Terms of Reference (ToR): Multi-Stakeholder Participatory Climate Vulnerability Risk Assessment of Pilot Project Sites

Terms of Reference (ToR) 

Multi-Stakeholder Participatory Climate Vulnerability Risk Assessment of Pilot Project Sites: Marin Rural Municipality of Sindhuli District 

and Gadhimai Municipality of Rautahat District

1. Background

Heifer International Nepal (Heifer) is dedicated to ending hunger and poverty while caring for the Earth. Since its inception in 1957, Heifer has impacted the lives of over 400,000 families through agriculture and livestock programs, focusing on empowering rural women. By creating Self-help Groups and Social Entrepreneur Women’s Cooperatives (SEWCs), Heifer helps build resilient communities and sustainable livelihoods. With a holistic approach, Heifer collaborates with local governments and partners, engages youth to improve agricultural practices, supports women-led cooperatives, and creates lasting economic change. Its mission is to ensure families achieve sustainable living incomes, with access to food, shelter, education, and healthcare, while driving progress toward more inclusive and resilient agri-food systems.

Building Agroforestry-based Adaptation plans for Resilient floodplains (BAGAR) aims to reduce climate-induced flood risks and improve livelihoods in the floodplains of Marin Rural Municipality, Sindhuli and Gadhimai Municipality, Rautahat. The project prioritizes vulnerable and marginalized groups, such as Dalits and Indigenous populations, through Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) approaches. The project also aligns national and international commitments like the SDGs, NDCs and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

The project will work with community-based organizations (CBOs), municipalities and other stakeholders to develop EbA master plans and document lessons for replication in other municipalities.

The Multi-stakeholder Participatory Climate Vulnerability Risk Assessment will develop a holistic, landscape-wide understanding of vulnerability and links up actors across various levels of governance to jointly identify and analyze the root causes of vulnerabilities for distinct social groups. It has been successfully used in rural, fragile and urban settings and is well regarded within the sector.  It supports the design of ecosystem-based adaptation actions that are equitable, gender-sensitive and effective.

2. Project Working Areas

The project has been working with vulnerable communities in the following municipalities of Bagmati and Madhesh Province:

1. Marin Rural Municipality of Sindhuli District
2. Gadhimai Municipality of Rautahat District

Both municipalities ranked ‘high’ in exposure and sensitivity to climate change and the climate risk forecast shows increasing risks in both municipalities (source: VRA 2021, MoFE)

3. Scope of Work:

Climate and Disaster Risk identification and assessment are the two important steps that form the basis for in-depth understanding of vulnerability and successful implementation of advocacy approaches and adaptation practices in the selected area. This involves identification and assessment of current climate induced disaster and climate variability and future climate change and disaster risks and associated societal vulnerabilities.

By identifying climate change and disaster risks, communities will be able to better prioritize and manage these risks and plan how to adapt with the climate change impacts and reduce disaster risks. Early investment in preparation and adaptation planning will help community to avoid or minimize climate change impacts and reduce the costs of adaptation and impacts when they occur.

The broader objective of this work is to assess the community’s vulnerability to climate change and define the associated risks by analyzing the impacts of disaster and climate change on the communities and their livelihood targeting agriculture and forestry.

Specifically, the study aims to do the following:

• Assess the local risks, hazard and prepare a holistic picture of the vulnerability and risks in the local area.
• Identify the key climate change hazards or disasters communities are facing and the specific related impacts on livelihood, farming and forest sectors.
• Analyze the socio-economic impacts of the identified climate induced hazards on the communities
• Work with communities, partners and other stakeholders to develop plans for reducing vulnerability managing the impacts and risks.
• Develop a multi-stakeholder framework action on climate change and mainstream to inform the impact on the Climate change on each specific category 
• Identify priority areas with high risks or vulnerability
• Support in drafting of Ecosystem Based Adaptation master plan of the municipalities for climate resilient plan and policies.

4. RESPONSIBILITIES AND DELIVERABLES OF CONSULTANTS/SCOPE OF WORK

4.1. Responsibilities:

• Update progress of study on regular basis to Heifer and other partners as appropriate.
• Update Heifer in case of any emerging issues related to VRA during field work
• Prepare draft report and share with Heifer team and collect their feedback.
• Present major findings to Heifer and collect feedback.
• Prepare final report on VRA and incorporating feedback and suggestions and submission of final report (a compiled version of the report - both hard copy and electronic version in word format to submit within the contract period.

4.2. Deliverables:

The consultant is liable for the following deliverables during the service period:

• An Inception Report which includes a proposal of methodologies and detailed work plan followed by inception meeting 
• Draft climate vulnerability and risk assessment report including maps
• Presentation of draft climate vulnerability and risk assessment report for review and inputs
• Final report of VRA in both English and Nepali

5. DURATION

Work is expected to start by May 31, 2025, and June 30, 2025 (with final reporting). The Consultant may be an individual or firm. The consultancy is scheduled to last for one month including field work and report completion.

6. REPORTING LINE MANAGER

The consulting firm will work closely with the Program Manager from BAGAR/Heifer.

7. FEES

The budget for this assignment will be as per the procurement policy of organization and tax will be deducted as per the government policy of Nepal.

8. PAYMENT MODALITY

The payment will be made in two installments.

• 30 % at the time of agreement singing as mobilization advance after submission of inception report.
• 70% after completion of the submission of draft report with map and final report.

9. FOR SUBMISSION

The potential and interested individual, firm/companies must submit technical and financial proposals showing their interest in conducting VRA in Marin Rural Municipality, Sindhuli and Gadhimai Municipality, Rautahat. The following documents are expected to be received as technical and financial propositions within 7 days of the date of announcement:-

• Letter of interest
• Technical proposal
• Financial proposal
• Copy of legal documents like: PAN/VAT, 
• Latest tax clearance certificate (FY 080-81) & registration documents etc.
• Self-declaration
• CVs of proposed professionals (2 pages max for each)
• All proposed professionals must sign the CV and clearly mention their roles, responsibilities, and level of engagement in the proposed study

It is expected that the applicant has read well and understood the Objective, Scope of Work, and requirements for proposal submission.

The technical and financial proposal should be emailed with subject line: “Multi-Stakeholder Participatory Climate Vulnerability Risk Assessment”.

The Technical Proposal and the Financial Proposal files MUST BE COMPLETELY SEPARATE. The financial proposal shall be encrypted with different passwords and clearly labelled. The files must be sent to the dedicated email address specified. The password for opening the Financial Proposal should be provided only upon the request of Heifer. Heifer will request passwords only from bidders whose Technical Proposal has been found to be technically responsive. Failure to provide the correct password may result in the proposal being rejected.

Proposals may be submitted on or before 20 May, 2025, 5:00 PM via email to procurement-np@heifer.org

10. Evaluation Criteria:

Firm/companies will be evaluated based on the following criteria: The weight for technical portion of the proposal will be 80% and financial 20%. The key factors stated below will be taken into consideration during the evaluation process.

Note: VAT register firms are encouraged to apply.

Applications received with incomplete documents and after the due date will be disqualified. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for further evaluation process. Heifer reserves all the rights to reject any or all applications without providing any reasons.