International Consultant to conduct market research for introducing new climate services in the Republic of Moldova

Background

Climate change is already profoundly impacting the conditions for resource availability and agricultural activities. Over the last decade, the country has experienced several extreme events, such as droughts and major floods, along with the cumulative effects caused by increased mean temperature and the uneven distribution of precipitation throughout the year, which have had negative consequences on the country's economy, and its population wellbeing and health. Severe droughts are recurring more frequently, causing significant economic losses. The increasing scope and intensity of extreme events have also resulted in increased frequencies of high-risk situations. By 2050, an increase of 2–3ºC in the average temperature, an additional 32 days that exceed the current maximum temperature by 10%, and another 12 days with zero precipitation are projected.

The Government sees the National Adaptation Planning (NAP) process as key to achieving the adaptation objectives outlined in its 2014 Climate Change Adaptation Strategy of the Republic of Moldova and its 2020 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), as well as the continued mainstreaming of climate change considerations into its policies and budgeting processes. Therefore, the proposed project supports the Republic of Moldova's Government in advancing the second cycle of its National Adaptation Planning process (known as NAP-2). The outcomes of the NAP-2 national adaptation planning processes are:

• Outcome 1: To strengthen and operationalize the national steering mechanism for climate change adaptation (CCA);
• Outcome 2: To improve the long-term capacity on planning and implementation of adaptation actions through CCA technologies;
• Outcome 3: To improve the mainstreaming of climate change adaptation through the increased alignment of national development priorities in the priority sectors (forestry, health, energy, and transport).

The project will contribute to UNDAF, 2018-2022 outcome #3 (The people of Moldova, especially the most vulnerable, benefit from enhanced environmental governance, energy security, sustainable management of natural resources, climate, and disaster-resilient development). Additionally, the project will contribute to the UNDP Country Programme Output 3.3 (National and sub-national governments have improved capacities to integrate resilience to climate change and disasters into development plans and practices to reduce population's vulnerability). Other than that, the project will contribute to the National Development Strategy "Moldova 2030" by ensuring resilience to climate change by reducing risks related to climate change and by facilitating adaptation in six priority sectors - agriculture, water resources, health, forestry, energy, and transport.

The preliminary work under the first cycle of the NAP (known as NAP-1) supported developing a NAP as a process, conceptualizing and developing its elements, including the national steering mechanism, and laid down the groundwork towards long-term adaptation planning. Despite the progress, significant gaps remain in integrating climate change considerations into many of the national priority sectors' development policies and their associated budget priorities. National appropriations for CCA remain limited.

The NAP-2 goals will be achieved within two parallel implementation tracks. The first track implemented by UNDP expands and deepens the national approach developed under the NAP-1 and strengthens synergies both vertically, at different levels of the governance, and horizontally, between the sectors affected by climate change to reduce duplication of efforts, pool scarce resources for efficient use, and ensure a coherent and comprehensive approach to the integration of CCA responses into development planning. In contrast, the second track will focus on adaptation in the agriculture sector and will be concurrently implemented under FAO's auspices.

The National Designated Authority has coordinated with the UNDP and the FAO country offices to ensure the complementarity and congruency of the activities and exchange, as appropriate. By its very nature, the NAP-2 will facilitate the integration of CCA into existing strategies, policies, and programs and establish a strong foundation for the integration of methods, tools, and information systems in day-to-day planning activities to inform decision-makers on the climate risks effectively and to enable the informed formulation of resilient projects and financing strategies.

Statistical analyses show that the loss of life and property caused by hydrometeorological disasters has increased in recent decades. It is also reported that the frequency and severity of the weather, climate, and water-related hazards causing disasters have been increasing due to climate change. The losses from hydrometeorological and climate disasters can be prevented or mitigated by predicting severe weather and climate conditions causing disasters by issuing early warnings for decision-makers, disaster managers, and the public.

Furthermore, it must be considered that the assessment of the meteorological, hydrological, and climate data, products, and services, particularly long-term climate statistics, as the decisive criteria for all sectoral planning and applications will provide extreme contribution for risk reduction, increasing the structural and social resilience against disasters, and sustainable development of the country.

It is obvious that the service delivery capacity of the State Hydrometeorological Service (SHS) must be improved by making necessary investments in human resources, technological infrastructure, and research capabilities in order to ensure the provision of required products and services for the public and private sectors, and for the wellbeing of whole Moldovan community.

By considering this fact, it will be crucial to make the relevant government authorities and decision-makers fully understand the socio-economic benefits provided by hydrometeorological services to allocate required resources for improving and maintaining the service delivery capacity of the SHS. 

This assignment will increase the awareness of the importance of hydrometeorological services for all socio-economic sectors and activities among the government authorities, decision-makers, and public. For this purpose, the project will contract an international consultant to conduct a socio-economic assessment of the hydrometeorological services based on the products and services provided, particularly potential climate services, by considering the impact of climate change on socio-economic sectors. In addition, he/she will work closely with the respective national partners, including state institutions, local authorities, civil society, and international organizations.

Duties and Responsibilities

In line with the increasing needs of the developing world, it has become necessary to provide high-quality meteorological, hydrological, and climate services for the users who are demanding these services. Today, all activities and applications of socio-economic sectors are very much in need and could benefit from meteorological, hydrological, and climate services. This assignment's main objective is to increase awareness of the importance of hydrometeorological and climate services for the country's economic development and to introduce new climate services on the market.

Summary of key functions:

The consultant(s) will work in close cooperation with the Project pool of consultants and Team Leaders. Under the project manager's supervision, the consultant(s) will conduct a socio-economic analysis and benefits of hydrometeorological services, particularly for the climate services delivered for the users. The specific tasks are presented below:

• Develop a working plan indicating the main activities and timeline;
• Develop a conceptual framework for the study by considering the study's purpose, services provided by SHS, main sectors to be assessed, and methodology to be used;
• Identify the demand for climate services, including the current and potential users, analyzing the needs within various economic sectors;
• Analyse the existing SHS capacities to deliver the proposed services, integrate users in the co-creation process of climate services, and identify needs/actions to cover existing gaps;
• Analyse the gaps in the existing services provided by the SHS by considering the needs for the sectors as well as the best practice examples from the other countries and international organizations;
• Produce the Report for the existing climate services that are delivered by SHS, including several case studies from the countries that have advanced in climate service delivery and can be an example for the Moldovan SHS;
• Identify the current supply side for the climate services delivered by SHS: provided as regular services for public and special services prepared and provided upon request of specific users;
• Identify opportunities for introducing new climate services on the market. Assess the socio-economic benefits and make the cost-benefit analysis for the proposed climate services;
• Review the current level of users’ involvement in co-creation/development of climate services and proposes options for embedding this activity into the SHS institutional setup;
• Organize three consultation workshops to understand the sectoral utilization and needs of current users and non-users of main stakeholders in selected sectors and make them fully aware of the importance and benefits of hydrometeorological services for their applications;
• Develop the Report on new potential climate services/cluster of services, including the feasible implementation plan and estimative costs for its implementation;
• Produce a final report on the implementation of the assignment, including lessons learn and the way forward.

For detailed information, please refer to Annex 1 – Terms of Reference.

Competencies

Academic Qualification:

• University degree in meteorology, hydrology, climatology, economics, or other fields relevant to the assignment.

Experience:

• At least 10 years of progressively responsible professional experience in public or private agencies providing hydrometeorological services;
• Proven professional experience in assessing the value of the hydrometeorological services;
• Proven experience in the assessment of the impact of the hydrometeorological services on risk reduction and improving resilience for weather, climate, and water-related disasters;

Competencies:

• Extensive knowledge of the climate-related political framework, especially in climate change adaptation.
• Demonstrates excellent organizational skills and a proven ability for multi-disciplinary analysis;
• Familiarity with reports and guidance documents prepared by international organizations on the socio-economic impact of the hydrometeorological services.

Language requirements:

• Fluency in English is required for this assignment; knowledge of Romanian or Russian will be an advantage.

Required Skills and Experience

Initially, individual consultants will be short-listed based on the following minimum qualification criteria:

• University degree in meteorology, hydrology, climatology, economics, or other fields relevant to the assignment;
• At least 10 years of progressively responsible professional experience in public or private agencies providing hydrometeorological services;

The short-listed individual consultants will be further evaluated based on the following methodology:

Cumulative analysis

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

a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and

b) having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

* Technical Criteria weight – 60% (300 pts);

* Financial Criteria weight – 40% (200 pts).

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 210 points would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Winning candidate:

The winning candidate will be the candidate, who has accumulated the highest aggregated score (technical scoring + financial scoring).

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DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS

Interested individual consultants must submit the following required documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

1. Offeror's Letter confirming Interest and Availability with the financial proposal (in USD, specifying the total lump sum amount). Financial proposal template prepared in compliance with the template in Annex 2.
2. CV, including information about experience in similar assignments;
3. Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself the most suitable for the assignment.

Incomplete applications shall not be considered.

For supporting documents (Terms of Reference and Procurement Notice and Offeror's Letter, including Financial Offer template) please visit https://sc.undp.md/current_jobs3/ or UNDP Moldova | Vacancy: NAP-2: International Consultant to conduct market research for introducing new climate services in the Republic of Moldova, UNDP Moldova. 

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