01 SOW.docx

STATEMENT OF WORK

Land Tenure Legal and Institutional Analysis Services (Francophone)

A. INTRODUCTION

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has a requirement for legal, institutional, and operational analysis services to support MCC’s oversight of land administration and land-tenure related investments in MCC-eligible countries. The MCC will obtain the required services through a competitive procurement to provide professional expertise.

On January 23, 2003, the United States established the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an innovative foreign assistance program designed to reduce poverty by promoting sustainable economic growth. MCC, a U.S. government corporation, is based on the principle that aid is most effective in countries that promote good governance, economic freedom, and investments in people. For more information on the MCC, please visit www.mcc.gov.

MCC’s overriding objectives are to promote economic growth and a significant reduction in poverty in our partner countries. MCC does not take it for granted that programs that stimulate growth will invariably reduce poverty. MCC looks at the likely distributive effects of projects and, to the extent that data are available to perform such an analysis, identifies the beneficiaries and estimates the impact on poverty reduction. Ultimately, MCC seeks significant and measurable increases in incomes of large numbers of poor people and significant reductions in poverty.

MCC analyzes the likely impact on economic growth of its programs by analyzing whether they are consistent with international and country evidence on drivers of economic growth and by use of economic rate of return (ERR) analysis. The essence of such an analysis is a straightforward comparison of costs and benefits, where the costs are the MCA grants, other front-end project development costs, and associated project life cycle operating and maintenance costs, and the benefits are increases in incomes in recipient countries.

B. SCOPE

The overall objective of this contract is to support the MCC Land and Agricultural Economy Practice Group in their efforts to (i) assess proposed land administration and land-tenure related investments as part of MCC Compacts and (ii) provide implementation oversight, technical guidance, and assessment of implementer and project performance of land administration and land-tenure related investments in on-going Compacts.

Specifically, the expert shall be expected to provide legal, institutional, and operational analysis services to support MCC’s assessment and implementation oversight of land administration and land-tenure related investments in MCC-eligible countries. These services shall include analysis of French-language laws, regulations, reform proposals, and institutional arrangements, as well as analysis of other French-language documents.

C. COUNTRY

Niger, Togo, Morocco, Cote d’Ivoire and any other MCC eligible countries.

D. TASKS

The consultant shall provide technical advisory services to support MCC’s leadership of compact or threshold due diligence and project development and oversight of project implementation and results achievement. The consultant’s assignments may include the following:

· Evaluate key local land laws, regulations, reform proposals, documents, and other information, identify legal, regulatory, or procedural framework implications for project design, project feasibility, project implementation, or project results.

· Assess institutional allocation of responsibilities related to land administration, particularly between national and local institutions.

· Provide specific design recommendations for improvements to proposed approaches to legal, institutional, or procedural change to achieve greater feasibility, consistency with sector best practice, economic benefits, or sustainability.

· Provide recommendations and drafting as needed in relation to budget/financial plans, work plans, and/or terms of reference.

· Conduct analyses or special legal and institutional studies related to topics such as land transactions, land markets, inheritance, gender, land information systems, land use and spatial planning.

· Analyze applicable deliverables produced by MCA contractors related to land legal and institutional frameworks and recommended reforms or changes. Suggest revisions to deliverables as appropriate to better assure project results are achieved.

· Contribute to ensuring coordination – or integration as appropriate – between land programming and other related or overlapping sector programs, particularly regarding resettlement policies and activities.

· As appropriate, plan and conduct missions to MCC partner countries, and maintain communications as necessary with pertinent MCA staff from expert’s home facilities.

· Other tasks as assigned by the COR

E. DELIVERABLES

Deliverables may include written reports or communications containing analysis and recommendations and oral presentations and associated written materials. Specific deliverables, their required detailed contents, and their delivery date will be established via Technical Directives, each time the consultant is mobilized under the call order to be awarded.

F. TECHNICAL DIRECTIVE

The Expert shall provide services to MCC on an as needed basis, as required. To support MCC in the flexible and timely manner needed to meet the evolving needs of Compact development, negotiation, implementation and evaluation, technical directives under this statement of work shall be issued by the COR/PM and the Expert deployed each time the Expert’s services are needed over the course of this contract. No additional directive shall imply any additional costs to the United States Government (USG) beyond the amount allowed for in the initial statement of work; however, this this statement of work may be amended to reflect additional costs associated with implementation planning and oversight requirements.

In each technical directive, the COR/PM will define the specific tasks, dates and location of services, and assignment deliverable(s) at least one week prior to date of expert deployment. The technical directive will, in one paragraph to two pages, provide clear and concise instructions on tasks and deliverables requested of the expert. Upon acknowledging acceptance of the technical directive by the expert to MCC in writing (email or fax to the COR/PM is acceptable), the expert will be deployed by MCC to conduct the specific tasks described therein. The expert shall not conduct any specific work under this contract unless such a technical directive is issued and acknowledged in writing. The expert will notify the contract officer if the tasks appear to fall outside the scope given herein. The expert is expected to submit electronic copies of all written deliverables in English and to brief MCC staff verbally upon request.

Acceptance Criteria The deliverables will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

· Thoroughness and timeliness in complying with all of the elements in the tasks specified.

· High quality finished products in a timely manner, and clarity of analyses and work produced.

· Timeliness and efficacy of communications with relevant counterparts at MCC, MCA, and other relevant organizations.

· All reports are to be submitted in French (unless otherwise specified) in electronic copy (in MS Word), with tables, data and calculations in MS Excel.

G. PERIOD AND PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

All work shall be completed between the dates of the award through a one-year base period of performance, with four additional one-year options.

The estimated level of effort is estimated at up to 1,240 hours per year with an estimated up to 3 trips per year. MCC anticipates this level of effort but does not guarantee this level of effort as it may increase or decrease.

The expert shall perform the services and tasks generally identified above at the expert’s home facilities, periodically in MCC’s DC offices, and in any MCC-eligible countries.

G. CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The expert would be precluded from bidding on work and services (design, assessment, construction, and supervision) to be procured by the local MCA accountable entity or using funds advanced under a Compact in the relevant country, unless the expert submits a mitigation plan sufficient to ameliorate any conflict of interest pursuant to the rules applicable to the procurement process.

H. SUBCONTRACTING

The expert is authorized to subcontract data collection, data preparation, social and gender analysis, and related services as needed. The overall costs for subcontracting shall not exceed 25% of the expert’s total negotiated unloaded direct labor cost.

I. EVALUATION CRITERIA

Mandatory:

Please note that fluency in spoken and written French is a minimum requirement for this position. Candidates without these language skills will not be considered.

· Demonstrated experience and expertise in land tenure and property rights in developing countries.

· Demonstrated experience and expertise in analysis of French-language land laws, regulations, and administrative procedures and identification of gaps, inconsistencies, or areas for potential reform.

· Demonstrated experience with the design and implementation of complex land administration and land tenure regularization projects.

· Demonstrated experience with the provision of technical analysis and recommendations to donor institutions (such as MCC or the World Bank).

· Degree in law or other field relevant to land tenure legal and institutional analyses

· Fluency in spoken and written French is required.

Preferred:

· Intermediate to advanced skills in spoken and written English for professional use is preferred.

J. TIMING AND REPORTING

All formal communication with MCC, including reports, will be submitted to the COR/PM. The COR/PM for this requirement will be identified via separate correspondence.

The COR/PM will have technical responsibility for monitoring the contractor’s performance. The COR/PM will review and evaluate the contractor’s performance, and also will coordinate any communications with relevant counterparts and other donor agencies and organizations.

Any changes in the terms of the Call Order will be made in writing and approved by the Contracting Officer. No representation of the COR/PM shall serve as a basis for an alteration in the general scope of this Call Order or of the terms and conditions of the Call Order unless confirmed in writing by the Contracting Officer. The contractor must communicate with the Contracting Officer on all matters that pertain to the Contract terms. Proceeding with the work without proper contractual coverage could result in nonpayment for that work.

The designated Expert would be expected to coordinate with local authorities responsible for MCC Compact implementation as well as other donors, where relevant. However, designated Expert would report directly to the designated COR/PM.

K. OTHER REQUIREMENTS

International travel may be required. The Expert may be requested to mobilize on a short notice and will be expected to deliver high quality finished products in a timely manner based on the instructions of the COR/PM.