United Nations Development Programme INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT PROCUREMENT NOTICE 2019/UNDP-MMR/PN/002 Date: 10 January 2019 Country: Myanmar Description of the assignment: Duty Station: Period of assignment/services: National Consultant on Comparison of Union Government and EAO Forest Policy Documents Home based, with travel to Naypyitaw and other locations as required 45 working days Proposal should be submitted to the Procurement Unit, UNDP Myanmar, No. 6 Natmauk Road, Tamwe, Yangon or by email to bids.mm@undp.org; no later than 17:00 PM, Friday, 25 January 2019. Any request for clarification must be sent in writing, or by standard electronic communication to the address or e-mail indicated above. Procurement Unit will respond in writing or by standard electronic mail and will send written copies of the response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all consultants. BACKGROUND Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAO s) are key stakeholders in the Myanmar REDD+ Programme, since the decision hs been made that REDD+ will be implemented at the national scale, and significant areas of forests are under the control of EAO s. Engagement with EAO s, by its very nature, is complex and involves multiple challenges. There are three basic categories of EAOs: Those which have signed the National Ceasefire Agreement (10, as of the end of 2018) Those which have not signed, but which have bilateral ceasefire agreements Those which are active combatants Ceasefires break down, so EAO s may change categories. Some EAO s act as a de facto government in the areas they control, whereas others act more in the the way of promoting selfinterest. From the perspective of REDD+, there is little justification to engage with EAO s holding no, or only insignificant amounts of territory, and similarly there is little point in trying to engage with those which are not interested in governing their territory. Therefore, the UN-REDD Programme has prioritized engagement with EAOs that have signed the NCA, control
United Nations Development Programme significant amounts of territory, and have internal governance structures related to forest management. Article 25 of the NCA calls for cooperation between the Union Government and NCA signatories in a number of areas, including environmental conservation. The Pyidaungsu Accord also established a number of agreements related to the land and environment sector, including: A countrywide land policy that is balanced and supports people centered long-term sustainable development Based on justice and appropriateness A policy that reduces central control Policy on land matters should be transparent and clear In setting up policy for land development, the desire of the local people is a priority In initial engagements between the UN-REDD Programme and priority EAO s, the issue of policies and regulations guiding REDD+ implementation was raised. Some EAO s have their own Forest Policy, or other environmental regulations, which may differ from those of the Union Government. However, no analysis has been conducted of the extent to which such documents may differ in substance. 2. SCOPE OF WORK, RESPONSIBILITIES AND DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED ANALYTICAL WORK For detailed information, please refer to Annex-1 3. REQUIREMENTS FOR EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS Please see Terms of Reference 4. DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS. Interested individual Consultant must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications: a) Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP; (Please see Template attached at Annex- 3) b) Personal CV or P11, indicating the past experience relevant to the assignment, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references; (Please see Template attached at Annex- 4) c) Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment, and a methodology, if applicable, on how he/she will approach and complete the assignment;
United Nations Development Programme Financial Proposal ** Consultant/Contractor whose assignment require travel and who are over 62 years of age are required, at their own expense, to undergo a full medical examination, including x-rays after they are selected. 5. FINANCIAL PROPOSAL Fees 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. Travels All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel. In general, UNDP will not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses will be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed. (Please see Template attached at Annex- 4) 6. EVALUATION Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis of the technical evaluation 70 and financial criteria 30. Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% of 70 points from the technical evaluation would be considered for the financial evaluation. Education 10 points Master s degree in natural resource management, economics, social science, or other closely related fields; Experience 50 points At least 6 years of experience related to sustainable development; Demonstrated knowledge of climate change, sustainable development and environmental management issues;
United Nations Development Programme Language Requirements 10 points Fluency in written and spoken Burmese and English; Knowledge of one or more ethnic languages is an asset. Financial Evaluation of Proposals: The financial proposals of all the applicants who pass the technical evaluation will be scored. The maximum 30 points will be allotted to the lowest financial bid, and all other bids shall receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest fee e.g. [30 Points] x [USD lowest] / [USD other] = points for other proposer s fees The contract shall be awarded to the applicant who receives the highest cumulative score. ANNEX ANNEX 1- TERMS OF REFERENCES (TOR) ANNEX 2 -GENERAL CONDITIONS OF CONTRACT ANNEX 3 - P 11 for ICs ANNEX 4 - OFFEROR S LETTER TO UNDP CONFIRMING INTEREST AND AVAILABILITY FOR THE INDIVIDUAL CONTRACTOR (IC) ASSIGNMENT
United Nations Development Programme Myanmar Terms of Reference National Consultant on Comparison of Union Government and EAO Forest Policy Documents Project Title: Type of Contract: UN-REDD/Myanmar Individual Contract Duration: 45 days over the period of 4 months starting in March 2019 Location: Home based, with travel to Nay Pyi Taw and other locations as required Background Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAO s) are key stakeholders in the Myanmar REDD+ Programme, since the decision hs been made that REDD+ will be implemented at the national scale, and significant areas of forests are under the control of EAO s. Engagement with EAO s, by its very nature, is complex and involves multiple challenges. There are three basic categories of EAOs: Those which have signed the National Ceasefire Agreement (10, as of the end of 2018) Those which have not signed, but which have bilateral ceasefire agreements Those which are active combatants Ceasefires break down, so EAO s may change categories. Some EAO s act as a de facto government in the areas they control, whereas others act more in the the way of promoting self-interest. From the perspective of REDD+, there is little justification to engage with EAO s holding no, or only insignificant amounts of territory, and similarly there is little point in trying to engage with those which are not interested in governing their territory. Therefore, the UN-REDD Programme has prioritized engagement with EAOs that have signed the NCA, control significant amounts of territory, and have internal governance structures related to forest management. Article 25 of the NCA calls for cooperation between the Union Government and NCA signatories in a number of areas, including environmental conservation. The Pyidaungsu Accord also established a number of agreements related to the land and environment sector, including: 1
A countrywide land policy that is balanced and supports people centered longterm sustainable development Based on justice and appropriateness A policy that reduces central control Policy on land matters should be transparent and clear In setting up policy for land development, the desire of the local people is a priority In initial engagements between the UN-REDD Programme and priority EAO s, the issue of policies and regulations guiding REDD+ implementation was raised. Some EAO s have their own Forest Policy, or other environmental regulations, which may differ from those of the Union Government. However, no analysis has been conducted of the extent to which such documents may differ in substance. Scope of Work The Consultant will collate and compile all regulatory documents produced by EAO s (note: not necessarily limited to NCA signatories) that are pertinent to the land and natural resources sector. These include, but are not limited to Forest Policies or laws, Land Policies or laws, Protected Areas Policies, regulations or laws, Community Forestry Instructions or equivalent, and Sustainable Development Policies or regulations. The Consultant will also collate and compile equivalent Union Government documents, including, but not necessarily limited to: Forest Law 2018 and draft Forest Rules 2019 Conservation of Biodiversity and Protected Areas Law 2018 and draft CBPA Rules 2019 VFV Land Amendment Law 2018 and Rule 2018 National Land Policy 2016 Community Forestry Instructions 2016 The Consultant will then develop a draft analytical framework including a tabular summary of principles or objectives that are being pursued through the Union Government policy/regulatory documents. This draft framework will be discussed and agreed with the UN-REDD Chief Technical Advisor. The Consultant will summarize, in the approved tabular form, the principles or objectives that are being pursued in each section of the Union Government documents. The Consultant will then analyze the relevant EAO documents to identify: Where there are substantive differences from Union Government documents; Where differences are only in the form of wording; 2
Where there are principles or objectives incorporated into EAO documents that are missing from Union Government documents; and Where there are principles or objectives in Union Government documents that are missing in EAO documents. Expected Outputs/Deliverables A draft analytical framework for discussion and agreement with the UN-REDD chief Technical Advisor; An analysis of the areas of alignment and areas of disagreement between Union Government policies/regulations and individual EAO policies/regulations. Institutional Arrangements The study will be conducted as a partnership and under the co-supervision of UNDP in close collaboration with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (Forest Department). The UN-REDD National Programme will provide facilitation and technical backstopping, in connection with other related processes. The UN-REDD Project Management Unit (PMU) will provide technical advice on the methodological approach throughout the study. All data collected, results and outputs of the study will be transferred to UNDP by the Consultant. Duration of the Assignment 45 working days (1 st March 30 th June 2019) Degree of Expertise and Qualifications Master s degree in natural resource management, economics, social science, or other closely related fields; At least 6 years of experience related to sustainable development; Demonstrated knowledge of climate change, sustainable development and environmental management issues; Excellence in English language is required; knowledge of one or more ethnic languages is an asset. Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner. 1. Acceptance of a draft analytical framework (20%) 3
2. Acceptance of a report on analysis of the areas of alignment and areas of disagreement between Union Government policies/regulations and individual EAO policies/regulations (60%) If duty travels are expected, UNDP will provide economy class air fares where feasible, or bus fares where necessary and the UN s Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) rates prevailing at the time of sourcing, for the duty station and all other cities indicated in the TOR as part of duty travel destinations. In case of any delays to achieve the expected outputs, the Consultant should notify the UN-REDD Chief Technical Advisor in advance to take necessary steps. Evaluation of Applicants Applicants will be evaluated based upon the offer which gives the best value for money based on the Lump Sum proposal submitted, selected by the UNDP Myanmar Country Office in consultation with the UN-REDD Chief Technical Advisor. The Technical and the Financial Proposal submitted to by the Consultants will be evaluated on the basis of the weight of the technical criteria [70] and of the financial proposal [30]. The evaluation will be performed in two stages: Stage One (Technical Evaluation of Proposals). All Individual Contractors proposals comprising the information/documentation provided will be evaluated to ascertain the suitability of the individual contractors to carry out the assignment. Candidates who obtain the minimum of 49 points of the full mark (70 points) will be considered technically compliant and their financial evaluations will be evaluated thereafter. Stage Two (Financial Evaluation). The financial proposals of all the individual contractors who pass stage one will be evaluated. The maximum 30 points will be allotted to the lowest financial bid, and all other bids shall receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest fee e.g. [30 Points] x [USD lowest] / [USD other] = points for other proposer s fees The award of contract shall be based on the individual contractor who receives the highest cumulative score. Technical criteria The following criteria will be used to evaluate the individual contractors technical proposals: Education 10 points 4
Master s degree in natural resource management, economics, social science, or other closely related fields; Experience 50 points At least 6 years of experience related to sustainable development; Demonstrated knowledge of climate change, sustainable development and environmental management issues; Language Requirements 10 points Fluency in written and spoken Burmese and English; Knowledge of one or more ethnic languages is an asset. 5