Narrative description of Project:

The EU is one of the major providers of support to the implementation of the IPFMRP, and an important proportion of EU aid will directly or indirectly promote the use of existing country systems through Budget Support. Within the Nepal Multi-annual Indicative Programme 2021-2027, the EU will provide budget support through programmes in agriculture and rural development (€ 40 million), education supporting the Nepal’s School sector development plan (€61.4 million); support to federalism (€32,35 million) and nutrition (€32,35 million). Upcoming budget support programmes are expected for education and nutrition. The BS programmes will rely on PFM reform progress and are instrumental in setting incentives for reform and entering into policy dialogue with the Government of Nepal (GoN). It also emphasizes the importance of capacity development, including Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI), as part of their support. The EU is also supporting other PFM-related programmes including (i) EU-UNICEF Public Finance for Children Technical Assistance Facility (PF4C), (ii) Improving synergies between social protection and Public Finance Management, and (iii) European Union Support to Inclusive Federalism (EUSIF).

Description of actual services provided in the assignment: The overall objective of the assignment is to provide on-demand technical assistance (TA) to the EU Delegation and to all Government entities engaged in the PFM reform and/or targeted by the Budget Support programmes. The specific objectives are to provide support to the EU Delegation and the GoN as regards:

• Monitoring and reviewing progress made in the implementation of the national PFM reform program and related domains;
• Assisting on ad-hoc requests in the thematic of the TA, i.e.:
• monitoring, assessing, and reporting on the eligibility conditions of the Budget Support programmes, and
• assisting in the preparation of the disbursement files for the abovementioned programmes.

In addition, at request of the EUD, the team is expected to provide other ad-hoc demand-driven support on emerging issues which can range from issues at national and/or subnational level, specific sector related issues linked to the specific BS programme, emerging external or country developments affecting PFM and the implementation of BS programmes in the country or others linked to the EU agenda in the country.

Specific tasks:

• Supporting the preparation of EUD analytical work and related documentation, as well as reporting on GoN progress on the eligibility criteria for EU budget support, collaborating in drafting disbursement notes, in coordination with the GoN and other technical assistance teams supporting these interventions
• Analysing the context and the progress of the PFM reform, and specifically follow up and report on the Multi-Donor Trust Fund activities led by the World Bank by engaging with all stakeholders involved.
• Analysing progress on the EU-UNICEF programmes with wider PFM reform programmes (IPFMRP and other donors' programmes), as well as the European Union Support to Inclusive Federalism (EUSIF) implemented by UNDP and include relevant PFM aspects in the PFM reports.
• Supporting efficient policy dialogue (EUD/GoN) and coordination among all concerned stakeholders from Government, development partners and civil society.
• Supporting the coordination between EUD and the GoN on the Budget Support implementation process.
• Conducting demand driven (Government and/or EUD) PFM related analytical work (studies, research, assessments etc.).
• Supporting the organization and facilitation of EUD seminars, workshops, trainings, meetings, and conferences on the areas of EU Budget Support interventions in Nepal.

Approx. value of the contract (in current NRs; US$ or Euro): Euro 57,800.00 (Water Asia Portion only)

Duration of assignment (months): 24 months

Total No. of person-months of the assignment: 12.5 person months (International 3.16 pm and National 9.34 pm)

Approx. value of the services provided by your firm under the contract (in current NRs; US$ or Euro): Euro 57,800.00

No. of professional person-months provided bythe joint venture partners or the Sub Consultants: 3.16 person-months – inputs of international expert

Name of joint venture partner or sub-Consultants, if any:

Ecorys Consortium, The Netherlands (Lead Firm)

Water Asia International (Sub-consultant)

Name of Senior Staff (Project Director/Coordinator, Team Leader) involved and functions performed:

PFM expert- Yoga Raj Pokherel