Prospective partners are hereby invited to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to be shortlisted for the Roster of Experts (RoE), to provide discrete services related to Climate, Environment and Nature (CEN) technical assistance for the CLEAN Helpdesk.

Background to the CLEAN Helpdesk

The Climate, Environment and Nature (CLEAN) Helpdesk is a technical assistance facility funded by the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) through the Energy, Climate and Environmental Directorate. The CLEAN Helpdesk was established in response to the UK government’s commitments to align all Official Development Assistance (ODA) to the Paris Agreement and ensure that all new bilateral aid does no harm to nature (is ‘nature-proofed’). The CLEAN Helpdesk will run until 31 March 2026. The CLEAN Helpdesk provides support to UK embassies, central offices and other government departments (OGDs) on technical assistance requests related to Climate, Environment and Nature.

What kind of support does the CLEAN Helpdesk provide?

The Climate, Environment, and Nature (CLEAN) Helpdesk has been established to improve UK government capacity on climate, environment and nature mainstreaming to improve outcomes for people and nature. The CLEAN Helpdesk builds on and succeeds the Climate Mainstreaming Facility (CMF) with new additional dedicated resources to rapidly bolster the capacity of UK officials to integrate CEN considerations and increase Paris Alignment at a policy, portfolio and programmatic level. The resources will support Programme Operating Framework Rule 5 (PrOF5) compliance activities and ensure that any Official Development Aid (ODA) spending does no harm to nature and supports Gender, Equity, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) in all operations. Its expected result is FCDO delivering better on UK policy commitments, notably following the 2030 Strategic Framework for International Climate and Nature Action, and ensure good use of UK government resources, notably International Climate Finance (ICF).

The full Terms of Reference for the Facility can be downloaded here.

Objectives of the Roster of Experts for the CLEAN Helpdesk

The purpose of this call for EOI is to establish a shortlist Roster of Experts (RoE) who are available to respond to requests for the duration of the CLEAN Helpdesk programme (until 31 March 2026). The CLEAN Helpdesk is prioritising a call for EOI at the start of the CLEAN Helpdesk implementation phase (May 2024) to respond to requests. The CLEAN Helpdesk will have an open call and requests received after 15 July 2024 will be considered but not prioritised. The intention is to develop a Roster that is thematically and geographically diverse, and representative of a broad range of expertise and experience.

Skills highly sought after to respond to CLEAN Helpdesk support requests

The CLEAN Helpdesk has reviewed the expertise from the Climate Mainstreaming Facility (CMF), comparing these skills to request’s the CMF received and anticipated requests from FCDO and OGDs. Based on this assessment, we are particularly interested in the following skills and geographic experience to add to the Roster of Experts:

• Experts from developing countries – especially Fragile and Conflict-Affected States (FCAS) with demonstrated experience working with FCDO programmes and policies where climate has been considered and potentially ICF allocated. (high interest)
• Experts with experience in the following areas as they relate to aligning programme design and delivery with the Paris Agreement (referred to as Paris Alignment):
  • Shadow Carbon Pricing (SCP): Using an appropriate carbon price in relevant bilateral programme appraisal. (high interest)
  • Climate Risk and Adaptation Assessment (CRAA): Formative climate risk assessment to inform programme design and activities. (high interest)

• • Applying HMG’s Fossil Fuel Policy, and prioritises alternatives to investment in fossil fuels.
  • Alignment with NDC/NAPs: Ensuring programmes are aligned to, and where possible elevate, countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs).

• Experience with undertaking a programme review to assess potential International Climate Finance (ICF) and identify appropriate ICF indicators. (high interest)
• Experience supporting FCDO programmes through the design and development of  concept notes and business cases. Particular interest in the economic appraisal support to FCDO business cases. (high interest)
• Experience in providing cross-sectoral technical assistance in the form of identifying the linkages between climate and other thematic areas to inform policy and programming. For example, climate and humanitarian programming or climate and health programming. (high interest)
• Experience advising on GEDSI responsive monitoring, evaluating and lesson-learning about CEN within FCDO and OGD spend. (high interest)

Applying to join the Roster of Experts

Prospective partners are invited to submit EOIs to be shortlisted on the Helpdesk’s Roster of Experts via this online form. This form can also be found on the CLEAN Helpdesk online platform.

Experts who are on the Climate Mainstreaming Facility’s Roster of Experts are encouraged to submit EOIs to be added to the CLEAN Helpdesk’s Roster of Experts. This is an opportunity to provide updated information and validate their continued interest via the online form.

Deadline for Expression of Interest: 15 July 2024, Midnight (GMT)

Contact email: emma.botha@southsouthnorth.org