TERMS OF REFERENCE

For International Individual Consultant

Project (ID P143470) on “Strengthening Corruption Prevention and Monitoring”

financed under a World Bank’s Institutional Development Fund (TF013945)

A short-term contract for reviewing and developing recommendation aimed at improving the current system of Private Interest, Asset and Income Declarations (PIAID) in Mongolia.

Contract type: Lump-sum

Expected start date: May 2014

Expected consultant service duration: 20 work days (4 calendar weeks)

BACKGROUND

In accordance with the Grant Agreement signed between the Government of Mongolia and the World Bank, the Independent Authority Against Corruption (IAAC) of Mongolia is implementing the project on “Strengthening Corruption Prevention and Monitoring”. One of the main goals of the project is to update and ensure further development of the “Private Interest, Asset and Income Declaration System” known as PIAIDS and to provide technical assistance to IAAC in the improvement of the declaration submission process as well as to give support to IAAC in upgrading its activities related to the declaration by offering the experiences of other countries in this regard which should be applicable and comparable.

In 2010, IAAC developed PIAIDS under the funding provided by the World Bank’s Governance Assistance Project and due to some circumstances /amendment made in Anti-Corruption Law, enactment of Law on the Regulation of Private and Public Interests and Prevention of Private and Public Interest in Public Sector, the approval of the blank forms for private interest and asset and income declarations by annex 02 of Resolution No 05 of 25 April 2012 of Standing Committee of Legal Affairs of State Great Hural of Mongolia/ it was updated and was fully operationalized in 2013.

Over 51000 PIAIDs of public officials have been collected and filed in 1600 branches and units of their respective public and local government administrations nationwide and the transition of paper based submission process into computer based system is being transferred with care.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Carry out consultations with officials of the Analysis and Inspection Department of IAAC and other stakeholders to identify improvements to the PIAIDS based on lessons learned from the implementation of the e-declaration in Mongolia as well as from experiences of other electronic filing systems in relevant countries. The scope of this analysis would focus on inspection and verification;
With regards to verification, do an analysis of the content of declarations together with IAAC staff to determine processes for identifying red flags submitted a) within one disclosure cycle, b) multiple disclosure cycles)with the objective of identifying how electronic verification could be built into the PIAIDS. The consultant would work with IAAC staff (including IT experts) on testing different potential red flags across the database and refining them. Moreover, the consultant will develop together with IAAC staff a methodology for identifying how to select asset declarations for in-depth review and analysis (using a mix of approaches-red flags based on the data in declarations as well as external information such as complaints). The consultant would also work on assessing together with IAAC staff the feasibility of cross-checking with external databases; case management solutions, etc). It would also focus on the future potential synergies with other relevant information systems in Mongolia (ex. tax administration information system) as well as lessons learned from their development and implementation. The proposal on improvements to the electronic filing and electronic verification systems will include references to the experiences of other systems and lessons-learned relevant to Mongolia;
Produce a report to the IAAC on including an electronic component into the verification of asset declarations (red flags and methodology for selecting disclosures for in-depth review and analysis), based on the above;
Deliver a presentation on summary of findings of his/her study for officials of Analysis and Inspection Department of IAAC at the end of the mission;
Provide guidance to the IAAC on the implementation of the recommendations of the report. In particular this would entail providing support to the IAAC to review the work of the IT firm that will implement improvements to the PIAIDS.

SCHEDULE OF CONSULTING SERVICE

The consultant’s work schedule comprises of four weeks and two missions to Mongolia. The first week shall be devoted to preparation for the mission to Mongolia. The consultant will receive in the beginning of the first week the following main laws and legislation in English through his/her email for building basic knowledge on the current Mongolian system and if the consultants wishes, he/she may contact the coordinator of the mission for further clarification and question:

Law on Anti-Corruption;
Law on the Regulation of Private and Public Interests and Prevention of Private and Public Interest in Public Sector;
Resolution No 05 of 25 April 2012 of Standing Committee of Legal Affairs of State Great Hural of Mongolia on “Approval of procedure for registration, verification and filing of official’s declaration of private interest, and declaration of asset and income and the forms for declarations”.

It is advisable for consultant to study the relevant materials before the mission.

The first field mission will be for two weeks to carry out consultations with officials on improving the PIAIDS and the analysis of the content of verifications in order to successfully accomplish the duties and responsibilities stated in Section II. During the mission, the project will provide room and Wi-Fi internet connection in order to ensure sustainable work flow. Based on these discussions and consultations, the consultant will prepare a report on including an electronic component into the verification of asset declarations red flags and methodology for identifying verification for in-depth analysis/investigation) tailored to the Mongolia system and share it with IAAC for comments. The consultant shall present the findings and recommendations of the report to the Inspection and Analysis Department of IAAC, and finalize the report based on the comments of the IAAC staff.

The second mission will be for one week in which the consultant will review the improvements made to the PIAIDS by the IT Company hired for the task. This mission will take place during the user acceptance testing phase of the system.