National Consultants on Developing National Civil Emergency Plan (NCEP) in Albania

Background

Albania is a disaster-prone country. The four main hazards affecting the country are earthquakes, floods, forest fires, and landslides. The International Disaster Database (EM-DAT[1]) shows that, during the 1979-2019 period, floods accounted for a significant share of disaster events (38%), followed by earthquakes (15%). According to the annual World Risk Report (Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft and Ruhr University Bochum – Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict, 2021), which calculates the Disaster Risk Index due to earthquakes, cyclones, floods, droughts, and sea-level rise for 181 countries based on exposure, and vulnerability (susceptibility, and coping, and adaptive capacities), Albania has a high-risk index and ranks first in Europe and 61st in the world[2].

The potential losses in Albania from a disaster with a 250-year mean return period are estimated at EUR 2.08 billion for earthquakes and EUR 1.18 billion for floods (World Bank, 2014). Albania is at high risk of forest fires, particularly in the dry summer season. More than 95% of events are small (less than 100 ha burned) and account for more than 40% of the total burned area, while significant events are relatively rare (5% of the total burned area). Albania is characterized by land instability caused by natural and anthropogenic factors. 33.6% of its territory is relatively stable, and 9.8% is unstable (UNDP, 2003).

The earthquake event of 26 November 2019 caused 51 fatalities and over 900 injuries. As a result of the earthquake, a total of 202,291 people were affected, of whom 47,265 directly and 155,028 indirectly. The Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA), conducted following the earthquake, estimated the total effect of the disaster in the 11 affected municipalities to amount to 985 million EUR. The earthquake is estimated to have caused combined damages and losses, equivalent to 7.5% of the 2018 GDP. As a result of the earthquake, growth projections for 2020 have been revised downwards.[3]

On the “positive” side, the 26 November earthquake triggered a reflection on reducing vulnerability and enhancing resilience at all levels in the future. However, while still under the earthquake effect, the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 constituted another challenge for both the country’s health system and the government. The events that followed emphasized the need to strengthen disaster preparedness and risk management capacities, adopt adequate response systems and procedures, and improve the institutional capacity for DRM, coordination, and interaction between government and private and civil society actors. Such capacities are first required to be built and become functional across the government hierarchy, to create a culture and practice of resilient and sustainable development.

The overall objective of the Resilience strengthening in Albania project is to strengthen Albania’s disaster risk management system and support the country’s efforts in becoming a fully-fledged member of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. The project is also in line with promoting the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and is developed based on the Albania earthquake PDNA recommendations. Also, in light of the severe and acute public health emergency due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, measures related to risk preparedness and risk mitigation of biological hazards will be provided.

From the legal viewpoint, in July 2019, the Government of Albania adopted the Law “On Civil Protection” (45/2019) which provides a more solid conceptual framework for promoting disaster risk reduction.

The National Civil Protection Agency (NCPA) was established in early 2020 replacing the predecessor General Directorate of Civil Emergency which had inadequate resources and limited authority, both of which hindering their ability to lead the Government of Albania disaster preparedness and response efforts[4]. NCPA is a central public legal entity, subordinate to the minister responsible for civil protection and responsible for disaster risk reduction and civil protection, throughout the territory of the Republic of Albania.

Law 45/2019, in line with the Sendai Framework commitments, requires the preparation of Disaster Risk Assessments (DRA) at the national, regional, and municipal levels. It also requires the preparation and adoption of a National DRR Strategy and municipal DRR Strategies and a National Civil Emergency Plan (NCEP), regional, and municipal Civil Emergency Plans.

According to the art.14 of the law, civil emergency plans shall set out measures and activities for disaster prevention and response, as well as capacities, engagement, and organized emergency action to protect people's lives, livestock, property, cultural heritage, and the environment.

The types of civil emergency plans required based on law 45/2019 are the following:

National Civil Emergency Plan (NCEP);
Regional CE Plans;
Municipal CE Plans;
CE plans of ministries and central institutions;
CE plans of state institutions and private entities in health, education, social healthcare, culture, environment, and tourism;
CE plans of critical infrastructure (CI);
CE plans of private, domestic and foreign entities when they use, manufacture and store hazardous materials, fuels, and their derivatives, energy gases, and carry out activities using hazardous means.

The provisions of the law, about the approval and “harmonization” criteria are:

The NCEP shall be approved by a decision of the Council of Ministers, upon the proposal of the minister;
The regional CE plan must be approved by an order of the prefect and must be harmonized with the NCEP and the CE plans of the neighboring regions;
The municipal CE plan must be approved by the decision of the municipal council and must be harmonized with the NCEP, the regional CE plan, and the local CE plans of the neighboring municipalities;
CE plans are developed based on DRR strategies, DRA documents, civil protection capacities, new expert findings, as well as experiences gained in disaster management;
CE plans of state institutions and private entities in health, education, social welfare, culture, environment, and tourism, should be harmonized with the municipal CE plan and with the DRA documents of the municipalities where they are located.

NCEP endorsed by DCM No.835, dated 3.12.2004 has been prepared by a high-level experienced team, but has never been updated/revised ever since. Nonetheless, there are lessons learned, findings and recommendations from training and validation of NCEP (emergencies and exercises) from 2004 to date which must be considered in the assignment by the service provider.

Independent reports have also been carried out by international stakeholders emphasizing, inter alia, the necessity of training, exercises, and continuous revision of NCEP, such as the report of July 2014 of United States European Command (USEUCOM) “Weapons of Mass Destruction Counter Trafficking/ Consequence Management and Disaster Preparedness Capabilities Assessment Report”. Some findings and recommendations of this report are below:

The 2004 NCEP is comprehensive and well written but most of the organizations in the plan either no longer exist or lack the resources and planning expertise to perform their responsibilities (pg.20)
NCEP is a good start for planning disaster response. However, validation and improvement of the plan can only come through effective exercises. The lack of expertise and resources for exercise planning limits the ability to improve the NCEP and improve emergency/disaster response (Pg.8);
Exercises are the most critical element of identifying and improving weaknesses in disaster response and CBRN/WMD consequence management plans, training, and equipment (Pg7);
Currently, Albania does not have a national CBRN consequence management strategy, although, the NCEP provides a good baseline for an all-hazards response. Most large-scale disasters include at least a chemical component in the sense of toxic industrial chemicals and potential biological pandemics (Pg.17);
Near term objective (6-18 months): Develop a civil emergency national strategy and adequately resource GDCE/NCEA . Incorporate CBRN planning more fully into national strategy and plans (Pg.18);
Issue 24: No true lead for implementation of a nationally adopted incident management system. Immediate objective (<6 months): NCEP and relevant laws revised to reflect the implementation of an incident command system, enforcement of building codes, mitigation, and corrective actions processes (pg.67);
Issue 27: No identified continuity of operations plans in case of a natural or manmade disaster for the Government of Albania (GoA). Recommended Goal: Integrate a COOP into the Annexes of the National Civil Emergency Plan. Assign an agency or commission to draft the COOP (Pg.72);
Issue 22. Recommended Goal: Prioritize government buildings throughout Albania and install fire detection and suppression systems based on the importance of the structure to the continuity of government during a disaster (See COOP plan in Logistics Management and Resource Support). Immediate objective (<6 months): Establish a firefighting commission for all GoA buildings;
Issue 1: Lack of planning expertise and resources limits ability to effectively exercise NCEP and improve both disaster preparedness and response and hazardous materials (HAZMAT)/CBRN consequence management (Pg.20);
Issue 13: Lack of clear communications procedures at the ministerial, prefecture, and incident levels. Recommended Goal: Develop a whole-of-government communications and notification standard operating procedures (SOP) and exercise them at the national, prefecture, and incident level (Pg.48).

In addition to the above-mentioned report, other similar report such as Post Disaster Need Assessment 2019 , After Action Reports from training and exercises, as well as lessons learned from real disasters will be exploited.

From a historical perspective, CE plans have been developed in the 12 regions after the adoption of the predecessor of law 45/2019, namely Law No.8756, dated 26.03.2001 “On civil emergencies”. These regional CE plans have undergone some revisions over the years with the last one been conducted in 2017-2018 in the framework of the EU financed Program “Improvement of the National Early Warning System and Flood Prevention in Albania” (PRO NEWS). From the perspective of their quality, the regional CE plans vary substantially, with some of them in need of urgent revision.

At the municipal level, apart from Lezha municipality where the CE plan along with RA and DRR Strategy was developed through UNDP financed pilot project of 2020, and Shkodra municipality, municipal CE plans are generally incomplete or not in place[5].

Planning activities such as training and exercises have been generally scarce and in short supply. The situation with the training is expected to be improved in all the three levels, with the development and later the implementation of the training program for central and local civil protection structures which is NCPA’s responsibility;

The National Civil Emergency Plan (NCEP) is the most important Albanian State document regarding Civil Emergencies management. It is necessary to improve the Albanian civil protection system, clarify the division of responsibilities, and plan the best use of limited state resources to identify gaps and avoid duplication, in accordance with the established legal base. These aims can be transformed into reality through the National Civil Emergency Plan. The NCEP offers real possibilities for more effective management of civil emergencies for both the state structures, and the Albanian population[6].

The NCEP is an overarching initiative bringing together all Albanian and international stakeholders. The plans of ministries, central and other institutions, Prefects, municipalities, CI, and Sevesso enterprises feed into the NCEP, and the procedures, roles, and responsibilities that it describes. After the development of the NCEP, the corresponding CE plans at all other levels and structures will need to be reviewed and re?ned to ensure relevance and coherence. Other supporting plans will continue to be needed in the future, such as contingency plans for speci?c disaster situations. These plans themselves will remain for temporary periods until replacement emergency plans are prepared. Particularly applicable, are plans designed for seasonal risks or new potential risks.

The plan aims to:

Prevent, mitigate and recover any damage affecting human life, livestock, property, cultural heritage and the environment, by emergencies.
Provide conditions for public administrations, economic entities, and the population, for the transfer from ordinary living and working conditions to an emergency situation with the smallest possible losses, for the maintenance of public order, preservation of human life, livestock, property, cultural heritage and the environment, against the effects of an emergency.
To guarantee the use of available state resources in order to ensure public security, maintain the continuation of the national economy, localize the emergency areas and mitigation of consequences.

In reality, alongside the top-down influence, the bottom–up and parallel influence, interaction, and collaboration is expected to associate the overall civil emergency planning processes. This interaction, influence, collaboration, and the two-way feeding into each other have been depicted also in the existing NCEP document[7].

Seen in the light of the law 45/2019, the interaction and impact are as inclusive as complicated when the “trio” of documents (RA, DRR strategy, and CE plan) in all the three levels and for the state institutions and private sector is considered.

Finally, because emergencies (of any scale) are essentially local problems, the municipality is the basic, or ‘bedrock’, level of emergency planning[8]. The “subsidiarity” principle stipulated before in the Law 139/2015 “On local self-government”, is re stipulated in the law 45/2019 as well as embodied in its respective bylaws.

Developing of NCEP in two years from the entry into force of the law was impossible due to objective reasons, the main one of which were the consecutive disasters striking the country. In addition, the new National DRA and the National DRR strategy should preceded the NCEP which is exactly the scenario been followed in Albania.

Another important aspect concerning the CE planning is that NCPA is responsible for establishing and implementing the CE plans’ development methodology. Not explicitly specifying which of the above types of CE plans would be related, it implies that the methodology should be developed for all types of the CE plans.

[1] EM-DAT. The Emergency Events Database, Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL) - CRED, D. Guha-Sapir, www.emdat.be, Brussels, Belgium

[2] World Risk Index score for 2021 for Albania is 8.23%, reflecting a combination of “very high” exposure and low vulnerability (“low” susceptibility, “medium” lack of coping capacities and “low” lack of adaptive capacities)

[3] Albania PDNA - Volume A, 2020

[4] Report of July 2014 of United States European Command (USEUCOM) “Weapons of Mass Destruction Counter Trafficking/ Consequence Management and Disaster Preparedness Capabilities Assessment Report”.

[5] Some of the municipalities pretend to have CE plans in place while, in fact, they are mostly action plans for seasonal emergencies or/and alarm or notification schemes. See for example http://bashkiaberat.gov.al/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Plan-Veprimi-per-Zjarret.pdf.

[6] Existing NCEP, Pg.5

[7]It is the responsibility of authorities at Qark, Commune and Municipal levels to develop contingency plans of their own, which all feed into the NCEP. After the development of the NCEP, the corresponding CE plans at all other levels and structures will need to be reviewed and re?ned to ensure relevance and coherence. Pg.7 of NCEP

[8] “How to write an emergency plan” by David Alexander

Duties and Responsibilities

The main objectives of the consultancy, in close cooperation and working together with a team of international (1) and national consultants (2) are:

Assist the Government of Albania in the process of developing the National Civil Emergency Plan document in close cooperation with the Inter-Institutional Technical Working Group and under the supervision of the Inter-Institutional Working Group established by PM Order No.58, dated 29.06.2021.
To foster participation and inclusive mechanisms for the development and implementation of the NCEP.
To strengthen the National DRM Governance system in Albania by supporting the process of development of the NCEP.

Through the consultancy implementation the Team of Consultants will ensure the training of political decision makers comprising the Inter Institutional Working Group by as well as of the other staff comprising the Inter Institutional Technical Working Group

3 - Scope of Services

The present assignment requires, in co-work within a team that in its composition has also an international team leader, an international consultant and another national consultants, to support and assist the process of development of the National Civil Emergency Plan document and the required ToR-s and recommendations. The assignment will start with an evaluation of the existing NCEP taking into account, inter alia, all the relevant reports from the training and validation (emergencies, exercises). According to PM Order No.58, dated 29.06.2021, the Inter-Institutional Technical Working Group will work on drafting NCEP relying on:

Risk analysis and assessment;
Legislation in force on civil protection in the Republic of Albania;
Directives, decisions, regulations of the European Union in the field of civil protection;
Various previously approved documents such as plans, programs related to disasters and civil protection;
Various study documents and data that the institutions they represent have, which serve the drafting of NCEP.

The consultancy will consist of:

National Civil Emergency Plan which is the main output of the consultancy;

Other sub-products will be:

ToR on drafting the Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) and Continuity of Government (COG);
ToR on conducting a gap analysis of current procedures to develop whole-of-government communications and notification standard operating procedures (SOP) and exercise them at the national, regional, municipal, and incident levels;
Recommendations about the next NCEP document, National DRA, National DRR strategy, law 45/2019 and its bylaws;
Recommendations about the new guidelines, regulations, manuals, and SOP to be developed in the country;
Recommendations on the CE plans’ development methodology and training programme.
Carrying out a 2-3-day composed activity validating the new NCEP through a Table Top Exercise preceded by a back-to-back seminar and finalized by the post exercise “hot debriefing”.

4- Methodology

The Team of Consultants will be responsible for the development of the document of National Civil Emergency Plan. It will be guided by the NCEP in force, the new national Disaster Risk Assessment[1] document and the National DRR Strategy[2]. As mentioned above, national policies and legislation and other related sectorial, cross-cutting, regional and local ones will be properly taken into consideration during the assignment.

Another very important aspect consists of NCEP’s alignment with all the international and especially EU Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) policies, directives, decisions, regulations, and best practices in the field of DRR, CP, humanitarian assistance, and others alike. This is of paramount importance for Albania as a candidate country aspiring to join the EU family but especially for the country’s mid-term objectives related to its membership in the UCPM.

The work for developing the NCEP will be carried out based on the provisions of PM Order No.58, dated 29.06.2021 “On the establishment of Inter-Institutional Working group and Inter-Institutional Technical Working group for preparation of the draft national Civil Emergency Plan”.

The Inter-Institutional Working Group is chaired by the Deputy Minister of Defense and composed of the Deputy Ministers of line ministries, a representative from the cabinet of the state minister for Reconstruction and the General Director of the NCPA.

The Inter-Institutional Technical Working Group is chaired by the General Director of the NCPA and experts related to civil protection issues from line ministries and other main institutions. Alike the Inter-Ministerial Working Group, in the meetings of the Inter-Institutional Technical Working Group can be invited and participate representatives of other institutions, participating or not in this working group, from international organizations, experts in the field of drafting emergency plans, civil society experts.

Based on the comparison between the composition of the two Inter-Institutional Working Groups against the required assignment’s comprehensiveness, the Team of Consultants must ensure the necessary communication with other stakeholders, beyond those of the working groups, such as Academia, NGO/CSO, voluntary organizations, businesses[3], media, private DRM experts, regional and local stakeholders etc.

In particular, the participation and contributions during the assignment, of women and girls, people with disabilities, people with different barriers (cultural, linguistic, legal), older persons, migrants or others with access and functional needs and vital capacities, organizations’ and networks’ must be ensured.

During the assignment implementation the Team of Consultants will collaborate closely with the NCPA, UNDP RESEAL project and Inter-Institutional Technical Working Group which in turn will be supervised by the Inter-Institutional Political Working Group.

There are different approaches in operational planning as follows:

Capabilities-based planning;
Function-based planning (functional planning);
Scenario-based planning.

Planners commonly use a combination of the above three approaches in operational planning[4]: For this assignment, the Team of Consultants will discuss this issue in the Inter-Institutional Technical Working Group which will decide on the appropriate approach to be followed.

The Team of Consultants must follow these simple rules to write the plan that readers and users can easily access and effectively use[5]:

Keep the language simple and clear by writing in plain Albanian and English;
Summarize important information with checklists and visual aids, such as maps and flowcharts;
Avoid using jargon and minimize the use of acronyms;
Use short sentences and active, not passive, voice;
Provide enough detail to convey an easily understood plan that is actionable, taking into consideration the target audience and the amount of certainty about the situation;
Format the plan and organize its contents so that readers can quickly find solutions and options;
Focus on providing mission guidance (i.e., insight into intent and vision) rather than discussing policy and regulations, which can be documented in detail in standard operating guidelines (SOGs) and standard operating procedures and
Develop accessible tools and documents (e.g., plans, fact sheets, checklists) that users can easily adapt or convert into alternate formats.

To keep the NCEP document as much as simple and readable by the audience it is suggested to consist of a base plan supplemented by some number of annexes. In order to ensure the comprehensiveness, and the right focus on the response phase the consideration of cutting-edge experiences of other countries’ civil emergency/emergency operations plans is strongly suggested.

Creating a CE Base Plan and adding CE Plan Annexes chapters of this document provide useful benchmarks for reviewers to confirm that base plans and annexes address pertinent elements.

There is no universally accepted outline for emergency operations plans that lists the required contents or format. An EOP’s content depends on the[6]:

Hazards faced by a community;
Levels of vulnerability;
Community culture and demography;
How emergency management is organized locally;
Organization of emergency management at higher levels of government.

One of the main aspect of the NCEP are the hazards that will be considered and analyzed in it. Referring to the NCEP of 2004, National Disaster Risk Assessment of 2003, and PM Order No.59, dated 29.06.2021 “On establishment and functioning of the Inter-Institutional Working Group for drafting of the central level Disaster Risk Assessment” the list of considered hazards and the ones to be considered in the NCEP are as follows:

Table 1. Lists of hazards according to the National DRA of 2003, NCEP of 2004, PM Order No.59, dated 29.06.2021, and for the new NCEP

Disasters can be classified into five categories, as follows[7]:

Natural hazards and disasters;
Technological disasters (generally result of human error or equipment failure);
Social contingencies;
Intentional disasters;
Hybrid, compound, and cascading events (natech).

Linking the above categories with the definitions of the art.3 of Law 45/2019, we draw the conclusion that all the last four categories belong to the "other disasters".

In summary, and given all the above, although the desirable objective of NCEP would be for all the hazards to be addresses in it, in the actual conditions this is unrealistic. Therefore, the type of hazards to be addressed in the NCEP and their extent will be in analogy with those analyzed in the National DRA document.

In conclusion, the final list of the hazards, that can be included and considered in the NCEP document, based on the new National DRA document, will be object of further revision by the Interinstitutional working group.

Nevertheless, the Team of Consultants must prepare recommendations for future improvements on the National DRA and NCEP documents including, first of all, suggestions on the inclusion of additional hazards.

Other specific important issues to be properly considered by the Team of Consultants during the NCEP development process are:

Recommendation of USEUCOM’s report of July 2014, (Issue 24) repeated in the Diagnostic report “Emergency preparedness and response Assessment” of 2020[8]: NCEP and relevant laws revised to reflect the implementation of an incident command system, enforcement of building codes, mitigation, and corrective actions processes;
Recommendation of USEUCOM’s report of July 2014, (Issue 27): Integrate a continuity of operations plan (COOP)[9] Recommended Goal: Integrate a COOP into the Annexes of the NCEP

Therefore, the service provider, based on the USEUCOM report, must provide expert guidance on how to integrate the COOP and Continuity of Government (COG)[10] into the Annexes of the NCEP as well as must prepare the respective ToR on drafting the COOP and COG;

SOPs are not part of the CE plan[11]. Recommendation of USEUCOM’s report July 2014 (Issue 13), repeated in PDNA 2020: Develop a whole-of-government communications and notification standard operating procedures (SOP) and exercise them at the national, prefecture, and incident level. Therefore, the Team of Consultants will provide the ToR on conducting a gap analysis of current procedures;
The Team of Consultants must provide:

Recommendations about the National DRA, National DRR strategy, law 45/2019 and the respective bylaws;
Expert guidance and recommendations on the new guidelines, regulations, manuals, and SOP to be developed in the country as well as on CEP development methodology and training programme;

It is recognized the fact that there are no recognized universal standards or protocols: there is no ISO specification for emergency-management training[12]. Nevertheless, the Team of Consultants must provide expert guidance on the training program which will speed up the NCPA’s Training Programme development process;
Insights from the work done during the implementation of PM Order No.13, dated 13.02.2013 “On establishing the Inter-Institutional Working Group in the framework of CBRN Initiative, Centre of Excellence, on risk and threat reduction related to CBRN chemical and materials”;
Implementation of DCM no. 33, dated 22.1.2020 “On the adoption of the National Strategy for Non-Proliferation of WMD and Action Plan for its Implementation”;
All the findings and recommendations concerning CBRN from the USEUCOM report of July 2014.

In order the new NCEP to be immediately tested, or “validated”, the Team of Consultants must plan, design and implement[13] in collaboration with the members of Inter-Ministerial Technical Working Group a Table Top Exercise[14] which will be organized back-to-back with a seminar.

Often, modest-scale exercises, properly planned and followed up and repeated as necessary, are more effective than very large exercises where resources are concentrated on the event and little thought is given to preparations or post-exercise evaluation[15]. Since table-top exercises can vary from straightforward exercises of one particular aspect of a response to very complex exercises involving many simultaneous problems and many players, the exercise type which will be selected will depend, inter alia, on the available state and/or donors’ budget for this. The exercise will entail all parts of a planned response unless the Inter-Ministerial Technical Working Group won’t want to test the whole of a response in one go. The Team of Consultants should combine a seminar-style session where people are informed about an emergency situation and their part in dealing with it, being immediately followed by a table-top exercise to check whether participants have understood the problems and their roles. The Team of Consultants will provide the director/controller of the exercise which will be finalized by the post exercise “hot debriefing”.

The main elements of the scenario will be consulted and agreed together with the Inter-Ministerial Technical Working Group while the exercise’s logistics will be provided by NCPA. The exercise will be organized after the preparation of the final NCEP and before the end of the contract.

The Team of Consultants must prepare the information from the hot debriefing, the directing staff and observers brought together into a post-exercise report which should concentrate on the objectives of the exercise and to what extent they were achieved, any flaws or gaps in plans and procedures and action points to remedy them. The ‘cold debrief’ which should be completed within a few weeks of the exercise will not be part of the assignment.

Throughout the implementation, the approaches employed must also take into consideration:

climate change related risks;
issues of gender equity and social inclusion.

An important element of the planning process is deliberate including children, individuals with disabilities and others with access and functional needs, household pets[16], and service animals. The jurisdiction can develop similar checklists to address other population sectors, including populations with diverse languages and culture, populations with economic challenges, populations that depend on public transportation, and visitors from outside the jurisdiction.

Integrating gender and vulnerability perspectives has been recognized as a priority concern since women and men, and particular social categories have varying vulnerabilities and are affected by disasters differently. Women and their participation are critical to effectively managing disaster risk and designing, resourcing and implementing gender-sensitive disaster risk reduction policies, plans and programmes, and adequate capacity building measures need to be taken to empower women for preparedness as well as to build their capacity to secure alternate means of livelihood in post-disaster situations.[17]

Similarly, by taking into consideration that the poor are usually hit the most by the effects of any disaster, particular attention should be given to identifying and address issues affecting them throughout the planning processes, led by the principle of “leaving no one behind”.

Collaboration with NGO/CSO, Academia, Media, businesses, other national, regional, and municipal stakeholders is strongly recommended. In particular, the Team of Consultants should collaborate with the respective organizations and networks ensuring the contributions of women and girls, people with disabilities, people with different barriers (cultural, linguistic, legal), older persons, migrants or others with access and functional needs and vital capacities.

[1] The new National DRA document is foreseen to be completed by the time the assignment will start.

[2] Alike the National DRA document, the National DRR Strategy is foreseen to be completed by the time the assignment will start.

[3] in particular, those having the obligation to draft a civil emergency plan

[4] Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101 September 2021, Version 3.0

[5] Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101 September 2021, Version 3.0

[6] Emergency Planning Ronald W. Perry, Ph.D. and Michael K. Lindell, Ph.D.

[7] How to write an emergency plan by David Alexander

[8] https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/35716

[9] COOP plans address the continued performance of core capabilities and critical operations during any potential incident.

[10] COG plans address the preservation and/or reconstitution of government to ensure that constitutional, legislative, and/or administrative responsibilities are maintained.

[11] Each responding agency or organization may have many tasks, and each task may have an SOP to guide execution. If all of these procedures were included in an emergency plan, it would be very long and very difficult to use. We would be unable to see the forest (the response strategy) because the trees (hundreds of task details) would block our vision. SOPs are kept by operational agencies in their organizational and training manuals. (Emergency Planning Ronald W. Perry, Ph.D. and Michael K. Lindell, Ph.D.)

[12] Principles of emergency planning and management by David Alexander

[13] The complete exercise process includes various phases which are described in details in the document “Design and Conduct of simulation exercises – SIMEX. Words into Action”

[14] A tabletop exercise is an exercise that uses a progressive simulated scenario, together with series of scripted injects, to make participants consider the impact of a potential health emergency on existing plans, procedures and capacities. A TTX simulates an emergency situation in an informal, stress-free environment. (WHO Simulation Exercise Manual, 2017)

[15] A major exercise, especially a live one, is likely to be the culmination of two- or three-years’ work on a response plan. Planning for such an exercise would probably start at least a year in advance and would include many planning group meetings and a number of preparatory exercises to fill detail into the scenario. (A guide to emergency planning arrangements in Northern Ireland)

[16] Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101 September 2021, Version 3.0

[17] Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction

The National consultants will work in close cooperation within a team consisting also of another national consultant and of 2 international consultants, one of them team leader, hired by the UNDP on developing the National Civil Emergency Plan in Albania under the direct supervision of RESEAL Project Manager and in close coordination with UNDP Programme Officer for Environment and Climate Change to perform the following duties:

General duties of the Consultant

Conduct analysis of current status of the civil protection system, all relevant actors, existing NCEP and its implementation, in close cooperation with the Team’s consultants and the interinstitutional working groups.
Working with the other Team’s consultants in developing the National Civil Emergency Plan, developing of the required terms of references and recommendations as well as of the final Table Top Exercise preceded by a back-to-back seminar
In coordination with the Team’s consultants, supports the interinstitutional working groups to undertake similar assignments in the future.
Based on his/her experience and in line with international best practices provides specific recommendations on how to improve the civil protection system in Albania.

More specifically the Consultant will:

Work with project team of consultants, National Civil Protection Agency and other key national authorities as well as other relevant stakeholders in the field of DRR and Civil Protection.
Provide necessary assistance in organization and management of overall process based on existing NCEP as well as National DRA, National DRR Strategy and national background, studies and other relevant assessments including analysis of current situation in the country.
Provide key findings and best practices on wildfires risk assessment including methodology and lesson learned on related studies.
Conduct a with project`s team of consultants the process of developing NCEP and all required meetings with representatives of the interinstitutional working groups, as well as other relevant stakeholders within and when necessary outside the group, to present and get feedback on the evaluation methodology and schedule of work;
Provide expertise on the development of NCEP during the organized workshops, meetings and training sessions to relevant stakeholders and development of their capacities on

preparation of NCEP;

Ensure developing the required ToR-s and the recommendations finalized by the respective workshop.
Developing with Team’s consultant the NCEP and carrying out a 2-3-day composed activity validating the new NCEP through a Table Top Exercise preceded by a back-to-back seminar.
Other activities and functions in line with the main responsibilities and processes.

If unforeseen travel outside the Duty Station not required by the Terms of Reference is requested by UNDP, and upon prior written agreement, such travel shall be at UNDP’s expense and the Individual Contractor shall receive a per diem not to exceed United Nations daily subsistence allowance rate in such other location(s).

3 - Governance and Accountability

3.1 Supervisory Authority

The Team of Consultants leaded by the team leader will work under the overall supervision of UNDP Albania/RESEAL project, to which the Team of Consultants will directly report, seek approval, and obtain the acceptance of deliverables.

In addition, to RESEAL project, the respective output will need the prior approval of the Inter-Institutional Technical Working Group and final approval of the Inter-Institutional Working Group.

3.2 Institutional Collaboration

During the preparation of the NCEP documents, the Team leader and the team of consultants will work closely with UNDP Albania/RESEAL project, NCPA, Inter-Institutional Technical Working Group, and Inter-Institutional Working Group. Collaboration, as appropriate with other national, regional, and municipal stakeholders is strongly recommended.

3.3 Reporting Requirements

The Team Leader will prepare and submit an inception report, monthly reports on the progress of the implementation and a concluding final report. Monthly reporting will be accompanied by a discussion meeting with team of consultants, NCPA and UNDP RESEAL Project. The monthly reports will contain at a minimum the following categories of information:

The work progress and accomplished milestones;
Recommended follow-up and required interventions from RESEAL project;
Issues faced during the implementation and plans to overcome these issues;

A Final Report will be submitted at the end of the execution period. The draft Final Report must be submitted at least 2 weeks before the end of the period of execution of the contract.

3.4 Visibility

All communication, information and product will contain visibility elements recognizing the project donors, UNDP and NCPA.

3.5 Copyright

The copyright for all materials prepared under this assignment will belong to UNDP. The Team of Consultants will hand over the final documents in electronic and print form to UNDP and acknowledges and agrees that such documents constitute work made for UNDP.

3.6 Facilities to be provided by UNDP

UNDP/RESEAL will support the Team of Consultants in accessing local resources, establish relations with local institutions and central ones when needed. UNDP/RESEAL shall provide access to existing data and information related to the scope of work required by the Team of Consultants to perform the tasks under this assignment. Professional RESEAL project personnel will be assigned to collaborate with the selected team of consultants.

Although almost all below listed deliverables are part of teamwork, the International Consultant should directly contribute and be instrumental in ensuring the following deliverables are completed.

7. Deliverables

Output

The main output of the consultancy, intended as the work of the whole team, is the National Civil Emergency Plan for Albania.

The following steps are required:

Mobilization and preparation
Preparation of the below documents

NCEP document which is the main output of the consultancy;

Other sub-products will be:

ToR on drafting the COOP and COG;
ToR on conducting a gap analysis of current procedures to develop whole-of-government communications and notification standard operating procedures (SOP) and exercise them at the national, regional, municipal, and incident levels;
Recommendations about the next NCEP document, National DRA, National DRR strategy, law 45/2019 and its bylaws;
Recommendations on the new guidelines, regulations, manuals, and SOP to be developed in the country;
Recommendations on the CE plans’ development methodology and training programme.
Carrying out a 2-3-day composed activity validating the new NCEP through a Tabletop Exercise preceded by a back-to-back seminar and finalized by the post exercise “hot debriefing”.

First draft of NCEP will be provided by September 1st, 2022.

All the time estimations include the necessary time for output reviews and approvals by the Inter-Institutional Technical Working Group, Inter-Institutional Working Group and UNDP project.

Activities of the consultancy and to be carried out by the team of consultants:

Review of the background documentation outlined in the current ToRs;
Examine the policy, institutional, legal and management frameworks vis-à-vis National Civil Emergency Plan processes and approach;
Analyze existing risks, Civil Protection System situation and its challenges, with consideration of the NCEP;
Work closely with UNDP RESEAL project, Inter-Institutional Working Group, Inter-Institutional Technical Working Group, NCPA and other stakeholders;
Conduct a kick-off meeting and at least two other stakeholders’ workshops for the NCEP Development;
Develop a Structure and Outline of the NCEP, its goals and objectives and agree with the NCPA and Inter-Institutional Working Groups;
Develop and analyze courses of action, identify resources, identify information and intelligent needs;
Conduct the information gathering in close collaboration with the Interinstitutional Technical Working Group and integrate into the main document;
Review the inputs provided, prepare and review the National Civil Emergency Plan;

Organize additional workshop on ToR on:

Drafting the COOP and COG;
Conducting a gap analysis of current procedures to develop whole-of-government communications and notification standard operating procedures (SOP) and exercise them at the national, prefecture, and incident level;

And recommendations on:

The new NCEP, National RA, National DRR strategy, existing bylaws of law 45/2019, the new guidelines, regulations, manuals, and SOP to be developed in the country;
The CE plans development methodology and training program.

Finalize the draft National Civil Emergency Plan and the other above-mentioned outputs for further consideration by NCPA, UNDP, Inter-Ministerial Group and Inter-Ministerial Technical Working Group.
Carrying out a 2-3-day composed activity validating the new NCEP through a Tabletop Exercise preceded by a back-to-back seminar and finalized by the post exercise “hot debriefing”.
Provide regular reports to UNDP on the milestones of the consultancy process and final report.

The working language of the assignment will be English and Albanian and international consultants will be supported by national consultants to facility their work. The official working language with interinstitutional working group will be Albanian and all documents/materials should be available in Albanian.

National consultants will assist and support the team leader and other consultants’ part of the team and are expected to submit all deliverables electronically and in hard copy in Albanian and English, ensuring they are fully edited and free of grammatical errors.

National consultants, together with other colleagues’ part the team of consultants, will have progress meeting with UNDP project and Programme staff, Inter-Institutional Working Group, Inter-Institutional Technical Working Group, NCPA staff and other key partners to ensure accurate and successful implementation of the required consultancy.

All the required documents need to be approved by Inter-Institutional Technical Working Group, Inter-Institutional Working Group, NCPA, and UNDP RESEAL Project.

Key milestones

Analysis of the policy, institutional, legal, and management frameworks vis-à-vis National Civil Emergency Plan processes and approach;
Inception report;
Draft Structure and Outline of the NCEP;
Kick off meeting and at least two Stakeholder Consultation Workshops for NCEP;
Draft NCEP document;
Additional stakeholder’s Consultation Workshops on:

Drafting the COOP and COG;
Conducting a gap analysis of current procedures to develop whole-of-government communications and notification standard operating procedures (SOP) and exercise them at the national, prefecture, and incident level;

And recommendations on:

The new NCEP, National DRA, National DRR strategy, law 45/2019 and its bylaws of;
The new guidelines, regulations, manuals, and SOP to be developed in the country;
The CE plans development methodology and training programme

Final National Civil Emergency Plan document;
Final ToR on drafting the COOP and COG;
Final ToR on conducting a gap analysis of current procedures to develop whole-of-government communications and notification standard operating procedures (SOP) and exercise them at the national, prefecture, and incident levels;
The final recommendations on the new NCEP, National RA, National DRR strategy, law 45/2019 and its bylaws;
The final recommendations on the new guidelines, regulations, manuals, and SOP to be developed in the country;
The final recommendations on the CE plans development methodology and training programme
Developing and carrying out a 2-3-day composed activity validating the new NCEP through a Table Top Exercise preceded by a back-to-back seminar and finalized by the post exercise “hot debriefing”. A post-exercise report drafted by bringing together the information from the debriefings, the directing staff and observers.
Final report

Deliverable 1 (D1)

Inception report, in close work with the selected international and national team of consultants outlining:

Reviewing of the background documentation outlined in the current ToRs;
Examining the policy, institutional, legal and management frameworks vis-à-vis National Civil Emergency Plan processes and approach;
Analyzing existing risks, Civil Protection System situation and its challenges, with consideration of the NCEP;
Conduct a kick-off meeting and at least one stakeholders’ workshops for the NCEP Development;
Develop a Structure and Outline of the NCEP, its goals and objectives and agree with the NCPA and Inter-Institutional Working Groups

Deliverable 2 (D2)

The National Consultant in close work with the selected international and national team of consultants will:

Develop and analyze courses of action, identify resources, identify information and intelligent needs;
Conduct the information gathering in close collaboration with the Interinstitutional Technical Working Group and integrate into the main document;
Review the inputs provided, prepare and review the National Civil Emergency Plan
Finalize the draft National Civil Emergency Plan and the other above-mentioned outputs for further consideration by NCPA, UNDP, Inter-Ministerial Technical Working Group and Inter-Ministerial Working Group.
Conduct the last stakeholders’ workshops for the NCEP Development
Final National Civil Emergency Plan document

Deliverable 3 (D3)

Final ToR on drafting the COOP and COG;
Final ToR on conducting a gap analysis of current procedures to develop whole-of-government communications and notification standard operating procedures (SOP) and exercise them at the national, prefecture, and incident levels;
The final recommendations on the new NCEP, National RA, National DRR strategy, law 45/2019 and its bylaws;
The final recommendations on the new guidelines, regulations, manuals, and SOP to be developed in the country;
The final recommendations on the CE plans development methodology and training programme
Carrying out a workshop on ToR-s and recommendations of the deliverable 3.
Developing and carrying out a 2-3-day composed activity validating the new NCEP through a Tabletop Exercise preceded by a back-to-back seminar and finalized by the post exercise “hot debriefing”. A post-exercise report drafted by bringing together the information from the debriefings, the directing staff and observers.
Final report

Competencies

Core competencies and values:

Demonstrates integrity and fairness by modelling UN values and ethical standards;
Demonstrates professional competence and is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results;
Display cultural, gender, nationality, religion and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional competencies:

Demonstrated analytical skills to identify obtain and synthesize information from various sources and formulate objectives and conclusions;
Understanding of public information management and financial tools in disaster risk management;
Demonstrated technical skills and work experience on Disaster Risk Management with a special focus on wildfires risk assessment;
Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to liaise effectively with government officials, community partners, as well as representatives of international organizations;
Advanced computer skills (especially Microsoft office applications) and the ability to use information technologies as a tool and resource.

Required Skills and Experience

The National Consultant should work on developing NCEP process by working together with the rest of the selected team of consultants highly experienced and qualified experts hired by the project, who are in the possess of sufficient resources to provide the required consultancy with effectiveness, efficiency, quality, and professionalism.

The National Consultants shall respect local customs and conform to the highest moral and ethical conduct standards. UNDP may at any time request the withdrawal of any of the Team of Consultants’ personnel if these standards are not adhered to.

Education

A postgraduate qualification (and/or equivalent work experience) in Disaster Risk Management, civil engineering, environmental sciences, or other discipline related to DRM.

Professional Experience

A minimum of 5 years in the area of civil emergency planning.
Demonstrated outstanding technical expertise as relevant for the respective assignments.
Extensive knowledge of disaster risks reduction and civil protection issues in the country as well as policies and legislation.
Extensive experience with Civil Emergency Planning processes.

Proven track record in planning and conducting similar exercises in DRR and CP, in coordination with local state and non-state stakeholders and international partners.
Proven ability to work with a variety of stakeholders in a multi-cultural environment.
Proven ability to coordinate with teams of experts and work effectively in a multicultural-interdisciplinary environment.
Extensive experience working with senior national and international policymakers.
Fluency in written and spoken English.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in Albanian and English, with excellent drafting, writing and presentation skills is required.