The Center for Rural Assistance recruits a national expert in the area of agriculture in order to prepare a national policy review of the effectiveness and efficiency of SAPARD program operations as EC pre-accession instrument. The research will assess current achievements and deficiencies of Sapard operation, analyze the impact of current projects supported under Sapard on national agriculture, assess the administrative capacities of national Sapard agencies to manage the programme as the most decentralized EC programme as well as to analyze their future prospects to effectively implement CAP and related measures. The research is done simultaneously in five new member states (Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia) and in two candidate countries (Bulgaria, Romania) as part of the project Comparative Review of SAPARD Pre-Accession Assistance Impact, supported by Open Society Institute ZUG Foundation / OSI. More information regarding the criteria for selection are described in the attached document. Please submitt your CV by email no later than 31 October 2004. Contact person: Andreea Katona Program director Tel: +40 – 256 - 221470 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.rural-center.org <http://www.rural-center.org/> Terms of Reference on a National review of SAPARD pre-accession assistance impact on national agriculture and rural development Background: SAPARD is a special accession programme of the European Commission for agriculture and rural development which aims to help candidate countries deal with the problems of the structural adjustment in their agricultural sectors and rural areas, as well as in the implementation of the acquis communautaire concerning the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) and related legislation. SAPARD came into effect on January 1, 2000, and is budgeted until the end of 2006. However, candidate countries may only benefit through SAPARD between the year 2000 and the time they join the Union. In summary SAPARD finances major agricultural and rural development projects, has an annual budget of EURO 520 million, comes under the responsibility of the DG Agriculture. The financial operations under SAPARD are entitled to special national SAPARD agencies which get accreditation from the EC. Sapard aims to support the efforts made by the candidate countries to prepare for their participation in the Common Agricultural Policy and the Single Market. It helps to solve the priority and specific problems in agriculture and rural development and to contribute to the implementation of the acquis communautaire (the whole body of Community legislation) concerning the CAP and other agricultural priorities. The allocation to each country is based on certain criteria. These include agricultural area, farming population and GDP per capita. The allocations differ significantly from one country to the next. For instance Poland receives the largest allocation of € 160 million per year, Slovenia the smallest: € 6.3 million per year. 2004, as the year of the 5th unprecedented EU enlargement, is considered to be the right time to mobilize national experts from the new EU member states and the candidate countries. Their job is to evaluate: * the consistency of the SAPARD strategy in terms of relevance and (internal and external), appropriateness and effectiveness of the implementing arrangements (division of responsibilities, management, and control) as well as the monitoring system (as a source of information for evaluation and a tool for management); * the initial achievements of the SAPARD programme in terms of effectiveness and efficiency; * the application of common and programme specific evaluation questions, criteria and indicators. This will lead to the overall comparative assessment of the institutional impact of SAPARD as a mean of preparing the relevant Candidate Country for the implementation of the acquis communautaire and to analyze the readiness of new EU member states to switch to structural funds oriented to agriculture (esp. FEOGA (European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund and Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG)) Scope of work: The scope of research work covers the preparation of a national policy review of the effectiveness and efficiency of Sapard programme operations as EC pre-accession instrument. It will assess current achievements and deficiencies of Sapard operation, analyze the impact of current projects supported under Sapard on national agriculture, assess the administrative capacities of national Sapard agencies to manage the programme as the most decentralized EC programme as well as to analyze their future prospects to effectively implement CAP and related measures. More specifically the research should cover: FOR CANDIDATE COUNTRIES (Bulgaria and Romania) - Analysis of Sapard positive impact for implementation of the acquis in the area of CAP. - Analysis of Sapard’s contribution for improvement of application of the goals and procedures of the CAP and for raising the administrative capacity of public administration with regard to harmonization of national legislation, creation and enhancement of capacity of operational structures for implementation of policies for agricultural and rural development, improvement of transparency of procedures - Analysis of the role of Sapard for the application of the pattern of partnership and for undertaking the consultative process which engages the social and economic partners - Profile of the supported SAPARD beneficiaries and measures considered for its improvement and diversity - Analysis of factors, considered important for chasing funds under the Programme such as access to available funding, existence of the so called “synergy effect” (combining the efforts of agricultural producers and manufacturers for realization of projects related to the production – manufacture chain) - Analysis of Sapard contribution to the solving out priority and specific problems of the progressive adaptation of the agriculture and rural regions in candidate countries - Analysis of how the IB component of Phare Programme can strengthen the SAPARD impact. - Analysis of how the decentralized model of SAPARD management can be transferred to other post-accession EC financial instruments Structure of the national review[1] The national policy review should follow the following structure; Executive summary (up to 3 pages) Introduction (problem statement, research goal, definition of terms, research methodology, sources of information) (up to 6 pages) Framework analysis (up to 15 pages) Policy options (up to 2 pages) Conclusions and policy recommendations (up to 2 pages) Appendixes List of acronyms (up to 1 page). National expert’s qualifications - University degree on economics or agriculture related discipline - Knowledge of project cycle management of Sapard programme - Knowledge on EC funded projects in the area of agriculture in his/her country of origin - Knowledge on EC pre-accession financial instruments - Desirable work/consultative experience in the Ministry of agriculture or national agency related to financing projects under Sapard - Consistent policy research capacities - Excellent commands in English - Serious practical familiarity with the SAPARD program - Ability to organize their thoughts in a constructive written manner. Period of implementation of the research 15 July 2004 – 15 May 2005 Period for draft, final reports submission 15 December 2004 – draft paper 15 January 2005 – final paper Period for participation in the international conference April 2005 Deliverables and activities: 1. Preparation of a national review on current achievements and deficiencies of Sapard operations. The review is not expected to exceed 30 pages, should be prepared in English and should be delivered in one hard and one electronic copy. 2. Participation as a key speaker in an one-day international conference entitled “SAPARD programme – effective EC pre-accession instrument: comparative review” and presentation of the national review core findings and conclusions, to be held in April 2004 in Sofia. Terms and conditions: The consultant will be paid depending on the qualifications and level of experience in the research topic as follow: 50 % upon completion of the draft policy review and 50 % upon the submission of the final report to the European Institute, Sofia. His/her travel, accommodation (in Sofia) and subsistence expenses will be covered by the European Institute, Sofia. _____ [1] The national experts should not provide background on the SAPARD program (unless there are vital country-specific elements that must be mentioned). There will be an introduction in the compendium of all country reports, made by the leading EI expert which will summarize the major elements of the SAPARD program for those uninformed but interested readers to know more about it. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> $9.95 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything. http://us.click.yahoo.com/J8kdrA/y20IAA/yQLSAA/RR.olB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> EuroAtlantic Club: http://www.europe.org.ro/euroatlantic_club/ *** Birou de traduceri autorizate. Oana Gheorghiu - tel/fax: 252.8681 / [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! 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