Background

Project Title

Project Preparation: “Implementing the National Framework on Access and Benefit Sharing of Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge in the Philippines”

Project Description 

In June 2019, the project concept entitled “Implementing the National Framework on Access and Benefit Sharing of Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge in the Philippines” with a budget proposal of USD4,384,000.00 was cleared by GEF CEO.  The project aims for the Nagoya Protocol implemented effectively in the Philippines by strengthening the national Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) framework, building national and local capacities and developing critical experience in ABS agreements. Specifically, the project is envisioned to address the following barriers:

Barrier 1: Inadequate and weak enforcement of policies, institutional and regulatory frameworks on ABS implementation. The granting of access is delegated to three government agencies: DENR, DA, and PCSD which implement differently the existing procedures and approval process and there is a weak coordinating mechanism among these agencies including possible streamlining and harmonization of their processes and procedures;

Barrier 2: Lack of awareness and weak capacity of key stakeholders on ABS implementation at the national and local level : The academic community, local government units, and industry have limited awareness on the basic rules and rationale of existing ABS policies resulting in poor compliance and indifference. As a result, very few have actually applied for access to genetic resources, negotiated bioprospecting agreements, and developed ABS products.  Similarly,  there is low awareness on  patent information by researchers and scientists which contributed to the low patent applications from local researchers in the country.;

Barrier 3: Absence of good practices on ABS implementation from the initial stage of bioprospecting to research and development, product  innovation and commercialization : Since the passage of relevant ABS laws and issuance of policies to facilitate bioprospecting as early as 1995,  there  has not been a single case to cite as best practice in the whole continuum of ABS process from securing FPIC to conducting of R&D up until the commercialization of research products and to the sharing of benefits down to local communities.

To detail out the project concept into a full-blown project proposal, the GEF has provided a project preparation grant. This PPG aims to prepare and develop the following documents for final submission and approval by the GEF:

1.   UNDP-GEF Project Document (ProDoc), using the 2017 standard template.

2.   Mandatory annexes to the ProDoc, including gender analysis and action plan, and stakeholder engagement plan, among others, and project specific annexes (e.g. landscape profile, institutional and legal analysis, feasibility studies etc).

3.   GEF CEO Endorsement Request.

4.   Validation Workshop report (as appropriate for projects with a moderate and high SESP risk rating).

The project preparation grant (PPG) has an allocation for the hiring of a Gender Specialist to analyse the differentiated impacts of access, use, control and benefit sharing practices, or lack thereof, on men, women and youth and the implications for the environment and livelihoods of the local groups and communities in the project area using a Gender Analysis Template and Guide to Conducting a Participatory Gender Analysis for projects supported by UNDP with GEF financing. The assessment will guide the project team to mainstream gender equality and women’s and youth empowerment into project implementation, taking into account the differences, needs, roles and responsibilities of men, women and youth.

The gender assessment will at a minimum utilise the UNDP GEF Guide to Gender Mainstreaming in UNDP Supported GEF Financed Projects for conducting gender analysis and will seek to provide guidance for the project to be gender responsive or gender transformative using the following gender results effectiveness scale as outlined in the UNDP evaluation of gender mainstreaming in UNDP:

Gender negative: result have a negative outcome that aggravate or reinforce gender inequalities and norms.

Gender blind: results pay no attention to gender and fail to acknowledge the different needs of men, women, girls and boys, or marginalized populations.

Gender targeted: results focus on the number or equity (50/50) of women, men or marginalized populations that targeted.

Gender responsive: results address differential needs of men or women and equitable distribution of benefits, resources, status and rights but did not address root causes of inequalities in their lives.

Gender transformative: results contribute to changes in norms, cultural values, power structures and the roots of gender inequalities and discriminations.  The aim is to redefine systems and institutions where inequalities are created and maintained.

Guidance should facilitate the mainstreaming of gender equality considerations into the Project Strategy and Result Framework through a process of assessing the implication for women and men of any planned action, in all areas and at all levels. The project strategy should ensure that women’s, men’s, youth and other marginalised groups’ concerns and experiences are an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of projects so that all stakeholders benefit equally from the project interventions.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

Under the direct supervision of the ISD Programme Manager through the ISD Programme Analyst, the Gender Specialist shall:

• Determine the number of men and women, disaggregated by age, in the project site and their roles, responsibilities and priorities in their access, use and utilisation of natural resources and non-timber forest products;
• Conduct a participatory analysis of the differentiated impacts of biodiversity and ecosystem degradation on women and men, disaggregated by age;
• Assess gender dynamics shaping adoption (or lack thereof) of biodiversity-friendly practices, identifying enabling conditions that have been found to work;
• Undertake socio-economics assessment for selected sites, identifying key crops being grown in the selected project sites and pilot areas and establish current proportion of land for selected households, and annual productivity; also identify sources of incomes for most households and levels of poverty (household incomes);
• Based on the findings, prepare a gender action plan for incorporation into the Project Document (PRODOC) to ensure that the project strategy and its implementation are monitored as appropriate in terms of gender-responsiveness;
• Using the findings of the gender analysis exercise, propose gender-disaggregated indicators and targets for integration into the Project Results Framework;
• Support action points, including risk assessments, from the UNDP Social and Environmental Screening Procedure (SESP) at the PIF stage (“pre-screening”) to ensure these are fully implemented during the PPG, and update that screening in an iterative fashion throughout the PPG, as appropriate;
• Provide responses to the UNDP SESP on sections related to gender and women’s empowerment and make recommendations for the Gender Marker Rating for the overall project strategy.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

Institutional Arrangement

For the duration of the contract, the consultant will be part of the Project Preparation Grant (PPG) Team that shall report to and coordinate with UNDP and key focal agencies such as DENR-BMB. All activities supported by this engagement should be cleared by UNDP.

The Stakeholder Engagement and Gender Specialist is expected to work and closely coordinate with the Lead Project Development Specialist and other national consultants (ABS Policy & Institutional Specialist, ABS and Enterprise Development Specialist & Gender Specialist) in the conduct of key project preparation activities and to deliver the necessary inputs and data for the drafting and finalization of the required UNDP Project Document including its mandatory annexes and the GEF CEO Endorsement.

All outputs should be endorsed by the DENR-BMB as the Project’s proponent before UNDP issues the certificate of acceptance for the processing of payments.

Duration of Work

The Consultant shall be engaged for 48 working days over 11 months.

Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

The financial proposals from possible candidates should be expressed in lump sum amount inclusive of all financial costs related to this engagement (i.e. professional fees, transportation/travel to and from residence-Manila, reproduction, communications including internet). Domestic airfare, food and accommodation of the team outside Manila will be shouldered by UNDP separately and only 20% of the DSA following the UNDP applicable rates will be provided.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN mission, vision, values and ethical standards
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
• Promotes UNDP’s agenda in meetings

Other Competencies

• Ability to work in close collaboration with a group of national and international experts, to meet strict deadlines and plan the work according to priorities
• Initiative, good analytical skills, mature judgment and ability to work under tight schedule while respecting deadlines achievement, ethics and honesty
• Strong initiative and desire to succeed, accountable and willingness to be pro-active in identifying suitable companies and engaging in appropriate business opportunities
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude
• Builds strong relationships with internal and external clients
• Demonstrates capacity to plan, organize and execute effectively
• Encourages risk-taking in the pursuit of creativity and innovation
• Demonstrated ability to function in a multicultural team environment & to deal with complex multi-stakeholder environment
• Good ability to use information and communication technologies as tools and resources
• Excellent written communication and presentation/public speaking skills, focus on results, ability to interact productively in a teamwork environment
• Proven experience in dialoguing with senior level government and private sector executives

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications of the Successful Individual Contractor

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Women Studies/Community Development/ Sociology/ Gender and Development and its related fields.

Experience

• Minimum Seven (7) years of demonstrable experience in gender analysis and development and excellent understanding of gender and development issues in the Philippines
• Previous work on similar projects (submission of at least two sample of previous papers or proposals where he/she was the principal author is required)

Language

• Fluency in written and spoken English;
• Strong technical writing skills;
• Excellent coordination and communication skills

Criteria for Evaluation of Offers

The selection of the best offer from the shortlisted candidates will be based on a Combined Scoring method – where the qualifications and experienced will be weighted a maximum of 700 points and combined with the price offer which will be weighted a max of 300 points out of 1000 points. Having received the quantum core out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation:

Technical Criteria weight: 70%

Financial Criteria weight: 30%

Technical Evaluation (Weight 70%)

All applicants will be initially screened against the minimum qualification requirements as specified above.

Responsive candidates (longlisted) will then be further evaluated against the following criteria:

Desk review of technical criteria as evident in the submitted application:

The maximum points that can be achieved in the desk review is 1,000 points. Only those candidates who obtain a total technical score of 700 points and above on the technical evaluation will be considered for financial evaluation.

Financial evaluation (Weight 30%)

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

p = y (µ/z), where

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Recommended Presentation of Offer

The application package containing the following (to be uploaded as one file):

1. Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;
2. 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;
3. Sample of previous papers or proposals (at least two) where he/she was the principal author;
4. Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided.  If an Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP. 

You may download the editable version of the Offeror's Letter to UNDP Confirming Insterest and Availability for the IC by clicking on this link: http://gofile.me/6xdJm/bE9TCw8fU

In view of the volume of applications UNDP receives, only shortlisted offerors will be notified.