Republic of Moldova

National non-industry consultant to evaluate the concept/full applications by SMEs to the Grants Scheme of the Project

Vacancy Number: Pr15/00993

Location:	Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline:	29 Jun 2015, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Application Extended deadline:	05 Jul 2015, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Type of Contract:	Individual Contract
Starting date:	10 Jul 2015
Reference to the project:	Innovative Business for Local Development
Expected Duration of Assignment:	20 working days during July-October, 2015
Submission Instructions: Proposals should be submitted by by pressing the "Apply Now" button no later than June 29, 2015. Requests for clarification only must be sent by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail: dumitru.vasilescu@undp.org. UNDP will respond 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 applicants.
Supporting Documents: Terms of Reference Individual Consultant Procurement Notice Personal History Form (P11) UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract

Contacts:

Mr. Dumitru Vasilescu.

Background

SMEs in Moldova have rather limited access to innovations, including finance to innovate, knowledge-sharing networks, among others. This stems from underdeveloped legislative framework, inefficient usage of available resources, lack of coordination among various actors, wide spread of responsibilities between different entities, lack of comprehensive M&E framework to monitor and evaluate progress in promotion of innovations. Above all, the concept of “innovations” is yet not fully understood and interpreted in a very narrow sense, merely only in terms of patented technological improvements or scientific discoveries. The new Strategy on innovations, elaborated by the Government and supported by UNDP, brings important changes to the current set-up and the proposed policy measures are fully aligned and will support the implementation of the Moldova 2020 Strategy. Given the above, as well as a clear lack of statistical evidence on promotion of innovations up until now, it is very difficult to set specific baselines. The Strategy contains a summary of the perceived needs and identified problems, which is the main source for the baselines set in the Project’s RRF.

The Ministry of Economy is one of the key public entities responsible for co-formulation, coordination and  implementation of policies to promote innovations, SMEs, technological transfer, and R&D activities at the national level. UNDP has relevant competence in building local level partnerships for social and economic development, experience in working with private sector, inlcuding through the Global Compact network, strong analytical expertize in suporting innovation for development and conducting complex research on key constraints to sustainable human development, MDGs, among others. UNDP has also strong local presence in  Moldova through various interventions at local level in key UNPF pillars, described above. 

The Ministry of Economy took lead in the reform of the national system for technological transfers and innovations through the development and promotion of the National Innovations Strategy for Moldova. In the implementation process, a new Law on Technological Transfer and Innovations Fund will be developed with support of UNDP and the existing State Agency for Technological Transfer and Innovations will be reformed and take lead in further mainstreaming innovations and ensuring technological transfer. Until these processes finalize, the current Project is going to pilot and stimulate innovative entreprenorial activity in rural and most remote areas and provide financial support for innovative start-ups and business development.

UNDP, using its strengths and corporate knowledge and experience in Moldova, will provide technical assistance and implement the Project, using UNDP corporate rules and regulations governing all business processes. The Government, represented by the Ministry of Economy, will facilitate communication and cooperation with existing business associations, private sector, dialogue platorms and LPAs, for the Project to ensure consistent and sustainable achievement of results and impact. UNDP will build upon the experience of ODIMM and ongoing projects funded by the MFA of Norway focusing on SME development, so that to maximize return on invested resources and build upon potential synergies with complementary initiatives.

One of the key components of the Project is to develop, implement and evaluate impact of an matching grants scheme for SMEs. Such Scheme will permit for the provision, on a competitive basis, of small matching grants to SMEs to implement innovative projects. The Scheme should serve as a pilot intervention, based on the assumption that both central and local authorities will strongly support and gain from the benefits of promoting innovations for more intense and innovative entrepreneurship.

The main objectives of the Scheme is to: (i) stimulate development of innovations within Moldovan business environment by providing financing for market-oriented development of new or improved products, services and technologies with high commercialization potential; and (ii) pilot an  innovation support mechanism and provide insights, lessons learned and best practices for future governmental innovation-support programs.

The detailed description of the scheme is available in the Baseline Study conducted by a team of external consultants and already validated with the Ministry of Economy. Such description contains detailed information on the eligibility of SMEs, amount of the matching grant, application and selection procedures, among others. 

Scope of work

The scope of the assignment is to support the Project in the selection of the best concept applications by SMEs and the development of a closed list of SMEs that would be eligible to apply with fully fledged applications to the Grants Scheme. SMEs shall register online and apply online to the Grants Scheme with a concept application, based on the available questionnaire. The consultant shall review and asses such applications based on a specific set of criteria and recommend the best applications to pass to the next stage of the national competition. Moreover, SMEs which will pass to the second phase will be invited to apply with a full application. The independent consultant shall lead the process of selection the best full applications, based on specific selection criteria agreed in the Baseline Study, and coordinate the work of industry experts which will be hired to independently assess the full applications from a narrower/sector perspective. The project will select and hire a team of up to 8 national independent industry experts, based on the specific sectors of the real economy identified in the Baseline Study. 

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

Requirements for experience

1. Academic Qualifications:

• Advanced University degree in Development Economics, Statistics or other relevant fields.

2. Experience and Knowledge:

• At least 3 years of proven analytical and report writing skills in such areas as: local economic development, innovations in business and SME development;
• At least 3 years of progressive experience in consultancy for SME development at national level;
• Experience in evaluation of project proposals in the field of broad innovations into SMEs, as defined by OECD, is a strong advantage;
• In-depth knowledge of the national innovations system in the Republic of Moldova or EU systems is a strong advantage.

3. Abilities:

• Excellent communication and teamwork skills.

4. Language requirements:

• Fluency in English, Russian and Romanian is mandatory. 

Documents to be included

1. Proposal: explaining why they are the most suitable for this position;
2. Financial proposal: in USD, specifying a total lump sum amount and the number of anticipated working days;
3. Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and the contact details of at least 3 reference persons.

Financial proposal

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals the financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including fee, taxes, travel, per diems, and number of anticipated working days).

Travel

All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel. In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.

In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

 

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