Individual Consultant - ASSA Provincial Baseline Assessments and Work Planning

Please note that the deadline is based on Korean Standard Time Zone (KST, UTC+9)

INTRODUCTION TO GGGI

The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) is a treaty-based international, inter-governmental organization dedicated to supporting and promoting strong, inclusive and sustainable economic growth in developing countries and emerging economies. To learn more please visit about GGGI web page. 

PROJECT BACKGROUND

Based in Seoul, the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) is an intergovernmental organization founded to support and promote a model of economic growth known as "green growth", which is low-carbon, environmentally sustainable, climate-resilient, and socially inclusive. GGGI works with Member and partner countries around the world, building their capacity and working collaboratively on green growth policies that can impact the lives of millions.  Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a founding member of GGGI, and the GGGI office in PNG was established in 2018 in Port Moresby and is based within the Climate Change and Development Authority (CCDA), which is the focal point or National Designated Authority (NDA) to the Green Climate Fund and Adaptation Fund

A key mandate for CCDA under the Climate Change Development Act (2015, 21 Rev) is to coordinate, mobilize financing for PNG’s climate financing needs in line with its national climate goals outlined in its Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDPIV), National Adaptation Plan (2023) and NDC Implementation Plan (2020-30).

In 2021, GGGI and CCDA, started developing a project called the Adaptation for Small Holder Agriculture Farmers (ASSA) aimed at supporting a diversified rural food system and the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices by smallholder farmers in three provinces (Enga, New Ireland and Milne Bay). Based on statistics from 2017 to 2022, Enga, Milne Bay, and New Ireland are among the fastest-growing provinces in PNG with 3.1%, 2.5%, and 3.5% per year, respectively. High frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall, waterlogging, intensity of droughts, and soil nutrient deficiency caused by reduced fallow periods, slash-and-burn practices, and soil erosion, are limiting agricultural production in these provinces

The ASSA project, totaling USD10 million for the three provinces, was submitted to the Adaptation Fund (AF) and approved by its Board at its 40th meeting in Bonn, Germany, on 23–24 March 2023. The AF was established by the USA, UK, Germany, France, and other countries to finance adaptation projects and programs in developing countries who are vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change and are parties to the Kyoto Protocol.

 The goals of the ASSA project are to:

(i)   enhance the sustainability of main agricultural value chains through the adoption of climate-smart practices, contributing to improving the produces’ quality, increasing access to markets,

(ii)  creating green jobs for women and youth in vulnerable communities. Specific objectives include:

• integrating climate-resilient agriculture practices into standard farming techniques in PNG for increasing productivity, resilience, and food security of the most vulnerable smallholder farmers, particularly women and youth farmers
• boosting the ability of vulnerable smallholder farming communities, particularly women farmers,
• enhancing postharvest processing, storage technologies, and profitable markets
• promoting climate-resilient practices of farmers, through capacity building and knowledge management.

ASSA will be implemented over a five-year period, considering the time required to implement the structural changes to be promoted in food crop systems, the differences in the crop cycles, as well as institution-building needs in the sector, and the time needed to improve significantly women’s participation and leadership in the agricultural sector.

The ASSA project is important for Papua New Guinea (PNG) for several reasons. It is a single-country initiative that is fully funded by a well-known multilateral climate fund. Additionally, it is a grant project that is being implemented directly by the Government of PNG through the Department for Agriculture (DAL), which reports to the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) as the regional Accredited Entity.

The implementation agreement between SPC and DAL was signed in December 2024 and March 2025, respectively. ASSA was approved by the Adaptation Fund in March 2023, so there has been a significant delay in the commencement of this Project. At the PNG end, much time has been expended navigating the process to establish a trust account for ASSA within the Government of PNG’s regulations and policies. While the arrangements for the ASSA trust deed are now in place, it is estimated that an additional 3 to 6 months will be needed for DAL to successfully establish the trust account, implement project financial systems, and recruit the project team. Without further support, ASSA implementation may not properly begin until 2026. This poses a significant risk not only to the project itself but also to PNG's reputation for attracting further international climate finance. DAL has requested that GGGI, as the project initiators, explore ways to accelerate DAL's implementation. DAL has set aside an ASSA preparation budget that could support their staff travel and input into this work.

The Government of the UK, through the Climate Access and Absorption program implemented by GGGI, is helping countries to effectively use international climate financing. A small portion of funds is being allocated for this work to help DAL start ASSA implementation, including convening its Inception Workshop before the end of 2025.

This assignment involves working with 3 Provincial Governments, DAL, CCDA, and GGGI to undertake selected baseline assessments, stakeholder mapping, and the development of an initial 12-month WorkPlan to be presented to the ASSA Project Steering Committee Meeting to be held before the end of 2025.

This consultancy involves conducting baseline activities /assessments with the following main objectives:

1. Map key stakeholders for ASSA and where/how these partners will be involved in the Project. This includes the key focal points at the provincial and local government levels.
2. Conduct community-led selection, evaluation, and validation of resilient crops menu (eg sweet potatoes, taro, etc) and key value chains to be supported by the Project based on ASSA project documents
3. Prepare a draft Work Plan for 2026 to be presented to the ASSA Project Steering Committee Meeting to be held before December 2025.

A copy of the ASSA Project Document and provincial climate risk (CRGG) reports will be made available to the Consultant.  An inception meeting between the Consultant, DAL, CCDA, and GGGI will be held to discuss the Consultancy outputs in line with the ASSA project.  (see attachment/overview of ASSA).

DELIVERABLES AND PAYMENT SCHEDULE

The specific outputs and deliverables to be achieved by the consultant are:

Overall Output: ASSA Provincial Baseline Assessments and Work Plan

Deliverable 1: Draft Provincial Assessment Plan for ASSA (September 2025)

• Meet with DAL, GGGI, and UNWomen to agree on the scope or priorities for the assessments, confirm mission participation, and logistics.  Note this is a rapid assessment and its key goal is to select strategic areas of focus or select baseline activities to enable the Project to start work in the first 12 months, noting that there will be intensive work in parallel by DAL to fully establish the ASSA Project Management Unit (PMU), systems, and processes.  Ultimately, the Year 1 Work Plan should identify baseline activities for ASSA that should be built in from Year 2 onwards.  The agreed scope of this assignment will be communicated to the provincial administrations as well as members of the soon-to-be-established Project Steering Committee and Technical Working Group (TWG) through DAL.   

•   The Consultant is to produce a:

  • Draft assessment plan that contains key stakeholders to be consulted, key issues to be covered, baseline KPIs that can be collected or confirmed, provincial reporting lines etc. Note that assessments need to be prioritized so as to develop an initial 12-month Work Plan for ASSA.  The format of the provincial Assessment plan should be agreed with DAL and GGGI.
  • proposed format of the Stakeholder Mapping report. The format of this plan should be agreed with DAL and GGGI. This report will eventually be submitted to the ASSA Project Steering Committee.

Deliverable 2: Stakeholder Consultations (1-3 provinces) Sep-October 2025

• Undertake provincial visits to the ASSA provinces with DAL, CCDA, GGGI, and UNWomen to:  

• map key stakeholders for ASSA, including the provincial administrations, and map where/how these partners will be involved based on the Project's key deliverables.

• propose how key focal points at the provincial levels should be organized for ASSA project initiation and implementation with DAL, taking into account planned ASSA staff positions. 

• Select, evaluate, and validate resilient crops menu (eg, sweet potatoes, taro, etc) and value chains to be supported by the Project in line with the ASSA project design document.

• Summary of stakeholder consultations (CCDA, GGGI).  The final version of this report will be submitted to the ASSA Project Steering Committee.

• Note that DAL will meet its staff travel expenses.

Deliverable 3: Final Reporting – Stakeholder Mapping, Assessment reports, and ASSA 12-month Work Plan

• Final Stakeholder Mapping report, including the provincial administrations, and mapping where/how these partners will be involved based on the Project's key deliverables.

• Assessment report that covers key baseline issues, including priority staple crops and value chains to be supported, baseline KPIs, relevant stakeholders, and other issues

• Initial 12-month Work Plan for ASSA based on provincial assessments and stakeholder reports.  

The consultant is expected to work under the general guidance of GGGI in close collaboration with the PNGs Department of Agriculture (DAL), Climate Change Development Authority (CCDA), and UNWomen. The consultant is expected to:

• be already based in Papua New Guinea and available for the duration of this consultancy
• be available for online and country meetings as agreed with CCDA and GGGI
• Undertake travel to the three ASSA provinces
• Submit the report in electronic versions (in English) readable by a Microsoft Office application.
• All developed products under this assignment (incl. raw files and editable forms) will become the property of GGGI and CCDA

The consultant must meet the following competency requirements:

• A minimum of a Masters’ degree or equivalent in Project Management, Agriculture, International Development, Business Administration, Strategic Management, or any other related field
• A minimum of 5 years’ experience and proven track record in working with development projects with bilateral and multilateral donors  
• Practical and hands-on work experience in PNG agriculture sector and policy or program development and work planning with the PNG Government is preferred.
• Demonstrated knowledge of PNG provincial government working and reporting mechanisms
• Excellent report writing skills in English.

Total Fees of this consultancy: USD 9,500

The following documents are required as part of the consultant’s application (must be in English): 

• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Cover letter indicating availability

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Candidates are therefore encouraged to apply as soon as possible by 03 September 2025, 11:59PM Korean Standard Time (KST). Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered

Child protection – GGGI is committed to child protection, irrespective of whether any specific area of work involves direct contact with children. GGGI’s Child Protection Policy is written in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 

ANNEX 1
ASSA OVERVIEW