Procuracy Consultant

A. DAI ORGANIZATION AND VALUES

DAI is a global development company with corporate offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, EU, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Palestine and project operations worldwide. We tackle fundamental social and economic development problems caused by inefficient markets, ineffective governance, and instability. DAI works on the frontlines of global development. Transforming ideas into action—action into impact. We are committed to shaping a more livable world.

DAI and its employees are committed to confronting racism and holding ourselves accountable for positive change within the company and in the communities, cultures, and countries in which we live and work. DAI is committed to attracting and retaining the best employees from all races and backgrounds in our continued effort to become a better development partner.

DAI upholds the highest ethical standards. We are committed to the prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment as well as other ethical breaches. All of our positions are therefore subject to stringent vetting and reference checks.

B. PROJECT BACKGROUND

The USAID Sustainable Forest Management Project (the Project) will work with the Government of Vietnam (GVN) to reduce carbon emissions associated with deforestation, the degradation of natural forests, and poor plantation management. The Project will implement a “Green Prosperity” approach that strengthens local communities’ ability to protect their natural resource base and reduce emissions while building a strong foundation for sustainable livelihoods and equitable economic growth.

The Project will work in seven provinces (Lao Cai, Son La, Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Quang Tri, Quang Nam) and focus on five objectives:

Improve and expand community forest management
Increase conservation-friendly enterprises in forest-dependent communities
Increase functionality of law enforcement system for forest crimes
Improve production forest management practices
Mobilize domestic resources for forest management and protection

The Project will be implemented during the period 2020-2025 by DAI in collaboration with RECOFTC and Preferred by Nature as partners, with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) as the counterpart and the Management Board of Forestry Projects (MBFP) as project owner.

C. DESCRIPTION OF CONSULTANCY SERVICE:

I. BACKGROUND OF THE ASSIGNMENT

1.1. Background

Of the five Project’s objectives (or sub-components)[1], Objective 3 aims at “increasing the functionality of Law Enforcement Systems for Forest Crimes”. The achievement of this objective may involve a suite of interventions including but not limited to: 1) a thorough assessment of current institutional, financial and social barriers to law enforcement in the target provinces, (2) increasing the ability of provincial governments to monitor small-scale encroachment in near real-time, 3) promoting use of handheld devices or other technological devices and data sources to increase efficient deployment of ranger patrols and increase prosecution rates and effectiveness, 4) leveraging social media and civil society to highlight crimes and increase the profile of enforcement actions, as higher profile issues can receive additional funding and can also increase awareness and act as a deterrent, 5) improving coordination and effectiveness of forest rangers, police, prosecutors, judges and their respective agencies, and 6) promoting efficient use of financial resources.

In 2022, the Project plans to organize a workshop for the agencies listed in the intervention number 5 above to explore options for strengthening the cooperation among these agencies and expectations of one agency from the other. Especially, it is expected that the workshop will help identify the capacity gaps of the FPDs at provincial and district levels when exercising their tasks and functions of a law enforcement agency to handle administrative and criminal violations in forestry sector, thus to design supporting interventions in the coming years.

The Project is looking for 02 consultants, one with expertise in prosecution process and requirement (Procuracy Consultant) and one with expertise in investigation (Investigation Consultant) to facilitate the workshop.

This SOW is for the Procuracy Consultant (Lead Facilitator).

1.2. Description of the workshop

Time: one-day workshop, tentatively scheduled for August 18, 2022
Venue: in Hanoi or another province (to be determined)
Participants: 49 participants (of which there are 39 trainees)
- From 35 – 39 participants from 07 Project provinces, representing provincial or district FPD, Police, Procuracy, Court
- 06 project staff
- 02 Consultants (Facilitators) and 02 keynote speakers

2. OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT AND TASKS OF THE CONSULTANT

2.1. Objective

Strengthen law enforcement capacity of local FPDs and their cooperation with other local law enforcement and judicial agencies in handling administrative and criminal violations in forestry sector.

2.2. Specific tasks

The Procuracy Consultant will act as the Lead Facilitator and will carry out the following tasks:

2.2.1. Explore the needs for information of participants and design the workshop accordingly

Provincial Management Boards of the Project will provide a list of participants by Mid-May 2022. The Lead Facilitator will contact a number of participants in the list, who represent local FPDs, Provincial People’s Procuracy and Provincial People’s Court to explore what information and knowledge these participants want to be provided at the workshop. The consultant is also encouraged to contact the Provincial People’s Procuracy and Provincial People’s Court through his/her own network to explore the areas of cooperation that these agencies want to have with FPDs. He/she will conduct the consultation/interview online (emails, phone, other online communication channels) with a set of questions or a questionnaire.

On the basis of information collected and with information collected by the Investigation Consultant, the consultant will develop and submit to the Project for approval an Inception Report, which describes i) the needs for information and need for cooperation among the agencies mentioned above; 2) capacity building needs of FPDs for strengthening the effectiveness of law enforcement in forestry sector; and iii) Detailed Agenda of the workshop.

2.2.2. Develop workshop materials

Workshop materials are developed on the basis of the assessment and agenda mentioned above and would include: i) PPT presentations; ii) handouts; and iii) other reading materials.

At this stage, key contents of the workshop are identified as follow (see tentative Agenda in the Annex. Note that this Agenda can be revised by the consultants on the basis of information collected from participants and their agencies):

General information on functions, authorities, tasks of law enforcement agencies (LEAs), i.e., FPD, Police, Procuracy, Court.
Cooperation mechanisms between the LEAs
Procedures of applying law enforcement measures (administrative fines, suspension of business, revoking business permits, prosecution etc. …)
Authority of FPD in investigating criminal cases: What FPD is authorized to do? What would not be included in FPD’s authority?
Obstacles that FPDs and other LEAs are facing when performing their authorities in handling violations in forestry sector? How to overcome the obstacles?
Case studies, including Cases prepared by the consultants and Cases proposed/asked by participants

2.2.3. Facilitate the workshop

The Procuracy Consultant will take lead and cooperate with the Investigation Consultant to facilitate the one-day workshop as described in 1.2 and make sure the workshop achieves its objective.

3. KEY DELIVERABLES / OUTPUTS OF THE CONSULTANT

01 set of questionnaire or list of questions to explore information from the workshop participants and their agencies
01 Inception Report of Detailed Workshop Plan
Workshop materials (PPT presentations, handouts, other reading documents).

Qualifications

Have at least 15 years of working experience in prosecution (Procuratorate Universities/Academies, People’s Procuracy), police force (People’s Police Academies, Investigation Office of Police Force …) or other areas related to law enforcement
Have profound knowledge and experience in provide trainings on law enforcement techniques (investigation, prosecution …) related to forest management, handling violations of forestry law
Having practical experience as prosecutors, investigators, judges is an advantage