Request for Proposal - Technical Support on Preparation of "After Action Review" Guideline (Post Emergency Response and Early Recovery)

Scope of Work 

Technical Support on Preparation of "After Action Review" Guideline 

(Post Emergency Response and Early Recovery)

[Re-Advertise]

1. Introduction

Mercy Corps Nepal is implementing the BHAKARI program from October 2020 to September 2023 to enhance food and nutrition security, reduce future humanitarian caseload and improve the resilience of communities to recurrent shocks along the Karnali River Basin (KRB). BHAKARI is a multi-year emergency program funded by USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA). The program is implemented in six districts (Mugu, Jumla, Kalikot, Surkhet, Achham, and Dailekh, with cluster hubs in Surkhet and Jumla). The sectoral programmatic intervention includes agriculture and market systems, disaster risk reduction, water for productive use, natural resources management, emergency response to multiple localized shocks with a “GESI First'' approach that emphasizes a gender and social inclusion approach, reaching to the most vulnerable segment of the society with an integrated multi-sectoral approach. The program is currently implemented in 21 Palikas throughout districts (Annex 1).  

Mercy Corps Nepal is soliciting an “Expression of Interest” for consultancy services to develop a technical guideline on "After Action Review" that will be used after every emergency response as a reflection tool to learn on "what went well" and "what could have been better". The guideline is intended to be used by the Local Disaster Management Committee (LDMC) and is aimed to be developed in close consultations with the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MoFAGA)

The consultant(s) with solid experience in Disaster Risk Reduction and Humanitarian Response with comprehensive understanding of the sector and evolved process in Nepal are invited for the submission of the EOI. The consultant must have worked closely with the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MoFAGA), National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), Provincial government and respective local government along with relevant stakeholders at three tiers of government.  .

The target audience of the guideline is stakeholders involved in emergency response and early recovery in general and local government in particular. This guideline is to be used after localized and mega disasters followed by emergency response and relief, including early recovery. The aim of the document is to support the local government to understand the effectiveness of the relief & response and early recovery to seek recommendations and concrete plan of action for strengthening emergency preparedness and response capacity at the local level. This will significantly contribute towards effective response; replicate good practices and learnings and understanding of key gaps on coordination, information management, humanitarian architecture; and identify areas for improvement as vital components for better preparedness and effectiveness in  future emergencies.  

2.   Objective

The objective of the assignment is to develop a Guideline that aims to assess the effectiveness of the emergency response at the local level through a reflection process with community representatives and local stakeholders and the most-at-risk populations, including women, children and most vulnerable communities. The “After Action Review'' will be led by the Local Disaster Management Committee (LDMC) with support and facilitation from DRR focal from the palikas. 

The guideline would help to act as a “tool” to  capture the reflection process in a  simple, quick and versatile way. The guideline would identify and record lessons and knowledge arising out of the response by involving different stakeholders through brainstorming and discussions.

The guideline will offer an outline which is a simple and “step-by-step approach” that is ready to be used by the LDMC with support from DRR focal person in the post disaster response and early recovery phase. During the preparation of this guideline, disaster and environment sub-committee at local level will be involved in the different stages and their ideas and experiences will be sought.  The process will mainly support LDMCs and local stakeholders and  relevant participants to understand what was planned versus what actually happened and answer following key questions, inter alias: 

1. What was our process? Why did we choose the process? What were the key rationale?
2. What went really well? Why did it go well? What were the key underlying reasons?
3. What could have gone better? What prevented us from doing more (internal and external factors)?
4. What did we learn? If we are to do it again, how do we do it differently and why?

While answering the above key questions, the consultant should also consider/answer the following major domains in the guideline: 

1. Maximization on the use of BIPAD portal by the Local Government; 
2. Role of Local Government in Initial Rapid Assessment (IRA) and how the data are being fed into the system; 
3. Effective monetization of infrastructure loss.

3.   Suggested Methodology

The assignment will be undertaken in close consultation and technical advice and support from the MoFAGA. The consultant will undertake extensive reviews of existing relevant policies, guidelines, frameworks  and practices by different agencies in Nepal. The reviews include relevant policies on disaster risk reduction and management but not limited to DRRM Act and Strategic Plan of Action. The assignment would undertake consultations through Key Informant Interviews (KII) and Focus Group Discussions (FGD), with the key DRRM stakeholders at different tiers of government and community of practices. 

The guideline should be finalized after pilot testing in at least 3-4 diverse Palikas (in terms of ecological regions, multiple hazards prone areas, recurrent past events and scale of loss and damage.  The final guideline should be approved by MOFAGA.

4.    Deliverables 

The Assignment is expected to deliver the following outputs:

• Inception report that details methodology and plans, including all required tools for the assessment;
• Report from consultations at the different levels
• Draft and Final Technical Guideline (final guideline in Nepali) endorsed by MoFAGA

5.   Duration and Payment Schedule

BHAKARI foresees 50 working days for undertaking this assignment. The final product including incorporation of all feedback from MoFAGA and BHAKARI is to be submitted.  National level workshop will be carried out by Mercy Corps. The consultation at local palikas (KII, FGD) will be carried out by consultants. Mercy Corps will cover travel cost and accommodation as per the actual invoice. 

Table 1: Payment schedule

6.   Qualifications and experience

• At least 7 years of experience working on Emergency Response, DRRM and relevant sector
• Thorough understanding of humanitarian context of Nepal
• Experience on undertaking similar assignment(s), including evaluation of humanitarian programs and projects
• Evidence of writing quality reports on Nepali and English 
• Excellent communication skills in Nepali and demonstrated skills on workshop facilitation 
• Previous working experience with (I)NGOs, UN agencies and with government at different level

7.   Monitoring and Supervision

The consultant will report to the Emergency Response Senior Manager in close consultation with the Emergency Coordinator, and other relevant Mercy Corps Nepal/BHAKARI team members along the Disaster and Environment Section of MoFAGA.

8.   Required Documents for Submitting the Proposal

Qualified firms/ Individuals can send their application to np-procurement@mercycorps.org  with the Title “Technical Guideline for After Action Review” along with the following documents by 26th December 2021. 

• Technical Proposal
• Financial proposal
• Company Profile
• Proposed Team and CVs
• Relevant Past Experience list 
• Firm Registration & Renewal certificate
• Copy of VAT Registration Certificate
• Latest Tax clearance certificate

Note: The assignment is contingent upon donor's approval.

Annex 1: BHAKARI working Palikas

Note: Consultancy firms/Individuals who have already applied do not need to re submit the proposal unless they wish to update the Financial and Technical Proposal.