Consultant specialized in participatory design of public spaces for USAID DOBRE Program/ Консультант з дизайну громадських об’єктів в програму USAD DOBRE

Global Communities, is seeking qualified short-term consultants for USAID-funded Decentralization Offering Better Results and Efficiency Program (DOBRE):

POSITION: A consultant specialized in participatory design of public spaces (markets, central squares, parks and other places) that will provide services for the Program’s rural communities. The community/ies will be additionally discussed on the final stage of the selection.

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE:                   up to 12 months

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE:                     Amalgamated Territorial Communities (ATC) located in Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kirovohrad, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk oblasts 

LOE (Level of Effort) DAYS:                       Average 20-40 LOE days per community. The exact number will be defined individually for each community.

TERMS OF REFERENCE

1. Background

The current climate in Ukraine offers an unprecedented opportunity for reform in many areas. On local governance, the Government of Ukraine has launched an ambitious effort at decentralization. They have provided additional funding through a transparent inter-governmental transfer to encourage smaller units of local government to consolidate and take advantage of economies of scale in providing better public services. They also made available a Regional Development Fund for infrastructure funding to encourage consolidation and improved services. Local governments themselves have started taking advantage of this and voluntarily consolidating.

Following decentralization process, local communities enlarge necessity in better civic engagement and finding solution in different areas of the community’s life.

2. DOBRE Project Description

Global Communities is implementing the USAID funded Decentralization Offering Better Results and Efficiency (DOBRE) program in Ukraine.  Launched in 2016, this 5-year project is helping leaders of newly formed Amalgamated Territorial Communities (ATC) to effectively manage resources, increase the quality of public services, stimulate local economies, and improve citizen engagement. DOBRE guides community stakeholders through a participatory Strategic Planning process that engages citizens, identifies issues, and allocates resources.  Based on the resulting strategic development plan, DOBRE assists community leaders to create and implement programs and projects that address the priority needs of the communities.

DOBRE is working with newly Amalgamated Territorial Communities located in the Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Kirovohrad, Mykolayiv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil Oblasts. Many leaders of ATCs lack the capacity to fulfil their new responsibilities resulting from decentralization and consolidation. Through a series of trainings and consultations, DOBRE is helping leaders to develop this essential capacity and effectively apply new knowledge and skills to engage citizens and improve their community.

 3. Scope of Work and Deliverables

Global Communities is willing to contract one or several consultants specialized in participatory design of public spaces, places with Placemaking approach, which will provide services to the Consolidated Communities of the Program.

The selected consultant will use participatory methods with organization of workshops, preparing sketches, drafts and short guidelines for the development of public spaces, market places, parks squares and green areas, where placemaking concept has to be applied.

These design solutions would be applied as reference to develop the public spaces, selected by communities where participants of the Consolidated Community are located, providing reference for the following professional engineering, if necessary.

 To find advanced solutions for the public spaces development and place making, the activity will include:

• Organizing and leading workshops on renovation, rehabilitation or development of the selected areas in the communities;
• Conduct and facilitate development workshops with active involvement of community members in the discussion about pros and cons of the areas, its analysis, preparing MoM’s (Minutes of Meeting with the actions, ideas and solutions noted)
• Providing initial sketches, based on the workshops to proceed with the development of the areas;
• Supporting community with an expertise in the public spaces development and place making;
• Providing low-cost effective solutions with use of local materials and workforce;
• Developing and providing the community with robust details of the public spaces development and Placemaking design (e.g. kiosks and merchants’ raw design, pavement section, benches, bins and light design) (short 5-10 pages A4 of reference details).

The consultant will provide the following deliverables:

• Evaluation of information, provided by the community about the site (initial information will be provided by DOBRE), site analysis and capacity of the site for the Placemaking concept, develop initial sketches and layouts;
• Organization of meetings, preparation for the workshops, presentation of the Placemaking concept (including information that place is not just for the market, selling point, etc., but also a public space for revitalizing LED and public life, see some examples at: https://www.pps.org/article/what-is-placemaking ) and how it can be realized in the community; finding solutions, make recommendations and professional advice to community members; conduct and facilitate development workshop with active involvement of community members in the discussion about pros and cons of the area, its analysis, preparing MoM’s (Minutes of Meeting with the actions, ideas and solutions noted)
• Final meetings– presentation of the solutions, discussion and actions plan to be taken by the Community to ensure implementation of place making concept. Presentation of public spaces, places sketches, layouts, details. Action plan should include development sketches for the spaces and areas, phases of renovation, rehabilitation or development and other required information. This meeting will be provided in a period of 8 to 14 weeks (may vary) after initial workshop.
• Layout (sketch, A2-A0, dwg and/or pdf and/or hand painted) of the public spaces, places development, including general layout of the places with location of all the facilities like: car parking and walkways, kiosks and merchants’ raw, canopies and playgrounds, summer stages and other area (if necessary). Technical details, like area, length of walkways, site of each target area, etc. High-level budget calculation with the amount of materials and scope of works.
• Reference details – recommended sections of the walkways, small architectural forms like kiosk or merchants’ raw general view (like façade), light support and light colour, benches (3-6 pages in A4 in dwg and/or pdf and/or hand written), list of plants to be used (where necessary).
• Brief 10-30 pages guide (in Ukrainian) for communities on Participatory design of public spaces/Placemaking in rural communities
• Final report on implemented activities to be approved by DOBRE technical representative.

  Qualifications and Experience of Trainers/Consultants

The ideal consultant will have the following qualifications:

• Experienced in participatory consultancy, design of public spaces, landscape and place making consultant (individual);
• Familiarity with national and international standards and up-to-date trends and approaches in public places design;
• Experience in international design is preferable;
• Experience with USAID/NGO/social projects is preferable.

Duration

The work will begin immediately after contract signing and be completed no later than 120 calendar days after the signing. If the Consultant will provide services to more than one community, the contract duration may be extended.

Estimated Level of Effort (LOE) Guide

The expected LOE per workshop measured in 8-hour work man-days is as follows:

Estimated for one community for the work of two consultants.

Exact number of communities served by the Consultant will be agreed on case-by-case basis.

* – per diems and travel expenses (taxi, train and hotel accommodation) will be reimbursed separately

Coordination and Reporting

 Technical Representative for all technical direction, monitoring, reporting and acceptance of the services provided by the Consultant will be DOBRE Construction Manager.

 Application Process

Submissions must be prepared in English and delivered electronically to the following address: [email protected], indicating “Landscape/Placemaking Design Consultant” in the subject line by August 27, 2019.

All submissions must include: 

• A summary (max. 2 pages) of the applicant’s expertise and experience, highlighting those aspects that are particularly relevant to the present assignment;
• Applicant’s CV (3 pages maximum);
• Proposed daily consultancy fee rate (in US$, supported by Biodata Form to be sent to applicant upon request).