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Call for Consultancy services for Public Investment, Fiscal Decentralization and Impact Assessment

CONTRACTING ORGANISATION: SMARTUP

SmartUp acts as an eco-system builder connecting different stakeholders to promote and develop social innovation thus building a society that is socially, environmentally and economically sustainable. SmartUp is established with a mission to catalyze social innovation in the country and the region.

In a society that is socially, environmentally and economically sustainable the Social Innovation Lab is the number one change agent that shapes and drives the social innovation eco-system. It’s the Balkan most recognized body for providing support to the co-creation process of social innovation development that continuously works to create and enable a safe space for collaboration for all ecosystem actors.

CURRENT SITUATION IN THE SECTOR

Municipalities present the basic nodes of economic development and primary outlook for the quality of life in a country. They are embedded into a financing system where they receive tax, capital or earmarked transfers and gather their own revenues. Municipalities in North Macedonia operate with limited resources and little space for economic development, strategizing and green investment, while they are increasingly expected to deliver improved quality of services, be more engaged with their citizens and offer innovative solutions to local challenges. On average, 58% of municipal finance comes from central Government transfers, and only about 20% of total municipal budgets are spent on capital investment.

BACKGROUND

Impact investing aims to generate specific beneficial social or environmental effects in addition to financial gains. The point of impact investing is to use money and investment capital for positive social results, or improved quality of local life in the case of Local Governments. In this assignment we focus on impact investment, with a specific focus on green investment as a subtype of impact investment.

OBJECTIVE, PURPOSE AND EXPECTED RESULTS

Overall objective:

To develop a model for impact/green investment for two local authorities in the Republic of North Macedonia.

Purpose

The purpose of this contract is to move municipal finance towards impact investment, under which green investment is the highest priority and municipality begins with a clear understanding of the vision, goals and ambition to streamline finance where impact can be the highest and multiplicative.

Results to be achieved by the contractor

The project will be organized in two components:

Component I: Research and analyses of the financial system including:

  • Legal and strategic documents analysis regulating LGs space for incentivizing target groups on impact/green investment 
  • Comparative Analysis and mapping of Green Budgeting models – benchmarking – other countries
  • Green Budget analysis of the budget of City of Skopje and one more municipality (to be decided)

Component II: Modeling and design implications

  • Design proposal for LGs to integrate green/impact investment
  • Design concrete suggestions for The City of Skopje to pilot part of green-impact investment model
  • Final report combining all deliverables

The contractor should provide their expertise in achievement of the following results:

  • Strategic and legal Analysis of existing Laws and strategies relevant for LGs impact/green investment
  • Benchmarking Analysis for North Macedonian LGs – existing models in other countries of Green/impact investing and incentives schemes
  • Budget analysis of City of Skopje and on green and impact investment
  • Green/Impact investment model for municipalities in North Macedonia based on analyzed municipalities
  • Pilot green/impact investment model for City of Skopje to enhance impact/green investment incentive schemes
  • Final report – compilation of all deliverables
  • Advice – online discussion and advice on further steps to scale model

Geographical area to be covered

The City of Skopje.

Target groups

The project beneficiaries are local authorities, municipalities and public enterprises working under city authority.

Start date and period of implementation

The intended start date is 15th  August 2020 and the period of implementation of the contract will be 5 months from this date.

The contracting organisation may, at its own discretion, extend the project in duration and/or scope subject to the availability of funds.

Requirements

Key Experts

Key experts have a crucial role in implementing the contract and managing the backstopping team and support staff provided by the contracting organization. These terms of reference contain the required key experts’ profiles. The tenderer shall submit CVs and statements of exclusivity and availability for the following key experts:

Key Expert 1: Team Leader / Expert in Public Investment, Fiscal Decentralization and Impact Assessment

The Team leader will be in charge of the daily management of the contract activities including coordination of the workflow, proper reporting to the contracting organization, efficient use of the contract budget, administrative and logistic support to the contract activities and good communication with the Beneficiaries and the contracting organization.

Qualifications and skills

  • At least master degree in the field of economics and/or business finance and/or public administration
  • Excellent English communication skills, both oral and written.

General professional experience

  • At least 8 years of relevant professional experience in the field of fiscal decentralization and/or public investment.

Specific professional experience

  • At least 3 years of specific professional experience in public investment
  • Experience in at least one project that focused on fiscal decentralization
  • Experience in dealing with municipalities in Republic of North Macedonia on fiscal issues and economic development
  • Experience of executing financial transactions, preferably project finance involving Infrastructure, Energy, or Development. 
  • Experience in management of development loans from international donors
  • Strong grasp of compliance and the governance requirements of public tenders.
  • Experience in Local governance and public administration reforms
  • Experience in project dealing with “green agenda”
  • Statistical research and quantitative data analysis
  • Knowledge on EU project management

Support staff & backstopping

The contracting organization will provide support facilities to their team of experts (back-stopping) during the implementation of the contract. Backstopping and support staff costs  shall not be included in the offered fee rates.

Application:

Deadline for submission:

The deadline for submission of your proposal shall be no later than: 31.7.2020, 16:00 h

Applications must be submitted by e-mail to following recipient address: [email protected]

The application documents must include:

  • Latest CV in the Europass format
    • Financial offer
    • Technical description of the activities
    • Timeframe of implementation

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