Background

There is broad consensus and commitment among the development partners to support the efforts of the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) and other stakeholders i.e. civil society, private sector and academia etc. to enhance country’s resilience to disaster and climatic risks. Over the last years, key development partners (DFID, Norway, AusAid, SIDA, EU and UNDP) have supported the GoB in disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) through the Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme, among other programs. While there is a high level of government commitment the challenges remain massive and increasing with the climate change and developmental obstacles.

UNDP has been working closely with the GoB and many development partners in the field of DRR and CCA and has implemented several projects and programmes that have contributed significantly to reduce disaster and climate risk in Bangladesh. Two noteworthy projects are Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme – I (2004 – 2009) and II (2010 – 2015) (CDMP I and II).  Both CDMP I and II were designed to address the felt need of the country and to link the national initiatives with regional (SAARC) and global (HFA 2005 – 2015) initiatives, thus fulfilling national priority needs in line with regional and global frameworks and commitments.

CDMP II will end in 2015. The UNDP team has taken a stock of key achievements and gaps of the programmes, which will be shared in the world conference on disaster reduction in Japan in March 2015. The lessons emphasized the need for renewed attention resilience building on the development achievements Bangladesh has made in recent years. There is also need to tackle the newer risk environment, opportunities, empowerment of vulnerable people, much greater effort in local governance and systematic investment in mainstreaming.

It is anticipated that a project formulation mission in consultation with key stakeholders and development partners will be able draft an ambitious yet pragmatic programme/ project document that addresses the assessed need of the country that will make measurable progress towards a disaster and climate resilient nation.

A disaster and climate resilient nation is prerequisite to achieve Bangladesh’s vision to become a middle income country by 2021. Since 2004, UNDP has been playing a significant role in promoting DRR and CCA related activities from central to local levels through different projects such as CDMP I, CDMP II, ERF, etc.

Since the inception of CDMP I (2004), UNDP has been instrumental in supporting the GoB on policy reform, strengthening institutional mechanisms, capacity development at all levels, and linking disaster with development. CDMP II was more focused on extending and expanding the risk reduction achievements of CDMP I, through a multi-hazard approach to disasters, including climate change risk management, to create and nurture the crucial paradigm shift in disaster management, away from relief and rehabilitation to a more holistic approach to reducing risks and vulnerabilities. The programme aims to generate participatory community assessments, planning and implementation of local risk reduction projects in 340 most vulnerable unions across the country.

CDMP II represents the Government of Bangladesh’s efforts to integrate DRR and CCA measures across the national development agenda. CDMP II was planned for a five-year implementation period between 2010 and 2014, but has been granted a one year no cost extension and will now end in December 2015. The extension was granted to enable a) full use of remaining resources and b) enhanced sustainability of key results and better handover to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief.

In general, CDMP II was instrumental in assisting GoB in finalizing and enacting the Disaster Management Act (2012), drafting nine Rules based on the DM Act, implementing the National Plan for Disaster Management (2010 – 2015) and addressing local risk reduction through implementation of small scale DRR and CCA mitigation/ adaptation interventions in close partnership with local authorities, community members and I/NGOs.

In the course of implementation, CDMP II further institutionalized the adoption of risk reduction approaches, not only in its host Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR), but more broadly across 13 key ministries and agencies.

CDMP II has six outcome areas:

• The development of strong, well-managed and professional institutions in Bangladesh that are able to implement a comprehensive range of risk reduction programmes and interventions;
• Reduced risk to rural populations through structural and non-structural interventions, empowerment of rural communities and improved awareness of, and planning for, natural hazard events, including the likely impacts of climate change;
• Reduced risk to urban populations through structural and non-structural interventions, improved awareness of natural hazard events and the piloting of urban community risk reduction methodologies that target the extreme poor;
• Improved overall effectiveness and timeliness of disaster preparedness and response in Bangladesh by strengthening management capacity and coordination, as well as networking facilities at all levels;
• Improved and broadened disaster-proofing of development funding in eleven government ministries by generating increased awareness of hazard risks and providing technical information, advisory services and resources to stimulate positive changes in planning and investment decisions over the long-term; and
• Community-level adaptation to disaster risks from a changing climate is effectively managed.

With the experiences of implementing CDMP I, II and several other projects, GoB, development partners and UNDP realized that the disaster threat is continuously rising due to physiographic characteristics, socio-economic structures, development activities and changing climatic conditions, etc. Although the number of casualties due to disaster has been substantially reduced in last three decades, the frequency and intensity of disasters and the loss and damage they cause is growing. To mitigate such impending disaster threat due to above mentioned reasons and to sustain development gains and future development investments, GoB, development partners and UNDP realized that further resilience enhancement is a prerequisite to take forward the legacies of CDMP I, II and many other similar initiatives.

The new resilience enhancement programme should be aligned with development priorities set in the new five year development plan (2016 – 2020), HFA 2, the expected National Plan for Disaster Management (2016 – 2020), UNDAF, CPD and several other policy documents.

Against this backdrop, UNDP is, in consultation with the GoB and development partners, looking for suitable consultants (international and national) to draft and finalize a pragmatic project/ programme document on “Resilience Enhancement of Bangladesh”.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objective of the assignment:

The gender expert will work in a high profile team that is put together to design a national-scale resilience building programme for Bangladesh with strong government and stakeholder ownership. His/her main role would be to make sure that programme integrates gender in all aspects of the design i.e. contextual analysis, strategies, outcomes, programme components, partnership, implementation modalities and M&E framework.

In particular, the gender expert is expected to guide and deliver:

Develop a situation analysis of the gender dimension of disaster and climatic risk, gaps in current response and develop a gender integrated vision for the programme:

• Gender analysis of the Disaster & Climate Risk Reduction relevant policies and practices in Bangladesh;
• Ensure gender is one of the key considerations in program formulation and has leverage across the program management cycle- from planning, implementation, management up to monitoring.

Design different aspects of the programme i.e. vision, objectives, strategies and broad programmatic interventions that enhance resilience of the women and girls:

• Support development of programme vision, goals and targets that are gender sensitive;
• Suggest key areas in which contribution towards gender equality can be made most effectively, i.e. M&E, HR. Planning, etc;
• Outline the capacity, skill-set and resources needed for a gender sensitive resilience program;
• Identify effective means for partnership, knowledge management and communication in perspective of gender and resilience to disaster and climate change.

Work with the M&E expert of the team to make sure that gender is integrated into the M&E framework, including indicators and information management plan to measure the impact of the programme on women and girls:

• Develop a gender sensitive Results and Resource Framework (RRF);
• Ensure gender equality results are targeted and gender-sensitive indicators are part of the results framework of the resilience program;
• Suggest ways to enhance national capacities to collect, analyse and use sex and age-disaggregated data and analyse climate and disaster risk from a gender perspective.

In developing the abovementioned deliverables, the gender expert would require to:

• Review the lessons from past and on-going initiatives in disaster and climatic risk management as well as recent development trends;
• Conduct broad-based consultation with key stakeholders to formulate the core components of the programme;
• Contribute in drafting and finalization of a programme document covering the key requirements;
• Drivers of resilience: what sectors of the economy, institutions and policy areas have the greatest impact on disaster resilience and what can be done to measurably improve their delivery?
• Delivery modalities: what methods of delivery, financing and partnership arrangements would be likely to produce greatest results?
• Opportunities for innovation: what local or global innovations in disaster resilience might be appropriate for piloting and scaling up in Bangladesh? What successes from previous programmes, including CDMP, can be scaled up and improved upon to strengthen resilience?
• New partnerships for resilience: what new partnerships might offer a high impact on resilience in Bangladesh and how might those potential partnerships be created and sustained?
• Other cross cutting issues: how might the important issues of environment and the special needs of specific vulnerable groups be most effectively integrated into different programme elements?
• Resilience measures: how should changes in disaster resilience delivered by the programme best be measured?
• Contribute in a high profile formulation team having institutional development, disaster resilience and inclusivity and M & E experts and work well together to produce a high quality, coherent and compelling project document with strategy within the expected deadline;
• Support the team leader will make a powerful presentation of the proposed strategy to key stakeholders upon completion of the document.

Scope of work:

The following list reflects the main activities that the Gender Expert is expected to carry out during the mission:

• Preparation: Familiarize with the relevant background documents and through interactions with GoB officials, development partners, UNDP, local GoB officials, community members, academic institutions, I/NGOs.

Consultations:

• Work with the team to develop an approach for developing the project/programme strategy that ensures it is developed in a transparent and consultative manner, with adequate engagement by key stakeholders both within government, civil society and across relevant development partners through;
• Consultations with relevant government ministries and agencies including Ministry of Disaster Management & Relief - Department of Disaster Management, Ministry of Planning; Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Environment and Forest; Ministry of Water Resources - Water Development Board, Local Government Division, Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs - Fire Service and Civil Defence, Ministry of Defence, etc;
• Meeting with potential development partners (DFID, EU, AusAid, Norwegian Embassy, Swedish Embassy, Japan, World Bank, ADB, etc.);
• Meetings with UNDP;
• Consultation with interested bilateral and multilateral agencies;
• Consultation with relevant experts within academia, think tanks, civil society, I/NGOs, etc.;
• Final debriefing workshop to share the draft project/ programme document.

A five (5) member team is envisaged to be recruited by UNDP. It is anticipated that UNDP Regional Centre will provide the service of its Regional Programme Specialist. The team of consultants will be contractually accountable to UNDP. However, the issues related to process and deliverables (outputs) needs to be endorsed by UNDP.

Key deliverables

A programme document covering broad strategy for the proposed program, including outcomes, objectives, detailed outputs, and activities; indicative budget; governance and management arrangement; M & E plan and implementation modalities.

Supervision and performance evaluation

The Gender Expert will report directly to the Team Leader of the formulation mission and in close consultation with Assistant Country Director and Portfolio Manager on Disaster Risk Management of CCED, UNDP and Project Manager, CDMP II of UNDP.

Timeframe and deadline

The assignment will be for total of 30 working days from its commencement from the first week of April 2015:

• Review and interactions with key stakeholders, team meeting, and share an inception report outlining the approach of the work and key element of the program document - 05 working days;
• Field visit to 1-2 districts - 04 working days;
• Consultation, brainstorming and mini-workshops with stakeholders - 05 working days;
• Drafting project/ programme strategy document in team - 06 working days;
• Workshop to share draft project/ programme document - 01 working days;
• Finalize document and share with UNDP - 05 working days;
• Submission of the final document (home based) - 04 working days.

Total 30 working days.

Documents

The Consultants will prepare and submit the documents mentioned above at the end of the assignment. The format for Programem Document should be agreed at the beginning of the assignment and cleared by the task force. Further work, or revision of the documents, may be required if is considered that the report does not meet the TOR, there are errors of fact or the document is incomplete or not of an acceptable standard.

Inputs

CDMP and/or ERF projects of UNDP will provide office space and transport for the consultant as required and also arrange meetings, consultations, and interviews and ensure access to key officials as mentioned in proposed methodology. In addition, CDMP II will bear the cost of arranging consultation meetings, FGDs, debriefing session and other events as required. However, other than transport, subsistence costs during field trip outside Dhaka require to be paid by the individual consultants.

Payment schedule:

The Contract will be Lump Sum amount basis. The proposed payment schedule for the accomplishment of each milestone is given below:

• 1st payment (30% of the Contract Total Amount)  -  upon submission of the Inception Report, Work plan and methodology and accepted by the conttract administrator (by 07 working days);
• 2nd payment (30% of the Contract Total Amount) - upon submission of the Draft Programme Document and accepted by the contract administrator (by 25 working days);
• Final payment (40% of the Contract Total Amount) - upon successful completion of the assignment, submission of the Final Programme Document and acceptance by the contract administrator (by the end of the assignment).

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Professionalism:

• Flexibility to make ad-hoc changes as and when the need arises;
• Ability to perform under stress;
• Willingness to keep flexible working hours.
• Familiarity with government processes and procedures;
• Strong analytical skills.

Teamwork:

• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relations as a team member, in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect.

Communication:

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

Corporate Competencies:

• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s Degree in Social Science, Gender & women studies will be given priority.

Experience:

• At least 10 years of relevant experience in gender issues;
• Strong academic and policy experience.
• Substantial experience dealing with gender policies and practices is desired. Experience of Bangladesh context would be an added advantage;
• Experience of working on local government and CSOs/NGOs’ will be an added advantage;
• Knowledge of the social –cultural situation of Bangladesh is expected;
• Working experience in/with government and UN / international organizations would be an added advantage.
• Ability to engage with high ranking Government Officials and provide policy advisory support services;
• Good understanding of disaster management in South Asia/ Bangladesh, including field experience;
• Full conceptual and practical understanding of activities, legal framework of the government;
• Proficiency in the use of the computer.

Language:

• Fluency in English both spoken and written;
• Excellent writing skills in the compilation of high level quality documents in English language.

Evaluation of the Candidates:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Cumulative analysis: The candidates will be evaluated through Cumulative Analysis method. When using the weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
• Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% marks i.e. 49 marks in the Technical evaluation would be considered for Financial evaluation.

Technical Evaluation Criteria (Total 70 marks):

• Working Experience in the areas of design, writing and editing of project document - 30 marks;
• Relevant experience in building resilience to climate change and disaster risk - 20 marks;
• Working experience with development sector and should have knowledge on the climate change, disaster and risk reduction issues in Bangladesh - 10 marks;
• Working experience with UN agencies/ international organization / donor funded projects - 10 marks

Financial Evaluation (Total 30 marks):

Financial proposals from all technically qualified candidates will be scored out 30 marks based on the formula provided below. The maximum marks (30) will be assigned to the lowest financial proposal.

All other proposals will receive points according to the following formula:

• p = y (µ/z)

Where:

• p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated;
• y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal;
• µ = price of the lowest priced proposal;
• z = price of the proposal being evaluated.

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