INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT PROCUREMENT NOTICE Reference: PN/FJI-052-17 Consultancy Title: Bioprospecting and Research Expert Project Name: DISCOVERING NATURE-BASED PRODUCTS AND BUILDING CAPACITIES FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE NAGOYA PROTOCOL ON ACCESS TO GENETIC RESOURCES AND BENEFIT SHARING (ABS) IN FIJI Period of assignment: 6 months (30th October 2017- April 30th, 2018) Duty Station: Suva, Fiji Consultancy Proposal should be mailed to C/- UNDP Fiji MCO, Private Mail Bag, Suva, Fiji or sent via email to etenderbox.pacific@undp.org no later than 6 th October, 2017 (Fiji Time) clearly stating the title of consultancy applied for. Any proposals received after this date/time will not be accepted. Any request for clarification must be sent in writing, or by standard electronic communication to procurement.fj@undp.org. UNDP will respond in writing or 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 consultants. Incomplete, late and joint proposals will not be considered and only offers for which there is further interest will be contacted. Failure to submit your application as stated as per the application submission guide (Procurement Notice) on the above link will be considered incomplete and therefore application will not be considered. 1. BACKGROUND There has been little focus on the value of genetic resources that are accommodated in Fiji s bio diverse areas, and the means by which payment for ecosystem services could be used to stimulate conservation at the local level, while providing avenues for improved livelihoods. It is clear that there are gaps and work is needed for instituting relevant legislation, policy and institutional resources have been identified as: (a) limited scientific research, technological and development capacity prevents national stakeholders from adding value to Fiji s genetic resources; (b) limited capacity to implement and operationalize ABS Agreements and Benefits Sharing mechanisms with communities, including insufficient human resource capacity and piecemeal operation of draft bio-prospecting policy and guidelines; and (c) limited national capacity to institutionalize and operationalize the Nagoya Protocol and with this a lack of understanding of ABS and the link to biodiversity conservation. This project will assist in addressing these gaps and barriers and motivate increased investment in protecting bio diverse areas and the genetic resources they contain. This will be achieved by: i) investments in technology transfer to assist with biopropsecting and discovery of compounds for pharmaceutical and agro-chemical use; ii) the operationalization of ABS agreements related to fair and equitable access and mutually agreed terms; iii) and increase in national research and technical capacities and human resources dedicated to ABS management; iv) raising awareness among Fijian communities of the benefits of biodiversity and genetic resources; and v) increasing national capacities to institutionalize and operationalize the Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit sharing. 1
2. SCOPE OF WORK Scope of work/expected Output The technical expert will be expected to undertake the following tasks: Strategic Report on Bioprospecting in Fiji with a focus on the recommended therapeutic focus and long term requirements of Bioprospecting at IAS. Develop and update a database with information on all samples collect through ABS Project as well as past 15 years. This should contain information on collections, taxonomy, bioactivity testing, chemical work, and where samples have been sent and be designed to easily generate reports to stakeholders. Provide recommendation on at least four awareness raising materials for ABS /Bioprospecting. The purpose of these awareness raising material is to help community members and citizens understand and appreciate linkages with biodiversity and community livelihoods. This could include posters, animated graphics and short videos for social media (e.g. 30 seconds to 2 minutes) Overall Project Management of the Drug Discovery activities of this grant. Effectively manage the Drug Discovery Component 1 budget of this grant to ensure the achievement of all scientific milestones under revised component 1 outputs. Identify, engage and manage international collaborators to fill the technological gaps required for the research outputs in component 1. Ensure regular meetings of the Drug Discovery Project Team and produce minutes of these meetings with identified Action Items and Responsibilities ensure Action Items are completed in a timely fashion. Provide monthly Narrative Progress Reports to the DoE and UNDP and Quarterly Financial and Narrative Drug Discovery Update reports to the Project Board. Identify, recruit and oversee training requirements and supervision of Project Staff required for the Drug Discovery Project Team. Coordinate with the MTA on the identification of sample collection Sites and assist IAS Environment Unit and other potential collaborators to develop Natural Resource Management Plans for Sites where biological samples will be collected. Mentoring of Sample Supply scientists involved in the Project to ensure the development and proper storage/maintenance of a Marine Natural Product library of at least 2000 extracts for Screening. Mentoring of Natural Product chemists involved in the Project, identify and implement procedures to increase the efficiency in which pure active metabolites are isolated and identified from crude natural product extracts. Ensure the delivery of identified active compounds during the Project. Overall supervision for the collection and analysis of marine samples. This will include the supervision of students/researchers implementing aspects of projects; Provide weekly email updates to the Ministry of Environment as well as monthly and Quarterly reports. Promote networks and collaboration for Project with stakeholders including other tertiary institutions and regional agencies. Assist in drafting of necessary agreements for 2
clearance by USP and Ministry of Environment. Represent project and deliver presentations at workshops, meetings, consultations and trainings Provide a list of all equipment required by the project with necessary documentation (including quotation and justification) Deliverables Attend to tasks as directed by the Director Institute of Applied Sciences and Ministry of Environment The main products expected from this engagement are: Quarterly and Monthly Progress Reports. Monthly reports to be produced by the 1 st Tuesday of every month from November to April. Quarterly report for October to December to be submitted by January 8 th, 2018. Strategic progress Reports on Bioprospecting and updated database. To be submitted by February 14 th, 2018. A final report together with the annexes shall be written in English and shall be presented in electronic form in MS Word format. 3. REQUIREMENTS FOR EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATION Qualifications: PhD in Natural Products Chemistry or related field highly desirable Experience: Minimum years experience in drug discovery/bioprospecting and related scientific research. Previous working experience in Fiji is highly desirable. Experience in leading large interdisciplinary teams of natural products chemists, marine biologists, molecular biologists and pharmacologists, Information Technology scientists, and analytical scientists. Strong Network in the Drug Discovery R&D Network including government agencies, universities and private companies/institutions. Extensive knowledge of the drug discovery and development process with a special focus on natural product drug discovery and development. Experience in the establishment of budgets, critical paths and project milestones with effective 3
resource utilization and project management. Previous experience working in developing countries Networks with stakeholders including Government departments, NGO s and research institutions Language: Expert must be proficient in the use of the English language Competencies: Excellent writing, editing, and oral communication skills in English, Excellent ability to translate idea/concepts visually and/or orally, Good communications abilities, Ability to meet deadlines and prioritize multiple tasks. 4. EVALUATION CRITERIA Evaluation Cumulative analysis The proposals will be evaluated using the cumulative analysis method with a split 70% technical and 30% financial scoring. The proposal with the highest cumulative scoring will be awarded the contract. Applications will be evaluated technically and points are attributed based on how well the proposal meets the requirements of the Terms of Reference using the guidelines detailed in the table below: When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract may 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 weighting; 70% * Financial Criteria weighting; 30% Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the Technical Evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation. Interviews may be conducted as part of technical assessment for shortlisted proposals. Criteria Points Percentage Qualification 60% PhD in Natural Products Chemistry or related field highly desirable Experience Minimum years experience in drug discovery/bioprospecting and related scientific research. Previous working experience in Fiji is highly desirable Experience in leading large interdisciplinary teams of natural products chemists, marine biologists, molecular biologists and pharmacologists, Information Technology scientists, and analytical scientists Extensive knowledge of the drug discovery and development process with a special focus on natural product drug discovery and development. 4
Strong Network in the Drug Discovery R&D Network including government agencies, universities and private companies/institutions. Previous experience working in developing countries Networks with stakeholders including Government departments, NGO s and research institutions Experience in Supervision of students/researchers implementing aspects of projects 5 5 % Technical Criteria 70% **If necessary interviews shall also be conducted as part of the technical evaluation to ascertain best value for money. Financial Criteria Lowest Price 30% Total 0% Payment Schedule: a) 15% Consultancy Fee [Professional Service] will be paid following signing of this Agreement and submission of a work plan two weeks (14 working days) after the signing of the contract; b) 7% Consultancy Fee will be paid following the submission of October - November monthly report by December 7 c) 7% Consultancy Fee will be paid following the submission of December monthly report by January 7,2018 d) 7% Consultancy Fee will be paid following the submission of January monthly report by February 7 e) 7% Consultancy Fee will be paid following the submission of February monthly report by March 7 f) 7% Consultancy Fee will be paid following the submission of March monthly report by April 7 g) 7% Consultancy Fee will be paid following the submission of April monthly report by May 7 h) 15% Consultancy fee to be paid following the submission of a Quarterly report for the months of October to December. Report to be submitted by January 8, 2018. i) % Consultancy fee to be paid following the submission of a Strategic Progress report on bioprospecting and on the updated database. Report to be submitted by February 14, 2018. j) 25% Consultancy Fee [Professional Service] will be paid following the submission of a Project Final Report including documentation for new Fiji Sample Tracking Database in April 30, 2018. Reporting Requirements The consultant will be monitored, overseen and supervised by the Department of Environment in close cooperation with the UNDP Multi Country Office. The consultant is expected to produce a final report upon successful completion of activities according to the agreed schedules. Inputs from the Consultant The consultant is expected to provide his/her own laptop computers and other professional support if necessary. Proposed Methodology and Timelines The consultant shall be engaged to undertake the evaluation working concurrently according to a planned schedule to be completed by the latest April 30, 2018. The consultant is expected to propose a work layout, plan, budget and timelines to achieve the expected outputs with the appropriate methodology. 5
5. DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING CONSULTANCY PROPOSALS Offerors must send the following documents. i) Signed P11 form including names of at least 3 referees ii) Cover letter setting out: How the proposer meets the qualifications and experience required. iii) Completed template for confirmation of Interest and Submission of Financial Proposal Consultant must send a financial proposal based on a Lump Sum Amount. The total amount quoted shall be all-inclusive and include all costs components required to perform the deliverables identified in the TOR, including professional fee, travel costs, living allowance (if any work is to be done outside the IC s duty station) and any other applicable cost to be incurred by the IC in completing the assignment. The contract price will be fixed output-based price regardless of extension of the herein specified duration. Payments will be done upon completion of the deliverables/outputs. In general, UNDP shall 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 event of unforeseeable travel not anticipated in this TOR, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and the Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed. The P11 form and Template for confirmation of interest and Submission of Financial Proposal is available under the procurement section of UNDP Fiji website (www.pacific.undp.org) 6
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