Context

Home to two-thirds of the global population, cities contribute to three-quarters of the global greenhouse gas emissions and can be particularly vulnerable to changes in climate, underlining the need for heavy urban climate investments. However, as presented in the 2021 State of Cities Climate Finance report published by the Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance (CCFLA), annual urban climate investments stand at USD 384 billion, far less than needs, estimated to stand at USD 4.5 to 5.4 trillion. Overcoming the barriers to scaling urban climate finance requires effective coordination and collaboration among a wide range of stakeholders.

The project “CCFLA Local Hubs: Central Asia” aims to promote better coordination and partnerships between CCFLA members to increase urban climate investments in net zero carbon buildings in Central Asia. With over 80 members, CCFLA is the only multi-level and multi-stakeholder coalition aimed at closing the investment gap for urban subnational climate projects and infrastructure worldwide.

More specifically, the project seeks to achieve the aforementioned objectives using the cases of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as the main examples in Central Asia (other countries may be added depending on local CCFLA membership engagement). In particular, the work will focus on net zero carbon buildings, paying special attention to infrastructure renovation. In summary:

Table 1 – Summary of the project focus.

Target region	Target countries	Target sector	Infrastructure
Central Asia	Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan (others may be added)	Net zero carbon buildings	Renovation

Activities

In order to enhance coordination and partnerships between CCFLA members in the target region, the consultant will engage in a series of activities to respond to the following questions concerning scaling urban climate investments in the target sector:

• What CCFLA members are active in the region? What activities are they developing? What are the existing partnerships?
• What are the local needs? What barriers are currently preventing investments? What are the main opportunities, and how to realize them?
• What should CCFLA members do to address local needs and overcome investment barriers? What could they do together? How can effective coordination facilitate collaboration between members?

This understanding will come from the performance of the following activities:

• Interviews with CCFLA members in the region and relevant stakeholders (e.g., local and national policymakers, public and private financial institutions, private sector companies, local thinktanks) and desktop research; and
• Roundtables with CCFLA members in the region (organized by “affinity groups”) to discuss and validate the results of interviews and identify gaps and areas of action.

The consultant will consolidate the results and insights from the two activities in one report, which will also present recommendations to CCFLA members and other stakeholders on how to increase coordination and collaboration to increase climate investments in the target region and sector.

The consultant will also be responsible for supporting in the organization of an in-person forum in the region to launch the report and implement some of the key recommendations identified in the research through a workshop. Following the workshop, the consultant will develop a deep-dive knowledge product (e.g., report, policy brief, etc.), which builds on the forum and gives continuation to the implementation of the recommendation targeted in the forum.

In summary, the consultant will be responsible for delivering the following activities:

Figure 1 – Summary of the activities to be performed by the consultant.

Deliverables

Throughout the project, CCFLA will oversee and support the consultant, who will be responsible for carrying out  the necessary activities to deliver the following products:

1. Preparation of at least five roundtables with CCFLA members to facilitate partnerships, disseminate best practices and validate the results of the research;
2. One report summarizing the results and insights from the research, including recommendations to CCFLA members and other stakeholder groups;
3. Support in the organization of one forum in the region to launch the report and implement some of the main recommendations identified in the research through a >1 day workshop. Support provided would range from defining the forum structure, inviting panelists, and organizing the event logistics (e.g.,. venue, catering, cleaning).
4. One deep-dive knowledge product (e.g., report, policy brief, etc.), which gives continuation to the implementation of the recommendation targeted in the forum.

All items will be agreed upon and validated with the CPI/CCFLA team and may suffer small changes due to program changes.

Consultant profile

Qualifications

• Education/Training: Master’s degree or equivalent professional experience in finance, political science, economics, sustainable development, urban planning, public administration or a relevant subject.
• Language: Excellent business language skills in English are mandatory. Proficiency in Russian is highly desirable and in Kazakh and Uzbek is a plus..
• General professional experience: At least seven years of professional experience in or with municipal finance, international development organizations, consulting, research institutions, policymaking, or financial institutions. Must be able to demonstrate experience in municipal finance, preferably in the target region, and expertise in climate finance is highly desirable. Knowledge of target sector is highly desirable.
• Specific professional experience: (1) publications in this field; (2) strong analytical skills and working experience with crisp, concise writing; (3) project and stakeholder management and client-facing experience; (4) event and workshop organization track record.

Other specific requirements

• Availability: the consultant will organize regular exchanges with the CCFLA Secretariat.
• Travel: the consultant should be able to travel to (and in) the region to perform the desired activities.
• Location: consultants based at and with working experience in the target region will be preferred.

Proposal requirements

• The bidder must describe their approach, timeline, and budget for the services for which it is responsible and key aspects of the assignment in no more than three pages. The budget should also include 4 travels to the region and associated costs. Project personnel CVs should be included as an Annex.

Expected days of work

• The consultant should expect to work for at least 210 days between 2023 and 2024.

Proposal submission deadline

• Proposals are due to Francisco.macedo@cpiglobal.org by 9:00 GMT on 3 April 2023.

Selection criteria

The main selection criterion is the consultant’s capacity to deliver the project effectively and timely, and the selection will follow the principles of cost-effectiveness.