Background

The current development of implementing Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) in the Nordic areas  through national initiatives (Norway, Sweden, Finland) as well as the implementation of the EU Maritime Strategy Framework Directive (MFSD)  has lead to an increased need for knowledge on MSP systems, processes and tools. Each country has to develop MSP according to its own governance structure, existing planning and management legislation and political will in order for MSP to be successfully designed and implemented. With the current Nordic MSP initiative for the western Nordic area there is a need to understand how the existing  governance systems and the concerned national legislation of the countries and selfgoverning entities in that area may influence the set up of national  MSP systems. Knowledge on such relations is likely to be found by looking at the experience of other Nordic countries or selfgoverning entities.  

Project goal

The goal of the project is to find correspondences between governance systems, legal frameworks and the state and level of MSP that are relevant and helpful for discussions on development of MSP systems in the western Nordic area.  

Project description

In order to fulfil the goal the project shall include at baseline study of the existing governance systems, legal frameworks and MSP systems in all Nordic countries and selfgoverning entities. The study of MSP systems shall describe existing MSP legislation, practice and development, both concerning the territorial waters and the exclusive economic zone. The project shall, in comparing the countries and entities, make an analysis of the possible relations between these factors and formulate conclusions that may be relevant for the western Nordic area. Issues as the character of MSP (legally binding or non-binding, covering management of marine areas, etc.), effects of the measures/actions, sector involvement, public participation, stakeholder involvement and transboundary cooperation should be highlighted. The influence of EU-legislation should be taken account of where relevant.

The baseline study should make use of existing compilations and could preferably use the report Maritime Spatial Planning in the Nordic Context by the Nordic Planning Authorities as a starting point but also take account of work being done by Helcom and Vasab and other organisations.

The project manager shall prepare a report that fulfils these requirements. . The report shall be a desk-study based on published (official) documents on the above mentioned factors. Interviews of key experts, planners and managers may be considered.

Budget

The budget for the project is 200 000 DKK. Any possible VAT is paid by the Consultant.

The budget shall cover all ordinary expenses for carrying out the project as wall as all travel expenses related to participation in a meeting , and participation in the September 2013 Workshop on Marine Spatial Planning in Iceland.

Deadlines

The deadline for the tender is 14^st of June 2013.

The project will be launched in May and finshed in September 2013.

The Project Manager submits a status report to the working group twice during the total project implementation period. Reporting deadlines will be further defined in the contract. The final report shall be submitted to the groups three weeks before the project ends.

Communication of results

The Consultant undertakes to ensure that information about the project reaches the target groups according to the Information Strategy of the Nordic Environmental Cooperation.

The report will be published on the Nordic Council of Ministers’ website and the costs of publishing shall be included in the project budget. Also other costs related to publishing, such as cost of translation of the summary and spell check, shall be covered by the project budget. The structure of the report shall follow the Nordic Council of Ministers’ guidelines for publishing reports. For more on the technical information, see the instructions for TemaNord-reports.

HAV will decide if the report should in addition be printed, when the work is completed. Costs of printing the report will not burden the project budget.

At the start of the project the Consultant shall prepare a short, popular summary of the project in a Scandinavian language and in English which will be published on the HAV’s website.  When the project is completed the Consultant shall prepare a short, popular text in a Scandinavian language and in English (and possibly in Icelandic/Finnish) about the (political) project results for the publication on HAV’s website. The text will also be used as a draft for a press release.

The report will be written in English, with a summary in a Scandinavian language.

Administrative conditions

The Nordic Marine Group (HAV) under the Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM) is responsible for the project. The project is funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers. The project reports directly to HAV.

Tenders

The tenders shall be submitted through the NCMs electronic database and sent by email to maritag@tinganes.fo

When evaluating the tenders, the following aspects will be taking into the considerations:

• Design and plan of work and choice of methods
• Timeframe
• General competence and qualifications of the project workers
• Previous experience in the field
• Which Nordic contacts and networks that will be used in the project
• Scheduled time and costs, salary per hour and other expenses
• Planned communication of the project resultsCompetence in the Nordic languages

The Nordic Marine Group (HAV) will select the contractors based on the groups’ members’ opinion.The decision will be made on the 19^st of June 2013.