Background

In DRC, UNCDF is implementing with UNDP a Joint Programme for the Sustainable Consumption and Partial Substitution for Wood Energy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). 

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been engaged in the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) process since 2009. The Government validated the National REDD+ Framework Strategy in November 2012 and established a national REDD+ fund (FONAREDD) to finance the implementation of the national REDD+ strategy. 

In April 2016, the Government of the DRC signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI) in which the Government commits to the implementation of ambitious reforms and measures, in return for substantial financial support from CAFI to the implementation of REDD+ in the country. 

It is within this framework that, with CAFI funding, the "Sustainable Consumption and Partial Substitution of Wood Energy Program" was launched and is being implemented jointly by UNDP and UNCDF to support the enabling framework but also the development of the cooking energy market in the DRC.

The overall objective of this program is to stabilize forest cover and reduce greenhouse gas emissions related to energy production and consumption for cooking (and in particular wood energy), as well as to promote sustainable and equitable economic development.

To do this, the program aims to, among other things:

• The establishment of enabling conditions for a more sustainable production and consumption of wood energy, and the progressive deployment of alternative energies to wood energy.
• The production and dissemination of improved stoves for clean cooking through a market incubation approach and its actors (producers, distributors, consumers);
• The launching of the LPG market in the DRC and in particular in Kinshasa, and supervision of the sector to ensure favorable conditions for the rapid, viable and healthy deployment of the sector.
• Increasing the income of the population while reducing the carbon footprint of productive activities through incentives for sustainable forest management.

The expected results and impacts of the program are

•  250,000 households have access to and adopt LPG as cooking energy by 2024
•  84,000 improved stoves are sold and used by households
•  Between 300 and 400 jobs created in the LPG distribution network (hypothesis of 1.5 million cylinders, 100 points of sale with a rotation of 50 cylinders each, i.e. 150t/year, with 3 to 4 people per point of sale)
• Clean cooking strategy integrated in the DRC's Energy Policy
• Approximately 15,000 tons of LPG per year at the end of 5 years for the CO2 balance LPG in substitution of charcoal: - 48,000 tons of charcoal saved/year from the 5th year (hypothesis of 1Kg of LPG equivalent to 3.2 Kg of charcoal in energy terms, i.e. a balance of 15,000 x 3.2)
• Better health for nearly one million people concerned by wood energy cooking activities
• Job creation and income generation
• Inclusion of youth, women and vulnerable groups in the energy value chains.

As part of the support to market and private sector development, the Challenge Fund and Incubation component for clean cooking in DRC has been launched since May 2020 and 12 partnerships signed on December 2020 and September 2021 and developed with the following expected results at the end of the program

Expected results of the program

• For cooking solutions sales: 95,700 improved stoves; 3,000 complete LPG kits; 3,500 gas stoves; 1,425 tons of LPG, 1,580 tons of briquettes
• For job creation: 104 full time jobs and 506 part time jobs created

Results achieved as of 30 September 2022

• For cooking solutions sales: 68,129 improved stoves; 4,944 complete LPG kits; 3,670 gas stoves; 1,284 tons of LPG; 1,107 tons of briquettes
• For job creation: 140 full time jobs and 855 part time jobs created

This mid-term evaluation is proposed to double check figures for technical results achieved and shared by partners, to evaluate the impact achieved so far and estimate the expected impact for the commitments made with the current partnerships.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives of the Assignment

The objective of this study is to assess the quantity of clean cooking solutions sold, their impact on wood fuel reduction, their impact on greenhouse gas reduction and their impact on deforestation. The study will also collect feedback from users of the clean cooking solutions that have been popularized through the program. This includes the following:

1.             Evaluate the quantity and type of clean cooking solutions sold by the companies

2.             Evaluate the quantity and type of clean cooking solutions used and their frequency of use

3.             Collect data on household energy consumption.

4.             Collect end user feedback on cooking solutions  

5.             Evaluate the amount of wood fuel saved through the use of clean cooking solutions

6.             Assess the amount of CO2 or greenhouse gases reduced through the use of clean cooking solutions

7.             Evaluate the number of hectares of forest saved through the use of clean cooking solutions.

Scope of Work

Timeline and Payment Terms 

Monitoring and Progress Controls

The consultant shall work under the direct supervision of the Energy Programme Specialist/IDE Energy Lead. The consultant will work within a multi-functional team from the Energy Joint Programme and the IDE Energy global team.

Monitoring:  On a monthly basis, the Energy programme Specialist organizes a catch-up meeting with the consultant for a close follow up on the work and deliverables.

Supporting documents that will serve as conditions for disbursement are as follows: (i) submission of invoice and Certificate of Payment form; (ii) review, approval and written acceptance of outputs for each deliverable confirmed in writing by the Energy Programme Specialist; and (iii) authorization of payment disbursement from the IDE Energy Lead.

Final payment shall require a signed performance evaluation of the consultant.

Competencies

Functional Competencies

• Excellent facilitation skills, with experience applying them to focus group discussions, interviews, and participatory sessions.
• Excellent note-taking skills for qualitative data collection with demonstrable experience in applying these skills.
• Familiarity with ethical considerations when collecting data from women and men and commitment to meeting all ethical requirements as stipulated in the research protocol
• Ability and willingness to engage appropriately and respectfully with women, men, youth, the vulnerable in the selected locations
• Ability to understand clean cooking product testing results and to perform energy calculations.
• Ability to carry out focus groups and provide training in a workshop setting.
• Strong analytical writing skills, experienced in producing concise, executive level reports and presentations, training modules and materials.
• Good interpersonal skills and experience in working effectively in a multi-cultural environment, with sensitivity to diverse opinion.
• Ability to manage a group of enumerators and interviewers
• Strong communications skills in speaking, writing, as well as presenting materials in variety of media.
• Strong understanding of DRC regions and cultural differences /habits
• Full-time availability during the study period

Corporate Competencies:

• Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UNCDF;
• Demonstrate integrity by modelling the UN's values and ethical standards;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race and age sensitivity and adaptability

Required Skills and Experience

Education: 

 •  Master’s Degree in Business, M&E, Program Management, Environment, Statistics, Mathematics, Forestry

Experience: 

• Experience participating in impact survey on cooking solutions in Africa. Demonstrated experience collecting qualitative and quantitative data from reputable non-governmental or research organizations. A report of completed similar study will be requested as proof.
• At least 5 years’ experience advising, research or implementing energy business models that may incorporate clean cooking solutions for vulnerable people, including household/business level solutions as well as larger SME and community-based solutions (years of experience can overlap with other categories)
• Experience participating in a Stove Testing
• At least 5 years’ experience supporting market-based development of energy markets that serve low-income people.
• At least 2 year of work experience in at least one of the UNCDF Energy programme focus countries in Africa (DRC, Uganda, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso).

Language:

• Fluency in English, French
• Proficiency in the local language of the requested data collection area : Swahili, Lingala

EVALUATION

Applications will be rated on both technical and financial submissions.  The following selection method will be used:  Highest rated proposal using the combined scoring method, which assigns the weight distribution between the technical and financial proposals.  The weight distribution shall be 70% technical and 30% financial. 

Step I: Screening/Longlisting

Applications will be screened and only applicants meeting the following minimum criteria will progress to the pool for shortlisting.

• Master’s Degree in Business, M&E, Program Management, Environment, Statistics, Mathematics, Forestry

• Fluency in English, French, Swahili  and Lingala
• Proof of completing similar study

Step II: Shortlisting by Desk Review

A desk review will be conducted to produce a shortlist of candidates based on the following criteria. Only the applicants achieving a minimum of 70% of the points for the technical proposal will be considered as technically qualified and will be reviewed further for financial evaluation.

• Experience participating in impact survey on cooking solutions in Africa. Demonstrated experience collecting qualitative and quantitative data from reputable non-governmental or research organizations. A report of completed similar study will be requested as proof (30 points)
• At least 5 years’ experience advising, research or implementing energy business models that may incorporate clean cooking solutions for vulnerable people, including household/business level solutions as well as larger SME and community-based solutions (years of experience can overlap with other categories) ( 20 points)
• Experience participating in a Stove Testing (20 Points)
• Fluency in English, French, Swahili  and lingala (20 point)
• At least 2 years of work experience in at least one country s in East/Central Africa (especially DRC, Burundi, Uganda, Kenya) (10 Points)

Step III: Financial Evaluation

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

Lowest priced proposal/price of the proposal being evaluated x 30%. All financial proposals shall be submitted along with the applications, and no modification shall be made on the proposals unless requested by UNCDF.

The top candidate that achieved the highest cumulative score will be recommended for award of the contract

APPLICATION

Interested individual consultant or firm must submit the following documents/information as proposals in order to demonstrate their qualifications. (NOTE: The system does not allow multiple uploads of document. Applicants must make sure to upload all documents in one PDF file.) When applying for this consultancy position, please apply with your official name as shown in the government issued identification document (e.g. passport and/or driver license). Contract award is subject to this verification.

All applications must contain the following information:

• 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; link to P11: http://sas.undp.org/documents/P11_Personal_history_form.doc;

• Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position.  Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application.
• A report of completed similar study

The following document is to be sent by email to financial.proposal@uncdf.org

• Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability and Financial Proposal (do not upload your financial proposal online.)  The financial proposal should be emailed separately to financial.proposal@uncdf.org with the subject line: Financial Proposal: Challenge Fund’s Mid Term Impact survey and Earliest availability of the consultant. The total amount quoted shall be all-inclusive and include all costs components required to perform the deliverables identified in the TOR, including professional fee, travel costs, living allowance (if any work is to be done outside the consultant´s duty station) and any other applicable cost in completing the assignment. The contract price will be a fixed output-based price regardless of extension of the herein specified duration.

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested documents.

Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when traveling 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 If the consultant is over 65 years old, UNCDF reserves the right to require full medical certification and clearance from the consultant’s physician prior to commencing the travel.

Both individual consultants and individuals employed by a company or institution are welcome to apply. Any individual employed by a company or institution who would like to submit an offer in response to a Procurement Notice for Individual Consultant must do so in their individual capacity (providing a CV so that their qualifications may be judged accordingly).  If the company or institution that employs them will charge a management fee, the said amount must be incorporated in the financial proposal that the individual will submit.  No further changes to reflect additional costs shall be accommodated by UNCDF at the point of awarding the contract.

Women candidates or women-owned businesses are strongly encouraged to apply. UNCDF 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.

Please include all documents into one file while submitting your application.

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