UNECE ‘Building Back Better’ infrastructure award 2021

Call for projects

UNECE PPP Forum 2021 (22-26 April 2021)

This year's Forum is on the theme ‘Build Back Better’ and in order to incentivise innovative thinking and creative ideas for ‘Building Back Better’ from the COVID-19 pandemic, the UNECE has decided to hold at its PPP Forum 2021, a competition. The UNECE Building Back Better infrastructure award.

This competition will show the best resilient People-first PPPs to 'Build Back Better', which are projects that fulfil the following characteristics: stakeholder and community empowerment; poverty and inequalities; women’s empowerment; environmental sustainability, climate change and resilience. By utilising the UNECE People-first PPP Evaluation Methodology for this purpose, the competition will also serve to help test its effectiveness and use.

More information can be found in the tabs below.

To participate in the competition, please fill in the following form.

Details of the competition

A call for projects: everyone is welcome to submit their infrastructure projects. This call is especially made to PPP units, government agencies, companies, lenders and NGOs and is looking for projects at various stages of development (design, construction and operation phases) that contribute to the theme of the UNECE PPP Forum 2021 ‘Building Back Better’ and that can help achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Preference might be given to projects in the following sectors and industries: healthcare, water and sanitation, food, jobs for recovery, broadband and IT, sustainable energy, sustainable transport (e.g. metro rail, light rail), area regeneration, disaster resilience, multiple project local and community services, etc.
The selection process: project information is submitted through this link. Applicants will then be invited for a brief information session with the secretariat to receive details on the UNECE People-first PPP Evaluation Methodology. The Self-assessment tool, which is one component of this methodology, will need to be filled for each project as a requirement for participation in the competition. The Jury will select the projects that will be showcased at the UNECE International PPP Forum on 22-23 April 2021.
Projects’ presentation: on 22 April 2021, the finalists will present their projects to delegates in the presence of the Jury and will be given 5 minutes for this presentation. There will also be an opportunity for the Jury to ask questions to the finalists about their projects in a separate pre-competition session also held on 22 April.
Voting: The Jury will decide those projects that they think best fit with ‘Building Back Better’. The shortlisted projects will be submitted to the participants in the Forum for the final vote on 22 April 2021. The Forum participants will be able to vote using their smart devices (e.g. smartphones, tablets etc.) or computers thereby enabling their full engagement and participation which fits very well with the ethos of the People-first approach to infrastructure and PPPs espoused by the UNECE PPP programme.
Award Ceremony: the winners will be announced during the award ceremony on 23 April 2021 at 15:45.
Prizes: The top-ranking projects will receive an acknowledgment letter from the United Nations and a certificate acknowledging their ranking. In addition, partners from public and sectors, will be invited to volunteer their network and services to help these projects inter alia gain traction, improve delivery and impact, achieve recognition, etc. All interested parties are encouraged to enter this competition.

Jury members: The Jury is composed of 5 to 6 top international infrastructure experts chaired by Mr. James Stewart. Mr. Pedro Neves acts as the Secretary to the Jury.

Deadline for submission of projects: The deadline for submission of projects is 31 March 2021.

Self-assessment tool

Applicants are required to complete the Self-assessment tool for their projects entering the competition and send it to the UNECE secretariat at [email protected] with the subject "Building Back Better infrastructure award". The Self-assessment tool is available in English and Russian.

A Users’ Guide to the Self-Assessment tool with detailed explanation on all the indicators, has been prepared by the secretariat to help applicants in completing the Self-assessment tool. The Guide is available in English.

The documents can be downloaded from below:

Self-Assessment Tool	EN	RU
UNECE People-first PPP Self-Assessment Tool	xls¹	xls¹
User’s Guide of the Self-Assessment Tool	pdf	pdf

_{⁽¹⁾ Note: If you are using Chrome or Firefox browsers, you might have to use the right-click button and select option "Open link in a new tab" to download the Excel files.}

Building Back Better Indicators

Ten indicators⁽¹⁾ have been identified from the Self-assessment tool that contribute in particular to the theme of this year’s International PPP Forum – 'Building Back Better'. The ten indicators are available in English and Russian. Applicants are required to send one paragraph per indicator to the secretariat using the online form here.

⁽¹⁾Indicators taken from the UNECE People-first PPP Evaluation Methodology.

Данные индикаторы⁽²⁾ были отобраны с учетом их вклада в восстановление по принципу «лучше, чем было». Участникам конкурса инфраструктурных проектов «Восстановление по принципу "лучше, чем было"» следует направить в секретариат ЕЭК ООН материалы о том, как соблюдаются эти индикаторы, используя следующую ссылку. Крайний срок представления материалов – 31 марта 2021 года.

⁽²⁾ Индикаторы взяты из методологии оценки ГЧП на благо людей, разработанной ЕЭК ООН.

English	Russian
Declaration of intent Has the project published a Statement of Intent on ‘Building Back Better’ and/or pursued or intends to pursue recognition that resulted or will result in the project being recognised for its contributions to sustainability and resiliency? Stakeholder and community empowerment Has the project clearly identified and addressed the accessibility needs of the communities the project is intended to serve, such that the service provided by the project is easily accessible by all users, including those most vulnerable and disadvantaged? Has the project been designed, structured, developed, managed, or contracted in such a way to be able to continue to anticipate and respond to potential future risks to project performance in terms of affordability, accessibility, and equitability over the life of the project? Poverty and inequalities Does the project create a significant number of new local jobs during project identification, development, and implementation? Are project impacts and benefits equitably distributed across stakeholders/throughout the host and affected communities? Women’s empowerment Is there evidence that stakeholder lives [especially women] have been transformed as a result of the project providing new or improved access to essential services? Is the project designed to maximise socio-economic impact by facilitating women’s empowerment? Environmental sustainability, climate change and resilience Has the project developed a plan/identified strategies to reduce GHG emissions over the life of the project? Does the project include one or more circular economy processes by utilising unwanted waste and/or excess resources from another local project or by finding local destinations for the beneficial use/reuse of its unwanted waste and/or excess resources? Is there a defined community driven development (CDD) programme in place that has identified preventive measures and preparatory actions before, emergency actions during, and recovery and resilience actions after natural and human induced disasters (including a pandemic such as COVID-19)?	Заявление о намерениях Опубликовано ли в рамках проекта заявление о намерениях по восстановлению по принципу «лучше, чем было», и/или добился ли проект или намерен добиваться признания за его вклад в устойчивость и жизнестойкость? Расширение прав и возможностей заинтересованных сторон и общин Были ли в рамках проекта четко определены и удовлетворены потребности общин, которые он призван обслуживать, в отношении доступности таким образом, чтобы услуги, предоставляемые в рамках проекта, были вполне доступными для всех пользователей, включая наиболее уязвимых и обездоленных? Было ли обеспечено, чтобы процесс составления плана осуществления проекта, его структурирования и разработки и управления им или заключения контракта по нему предоставлял возможность продолжать предвидеть потенциальные будущие риски для эффективности выполнения проекта и реагировать на них с учетом требований ценовой приемлемости, доступности и справедливости на протяжении всего срока его реализации? Нищета и неравенство Создает ли проект значительное количество новых рабочих мест на местном уровне во время идентификации, разработки и реализации проекта? Справедливо ли распределяются последствия и выгоды проекта между заинтересованными сторонами/среди принимающих и затронутых общины? Расширение прав и возможностей женщин Имеются ли доказательства того, что жизнь заинтересованных сторон [особенно женщин] изменилась в результате осуществления проекта, призванного обеспечить новый или более совершенный доступ к основным услугам? Направлен ли проект на достижение максимального социально-экономического эффекта путем содействия расширению прав и возможностей женщин? Экологическая устойчивость, изменение климата и потенциал противодействия Был ли разработан в рамках проекта план/были ли определены в его рамках стратегии сокращения выбросов парниковых газов на протяжении всего срока реализации проекта? Включает ли проект в себя один или несколько процессов экономики замкнутого цикла за счет использования нежелательных отходов и/или избыточных ресурсов из другого местного проекта или нахождения местных потребителей для выгодного использования/повторного использования его нежелательных отходов и/или избыточных ресурсов? Существует ли конкретная программа развития, ориентированного на общины (РОО), в которой определены превентивные меры и подготовительные действия до возникновения стихийных и антропогенных бедствий, чрезвычайные действия в момент их наступления и меры по восстановлению и повышению жизнестойкости после их завершения?

English

Russian

Declaration of intent

Has the project published a Statement of Intent on ‘Building Back Better’ and/or pursued or intends to pursue recognition that resulted or will result in the project being recognised for its contributions to sustainability and resiliency?

Stakeholder and community empowerment

Has the project clearly identified and addressed the accessibility needs of the communities the project is intended to serve, such that the service provided by the project is easily accessible by all users, including those most vulnerable and disadvantaged?
Has the project been designed, structured, developed, managed, or contracted in such a way to be able to continue to anticipate and respond to potential future risks to project performance in terms of affordability, accessibility, and equitability over the life of the project?

Poverty and inequalities

Does the project create a significant number of new local jobs during project identification, development, and implementation?
Are project impacts and benefits equitably distributed across stakeholders/throughout the host and affected communities?

Women’s empowerment

Is there evidence that stakeholder lives [especially women] have been transformed as a result of the project providing new or improved access to essential services?
Is the project designed to maximise socio-economic impact by facilitating women’s empowerment?

Environmental sustainability, climate change and resilience

Has the project developed a plan/identified strategies to reduce GHG emissions over the life of the project?
Does the project include one or more circular economy processes by utilising unwanted waste and/or excess resources from another local project or by finding local destinations for the beneficial use/reuse of its unwanted waste and/or excess resources?
Is there a defined community driven development (CDD) programme in place that has identified preventive measures and preparatory actions before, emergency actions during, and recovery and resilience actions after natural and human induced disasters (including a pandemic such as COVID-19)?

Заявление о намерениях

Опубликовано ли в рамках проекта заявление о намерениях по восстановлению по принципу «лучше, чем было», и/или добился ли проект или намерен добиваться признания за его вклад в устойчивость и жизнестойкость?

Расширение прав и возможностей заинтересованных сторон и общин

Были ли в рамках проекта четко определены и удовлетворены потребности общин, которые он призван обслуживать, в отношении доступности таким образом, чтобы услуги, предоставляемые в рамках проекта, были вполне доступными для всех пользователей, включая наиболее уязвимых и обездоленных?
Было ли обеспечено, чтобы процесс составления плана осуществления проекта, его структурирования и разработки и управления им или заключения контракта по нему предоставлял возможность продолжать предвидеть потенциальные будущие риски для эффективности выполнения проекта и реагировать на них с учетом требований ценовой приемлемости, доступности и справедливости на протяжении всего срока его реализации?

Нищета и неравенство

Создает ли проект значительное количество новых рабочих мест на местном уровне во время идентификации, разработки и реализации проекта?
Справедливо ли распределяются последствия и выгоды проекта между заинтересованными сторонами/среди принимающих и затронутых общины?

Расширение прав и возможностей женщин

Имеются ли доказательства того, что жизнь заинтересованных сторон [особенно женщин] изменилась в результате осуществления проекта, призванного обеспечить новый или более совершенный доступ к основным услугам?
Направлен ли проект на достижение максимального социально-экономического эффекта путем содействия расширению прав и возможностей женщин?

Экологическая устойчивость, изменение климата и потенциал противодействия

Был ли разработан в рамках проекта план/были ли определены в его рамках стратегии сокращения выбросов парниковых газов на протяжении всего срока реализации проекта?
Включает ли проект в себя один или несколько процессов экономики замкнутого цикла за счет использования нежелательных отходов и/или избыточных ресурсов из другого местного проекта или нахождения местных потребителей для выгодного использования/повторного использования его нежелательных отходов и/или избыточных ресурсов?
Существует ли конкретная программа развития, ориентированного на общины (РОО), в которой определены превентивные меры и подготовительные действия до возникновения стихийных и антропогенных бедствий, чрезвычайные действия в момент их наступления и меры по восстановлению и повышению жизнестойкости после их завершения?

Terms and Conditions

1. By entering the UNECE ‘Building Back Better’ infrastructure award 2021 (hereafter referred to as the “Competition”), you warrant that all information submitted by you is true, up to date and complete. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE, “the Organizer”) reserves the right to verify the eligibility of all applicants.

2. By entering the Competition, you accept the present Terms and Conditions.

3. No purchase or payment of any kind is required to participate in this Competition.

4. The Competition is open to PPP units, government agencies, companies, lenders and NGOs to submit infrastructure projects at various stages of development (design, construction and operation phases) that contribute to the theme of the UNECE PPP Forum 2021 ‘Building Back Better’ and that can help achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with a focus on the following sectors and industries: healthcare, water and sanitation, food, jobs for recovery, broadband and IT, sustainable energy, sustainable transport (e.g. metro rail, light rail), area regeneration, disaster resilience, multiple project local and community services, etc.

5. Entries must be submitted electronically.

6. The individual submitting the project must be a legitimate representative of his/her Government, private company or organization. The organizers reserve the right to determine what constitutes legitimate representation. Such determination shall not be subject to recourse.

7. The Organizer does not provide any equipment or technical/communication infrastructure necessary to create and submit an entry to the Competition.

8. Applicants must not be staff members of UNECE or members of a UNECE staff member’s family or household, nor have been offered future employment with UNECE.

9. Applicants may submit more than one entry, provided that entries submitted by the same applicants are not substantially similar. The Organizer reserves the right to determine what constitutes ‘substantial to decide if a submission is related to and aligned with the fields of interests of UNECE; its decision shall be final and not be subject to recourse.

10. The deadline for initial submissions is 31 March 2021 (24.00 CEST).

11. All entries must be submitted in English.

12. All entries, must: a. respect the intellectual property rights of third parties; b. be compliant with applicable national laws; c. not depict, or incite, hatred; defame; abuse; harass; threaten a specific person or social or religious group, or incite violence or conflict; d. fully respect the legal rights of third parties.

13. Award: Finalists will be invited to present their proposals at the UNECE International PPP Forum on 22-26 April 2021. The Jury and Forum applicants will vote for the winning projects and an official award ceremony will be held on 23 April 2021.

14. All applicants will retain the intellectual property rights on the contents of their submissions. However, by entering the Competition, each applicant grants the Organizer a limited, non-exclusive, universal, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, communicate, demonstrate, make available for public display and distribute the content of his/her submission for the Organizer’s promotional, informational and educational or awareness purposes, via printed or digital or online media, including the Organizer’s website. The applicant hereby warrants that he/she is legally entitled to grant such license to the Organizer.

15. Finalists shall allow the Organizer to use their names and/or photographs for promotional and awareness purposes in any media, worldwide, at no cost to the Organizer and without remuneration for the applicants.

16. By entering the Competition, applicants agree to release and hold harmless the Organizer from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liability, including but not limited to, negligence and damages of any kind to persons and property, infringement of trademark, copyright or other intellectual property rights arising out of or relating to their participation in the Competition and the contents of their submissions.

17. By entering the Competition, applicants agree to release and hold harmless the Organizer from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liability, including but not limited to, negligence and damages of any kind to persons and property, infringement of trademark, copyright or other intellectual property rights arising out of or relating to their participation in the Competition and the contents of their submissions.

18. The Organizer reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any submission which does not comply with the present Terms and Conditions.

19. The Organizer is not responsible for lost, late, corrupted, mutilated or misdirected submissions, or submissions not received within the deadlines specified above

20. Applicants to the competition are not allowed to use the UN name and emblem or other branding elements on material that was produced by them.

21. The Organizer shall have the right, at its sole discretion, to abbreviate, modify, suspend, cancel or terminate the Competition without any future obligation, by notifying the applicants via an announcement at www.unece.org.

22. Nothing in the present Terms and Conditions shall be deemed a limitation or a waiver, explicit or implicit, of the privileges and immunities of the United Nations.

UNECE ‘Building Back Better’ infrastructure award 2021

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