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CHALLENGE FUND 2020: APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN!

We are happy to inform you that the spring 2020 Call for Proposals for the Challenge Fund of the Czech-UNDP Partnership is open and accepting applications.

The objective of the Challenge Fund: Czech solutions for SDGs is to facilitate transfer of Czech know-how and innovative solutions that would address development challenges and contribute to the achievement of SDGs in six priority countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Georgia, Kingdom of Cambodia, Republic of Moldova and Republic of Zambia.

The eligible applicants include Czech private and public sector, NGOs, universities, state institutions or research centers. The applicants are required to engage local partners to assure viability in local conditions and to promote sustainability and scalability of the solution.

Interested applicants should submit their proposals via online application system on the Czech-UNDP Partnership for SDGs website by Tuesday 30 June 2020, 23.59 Istanbul time (GMT +3).

The estimated beginning of contracts is July 2020 and each contract is expected to last up to 12 months. The Challenge Fund awards range between US$20,000 and US$40,000, with applicants providing a minimum of 20% of co-funding of the total cost of the project.

For more information on the Challenge Fund, please consult the website or message cup.applications@undp.org.

CHALLENGE FUND 2020: APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN!

We are happy to inform you that the spring 2020 Call for Proposals for the Challenge Fund of the Czech-UNDP Partnership is open and accepting applications.

Interested applicants should submit their proposals via online application system on the Czech-UNDP Partnership for SDGs website by Tuesday 30 June 2020, 23.59 Istanbul time (GMT +3).

The estimated beginning of contracts is July 2020 and each contract is expected to last up to 12 months. The Challenge Fund awards range between US$20,000 and US$40,000, with applicants providing a minimum 20% of co-funding of the total cost of the project.

For more information on the Challenge Fund, please consult the website or message cup.applications@undp.org.

Projects supported under the B2B Program are facing a number of restrictions and challenges in connection with the Coronavirus crisis

The current Coronavirus crisis and associated restrictive measures put in place to a varying extent all over the world are resulting in a great number of restrictions and challenges for projects supported under the B2B Program. Given the rules governing the provision of grants from the state budget, unfortunately, in consequence of these objective circumstances, which are completely out of the implementers’ control, projects cannot be extended into the following year. However, it is possible to apply for changes to a project, particularly those concerning a shift in the schedule (still within the framework of the relevant year), the transfer of funds within the approved budget or changes to activities to be carried out in order to achieve project objectives in an alternative manner.

Shortly after the outbreak of the crisis, the CzDA called upon implementers to draft changes as soon as possible and to consult possible solutions with program managers or, where applicable, with the staff of the embassies in the individual countries through an intermediary. “We are constantly in contact with implementers and provide them with information and advice on these changes. Despite the fact that it is difficult to predict how the situation will develop further, we are delighted to say that for now all these projects are so far still under way and, although certain activities, particularly those involving travel abroad, have been postponed or cancelled, the implementers assume that these projects will be successfully completed,” says Dominika Caputová, manager of the B2B Program of the Czech Development Agency.

Given the nature of these projects, which are focused on developing enterprise activities in difficult territories where personal contact is often the only way of establishing cooperation and building the trust of a business partner, the inability to travel is a fundamental setback for all types of projects under the B2B Program. This fact has the greatest impact on projects that in 2020 require a partner to be identified, the local business conditions to be mapped out, a longer-term contract to be agreed on, a license to be acquired, etc. Projects prepared in previous years, so-called implementations, where cooperation is already under way between a Czech and local company on a particular development project, also face specific challenges.

Online training is easing complications caused by travel restrictions

Travel restrictions are causing problems in training for local workers, given the fact that in the vast majority of cases this involves new technologies or production processes that need to be demonstrated on site. One example is the project implemented by Sunnycold, s.r.o., which aims at transferring Czech technology for battery storage production to Indonesia, which, owing to its unique location and the fact that it is spread across islands, shows a strong need for decentralized electricity generation. However, this is almost impossible to achieve for economic reasons. Therefore, most Indonesian islands still struggle with a shortage of energy and are dependent on subsidized diesel aggregates. The current prices of alternative technologies from abroad are far higher than what the local market can afford. In response to the fact that it is impossible to travel and train the partner company’s staff in how to connect up and use the technology on site, Sunnycold has produced a special training unit to enable the technical staff of the partner Indonesian company to be trained online so that in the future it can produce battery storage itself locally and thus offer a suitable alternative for replacing conventional sources of electricity with renewable sources or streamline current electricity generation facilities.

“In many cases the local branches of firms acting as partners in the project were closed for health and hygiene reasons, so no local production, harvests or expert analyses can be carried out. Given that the operation of the national and regional authorities is limited, there are also delays in the certifications needed for export to the Czech Republic, and thus to the EU in general. There is no universal solution to this problem. In order to alleviate the impact of this, implementers are planning alternative solutions, always depending on the nature of the project or the specific conditions in the countries in which they operate,” explains Dominika Caputová, adding that companies that are already established in the relevant region and can rely on already trained key local managers and technical and specialized workers have a great advantage.

Implementers may consult CzDA at any time about their current problems

These firms do not have to postpone their activities in the target countries and can at least temporarily transfer them to their local teams (possibly with extra staffing), who have the professional support and backing of their Czech partners. For three years now, AAA Techlabs, s.r.o., for instance, has been working on the production and further development of special DOT Glasses (formerly Spectaler), which are the cheapest solution to refractive vision defects in the world and are thus affordable to users even in the poorest and most remote areas in developing countries. After years of development work with the company, and also thanks to the support from the B2B Program, injection moulds have now been made for the production of frames for these glasses. Now, within the framework of ongoing pilot programs, the product is being further refined and a partner distribution network is being set up. Thanks to existing contacts and backing in India, to where the company is also planning to move its production, local retailers and distributors can also get involved and positions can be created for local senior sales consultants. Overall, however, the company’s sales plans are to be postponed by several months, given the fact that local distribution partners are unable to move around and healthcare partners are fully occupied with the current crisis. The company is using this time to develop an order application and a new website to present its new products. An article about this project supported by the CzDA can be found here.

For now, firms that do not yet have this kind of backing in place have to postpone partial activities in their target countries and focus on activities that can be implemented from the Czech Republic – e.g. analyses, preparing a marketing strategy, developing sales channels and PR, creating e-shops, etc.

In cases where the key phases of a project call for highly specialized work that should be carried out by Czech experts, such as conducting hydrological analyses, taking and analyzing samples, preparing the source documentation for certification, etc., in certain countries local specialists can be hired to carry out these activities. However, this option is only open to some firms, such as those operating in the Balkans, for example, or in specific regions of Asia or Africa, where an adequate expert base already exists.

One example of such a company is Vodní zdroje, a.s., which is working on the remediation of dumping grounds in the Serbian city of Pančevo. The specialized hydrogeological works associated with the risk analysis, which would include a description of the potential spread of contamination outside the sludge dump and which under standard conditions would be carried out by the company’s own specialists as part of their mission, will most probably be outsourced in Serbia.

“The implementers of the projects we support can contact us at any time to discuss their current problems. We are flexible and operative as regards approving justified changes within the framework of the set rules and wish everyone plenty of strength, success, and especially health. We are delighted that they are not giving up,” adds Dominika Caputová.

Infant mortality in Cambodia is being reduced with Czech help

While as late as 1990 the WHO reported 116 deaths for every 1,000 births in Cambodia, the situation has now improved fourfold. This is credited to a Czech Development Agency project through which health care equipment and neonatal tools, including incubators, were provided to the Pediatric Hospital in Phnom Penh. This leading clinic specializing in procedures typically beyond the capacity of regional hospitals examines some 20,000 pediatric patients every year.

Despite the significant improvement in Cambodia’s infant mortality rates to a level similar to that of Indonesia or the Philippines, according to the WHO care for mothers and children here continues to lag behind. This is due to the poor quality of health care services provided in the state and private sectors and low availability of care – particularly for residents in remote rural areas. One problem is a lack of qualified health care personnel or outdated or non-functioning hospital equipment. For this reason, the project Rozvoj oddělení neonatologie v rámci Národní pediatrické nemocnice (NPN) (“Development of Neonatal Departments in National Pediatric Hospital”) contributes to an increase in the quality of health care services provided in the field of neonatal medicine by educating health care personnel and improving technical equipment.

“The project for support of the neonatal ward, provided in coordination with the Cambodian Ministry of Health and in close cooperation with NPN, has taken place over several phases. In addition to the delivery of equipment, Czech specialists in neonatal care from General University Hospital in Prague have become involved, contributing to training hospital staff. Yet another project is being planned as well, in which Czechia is seeking to create a new university discipline of biomedical engineering. The goal is to cover the demand for specialists capable of maintaining and repairing health care instruments. The lack of these skills has often prevented full use of health care equipment and its stable maintenance including minor repairs,” Štěpán Vojnár of the Czech Embassy in Phnom Penh describes the project.

The gala presentation of the health care equipment took place in the presence of the Cambodian Minister of Health, Mam Bunhenga, and chargé d’affaires a.i. Vlastimil Tesař in mid-January of this year. Altogether 31 health care devices including phototherapy lamps, life function monitors, pulse oximetry, heating pads, bilirubinometer, cooling equipment for hypothermic treatment, blood gas analyzer, ventilators for mechanical ventilation of newborns and neonatal incubators in total value of CZK 7,900,000. “The newborn incubators, heating pads, and phototherapy lamps are from the České Budějovice company TSE. TSE representatives first met with hospital leadership in March of last year to discuss opportunities for collaboration. Their specialists then had the opportunity to become familiar with this equipment in Czech health care facilities. The actual delivery and installation including user trainings was provided by another Czech company, Medsol,” says Lucie Chudá of the Czech embassy in Phnom Penh.

A chance for other Czech companies with health care equipment

The instruments will allow the Cambodian experts to provide professional and multilateral care for newborns who are brought to the national hospital when health complications exceed the capabilities of provincial health care facilities. The equipment provided by the Czech Republic thereby contribute to rescuing the health and lives of newborns from all over the country.

During the gala presentation, Minister of Health Mam Bunhenga stressed that the Cambodian kingdom deeply appreciates the development assistance provided by the Czech Republic in support of the public health care system. He stated that the equipment received undoubtedly increases the quality of health care at NPN and considers that it could support the declared goal of the Cambodian government of reducing the infant mortality rate by half. He also accentuated the role of NPN in disseminating experience with preventive and therapeutic procedures with health care facilities throughout the country.

“Even though the three-year development project with the National Pediatric Hospital was to be completed this year, there could be potential here to deepen our collaboration in neonatology and perinatology. For Czech companies interest in delivering health care equipment to Cambodia is the most suitable path to establish contacts within the local private sector, which dominates the health care system in terms of coverage and patient trust. The collaboration with private providers and distributors should be the main goal of their interest. Apart from this, it offers certain opportunities in international development partnerships. Here it is worth recommending the now relatively well-known Program B2B from the Czech Development Agency,” adds Štěpán Vojnár.

This project is now the ninth health care project financed by the Czech Republic focused on improving maternal-fetal medicine. Since 2010 the Czech Republic has contributed CZK 74.3 million in development aid to Cambodia thus far and has thereby helped the overall improvement in maternal-fetal care in the country.

The Czech Development Agency announces a selection procedure for the position of Project Manager of a project of delegated cooperation “EU Support to agriculture competitiveness and rural development in Bosnia a Herzegovina”

About the Czech Development Agency:

The Czech Development Agency is a state organization under the authority of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, established by Act No. 151/2010 Coll. in order to implement international development cooperation;
the annual budget of the Czech Development Agency is approximately CZK 500 million from the state budget and it implements projects of international development cooperation in partner countries;
the Czech Development Agency offers a dynamic and culturally open working environment for people who care about less developed countries and want to spread a good reputation of the Czech Republic abroad;
For more information about Czech Development Agency visit www.czechaid.cz.

Duties:

Complex management of the whole project,
Drafting project documentation (Description of Action) in such manner as to comply with all requirements of DEU (Delegation of the European Union), UNDP (United Nations Development Programs), Czech Development Agency, embassy of the Czech Republic in Sarajevo and other relevant stakeholders^[1], and providing clear and comprehensive information about aims, outputs, activities and indicators for the future implementer of the whole project,
Searching for relevant agriculture experts in the Czech Republic, European Union or BiH (Bosnia and Herzegovina) who will provide expert assessment during the project preparation and possibly also support the experts during the project implementation, and preparing contracts with these experts,
Participating in all meetings with DEU, UNDP and relevant ministries and drafting short reports from each of these meetings for the Czech Development Agency and the Embassy in Sarajevo,
Regular monitoring of project implementation (at least once a month) with regard to fulfillment of conditions set by the European Commission and drafting monitoring reports for the Czech Development Agency and the Embassy,
Cooperating in preparation of a tender invitation for a project implementer (grant) and participation in the evaluation committee,
Creating and monitoring preliminary and final narrative and financial reports and ensuring their compliance with the requirements of the European Union and UNDP,
Reporting summaries concerning project implementation, fulfilment of outcomes and activities to the Czech Development Agency and to the Embassy once a month. The report will contain a list of all meetings attended, their results, brief summary of the development/political decisions/changes concerning agricultural advisory, agricultural policies and agricultural information systems,
Identifying possible problems and risks related to project implementation and if necessary, suggesting modifications of the project to the Czech Development Agency. And further preparing supporting documentation for the Czech Development Agency which describe in detail the changes concerning financial and program modifications of the project. Consulting suggested modifications with DEU a UNDP upon approval by the Czech Development Agency.

The project “EU Support to agriculture competitiveness and rural development in Bosnia a Herzegovina” will be implemented by the Czech Development Agency and UNDP within the scope of delegated cooperation between 2020 (1 March 2020) and 2024 (29 February 2024) in the area of agriculture. The project focuses on three main areas: agricultural policy, agricultural advisory and agricultural information systems. The budget of the Czech Development Agency for this project is EUR 1,300,000.

Requirements for applicants:

Citizenship of the Czech Republic or European Union and clear penal register;
Completed university education in the field of international development cooperation and/or agriculture and/or European studies and/or other similar relevant fields, if such education was completed outside of the Czech Republic
Professional experience with international project management as a project manager, at least 5 years;
Professional experience with agricultural politics (e.g. harmonization with EU legislation) and/or agricultural advisory (e.g. grant applications) and/or agricultural information systems (e.g. LPIS – http://eagri.cz/public/app/lpisext/lpis/verejny2/plpis/);
English language, at least C1 level according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages;
Good communication and presentation skills.

Type of cooperation: Systemized position for a citizen of the Czech Republic – salary classification pursuant to government Decree No. 341/2017 Coll., work based on an employment contract (the employee will go on a long business trip and receive subsistence allowance + spending money + respective remuneration based on the results), or for a citizen of the Czech Republic or a resident of another EU member state a contract on cooperation (self-employment – corresponding financial remuneration for such position)

Expected beginning of employment: immediately

Place of work: Bosnia and Herzegovina (1 year), in the following years the Czech Republic with frequent trips to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Your application should contain:

Structured professional curriculum vitae in Czech or English;
Motivation letter in English.

Deliver your applications until 22 March 2020 to necasova@czechaid.cz or by mail to:

Czech Development Agency

Nerudova 3

118 50 Prague 1 – Malá Strana

To the left-hand corner of the envelope state “Project Manager of a project of delegated cooperation “EU Support to agriculture competitiveness and rural development in Bosnia a Herzegovina”.

Contact person for this selection procedure: Mgr. Lucie Nečasová, Ph.D., (tel.: 251 108 105), E-mail: necasova@czechaid.cz.

The Czech Development Agency reserves the right to terminate the selection procedure at any time, not to staff all the positions described or to select none of the applicants without providing the reasons.

[1] (i.e. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy of the Republic of Serbia, BiH – MoA RS, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Water Economy and Forestry, BiH – MoA FBiH, Directorate for European Integration BiH, Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations BiH, Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations – Office for harmonization and coordination of payment systems in agriculture and rural development, Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations – BiH Administration for Plant Health Protection (Uprava BiH za zaštitu zdravlja bilja – UZZB), Federal bureau for labor inspection (FUZIP), Inspectorate of the Republic of Serbia (field of agriculture and phytosanitation), BiH Food Safety Agency – FSA, Ministry of European Integration Office

Unique tool in Czech-UNDP Partnership will merge solutions for development challenges with creative innovations – join us with your innovative solution!

Following a long-term partnership between the UNDP and the Czech Republic, via projects like the Czech Trust Fund, a new Czech-UNDP Partnership has been launched in 2018. The partnership focuses on the search for innovative solutions to development problems and has so far supported 17 projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Moldova. The success of the program has attracted interest from Poland and Slovakia, which are preparing to replicate them within their own development cooperation.

“Current trend in the development cooperation is to focus on engaging the private sector and mobilizing funds beyond public finances. This engagement increases the number of possibilities available for solving development issues and strengthens their impact. It is a modern approach, and I am proud that Czech Republic is a part of it,” says the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Martin Tlapa on the account of the new project.

The goal of the Czech-UNDP Partnership for the Sustainable Development Goals (abbrev. CUP) is to contribute to the long-term sustainable development in selected partner countries via utilization of Czech expertise, alongside the identification and implementation of innovative solutions with the potential to scale across the sectors and the regions.

This is how the CUP follows the global trend, which emphasizes the need for involvement of all possible financial resources – public and private, local and international – to increase the positive impact of development activities.

Innovative solutions in development cooperation

The Challenge Fund is the latest element of the Czech Republic´s cooperation with UNDP, which will serve as a unique platform for transfer of much-valued Czech expertise. “This tool was first used in Malawi and Czechs are among the first to use this tool for further project implementation – its uniqueness is in the fact that it put the innovative approaches as a core of addressing development challenges,” says Václav Bálek, the director of the Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the Challenge Fund platform which presents the basis of the new launched program. “Development cooperation is usually carried out in such a way that the goals, outputs and activities are set in a cooperation with the local people – and afterwards, a suitable implementer is being sought. Here, however, the problems are first identified and defined by the local partners themselves who then, in cooperation with the implementors, propose suitable solutions. We then choose the most suitable one based on quality, degree of innovation and potential for further expansion,” he adds to the details of this unique approach.

CUP, in cooperation with local UNDP offices, focuses primarily on Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Moldova, where it contributes to building local capacities to address development challenges through sharing Czech know-how and innovation. It will focus on four key sectors – governance, sustainable management of natural resources, economic transformation and agriculture, and rural development. The success of the program is based on close cooperation between the Czech entities and local partners.

The Czechs helped us a lot

“Everybody knows that the Czechs have a lot of experience in dealing with the effects of floods – but there is little talk about the fact that it is not only classical procedures and robust solutions that are suitable for large rivers, but that there are also modern technologies that bring inexpensive solutions to combat floods on small river streams, ”says Senida Dzajic-Rghei of the Hydroinformatics Institute, who oversees the installation of stations collecting information about the lower flows and solving the problem of so-called flash floods. “The system collects information that cannot be captured in another way, but also tracks the current situation – and in the case of elevated lower levels of the waters, it immediately sends a short message to those responsible from the local government about the possible danger,” she describes the operation of the system.

“We cannot afford a solution that is used in Western Europe. We wouldn’t be able to cover the running expenses, it could also be a problem with storage. We are very pleased for what Zikmund electronics s.r.o. has brought us, it is a quality and effective solution. The Czechs have helped us a lot,” says a representative of the Water and Sewerage Systems from Bijelina in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where a push camera will be used for sewer inspection, which will enable it to solve any problems quickly and cheaply. Petr Zikmund is also enthusiastic about the development of his company and says: “We have been working in the field of development and production of the push camera systems for almost 30 years. It is a time when we have been able to develop a range of detection and control systems to work in different levels of inaccessible areas. We are very pleased that our novelty – TechWorm push camera has found its application abroad, where it will help in the detection of defects in piping systems. We believe that over time there will be the possibility of delivering large inspection and detection systems to this development area.” Because of its extraordinary qualities, TechWorm has entered the Czech Innovation Award of 2019.

“It was a unique experience for us, we helped to solve the local problem of introducing new technologies into the city administration and at the same time we opened the door for further partnerships in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” says Lukáš Blatecký, project manager of Incinity, Zlín Region for the year 2018 and the first of innovative solutions implementers, which participated in the implementation of a new e-system for public administration in the city of Tuzla.

The list of 17 supported projects can be found here.

Czech inspiration for development cooperation

“The UNDP welcomes the innovative approach brought in and advanced by the Czech members of the Partnership Team. Yet again, this makes them an inspiration for other projects and partnerships. As a result, we greatly value the presence of our Czech colleagues here in Istanbul, as they are bringing another perspective to the table, one that is already extremely diverse,” states Dagmar Novohradská, CUP Program Manager, representing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic at UNDP.

Her words confirm that the Czech Republic’s cooperation with UNDP is successful not only through the fruitful sharing of Czech expertise in the transition to democracy and the market economy, but also serves as proof of the Czech Republic’s readiness for a stable partner on the international development scene.

For more information about the new program “Czech-UNDP Partnership for Sustainable Development Goals” see this websites.

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