Historique

The UNDP-GEF project, “Integrated Sustainable Transport for Batumi City and the Achara Region” (ISTBAR or Project) seeks to ensure that urban development in Georgia takes place with a green approach or in an environmentally sustainable manner. In particular, the Project is focusing on the transport sector, a priority sector of the Government of Georgia where GHG emissions are continuously rising. As Georgia’s leading tourist destination located on the Black Sea, the City of Batumi also has a strong interest in sustainable transport. Batumi has been chosen as the main partner for this Project due to its high level of GHG emissions from the transport sector, the active involvement of the city administration in green urban development, and the willingness and ability of the City to provide co-financing for full implementation.

The objective of this Project aside from assisting Batumi adopt a green approach to urban development, is to directly generate GHG reductions from sustainable urban transport demonstrations in Batumi and indirectly generate GHG reductions from regional and national policies on the urban transport that have been informed through the demonstration projects in Batumi.   

The key to meeting this objective for Batumi is to holistically plan and implement number of sustainable transport measures centered in the old city where there will be higher visibility of such efforts. This heightened visibility will inform other municipalities of the Achara Region as well as other cities of Georgia on how to successfully reduce the carbon intensity of urban transport.  Prior to implementing a pilot demonstration on sustainable urban transport measures, the Project will need to support the formulation of an integrated sustainable urban transport plan (ISUTP). The key to successfully implementing an ISUTP is careful preparation that adopts a holistic approach to all modes of urban transport that assesses their impacts on the City and determines their feasibility as an integrated urban transport system. 

This objective will be met through addressing four main components of the project:

• The Integrated Sustainable Urban Transport Plans adopted in Batumi and the Ajara Autonomous Republic.
• Feasibility studies and functional plans developed to reduce carbon intensity of urban transport.
• Sustainable urban transport measures implemented along a selected corridor in the City of Batumi.
• Feasibility studies and functional plans developed in other municipalities of the Ajara Autonomous Republic.

Total budget of the project is 1,133,000 USD.  853,000 USD from GEF and additional input of 280.000 USD from UNDP Georgia. 

Devoirs et responsabilités

A team of two independent consultants will conduct the MTR - one team leader (with experience and exposure to projects and evaluations in Europe & CIS region and/or other regions globally) and one national team expert, usually from the country of the project who will support the international consultant provide a stocktaking report of all the work that the project has undertaken to date. 

The overall responsibility of the Team Leader will be to produce inception, draft and final reports. S/he will lead and coordinate the work of the MTR team and be responsible for the quality assurance of all deliverables. The Team Leader provides guidance, technical support and oversight to the MTR team members throughout the period, especially in ensuring agreed upon methodologies, field research and writing of assigned sections of the report before the deadline. 

The MTR team consultants will work under the supervision of the UNDP Georgia Country Office, Environment and Energy Team Leader. 

The MTR team will assess the following four categories of project progress. See the Guidance For Conducting Midterm Reviews of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects for extended descriptions and the Terms of Reference (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1qWEHpSBmozPfiAQfDmgl6Z745pk).  

Project Strategy

Project Design:

• Review the problem addressed by the project and the underlying assumptions.  Review the effect of any incorrect assumptions or changes to the context to achieving the project results as outlined in the Project Document;
• Review the relevance of the project strategy and assess whether it provides the most effective route towards expected/intended results. Were lessons from other relevant projects properly incorporated into the project design?
• Review how the project addresses country priorities. Review country ownership. Was the project concept in line with the national and sector development priorities and plans in Georgia?
• Review decision-making processes: were perspectives of those who would be affected by project decisions, those who could affect the outcomes, and those who could contribute information or other resources to the process, considered during project design processes?
• Review the extent to which relevant gender issues were raised in the project design. See Guidance for Conducting Midterm Reviews of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects for further guidelines;
• If there are major areas of concern, recommend areas for improvement.

Results Framework/Logframe:

• Undertake a critical analysis of the project’s log frame indicators and targets, assess how “SMART” the midterm and end-of-project targets are (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound), and suggest specific amendments/revisions to the targets and indicators as necessary;
• Examine if progress so far has led to, or could in the future catalyse beneficial development effects (i.e. income generation, gender equality and women’s empowerment, improved governance etc.) that should be included in the project results framework and monitored on an annual basis.

Progress Towards Results:

• Review the log frame indicators against progress made towards the end-of-project targets; populate the Progress Towards Results Matrix, as described in the Guidance for Conducting Midterm Reviews of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects; colour code progress in a “traffic light system” based on the level of progress achieved; assign a rating on progress for the project objective and each outcome; make recommendations from the areas marked as “not on target to be achieved” (red);
• Compare and analyse the GEF Tracking Tool at the Baseline with the one completed right before the Midterm Review;
• Identify remaining barriers to achieving the project objective;
• Review the aspects of the project that have already been successful and identify ways in which the project can further expand these benefits.

Project Implementation and Adaptive Management

Using the Guidance for Conducting Midterm Reviews of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects; assess the following categories of project progress:

• Management Arrangements;
• Work Planning;
• Finance and co-finance;
• Project-level monitoring and evaluation systems;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Reporting;
• Communications.

Sustainability

Assess overall risks to sustainability factors of the project in terms of the following four categories:

• Financial risks to sustainability;
• Socio-economic risks to sustainability;
• Institutional framework and governance risks to sustainability;
• Environmental risks to sustainability.

The MTR team will include a section of the report setting out the MTR’s evidence-based conclusions, in the light of the findings (alternatively, MTR conclusions may be integrated into the body of the report).

Recommendations should be succinct suggestions for critical intervention that are specific, measurable, achievable, and relevant. A recommendation table should be put in the report’s executive summary. See the Guidance For Conducting Midterm Reviews of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects for guidance on a recommendation table.

The MTR team should make no more than 15 recommendations total.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables:

The MTR team shall prepare and submit:

• MTR Inception Report: MTR team clarifies objectives and methods of the Midterm Review no later than 2 weeks before the MTR mission. To be sent to the Commissioning Unit and project management;
• Presentation: Initial Findings presented to project management and the Commissioning Unit at the end of the MTR mission;
• Draft Final Report: Full report with annexes within 3 weeks of the MTR mission. To be sent to the commissioning Unit, reviewed by RTA;
• Final Report*: Revised report with annexed audit trail detailing how all received comments have (and have not) been addressed in the final MTR report. To be sent to the Commissioning Unit within 1 week of receiving UNDP comments on draft.

*The final MTR report must be in English. If applicable, the Commissioning Unit may choose to arrange for a translation of the report into a language more widely shared by national stakeholders.

Schedule of Payments:

• 15% of payment upon approval of the MTR Inception Report;
• 35% upon submission of the draft MTR Report;
• 50% upon finalization of the MTR Report.

Institutional Arrangement:

The principal responsibility for managing this MTR resides with the Commissioning Unit. The Commissioning Unit for this project’s MTR is the UNDP Georgia Country Office.The commissioning unit will contract the consultants. The Project Team will be responsible for liaising with the MTR team to provide all relevant background documents and logistics support during the mission.

Duration of the Work

The total duration of the MTR will be approximately 20 working days over a time-period of 4 months from 1st August 2017 to 30 November 2017. The 20 working days is broken down into 11 home based days, 7 days on mission in Georgia, and 2 travel days. The tentative MTR timeframe is as follows:

• (01-08-2017): Prep the MTR Team (handover of Project Documents);
• (01-08-2017 to 05-08-2017) 2 days: Document review and preparing MTR Inception Report;
• (06-08-2017 to 31-08-2017) 1 day: Finalization and Validation of MTR Inception Report- prior to start of MTR mission;
• (03-09-2017) 1 day: Travel Day;
• (04-09-2017 to 12-09-2017) 7 days: MTR mission: stakeholder meetings In Batumi and Tbilisi, interviews, field visits;
• (12-09-2017) 1 day: Mission wrap-up meeting & presentation of initial findings- earliest end of MTR mission;
• (13-09-2017) 1 day: Travel Day;
• (14-09-2017 to 31-09-2017) 5 days: Preparing draft report, feedback/comments from UNDP;
• (01-10-17 to 22-10-17) 1 day: Incorporating audit trail from feedback on draft report/Finalization of MTR report;
• (06-11-17) 1 day: Preparation in discussion related to the Management Response;
• (30-11-17) 1 day: Expected date of full MTR completion.

The dates for the 7-working days mission to Georgia may be changed by mutual agreement between the international consultant and the project manager at the start of the assignment but it should be carried out prior to the end of September 2017.

Consultant Independence:

The consultants cannot have participated in the project preparation, formulation, and/or implementation (including the writing of the Project Document) and should not have a conflict of interest with project’s related activities. 

Compétences

Corporate Competencies:

• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.

Core Competencies:

• Extensive knowledge in at least two of the following fields: climate change mitigation, green urban development, sustainable urban transport, civil engineering of which one of these fields must include sustainable urban transport
• Proven ability to interact with and relate to people at all levels and in the field working conditions with different stakeholders
• Proven ability to i) work flexibly and independently with limited supervision and deliver quality results against tight deadlines; and ii) supervise a small team at a distance
• Proven ability to work in a complex environment with different national and international experts/consultants
• Excellent communication skills both in written and oral, cultural sensitivity;
• E-literacy.

Functional Competencies:

• Strong analytical and writing skills;
• Strong planning, communication, research and analytical skills. Up-to-date knowledge of urban transport area management;
• Ability to communicate effectively

Qualifications et expériences requises

Education:

• At least Master’s or equivalent degree in urban transport, urban studies, civil engineering, environment, engineering or related field, PhD will be an asset (minimum qualification requirement: Master's degree - 8 points, PhD - additional 2 points).

Experience:

• Minimum 10 years of progressive experience in urban transport planning and development, urban planning and development, civil engineering, energy, environment, engineering and in addition experience related to climate change mitigation projects (minimum qualification requirement: 10 years - 5 points, more than 10 years - additional 5 points);
• Minimum 5 years of experience with results-based management evaluation methodologies (minimum qualification requirement: 5 points);
• Proven experience applying SMART indicators and reconstructing or validating baseline scenarios (minimum qualification requirement: 5 points);
• Experience in working with the GEF or GEF-evaluations will be a strong advantage (5 points);
• Prior knowledge and experience of the political, social and environmental factors and issues related to urban transport planning and management in Georgia will be a strong advantage but not required (5 points);
• Experience working on urban transport planning and development, urban planning and development, civil engineering, energy, environment, engineering issues in the Eastern Europe & CIS will be a strong advantage (5 points);
• Project evaluation / review experience within UN system will be an asset (5 points).

Language requirements:

• Fluency in English.

Evaluation:

The award of the contract will be made to the Individual Consultant who has obtained the highest Combined Score. Only those applications which are responsive and compliant will be evaluated. The offers will be evaluated using the “Combined Scoring method” consisting of technical (70 points) and financial (30 points) evaluation, while technical consisting of desk review (50 points) and interview (20 points). 

Offerors passing 70% threshold of maximum obtainable scores 50 points as the result of the desk review, i.e. obtaining minimum 35 points, will be long listed and invited for an interview. Those offerors passing 70% threshold of maximum obtainable scores i.e. obtaining minimum 49 points as the result of the technical evaluation (desk review and interview) will be shortlisted and requested to provide financial proposal.

Financial proposal:

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum. Payments are based upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR.  All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel.  In general, UNDP does not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources. In order, to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount.