Back Coordinator of the Rural Development Network and Civic Committee

Background

Article 333 of the Association Agreement (Cooperation between the Parties in the field of agriculture and rural development) provides with the clauses on ‘facilitating the mutual understanding of agricultural and rural development policies’. Article 332 of the Association Agreement states that the “Parties shall cooperate to promote agricultural and rural development, in particular through progressive convergence of policies and legislation”. A National Rural Development Strategy elaboration process has been supported by FAO and UNDP and with UNDP’s support to Ajara Autonomous Republic of Georgia within the framework of EU supported ENPARD. Government of Georgia approved the first ever National Rural Development Strategy (Programme) in December 2016, which provided country’s vision for the coming years (2017-2020) in key areas of rural development – growth and diversification of local economies, improvement of social and public services, increase of employment and sustainable use of national resources. The strategy represents a new approach to rural development in Georgia grounded on the European Union practice and the EU Member State (MS) knowledge and experience in this field.

The adoption of the national strategy was followed by the establishment of an Inter-Agency Coordination Council (hereinafter referred to as IACC) for Rural Development which is led by the Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture of Georgia. With the objective to support multi-stakeholder dialogue and cooperation among government and non-government actors, there is formal consultation process that seeks to take broad stakeholder voices in the delivery of Rural Development Strategy, however the stakeholder consultation procedures have not been formalized in detail, IACC still needs to shift from a suggested and loosely defined good practice to a well codified obligatory task, well integrated in the functioning of the public institutions involved in RD policy implementation. The formal mechanisms for CSO participation in the work of IACC still needs to be enhanced through a strengthened, more formalized structure for engagement. It is expected that participatory planning will continue to be used as a mechanism for civic activation and inclusive decision-making through the UNDP project “Improving Rural Development in Georgia” (IRDG) under EU-funded ENPARD III.

More recently was established the Civic Committee (hereinafter – the Committee) organized under the IACC for Rural Development. Committee is the consultative body between IACC and relevant stakeholders of Rural Development, to promote dialogue and information exchange as well as involving stakeholders in the implementation of the Rural Development Strategy. The Committee is set up by amending the decree of the Government of Georgia on the establishment of IACC.

The core functions of the Civic Committee are related to consultation on Agriculture and Rural Development strategies, priorities and action plan, projects and reviewing their implementation status. Respective monitoring information is provided on physical and financial indicators, number of submitted applications, approved / rejected applications, sector specific difficulties occurred. It is also committee’s objective to propose recommendations to modify existing projects and to initiate new projects related to ARD strategy

The successful implementation of the rural development policy in Georgia requires : technical support to national agencies and relevant frontline departments in increasing effectiveness, efficiency and performance of the RD policy/strengthening the strategic approach; ensuring better coordination and complementarity with other policy areas; enhancing RD policy potential to better address specific development needs of rural areas; making RD intervention logic more user friendly  and supportive for beneficiaries; and facilitating the movement of labour out of agriculture to sectors with higher productivity.

With the objective to support multi-stakeholder dialogue and cooperation among government and non-government actors, it is crucial to exist the network of initiatives and stakeholders involved in agriculture and rural development such as the Georgian Rural Development Network (GRDN). The On-line GRDN platform is created also to Promote transfer of know-how and the exchange of experience at national level. As one of the core functions GRDN will increase awareness about benefits of ARDSG and its measures and will cooperate to increase the access funding opportunities, showcase successful projects and encourage innovation; The main objectives of support office is to Promote transnational cooperation, incl. exchanging information with European Network for Rural Development (ENRD) and National Rural Networks (NRNs) in each EU Member State.

Duties and Responsibilities

The overall objective of the consultancy is to support the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia in the work of the Civil Committee under the Inter-Agency Coordination Council for Rural Development of Georgia as well as perform the function of supporting GRDN online platform operations via supporting the Ministry in site management and other network related matters. 

The consultant will work with the Capacity Development Coordinator under the direct supervision of the National Project Manager and the Project Technical Leader of “Improving Rural Development in Georgia” Project in close collaboration with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia.

The major tasks and responsibilities of the consultant shall include, but not be limited to:

• Provide on-job support to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia in Informing and Connecting rural development stakeholders throughout Georgia through virtual media/GRDN website:
• Develop and agree a workplan of the Network, including event’s calendar, collection and dissemination of case studies/success stories and sort relevant information material for the GRDN platform;
• Provide support in ensuring dissemination of latest policy decisions and programmes in electronic and other audio-visual forms in order to promote the objectives and activities of the Network;
• Provide of support in organizing/co-organizing thematic events and conferences in cooperation with development partners;
• Provide technical assistance for gathering information and deepening cooperation with the European Network for Rural Development and participation of MEPA’s respective staff at events organized by ENRD and National Rural Networks of EU Member/Candidate States;
• Plan and conduct e-mail surveys of GRDN subscribers to help evaluate the benefit of network activities;
• Provide support in developing and further improving modus operandi of the Civic Committee established under the Inter-Agency Coordination Council of Rural Development;
• Develop and agree a workplan of the Civic Committee, facilitate information exchange and cooperation among rural development non-government stakeholders;
• Support in liaising with respective international stakeholders, professional and organizational network organizations for establishing lasting partnerships to cooperate in areas of common interest and application of good practices in rural development;
• Provide support to the newly established Civic Committee for strengthening its functions and effectiveness;
• Provide technical assistance for gathering information and deepening cooperation with similar Committees (Monitoring Committees) established in the EU Member/Candidate States;
• Provide of support in developing and further improving modus operandi for the Civic Committee established under the Inter-Agency Coordination Council of Rural Development;
• Ensure elaboration of high-quality inputs for the reports, briefs and other papers related to the work of Civic Committee;
• Perform other relevant duties as required in connection with GRDN and Civic Committee.

Deliverables:

The Consultant should submit the following deliverables:

• Inception report on GRDN and Civic Committee, incl. information collected about ENRD, European NRNs and Monitoring Committees; Agreed Work Plan of GRDN and Civic Committee (June 2020) – 10%;
• Inception Report on effective management of GRDN web-site content (July 2020) – 10%;
• Progress report on the work of Civic Committee and its Secretariat with recommendations (Aug 2020) – 10%;
• Progress report on GRDN web-site sustainability issues/problems encountered, if any (Sep 2020) – 10%;
• Organization of at least one annual GRDN event and working paper summarizing the discussions and conclusions of the event(s) (October 2020) – 10%;
• Organization of Civic Committee meeting(s) and working paper summarizing the discussions and conclusions of the meeting(s) (November 2020) – 10%;
• Annual report on effective management of GRDN website, incl. list of information material (Dec 2020) – 10%;
• Annual report on effective support provided to the Civic Committee, incl. meeting minutes (Jan 2021) – 10%;
• Final report on the work of GRDN and Civic Committee (including updated workplans) and analysis about ENRD, European NRNs and EU MS Monitoring Committees (Feb 2021) – 10%;
• Report on sustainability, summarizing the results and main observations as well as recommendations for further strengthening Civic Committee and GRDN platform (Mar 2021) – 10%.

Payment modality:

Payments are based upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. The payments will be produced upon submission of progress reports and confirmation by UNDP of high-quality performance.

The consultant will work with the Capacity Development Coordinator under the direct supervision of the National Project Manager and the Project Technical Leader of “Improving Rural Development in Georgia” Project in close collaboration with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia.

Competencies

Corporate competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN's values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional competencies:

Knowledge management and learning:

• Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more Practice Areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills.

Development and operational effectiveness:

• Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
• Ability to lead formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development programmes and projects, mobilize resources;
• Strong IT skills, particularly with MS Office and databases;
• Excellent written and oral presentation skills.

Management and leadership:

• Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Leads teams effectively and shows conflict resolution skills;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
• Builds strong relationships with clients and external actors;
• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in public administration, public policy, agriculture and rural development, economics and business administration or related field, Master's degree in the same disciplines will be an asset (minimum requirement: Bachelor's degree - 8 points, Master's degree - additional 6 points).

Experience:

• At least 3 years of professional experience either in public or non-government sector on local/rural development issues (minimum requirement: 10 points);
• Prior experience of working in multi-stakeholder environment such as coordination mechanisms, forums, networks or similar formats (minimum requirement: 10 points);
• Experience of working with international organizations or donor funded projects will be a strong asset (6 points).

Language Requirements: 

• Knowedlge of Georgian and English languages.

Evaluation:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the cumulative scoring analysis against combination of technical and financial criteria. Technical evaluation stage encompasses desk review and interview of applications. Experts not meeting any of minimum technical qualification requirements will be automatically excluded from the list of candidates for further technical evaluation. Maximum obtainable score is 100, out of which the total score for technical criteria equals to 70 points (70%) and for financial criteria 30 (30%). Technical criteria composed of desk review (40 points) and interview (30 points). Offerors who pass 70% of maximum obtainable scores of the desk review (i.e. 40 x 70% = 28 points because of a desk review of applications will be invited for the interview. Those offerors who pass 70% of maximum obtainable scores for interviews of (i.e. 30x 70% = 21 points) will be considered as short-listed offerors and requested to provide financail proposals.

Financial proposal:

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum with the breakdown of costs. Payments are based upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR.