Terms of Reference (ToR) _ FbA-SRSP

Terms of Reference (ToR)

Study to identify the support mechanisms and legal, policy and regulatory framework, including possible contribution of the social protection system, to assist the affected people before, during and after a disaster.

Forecast-based Action and Shock Responsive Social Protection in Provinces 5 and Sudhur Paschim (FbA-SRSP), Nepal

AX 25063

March 2021

Summary 

1. Purpose: To 1. identify the support and Disaster Risk Management mechanisms existing at the local level to assist affected people before, during and after disaster, using cash and in-kind support, and to know which components of the social protection system can be used for such purposes. And to 2. compile and list the legal frameworks and laws, by-laws and directives for such activities, including identification of the roles, responsibilities and powers of various levels of government to adapt Social Protection/Disaster Risk Management implementation

Particularly:

1.1. On the support aspect:

1.1.1. Review and provide a comprehensive overview of the variety of financing tools available for local governments to support the most vulnerable disaster-exposed populations at the local level (dedicated funds, specific window in disaster management and relief funds, insurance or contingent finance, regular national resource allocation processes, in-kind support etc.).

1.1.2. Review and provide a comprehensive overview of how the local government can use the Social Protection system (SP) and especially Social Security Allowance (SSA) to support the affected people (identification of beneficiaries, top up on the assistance, adjustments of calendars of disbursement, of means of disbursement, diversification of the purpose of support, possible adjustments to the existing MIS etc).

1.1.3. Identify possible additional sources of funding/in-kind donations to support the most vulnerable disaster-exposed populations at the local level, including private donations. 

• This work should allow the project to consider, present and discuss/explore with targeted municipalities a variety of financing tools available at local level to support anticipatory action/timely relief support, including using the SP system/SSA; and to advocate with the provincial and federal government.

1.2. On the legal aspect:

1.2.1. Compile and list the existing legal obligations and authorities provided by the Constitution, various laws, by-laws and directives to the local government for the recommended options. 

• This work should allow the project to 1. confirm that the law does not prevent the use of such financing tools and establishment of new/adjusted mechanisms and 2. confirm and clarify to targeted municipalities, when presenting the different options, that they are really feasible from a legal perspective and they can confidently consider them.

2. Audience: Consortium partners, government agencies (local, provincial and federal), UN and other stakeholders involved in Forecast-based Action, Social Protection, Shock Responsive Social Protection and Disaster Risk Management.

3. Commissioners: This consultancy/assignment is being commissioned by the Consortium partners of the FbA-SRSP project (led by Danish Red Cross).

4. Reports to: Anne-Sophie Pétri, Programme Manager

5. Expected Duration: 25 working days in March/April 2021

6. Status: Consultant

7. Location: Kathmandu Valley. In view of the current Covid-19 situation, the possibility of a field visit will need to be discussed. In any case, support will be provided for remote local consultations by the project team in the field, as required.

1. Background

There is increasing evidence that acting in anticipation of a disaster rather than solely in response and delivering consistent support to the most vulnerable via government social assistance programs can reduce the impacts of extreme weather events – in order to target the right people at the right time and reduce the impacts and costs of response and recovery. Bringing the two concepts together in Nepal – Forecast-based Action (FbA) and Shock Responsive Social Protection (SRSP) – represents a valuable opportunity to improve system delivery, build off innovations, and reduce the disaster burden in one of the world's most disaster-prone countries. However, this idea holds many challenges. There are very few countries where anticipatory action has successfully been integrated into social protection (SP) systems. Mainstreaming the two concepts into Nepal’s social security allowance program (SSA), one of the country's key SP programs, will require careful design, testing and advocacy at many levels.

Nepal is implementing several social protection programs including a child grant, cash transfers for senior citizens, people with disabilities, endangered ethnic communities, widowed women and single women; in addition to various poverty reduction programs, public works, and microinsurance initiatives. While the social protection interventions aim to support people with vulnerabilities in regular times, there are ample opportunities of integrating shock-responsiveness in these schemes to operate and provide additional support right before, during and after a disaster.

The new federal structure has provided increased mandate and resources to the local governments to implement Disaster Risk Management and social protection schemes. While the local governments are empowered to develop their own legal and policy measures, not much has been done in this area. Similarly, financing options for DRM and social protections are also not well defined.

The European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid-funded project “Forecast-based Action and Shock Responsive Social Protection in Provinces 5 and Sudhur Paschim, Nepal” is implemented by a consortium formed by Nepal Red Cross Society, Danish Red Cross and Humanity and Inclusion, led by Danish Red Cross, and with technical/strategic support by the Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Center and UNICEF.

This project aims to support an approach that integrates greater shock responsiveness and anticipatory action into Nepal’s SSA program, in order to inform the development of more responsive and anticipatory SP and early warning systems/early actions that protect the most vulnerable before, during, and aftershocks. It will build up from existing research linking SP and DRM and from experiences of the Covid-19 preparedness and response operations using the SP system in Nepal, simulate possible designs of a shock responsive system and identify approaches with the highest potential, including contingency plans that could be scaled up. Consolidating learning and documenting evidence will serve as a proof of concept to test this innovation and support institutionalization of these systems.

2. Purpose, scope and objective

2.1 Purpose and Scope

In this context, the project is looking for a team of technical experts (finance and legal consultants) to explore and document in a study, the variety of support mechanisms available for local governments to support the most vulnerable disaster-exposed populations at the local level (dedicated funds, specific window in disaster management and relief funds, insurance or contingent finance, regular national resource allocation processes, in-kind support etc.), that can be mobilised to implement early actions and timely humanitarian response, including support through the social protection (SP) system/social security allowance (SSA) (identification of beneficiaries, top-up on the assistance, adjustments of calendars of disbursement, of means of disbursement, diversification of the purpose of support, etc).

The consultants will also compile and list all relevant legislation, policies and regulations provided by the Constitution and through various laws, by-laws and directives, related to the local governments’ role and responsibilities in delivering support/DRM activities for affected people before, during and after disasters.

On the other hand, gaps related to the existence of such legislation, policies, regulations or directives that may be identified in this process can also be highlighted in the study’s recommendations, to be taken forward as part of the advocacy initiatives related to FbA and SRSP that are included in the project.

Eventually, the study should provide important elements for the Municipalities to consider:

1. The activities and their financial mechanisms, including cash and in-kind, that the municipalities can support / implement for the affected people before, during and after the disaster;
2. A compiled list of legal obligations and mandate for such activities and financial mechanisms;
3. A good understanding and confirmation of the elements of the existing social protection system and its legal basis that can contribute to the recommended activities.

This study will help to demonstrate the potential and opportunities of existing mechanisms at the local level, in order to contribute to developing FbA and SRSP mechanisms, and to advocate to the provincial and federal government on the possibilities to scale up such mechanisms nationwide.

2.2 Objective

The study will explore existing financing tools available to fund early actions targeting non-SSA beneficiaries (alignment), and potential synergies with the Social Protection programme and more particularly, the SSA scheme, to support current recipients (vertical expansion) as well as eligible non-recipients of the SSA (horizontal expansion), through e.g.

• top up of allowances provided
• registration of additional beneficiaries
• adaptation of the SSA registry
• holding lists of additional identified beneficiaries at municipal level in anticipation of shocks
• including at the time of releasing anticipatory or relief support eligible non-recipients of the SSA whose applications may still be under process or have been rejected e.g. due to a lack of documentation
• etc.

It will aim at, with the support of an expert in economy/finance, producing recommendations on the financial capacities of local governments and possible other sources of funding/in-kind support existing at the local level; including consultations at the provincial and federal level, to understand the overall framework that backs up local governments’ capacities. This will contribute for this project to identify together with local governments and with the validation of provincial and federal authorities, the possible options to adjust support mechanisms locally in order to fund and support the implementation of anticipatory action and timely humanitarian response. 

A legal expert will back this study up in order to compile and list the existing legal obligations and authorities provided by the Constitution, various laws, by-laws and directives to the local government for the recommended options. It will help to confirm that the support mechanisms explored and proposed (in relation to disaster risk management mechanisms, SP/SSA, or other sectors e.g. private sources) are in line with and do not contradict any law, are in line with the role and mandate of local governments, and are supported by the existing legal frameworks.

Results of this study will also inform the development/contextualisation of SOPs planned in this project, together with local governments, to include concrete options of support that municipalities can consider in order to implement early actions and use the SP system in anticipation or response to shocks. It will also support the process of adaptation and integration of the SOPs into municipalities’ Local Disaster and Climate Resilience Plans, as well as advocacy initiatives towards the provincial and federal governments included in the project, related to the mobilisation of local funds/sources of support to implement anticipatory action and timely response.

This will contribute to help the project’s targeted municipalities to confidently select the best combination of financing/in-kind options applicable in their specific context and according to the needs of the most vulnerable in their areas, to best support disaster-exposed populations.

2. Methodology

The consultancy will draw upon the following primary methods: 

• Desk study of relevant legal and policy documents.
• Consultations / Interviews with relevant parties within the government, NRCS and other stakeholders, at the central level and in the field.

Although the study aims at identifying mechanisms at the local level, it will be important to start the analysis from the federal level, before going down to the provincial and local levels; by consulting all key ministries and authorities involved in DRM and SP issues (National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA)/Department of national ID and civil registration (DoNIDCR)), the National Planning Commission, along with the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MoFAGA), as liaison ministry for all local governments.

Considering that the implementation of federal policies and plans are coordinated by MoFAGA, it will be essential that the consultants understand and confirm the existing policies, frameworks, guidelines, model laws, modalities related to fiscal aspects, DRM, SP, etc. that MoFAGA has been disseminating to the local level already, to be considered in this study.

Due to the travel restriction related to Covid-19, the study will be conducted remotely with no travel foreseen to the project target areas or other places.

3. Roles and responsibilities

The study will be conducted by a team of consultants with the support of NRCS staff and volunteers in the field as required for data collection; and over the phone/through virtual meetings for direct interviews. For consultations at the federal level, face-to-face interviews may be considered.

The consultant will need to act as a team leader to guide and coordinate the collection of information on the ground.

4. Deliverables and schedule

4.1 Deliverables

As the focus of the consultancy is to produce evidence-based recommendations to guide operational decisions that are an integral part of the project, deliverables throughout the process need to be concise and clear. They will be presented to the relevant stakeholders, including NRCS, Nepal government, donor and the project consortium partners.

The following deliverables will be developed and delivered:

• An inception report (max 4 pages), outlining a detailed work plan, submitted prior to conducting interviews and the detailed study.
• A draft report (max 10 pages excluding annexes) with preliminary findings and recommendations, to be presented to DRC three weeks after the start of the consultancy.
• A final report (max 20 pages including an executive summary and excluding annexes) and annexes to be submitted to DRC five weeks after the start of the consultancy; incorporating the comments and suggestion from key stakeholders on the draft report.

To note, one of the key annexes could be an easy-to-read summary matrix showing key design features of SSA (i.e. i) eligibility criteria rules, ii) total amount of cash disbursed rules, iii) disbursement frequency, iv) design and implementation of feedback/grievance system, etc) and what powers each level of government has to ‘tweak’ these features. Also linking these features and other possible resources identified to assist affected people, to relevant Acts/Guidelines/Laws/DRM frameworks. This will be useful as reference to show local officials, which features and resources they have the authority to change and mobilise.

4.2 Schedule

This is a tentative timeframe to be reconfirmed with the selected consultant:

The specific timeframe will be agreed in joint consultation with the project team.

Note: Considering the Covid-19 situation, it is foreseen that the consultations will be carried out virtually using remote communication tools.

5. Skills & Qualifications

A team of professionals will be recruited for the project. The team should be composed of minimum two members with the following professional profile/expertise, as per the objective of this study:

a. An economist/expert in economy-finance

• Master’s Degree in economics, finance.
• Experience working with/in support to the Government of Nepal as advisor/expert on the federal structure; and/or the development and implementation of policies related to local governments.
• Sound knowledge of the government financial/fiscal systems, and policies and plans for the local level: how budgets are built in the federal structure and more specifically at local level (Palikas). I.e. the sources of the budgets; how the funds are distributed; what are the roles and responsibilities of Palikas when it comes to budgets overall and the possibilities to adjust them (amounts, purpose, etc.).
• Specific knowledge of DRM and/or the SP system/SSA is an asset.

b. A legal expert

• Master’s Degree in Law.
• Experience working with/in support to the Government of Nepal as advisor/expert on the federal structure; and/or the development and implementation of policies related to local governments.
• Sound knowledge of the legal framework/basis of the federal structure and more specifically at local level (Palikas). I.e. what are the roles and responsibilities of Palikas and flexibility offered by this legal framework when it comes to budgets overall and the possibilities to adjust them (amounts, purpose, etc.).
• Specific knowledge of DRM and/or the SP system/SSA is an asset.

It is possible that the team includes also other members. The role of each member in the study process must be clearly outlined.

6. Budget

The team of consultants is asked to submit a budget proposal outlining costs for working days (fee), along with a tentative work plan including the working days for main activities and milestones (e.g. using a Gantt chart).

7. Available Data & Documentation

Considering the technical specificity of this study, the team of consultants will be responsible to identify the relevant documentation to consult and to consider in order to conduct this study. 

However, the project team will also provide the following documents which may be useful to consider:

• The FbA-SRSP project documents
• Existing studies/reports/documentation on Forecast-based Financing/Anticipatory Action and Shock Responsive Social Protection/the use of the SP system in situations of disasters e.g. the  OPM report - Disaster risk reduction and management in Nepal: Delineation of roles and responsibilities; the Niti Foundation report - Policy Landscape of Social Protection in Nepal.
• Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act 
• National Disaster Response Framework
• Monsoon preparedness and contingency plans 
• District Disaster Preparedness and Response plans

8. Financial Proposal 

The financial proposal should be submitted in Nepalese Currency (NPR) Only. 

9. Required Documents/Certificates with the proposal: 

The documents/certificates that should be submitted/attached with your offer are: -

• Acknowledgement of ToR. (Please attach the signed copy of these Terms of Reference with your offer)
• Copy of VAT/PAN registration certificate.
• Copy of Business Registration, if applicable. 
• Copy of latest TAX clearance certificate, if applicable

HOW TO APPLY

Interested individual and organization should submit the following documents to Ms. Aliza Baidya at aliza.baidya@ifrc.org  latest by 21st March 2021, please be informed that the Technical and financial proposal must be submitted as separate document. The incomplete proposal in all respect and proposals submitted after deadline will not be considered. 

1. Submit a technical, financial, and timeline proposal demonstrating a thorough understanding of this ToR
2. Submit detailed CV and application letter showing why you are most suitable for undertaking the consultancy
3. Submit example of any relevant previous work
4. Submit names and contacts for 3 references

We thank you in advance for understanding that only short-listed candidates will be contacted for the next step in the application process.