the poorest part of the Mongolian population, and the health insurance contribution subsidy paid from the budget for adult members of poor households listed in the Integrated Household Database. 

Most social welfare programs are cash transfer programs in Mongolia. There is a lack of methodology and procedures, such as empowering poor citizens to educate, preparing them for work, empowering target groups of citizens through NGOs, increasing local participation in poverty reduction, and introducing community-based services. The system of non-cash transfer services is not developed in Mongolia's social welfare system. 

The SFFS project provided assistance in hiring a local consultant to revise the draft Social Welfare Law (SWL) and the draft of the new Population Growth Support Law, which were prepared by the MLSP in 2021. The draft laws were submitted on October 22, 2021 for Cabinet meeting approval, as per MLSP official letter # 1/2831. The Cabinet Secretariat sent back the amended draft law of the SWL to the MLSP on September 6, 2022, due to Cabinet member changes in August 2022, as per official letter # HEG/1996.

The SFFSP of the World Bank project hired a national consultants in 2021 and in 2022 to support the MLSP’sWorking Group on revision of the SWL (WG-SWL) and the ministry in drafting revised laws. 

The consultants formulated the redraft of the SWL concept, conducted a preliminary study of the needs and requirements of the draft law, and prepared cost estimates and related other studies. The above-mentioned draft laws were sent to the Cabinet in 2020, and all of the studies associated with these laws were prepared in 2019. Therefore, it was necessary to update all of these studies. The SWL amendment was drafted, and the draft law on “Providing benefits and concessions to children and family and rewarding mothers with 4 or more children” and other related studies with this law were also formulated.

The monitoring and evaluation indicators for Component D1 of the Project are that draft laws aiming to protect the poor should be submitted to the Parliament for approval. The World Bank asked that more attention be paid to achieving this indicator during the extension of the project duration. 

The Policy Planning Department of the MLSP has only one specialist who is responsible for social welfare laws, and their responsibilities cover all matters related to social welfare. The Policy Planning Department of the MLSP has focused more on discussing and submitting Package Laws on Social Insurance, and as a result, the reform of Social Welfare Laws is moving forward at a slow pace. 

The Law on Legislation   was amended in May 2023 by Parliament, and its effectiveness date began in June of this year. According to this law, when formulating law concepts for any law, it is necessary to conduct studies, including economic, social, and legal consequences studies related to any approved new law and the draft proposed solution of it; and compatibility studies with other laws and international agreements. The articles were added to this law, requiring the law drafter to provide the following studies in advance: a preliminary study of the needs and requirements of a law, and assessments of the consequences of the implementation of the laws regulating the relationship. In addition, when submitting the law concept to the government member in charge of legal affairs for approval, the law drafter was instructed to submit the above-mentioned evaluation and research reports along with it. Therefore, it is necessary to develop related research newly based on The Law on Legislation and update the existing research and update on Law concepts and related documents and materials of the revised draft Social Welfare Package Laws for submission to Parliament.

In addition, it is necessary to redevelop some provisions in the revised draft Social Welfare Package law: i) due to the reform digitalization system should be updated about the unified database ii) due to the dissolution of the professional inspection organization, the state inspector should clarify the inspection system in the social welfare field iii) the goals of the current programs should be changed to meet the needs and requirements of the target group, poverty reduction and vulnerability, training, support, and development of the poor people,  iv) it is necessary to include more clearly the programs and measures aimed at promoting employment of social welfare fund v)  more clarify reducing the effects of natural disasters and shocks.

Therefore, in order to expedite the process of submitting the Social Welfare Package Laws to Parliament in 2023, it is urgently necessary to hire an experienced consultant to provide technical support to the Policy Planning Department, MLSP. 

The MLSP requests to hire a national consultant to assist the Ministry and its WG in implementing a series of assignments related to the draft revision of the following two laws: i) the revised draft Law on Social Welfare, ii) law amendment on “Providing benefits and concessions to children and family and rewarding mothers with 4 or more children”. 

The national consultant works closely with relevant specialists of the Policy Planning Department of the MLSP, as indicated by the MLSP, and engages them in revising or developing the draft laws and research so that the knowledge and experience of the consultant are transferred to the respective officers of the MLSP through close and hands-on engagement in the process of respective tasks. 

B. OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The main objective of this consultancy service is to facilitate the MLSP and the WG to accelerate the submission to the Parliament, of the draft revision of respective social welfare laws, and to support the Ministry in carrying out public awareness and training activities for journalists, stakeholders, and social workers and specialists, and to support MLSP to develop printing documents.

C. SCOPE OF THE WORK

The national consultant will be responsible for the following tasks for this assignment. These include: i) providing further support to submission to parliament, providing further support to update the preparation of the parliamentarian discussion process on the draft revised Law on Social Welfare and related amendments to other laws, ii) providing further support to update the preparation of  documents to the parliamentarian discussion process for the  law amendment on “Providing benefits and concessions to children and family and rewarding mothers with 4 or more children”and related amendments to other laws, iii) in accordance with the requirements of the Law on Legislation,  update draft law concept, updated preliminary studies and an assessment report on the effects of the implementation of legislation related to the draft law mentioned in (i), (ii); iv) support the MLSP in carrying out stakeholder consultations on the further elaborated revision of respective laws; v) evaluate the effectiveness of draft legislation, update the cost estimates for the implementation of legislation based on the draft of new laws, and prepare a report related to the draft law mentioned in (i), (ii) vi) to monitor the written materials provided by the Ministry for publication in the field of social welfare as part of the Project activities, for example, preparing a historical book for the 100th anniversary of social welfare and care institutions, moreover, to update and develop brochures reform contents on the revised laws in view of the further revision of the draft laws.

Task I. Further elaborate the revised draft Law on Social Welfare and updated draft law concept, taking into consideration the comments of the WG-Ministry and recommendations provided by development partners, including the World Bank (policy options improve the impact of SW programs on reducing poverty and vulnerability  and to prevent and respond to the negative effects of shocks such as zud). 

Task II. Further, elaborate on the revised draft “Providing benefits and concessions to children and family and rewarding mothers with 4 or more children” and its law concept, taking into account the comments of the WG-Ministry and recommendations provided by development partners, including the World Bank team.

Task III. To develop and update the following studies and reports in accordance with the requirements of the amendments of the Law on Legislations, i) report on the preliminary study of the needs and requirements of the amendment to the SWL and Law on “Providing benefits and concessions to children and family and rewarding mothers with 4 or more children,”, ii) an assessment report on the effects of the implementation of the SWL; iii) an evaluation report on the consequences of the implementation of the laws on “Providing benefits and concessions to children and family and rewarding mothers with 4 or more children”.

Task IV. Support the MLSP in carrying out stakeholder consultations on the further elaborated revision of respective laws, and prepare supporting materials for presenting the draft revisions of the Social Welfare Law and “Providing benefits and concessions to children and family and rewarding mothers with 4 or more children” during Cabinet and Parliament discussions. Also, support the MLSP in synthesizing the comments and recommendations provided by stakeholders and the public (online and offline) on the proposed draft laws, and reflect them as appropriate, into draft legislation.

Task V. Conducting cost projections on social assistance and benefits in view of social welfare reform and cost projections by each policy option, and impact assessment related to the revised drafts of  Social Welfare Package Laws and “Providing benefits and concessions to children and family and rewarding mothers with 4 or more children”. In addition, the updated draft amendments to the draft accompanying laws related to the draft Social Welfare Package Laws.

Task VI. Update the content information for materials and brochures for parliament members, journalists, and the public concerning the draft revision of respective social welfare package laws, with the goal of further elaborating the draft laws by the WG-Parliament and supporting the adoption of the law drafts. Also, monitor the materials provided by the Ministry for publication in the field of social welfare, such as preparing a historical book for the 100th anniversary of social welfare and care institutions. 

D. DELIVERABLES

All deliverables should be discussed with relevant officials of MLSP and LSWGO with the incorporation of comments to ensure the quality of the deliverables. All deliverables provided by the consultant should be newly developed or modified, not identical to the products supplied by the consultant who has previously worked in this field:

Deliverable 1. Referring to the Task I:

1.1. Formulated in accordance with the requirements of the Law on Legislation, the law concept on the revised draft Social Welfare Law 

1.2.Updated draft of the revised  Law on Social Welfare as readied for submission to the Parliament;

1.3. Report how the comments and suggestions of Policymakers, Members of Parliament (MPs), researchers, international organizations, and stakeholders were reflected in the finalized draft Law on Social Welfare.

Deliverable 2. Referring to the Task II:

2.1. Law concept of the law amendment on “Providing benefits and concessions to children and family and rewarding mothers with 4 or more children” formulated in accordance with the requirements of the Law on Legislation; 

2.2. Updated draft of the revised Law on “Providing benefits and concessions to children and family and rewarding mothers with 4 or more children” is ready for submission to the Parliament;

2.3. Report how the comments and suggestions of Policymakers, Members of Parliament (MPs), researchers, international organizations, and stakeholders were reflected in the finalized draft Law on Population Growth;

Deliverable 3. Referring to the Task III:

3.1. Report on the updated preliminary study of the needs and requirements of the amendment to the SWL 

3.2. Report on the updated preliminary study of the needs and requirements of the amendment to the law on “Providing benefits and concessions to children and family and rewarding mothers with 4 or more children” 

3.3. An assessment report on the effects of the implementation of the SWL 

3.4. Evaluation report on the consequences of the implementation of the laws on “Providing benefits and concessions to children and family and rewarding mothers with 4 or more children” 

Deliverable 4. Referring to the Task IV:

4.1. Updated comparison of the provisions of the old and the revised laws, add explanatory columns, by format as indicated by the MLSP of the respective 2 revised draft laws;

4.2. Introduction and explanation of how  Members of Parliament and other stakeholder organizations' suggestions were reflected;

4.3. A set of questions and answers that might be asked during the Cabinet and Parliament discussions and meetings;

4.4. Updated the matrix of main comments and recommendations drawn from consultations done during the Cabinet and Parliament discussions of the respective draft law with key stakeholders carried out before approving the revised law by the Parliament and the notes on how they were addressed in the draft legislation.  

Deliverable 5. Referring to the Task V:

5.1. Updated cost projections on social assistance and benefits given social welfare reform, cost projections by each policy option, and impact assessment related to the revised drafts of  Social Welfare Law.

5.2. Updated cost projections on social assistance and benefits given social welfare reform, cost projections by each policy option, and impact assessment related to the revised drafts of  “Providing benefits and concessions to children and family and rewarding mothers with 4 or more children”. 

5.3.The updated draft amendments to the draft accompanying laws related to the draft Social Welfare Package Laws as readied for submission to the Parliament;

Deliverable 6. Referring to the Task VI:

6.1. Updated background materials and brochures (at least 6 types) to be used for developing public communication products that fully capture the context, objective, nature, scope, and specifics of social welfare  reform issues  and are related to the draft revision of respective social welfare package laws;

6.2. Updated a set of questions and answers prepared for discussion over the revision of the Social Welfare Package laws at the Cabinet and Parliament; 

6.3. A history book to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the welfare and care organization is ready to be published; 

6.4 Other materials provided by the Ministry for publication in the field of welfare as part of the Project activities should be reviewed and prepared for publication; 

In addition to the deliverables listed above, the local consultant will carry out tasks assigned by the Director General of the Policy Planning Department (PPD), work full-time at the Ministry during the period of the contract, and report their activities to the Director General of the PPD and the Project Implementation Unit every month. 

E. CONSULTANT’S QUALIFICATIONS/ SELECTION CRITERIA 

Education: A suitable candidate should have at least a master’s degree in social science, labor, social work or related fields.

Professional qualifications: A suitable candidate should have extensive understanding and experience with social welfare policy development and/or implementation mechanisms, including learning from international trends and best practices, and the experience of developing policy documents, legislation would be a plus. 

Experience: A candidate should have at least 8 years of directly relevant professional experience in the field of social development or social assistance policy,  implementation and/or research. 

Language: A candidate should have excellent writing skills in the Mongolian language and at least intermediate level of English proficiency. 

Other: Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to function effectively and collaboratively in a team environment, ability to present data and findings in a concise manner, communicate policy messages effectively to the high level audience, and  high proficiency in drafting documents, ability work independently. 

F. SUPERVISION AND REPORTING

The consultant will report directly to the Head of a Technical Working Group, who is the Director of Policy, Planning Department (PPD).  The consultant will work on a day-to-day basis under the guidance of the Lead consultant and Director of PPD on technical matters related to the assignment. Work progress will be presented during the working group meeting or other meetings as needed.   

The Director of PPD shall evaluate the performance on the agreed deliverables and approve the invoices for the delivered outputs.   

The consultant will prepare a 3-5 pages summary progress report detailing the achievements and impediments in executing the entire assignment effectively.  The MLSP and SFFS PIU will provide input to the evaluation of the consultant’s performance. 

G. CONTRACT DURATION

The consulting service is expected to commence in September 2023.  The contract will have a duration of  about 4 months through December 2023.

 The contract will not be subject to extension. If any task is not finished and approved by the MLSP within the agreed-upon timeline, the consultant’s payment will be reduced proportionally.

If you possess the above qualifications, please submit the following documents via email to procurement@sffs.mn:

1. Cover letter indicating why she/he considers her/himself suitable for the position.

2. Detailed CV highlighting relevant skills/experience.

3. Copy of diplomas or certificates; and,

4. Two (2) reference letters from previous last two employers no later than 12:00 PM, September 06, 2023.

The consultant will be selected in accordance with the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers (July 2016).

The submitted documents will not be returned to the applicants. Please be noted that incomplete applications would not be considered for evaluation. Only selected candidate will be contacted. Address for submission of Expression of Interest: Ms.Zolzaya.B, Procurement Specialist, Strengthening Fiscal and Financial Stability Project, Room #205, Negdsen undestnii 8/2, 4th khoroo, Chingeltei District, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Tel: 70120582 or via email to: procurement@sffs.mn

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