Background

The Afghanistan Sustainable Energy for Rural Development and Climate Change Adaptation programme developed by MRRD and UNDP builds on the existing efforts to provide energy to adapt to the effect of climate change at rural areas of Afghanistan. Rural areas of Afghanistan which remains socio-economically underdeveloped in terms of education, incidence of poverty, and access to infrastructure. Lack of access to modern forms of energy has serious health implications on rural Afghans and predominantly affects women and children.

The project has been developed to address lack of access to energy in rural areas and adopt with the effect of climate change, which will contribute significantly increasing the access to thermal energy and electricity through a technology neutral approach, in rural communities in Afghanistan. This will result in increasing the access to electricity, clean cooking and heating options and will contribute to a tangible reduction in the pre-mature deaths of women and children due to indoor air pollution. The project will pilot seven innovative financing models which once successful will be mainstreamed. The project will also establish conducive policy and regulatory frameworks and capacity development of key stakeholders. It is envisaged that, the project will establish a sustainable rural energy supply approach which can be scaled up beyond the project period. 

This initiation plan is to develop a proposal to mobilize funds for climate change resilience, following a feasibility study for at least 48 sites identifying potential areas for renewable energy generation as one of the top requirement ; identifying economic development options that can be linked in provision of affordable energy; identifying climate change adaptation elements and mobilize local community support soliciting their ideas to be incorporated and envisaged in the proposal.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work and Deliverables

Objective of the Assignment

Under the supervision of Section Head of Livelihood and Resilience (L&R)  unit and in close coordination with the relevant programme officer and project staff, the Consultant –, will perform the following duties:

  • Develop proposal supporting climate change mitigation and adaptation in the context of Afghanistan Sustainable Energy for Rural Development and Climate Change Adaptation programme.   
  • Lead the feasibility study team and develop feasibility reports in target areas.
  • Develop other supporting documents required for the funding proposal.  

The proposal report contains the items below:

The  feasibility reports contains the items below:

  • Estimate Energy needs of the households, economic actors (shops & establishments, agriculture/agro-processing) and public service institutions for electricity, cooking, space-heating as well as productive and public service use options. Collect data on the current energy use, options/technologies and what each customer segment is currently spending on energy needs.

  • Estimate Energy supply options, options for micro or mini-grids [1] to supply electricity as well as cook stoves/tandoors and Bukharis should be assessed. The technical feasibility to be investigated through site surveys and assessments and feasibility analysis. Costs of initial installations should include: hardware, civil works and engineering, while post-commissioning periodic maintenance replacements should all be estimated;

  • Agreements on tariff and payment commitments and operational model, through a process involving the community (through the District Development Assemblies/Community Development Councils), economic actors and public service institutions, estimate the connection fee/upfront contribution and tariffs that each consumer (or groups of consumers will pay) for electricity, thermal energy devices as well as productive and public service use. Also agree with the targeted villages elders and representatives  on the operational arrangement of the energy service operations and the costs of operations of energy service provision;

Techno-economic feasibility evaluation, based on the energy needs of the target customers, agreed initial payments and tariffs to be evaluated vis-à-vis costs and investments in the technically feasible energy service options and operational arrangement for service delivery. It is suggested that discussion with the community  representatives and other potential energy consumers be held after a draft feasibility evaluation has been carried out. Tariffs can then be set at a level to maintain the operational arrangements for the service as well as for maintenance and replacements. The evaluation should also consider increases in cost of replacement components and wages and will also estimate tariff increases that will be required, which will support in operation and maintenance of RE power plants and its sustainability.

  • Explore sustainable provisions in enhancing energy production, as well as access and utilization by the rural people of Afghanistan especially by the most vulnerable population. 
  • Include any other items as deemed as necessary or advised by the supervisor

Expected Outputs and Deliverables, time line and Percentage:

  • Develop and finalize proposal in support to climate change mitigation and adaptation in the context of Afghanistan Sustainable Energy for Rural Development and Climate Change Adaptation programme for acceptance by UNDP and Government counterpart, MRRD, 30 working days, 50%;
  • Lead the feasibility study team ,develop and finalize feasibility reports in target areas with acceptance by UNDP and Government counterpart, 26 working days, 30%;
  • Develop and finalize other supporting documents required in the funding proposal with acceptance by UNDP and Government counterpart MRRD, 10 working days, 20%.

Payment Modality

Payments under the contract shall be delivery based and be made on receipt of the specific milestone reports indicated above, and including a timesheet according to UNDP procurement formats for individual contractors. These shall be as indicated in the table above, and shall be made upon approval by the relevant Program managers. The draft of the assessment and recommendations will be reviewed by by UNDP Management. Upon receipt of final comments, the consultant shall finalize the report for formal acceptance by UNDP at which point the final payment shall be released.

rice Proposal and Schedule of Payments

The contractor shall submit a price proposal as below:

  • Daily Fee – The contractor shall propose a daily fee, which should be inclusive of his professional fee, local communication cost and insurance (inclusive of medical health insurance and evacuation). The number of working days for which the daily fee shall be payable under the contract is 66 working days;
  • The contractor shall propose a Living Allowance at the Kabul applicable rate of USD 181 per night for his/her stay at the duty station. The number of nights for which the Living allowance shall be payable under the contract is 90 nights. The contractor is NOT allowed to stay in a place of his choice other than the UNDSS approved places. UNDP will provide MORSS compliant accommodation in Green Village (GV) to the contractor. The payment of GV accommodation shall be made directly to GV by the contractor;
  • Travel & Visa – The contractor shall propose an estimated lump-sum for home-Kabul-home travel (economy most direct route) and Afghanistan visa expenses.

The total professional fee, shall be converted into a lump-sum contract and payments under the contract shall be made on submission and acceptance of deliverables under the contract in accordance with the schedule of payment linked with deliverables.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

  • Demonstrated expertise in convening stakeholder consultation and participatory approaches;
  • Excellent interpersonal and facilitation skills.

Functional Competencies:

Knowledge Management and Learning:

  • Tertiary level expertise in renewable energy technology systems, green energy, green development;
  • Thorough understanding about GCF, SE4All, MDGs and proposed SDGs, including post Rio+20 processes;
  • Practical experience in developing energy programmes that link poverty reduction and economic development;
  • Knowledge on carbon finance and relevant existing and upcoming funding mechanisms, including GEF;
  • Prior experience in Afghanistan or Asian Region Countries;
  • Good knowledge and awareness of gender issues and how they impact upon men and women’s roles especially in community development;
  • Excellent inter-personal, communication, and teamwork skills.

Management and Leadership:

  • Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
  • Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
  • Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
  • Ability to lead effectively, mentoring as well as conflict resolution skills;
  • Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
  • Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
  • Proven networking, team-building, organizational and communication skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • Master’s Degree in sustainable energy, andother directly relevant fields such as climate change adaptation and Climate change mitigation will be an asset.

Experience:

  • At least 5 years of successful experience in sustainable energy programme/project development;
  • Related working experience in the developing countries is essential.

Language:

  • Excellent English writing skills.

Work Arrangements:

Institutional Arrangements

  • The International Consultant (Climate Change Resilience Expert) will work under the overall guidance and supervision of the Section Chief, L&R unit and relevant programme officer.

Duration of the Work:

  • 20th  March to 19th Jun 2016), In country.

Duty Station:

  • Kabul.

Evaluation Method and Criteria

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Cumulative analysis

The award of the contract shall 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.
  • Technical Criteria weight 70%;
  • Financial Criteria weight 30%.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical Criteria 70 points

Technical Proposal (30 marks)

Technical Approach & Methodology (20 marks) – This explain the understanding of the objectives of the assignment, approach to the services, methodology for carrying out the activities and obtaining the expected output, and the degree of detail of such output. The Applicant should also explain the methodologies proposed to adopt and highlight the compatibility of those methodologies with the proposed approach.

Work Plan (10 marks) – The Applicant should propose the main activities of the assignment, their content and duration, phasing and interrelations, milestones (including interim approvals by the Client), and delivery dates. The proposed work plan should be consistent with the technical approach and methodology, showing understanding of the TOR and ability to translate them into a feasible working plan.

Qualification and Experience (40 marks) [evaluation of CV]:

  • General Qualification (10 marks);
  • Experience relevant to the assignment (25 marks);
  • Experience of working for projects funded by UNDP (5 marks).

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document.

Duly accomplished Confirmation of Interest and Submission of Financial Proposal Template using the template provided by UNDP (Annex II);

Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.

Technical proposal:

  • Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment;
  • A methodology, on how they will approach and complete the assignment.