Consultancy: Final Evaluation on Disaster Risk Management and Humanitarian Preparedness

 CONSULTANCY TITLE:   Final Evaluation on Disaster Risk Management and Humanitarian Preparedness

Proposal Submission Deadline: 4 December 2017 

 Send Proposal to: consultancy_nepal@oxfam.org.uk

"This is a re-advertisement, those who had previously submitted the proposal do not need to re-submit"

Terms of Reference (ToR)

Hiring a consultant for Final Evaluation on Disaster Risk Management and Humanitarian Preparedness

Background

The Terai is an area of marshy grasslands, savannas, and forests located south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas, stretching across southern Nepal and northern India. The onset of climate change has increased both the severity and frequency of flooding in the region. Many households in the Terai rely on agricultural livelihoods, which are vulnerable not only to flooding, but also other shocks and stresses, such as landslides, fire and water-borne diseases.   As these types of shocks become more severe and more frequent, households are less able to recover using traditional coping strategies. This has devastating implications for people’s wellbeing.

Oxfam has worked in Nepal since the early 1980s, undertaking various development initiatives that address the underlying causes of poverty and marginalisation. Over the years, Oxfam has worked in partnership with local civil society organisations and the government to promote rural livelihoods and the resilience of vulnerable communities to climatic shocks and disasters. It has also contributed to empowering marginalised groups, especially women.

The Disaster Risk Management and Humanitarian Preparedness Project, like many other Oxfam projects in South Asia and across the world, aims to build households’ resilience to shocks and stresses. Oxfam believes that in order to transform the situation of communities like those in the Terai region, it is necessary to do more than simply react with humanitarian aid when floods, landslides, or other shocks strike.

The Disaster Risk Management and Humanitarian Preparedness Project worked in 24 Village Development Committees (VDCs) in four flood prone districts of Terai (Saptari, Dhanusha, Sarlahi, and Rautahat). The project was financed by both Oxfam Hong Kong (OHK) and Oxfam Great Britain (OGB) for five years, running from April 2011 to March 2016. Oxfam is implementing the project through regular partnership with five local organizations; Koshi Victim Society (KVS) – Saptari; Social Development Research Center (SDRC) – Dhanusa; Bagmati Welfare Society Nepal (BWSN) – Sarlahi; Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS) – Rautahat; Rural Development Center (RDC) – Rautahat. In those districts Nepal Programme has been implementing DRR & Climate Change Adaptation programme. Recently Oxfam responded the Flash Flood in Saptari, Sarlahi, Rautahat and Banke districts of Nepal.

The Disaster Risk Management and Humanitarian Preparedness Project has three main objectives:

1.Increasing community resiliency through intervention of DRR/CCA and women empowerment of target communities and institutions. (previous objectives- Target Communities and Institutions) are able to protect lives and livelihood assets and establish preparedness mechanisms for effective emergency response and quick recovery from disasters. 

2. DRR/CCA and humanitarian priorities are integrated in annual development plan of local authorities of government (previous objectives- Enhanced humanitarian capacity of Oxfam, partners, and related stakeholders to prepare for and respond to emergencies. 

3.Strengthen institutional capacity of government, CSOs and private sectors on humanitarian response (previous objectives- Favourable and improved policy and programme on Disaster Risk Management (DRM) are endorsed and implemented by government both at local and national level, particularly the Disaster Management Act.

The project has undertaken a variety of activities with beneficiary communities to try and meet these three main objectives. The major projects outputs are as follows: 

1.Strengthen community resiliency through DRR and women empowerment 

2.Integrated local levels WASH preparedness and response 

3.Increased knowledge and skills of community, institutions on disaster. 

4.Mainstream DRR and Update DPRP for the endorsement of DM bill. 

5.Strengthen the Institutional Capacity of different stakeholders. 

6.Established VDC level institutions federating community's related groups.

Objectives of the Assignment

The Objective of this assignment is to evaluate the effectiveness of 6 years joint DRM and Humanitarian Preparedness Programme (OHK & OGB) in 4 districts (Sarlahi, Saptari, Dhanusha & Rautahat) of Nepal. This evaluation will analysis on the community resilience, women empowerment, institutional capacity of different stakeholders and its advocacy & policy work. 

Scope of Services and Tasks and Activities to be completed

•Review project documents and discuss project with Oxfam and partner staff, to understand the details of the project objectives and implementation.

•Facilitate formative qualitative research – potentially including a review of existing research, in-depth interviews, or focus groups in communities, interview with stakeholders – to investigate how resilience, risk reduction, and climate-change adaptation are perceived in the local context.

•Work with Oxfam staff to identify indicators and design a questionnaire suitable for evaluating the project’s impact on resilience, sustainable development, climate-change adaptation and risk reduction.

•Engage a team of experienced enumerators (as much as possible partners facilitators/social mobilizers/ex-enumerators) for the data collection and any data entry. (Note that the final selection of enumerators for the work will be carried out jointly between the consultant and Oxfam, and that both parties will agree on the selected candidates.)

•Lead a three-day training workshop for enumerators. This will include two days working through questionnaires and the use of the mobile devices/tablets (if they are used) and one day of field testing. (This should be organised in the areas where the fieldwork will be conducted.)

•Organise all the logistical arrangements necessary to carry out the field work, including transport and accommodation for enumerators, as necessary.

•If required help identify valid comparison population, including fieldwork visit to ensure comparability of intervention and comparison communities (focus group discussion and key Informant Interview)

•Prepare a list of sampled interventions (350 in total) and list of replacement households to ensure sufficient sample size, in collaboration with Oxfam and project partners.

•Manage the survey work in the field, ensuring that the enumerators interview the correct respondents, that surveys are carried out to a high standard, and that targets for numbers of respondents to be interviewed are met.

•Consult Oxfam’s Programme Quality team/PM/Projects Coordinator on any problems which affect the selection of respondents for the survey or the number of respondents to be interviewed.

•Write a brief quality report on the conduct of the field work, including details of any problems which were encountered and how they were resolved, and any feedback which may be useful for future surveys.

It is encouraging to conduct interview either using mobile devices/tablets or on paper.

If the survey is conducted using mobile devices/tablets, Oxfam will provide these devices, but the consultant will:

•Manage mobile/tablet devices ensuring each device is signed in and out at the beginning and end of each data collection day and that they are safely stored each night. Supervisors take responsibility to charge devices and to upload the data collected every evening.

•Ensure that the data files are uploaded and transmitted to the server every night.

•All mobile/tablet devices are returned to the Oxfam office undamaged and in the same condition as when they were signed out within one week of data collection finishing.

•Oxfam Experience Staff will support on questionnaires upload in mobile device, training to enumerators etc. as per required.

•While doing a survey using paper, the consultant will:

•Organise the printing of 350 questionnaires, of approximately 15 pages each in length.

•Support on selecting the enumerator to carry out data entry. To ensure high quality in the data-entry work, each questionnaire should be entered twice by different data-entry personnel, and both copies submitted to Oxfam.

•Check any discrepancies identified between the two entries (Oxfam staff will compare the two entries for each questionnaire and produce a list of discrepancies). 

•Flexibility on timeline and support required as per changing context during the evaluation.

Expected Deliverables

•All 350 data files. 

•Brief quality report on the conduct of the field work, including case studies (success/failure/learn from others) details of any problems which were encountered and how they were resolved, and any feedback.

•Report on qualitative work, including raw data. 

Reporting Line Manager

This work is to be delivered to the Project Coordinator, Oxfam in Nepal and overseen by the Program Manager DRRCCA Scope outputs will be signed off by Country Director in order to ensure full delivery and timeliness.

Duration: Start date and completion date

•The assignment is expected to take approximately 3 weeks to complete.

•Preparation for the survey (training to the enumerators) is planned to take place from 11 December 2017 to 15 December 2017.

•Data collection should take place between 18 December 2017 and the 29 December 2017. 

•Final data files should be submitted by 10th January 2018, if the survey is conducted on mobile devices/tablets and by the 15th January if the survey is conducted on paper.

•Draft evaluation report submitted by 25th of January 2018.

•There would be some back and forth between Oxfam and the consultant to finalize the report. 

Detail Budget breakdown

All amount is inclusive of TAX.

Terms of Payment

Oxfam will pay 20% upon signing of the contract to cover field data teams and data collection, and the final payment will be subject to verification of the report and data quality by Oxfam Programme Quality team and Project Coordinators.

The last instalment, 80% will be paid upon the submission of assignment as per this Terms of reference with full satisfaction evaluated by hiring manager

Documents for submission

• Technical and Financial proposal with CV of lead consultant
• VAT registration certificate 
• Tax clearance certificate (FY 2073/74)
• Company Registration Certificate

Confidentiality / Non disclosure

All material issued in connection with this ToR shall remain the property of Oxfam and shall be used only for the purpose of this procurement exercise. All information provided shall be either returned to Oxfam or securely destroyed by unsuccessful applicants at the conclusion of the procurement exercise.

During the performance of the assignment or at any time after expiry or termination of the Agreement, the Consultant shall not disclose to any person or otherwise make use of any confidential information which s/he has obtained or may in the course of this agreement relating to partner organization/Oxfam, the respondents or otherwise.

The consultant will be required to sign a non disclosure / confidentiality agreement as part of their undertaking of this work. 

Intellectual property, Copyright, and Ownership of all prepared information

The Consultant shall retain all rights to pre-existing (background) intellectual property or materials used by the Consultant in the delivery of this study. All arising intellectual property, ideas, materials, processes or processes formed in contemplation, course of, or as result of this study shall be passed to Oxfam without restriction.

The Consult shall warrant that all arising Intellectual Property, materials and/or products produced in pursuit of this study shall be original, and shall not infringe on any third party’s claim. All technical or business information, in whatever medium or format, originated, collated or prepared by or for the Consultant in contemplation, course of, or as result of this assignment shall be transferred to Oxfam without restriction on completion and shall not be used by the Consultant for any other purpose without express written permission of Oxfam’s Head of Programme Funding.

Copyright of all arising documents, data, information or reports produced by the Consultant under this agreement shall belong to Oxfam and will be passed to Oxfam without restriction. Such documents, data, information and reports shall not be used by the Consultant for any other purpose other than in conjunction with this assignment, without the express written permission of Oxfam’s Head of Programme Funding.

Response 

The Consulting VAT Registered Individual/Firm should submit a proposal to Oxfam by 4 December 2017 via mail to consultancy_nepal@oxfam.org.uk, clearly mentioning the title of assignment in their email subject line.