Call for EoI – The Development of an Environmental, Social and Gender Management Framework for the Belize Social Investment Fund
Background:
The Belize Social Investment Fund (BSIF) was established in 1996 and based on its governing act is mandated by the government of Belize to provide financial and technical assistance to local government entities and community groups through development cooperation funds earmarked for poverty reduction interventions. Work under a previous Readiness grant (BLZ – RS – 002) identified gaps, including the following, in BSIF’s operation in line with the fiduciary criteria of the GCF:
- The lack of a Strategic Plan to guide its long-term vision and work of the organization,
- The lack of a formal financial management system/framework,
- The need for a grants award mechanism, and
- The lack of Environmental, Social and Gender Management Frameworks for the operation of
the organization and any projects under implementation.
Building on the support provided under a previous Readiness, this Readiness Grant seeks to strengthen internal capacities and function of the BSIF to attain GCF Accreditation by addressing the above gaps and showing that it is capable of strong financial management and safeguarding of GCF funded projects. In so doing, Belize will be able to access international climate finance via an entity engaged in the provision of basic climate resilient social infrastructure and related human development interventions across the Health, Education, and Water and Sanitation sectors particularly in rural communities throughout the country. The BSIF serves a unique role in addressing the human developmental needs of men, women, and children in communities across the country, inclusive of climate adaptation needs, and the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The BSIF is therefore seeking the services of a Firm to conduct a Consultancy to develop its Environmental, Social and Gender Management Framework (ESGMF) containing measures and plans to help BSIF assess, manage and mitigate the environmental and social risks and impacts of its activities; provide for estimating and budgeting the costs of such measures; provide information on the BSIF responsible for addressing project risks and impacts, including on its capacity to manage environmental and social risks and impacts; and allow stakeholder consultation and engagement, in line with GCF Environmental, Social and Gender policies and standards.
General and Specific Objectives of the Consultancy
The main objective of this Consultancy is to develop an ESGMF for the BSIF to provide guiding principles for the screening and management of the environmental, social and gender risks and impacts of BSIF project activities in line with GCF Environmental, Social and Gender policies and standards and relevant provisions under national law.
Specific objectives linked to this overall objective are as follows:
- a. Provide the legal and regulatory framework defined in the GCF Environmental, Social and Gender policies and standards as well Belize legislation that the BSIF project activities will need to comply with during their implementation.
- b. Set out the general principles, rules, guidelines, and procedures to assess the environmental, social, gender risks and impacts of BSIF projects.
- c. Contain general measures and plans to reduce, mitigate, and/or offset adverse risks and impacts.
- d. Provide information on the BSIF responsible for addressing project risks and impacts, including on the capacity to manage environmental, social, and gender risks and impacts.
- e. Ensure all relevant environmental, social, and gender considerations are mainstreamed for different phases of projects (i.e., planning, construction, operation).
- f. Detail a negative list of activities which will be excluded from project financing.
- g. Provide guidance on the process that BSIF projects should follow to identify environmental, social, and gender-related baselines, indicators and targets, collection of baseline data, and monitoring these aspects during implementation.
- h. Provide guidance for preparation of various environmental and social assessments and outline the process of determining where and when site specific Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs)/Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMPs) will be required and activities that will only require screening of environmental and social risks.
- i. Provide guidance for ensuring stakeholder engagement at various stages of project implementation, including grievance redress.
Qualifications and Experience of the Consulting Firm
The consulting firm must demonstrate the following:
- It is expected that the Firm/Team will include expert(s) who meet the minimum professional qualifications of a Graduate Degree in area of expertise and have the desired demonstrated experience in the following areas: Environmental Sciences/Natural Resources Management, Social Sciences, Social Policy, or related discipline such as Gender and Women Studies, Institutional and/or Governance Analysis, Policy Analysis and Development.
- Must have expertise in Policy Development, Adaptation Planning, Climate Studies, and Climate Finance.
- Must have at least 10 years’ experience in the development of similar frameworks with experience in institutional assessment and development.
- Demonstrate excellence and knowledge in the implementation of International Finance Cooperation (IFC) Environmental and Social Performance Standards and knowledge of the current climate finance architecture of the Green Climate Fund, its Environmental and Social Policy and Gender Policy.
- Must have competence in Project Management.
The analytical and diagnostic studies, as well as the drafting of the environmental, social and gender management framework will be carried out by qualified professionals. All team members are expected to have advanced degrees in their respective fields. BSIF is seeking a firm with team members who are environmental experts, social scientists, legal experts, experts on GCF environmental, social and gender policies, GCF entity accreditation, and experts in participation/culturally appropriate consultation, outreach, and communication. To help build local capacity, where possible, national expertise (NGOs, Academia, etc.) should constitute a significant portion of the consulting team responsible for conducting the analytical and diagnostic studies.
The composition of the team is as follows:
- A Team Leader with 15 years of experience of which 10 years are relevant experience working in developing countries.
- Experience working on the GCF Environmental, Social and Gender Policies for national natural resource projects; and
- Knowledge of the GCF entity accreditation.
- An Environmental Expert with 10 years of experience of which 5 years are relevant experience working in developing countries.
- Knowledge and experience in working with GCF Environmental Policy, as well as drafting Environmental Assessments;
- Expertise in climate change mitigation and adaptation;
- Expertise in Belize’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC); and,
- Expertise in ecosystems and ecosystem services, forestry and land use, energy, and transport.
- A Social Expert with 10 years of experience of which 5 years are relevant experience working in developing countries.
- Knowledge and experience in working with GCF Social and Gender policies, as well as drafting related instruments, including Indigenous Peoples Planning Frameworks, and Resettlement Policy Frameworks;
- Expertise in forest-dependent communities, IPs, and issues related to restriction of access to natural resources.
- Expertise in livelihoods of people and communities.
- Expertise in Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and community consultation, particularly with IPs;
- Expertise in institutional analysis; and,
- Expertise in political science.
- A Communications and Outreach Expert with 5 years of experience of which 3 years are relevant experience working in developing countries.
- Expertise in outreach and communications on environmental issues, especially communicating natural-resource policy development to rural and Indigenous peoples. This expert will lead the engagement with stakeholders to gather input and validate findings of the analytical studies to be conducted by the contracted Firm.
- A Team Leader with 15 years of experience of which 10 years are relevant experience working in developing countries.
While expertise is listed by thematic studies, it is possible to have team members with multiple expertise. This represents a competitive advantage to the consulting firms.
Application process and Deadline
The full Terms of Reference is available at www.pactbelize.org. Interested persons are asked to submit:
- A signed letter of interest.
- A detailed technical proposal for the deliverables. The technical proposal should include methodology, work schedule, quality control and quality assurance. The technical proposal should also describe the relevant years of experience.
- A financial proposal.
- The most recent Curriculum Vitae of the Firm/Team.
Packages should be submitted no later than December 15, 2023, at 5:00pm (Central Standard Time) and addressed to:
Mr. Radin Santos
Procurement Officer
Protected Areas Conservation Trust
Re: Expression of Interest – Development of an Environmental, Social and Gender Management Framework for the Belize Social Investment Fund
Soft Copies should be sent via email to:
Procurementofficer@pactbelize.org and ProjectManager@pactbelize.org
Relevant Documents
The Consulting firm should become familiarized with the following documents:
- BSIF Strategic Plan.
- GCF environmental, social and gender policies: https://projects.worldbank.org/en/projects-operations/environmental-and-social-policies
- Relevant Belize laws, policies, strategies, and plans.
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PACT is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against protected characteristics (gender, age, sexual orientation, race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, disability).
PACT is not liable for any costs incurred by applicants in submission of their application.