Consultant Services: Public Facilitator Terms of Reference

Consultant Services: Public FacilitatorTerms of ReferenceBackground1. The Government of Romania has received a loan from the International Bank forReconstruction and Development (IBRD) in the amount of 120 million US Dollarsequivalent toward the cost of the Mines Closure, Environmental and Socio-EconomicRegeneration Project (MCESERP). The Project will support the implementation of theGovernment of Romania’s Mining Strategy for the period 2004 to 2010.2. The development objective of the project is to strengthen the Government’s ability toundertake the mining sector reform by (i) building MEC capacity for closing uneconomicmining enterprises through support for closing complex mines and ancillary enterprises inan environmentally sustainable manner; and (ii) providing support to the NationalAgency for Development of the Mining Regions (AZM), local communities and otheragencies for socio-economic regeneration of the mining regions.3. The project consists of the following components:a) Mine Closure and Environmental Rehabilitationb) Socio-economic Regeneration4. The Mine Closure Sub-component focuses on the physical close down of 20 sites from7 regions, selected based on a set of criteria including size, technical complexity, andcost, environmental and social impact. While production has been previously stopped atmany of these sites, the sites have never been closed and properly remediate. Minebuildings, equipment and environmental liabilities will be addressed in the closureprocess and the land will be reclaimed to allow use for beneficial new purposes. Besidesthese selected sites, the Government of Romania is closing an additional 120 sites usingRomanian legal procedures and funds. The Governments closure procedures have beenmodified in line with the procedures used in the Bank project and are considered in linewith good international practice.Public/Community Consultations5. During project preparation extensive public consultations were held, both for the socioeconomicregeneration component as well as for the Environmental Management Plans.Trade unions, civil society organizations and other stakeholders have been consulted

• act as a liaison with the public, community groups, conservation groups andNGO’s to the PMU;• provide regular information to external groups;• respond to community concerns, complaints or inquiries;• prepare and implement a training program for the relevant entities to beinvolved in community consultation processes (e.g. NAD, mining companiesetc.);• meet regularly with local community and local government stakeholders.11. The Facilitator shall become familiar with the Project, its assumptions and technicalsolutions proposed for the sites, as well as the legal requirements and best practicesregarding public consultations.12. The Facilitator shall develop, in coordination with the Project team,contractors/designers, local administration and others, as necessary, public consultationplans for each of the 20 sites subject to the closure and remediation works.The goals of the consultation plans will include:• identify stakeholders;• determine stakeholders’ concerns and opinions;• measure awareness and understanding of project information;• identify key issues around which consultation will be needed;• establish the appropriate consultation methodology;• incorporate communities’ concerns into project design;• ensure adequate disclosure and dissemination of information back to thecommunity.The plans will include a timed schedule of events and other communication tools and itsmain parts have to take into consideration the following:a) A stakeholder analysis; it is expected that people whose land is affected by works,the people in the vicinity, the local and county administration to be first degreestakeholders; the rest of the community, other interest groups, local or nationalNGOs, etc, to be second degree stakeholders; others to be identified duringelaboration. The facilitator must also identify communities’ leaders (both formaland informal), their main concerns, their sources of information. (identify if anattitudinal survey is required). Written material for public dissemination should beproduced by the Consultant prior to each consultation.b) It is expected that each site would undergo an intensive period of consultationsduring preparation and permitting phase, during which the communities areinformed of the proposed changes and are invited to provide comments,suggestions, voice concerns, etc. of which some will eventually find their way inthe modified proposal which will be again presented to the community.c) The Facilitator will organize and implement information and consultationactivities such as: public meetings (to be hosted by the local council, the local

school, the church, or other venue or institution as the case may be); informationpoints, where the project description, in an easily understood language will beprominently displayed and the community will have an occasion to raisequestions/submit letters, etc; setting up telephone numbers to address inquiries;advertise in the media; participation in talk shows and other radio and local TVshows. The Facilitator will be in charge with setting up the logistical needs of thecommunications activities mentioned above.d) During the implementation of the mine closure works, stakeholders may have newconcerns and should be able to easily bring these to the attention of the PMUthrough the Facilitator.13. The Facilitator shall work in conjunction with the designer of the mine closure andremediation works and the project team in order to incorporate community suggestions,issues, concerns into the project design, where possible, and to come up with a modifiedproposal that will be presented to the community in an acceptable manner. This willentail acting as a go-between and moderator and supporter of the community in thecommunication process. The Facilitator must establish itself as an independent andcredible liaison with the project.Members of the consultant’s team shall visit each site at least once a month.14. Some concerns may have social or economic roots or solutions. The Facilitator shallbecome familiar with the socio-economic solutions and activities of the project and workin collaboration with the local representatives of the National Agency for theDevelopment of Mining Areas, to address those concerns.15. The Facilitator shall coordinate its work with other consultant teams working onassignments under the Socio-economic Regeneration component of the project: theCommunity Capacity Building, Public Information Campaign (PIC) and Social ImpactMonitoring and Evaluation (SIME). The Consultant will convene a coordination meetingwith the PIC and SIME consultant teams at least once every three months and share allmaterial envisaged for public dissemination in draft with the PIC team prior to its release.Training16. The Facilitator will deliver training for the mining company management,representatives of the National Agency for the Development of Mining Areas, localgovernment officials in the affected regions and leaders of community basedorganizations on:a) the public consultation process and techniques;b) monitoring and benchmarking of public consultation;c) public participation and community mobilization, andd) conflict resolution techniques

The training program shall be proposed by the Consultant and agreed with the Client.The training program will be based in Romania and will consist of two (2) trainingsessions per each site.All documentations related to training shall be prepared and handed over to the Client atleast one week before each training session. The Consultant shall be responsible forproviding one set of training documentation (in English and Romanian) for eachattendant.Deliverables17. The Facilitator shall work under the supervision of the PMU Director. During theassignment the Consultant shall submit to the PMU Director the documents listed below,each in 4 copies – 2 copies in English and 2 copies in Romanian. All reports and theperformance of the Consultant are to be endorsed by the PMU.a) Inception Report containing: the stakeholders analysis for each site; the proposedpublic consultation plan; the proposed training plan – 2 months after thecommencement date;b) Quarterly Progress Reports including: activities delivered to date, feed-backreceived, conclusions and recommendations. An update of the public consultation planand record of all communication activities, including minutes ofconversations/proceedings, samples of information leaflets, etc. shall be annexed to eachquarterly report;c) Guideline concerning the role and the responsibilities of the public facilitator basedon EU regulations and internationally accepted practices – 4 months after thecommencement date.d) Summary report on training activity – within 2 weeks after completion of eachtraining session.e) Urgent issues should be brought to the attention of the PMU immediately.f) Written material for public dissemination should be submitted to the PMU prior toeach consultation.Qualification Requirements18. The Consultant team shall include the following key staff with the minimumqualifications and experience as stated below:a) Team Leader :- degree in sociology/psychology, communication, public relations or closely relatedfields

- experience as team leader in at least two (2) assignments in the last 5 years- at least 5 years experience in social programs involving organization of communitycommunication actions / development of public consultation plans.- good knowledge of Romanian mining areasb) One (1) Key expert (technical):- technical background (mining or civil engineer);- five (5) years professional experience as mining/civil works engineer;- demonstrated knowledge of social problems in the former mining areas;- demonstrated ability to facilitate discussions and build consensus.c) One (1) Key expert (social):- degree in sociology/psychology, communication, public relations or closely relatedfields;- five (5) years professional experience;- experience in at least one (1) assignment involving public consultation, communicationor mediation.d) Field staff (at least 5 professionals – one for each main region)- in-depth knowledge of local conditions of each site;- demonstrated experience in working within the respective communities (at least 10years);- demonstrated ability to facilitate discussions and build consensusAll staff shall demonstrate strong leadership skills, experience in working with the public,as well as excellent interpersonal and communication skills.The staff will be expected to travel extensively to sites, on training, etc.Duration of the assignment19. The assignment is expected to last about 3 years.