ԱՇԽԱՏԱՆՔԻ ՆԿԱՐԱԳԻՐ՝ 
The objective of the assignment is to increase awareness of government stakeholders on Smart Village approaches and contribute to the development of a Smart Village program/ pilot in Armenia. Specifically, the Consultant will map relevant state and non-state stakeholders (from national and local government, NGOs, entrepreneurship and innovation sectors, academia, etc.); research local examples and experiences with use of innovative, digitally-enabled approaches to rural development in Armenia; in collaboration with international consultant, facilitate exchange of knowledge between other countries’ SV experts and Armenian stakeholders; support the development of a Smart Villages Implementation Model by an international consultant, and prepare a proposal for an SV pilot in Armenia to be presented to government counterparts.
ՊԱՐՏԱԿԱՆՈւԹՅՈւՆՆԵՐ՝ 
The assignment will involve the following main tasks:
a) Stakeholder Mapping and Local Assessment
The Consultant will conduct an assessment of local context, experience, and opportunities for piloting Smart Village approaches within Armenia. As part of this assessment the Consultant will prepare a mapping of key stakeholders with experience and/ or interest and potential role in Smart Village initiatives including but not limited to:
- National government institutions;
- Local government institutions;
- Private sector companies or associations (entrepreneurship, innovation-based);
- NGOs, CSOs, Foundations;
- Academia;
- Youth organizations;
- International organizations.
The Consultant will conduct informational meetings/ interviews with key stakeholders and carry out desk research in order to gather information and assess ongoing programs and local examples that involve elements of innovation in rural development or service delivery that may be applied in a Smart Villages Pilot. Additionally, the assessment will explore potential locations for piloting of SV approach in Armenia based on discussion with local stakeholders and criteria to be discussed with the World Bank team. Special attention will be paid to the experience of the SMART village development which is being implemented in the village of Debet, Lori Province with support of the Children of Armenia Fund.
b) Preparation of Smart Village Pilot Proposal
Based on a community-based Smart Village Implementation Model developed by the World Bank team and the findings of the local assessment, the Consultant will work in close collaboration with the international consultant to prepare a brief proposal for an SV pilot in Armenia. The structure of the proposal will be agreed with World Bank team and is expected to include the following elements:
- Brief description of context;
- Selection and prioritization of interventions in close collaboration with Government authorities;
- Stakeholders, roles, and responsibilities ;
- Needed expertise for pilot implementation;
- Expected results;
- Monitoring framework ;
- Timeline;
- Budget.
c) Support to Preparation and Delivery of Knowledge Events and Stakeholder Presentation
The Consultant will support the international consultant and broader World Bank team in the preparation and delivery of knowledge exchange events to tap into global and specifically EU experience with smart village approaches, and a presentation to key government counterparts on the potential for development of Smart Villages program / pilot in Armenia.
The Consultant will support the organization of related events in Armenia as well as knowledge sharing events with international stakeholders. This may involve content and logistical support to preparing blogs, social media content, crowdsourcing exercises, coordination of a thematic hackathon, among others.
ԱՆՀՐԱԺԵՇՏ ՈՐԱԿԱՎՈՐՈՒՄՆԵՐ՝ 
- University degree in Social Science (Economics, Sociology, International Development, Rural Development) or IT/ Digital Development;
- Experience in designing and/ or implementing rural development programs in Armenia (such as community mobilization, local economic development, women’s economic empowerment, etc.);
- Experience and proven skills in developing and/ or applying digital and social innovations;
- Demonstrated ability to work closely with multiple stakeholders - national and local government, NGOs, academia, private sector;
- Knowledge of Armenian legislation and policy related to territorial and local development, and digital development;
- Experience working with or within international development organizations is preferred;
- Strong written and oral communication skills in English and Armenian languages.
ԴԻՄԵԼՈւ ԿԱՐԳԸ՝ 
Qualified candidates are welcome to send their CV and Motivation Letter in English language to: **********@*********.*** indicating the position title ("Consultancy Opportunity - Operationalizing Smart Villages Approaches in Armenia") in the subject line of the email.
Խնդրում ենք Ձեր դիմում-նամակում հստակ նշել, որ այս հնարավորության մասին տեղեկացել եք Կարիերայի կենտրոնի վեբ-կայքից և նշեք կայքի հղումը՝ www.careercenter.am։ Շնորհակալություն.
ԾՐԱԳՐԻ ՄԱՍԻՆ՝ 
Spatial inequality and specifically a rural-urban divide in access to basic services, quality of services, and economic opportunities are some of the key constraints to achieving shared prosperity in many countries of Europe and Central Asia including in the South Caucasus. Rural areas are less connected to services and markets due to remoteness, lower population and lower density of population, geographic isolation especially for the high mountainous areas of the Caucasus, and old or deteriorating physical infrastructure. In addition to rural areas, secondary cities located farther from the capital experience similar constraints in poverty, connectivity to services, and economic mobility.
Poverty rates in rural areas in each Armenia is close to double the poverty rate in capital cities. While educational attainment is relatively high across the region, the adoption of skills relevant to the labor market remains a challenge with rural youth being less prepared to meet the demands of the labor market and less able to secure gainful employment. Approximately 60 percent of rural population in the Caucasus countries is self-employed which often denotes high share of subsistence agriculture, insecure or informal employment, and / or reliance on remittances. Rural areas and secondary cities also experience less reliable connections to essential services such as healthy sources of heating and energy, connections to potable water and gas, reliable and affordable transportation, among others.
The advancement of digital technologies offers opportunities to transcend spatial barriers and enhance inclusion for rural residents by offering remote access to markets and services. Beyond improving connectivity, creative use of technology is increasingly used as a vehicle for better quality of services, such as accessing remote learning opportunities, professional health care advice, agricultural advisory services, energy efficiency, e-finance and banking, accessing remote clients and market intermediaries for agricultural produce, attracting clients and liaising with intermediary enterprises in tourism industry, among others. The importance of digital connectivity has become even more prominent with the COVID-19 pandemic and in its aftermath.
Smart Villages are an attempt to reimagine rural development with technology and innovation playing a leading role to drive growth and help bridge the rural-urban divide. With access to information and communications technology the aspirations of rural populations are the same as those in urban areas where visions of Smart Cities have been a driving force of innovation. A dynamic model of rural development is thus needed to help rural communities and secondary cities alike to adapt to a changing world, especially in the light of external shocks like COVID-19 and climate change induced natural disasters. While the application of Smart Village models is fairly recent it is rapidly evolving with several initiatives across Europe, Asia and Africa.
Applying Smart Village approaches in Armenia complements the country’s aspirations towards digital transformation and digital economy while also supporting socio-economic development, regional integration, and resilience. Smart Village pilots globally have focused on ‘green’ and resilient investments, improvement of services, and job creation especially for youth in rural areas.
The World Bank is conducting an analytical and advisory project in the South Caucasus to improve awareness on, and support development of Smart Village pilots. In the frame of this study the World Bank team seeks to hire a national Consultant to conduct local assessment, participate in and facilitate knowledge exchange, and prepare a preliminary proposal for the development of Smart Village pilot in Armenia to be presented to government counterparts. The assignment will be carried out in close collaboration with the World Bank team, including an international consultant with experience in the development of smart village activities in Europe.
ԿԱԶՄԱԿԵՐՊՈւԹՅԱՆ ՄԱՍԻՆ՝ 
After attaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the Republic of Armenia inherited a highly centralized health system skewed towards specialized and hospital care with marked inequality in service provision between rural and urban areas. In this model, provision of health services was essentially free for the entire population. However, because of the political and economic challenges post - independence, the significantly reduced government budget on health care could not sustain the oversized and overstaffed Semashko model health system. Over the past two decades, reforms in primary health care, hospital optimization, purchasing arrangements, and a rise in the standard of living have supported improvements in life expectancy.
However, public expenditure on health care in Armenia is low and the gaps in health financing have been filled by household-level spending. At above 85% of current health expenditure, Armenia has one of the highest levels of out-of-pocket payments (OOPs) in the world, with attendant financial barriers in health care access. For nearly one in five Armenians, the cost of care is the main barrier to using health services when needed. Furthermore, Armenia has lower levels of outpatient health care use than comparator countries in the region. This has implications for population health and productivity. About 3,000 deaths annually could be prevented with improved access to and quality of care. Also, chronic diseases, the management of which is facilitated by high-quality primary health care access, account for 500,000 years of life lost, 280,000 years lived in disability, and 360 billion AMD lost annually.
Hence, in 2019, the Ministry of Health (MoH) launched public discussions on health financing and service delivery reforms to address the challenges to improving access to quality care, including the high levels of OOP health expenditures. The initial proposal was published in draft “Concept Note for the Introduction of Universal Health Insurance” for public review and debate. The proposal includes reforms in domestic resource mobilization, strategic purchasing, and service delivery, encompassing the introduction of earmarked taxes for health, an increase in prioritization of health services in the state budget, establishing a new and independent purchaser, introduction of selective contracting of providers that meet defined service standards, performance-based payments that reward improvements in quality of care, and adopting a systematic process for reviewing the benefits package.
The reform proposal is under revision to address comments from national stakeholders and international experts, and to further tailor the reform components to the health system challenges. At the request of the Ministry of Health, a multidisciplinary World Bank team has undertaken rigorous analysis to inform the reform design and facilitated knowledge exchanges with other countries. Reports capturing the findings of these analyses have been published under the “Technical Support for Universal Health Coverage in Armenia” series. Pending completion are the revised actuarial costing of the benefits package led by the Ministry of Health, a comprehensive assessment of the performance of primary health care and integration of service delivery, and an operational roadmap for hospital quality assurance developed with support from the Korean Health Insurance and Review Assessment Service.