The expected duration of the assignment: is estimated from July 2011 to December 2011 (approximately 36 working days, including one 9-day multi-country mission to FYR of Macedonia, Kosovo, and Moldova tentatively in September. Please note that Skopje and Pristina are approximately two-hour driving distance from each other.) In the 21st century, local governments will have to simultaneously address climate change and sustainable development – both in environmental and socio-economic terms, including the impact on women and vulnerable groups – through their investment decisions, economic development strategies, and regulatory behaviour.
As climate change will increase in relevance across the policy spectrum, local governments will need to find their voice related to climate change. Too often, national governments formulate and adopt strategies without any input from local governments. Although the national government may receive input from expert NGOs or private sector parties, these generally are located in capital cities and have little knowledge of actual conditions and capacities outside of the capital. The result is unrealistic promises and unfunded mandates for the local governments. There are several reasons why local governments need to get more strongly involved in (national level) policy making concerning climate change: - National level policies need to allow an appropriate space of action (hence mandate) for local governments;
- National level policies need to ensure that local governments will have sufficient authority to collect funds to finance climate change commitments and manage these funds;
- National level policies need to ensure that local governments have sufficient access to nationally managed funds to honour national commitments to climate change that are to be implemented on local level;
- Nation-wide buy-in to national policies in the climate change arena is rooted in local understanding and commitment.
New EU-member and accession countries have significant experience in areas such as energy efficiency, sustainable energy action plans, and integrating environmental considerations into land use planning. Through regional networks stakeholders from local and national governments can learn from the experience of their counterparts in other countries how to prepare for a new low-carbon economic and energy system and promote sustainable development along environmental and socio-economic dimensions. Regional Initiative “Think Globally, Develop Locally”:
“Think Globally, Develop Locally” (TGDL) is a four-year UNDP regional project managed by the UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre (UNDP BRC) and implemented in partnership with selected UNDP Country Offices and the Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe (NALAS) . It supports leadership on climate change issues at national, local, and community levels, and capacity development for local governments and communities to take appropriate action with support by their national government. In the first year of the project, the three beneficiary countries are the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia, Moldova, and Kosovo , but the intention is to expand to other countries in future years.
In Year 1 of the project, the major activity is the creation of a regional (international) platform for knowledge creation and policy debate - the Local Integrated Response Network (LIRN) - under the auspices of NALAS. LIRN’s objectives are to create and disseminate knowledge in the region, including transferring models from within the region, and identify and bridge policy gaps to improve local implementation of national legislation and strategies on climate change in very specific priority areas.
This work will be supported by Thematic Experts who will prepare background policy papers for the initial regional (international) roundtable to be hosted by NALAS in late 2011. Each participating country will commit to taking action in one or more of the topics elaborated in the policy papers. These topics were selected based on initial discussions with relevant ministries as well as the evaluation of potential areas of intervention by the local government associations and the UNDP Country Offices and are described in the section below
In Year 2 of the project, local government associations will prepare action plans, organize national policy roundtables, and take other actions to inform the public debate and push for specific changes in their respective countries. This work will be supported by international and national Thematic Experts. Late in 2012, another international roundtable will be convened to compare progress among the participating countries in formulating and adopting relevant policy changes.
As its goal is to improve the policy framework, LIRN members will include national authorities responsible for the implementation of climate policy, including ministries of environment, finance, regional or economic development, energy, or agriculture. National roundtables will also include additional stakeholders from the private sector, civil society and academia. |
The Team Leader will work under the overall supervision of the BRC Local Governance Policy Specialist. In the field, the Team Leader will work under the guidance of the relevant UNDP Country Office and liaise with the focal point from the relevant local government association. The Team Leader will receive background information from a national expert contracted for this purpose in each beneficiary country and will be expected to supervise the individual’s work to ensure that it serves the needs of this assignment. The Team Leader will lead a team of three Subject Matter Experts (international consultants) with respective expertise in energy, integrated ecosystem management, and policy/fiscal instruments. With input from the Subject Matter Experts and the national expert from each beneficiary country, the Team Leader shall perform analysis of potential policy interventions on the following selected topics, with attention given to concrete actions that correspond with the competency of local governments in the beneficiary countries: - Energy management capacity at the local level;
- Energy efficiency of buildings:
- retrofits of public and private multi-unit buildings (Kosovo),
- retrofits of public buildings (Moldova),
- new construction standards (Macedonia); - Indicators and tools for integrated local land use planning considering biodiversity, climate change and disaster risk reduction.
As mentioned above, these topics reflect extensive consultation with stakeholders in the beneficiary countries. Hereinafter, the term “selected topics” will refer to those enumerated in this section.
With input from the Subject Matter Experts and national experts, the Team Leader shall map existing local initiatives related to the selected topics and explain how the existing institutional, policy and sectoral context either support or hinder scaling up of these initiatives throughout the country. The Team Leader will determine potential advocacy points for the local government associations in terms of new or modified policies / procedures / financial incentives / capacity development / awareness campaigns. The analysis should be informed by best practices regionally or globally.
These policy papers will serve as the basis for initial debate and commitment by the beneficiary countries to take policy action in one or more areas. They will also inform the further advocacy and policy work to be led by the local government association through national policy roundtables and other actions.
The design of policy papers is determined by the following assumptions:
- Scaling up progress in these areas requires not only the deep knowledge of technical aspects of the problem, but also governance instruments that respond to incentive structures of different actors in order to stimulate and sustain the implementation of proposed technical solutions;
- National level policies and strategies need to be informed by and build upon local realities and need to pay explicit attention to local implementation, including the financing thereof. Local governments also could be the driving forces for the policy changes on the national level; however their associations have to be equipped with sufficient knowledge;
- Progress in these areas could potentially bring short- and mid-term benefits to the majority of stakeholders. It is important to clearly understand those benefits to successfully lobby for the necessary actions.
The specific tasks of the Team Leader will be as follows: - Serve on selection panel for Subject Matter Experts;
- Develop the research plan and work plan for the team, with country missions planned together with relevant UNDP Country Offices and the local government association focal point (through NALAS);
- Guide the work of the team, specifically in:
- Meeting with key stakeholders (local government association, relevant ministries, UNDP Country Office) in the beneficiary countries. (It is envisioned that the Subject Matter Experts on energy and integrated ecosystem management will also participate in missions, but not the expert on fiscal / policy instruments);
- Mapping existing local initiatives related to the selected topics and describing barriers;
- Identifying relevant best practices (with a special focus on the experience and expertise developed in new EU member or accession countries);
- Identifying relevant models for financing of measures (with special focus on the experience and expertise developed in new EU member or accession countries);
- Adapting recommendations to the context of the beneficiary countries;
- Outlining the expected benefits both at the local and national level. - Prepare three Country Policy Papers, to be used as an advocacy document, communicating the idea, specifying the area and modality of policy interventions both on the local and national level;
- Prepare a Comparative Policy Paper drawing on analysis of the opportunities and challenges in the beneficiary countries and other countries in the region;
- Recommend action points for national ministries and local government associations in the beneficiary countries;
- Formulate and submit to UNDP BRC deliverables that correspond to the requirements reflected in the current TOR.
Deliverables & Timeframe:
Initiation of the assignment (approximately 3 days): - Formation of the team;
- Review of TOR for the national experts in each beneficiary country;
- Preparation of the research plan (2-3 pages) and detailed work plan.
Analysis of Background Information (approximately 6 days): - With the support of Subject Matter Experts, review background materials collected and summarized by the national experts, including relevant documents and reports produced by the government, private sector, academia, donors, development organisations and UNDP;
- Preparation of the Outline of the Country Policy Papers;
- Lead the discussion with UNDP and local government associations and finalization of the Outline.
Country visits (approximately 9 days): - Field visit to three beneficiary countries;
- Consultations with representatives of relevant Government agencies, representatives of local governance associations, donors, and other relevant stakeholders together with Subject Matter Experts.
Preparation of the Draft Country Policy Papers and Comparative Policy Paper (approximately 12 days): - Preparation of the draft policy papers, combining input of the Subject Matter Experts;
- Discussion on the First Draft with UNDP and relevant local government associations.
Finalization of Country Policy Papers and Comparative Policy Paper (approximately 6 days): - Finalization of the Country Policy Papers and submission to UNDP/BRC
- Presentation of the report during international round table
Deliverable 1: Three (3) Country Policy Papers focused on the selected topics; each of these will: - Identify the role of various actors (national ministries, local governments, private sector actors, educational institutions, NGOs, media) in promoting, organizing, and conducting the actions;
- Identify gaps in and recommended changes to the national legal framework to support scaling up of local initiatives throughout the country;
- Suggest the range of regulatory instruments both on the national and local level that could influence strategic choices of different stakeholders in favour of those contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions or increase of carbon sinks;
- Propose different national and local financial instruments to stimulate and sustain implementation of local actions on the selected topics;
- Identify needs for capacity development of local government or private sector to sustain implementation of local actions on the selected topics;
- Identify short, medium and long-term benefits on the local level as a result of these actions (including reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and financial or economic benefits).
Country Policy Papers will follow the following structure: - Introductory section on the national policies and strategies related to the selected topics in the beneficiary countries (approx. 3 pages);
- Overview of different technical solutions applicable at the local level for the selected topics, the status of their implementation in the beneficiary countries and their potential impact on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions under different scenarios relevant for the beneficiary countries (approx 10 pages);
- Overview of policy options to support the implementation of local action on the selected topics (through changes in legislation, regulations, standards, financial incentives, etc., and capacity development support) based on regional and global examples (approx 10 pages);
- Analysis of different financing options in which international (including EU), national, local public financing as well as possible private financing are taken into consideration, with citation and examples from the region wherever possible (approx. 12 pages);
Annexes to the Country Policy Papers: - Detailed list of the national policies and strategies related to the selected topics in the beneficiary countries;
- Detailed explanation of technical solutions proposed for the selected topics and assessment of their social and economic feasibility;
- Detailed explanation of the country’s eligibility for different external financing mechanisms.
Deliverable 2: A Comparative Policy Paper that will: - Compare proposed local actions on the selected topics in the beneficiary countries with existing local action in other countries in the region;
- Identify the role of various actors (national ministries, local governments, private sector actors, educational institutions, NGOs, media) in promoting, organizing, and conducting the local actions;
- Compare how the national legal framework in the beneficiary countries and other countries in the region support coherent implementation of the abovementioned technical solutions on the local level;
- Compare how regulatory and financial instruments have been used at the national and local level - in the beneficiary and other countries - to influence strategic choices of different stakeholders in favour of those contributing to the reduction of greenhouse emissions;
- Present examples of how capacity of local government and private sector has been developed in countries of the region to sustain implementation of local actions on the selected topics;
- Identify short, medium and long-term benefits on the local level as a result of these actions in beneficiary countries and other countries of the region.
Deliverable 3: Presentations on the results of the Policy Papers during an international roundtable tentatively scheduled for late November 2011.
(Note that the Team Leader should be available to make these presentations either in person or virtually. Any travel required to participate in the international roundtable will be funded separately from this TOR.) |
| Academic Qualifications/Education: - Masters degree in development, law, economics, energy, public policy, public administration or a relevant field.
Experience: - At least 10 years of professional experience in policy advice, formulation and implementation of strategies and programmes related to development, with experience in the local governance and energy/climate change nexus;
- Experience of leading international teams, particularly in policy assessments;
- Previous experience of working in the Western Balkans and/or in former CIS countries on similar issues is required.
Language skills: - Excellent writing, editing and oral communication skills in English;
- Ability to write clearly and compellingly in English.
Evaluation of Applicants: Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal. The award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: - Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
- Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.
Only the highest ranked candidates who would be found qualified for the job will be considered for the Financial Evaluation. Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation – max. 70 points: - Working experience in developing policy papers on relevant topics (evaluated based on sample submitted) - max points: 20
- Working experience in leading evaluation or assessment teams related to local government policy – max points: 15
- Knowledge and experience in local governance, sustainable local development, energy efficiency and/or energy management, land use planning, EU accession funding mechanisms – max points: 25
- Working experience in Western Balkans and/or Western CIS countries - max points: 10
Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation – max. 30 points Application Procedures Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via this website. The application should contain: - A brief methodology on how you will approach and conduct the work. Please paste the methodology into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application;
- Please provide us with a sample of a policy paper you have written individually or with a team (authorship credits should be clear). Either paste the link below or send documents to hru.sk@undp.org. Please make sure you still apply online, only the policy sample can be submitted by email;
- Completed P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees
(blank form can be downloaded from http://europeandcis.undp.org/files/hrforms/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc ); please upload the P11 instead of your CV. - Financial Proposal* - specifying a total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this announcement.
Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.
*Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. travel costs, fee, health insurance, vaccination and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services). All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal.
Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner. Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org
General Terms and conditions as well as other related documents can be found under: http://europeandcis.undp.org/home/jobs Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply. Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process. |
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