Background

UNDP Global Mission Statement

UNDP is the UN’s global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with national counterparts on their own solutions to global and national development challenges.

UNDP Afghanistan Mission Statement

UNDP supports stabilization, state-building, governance and development priorities in Afghanistan. UNDP support, in partnership with the Government, the United Nations system, the donor community and other development stakeholders, has contributed to institutional development efforts leading to positive impact on the lives of Afghan citizens. Over the years UNDP support has spanned such milestone efforts as the adoption of the Constitution; Presidential, Parliamentary and Provincial Council elections; institutional development through capacity-building to the legislative, the judicial and executive arms of the state, and key ministries, Government agencies and commissions at the national and subnational levels.

UNDP programmes in Afghanistan have benefited from the very active support of donors. UNDP Afghanistan is committed to the highest standards of transparency and accountability and works in close coordination with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the UN system as a whole to maximize the impact of its development efforts on the ground.

UNDP Livelihoods and Resilience Unit:

The UNDP Livelihoods and Resilience Unit supports the Government of Afghanistan to create livelihood opportunities and reduce poverty, especially among the most vulnerable groups. It works work with businesses to create jobs and economic growth, and with government to build infrastructure, link rural areas to markets and develop new forms of employment, including in the sustainable mining sector. Since most people depend on the land for an income, the Unit’s works on livelihoods is closely linked with efforts to protect the environment, bring sustainable energy to rural areas, and prepare for natural disasters.  The Unit works closely with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) that finances environment projects focusing on climate change and adaption, climate change induced risks and biodiversity. Presently the Unit is providing quality assurance and oversight to two GEF funded Project, i.e. Climate Change Adaptation (CCAP) and Climate-induced Disaster Risk Reduction Project (CDRRP) implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture (MAIL).

Project Background:

The UNDP-GEF’s Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) 4 project is a full-sized project titled “Adapting Afghan Communities to Climate-Induced Disaster Risks” implemented through MAIL.

Rural livelihoods in Afghanistan are threatened by the impacts of climate change and climate-induced disasters. Climate change projections indicate that total annual precipitation will decrease, with greater variability between seasons. This is expected to result in increased frequency and severity of climate-induced disasters such as flooding, drought and landslides, which will lead to loss of lives, displacement of communities, and loss of agricultural crops and livestock. Rural communities in Jawzjan and Nangarhar Provinces which have limited resources to invest in adaptation measures to reduce the risks posed by droughts, floods and landslides are particularly vulnerable to climate-induced disasters.

The project aims at developing community-based early warning systems (CBEWS) in targeted disaster-prone communities, enhancing their capacity to respond to the negative effects of climate change (droughts and floods, decreased rainfall) and mainstreaming climate change into national and local planning. The project is funded by the GEF´s Least Developed Country Fund (LDCF) which is being implemented in two provinces Nangarhar and Jowzjan.

The Baseline Survey and Needs Assessment will collect data using the concept of vulnerability and its components (exposure, sensitivity, adaptive capacity) as defined by the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (PCC) and by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). The study will collect data and report on perceptions about climate hazards and risks, awareness about climate change and current sources of awareness, sources and modes of existing early warnings on climate-related risks and their effectiveness, coping and response strategies (both climate change related and climate-induced disaster related) of communities and existing institutional arrangements, availability and access to infrastructure, current status of food security and diversity of livelihoods and their sensitivity to climate change risks, socioeconomic profiles of communities, and their priorities on climate change adaptation related issues. Coverage of the study should specifically collect data disaggregated by gender, where possible. In particular, the situation and priorities of women should be adequately covered in terms of the constraints they face that make them vulnerable to climate change, as well as suggestions they make to increase their participation in, and benefits derived from, the project activities. The baseline survey will inform interventions to have impactful results and will identify suitable indicators to be used for evaluation and measure their baseline values. These indicators should be able to be utilized for the mid-term evaluation and final evaluation to ensure the consistency of evaluation methodologies.

Overall objective of the consultancy:

Under the overall guidance of the Head of Unit and in close consultation with the Programme Officer, the International Consultant will conduct: (1) a comprehensive project baseline assessment and (2) a project need assessment. The baseline assessment will inform the project results framework’s baseline figures while the needs assessment will map and review the project planned activities in the respective target areas and will recommend best practices based on successful interventions locally/internationally for project implementation.

Duties and Responsibilities

Overall Scope

The international consultant with support from an assigned team of national consultants with expertise in areas of Livelihood, Irrigation Engineering, and data collection will conduct the assignment in Nangarhar and Jowzjan provinces of Afghanistan. The scope of the assignment includes (but not limited to) the following areas:

• Assess the current understanding and preparedness of the target communities on the climate change impacts. This will guide the project public awareness campaigns to identify effective awareness material and medium;
• Compare various climate adaptation measures that government, communities and NGOs are currently using and recommend best practice for the project;
• Assess and identify capacity gaps in NGOs and local government actors to mainstream climate change adaptation in their programming;
• Compare different Early Warning Systems (EWS) in the two provinces and identify an effective and sustainable model including an implementing partner for CDRRP's EWS component;
• Assess the need and availability of irrigation infrastructure, flood protection, other water management structures and all-purpose emergency shelters with the support from the assigned team of national consultants. Recommend a list of prioritized infrastructures with socioeconomic and environmental analysis for the project implementation;
• Assess the existing livelihoods options and conduct a market assessment to identify best practices and initiatives to improve livelihoods of the target communities.

Scope of Work and Deliverables:

• Review research/survey reports already conducted in the country by UN agencies and other organisations in recent years, and use lessons learned from those surveys to develop well-thought out questionnaires/survey tools for the Baseline Survey and Needs Assessment;

• In close consultation with UNDP and MAIL as well as other UN and non-UN agencies, prepare a research design for the M&E methodology of the project including an appropriate sampling methodology to compare target and non-target populations (if randomized control trials method) (including number of respondents and sample size for this survey);

• Prepare the data collection tools for qualitative and quantitative data collection;

• Train National Consultants (livelihoods officers and Engineers) and the field data collection team on field data collection procedures, with a focus on the requirements of the project Log Frame, Results-Based Management (RBM) framework, monitoring tools, monitoring and evaluation process and best practices to measure progress against the project results framework and ensure quality assurance in M&E;

• Monitor the data collection process and ensure quality of the collected data;

• Supervise work of national consultants who will be responsible for provision of village information for sampling, data collection training, scheduling of field visits and interviews, field operations, management of field teams, completeness and reliability of collected data, cleaning of data for missing, invalid, and inconsistent values, and data entry in a computerized database.

• Supervise the work of a data analyst for data entry, computerized data cleaning, analysis and tabulation;

• Make programmatic and operational recommendations to increase the benefits of the project and target the most vulnerable groups, with a focus on women and other marginalised groups;

• Based on the analysis, provide recommendations for developing appropriate interventions (livelihoods support and establishment of local early warning systems) as might be required;

• Present the findings of the report to stakeholders in a workshop;

• Prepare comprehensive final reports for the Baseline Survey and Needs Assessment, to be approved by relevant stakeholders (such as UNDP, MAIL and other relevant ministries).

Expected Outputs and Deliverables; time frame and payment percentage

• Deliverable 1: Inception Report: The Inception Report should outline the objective, methodology, tools, sampling plan, team composition, outline/framework of the Final Report, and workplan of the remaining work for the assignment (estimated 10 working days, payment of 10% of the professional fee after completion and approval of the Inception Report by UNDP and MAIL);

• Deliverable 2: Data collection: the data collection team should be trained on data collection concepts, procedures, and results framework, as outlined above. The quality of the collected data should be ensured through regular feedback and data analyses. Data entry should be ensured through a reliable data entry database; 15 working days, 20% of professional fee after acceptance of collected data by UNDP and MAIL.

• Deliverable 3: Draft Report: The Draft Report should cover methodology of data collection, limitations of the study, and provide complete analysis of the collected data according to a report outline to be agreed with UNDP and MAIL in the Inception Report; 10 working days, 20% professional fee after completion and acceptance of the Draft Report by UNDP and MAIL.

• Deliverable 3: Workshop Presentation: The Workshop Presentation should cover the findings and recommendations of the Draft Report (estimated 5 working days, payment of 10% of the consultancy professional fee after completion and approval of the Workshop Report by UNDP and MAIL).

• Deliverable 4: Final Report: The Final Report should incorporate comments on the Draft Report from MAIL, UNDP, and other relevant government and non-government organizations, as well as the feedback and comments of participants in the above workshop (estimated 20 working days, payment of 40% of the consultancy professional fee after completion and approval of the Final Report by UNDP and MAIL).

Competencies

Competencies

• Analytical skills, communications abilities, teamwork.

Special skills requirements

• Demonstrated knowledge of environmental challenges in Afghanistan;

• Strong analytical skills, such as statistical analyses, particularly applied to environment profiling;

• Experience in editing and publishing, preferably in the field of Environment and Local Economic Development.

Functional Competencies:

• Building Strategic Partnerships with relevant stakeholders;

• Ability to identify needs and interventions for capacity building of counterparts, clients and potential partners.

Results Orientation

• Ability to take responsibility for achieving agreed outputs within set deadlines and strives until successful outputs are achieved.

Team Work and Communication skills

• Excellent time management skills;

• Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;

• Creating and promoting enabling environment for open communication;

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills. 

Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing

• Identifies new approaches and strategies that promote the use of tools and mechanisms;

• Knowledge of inter-disciplinary development issues.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

• Masters degree in social sciences, statistics, agriculture, climate change, or other related fields;

• This assignment requires the services of a consultant that can demonstrate skills relating to analytical capacity, relevant gender analysis (especially collection and analysis of gender disaggregated data in the areas of livelihoods and resilience to climate change), adequate reporting and English editing, and the ability to use RBM language.

Years of experience:

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in monitoring and evaluation of Global Environmental Facility (GEF) supported projects, research and project management;

• Experience of working on climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, or natural resource management preferred;

• Experience of working in Afghanistan on climate change, disaster risk reduction, or natural resource management;

• Prior experience of conducting baseline and impact studies in the development sector;

• Experience of data collection in conflict situations;

• Proven writing, analysis and presentation skills;

• Fluency in written and spoken English and good drafting skills;

• Knowledge of Afghanistan National Language (Dari or Pashto) would be an asset;

• Demonstrated knowledge of GEF/LDCF projects (particularly undertaking baseline surveys and other assessments) would be an asset;

• Working experience with the United Nations or similar organization in Afghanistan would be an asset.

Language requirements:

• Fluency in written and oral and English required;

• Superior English drafting skills.

Work Arrangement:

Institutional Arrangements

Under the overall guidance of the Head of Unit, the Consultant will undertake the Baseline Survey and Needs assessment.

UNDP will provide office space and internet facility, logistical and other support service. The Consultant however is expected to bring his/her own laptop and mobile phone and meet local communications costs (UNDP will provide a local pre-paid SIM card). Costs to arrange meetings, workshops, travel costs to and DSA during field visits (if any), etc. shall be covered by UNDP.

Duration of the Work

The duration of the assignment is 4 months from 1st April 2018 until 30 July 2018 (with maximum 60 working days).

Duty Station

Home based and Kabul (Two missions to Afghanistan and each mission may be 16 calendar days depending on the on-ground situation. Any official travel outside duty station will be covered by UNDP.

Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments:

The contractor shall submit a price proposal as below:

• Daily Fee – The contractor shall propose a daily fee, which should be inclusive of his/her professional fee, local communication cost and insurance (inclusive of medical health insurance and evacuation). The number of working days for which the daily fee shall be payable under the contract is 60 working days;

• The contractor shall propose a Living allowance at the Kabul applicable rate of USD 162 per night for his/her stay at the duty station. The number of nights for which the Living allowance shall be payable under the contract is 30 nights. The contractor is NOT allowed to stay in a place of his choice other than the UNDSS approved places. UNDP will provide MORSS compliant accommodation to the contractor. The payment of UNOCA accommodation shall be made directly by the contractor.

• Travel & Visa – The contractor shall propose an estimated lump-sum for home-Kabul-home travels (two round trips only) (economy most direct route) and Afghanistan visa expenses;

The total Professional fee, shall be converted into a lump-sum contract and payments under the contract shall be made on submission and acceptance of deliverables under the contract in accordance with the schedule of payment linked with deliverables.

Evaluation Method and Criteria:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Cumulative analysis

• The award of the contract shall 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.

* Technical Criteria weight 70%

* Financial Criteria weight 30%

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical Criteria for Evaluation (70 points)

Technical Proposal (50 marks)

• Technical Approach & Methodology (35 marks) – Explain the understanding of the objectives of the assignment, approach to the services, methodology for carrying out the activities and obtaining the expected output, and the degree of detail of such output. The Applicant should also explain the methodologies proposed to adopt and highlight the compatibility of those methodologies with the proposed approach;

• Work Plan (15 marks) – The Applicant should propose the main activities of the assignment, their content and duration, phasing and interrelations, milestones (including interim approvals by the Client), and delivery dates. The proposed work plan should be consistent with the technical approach and methodology, showing understanding of the TOR and ability to translate them into a feasible working plan.

Qualification and Experience (20 marks) [evaluation of CV for shortlisting]:

• General Qualification (10 marks);

• Experience relevant to the assignment (10 marks).

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals:

Interested international consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Please group them into one (1) single PDF document as the application only allows to upload maximum one document:

• Duly accomplished Confirmation of Interest and Submission of Financial Proposal Template using the template provided by UNDP (Annex II);

• Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.

Technical proposal:

• A brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment; and

• A methodology, on how they will approach and complete the assignment.

Incomplete proposals may not be considered.