Request for proposal (RFP) for Gender Assessment

SCOPE OF WORK (SOW ) FOR GENDER ASSESSMENT FOR THE ADDITIONAL COMMUNITIES IN MRED PHASE III

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.

Mercy Corps started operations in Nepal in 2005. Since then the agency has been working in some of the most challenging areas to improve the lives of vulnerable individual and communities across Nepal. This goal is attained through a systems based approach to market development, financial services, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), climate change adaptation and youth engagement through the lens of gender equity diversity and social inclusion. 

General Summary 

Mercy Corps Nepal is implementing Third phase of Managing Risk through Economic Development (M-RED) program in four districts taking 82 hazard-prone and poverty-affected communities in the floodplain (Terai) in Kailali& Kanchanpur and the hilly districts of Baitadi and Dadeldhura in Sudurpaschim Province, Nepal. M-RED aims to enable smallholder farming communities, particularly the most vulnerable - to be more resilient to natural hazards and the adverse effects of climate change, and to bounce back better and more quickly from natural disasters. 

M-RED program vision is to create a replicable, sustainable and scalable model for empowering smallholder farmers to build their own ecological resilience. Nepal is both food insecure and disaster prone. The country’s annual monsoon brings flooding and landslides, with evidence that climate change is adding to the severity and frequency of these events. The hilly areas of Nepal are prone to incidences of floods, landslides and drought while the terrain (floodplains) experience river bank cutting and flooding affecting productive land. Severe and unpredictable rainfall patterns contribute to regular flash floods, landslides, rock falls highly affecting the poor farming communities in this region. 

By combining contemporary community-based Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) approaches and livelihood work (“nexus interventions”) and building on traditional social systems for mutual support (social capital), M-RED maximizes benefits particularly for vulnerable groups, viz. lower castes, marginalized groups and women in particular. It strengthens social capital between community groups, enabling them to respond in a coordinated way to recurring shocks and stresses. Through a system based approach, the program focuses specifically on connecting livelihoods to the larger market system and addresses key constraints that are limiting vulnerable groups’ participation in markets, such as access to finance, disrupted transportation, market instability during and after natural hazards. 

Gender Equality Diversity and Social Inclusion is a cross cutting issue and widely adopted by governmental and non-governmental agencies. From the start of the MRED project, it has been practiced gender assessment in the working communities. MRED project has expanded over 20 new communities of Dadeldhura, Kanchanpur and Kailali district of Sudurpaschim province. Before starting project intervention in new communities, MRED has planned to identify the challenges and consequences that hinder the participation, access, control and influence decision makers for the community people and marginalized groups. Mercy Corps Nepal is looking to assign a consultant with a strong background in the technical sectors of Gender Equality Diversity and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) in Kailali, Kanchanpur, andDadeldhura district of Sudurpaschim province of Nepal.

Objectives of the Gender assessment 

The overall objective of this SOW is to analyze the systemic barriers, challenges and opportunities to become a resilient community through gender and social inclusion lenses and provide workable recommendation to programs. 

Specific objectives are as follow: 

1. Contribute to a better understanding of the specific needs, systemic barriers, challenges and opportunities for women and members of marginalized groups and vulnerable communities.
2. Identify the marginalized groups and understand the GEDSI context of working communities.
3. Increase the participation of women and marginalized groups from vulnerable communities in DRR processes, Financial and livelihood opportunities and in market system development. 
4. Contribute to develop the MRED project GEDSI strategy frame.

Expert/Consultant Activities

The Consultancies under this Scope of Work (SoW) covers the details listed below. 

• Review current policies and provision of GEDSI at national, provincialand Mercy Corps Nepal.
• Review the report of MC assessment conducted through MRED I and II, Pahal and STEM II project
• Prepare detail questionnaire for FGD and KII with communities and other relevant stakeholders
• Prepare detail work plan for gender equality and social inclusion assessment 
• Prepare format for enumerator to collect information and data
• Finalize the Gender Assessment Report and submission to Mercy Corps Dhangadi office
• Prepare a GEDSI strategy for MRED project.
• Submission of activity completion report to MC

Deliverables and Timelines 

The consultant is expected to deliver the following; 

The detailed activities and timeline of the deliverables will be shared by the consultant and agreed with the Mercy Corps team prior to signing the contract. 

Duration

The duration of the assignment will be from 2nd week of March 2021 to 2nd week of  April 2021 with 34 total estimated working days.

Administrative and Financial Arrangement

The consultant should have registered in PAN/VAT as per existing rules and regulations of Government of Nepal. Mercy Corps will manage local transportation from Dhangadhi office to MRED working communities but Consultant will bear the accommodation and other travel cost during contract period. Mercy Corps Nepal will review the progress and quality of assignment upon submission of reports prior to approval of the payment.

Payment will be made in installments based on satisfactory completion of deliverables and submission of the reports: 

Required Skills and Experience

• Experience working with the Resilience program and GEDSI issues would be preferred
• Knowledge of local language and dialect (Hill and Terai)
• Master in social science is preferred however Bachelor degree in any field with similar work experience of 2 years will be considered 
• Knowledge of GEDSI domains adopted by government of Nepal and widely 
• Strong preference given to the applicant with prior experience mainly directly participate field assessment, research and technical support in the gender assessment work 
• Comprehensive understanding of the disaster risk reduction and management issues in Nepal will be an advantage

Accountability to Partners and Participants

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts towards accountability, specifically to our program participants and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Mercy Corps Nepal invites interested individuals or firms to submit proposal with as following documents on the basis of this Scope of Work to  np-procurement@mercycorps.org with the Title “Consultancy service for Gender Assessment for the Additional Communities in MRED Phase III" by 26 February 2021

• Company profile 
• Technical proposal including detailed methodology to be adopted 
• Detailed work plan and timetable  
• Detailed budget including tax
• An example or evidence of previous work similar to this SoW
• CV of consultant highlighting his/her experience in a similar type of work
• VAT/PAN registered certificate and tax clearance certificate latest.