European Commission - Directorate-General for International Partnerships

Contract related to: SWITCH-Asia - The objective of the SWITCH-Asia Programme is to support the transition to a low-carbon, resource-efficient and more circular economy in Asia and in the Pacific, contributing to economic growth and poverty reduction.

Contract related to: Expenditure Verification and System Audit of Project reference 446787 CREASION, 452358 REDD BARNA and 454964 PIN - Nepal¿s Constitution (2015) guarantees the right to compulsory and free education up to basic level and free secondary education to every citizen. The government, with support from the EU and other partners, has undertaken a series of national programmes in the education sector over the past two decades that have contributed to reducing education inequalities, improving governance, financing, and efficiency. However, challenges remain, especially in learning outcomes and equity in education, especially for girls and marginalised groups.  Nepal¿s progress in education has experienced a severe shock with the COVID-19 pandemic, which increased pre-existing disparities in access, participation and learning outcomes. An intensive corrective response over the next years will be necessary to recover the learning losses. The Government of Nepal has worked in close coordination with development partners from 2020 to 2022 to develop the School Education Sector plan (SESP), which covers 2021 to 2030. The SESP differs from previous school sector plans in that it is designed in line with the new federal structure of governance for the Education system in Nepal, which has devolved many responsibilities for school education to local governments. The SESP is funded jointly by the Government of Nepal and donors covering the whole school sector education in Nepal. This action supports the SESP and has been jointly programmed with the government and development partners, in particular with UNICEF and Finland focusing on SDG (and SESP) targets such as quality, gender equity and inclusive education. It¿s aligned to the Global Partnership for Education (GPE). This action foresees support for 4 years, including the transitional year. The potential EU support to the 2 years following these will be assessed after the Mid Term evaluation of the EU Multi-annual Indicative Programme (MIP) 2021-2027. In line with the vision of the SESP, the overall objective of the EU action will contribute to a well-educated and skilled society in Nepal which is able to play an active role in the social and economic development of the country. The action will support three specific objectives of the SESP: 1.        improve equitable and inclusive access to education for all children, especially those who are socially and economically disadvantaged, children from marginalised groups and children with disabilities 2.        improve the quality and relevance to free basic and secondary education and ensure minimum learning achievements of each child3.        strength the local system delivery capacity by promoting good governance, intergovernmental coordination and collaboration and by developing institutional capacity at local levelThe main expected results will be: i) improved education enrolment and completion of all children; ii) reduction of disparities in learning outcomes; iii) improved teaching quality and student learning achievements and iv) improved capacities of local governments in implementation of the SESP.While the action will support the nation-wide education system through the budget support modality, the complementary measures will focus on the three provinces with lowest learning outcomes so far (Karnali, Sudurpashchim and Madhesh), and also provide an opportunity to increase visibility through `EU-supported schools¿.

<p class="ql-align-justify"><em>Provision of short- term technical assistance to support the EU engagement with civil society and youth in Nepal. The services to be provided include facilitation of dialogues, consultations, trainings and events with civil society grantees, youth stakeholders and the EU Nepal Youth Sounding Board. </em></p>

<p class="ql-align-justify">The overall objective (impact) of the action is energy sector in Nepal is greener and more inclusive. The specific objectives (outcomes) are to make the energy sector greener and more inclusive, and to ensure that improved equal access to energy increases uptake of clean energy technologies. </p><p class="ql-align-justify">The Action has the following outputs:</p><p class="ql-align-justify">Output 1: Capacities of authorities on national level to formulate and implement regulations for an economically viable expansion of Renewable Energy (RE) and Energy Efficiency (EE) has been improved</p><p class="ql-align-justify">Output 2: Framework conditions for private sector investments in the implementation of RE and EE projects have improved.</p><p class="ql-align-justify">Output 3: Capacities of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and local electricity service providers to improve service quality on distribution grid level are strengthened.</p><p class="ql-align-justify">Output 4: Capacities of sub-national administrative structures for effective, inclusive promotion of RE and EE for local socioeconomic development have been improved.</p><p class="ql-align-justify">Planned activities include upgrading grid infrastructure, supporting clean energy technologies, developing policies, and improving the capacity of grid stakeholders with a focus on women in all their diversity and disadvantaged groups including people with disabilities.</p>

Contract related to: EU-Nepal Cooperation Facility (EU-NCF) - The action aims to fund Support Measures for the period 2025-2027 which will provide the European Commission with the possibility to finance small-scale activities that are needed for the achievement of the objectives of the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI-Global Europe), as articulated in Nepal¿s Multi-annual Indicative Programme (MIP) priority areas, as well as global and regional strategies, in particular Global Gateway.

<p>Provision of technical assistance to strengthen the EU¿s engagement with civil society actors, with a focus on developing capacities and synergies to effectively integrate civil society into the rollout of Global Gateway initiatives in Nepal. In addition, this service will support the implementation of the Gender Action Plan and the EU¿s engagement with youth, including the support to the EU Nepal Youth Sounding Board. The tasks will include analytical studies and policy analysis, monitoring and evaluation,capacity development , organisation of conferences, trainings and facilitation of dialogues, management of the Youth Sounding Board.</p><p><br></p>