Cambodia: TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO GOVERNANCE CAPACITY BUILDING FOR A PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION - SEFED program - Cambodia

Background

Access to energy is fundamental for achieving economic growth and poverty reduction. Providing improved access to energy sources, products and services play pre-determining role in achieving health, education and income generation goals.

As underlined during the International Cooking Forum held in Bonn in June 2013, cookstove value chain consolidation is a key condition for the creation of vibrant markets that can help millions of new households by 2020. Identifying relevant business models and efficient distribution channels is needed to help the stove sector reach a better understanding of the key drivers to increase its reach and enable sustained servicing of the BOP[1] thanks to strong business model replications.

Cambodia

Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia with 80% of its economy being informal and 17.7% of its population living under the poverty line. 80% of the 15 million inhabitants live in rural areas and forest resources contribute between 30 to 42% to the total households’ incomes. According to FAO, Cambodia has the highest rate of deforestation in Southeast Asia, the land-use change and forestry sectors accounting for 46% of the greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions.

Biomass-energy represents 70% of the energy mix of the country and woodfuels (wood, charcoal and sawdust) account for more than 90% of the biomass-energy final demand. Domestic cooking itself generates a demand of 4.7 million tons of primary wood per year, which represents three times the energy demand of the transportation sector. Meanwhile, the increasing scarcity of wood resources and the illegality of wood collection in Protected Areas will soon translate into an increase in wood and charcoal prices, and will directly threaten Cambodia’s remaining wood heritage and resilience to climate change.

Project Context

GERES and SEFED project

GERES- Groupe Energies Renouvelables, Environnement et Solidarités- is a French non-profit NGO created in 1976 after the first Oil Crisis. Environmental conservation, climate change mitigation and adaption, energy poverty reduction, and livelihood improvement of the poor are the main focus areas for GERES. GERES teams are particularly involved in the implementation – in partnership with the communities and local stakeholders- of engineering solutions for development.

In south-east Asia, GERES has 20 years of experience in Cambodia providing locally adapted, low-cost, transferable technology solutions and sustainable practices in the biomass value-chain to improve the economic empowerment and lives of vulnerable people.

“Support the Emergence of Sustainable Supply Chains in the Domestic Energy Sector”(SEFED) - is a 3-year project cofunded by AFD and implemented by GERES. The project started in July 2016 and will end in June 2019. The Cambodian Institute for Research and Rural Development (CIRD) is the main implementing partner for this project.

The aim of SEFED project is to create the conditions for the emergence and empowerment of two local inter-professional associations engaged in the production and distribution of sustainable energy solutions (improved stoves and sustainable biomass fuels) in Cambodia:

· the Cambodian Efficient Stove Promotion Association (CESPA); and

· the Alternative Fuels Association of Cambodia (AFAC).

More specifically the project seeks to increase the resources and in-house capacities of these local associations, stimulate market demand and move the regulatory framework forward, with a view to rolling out sustainable energy solutions and ensuring the long-term development of the biomass-energy supply chain for domestic cooking in Cambodia.

CESPA

CESPA’s (formerly ICoProDAC) mission is to bring together the actors, mainly producers and distributors, of the improved cookstoves (ICS) sector in Cambodia and to allow them to develop a structured value chain while providing a number of services to its members such as: enforcement of quality assurance and control of the stoves sold by members, quality label protection, promotion of the products. CESPA is an inter-professional non-profit association.

ICoProDAC was initiated by GERES in 2004 as part of its national improved ICS dissemination project. Over time GERES has been able to engage with the entrepreneurs in the sector and establish trusted relationships with them. During the last decade efforts focused on the structuration of the sector and the specification of the technical and economic model of the entrepreneurs who are members of ICoProDAC. In the frame of SEFED project GERES has initiated discussions with the Board of Directors of ICoProDAC, newly renamed CESPA, on the conditions for its empowerment and financial viability.

Purpose of the assignment

The main objective of the assignment is to provide technical assistance to GERES in guiding and supporting CESPA towards complete self-governance. This mission will be carried out in close collaboration with 2 international and 2 national GERES project staff members.

The specific purpose of the proposed intervention is to provide methodological support and practical guidance to GERES team to support the governance process of CESPA. This includes supporting CESPA in the elaboration of its Strategic Development Plan (SDP) for the next 3 years and accompany the members and their governance body in its implementation.

The SDP will become the main document guiding the action of CESPA.

The consultant and GERES project team will not elaborate the SDP on behalf of the CESPA board members but should facilitate and provide them with appropriate capacity to produce the substance of such document.

Through the development of the SDP and the governance process, the level of ownership feeling should increase among all members of the association.

Scope of work

Expected activities and deliverables

General Activities

Specific Activities

Deliverables

1. Diagnostic/assessment of the governance system in CESPA and training needs of Board members

· Collect information on the governance system, level of maturity, governance obstacles and difficulty, shared vision, training needs of Board members etc. through desk research, field interview with board members, GERES team members, etc.

· Diagnostic report compiling observation from the field, interviews and analysis of the past and current situation.

· List of priority issues to be addressed for CESPA’s governance

· Propose action plan for GERES support to CESPA governance (activities + timeframe)

1. Support GERES team in implementing recommendations and action plan to strengthen CESPA governance, especially developing a SDP

· Provide support and tools (brainstorming, best practices and references sharing, methodological support for the facilitation of CESPA’s strategic planning, etc.) allowing GERES project team to efficiently support CESPA in its empowerment process.

· Through close consultation with GERES project team and the board of CESPA, identify the features and content the SDP should have, and provide support for its development

· Coach and provide regular guidance to GERES team to implement support activities to CESPA and reach governance goals.

· Propose corrective activities and strategy if milestone achievements are not met.

· Shared methodological guidebooks and other relevant literature;

· Shared customized facilitation tools and supporting material;

· Exchange of mails, minutes of Skype discussions and decision records, comments on produced documents, including SDP

· Revised action plan if necessary

1. Evaluation of the governance level/situation at the end of the project and final recommendations

· Conduct governance evaluation of CESPA (9 to 12 months after the first diagnostic), based on activities achieved, members involvement, document produced and decisions made through desk review and discussions with relevant stakeholders.

· Propose a set of final recommendation both to CESPA’s board and GERES project team to further and strengthen CESPA governance process leading to complete self-management.

· Comprehensive evaluation report

· Set of final recommendations.

Duration of Assignment

The assignment is expected to start in July 2017 and to be completed by the end of June 2018, representing an estimation of 35 days of work. The assignment is expected to take place as follows:

· Diagnostic mission: in the field (Kampong Chhnang province, Cambodia) and home-based, at the start of the assignment for a maximum of 15 man days of which 10 man days in the field.

· Coaching mission: home-based, over the next 8-10 months for a maximum of 10 man days

· Evaluation mission: in the field, at the end of the assignment for a maximum of 10 man days

Budget

The maximum available budget for this assignment is $20,000 (Twenty thousand dollars), inclusive of all costs and all taxes.

Qualification Required

· At least 7 years of experience in the development sector.

· In depth experience of governance models, governance capacity building strategies and challenges in the context of professional associations, cooperatives, entrepreneur groups, etc. in developing countries.

· Experience of work and familiarity with the context of Southeast Asia.

· Khmer language an asset

· Capacity-building experience in a development context, including the development of training programs.

· Experience communicating with a range of stakeholders.

· Master’s degree in a related field (Development Economics, Political Science or Social Science, etc.) or minimum of 10 years of experience in the development sector.

· Fluency in English Fluency Khmer desirable.

· Excellent communication and coaching skills.

· Ability to work in a team, ensuring consistency.

· Good interpersonal skills, social and outgoing.

· Shows integrity and honesty, flexible, willing to adapt and take on new ideas.

conditions

· Starting date: July 2017

· Desk review and other preparation works, as well as report writing, will be done from consultant’s home station or GERES Office (in Cambodia)

· The consultant is expected to travel to visit the target group in Kampong Chhnang province, Cambodia. All expenses related to his travels should be budgeted in the financial offer

· The consultant will be using his own computer and will cover the cost of his own office expenses while home based.

· The consultant is responsible for his insurance expenses and applicable taxes.

to apply

Applications should comprise:

A technical offer, made of:

· CV outlining why the consultant is well suited for this assignment

· Two relevant professional references along with two samples of similar assignments’ outcomes

· Understanding of the assignment

· Description of the methodology and work plan for performing the assignment

A detailed financial offer, detailing the number of man-days with unit prices, and the various reimbursable costs (flying tickets, other transportation costs, per diem and lodging).

The applications will be assessed on both the technical and financial offers.

Information can be requested to the SEFED Project Manager, Héloïse Pichot: h.pichot@geres.eu

The applications should be submitted by email as soon as possible to the SEFED Project Manager, Héloïse Pichot: h.pichot@geres.eu , with the title “Application External Consultancy SEFED”. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis.

Technical and financial offers should be in separate files, in generally accepted electronic format. Electronic submission should be less than 5 Mo (if more please split in several files). Files with extensions not supported by PC will not be considered.

GERES is an equal opportunity organization: suitable applications are invited irrespectively of age, race, religion, gender and physical criteria.