Background

The local Government Initiative on Climate Change (LoGIC) project has been supporting the government of Bangladesh to address climate change impacts leading to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The impact of climate change is evident in some ecosystems mostly in the coast (Patuakhali, Bhola, Barguna, Bagerhat and Khulna) and north (Kurigram and Sunamganj) region where LoGIC is being implemented. These areas are highly exposed to the climatic hazards like cyclone, tidal surge, salinity, riverbank erosion, flood, and flash flood. The efforts of Local Government Division supported by EU, Sweden, UNDP and UNCDF in Bangladesh are creating results gradually under several adaptation projects like LoGIC.

By achieving objectives and results, the project will contribute reduction of vulnerability and poverty in Bangladesh. The project is expected to produce following results:

Strengthened capacity of vulnerable people and local stakeholders for accountable planning and financing on CCA/DRR actions for building resilience.

Enhanced access of LGIs and vulnerable households to climate funds are in place for climate resilient infrastructures and adaptive livelihoods.

Established evidence-based advocacy for a mechanism for ‘financing local resilience’.

To address the vulnerabilities of Bangladesh to climate change, the project envisages the following priority areas of action:

Building capacities of individuals and households with information, knowledge, skills, and technology to adapt to climate change as well as leadership skills to influence the local planning process.

Build capacity of the local NGOs, CBOs, local institutions and LGIs in climate change integrated planning, budgeting, and implementation with high degree of accountability and inclusive practice.

Provide funds to LGIs and vulnerable households to plan and implement climate resilient activities and interventions at community and household level.

Generate knowledge and mobilize opinion for shaping a Local Climate Fiscal Framework and enhance readiness of both LGIs and the Local Government Division to utilize national and international climate finance in an accountable way.

Working Area of LoGIC:

The table below shows the targeted Unions in the project working area:

OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The main objective of the assignment is to provide advisory support to the project in the policy advocacy arena. The specific objectives are:

1. Mapping of key policy reform required for sustaining the results of LoGIC and scaling up the LoGIC within the Local Government Division’s Portfolio.
2. Identify key policy barriers and policy solutions to foster gender responsive (transformative if possible) locally led adaptation in all climates vulnerable LGIs in Bangladesh.
3. Identify key policy barriers and policy solutions to thrive the cooperatives registered in assistance of LoGIC project.
4. Facilitate identifying the appropriate legal or policy provision for establishing an ‘Adaptation Innovation Centre’.
5. Identify scopes for taking the large-scale enterprise by LoGIC beneficiaries and facilitate solving or overcoming legal or policy barriers if arises. 
6. Work closely with Key Ministries (LGD, FID, FD, ERD, MoDMR, RDC, PMO-PPPA and BIDA) and agencies (IDRA, Bangladesh Bank, Security Exchange Commission, Department of Cooperative) in exploring, experimenting and solution mapping of the frontier’s challenges identified for local led adaptation.
7. Facilitate the policy advocacy agenda of LoGIC Project. This includes climate vulnerability-based resource allocation to LGIs, concessional and risk financing to the adaptive livelihoods of the climate vulnerable people and ‘Local Climate Fiscal Framework’
8. Advocate for innovative financing for nature-based solutions and biodiversity promotive adaptation options to financing institutions.
9. Inclusion of climate vulnerability in fiscal inter-governmental transfer flow of LGD.
10. Facilitate mainstreaming of climate change into local level planning and financing process, policy, and systems.
11. Identify and build on best practices and learning from LoGIC on a national level scale up.
12. Raise profile of LoGIC within GoB and Private Sector actors. 
13. Identify advocacy issues, develop policy brief, and facilitate policy dialogue with stakeholders.
14. Support management to identify new projects, areas of intervention, innovative approaches as well as flag likely overlaps, duplications, gaps and risk factors. Suggest solutions, where appropriate.
15. Contribute to the development of knowledge products

DESCRIPTION OF THE ASSIGNMENT 

LoGIC will promote local action on climate change adaptation at scale. Bangladesh is ranked 5th among the 10 countries of the world most affected by climate change and disasters. It is experiencing a change in weather patterns and in the occurrence of extreme events like cyclones and floods and rising sea levels. These events exacerbate poverty and vulnerability of people on a regular basis The Government of Bangladesh recognizes the severity of climate change and is working to mainstream related concerns into the national development policy, planning and financing. However, in the absence of a specific climate change policy, this sector is served by several sectoral policies which also shape the expenditure pattern in the national budget. While the local government institutions (LGIs) are mandated to implement many actions related to climate effects, these actions do not figure in the local plans as climate-proofing initiatives. Moreover, the local planning process does not adequately engage communities and vulnerable people to reflect their needs and demands. LOGIC project will enhance the capacity of local government institutions, vulnerable communities, and civil society organisations for effective and inclusive local level planning and financing climate change adaptation solutions in selected climate-vulnerable areas.

Approach:

          LoGIC will focus on identifying the appropriate advocacy opportunities that can be effectively targeted during the project lifetime, e.g the upcoming national adaptation plan, updated climate fiscal framework, and country framework for green climate fund. This assignment will develop a project advocacy strategy to identify specific evidence-based massage and opportunities to inform policy, planning, and practice and to scale up the project models.

          To achieve project output-Experience and evidence to inform and contribute to further improvements in policies and practices for UPs and national systems in relation to climate change adaptation project will support the development and publication of series of policy briefs, which is concise summary of policy points derived from practices to inform the policymakers. One issue will bring the highest two policy options to deal with for learning and advocacy. It will be aimed at government policymakers and others who are interested in formulating or influencing policy regarding climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, community-based adaptations, climate change financing, and related issues. The project will capture intervention-specific lessons from the local level interventions throughout the project’s life cycle to inform the policymakers about the project outcome. Informing and advocating for the adoption of national policies and integrated local climate fiscal framework lessons into the national climate fiscal framework is the also the key intervention of the project under policy advocacy spheres.                                                                                                                    

Duties and Responsibilities

SCOPE OF WORK

The main work will be to identify key policy barriers, mapping key policy solutions, and facilitate the policy advocacy agenda on behalf of the LoGIC project. However, the scope of work to perform the key tasks will include, but will not necessarily be limited    to the services described below:

Desk review: Review the project and other relevant documents, policies, and plans of GoB, UN Agencies, and Climate Change Stakeholders.

Inception Report: Organize an inception meeting with PMU and other stakeholders to present the approach and methodology of developing the framework and guidelines including tools, dissemination plan, tasks, budgets, deadlines, and logistical sequences. The results of the meeting should be captured in the inception report, which will be formally approved by PMU.

Understanding the LoGIC Approach: Understand the LoGIC project thematic areas and dynamics of the interventions on community-level climate change adaptation linked actions and household-level climate adaptive livelihood options.

Expected Outputs/Deliverables

The following deliverables will be required in the completion of this assignment:

Institutional Arrangement

The Consultant will report directly to the Programme Coordinator, LoGIC Project who will provide day-to-day technical guidance. The relevant UNDP Country Office Programme Manager and National Project Director (NPD) will be responsible for overall strategic guidance. The progress will be monitored based on the timelines and milestones indicated and agreed upon in the agreement.

The Consultant will use his/her own personal equipment, UNDP/LoGIC will not provide camera, laptop/computer or any other IT equipment. For this short assignment, the consultant will use her/his own email address. UNDP will not provide @undp.org email address. If required, the consultant can use LoGIC Project office space and internet access during regular office hours.

In consultation with PMU/DCCC/DCFC and DDLGs, the Consultant should arrange all the logistics for the assignment, such as travel and accommodation If required, and should include all costs related to travel in the financial offer.

Duration of the Work and Duty Station

The duration of the assignment will be 100 working days spread over seven months from the date of the contract issuance, as per the proposed design.

The duty station will be Dhaka, Bangladesh

Competencies

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities skills.
• Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback.
• Ability to plan, organize, implement, and report on work.
• Ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines.
• Comprehensiveness knowledge of climate change.
• Proficiency in the use of office IT applications and internet in conducting research.
• Outstanding communication skills.
• Excellent presentation and facilitation skills.
• Positive, constructive attitude to work
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Required Skills and Experience

Education :

The consultant should have the following minimum eligibility criteria:

• Master’s degree in relevant disciplines, Public Administration, Development Studies, Environmental Sciences (Atmospheric Physics, Geography, Geology, Agriculture, Hydrology, Oceanography, Soil science, biological sciences), Climate Change, Disaster Risk Management, or Social Sciences (anthropology, sociology, political science).

 Work Experience:

• Minimum 7 years of experience with at least 5 years in the field of public policy or in the LGD
• Minimum 7 years of working experience with Local Government systems and climate change effects in Bangladesh.
• Minimum 5 years of working experience in facilitating design for public services, social innovation, and translating insights into solutions.
• Experience in delivering strategic insight and analysis on communications and media strategies relevant to the development sector; and a solid record of managing complex and challenging partnerships with governments and international partners.
• Experience in working on policy advocacy and climate change issues.

Note: Please highlight relevant experiences in your CV presenting the respective expertise mentioned above. Must submit a list of similar tasks done with the name and contact details of the employer and relevant samples of similar campaign design and attached with a proposal as evidence.

Language: Fluency in English and Bangla language is required.

Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

The consultant must send a financial proposal quoting the following:

• Daily Fee for the contract period.
• Estimated all travel/transport/communication/medical-related costs to the assignment.
• Payments shall be done in installments based on actual days worked, upon verification of completion of deliverables.

Travel:

UNDP will not be liable to arrange any travel, required in this assignment. The consultant will have to arrange his/her own travel and accommodation and all travel-related expenses

Evaluation method and criteria

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology

Cumulative analysis

The award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

1. responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
2. Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

• Technical Criteria weight; [70%]
• Financial Criteria weight; [30%]

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 point or 70% would be considered for the Financial Evaluation

Technical Criteria for Evaluation (Maximum 70 points)

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Documentation Required:

DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. All the documents should be grouped into one (1) single PDF document as the application only allows to upload maximum one document:

1. Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP in Annex II.
2. Personal CV and/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. Financial proposal, including fees, travel cost, DSA, workshop arrangement like snacks, folders, papers and other relevant expenses: as per template provided in Annex II.

1) The financial proposal shall specify a total delivery amount (in BDT) including consultancy fees and all associated costs) i.e. travel cost, subsistence per diems, printing costs, consultation workshop and interview costs and overhead recharges.

2) In order to assist UNDP in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this amount. This must at least specify: the daily rates and number of anticipated working days, any travel costs and overhead recharges. Payments will be based upon the deliverables specified in the ToR. The cost of preparing a proposal and of negotiating a contract, including any related travel, is not reimbursable as a direct cost of the assignment.

Note: Incomplete proposals may not be considered

The Consultant must submit a detail financial proposal and a summary budget as per the template.

Annexure:

Template-Confirmation of Interest and Availability with Financial Offer
Personal History Form or P11 for the IC Hiring
General Terms and Conditions of Hiring an IC