Guideline and Standard for Cash Assistance

Cash Coordination Group

Details / requirements:

Guideline and Standard for Cash Assistance 

Cash Coordination Group (CCG)

1.Introduction

This Terms of Reference (ToR) has been commissioned by the Cash Coordination Group (CCG) to solicit technical support service from qualified consultant to develop Guideline and Standard for Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA). The final guideline document in Nepali should be universal, well understood and implementable by the local government. The consultant interested to apply for this assignment should have extensive experience and deep understanding of national and global context of CVA. This assignment will be started from the 1stweek of December 2019 and shall be completed by the end of March 2020.

2.Background 

Cash Coordination Group (CCG) was set up with support from OCHA immediately after the earthquake in 2015 without any pre-existing coordination structure and mechanism for emergency cash response. CCG was formed from members of UN Agencies, Red Cross movement and international and national NGOs with the support from OCHA Cash Coordinator. The response to the 2015 earthquake marked a major shift towards cash transfer programming with relative acceptance from the Nepal Government with opportunity for scaling-up. But in the absence of national legislative and policy framework including enabling tools, the efficiency and effectiveness of Cash Assistancewas limited. These limitations were again experienced during the flood response in 2017 and in the recent 2019 flood.

CCG is a support platform for strengthening collaboration on Cash Transfer Programming (CTP)within the humanitarian assistance programme.  The functioning of the group is facilitated and coordinated by a Lead and Co-lead with the tenure of one year. Currently, Red Cross is serving as the lead and DanChurchAid (DCA) as the Co-lead till June of 2020. The Terms of Reference (ToR) of CCG has defined following major roles (i) enhance coordination amongst the humanitarian agencies including the government (ii) knowledge management (iii) facilitating technical support (iv) evidence-based policy advocacy. 

CCG’s learnings from the cash programming during the earthquake response had prompted the group to formalise CTP and since then have been able to succeed in(i) mainstreaming cash as a priority humanitarian assistance tool within the humanitarian agencies  (ii) capacity building activities identified and conducted in 2018 and 2019 including (iii) close coordination of CCG Nepal with Asia Pacific Regional Cash Coordination Group in knowledge sharing (iv) collaboration of private financial sectors by CCG into cash based response planning with pilot programs for demonstration in response to 2018 floods.

However, CCG still faces number of challenges despite its active involvement on cash programming, for which, CCG is currently working on a strategy that envisages to strengthen the role of CCG for effective CVA through improved preparedness. The development of Guideline and Standards on Cash Assistance is among a substantial output to facilitate effective cash assistance at the local level throughout the disaster management cycle. The meeting held at Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MOFAGA) during February 2019 under the Chairmanship of the then Joint Secretary had strongly highlighted the need for the Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) Guideline as a reference and guiding tool for the local government where the ministry has committed for full support and facilitate the development process. 

3.Objective of the Assignment

The Overall Objective of the assignment is to develop Guideline and Standards on Cash Assistance. The process will be initiated through the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MOFAGA which will outline the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders to be engaged during the process for the development of the document. The guideline should be developed through consultative engagement from representatives from; Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA), Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MOFAGA), Ministry of Finance (MoF), Development Partners, Task Group from CCG, Clusters, International and National NGOs, DRR platforms such as DPNet and other relevant, Humanitarian and DRR practitioners etc. A Task Group will be formed suggested by MOFAGA consisting of representatives from the ministry and the CCG members. Task Group will be responsible for providing technical inputs to the Guideline, where the consultant will facilitate the process. The final guideline in Nepali should be simple and implementable for the local government and should consists of all required supporting documents such as Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for each cash modalities along with the recommendations for the roll out plan. 

The Specific Objectives envisaged through the preparation of the Guideline is to;

  1. Support local government through a simple and easily understood guideline for effective implementation of Cash and Voucher Assistance
  2. Engage various stakeholders such as relevant ministries, development partners, clusters, international and national NGOs, DRR platforms and DRR practitioners at the national and local level
  3. Mainstream CVA throughout the disaster management cycle and establish linkages in the local risk management and disaster preparedness and response plan including compatibility to the Disaster Management Fund Operational Guideline
  4. Recommend a clear road map for implementation along with training module and session plan to support capacity enhancement of the local government 

4.Scope of Work  

The Scope of Work for the development of the Guideline are listed below. These are not exhaustive which will also be based on the methodologies proposed by the consultant and finalise with the Task Group prior to the execution of the assignment.   

  1. Review evolution of cash transfer programming in Nepal and global practices along with the mapping of existing practices by the agencies involved in Cash and Voucher Assistance  
  2. The guideline should consider the CVA throughout the disaster risk management cycle 
  3. Guideline should be in Nepali language with an English version as well, endorsed by the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MOFAGA) and Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) 
  4. The consultant shall work closely with the Task Group consisting representatives from MOFAGA and CCG members and hold consultations with other relevant ministries, clusters, development partners, CCG, international and national NGOs, DRR platforms and DRR practitioners
  5. Guideline should be inclusive of all essential supporting documents such as Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for different cash modalities for cash transfers including (i) cash for work (ii) multipurpose cash grants (iii) minimum expenditure basket (iv) sector specific agreed amount (v) market assessment etc. 
  6. Undertake consultations at the local level in selected disaster-prone districts (at least one each in the east and west) and at the federal level  along with a validation workshop at the federal level
  7. Provide recommendations for the implementation road map of the Guideline 
  8. The approved final Guideline shall be designed and laid-out by the professional designer 

5.Methodology

Based on the brief methodology stipulated in the Scope of Work, the consultant shall clearly outline and elaborate approach and strategy for each Specific Objectives, which will be the major consideration during evaluation of the proposal. As already mentioned, the assignment shall be undertaken through consultations process at different levels and engaging relevant stakeholders to enhance ownership since the beginning of the process.  

6.Key Deliverables

  1. Inception report within 30days from the contract signing outlining work plan and detailed methodology based on the inception meeting with the CCG
  2. Guideline on Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) along with agreed Annexes in Nepali accepted by MOFGA 
  3. Final report outlining process with (i) training module and session plan with (ii) CVA guideline implementation plan 

7.Budget and Timeframe

The assignment will commence from the first week of December 2019 and final products shall be delivered by the end of March 2020. The financial proposal should mention clear list of activities/deliverables within each Specific Objectives. The consultant shall propose required human resource(s) and number of working days and daily rates considering value for money. The cost should be inclusive of all stipulated activities including VAT/tax, accommodation, transportation, workshop costs, consultations and required allowances for participants etc.

8.Payment Procedures

30 percent of the total contract amount will be disbursed after approval of the Inception Report. Payment of 50 percent will be made after submission of the satisfactory draft report(s); and remaining 20 percent will be disbursed after submission of all approved final products. The budget for the preparation of the Guideline will be covered by multiple agencies supported for individual budget line(s) and reimbursed accordingly. 

9.Required Qualification 

The consultant must demonstrate the following minimum requirements:

Team Leader should have at least Master’s degree in social science, Disaster risk management or other relevant academic discipline related to the assignment

Minimum 7 years of relevant professional experience in humanitarian response and disaster risk reduction with sound understanding of national and global humanitarian context

  1. Team Leader should highlight extensive experiences on Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA)
  2. Have developed at least two strategic documents in humanitarian and or disaster risk reduction
  3. Proven experience of leading similar assignments working with various stakeholders including government, development partners, UN Agencies and international and national NGOs
  4. Experience on facilitating high level workshops including at the provincial and or local level  
  5. Ability and experience to build and maintain positive relationships with key stakeholders including Government entities and others 
  6. Maturity in a time-sensitive environment, and meet deadlines with strong attention to details; 
  7. Excellent English and Nepali presentation, writing and communication 

10.Evaluation Criteria 

After evaluation of the Proposals by the CCG Task Group, the Project will make award to the applicant whose proposal provides the best value considering both technical and financial aspects. The following criterion will be applied for the evaluation of Technical Proposal. 

Table 1: Proposal evaluation criterion

SN

Criterion

Points

1.

Understanding of the Terms of Reference (ToR)

10

2.

Proposed methodology, approach an implementation plan demonstrates the Objectives, Scope of Work and Deliverables(methodology should be outlined for each Specific Objectives)

50

4.

Description of activities to be implemented with clear responsibilities and proposed timeline

10

5.

Proposed team composition and previous experience

20

6.

Overall quality of the proposal (clarity on the proposal and connecting with the previous experiences demonstrating capacity to undertake this assignment successfully)

10

 

Total

100

11.To Apply

Interested private firms, NGOs, individuals, who meet the above requirements should apply by submitting their Expression of Interest (EoI) with brief proposal (not more than 10 pages excluding annexes). It is expected that the applicant has read well and understood the Objective, Scope of Work, proposal evaluation criterion and requirements for proposal submission. The consultant shall submit (i) technical and (ii) financial proposal. The proposal for the assignment should be emailed to ccg.npl@gmail.com with subject line “Guideline and Standard for Cash Assistance”.

The closing date for application is 18th November 2019. Only short-listed applicants will be contacted for presentation of their proposal.

For any queries please email to;

Ramesh GhimireCecial Adhikari

Lead – Cash Coordination Group (CCG)Co-Lead – Cash Coordination Group (CCG) 

ramesh.ghimirey@nrcs.org          cead@dca.dk

Overview

Category Development and Project
Openings 1
Experience Please check vacancy details.
Education Please check vacancy details
Posted Date 04 Nov, 2019
Apply Before 18 Nov, 2019
City Kathmandu