Background

Project Name: Recovery and Resilience-building in the Philippines

Project Description

The Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, prone to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and typhoons. Climate change has increased the scale and frequency of disasters in the Philippines with an average of 20 typhoons affecting the country each year. The current COVID 19 pandemic has emphasized the need for a more integrated approach that considers the resilience of the country’s health systems to minimize overall impacts on the economy and the welfare of the marginalized. The interface of disasters, conflict, and pandemic in areas such as the newly established Bangsamoro Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) also offers an opportunity to develop custom built approaches for this conflict sensitive region.

Disaster response and recovery in the Philippines has been largely focused on infrastructure reconstruction while socio-economic recovery has been more challenging. Risk reduction and humanitarian and recovery measures have not been systematically integrated, which has eroded resilience building efforts each time a new crisis occurred. As a result, the country’s poverty reduction efforts have often been compromised. Among those hardly hit are the most vulnerable on account of high exposure, inability to adapt, and weak socio-economic capacities. Those needing specifically targeted interventions include persons with disabilities, women and children, informal settlers in the urban areas, upland dwellers and indigenous communities, small farmers and fishermen.

Given the recurring multiple natural disaster events and the recent COVID 19 pandemic that the Philippines has recently experienced, the Country Office (CO) has requested corporate-wide integrated and sustained support to position UNDP as a key player in the context of a climate change induced “new normal” through the development of high-quality recovery and resilience strategies and interventions. This is motivated by the fact that despite the wealth of experience in recovery efforts, the results so far revealed the limitations of current approaches which has not drawn in the expertise of other units that will enable a UNDP wide corporate approach to this issue.

Moving beyond a crisis-to-crisis approach, UNDP Philippines intends to provide the Government with a long-term evidence-based programmatic support that systematically links up Government policy and funding to address both the impact of disasters and their root causes. In order to fully initiate the objectives of the Project Initiation Plan (PIP) that has been developed this assignment will bring about a comprehensive list of DRR, Recovery and Resilience efforts from government, Civil Society and other multilateral agencies and provide initial assessment and review of impact of these initiatives on recovery and resilience over the past few years.

As baseline activity that will inform the development of a recovery and resilience framework and other more outputs under the Recovery and Resilience-building project, an Individual Consultant (IC) will be engaged to conduct the following:

1. Stocktaking and assessment of gender-responsive recovery programmes from naturally triggered, biological, and man-made disasters, as well as resilience building efforts targeting the most vulnerable;

2. Draw lessons learnt, cross-practice expertise and innovative solutions collected from the stocktaking activity, identifying the essential elements that enable rapid, stronger and inclusive recovery and build long term resilience;

Objectives of the Assignment

This assignment is intended to establish the evidence base for the development of recovery and resilience framework for the Philippines. It shall assess cross-sector and gender disaggregated information on the current state of disaster recovery and resilience in the Philippines. Through the use of relevant tools and data analysis, key elements of vulnerabilities of women, young boys and girls, LGBTI, and People with Disabilities (PWDs), migrants, and displaced people will be identified. The Policy Paper that will be produced through this assignment will identify areas for improving recovery efforts as well as strengths and elements of resilient communities. These shall guide the discussions in the subsequent development of the resilience index. Within the ambit of the work of the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), this work will also provide inputs in shaping the UNDP’s programmatic approach to recovery and resilience in the Philippines.

Expected duration of the contract/assignment

1. It is estimated that the work shall involve a total of 65 working days of combined effort spread over approximately 3.5 months including period for output reviews and approvals.
2. The IC may propose alternate working days provided it would not exceed the 3.5 months duration of the contract. The proposed working days should be properly explained in relation to the execution of the Technical Proposal.
3. The UNDP CO will review and give comments on outputs maximum of four (4) working days after output presentation (or submission if presentation is not necessary)

Governance and Accountability

1. The activities of the IC will be coordinated, monitored and assessed by the UNDP CO CAPT Team Leader and the Recovery and Resilience-building Project Manager (RR PM) from UNDP CO.
2. The Resilience-building Project Manager (RR PM) from UNDP CO will supervise the IC.
3. All outputs in this TOR will be submitted to the RR PM and discussions/ presentations will be scheduled.
4. A final version of the output with implemented revisions from comments will be submitted and an acceptance letter will be issued to the IC.
5. The IC is required to submit progress reports to the RR PM every fortnight
6. The IC is responsible for liaising and setting up meetings and stakeholder consultations with national agencies, communities, local government units, NGOs, and other identified stakeholders. The CO may provide key persons to contact in these organizations to the consultant.

Facilities to be provided by UNDP

1. Due to the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic and the restrictions in place for meetings and gatherings, meetings will be done using online applications.
2. The IC is expected to use its own computer and communication equipment and other resources that are required and may be needed to conduct activities in this TOR

Duty Station

1. The duty station is in Metro Manila.
2. The engagement may be home-based and for accessibility and availability to allow for discussions and reporting on progress of activities regular online meetings shall be conducted.
3. Majority of activities will be done in Metro Manila.
4. Considering the COVID-19 pandemic and declaration of State of Public Health Emergency in the Philippines, all work and travel of the Contractors shall be done within the guidelines and protocols set by the local and national government.
5. The Consultant will not be required to report to office regularly but status report on the outputs shall be expected monthly.

Scope of Price and Schedule of Payments

1. The agreed and final contract price is a fixed output-based price regardless of the extension of the project or changes in cost components.
2. Final acceptance and approval of Outputs is required for processing and releasing each payment

• The agreed and final contract price is a fixed output-based price regardless of extension of the project or changes in cost components.
• Final acceptance and approval of Outputs is required for processing and releasing each payment

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

The Consultant will perform the following tasks:

Develop Methodology and Analytical Framework

• Prepare an inception report including but not limited to:

• Analytical framework
• Detailed work plan and schedule of activities
• Project implementation methodology
• Data-gathering tools and methods appropriate to the work context
• List of stakeholders
• Type, context, and schedule of consultations with stakeholders
• Output quality assurance mechanisms

Conduct a comprehensive collection and review of Disaster Risk Reduction, Recovery and Resilience Initiatives, Project and Programmes, from various lenses and sectors

• Review and collect data from relevant documents on recovery and resilience:

• International frameworks and agreements;
• Statistics, tools, legislations, policies, plans, strategies, programmes and projects related to recovery and resilience from different levels of government down to the communities;
• Post-recovery reports, bulletins, and information released by agencies working on disaster recovery;
• Projects and programmes funded by development partners, UN agencies and other NGOs including UNDP CO and Bangkok Regional Hub (BRH) in the Philippines;
• Studies and publications of organizations working in the field of climate change and disasters;
• Publications and conference proceedings from the academe and university-affiliated groups; and
• Archived newspaper articles, online community forums, and think pieces from online platforms
• Take stock of the following:
• Mandates and roles of different government agencies from national to local units in recovery efforts and resilience-building;
• Different tools, trainings, and methods used in recovery activities primarily by the OCD-NDRRMC, DILG, and other lead disaster agencies;
• Indices, metrics, scorecards, and tools used for analyzing recovery efforts and measuring resilience by various organizations and governments in other countries;
• Identify monitoring mechanisms for recovery efforts in the Philippines. Cite examples of sources and reports;
• Identify best practices in recovery efforts of national agencies and LGUs/ communities for the past ten years. Highlight efforts which addressed the vulnerabilities of women, children, LGBTI, and People with Disabilities (PWDs), migrants, and displaced people; and
• Look for innovative coping and adaptive mechanisms that communities used to resist shocks and preserve their socio-economic capital.
• Submit a Baseline Data Report include in the Annex a comprehensive list of all resources (primary and secondary sources) including brief descriptions/ focal groups and person interviewed. 

Draw lessons learnt, cross-practice expertise, and innovative solutions, identify essential elements of rapid, stronger and inclusive recovery and build long-term resilience

• Identify gaps and weak linkages or incoherence in the implementation of disaster recovery strategies, plans, financing mechanisms, and activities of government agencies in the Philippines;
• Conduct a comparative analysis on best practices and innovations in recovery and building community resilience in the Philippines. Refer on information from different community efforts or cumulative efforts observed from a number of disaster events;
• Analysis of cumulative evidence of case where communities and local governments, affected by multiple and simultaneous disaster events, have resisted shocks and preserved their socio-economic capital
• Provide analyses that will enable a deep understanding of the root causes of vulnerability and contextual issues as well as a cross-practice study of the socio-economic factors impacting various segments of at-risk communities post-disaster events;
• Identify strengths and characteristics of resilient communities;
• Analyze lessons learned from previous disasters and epidemics and recommend approaches applicable for building long-term resilience to serve as inputs to the recovery and resilience framework to be developed by UNDP.
• Submit an Analysis Report

Recommend metrics for measuring success in recovery and building resilience

• Propose a list of metrics as measurement basis in monitoring progress in different components (physical, socio-economic, etc.) of recovery activities for each disaster event (natural, biological, and technological/man-made)
• Study the existing digital tools and platforms (iPDNA, DevLive+, Pintig Lab, Accelerator Lab, EMPATHY) that the CO developed. Analyze how data and analytic capabilities of these platforms can be improved and integrate digital modeling capabilities focused on assessing and monitoring pre-and post-disaster recovery activities.
• Design data modeling techniques to aid in the analysis of recovery data and predict impacts and needs of communities in the future.

Approach and Methodology

An Individual Consultant (IC) will be engaged to perform assigned activities and delivery of outputs outlined in this TOR. Through the submission of an inception report, the selected Consultant must describe how it will deliver the activities and outputs outlined in this TOR; providing detailed work plan including timelines, activities, outputs, list of stakeholders, data collection methodology appropriate to the work context, reporting condition, and quality assurance mechanism. The IC may have his or her own support team to deliver outputs of this project.

Deliverables and Schedules/Expected Outputs

Competencies

Competencies

1. Must have strong leadership and project management skills
2. Must have an extensive background and understanding of the Philippine DRR, recovery, and resilience policies, programmes, and activities
3. Has keen eye for details
4. Has excellent analytic skills especially in understanding complex information to produce evidence-based comparisons and conclusions.
5. Excellent written and spoken English is required.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

Master’s degree in Disaster Management, Urban Planning, Environmental Management, and Climate Change or other relevant fields

Experience

Must have at least eight (8) years of experience working in the field of DRR, recovery, and resilience.

Completed minimum of two (2) projects in recovery and resilience projects. Has engaged with a wide array of stakeholders.

Completed minimum of one (1) project that has a metrics development/ data modelling/ risk modelling component

Candidates will be evaluated based on the Combined Rating methodology:

• Technical qualifications = 70%
• Financial Proposal =    30%

For the evaluation of the Technical Proposal, the selection of the successful consultant must be based on the following qualifications (with the appropriate obtainable points):

The CV / P11 shall be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Only candidates with minimum 70 points from the over-all evaluation of Technical Proposal that includes CV, submission of two (02) published/written documents and Plan of Approach and Methodology will be eligible for review of financial proposals.

Recommended Presentation of Offer

Interested applicants 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 a maximum of one document. 

Interested parties are required to submit the following:

1. Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;
2. Personal CV (using template of UNDP), indicating work history as well as competencies related to this engagement, contact details of the proponent and at least three (3) professional references; and,
3. Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive lump sum amount commensurate to the scope of work, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided. If an Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP.
4. Submission of two (02) published/written documents
5. Plan of Approach and Methodology including timeline (shall provide a brief description of the strategies, processes and activities to be employed by the Consultant to deliver the expected output

Note: The above documents need to be scanned in one file and uploaded to the online application as one document.

Interested applicants to note that personal Medical/health insurance (to be purchased by the individual at his/her own expense) is mandatory for the issuance of contracts. Upon award of the contract, the consultant must be ready to submit proof of insurance valid during the contract duration.

The following templates / Annexes and IC General Terms & Conditions can be downloaded from http://gofile.me/6xdJm/bE9TCw8fU:

• General Terms and Conditions for Individual Contract
• Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability
• P-11 form

In view of the volume of applications, UNDP receives, only shortlisted offerors will be notified