International consultant to support the Rural Development Agency in the process of introducing IACS components for agriculture and rural development of Georgia

Consultant

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Background

Rural development is a process that delivers improvements in the quality of life and economic well-being of people living in relatively isolated and sparsely populated rural areas. Rural development, traditionally, has focused on the exploitation of land-intensive natural resources, such as agriculture and forestry. However, changes in global production networks, increased urbanization and dynamic links between rural and urban environments have changed the character of rural areas. Increasingly tourism, niche products and recreation have replaced resource extraction and agriculture as dominant economic factors.

The need for rural communities to approach development from a wider perspective has created more focus on a broad range of development goals rather than merely creating incentives for agricultural or resource-based businesses. Education, entrepreneurship, physical and social infrastructure, biodiversity protection and enhancement, climate change adaptation and mitigation all play an important role in developing rural regions. Rural development is also characterized by its emphasis on locally produced economic development strategies.

The EU signed an Association Agreement (AA) with Georgia in June 2014. This aims to deepen political and economic relations between the parties and to gradually integrate Georgia into the EU’s internal market. This entails, as one element, creating a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) between the EU and Georgia. Under Article 333 of the Association Agreement (Cooperation between the Parties in the field of agriculture and rural development), there is provision for ‘facilitating the mutual understanding of agricultural and rural development policies’. This was the basis for the formulation of a Rural Development Strategy for Georgia which will in turn yield specification of measures which will benefit from funding under the European Neighborhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD).

Rural development has an important role to play in the sustainable development of Georgia. The need for rural communities to approach development from a wider perspective has created more focus on a broad range of development goals rather than merely creating incentive for agriculture development. The goal of the Rural Development Policy of Georgia is to support sustainable economic development through enhanced socio-economic activities in rural areas and improved living condition of rural population. The policy provides the country’s vision related to the key areas of rural development – growth and diversification of local economies, improvement of social and public services and sustainable use of national resources.

Under ENPARD III, UNDP Georgia supported the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia (MEPA) in development of Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy for 2021-2027. With this support, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia (MEPA), is gradually progressing in implementation of a coherent Agriculture and Rural Development Policy. MEPA takes steady steps in enforcement of solely rural development related programs and projects. The overall objective of the project is to enhance rural economic activities in a diversified, competitive and sustainable environment benefiting from gender equality mainstreaming and advocacy. Specific objectives are: (1) To promote non-agriculture entrepreneurial activities which in turn will stimulate local economic development, improve social-economic conditions in rural areas and create new jobs; and (2) Foster environment protection in rural areas, sustainable use of natural resources and promotion of climate change measures.

The Commission advised and requested all Member States to adopt CAP Strategic Plans for 2021-2027 in line with the Commission’s individual sets of recommendations annexed as Staff Working Documents to COM (2021) 846. The Commission provided aggregate summaries of its specific recommendations to each individual Member States for achieving the Green Deal targets and those stemming from the Farm to Fork Strategy and the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. In addition, Member States were instructed to include actions and plans to make their CAP Strategic plans more “Fit for the Purpose” by 3.1. Integrating the Green Deal in the CAP Strategic Plans; 3.3. Reinforcing the partnership principle.

The ongoing UNDP project “Improving Rural Development in Georgia” (IRDG) support under EU-funded ENPARD III is instrumental in assisting the Government (Inter-Agency Coordination Council for Rural Development - IACC) in its endeavor to develop the institutional and human capacities for managing rural development sector and gradually bringing into alignment with the EU policy framework and CAP rules – basic regulations.

UNDP has been supporting the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture (MEPA) concerning institutional set up of the following separate authorities, operating in close cooperation: (i) the Managing Authority, being a public body acting at national level, to be in charge of strategic programming, designing measures, including implementation procedures and their publicity, the coordination, monitoring and evaluation and managed by a senior official with exclusive responsibilities; and (ii) the subordinate entity Rural Development Agency (RDA) with functions of a similar nature as a IPARD/Paying Agency in the Candidate and Member States being in charge of application processing/selection of projects as well as authorisation, OTS inspection, Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS), accounting of commitments, payments and the execution.

On 18 November 2020, MEPA has established an intra-ministerial working group “on institutional reform of RD policy management system in Georgia”, which is chaired by the Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture (order N2-1072). The Working Group has approved a three-year Institutional Reform Action Plan (2021-2024) on 7 April 2021, as a result, RDA is undertaking institutional reform covering areas such as: (1) Administration and payment operations management system incl. system for managing the application verification, evaluation and authorization process; (2) Fundamental changes in monitoring and control system (regional on-the-spot inspections and overall monitoring data management) and (3) Introduction the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) incl. Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS-GIS).

The project is part of the EU supported nation-wide programme “European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development” (ENPARD) phase III and contributes to the main purpose of ENPARD III, which is to promote inclusive and sustainable growth and development, creating employment and livelihoods for the poor and excluded, and to the achievement of results related to improvement of institutional capacities for the implementation of the Rural Development Strategy; improvement of rural economic diversification, employment and services; and Improvement of environment, sustainable management of natural resources and climate action.

Duties and Responsibilities

The overall objective of this consultancy is to support RDA to follow and be able to plan interventions that support the Government of Georgia from coping to improving and accelerating compliance with EU IPARD systems – IACS/IT elements and operations requirements. The consultant will work under the direct supervision of UNDP Economic Development Team Leader and “Improving Rural Development in Georgia” National Project Manager.

The below listed tasks of the incumbent shall be performed in close coordination with RDA and UNDP Project Capacity Development Coordinator and include the following:

1. Guide the work of the permanent working group, through inter-agency cooperation model, established to oversee the process of introducing IACS components in compliance with the horizontal EU regulation (new CAP reform) No 1126/2021 articles 9.2. (Accreditation of paying agency functions), 66 (Elements of the integrated system) and the new strategic plan regulation article 113 (Governance and coordination system).

The permanent working group is composed of the following key institutions:

• Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia (MEPA).
• Rural Development Agency of Georgia (RDA).
• National Food Agency (NFA).
• National Agency for Land Use and Management (NALUM).
• National Wine Agency (NWA).
• National Agency of Public Registry (NAPR).

2. Support the work of the working group by providing expert input on activities needed to deliver the desired outputs envisaged by the IT/IACS development recommended action priorities and action plan for 2021 to 2023, which cover:

1. Farm register (Beneficiary register) module that allows unique farm identification throughout the country’s territory, being responsible for integrating all other registers including animal data. The Farm Register shall provide a link to the specific farm’s applications into the Application Processing programmes Management System (APMS). The Aid Application module shall be able to prefill most of the data required, by automatically fetching the data from Farm Registry with the Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) and the Animal Registration and Identification System.
2. Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) which will uniquely identify each agricultural parcel and units of land containing non-agricultural area considered eligible for receiving the aid (areas claimed for payments). Together with the Farm Register, LPIS data shall be used also as a reliable source for statistics on supporting agriculture and rural development programmes. The identification system for agricultural parcels referred to in Article 68 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 shall operate at reference parcel level and include information allowing the exchange of data with the geo-spatial aid application and the area monitoring system. LPIS shall have the following referenced requirements: compulsory use of Geographical Information System (GIS), use of orthophoto and digital terrain model (DTM), meeting the national cartographic standards and standardised measurement.
3. Dashboard, Business Intelligence Reporting (DBI&R) which will enable reporting and data mining by using proven business intelligence tools, which will enable a sure with limited IT knowledge to build reports, statistics and printouts on supporting policy makers Managing Authority of MEPA on targeting agriculture and rural development programmes with the real needs of Georgia.
4. Application Programmes Management System (APMS) which will provide means of creating and registering applications for different types of national programme claims including external aid programmes. APMS will enable and configure any eligibility criteria and programmes to conduct basic operations on applications. APMS will enable users to create application processing according with the controls and on-the-spot checks (OTSC).
5. Area Monitoring System (AMS), an IACS component established by the article 65(4)(b) of EU Regulation No 2116/2021 that allows regular and systematic observation, tracking and assessment of agricultural and rural development activities and practices by Copernicus Sentinels satellite data or other data with at least equivalent value. Such system will replace as from 1st January 2023 the standard on-the-spot checks (OTSC) and where tracking verification of the eligible conditions of the interventions isn’t possible with AMS, an equivalent verification is made through the Geotag system or combined with specific equivalent OTSC for validation of the programmes eligible conditions.

3. Provide recommendations to RDA on closing gaps as well as corrective actions for each of the weaknesses identified during the implementation including interoperability services with external institutions.

4. Participate in the meetings of the permanent working group and provide technical/content support including through presentations and minutes detailing topics discussed and decisions made. Note that the working group meetings shall occur bimonthly, individual meetings will be held on a recurrent basis.

5. Build awareness of MEPA and RDA on primary and secondary draft legislation requirements introducing IACS concept and definitions at the national level.

6. Prepare staff training curriculum and deliver in total full 3 days of practitioners’ training on IACS components 2.1, 2.2, 2,3 and 2.5 described above.

1. Elaborate a detailed curriculum for the learning, including learning goals.
2. Elaborate evaluation tools for measuring the effectiveness of the learned.
3. Identify, describe, quantify and reason any support material, IT infrastructure and support personnel that may be required for the training(s).
4. Present the draft curriculum to IRDG project and obtain approval.
5. Actively support IRDG project in the identification and selection of the participants. This includes, but may not be limited to, the establishment of selection criteria for participants and participation in the selection process. Note that participants must cover all key institutions of the working group.
6. Deliver and evaluate the course according to the approved criteria.
7. Identify areas of further improvement and improve curriculum and materials accordingly.
8. Identify lessons learned and prepare a final report comprising of pre-/post- knowledge evaluation results.

Essential considerations for curriculum development:

The curriculum should systematically organize what will be taught, who will be taught, and how it will be taught with the following essential considerations:

• issue/problem/need is identified (issue – what),
• characteristics and needs of learners (target audience - who),
• changes intended for learners (intended outcomes/objectives – what the learners will be able to do),
• the important and relevant content (what),
• methods to accomplish intended outcomes (how),
• evaluation strategies for methods, content, and intended outcomes (what works?).

7. Provide international consultant(s) on (1) application and payments processing procedure and (2) Application Programmes Management System (APMS) a specialized orientation on IT/IACS development recommended action priorities and progress up to date.

8. Provide follow-up support to MEPA and RDA as required in updating IT/IACS development recommended action priorities and action plan for 2021 to 2023 in accordance with IPARD II/Neighbourhood requirements.

9. Oversee the process of aligning A/R Ajara agriculture and rural development governance structure with ongoing institutional approximation process at the national level by:

1. Presenting institutional requirements (general mandate, segregation of functions, applied procedures) to the “Working Group on Institutional Development of the Ministry of Agriculture of Ajara A/R.
2. Participate in the project meetings and events, present findings/recommendations on the best-suited approaches, including possible impacts of changes in the EU acquis for agricultural and rural development for 2021-2027.

10. Provide an overview of selected 3 (three) national rural development governance structures of EU member states and facilitate communication with the selected ones to building lasting professional connections.

UNDP will provide all necessary arrangements for the meetings and events related to this Terms of Reference.

UNDP will facilitate liaison with government and other stakeholders as necessary.

Deliverables and payment modality:

Deliverbale 1 - 20% Aplril 2022:

• 1st Mission report on pertinent progress updates including working group meeting minutes detailing topics discussed and decisions made.
• Mission report of the visit to Ajara including presentation on institutional requirements and initial recommendations to the A/R Ministry of Agriculture.

Deliverbale 2 - 20% May 2022:

• Report on the remote work including a specialized orientation on IT/IACS development recommended action priorities and progress up to date to international consultant(s) on (1) application and payments processing procedure and (2) Application Programmes Management System (APMS).
• Draft Training Curriculum on IACS components 2.1, 2.2, 2,3 and 2.5.

Deliverbale 3 - 20% Juky 2022:

• 2nd Mission report on pertinent progress updates, what activities have been undertaken by the target institutions, main accomplishments, and recommendations for further improvements.
• UNDP approval obtained to implement practitioners’ training on IACS components 2.1, 2.2, 2,3 and 2.5.

Deliverbale 4 - 20% September 2022:

• 3rd Mission report on pertinent progress updates including working group meeting minutes detailing topics discussed and decisions made.
• Report on practitioners’ training course on IACS components 2.1, 2.2, 2,3 and 2.5 comprising of pre-/post- knowledge evaluation results and lessons learned.
• 2nd Mission report of the visit to Ajara, what activities have been undertaken by the target institutions, main accomplishments, and recommendations.

Deliverbale 5 - 20% November 2022:

• Final report covering all aspects covered in tasks 1 to 10 with relevant annexes.

Duty Station

While on mission, the Consultant shall work at the office based in Tbilisi and in Batumi.

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 or higher degree in public administration, public policy, agriculture and rural development, economics and business administration or related field (Minimum Requirement) – 8 Points;

Experience:

• At least 7 years of experience in organizational approximation, business process mapping and reengineering in relation to IT/IACS systems in accredited or pre-accession paying agency – 10 Points;
• At least 7 years’ experience in designing strategic concepts of agricultural and rural development ICT systems and/or protocols for quality management of Farm registry, LPIS, or related systems in pre-accession or candidate country paying agency – 10 Points;
• Experience in developing training programmes and delivering users’ trainings in IT systems of Agriculture and RD measures, IACS/LPIS/Farm register, HRM information systems would be an asset (additional 4 points), Experience in working with pre-accession assistance aid and/or accession auditing procedures (additional 4 points), Experience in providing technical assistance in Georgia in the area (additional 4 points) – 12 Points;

Language Requirements:

• Excellent English skills (both written and verbal).

Evaluation:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the Cumulative analysis, Individual consultants will be evaluated 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 financial proposals.

Financial Proposal:

Short-listed Offerors will be requested to provide financial proposal. The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount (with indication of specific sub-components of the payment, including daily fee, travel costs, living allowance etc.), and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables. The total amount quoted shall be all-inclusive and include a breakdown of all cost components required to perform the deliverables identified in TOR. All envisaged travel costs (ticket, insurance, communication and living allowance fees) must be included in the financial proposal as well.

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Added 2 years ago - Updated 2 years ago - Source: jobs.undp.org