Background

Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) is, per capita, the most heavily bombed country in the world. More than forty years after the end of the 1964-1973 Indochina Conflict, Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) remains a major humanitarian and socioeconomic challenge to the country, causing deaths and injuries, limiting access to potentially productive land, and adding substantial costs to processes of development.

The Government of Lao PDR has been active in the process of clearance since shortly after the conflict. Lao PDR has advocated for the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) and hosted the first Meeting of States Parties in 2010. It also embraced the UXO issue as a key development matter by locally establishing the Sustainable Development Goal 18 (SDG18), “Lives Safe from UXO”.

In Lao PDR, UXO is being considered as a cross-cutting issue relevant to all other sectors in the 9th National Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2021-2025 (9th NSEDP). Giving the UXO sector its own output (“Output 6: UXO clearance progressively accelerated, and more lives made safe from UXO” under “Outcome 3: Enhanced well-being of the people” according to the 9th NSEDP endorsed by the Government of Lao PDR (GoL) on March 2021) would elevate the UXO issue to a national level, increase awareness and adequately reflect the importance of SDG 18.

The National Strategic Plan for the UXO Sector in the Lao PDR 2022 - 2026, “The Safe Path Forward III” (SPFIII) which has recently been approved by GoL, details the objectives of the Government and its development partners over the forthcoming period where the aim is to reduce the humanitarian and socio-economic threats posed by UXO. A focus of the document is the need to ensure strong integration with development mechanisms particularly at a provincial level and to ensure actions are focused on community level priorities for the facilitation of development.

The UXO sector in Lao PDR consists of the National Regulatory Authority for the UXO/Mine Action Sector in the Lao PDR (NRA), Lao national Unexploded Ordnance Programme (UXO Lao), humanitarian Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), several accredited commercial companies providing UXO services, and seven humanitarian clearance teams within the Lao People’s Army (Unit 58). According to the Prime Minister’s Decree No: 67/PM, dated 12th February 2018, the overall coordination and sector lead from the Government side is mandated to rest with the NRA through the Ministry of Labour & Social Welfare (MLSW). Since the mid-1990s, UNDP has been the leading development partner supporting the UXO sector in Lao PDR. UNDP, with other partners, have helped create the two key state institutions in the UXO sector, namely UXO Lao (the main National clearance capacity) and the NRA (the Regulatory Authority). The Minister of Labour and Social Welfare chairs both the NRA Board and the UXO Sector Working Group. UNDP also serves as Co-Chair of the UXO Sector Working Group, together with the United States. The Sector Working Group is tasked to coordinate all partners concerned in the sector and achieve development effectiveness.

UNDP supports to the UXO sector in Lao PDR has focused in two axes, notably: 1) support to strengthening the capacity and technical competency of the National Regulatory Authority, to be able to oversee and steer the sector in pursuance of national strategic goals and obtaining Lao PDR’s unique UXO Action Sustainable Development Goal, SDG 18: Lives Safe from UXO. 2) To provide capacity support for survey and clearance, through support to UXO Lao and the Humanitarian teams of the Lao People’s Army (Unit 58), thus hastening progress towards clearance in impacted communities.

UNDP also supports the GoL in discussing and exploring coherent strategies for donor engagement and for leveraging predictable financing for the sector over the long term. The strategy can build on existing national policy documents on financing including the financing strategy developed and validated in 2022 for the 9th NSEDP. Over the last few years, donors have been responsible for funding 95% of activities with an over-dependence on a single donor. There is an imperative to research alternative financing models to drive sustainability in the sector not only to ensure communities are served, but that the response is appropriate to the threat. It is anticipated that funding scenarios will change significantly over the coming years and the Government must work to anticipate and adapt to the new funding environment and tailor EOD responses accordingly and/or to align addressing government and international support to impacted communities with lower-cost operational (Explosive Ordnance Disposal - EOD) models.

The sector may anticipate a diminishing of funding from traditional sources over the coming years due to a number of factors (global economic crises, conflicts in other areas, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand’s completion of he Mine Ban Treaty obligations in 2025).  The Government of Lao PDR does not allocate any significant funding to the UXO sector, also bearing in mind other competing budgetary demands from other developmental priorities (infrastructure, public health education etc.).      

OBJECTIVE :

The objective of the consultancy is to examine financing options for the sector, both within the timeframe of the Safe Path Forward 3, 2021-2030 and possible scenarios beyond, taking into consideration the current high cost of the sector and potential lower cost responsive operational models. The work should serve as a basis for dialogue between stakeholders in the sector to seek longer term financing strategies to respond to the needs of UXO impacted communities in Lao PDR  

 

Duties and Responsibilities

SCOPE OF WORK

The successful applicant will be expected to be responsible for the following:

Task 1: Assess the financing landscape and investment needs for the UXO sector

  • Map the financing landscape covering all types of financing flows in the UXO sector. This should include existing and pipeline commitments, trends in ODA for relevant donors and possible projections of financing for the sector for the period to 2030 and as much as possible, beyond this date.
  • Assess the challenges/barriers to sustaining the current financing flows over the long-term
  • Assess the challenges and options to increase the predictability of financing for the UXO sector
  • As alternative options, assess the feasibility of low-cost or cost-effective delivery models for UXO clearance in Lao PDR
  • Assess investment needs for the Safe Path Forward III and as much as possible, beyond this date

Task 2.1: Conduct a comprehensive desk review consolidating all available information and data on the sector and on financing in Lao PDR

  • Review existing diagnostics carried out on the broader financing landscape of Lao PDR.
  • Review existing financing strategy related policies for Lao PDR including the financing strategy for the 9th NSEDP
  • Review and examine financing models and strategies adopted for various sectors/sub-sectors including for example, health and environment.
  • Review any documentation related to cost-effective delivery/operational models for the sector. Review existing best practices.
  • Review and analyse financial instruments, taxes and investment incentives.
  • Review innovative financing options that have been tested and proven successful in similar contexts
  • Review relevant international experience and best practices as much as possible including documentation of good examples, case studies where relevant.
  • Prepare a desk review report

Task 2-2. Primary data collection

  • Based on information gaps identified in the desk review report, prepare interview guides for facilitating key informant interviews and multi-stakeholder consultation workshop to gather in-depth feedback from partners.
  • Present a debrief of the emerging findings and recommendations from the desk review and primary data collection

Task 3: Draft the report/ identifying feasible options for UXO sector in Lao PDR

  • Consolidate information gathered from the desk review and the primary data collection into a draft strategy document
  • Submit final report based on feedback received.
  • Present financing options for discussion within the sector based upon possible scenarios within the current strategic SPF3 framework (2021-2030) and beyond.
  • Support the presentation of scenarios and financing options to stakeholders as required (e.g. preparation of presentations at the Sector Working Group)

Competencies

  • Strong research, analytical and written skills
  • Result oriented, patient, and hands-on with good teamwork skills
  • Excellent computer skills (word, excel, power-point, internet, and other related matters)
  • Strong data collection and analytical skills

Required Skills and Experience

  • Master’s Degree in Economics, Finance or related field.  (Doctoral degree is preferred)  
  • Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience, and previous demonstrated experience in undertaking sustainable financing,
  • At least overall 5 years of experience in the field of public finance, private sector development, strategic planning and budgeting, capacity building and advisory services; experience in public finance.
  • Demonstrated experience of 3 years with a development partner or central government agency in the area of development finance, SDG finance and or Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs).
  • Familiarity with UXO or Mine Action programming would be a distinct advantage.
  • 5 years of rigorous data and information research and analysis policy analysis experience in the area of public finance, economics, private sector development are required.

LANGUAGE

  • Fluency in English

Requirements for submission of proposals 

All interested and qualified International or National Individual Consultants should apply online using the following links: 

UNDP Lao PDR Country Office website at https://www.undp.org/laopdr/jobs

In order to make your submission, please read the relevant documents available at the links below 

  1. TOR (Annex I)
  2. IC General Terms and Conditions _ Annex II 

 

Interested Individual Consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications: 

1. Technical Proposal 

 

            (i)  Explaining why you are the most suitable for the work; 

            (ii)  Providing a brief methodology on how you will approach and conduct the work including the work 

                  schedule for the delivery of outputs/deliverable; 

2. P11 Form Education and work experience, including past experience in similar projects and contact references of at least 3 references for whom you have rendered preferably the similar services; 

3. Financial proposal:  Detailed financial proposal: Lump sum offer with clear cost breakdown against each deliverable. Please use this template  Offerors Letter to UNDP

 

Instructions for online submissions: 

  • Step 1:  Please prepare all required documents electronically. 
  • Step 3: After that you will receive an auto reply from the UNDP jobs if your offer is received successfully. 

 

Incomplete proposals or proposals received after the deadline will be rejected

Note:  Any request for clarification must be sent in writing before the submission deadline to the following emails: surith.sengsavang@undp.org