Specific objectives of the assignment are:
Based on a number of documents to be supplied by the UNDP Belarus, in cooperation with the National Local Development Expert and in consultation with the Working Group and other relevant stakeholders, the International Local Development Expert will produce a comprehensive programme consisting of two components: Local Development and Green Economy discussed in more detail below.
Local Development Component:
The specific objective of the component is to support local and regional development strategies in addressing the needs of local communities, by sharing EU expertise in regional development policy reform and planning. Regional centres of growth would be strengthened so as to promote job creation and take-up of jobs, boost incomes and improve access to social benefits and public services.
The programme promoting regional development in Belarus should draw on international best practices, including the experience of the EU in regional development, and focus on the following priorities: improving the attractiveness of regions and cities, encouraging innovation, entrepreneurship, knowledge economy, creating more and better jobs, investing in human capital, making governance and self-government at the local level more effective, improving service delivery at the local level, fostering community development through public participation and engagement, strengthening the role of the private sector and civil society in local development activities, etc. Capacity building of the regional and local actors, including communities and NGOs is seen as a prerequisite for the above mentioned policies. The involvement of the private sector in the regional policy can be ensured in accordance with world practice by the means of the widely promoted by the government Law on public-private partnership. A systemic approach (including economic, social dimensions) needs to be adopted, as well as coordination mechanisms between major stakeholders at national, regional, and local levels.
The component is targeted at promoting sustainable regional/local development through developing the competences and capacities of Belarusian regional and local authorities in regional and local development management and enabling citizens to take an active part in decision-making concerning the socio-economic and cultural development of their communities at the local level.
The main accent should be put on supporting and facilitating the inclusive processes of governance at the oblast and rayon levels, yielding comprehensive and unique development plans for the locality in question, and ensuring their efficient implementation through access to international expertise and mobilization of domestic and external resources. This process is planned to be built around the concept of participatory strategic planning at the local level, which would aim at sustainable development of the area and incorporate social, economic, and environmental considerations.
To build these participatory governance processes, the programme should work through the hierarchical levels of the executive vertical and other key development actors, starting from the national level, through oblast and rayon levels, and down to the so-called “primary” (community) level with the aim of assessing and strengthening their respective capacities in managing development, and ensuring wide participation and inclusion. Also, emphasis will be placed on creating transparent and efficient coordination mechanisms of inter-level coordination.
Indicative activities for the regional level: - Assessment of weaknesses and gaps of the current institutional framework and subsequent implementation;
- Identification of major counterparts needs and development priorities;
- Capacity building and training of the counterparts in four selected oblasts of Belarus (in principle Mogilev, Gomel, Brest and Vitebsk, since they represent a telling combination of bad socio-economic development indicators, geographical coverage and experience in the implementation of EU funded programs);
- Assistance to elaborate ad hoc studies to identify regional development priorities;
- Elaboration of the comprehensive plan for regional development, including financing planning; implementation of pilot projects in each of four regions to support regional development plan priorities.
Expected results:
Absorption capacities of regional authorities strengthened, enabling effective utilisation of financial and other resources in the sense of enabling the identification, financing and implementation of regional projects (projects of economic and social infrastructure, environmental, innovative and technology support projects etc.).
Indicative activities for the local level: - Roundtables at regional and local level to familiarize with the project, its modality and terms of partnership;
- Establishment of partnerships with local/regional stakeholders;
- Social mobilization for creation of support structures (community organizations);
- Training/study visits and other support for institutional capacity building;
- Participatory planning and mainstreaming of community plans;
- Micro-project proposal preparation, appraisal, approval and funding of community projects (under seed grant);
- Implementation and handover of community projects;
- Documentation on best experiences and policy recommendation;
- Raising public awareness on cross-cutting issues.
Expected results: - Enhanced skills and capacity among (community-based) civil society organisations and local authorities;
- Public awareness raised on participatory governance. Policy recommendations produced based on practical experience at the grassroots level will allow spreading outside the initial coverage area of the project, drawing on competences developed in the communities themselves. National debates, information dissemination and lobbying will take place.
Geographical coverage for the component:
Mogilev, Gomel, Brest, Vitebsk regions of Belarus.
Greening Economy Component:
The component is aimed at the introduction of Green Economy approaches at the local level in Belarus in order to mitigate potential economic and social implications of climate change to the country and its population. The following tentative areas of concentration are suggested for consideration:
Creation of adequate and favourable enabling conditions for the green economy emergence in Belarus, which can include but is not limited to: - Re-examination of the prevailing production and consumption model in the country, as well as the national economy industrial composition;
- Assessing the implication of the greening economy in Belarus for its trade patterns within the Customs Union and beyond;
- Defining the roles of the key players in the transition to green economy – the government and the private sector, and environmental NGOs with the capacity-building foreseen for them;
- Exploring domestic policy reforms, fiscal measures, and regulatory tools aimed at promoting low carbon footprint and high-efficiency strategies, such as the energy pricing policies, cutting government spending and subsidies to the natural capital depleting enterprises, etc.
Promoting Green Jobs in Belarus:
This sub-component should explore the national potential for the green jobs introduction and offer support for workers and enterprise adaptation to the greening of the economy. That can include: - Developing a set of measures targeted at the minimization of the social costs of the economy greening, such as support to the current “brown” employment transformation and substitution;
- Ensuring that the newly created green jobs offer decent wages, reasonable career prospects and sufficient job security;
- Creation of social security networks to cope with the job losses in the transition period;
- Capacity building for the concerned stakeholders.
The change in policies, decisions, and behaviours of policy-makers, employers, workers, and consumers. That can include: - Encouraging “green” investment over “brown” investment in the country;
- Introduction of cradle to cradle production methodologies, different approaches to packaging, or other waste-reducing options;
- Introduction of eco-labeling for food and consumer products made in Belarus;
- Fostering sustainable management of the natural capital among local authorities and communities;
- Promoting international collaboration through trade, aid, market infrastructure, and capacity building for the economy greening.
The Programme for Greening Economy should foresee piloting of the tools and approaches mentioned above or proposed by the expert through supporting green local initiatives and small pilot projects and grant lines to environmental NGOs. Geographical coverage for the component: to be determined.
General requirements:
The proramme should address each component separately while ensuring synergy and complementarity between the two. The final output (paper) is expected to clearly state the following aspects for each component: - The approach to be used at the national and sub-national levels in order to promote the component in question;
- The entry point and the scale-up methodology;
- Proposed geographical coverage and key actors to be engaged;
- Description of activities and/or pilots categorized by goals to be achieved, level engaged (national/sub-national), and targeted stakeholders;
- Tentative budget for each component (details to be discussed during the assignment);
- Mechanism of the Program performance monitoring and evaluation.
Key Deliverable: - Local Development/Green Economy Program paper approved by UNDP Belarus (approximately 45-50 pages). The format is to be discussed during the assignment.
In case the Contractor fails to fulfill his/her duties as per TOR UNDP has the right to terminate his/her assignment at its sole discretion.
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Education: - Advanced university degree in economics, social science, business administration, sustainable development, or other related field
Experience: - At least 10 years of relevant work experience on sustainable development issues;
- Proven expertise in policy formulation in sustainable local development, private sector development, green economy/jobs, and related issues;
- Experience in project/program development is a must;
- Consulting experience in the countries of the former Soviet Union and countries with their economies of transition is an advantage.
Documents to be included when submitting the proposals:
Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications: 1. Proposal: (i) Explaining why they are the most suitable for the work 2. Financial proposal – please fill in Annex II (Finance Proposal) 3. Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and at least 2 references. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials. Financial Proposal:
Lump sum contracts The financial proposal shall specify a lump sum for the successful completion of the entire assignment. Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. Travel:
All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel. In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Evaluation:
Cumulative analysis: When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria: Total score=Technical Score + Financial Score Example * Technical Criteria weight; [70%], maximum 700 points * Financial Criteria weight; [30%], maximum 300 points All the offers of individual consultants who scored 490 (70% from 700) and more points during the desk review/interview are acceptable for financial evaluation. The lowest technically qualified proposal receives 300 points and all the other technically qualified proposals receive points in inverse proportion according to the formula: P=Y*(L/Z), where P=points for the financial proposal being evaluated Y=maximum number of points for the financial proposal L= price of the lowest price proposal Z=price of the proposal being evaluated
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