Rural development is a process that delivers improvements in the quality of life and economic well-being of people living in relatively isolated and sparsely populated rural areas.  Rural development, traditionally, has focused on the exploitation of land-intensive natural resources, such as agriculture and forestry.  However, changes in global production networks, increased urbanization and dynamic links between rural and urban environments have changed the character of rural areas.  Increasingly tourism, niche products and recreation have replaced resource extraction and agriculture as dominant economic factors.

The need for rural communities to approach development from a wider perspective has created more focus on a broad range of development goals rather than merely creating incentives for agricultural or resource-based businesses. Education, entrepreneurship, physical and social infrastructure, biodiversity protection and enhancement, climate change adaptation and mitigation all play an important role in developing rural regions. Rural development is also characterized by its emphasis on locally produced economic development strategies.

The EU signed an Association Agreement (AA) with Georgia in June 2014. This aims to deepen political and economic relations between the parties and to gradually integrate Georgia into the EU’s internal market. This entails, as one element, creating a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) between the EU and Georgia. Under Article 333 of the Association Agreement (Cooperation between the Parties in the field of agriculture and rural development), there is provision for ‘facilitating the mutual understanding of agricultural and rural development policies’. This was 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).

Rural development has an important role to play in the sustainable development of Georgia. The need for rural communities to approach development from a wider perspective has created more focus on a broad range of development goals rather than merely creating incentive for agriculture development. The goal of the Rural Development Policy of Georgia is to support sustainable economic development through enhanced socio-economic activities in rural areas and improved living condition of rural population. The policy provides the country’s vision related to the key areas of rural development – growth and diversification of local economies, improvement of social and public services and sustainable use of national resources.

The ongoing UNDP project “Improving Rural Development in Georgia” (IRDG) support under EU-funded ENPARD III is instrumental in assisting the Government (Inter-Agency Coordination Council for Rural Development - IACC) in its endeavor to develop the institutional and human capacities for managing rural development sector and gradually bringing into alignment with the EU CAP objectives and common regulation provisions. With this support, the government of Georgia is gradually progressing in implementation of a coherent Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy for 2021-2027. The capacity development component has as its core support to state institutions involved in laying down the policy framework and in implementing measures.

UNDP has been supporting the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture (MEPA) and relevant frontline departments in improving strategic approach to better address rural needs and progressively align the intervention logic with EU goals for social, environmental and economic sustainability in agriculture and rural areas. The support has covered the institutional set up of the (i) Managing Authority under MEPA, in charge of strategic programming/measure menu and the (ii) Rural Development Agency (RDA) with functions of a similar nature as IPARD/Paying Agencies in Candidate and Member States.

The project is part of the EU supported nation-wide programme “European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development”  (ENPARD) phase III and contributes to the main purpose of ENPARD III, which is to promote inclusive and sustainable growth and development, creating employment and livelihoods for the poor and excluded, and to the achievement of results related to improvement of institutional capacities for the implementation of the Rural Development Strategy; improvement of rural economic diversification, employment and services; and Improvement of environment, sustainable management of natural resources and climate action.

The objective of this consultancy is to provide support to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture (MEPA) and the Ministry of Agriculture of Ajara AR of Georgia (MOA), based on EU Member State experience, in identifying relevant and practical approaches to designing rural development measures which better cover existing and emerging needs of rural areas and better aligned with the new CAP policy objectives through a ‘toolbox’ of EU rural development measures. The consultant will work under the direct supervision of UNDP Economic Development Team Leader and “Improving Rural Development in Georgia” National Project Manager.

The UNDP in Georgia will make arrangements for meetings and travel within Georgia and facilitate liaison with government, other national non-government stakeholders.

The below listed tasks of the incumbent shall be performed in close coordination with RDA and UNDP Project Capacity Development Coordinator and include the following:

1. Conduct desk research to build understanding on distribution of functions among the relevant departments of MEPA involved in laying down the rural development policy framework and designing rural development measures.
2. Provide analysis of existing national rural development interventions and advice MEPA, from the EU perspective, experience and lessons learned, on the types of measures eligible under Rural Development Programmes/National Strategic Plans.
3. Facilitate discussions with relevant officials on intervention strategies with a strong emphasis on results and performance linked to common EU goals for social, environmental and economic sustainability in agriculture and rural areas.
4. Provide recommendations/methodological guidance on identifying relevant and practical approaches as well as specific requirements to carry out planning/design of RD measures built around EU-level objectives and shaped and adapted to local conditions – needs and capabilities.
5. Recommend to public bodies on their principal functions and duties concerning design of RD measures, taking into consideration examples from the European Union.
6. Provide a comprehensive view and advise on the ways to initiate and maintain a successful relationship with Civil Society for the purpose of participatory planning and inclusive decision-making process.
7. In the light of the above-mentioned, provide recommendations to UNDP on capacity development needs and response strategy to respond to existing and emerging needs in knowledge and competencies.

At the Autonomous Republic of Ajara level, major tasks of the incumbent shall include the following:

       8. With reference to the existing Strategy for AR Agriculture and Rural Development, provide an overall expert opinion on the fundamental basis of EU rural development intervention logic and its relevance to the context of rural areas in Ajara region.

      9. Present key functions and duties of competent authorities concerning design and continuous improvement of EU rural development measures.

      10. In the light of the above-mentioned, propose priority actions to be carried out by MOA for improving organizational effectiveness in producing RD-related outputs and responding to challenges relating to growth and jobs in rural areas.  

Deliverables and payment modality:

Deliverbale 1 - 30% May 2022

• Report with preliminary findings and observations on RD strategic approach and the choice of existing national measures in Georgia and their linkages with the EU-level CAP objectives and measures.

Deliverbale 2 - 30% June 2022

• Presentation on EU perspective types of measures covered in the national strategic plans. Mission report with recommendations and methodological guidance on specific requirements to carry out planning/design of RD measures.

Deliverbale 3 - 40% July 2022

• Final report covering implementation aspects of the contract and full details of the deliverables required for tasks 1 to 10.

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;
• 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.

Education:

• Master’s Degree in rural development, agricultural economics, business or a related area (minimum requirement) -  10 Points

Experience: 

• Hands-on experience in rural development programming, designing and/or managing implementation of measures in EU-member state or accession country (minimum requirement) - 10 Points
• 5 years of experience in providing advisory services to the government and/or non-government organizations on rural development measures (minimum requirement). - 12 Points
• Working experience in IPARD / Paying Agency or Managing Authority of EU Member State or in a Candidate country would be an asset - 8 Points.

Evauation:

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%). Technical criteria composed of desk review (40 points) and interview (30 points). 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 for interviews (i.e. 30x 70% = 21 points) will be considered as short-listed offerors and included in the roster of qualified consultants.

Financial Proposal:

Short-listed Offerors will be requested to provide financial proposal. The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount (with indication of specific sub-components of the payment, including daily fee, travel costs, living allowance etc.), and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables. The total amount quoted shall be all-inclusive and include a breakdown of all cost components required to perform the deliverables identified in TOR. All envisaged travel costs (ticket, insurance, communication and living allowance fees) must be included in the financial proposal as well.