External Contractor: Review of the National Energy and Climate Plans

External Contractor: Review of the National Energy and Climate Plans

CEMR - Council of European Municipalities and Regions

Brussels, Belgium

Terms of reference
Research and drafting of the publication:
Review of the National Energy and Climate Plans:
Local and regional governments in climate action

CEMR is looking for an external Contractor to collect data, analyse the findings and draft the study in the framework of the revision of the National Energy and Climate Plans.

About CEMR

The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) is the oldest and broadest European association of local and regional governments that brings together 60 national associations of local and regional governments from 40 European countries and represents, through them, all levels of territories – local, intermediate and regional.

Since its creation in 1951, CEMR promotes the construction of a united, peaceful and democratic Europe founded on local self-government, respect for the principle of subsidiarity and the participation of citizens. Our work is organised around two main pillars:

1. Influencing European policy and legislation in all areas having an impact on municipalities and regions;
2. Providing a forum for debate between local and regional governments via their national representative associations.

Specific background

In the context of the revision of the National Energy and Climate Plans (NECP)¹, CEMR will conduct a study examining the role of European local and regional governments in energy and climate policies. The analysis should focus on three main aspects, namely on 1) multilevel governance: examining LRG-relevant competences and subnational governments involvement in the revision of the NECPs; 2) case studies: identifying good practices on how (national) policies can support municipalities and regions in their energy and climate transitions, and 3) assessing investment patterns and CEMR members’ perception about financial means available to local and regional governments. The contents and data of the three parts based on the NECPs of 2019 and the draft NECPs of 2023, empirical material generated by a joint survey between the Committee of Regions and CEMR, existing open data sources such as the OECD subnational climate finance hub and are complemented by targeted interviews and desk research. The study will draw lessons and policy recommendations that will serve as a basis to advocate for a better inclusion of local and regional governments in climate and energy policies. The final report is expected to be published in October 2023.

Objectives of the assignment

The contractor will conduct the research and lead the drafting of the study to ensure coherence and scientific reliability. He/she will perform some desk research, provide methodological tools, conduct interviews (among others) and will draft the analysis in the format of a study. Data and information to be analysed and used in the study should come from official sources (Eurostat, national data, OECD, etc.) as well as CEMR members’ input.

The study in the format of a publication shall

• Detail the methodology used;
• Provide an analysis and a visual synthesis of the subnational competences in energy and climate policies for the 40 European countries covered by CEMR membership², an analysis on the implementation of art. 11 of the governance regulation of the energy union and climate action as well as an analysis and visualisation on trends and evolutions of the multilevel dialogues under the NECPs confronting 2019 and 2023;
• Provide an analysis of 5-10 (TBD) good practices in terms of supportive national policies for local and regional governments to implement the dimensions of the NECPs/climate and energy policies;
• Provide summary statistics about the role and weight of subnational government in financing climate and energy policies, based on existing public data. Provide a short analysis how CEMR members perceive the financial means foreseen in line with what is expected from the ambitions of the NECP/Energy and Climate policies;
• Provide data visualisation and empirical material wherever possible;
• Draw possible lessons learned and recommendations that enable and reinforce the role for local, regional, and national governments and the EU on the effective implementation of energy and climate policies, opportunities, and challenges.

Methodology – Tasks and Timeline

The contract will start approximatively mid-June with a kick-off meeting to discuss the timeline, methodology and the deliverables. Based on the objectives mentioned above, there are 6 deliverables:

Deliverable 1: Identification and analysis of energy- and climate-relevant competences in Europe’s local and regional governments

Research question 1: What are the energy- and climate-relevant competences of local and regional governments?

Objective:

• Develop a methodology and identify the subnational competences in CEMR countries in terms of climate and energy policies;
• Drafting of an analysis on which competences are covered by the climate and energy policies.

Methodology:

• Desk research (referring i.a to the Committee of Regions, (national) legislation, internal CEMR resources such as the TERRI Report), ensure the consistency and comparability of data, considering the several forms of local governments in Europe.

Deadline: Deliverable 1 (energy/climate competences) shall be delivered by the Contractor no later than on Sunday 30 July 2023.

Deliverable 2: Analysis on the multilevel governance in Europe’s climate and energy policies affecting local and regional governments

Research question 2: How do local and regional governments perceive the process of multilevel climate and energy dialogues under the National Energy and Climate Plans/in climate and energy policy?

Objective:

• Provide an analysis and an explanatory synthesis of the quality, and its evolution, of the consultation mechanism that aims to ensure the consultation of local and regional governments in the design of the NECPs, from the perspective of CEMR members.

Methodology:

• Assess if Article 11 of the governance regulation of the energy union and climate action has been correctly implemented in the different MS, from the perspective of CEMR members, based on survey developed by CEMR and CoR;
• Examine the existences and forms of consultation mechanisms and quality of it, according to our members, and develop visualisation to showcase the findings of this analysis (eg. graphs, maps etc.);
• Evaluate how the implementation of art. 11 evolved between 2019 and 2023 by analysing the results of the CoR-CEMR survey and complementary desk research comparing the NECPs of 2019 and the draft NECPs of 2023. The output should be supported with a visualization (e. g. matrix).

Deadline: Deliverable 2 shall be delivered by the Contractor no later than on Sunday 31 August 2023.

Deliverable 3: identification and collection of good practices of national policies supporting local and regional governments in the implementation of the dimensions [3] of the NECPs (EU countries)/climate and energy policies (non-EU countries)

Research question 3: Which are exemplary policies supporting local and regional governments in implementing different dimensions of the climate and energy policies?

Objective:

• Provide a short analysis of practices that were judged positively by CEMR members, based on case studies on the implementation of the dimensions of the NECPs (EU countries)/climate and energy policies (non-EU countries) at the local level;
• Deliver an in-depth analysis based on the survey/interviews, complemented by desk research, ensuring a fair geographical coverage of CEMR members.

Methodology:

• Provide a methodology to select and identify cases as good practices;
• Provide a template of questionnaire and/or interview that will be used to consult CEMR and its members/partners;
• Desk research and exchanges with CEMR members and relevant partners to agree on a template that will ensure coherence and comparable analysis.

Deadline: Deliverable 3 shall be delivered by the Contractor no later than on Sunday 31 August 2023.

Deliverable 4: Analysis of climate and energy-related investments and financial patterns

Research question 4: What is the role of LRGs to finance the energy and climate policies?

Objective:

• Provide an analysis on the role and weight of the subnational governments to finance the green transition.

Methodology:

• Drafting and visualizing summary statistics using external database (e. g. OECD Subnational Climate Finance Hub) as well as internal resources (e. g. CEMR publications).

Deadline: Deliverables 4 and 5 (investment patterns and financial means perceptions) shall be delivered by the Contractor no later than on Sunday 24 September 2023.

Deliverable 5: Analysis of local and regional governments’ perception of financial means

Research question 5: Based on CEMR members’ perception, are the financial means available to the local and regional levels in line with the ambitions of the NECP/Energy and Climate policies?

Objective:

• Provide an analysis on whether the NECPs give LRGs enough information and steering to implement their climate and energy relevant policies.

Methodology:

• Provide a template of questionnaire and/or interview that will be used to consult CEMR and its members/partners;
• Desk research and exchanges with CEMR members and relevant partners to agree on a template that will ensure coherence and comparable analysis.

Deadline: Deliverables 4 and 5 (investment patterns and financial means perceptions) shall be delivered by the Contractor no later than on Sunday 24 September 2023.

Deliverable 6: The study

Objective:

• Final study.

Methodology:

• Assemble the different deliverables ensuring consistency and content coherence throughout the study. Draft a study conclusion including recommendations to national governments and the European institutions on how to better involve and support local and regional governments in the implementation of climate and energy policies. Additional expectations (bibliography, annexes, etc), see the “Additional Expectations” point below.

Please see the provisional outline in the Concept Note, Annex 1, attached to this email. The study should not exceed 60 pages.

Deadline: Deliverable 6 shall be delivered by the Contractor no later than on Sunday 15 October 2023.

Expected deliverables

List of deliverables

Deliverable 1: Identification and analysis of energy- and climate-relevant competences in Europe’s local and regional governments.
Deliverable 2: Analysis on the multilevel governance in Europe’s climate and energy policies affecting local and regional governments.
Deliverable 3: identification and collection of good practices of national policies supporting local and regional governments in the implementation of the dimensions of the NECPs (EU countries)/climate and energy policies (non-EU countries).
Deliverable 4: Analysis of climate and energy-related investments and financial patterns.
Deliverable 5: Analysis of local and regional governments’ perception of financial means.
Deliverable 6: The study.

Additional expectations

In addition to the objective, methodology, and timeline mentioned above, the Contractor will send the deliverables in plain text, Word as well as Excel tables, graphics and raw data under Excel format, and any other relevant format.

In addition, the Contractor should enrich the deliverables with proposals for illustrative content, such as text frames (boxes), quotes, tables, graphs, infographics, annexes, etc.

The Contractor will also include an executive summary, a bibliography, and as many annexes as she/he estimates necessary.

The deliverables will be considered delivered upon final approval by the CEMR Secretariat.

Estimated budget

The budget available for this contract is 13.500 Euros. CEMR will also cover the expenses of 2 trips to Brussels, if necessary and upon approval by the secretariat.

Contractor profile

The Contractor should ideally

• have thorough knowledge and understanding of the European energy and climate policies covered under the National Energy and Climate Plans;
• have knowledge on energy and climate-relevant competences of local and regional governments;
• additional expertise in multilevel governance, local autonomy and decentralisation;
• have demonstrated experience in conducting desk research, qualitative and quantitative data analysis, drafting publications and/or redacting policy analysis;
• be fluent in English.

Technical specifications

Language: All deliverables shall be provided in English.

Style: The publication shall be drafted in a modern, fresh and light reading style, avoiding complicated or very technical terms, if possible. All used acronyms shall be explained in footnotes or in a separate section. The text shall adhere to the reference style published in the European Union Interinstitutional style guide⁴.

Format: All deliverables shall be delivered electronically, by electronic mail or as downloadable documents (links). All files shall be delivered in the Microsoft Office file format (Office Open XML), or any other open format for storage and transmission of digital data. Pictures, infographics or drawings shall be sent in original format and size (not only copy-pasted in a text document).

Intellectual property and data protection: The Contractor shall ensure the compliance of all deliverables, or their constituent parts, with applicable intellectual property legislation and personal data protection legislation. Full copyrights of pictures or illustrations should be provided to the client. All original contribution by the Contractor, as well as the final publication, shall be released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License⁵.

Volume: The final publication after layout shall not exceed 60 pages of content (indicative share: 5 pages for summary, introduction and methodology, 50 pages for analysis, 5 pages recommendations,), with the paper size according to the ISO 2016 A4 specification. CEMR may shorten, amend, or modify the final study in order to meet the required text volume for layout of the publication, in one or in several languages.

Administrative information

Meetings: Most coordination meetings with the contractor shall be organised virtually (platforms, phone calls, etc.). In-presence meeting is expected for the kick-off and to the potential final event during which the study will be presented.

Deadlines: Deliverable 1 (energy/climate competences) shall be delivered by the Contractor no later than on Sunday 30 July 2023. Deliverables 2 and 3 (case studies and NECP consultation) shall be delivered by the Contractor no later than on Thursday 31 August 2023. Deliverables 4 and 5 (investment patterns and financial means perceptions) shall be delivered by the Contractor no later than on Sunday 24 September 2023. Deliverable 6 (the study) shall be delivered by the Contractor no later than on Sunday 15 October 2023. All documents are subject to final review and approval by the CEMR Secretariat.

Contractor selection process

Bids. Interested bidders are invited to submit the following documentation

1. a cover letter detailing the bidder’s experience in desk research, methodology, analysis and the proposed approach to undertake the work;
2. a curriculum vitae demonstrating the bidder’s background and experience relevant for the assignment;
3. a list of publications authored or co-authored by the bidder(s).

The selection process (including possible interviews) will take place from 29 May to 9 June.

Deadlines: Interested bidders shall submit their bids no later than Sunday 4 June 2023 - midnight by electronic mail to the Contact person, through the following email address: studies@ccre-cemr.org. Any question on this Term of Reference shall be addressed to studies@ccre-cemr.org.

Communication: An automated confirmation shall be sent to bidders upon the receipt of the bid submission. After the selection process, all bidders shall be notified about the outcome of the selection process.

¹https://commission.europa.eu/energy-climate-change-environment/implementation-eu-countries/energy-and- climate-governance-and-reporting/national-energy-and-climate-plans_en;
² You can find the list of countries on CEMR website;
³ Decarbonisation, energy efficiency, energy security, internal energy market, research, innovation and competitiveness;
⁴Interinstitutional style guide. European Union (2011 and subsequent updates);
⁵CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

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