UNDP Jobs - 72925- Consultant to implement a Rural Development Incept

Consultant to implement a Rural Development Inception Training Programme

Location :

Home based consultancy with 2 missions to Georgia

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

26-Jun-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

22 days within 2 month period (10 days in Tbilisi, 4 days in Batumi and 8 days home-based)

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The signing of the Association Agreement (AA) with EU in June 2014 (http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-14-430_en.htm) earmarked a new stage of cooperation between EU and Georgia. The AA aims to deepen political and economic relations between the EU and Georgia and to gradually integrate Georgia into the EU’s internal market. This entails, as one element, creating a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area between the EU and Georgia.

The Article 333 of the Association Agreement (Cooperation between the Parties in the field of agriculture and rural development) provides with the clauses on ‘facilitating the mutual understanding of agricultural and rural development policies’. This is the basis for the formulation of a Rural Development Strategy for Georgia which will in turn yield specification of measures which will benefit from funding under the European Neighborhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD).

A National Rural Development Strategy elaboration process has been supported by FAO and UNDP under ENPARD programme and with UNDP’s support to Ajara Government within the framework of EU supported ENPARD Programme. The Ajara Rural Development Strategy approved by Government of Ajara Autonomous Republic (March 2016) was followed by the establishment of the Rural Development Council of Ajara (hereinafter referred to as RDC). Government of Georgia approved the first ever National Strategy and Action Plan for 2017 (30 December, 2016, Government Decree ?631), which provided the country’s vision in the coming four years (2017-2020) related to the key areas of rural development – growth and diversification of local economies, improvement of social and public services, increase of employment and sustainable use of national resources. The strategy represents a new approach to rural development in Georgia grounded on the best EU practices in this field. The adoption of the national strategy was also followed by the establishment of an Inter-Agency Coordination Council (hereinafter referred to as IACC) for Rural Development led by the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia with technical assistance from the European Union (EU) and UNDP.

The adoption of the Rural Development Strategy 2017 – 2020 has sealed a year-long process initiated by the Government of Georgia and supported by the European Union and two United Nations agencies – UNDP and FAO, under the EU-funded European Neighborhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD).

The goal of the Rural Development Strategy for Georgia 2017-2020 is to support Georgia’s sustainable economic development through enhanced social-economic activities in rural areas and improved living condition of rural population. It provides the country’s vision for 2017-2020 in key areas of rural development – growth and diversification of local economies, improvement of social and public services, sustainable use of national resources and local engagement in the development process. Local community involvement will be supported and widespread participation from many groups in the rural development will be pursued and facilitated.

Both Councils - the Inter-Agency Coordination Council for Rural Development (hereinafter referred to as IACC) and the Rural Development Council of Ajara AR ((hereinafter referred to as RDC) will coordinate the implementation of rural development policies and promote cooperation and coordination between and among its members. The membership of IACC and RDC involves representatives from various state agencies, grouped under the 3 axis of the Rural Development Strategy: economic, environment and social. Thematic Working Groups will contribute to advances in knowledge about rural development in Georgia and enable the Strategy and its Action Plan to become more effective in terms of delivering sustainable rural development outcomes.

The establishment of an Inter-Agency Coordinating Council at national level and a Rural Development Council in Ajara AR to monitor the current Action Plan for 2017 and oversee the development of a planned approach for the 2018 – 2020 period affords an opportunity for a ‘center of policy excellence’ to be fostered and to build capacity in people and institutions in this policy area. However, currently there is a weak capacity to manage change to foster rural development and to lead domestic and external stakeholders through the process of establishing community-based rural development policies; Ability of the managing authority to independently influence rural development policy dialogue needs substantial improvement; There is a lack of influential and outspoken champions of community-based rural development and insufficient understanding of their role and mandate in rural development by line ministries and other relevant public agencies.

UNDP project “Support to Rural Development in Georgia” under EU-funded ENPARD has at its core a capacity building component for government officials at national, regional and local levels. One of the aims of these capacity building activities will be to develop effective and inspiring advocates for rural development within the IACC in Tbilisi and RDC in Batumi.

Duties and Responsibilities

The overall objective of the training is to Introduce participants to key conceptual and practical aspects of sustainable rural development, equip participants with a sound understanding of the concept of EU approaches, rural development policy and the three pillars of sustainable development.

Upon completion, participants will be able to analyse the role of the main actors and stakeholders in supporting planning and implementation of the rural development policy; participants will demonstrate an improved understanding of the role they can play at a personal and institutional level in contributing to the planning and delivery of the rural development policy throughout Georgia.

Specifically, the Consultant will be expected to:

Plan and implement training events to enhance knowledge and skills in rural development governance, advocacy and leadership for:
- Relevant mid-level management and civil servants of the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia (primarily for the Rural Development Policy Coordination Division of the Policy and Analysis Department of Ministry of Agriculture);
- Relevant mid-level management and civil servants of IACC member institutions such as Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection, Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs and other respective public agencies;
- Relevant mid-level management and civil servants of the Ministry of Agriculture of Ajara AR;
- Relevant mid-level management and civil servants of Ajara RDC member institutions such as Ministry of economy and Finance, Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport, Department of Tourism and Resorts and other respective public agencies;
- Respective Parliamentary Committee offices and its staff (Regional Policy and Self-Government Committee, Agrarian Committee, Sector Economy and Economic Policy Committee, etc.).
Prepare in consultations with UNDP and EUD and agree with MoA and IACC and deliver a training program that will incorporate the following modules:
- Best practices (based on EU model) of rural development planning and implementation,
- case studies to illustrate application of the rural development policy in similar socio-economic development context (to be agreed with UNDP), and
- practical exercises with roles analysis and institutional mapping as well as stakeholder mapping/analysis to ensure that trainees are aware and apply the knowledge and skills being taught.
Deliver the training in line with the proposed above structure, as well as with the training objectives and desired results to be agreed with UNDP. The Programme description should contain also the details of the agenda and total number of days;
Deliver series of joint training sessions with the groups composed of the participants from different agencies for up to 150 civil servants from across various public institutions in Tbilisi (selected municipalities) and Batumi (Georgia);
Deliver trainings in line with the proposed plan, objectives and desired results. Details of the agenda and total number of days (no less than 2 days for each joint interagency training session) will be determined by the trainer in consultation with UNDP;
Provide facilitation of rural development workshop with respective follow-up recommendations or deliver short briefing sessions for respective heads of policy departments and deputy ministers as well as parliamentary committee members when necessary. This will cover the same ground as the intensive training, but from the perspective of decision-makers, taking account of their need to understand key concepts and policy approaches;
Ensure that all necessary training material will be provided to the participants in both electronic and printed form during the individual sessions, including case studies and practical examples as well as exercises elaborated to ensure the effective delivery of the training;
Design and distribute evaluation forms during each training and prepare a short report on participants' feedback and recommendations on the content of the programme and follow up.

The training presentations with supporting material covering the following will be prepared:

Day 1:

Key rural development terms and buzzwords;
Introduction to rural development and its benefits – the importance of a truly integrated approach to results-oriented planning for rural development;
Three pillars approach and sustainable development;
Main actors and stakeholders in rural development;
Institutional models for Sustainable Rural Development;
Rural development policy planning;
Alignment with other strategies – integration issues;
Statistical data and information for rural development policy analysis;
An integrated delivery model for sustainable development;
Real case examples of rural development programmes in the EU member state or accession country.

Day 2:

Stakeholder engagement and consensus building for sustainable rural development;
Local partnerships and bottom-up approaches - LEADER;
Interdependencies and the importance of participation and communication during rural development policy formulation and during the implementation phase;
Communication and influencing – getting support from above and below;
Community-Led Local Development case studies: success and failures;
Access to finance and sustainability of rural development projects.

The training methodology to be used should be based on the following principles:

Interactive approach: active involvement by the participants throughout the training session;
Enabling participants to share their thoughts, enquiries and cases;
Responding to the participants' needs.

In order to achieve objectives of the training the following tools and methods should be utilized: presentations, discussions, group work, case studies and practical exercise. UNDP will provide the venue, transportation, technical set-up and other logistical arrangements needed.

Results and Deliverables

At the end of the training, participants should be able to:

Analyse the role of the main actors and stakeholders in supporting planning and implementation of the rural development policy instruments;
Demonstrate an improved understanding of the role they can play at a personal and institutional level in contributing to the planning and delivery of the rural development policy;
Articulate the critical importance of LEADER approach, stakeholder engagement and consensus building for sustainable rural development;
Describe what national and local stakeholders need to change and/or strengthen to be able to attract and sustain partnerships for rural development.

Deliverables:

Training curriculum and a training plan;
Training sessions in all above areas;
Facilitated workshop with respective follow-up recommendations;
Final report submitted to UNDP outlining training objectives, attendance by participants, pre- and post-evaluation results and recommendations for future consideration.

Competencies

Corporate competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN's values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional competencies:

Knowledge management and learning:

Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more Practice Areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills.

Development and operational effectiveness:

Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
Ability to lead formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development programmes and projects, mobilize resources;
Strong IT skills, particularly with MS Office, databases and statistical applications (such as: SPSS, STATA will be an asset);
Excellent written and oral presentation skills.

Management and leadership:

Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
Leads teams effectively and shows conflict resolution skills;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
Builds strong relationships with clients and external actors;
Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree in economic or social sciences (minimum requirement: 5 points).

Experience:

Hands-on experience in planning and/or implementation of rural development policy in EU-member state or accession country (minimum requirement: 8 points);
Experience in drafting training curriculums and reports (minimum requirement: 7 points);
5 years of experience in delivering trainings and/or facilitating workshops (minimum requirement: 8 points, more than 5 years - additional 6 points);
Experience in providing consultancy services and on-the-job support to government institutions will be additional asset (6 points).

Langauge Requirements:

Fluency in English.

Evaluation:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis against combination of technical and financial criteria. Technical evaluation stage encompasses desk review and interview of applications. Experts not meeting any of minimum technical qualification requirements will be automatically excluded from the list of candidates for further technical evaluation. Maximum obtainable score is 100, out of which the total score for technical criteria equals to 70 points (70%) and for financial criteria 30 (30%). Offerors who pass 70% of maximum obtainable scores of the desk review (i.e. 40 x 70% = 28 points as a result of a desk review of applications will be invited for the interview. Those offerors who pass 70% of maximum obtainable scores of the technical criteria (i.e. 70 x 70% = 49 points) will be considered as short-listed offerors and included in the roster of qualified consultants.

Financial Proposal:

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum. Payments are based upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel. In general, UNDP does not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources. In order, to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount.

Payments:

Training curriculum and a training plan (July, 2017) – 15%;
Training sessions in all above areas (July-August, 2017) – 50%;
Facilitated workshop with respective follow-up recommendations (July-August, 2017) – 15%;
Final report submitted to UNDP outlining training objectives, attendance by participants, pre- and post-evaluation results and recommendations for future consideration (August, 2017) – 20%.

The payments will be produced upon the confirmation by UNDP of high quality performance. A total assignment will be up to 22 days within 2-month period.