Job: INTERNATIONAL CONSULTATION FOR THE FORMULATION OF A PROJECT DOCUMENT FOR UNDP TO DEVELOP A NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR SPATIAL PLANNING PROJECT

Location :

Amman, JORDAN

Application Deadline :

12-Oct-13

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Post Level :

International Consultant

Languages Required :

English  

Starting Date :
(date when the selected candidate is expected to start)

20-Oct-2013

Duration of Initial Contract :

18 working days over a period of 30 calendar days

Expected Duration of Assignment :

18 working days over a period of 30 calendar days

Background

In recent years, the development magnitude placed huge pressure on the country in its attempt to cope with the provision of infrastructure to accommodate the growth. The logical thing to do when a country is faced with such challenges is “to plan”. , being conscious about the challenges of the current physical setting of the various cities and regions and the pressure for development, embarked an effort to prepare plans for various parts of . What is now certainly needed is an overall policy that overarches these various planning initiatives and become the guiding policy for future planning initiatives.

Urban planning in Jordan has evolved substantially in recent decades, but the regulatory framework has not kept pace with developments on the ground. New planning methods have been introduced by various actors, including municipal governments, economic zone authorities, and civil society organizations. These methods incorporate many internationally recognized good practices, such as demand driven planning, stakeholder participation, and environmental and social impact analysis. The laws and regulations governing for physical planning in Jordan, however, have not been brought up to date to reflect these changes. The planning system in Jordan today is characterized by legal, institutional, and spatial fragmentation. 
Types of Plans/Definition of Plans ( existing according to current Planning Law)

Three types of plans are specified in the existing Planning Law:

• Regional Plans (Article 15);
• Structure Plans (Article 19);
• Detailed Plans (Article 23).

The Law itself does not specifically mention a national spatial plan or national spatial strategy. However, the 2006 National Land Use Plan was legalized by the Land Use Organization Regulation of 2007 issued by the Council of Ministers, which declared that it was based on Article 6 (authority of the SPC) and Article 67 (power of Council of Ministers to issue regulations to implement the Law). The Regulation applies to all lands outside the boundaries of approved structure plans. This Regulation classified lands into five basic categories: agricultural zones (A), rural area zones (B), marginal area zones (C), desert area zones (D), and forestry/wooded area zones (E). It then specified the permitted uses in each such zone. These zones were mapped and this Map is considered an integral part of the Regulation (Article 3). No change from such land use designation is permitted except based on instructions from the Council of Ministers, based on recommendations from the SPC (Article 4 and Article 19). Thus the Plan seeks to protect agricultural land, environmentally sensitive areas, nature preserves and other critical land uses.

There has been criticism of the National Land Use Plan regarding its permitting housing on fertile agricultural land. But the Plan is not intended to meet the needs for planning of all land in the country. Amendment of the Planning Law should provide explicitly for a national spatial strategy and plan as a top level of a spatial planning hierarchy. The present arrangement has an ad hoc quality to the extent that it does not define a hierarchy of geographical areas covering the whole country and a set of different types of plans that corresponds to the different geographical areas. The current planning system also does not systematically require that plans for one geographical area must comply with the plans for the larger geographical area within which it is located (regional plans fitting within a national plan, structure plans [city plans] fitting within regional plans, etc.). Article 15(1) states that regional plans are the necessary basis for adopting Structure Plans, but Article 19 does not specify that a structure plan for a municipality be based upon a regional plan. Article 23(1) does specify that detailed plans shall be prepared for different parts of the area under an approved structure plan.. However, such individual structure plans are not related to each other at a higher level which leads to inefficiency in planning.

The Government of Jordan (GOJ) obtained a loan and a grant from the World Bank and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD - French Development Agency) for the Regional and Local Development Project. The development objective of the project is to assist GoJ in promoting regionally balanced local development, principally through municipalities and other ancillary support institutions by: (a) improving the equity and adequacy of central-local resource transfers; (b) restructuring CVDB to improve its efficiency and diversify its products and services; (c) strengthening municipal financial management, revenue generation and service delivery capacity; and (d) improving regional planning and inter-municipal coordination to take advantage of economies of scale and strategic development opportunities. To this end, the project will be implemented within a governance framework of increased participation and downward/upward accountability, coupled with increased coverage and quality of municipal service provision, particularly in underserved areas. The project is envisaged as a first stage of a longer term process of decentralization in Jordan.

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs (MoMA) is committed to updating the national regulatory framework for urban planning. To that end, MoMA has contracted AECOM International Government Services and its partner firms, Al Jidara Investment Services and Sanad Law Group, to carry out this Urban Planning Regulatory Framework study. The study is partially financed by the World Bank under the Regional and Local Development Project (RLDP). The objective of the study was to strengthen the capacity of MoMA to fulfill its statutory mandate in overseeing and supporting subnational governments in their performance of responsibilities in the area of urban planning and development control. The consultant assisted MoMA to prepare and secure the approval of new elements of the national regulatory framework, including but not limited to new and amended laws and regulations for spatial planning and building construction.

The study was conducted in close collaboration with key government and civil society stakeholders such as Greater Amman Municipality (GAM), the Jordan Engineers’ Association and Jordan Construction Contractors’ Association, relevant other ministries, economic zone and development zone authorities, and sub-national governments, particularly municipalities. 
One of the most important elements of the proposed amended planning Law, is the NEW PLANNING DEFINITIONS: 
Amended Art. 2 (Definition of Terms) has been amended to provide the definitions of plan levels according to a four tiered planning system: (i) National Spatial Plan; (ii) Regional Plan; (iii) Municipality Plan; (iv) Detailed Plan plus the definition of (v) Areas Committee or the Municipal Areas Committee. The new definitions and the proposed system are in line with best international practice and with what is actually needed in Jordan.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives and tasks of the Assignment:

• The overall objective of this assignment is to design a project document for potential involvement of UNDP and UN Habitat in UN joint program in the field of National Strategy for Spatial Planning Project, building on on-going initiatives and complementing UNDP and UNHABITAT local and regional initiatives.

Scope of work:

• Conducting a mapping on land use planning, land management and spatial planning initiatives (meetings and review of available documentations);
• Identification of gaps/needs to support in this area;
• Identification of possible entry points for UNDP and UN Habitat, based on on-going initiatives and in complementarity with different stakeholders;
• Elaboration of a project document for a joint program (UNDP and UN Habitat) to support development of a National Strategy for Spatial Planning Project.

Deliverables:

• An inception report detailing work breakdown structure (work-plan), literature reviewed, list of information required, list of stakeholders to be met, and the methodology in which the consultant intends to carry out the assignment through, within a week of signing the contract;
• Documented report on situation analysis of national strategies in spatial planning in Jordan, gaps to support national strategies in spatial planning and implementation plan of possible entry points for UNDP and UN Habitat, based on on-going initiatives and in complementarity with different stakeholders;
• Submitting project document for UNDP-UN Habitat joint program to support development of national strategy spatial planning;
• Weekly progress report should be provided to UNDP and UNHABITAT.

Competencies

• Strong communication, and interpersonal skills;
• Demonstrated research and analytical skills.
• Strong command of English both written and spoken.
• Good knowledge of the UN system.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree in Regional or Urban Planning/Architecture, Urban Studies, Urban Management environment and related fields.

 Experience:

• Substantive experience and record of accomplishment in the area of land use/urban planning;
• At least 15 years of experience in the area of  rural and urban development planning.
• Experience in the region, would be an asset.

 Language Requirements:

• Fluency in written and spoken English. Arabic is an asset.

Computer skills:

• Excellent computer and word processing skills.

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals.

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

• 1-2 page proposal: Explaining why they are the most suitable for the work. Provide a brief methodology on how they will approach and conduct the work (if applicable);
• Financial proposal (which includes a breakdown of consultancy fees, travel cost, per diem, etc);
• Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references.

Noting that, only applications which include the above, will be considered. 

Financial proposal 

Lump sum contracts

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount including fees, travel cost, transportations. Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount. 

Evaluation: 

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodologies: 

Cumulative analysis 

When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
• Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Technical Criteria weight; 70%.

Financial Criteria weight; 30%.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

More Info and Application