Consultant (Filipino Nationals Only)

Purpose: Assessment of the Shock-Responsive Livelihood Options and Modalities for Urban Poor Households and Development of a Process Manual

Project: Moving Urban Poor Communities in Mindanao Towards Resilience (MOVE UP Mindanao) MOVE UP 4 Philippines

Duration: 34 days

Reporting to the DRR/CCA Coordinator

Payment Terms:

• 50% upon signing of the contract
• 40% upon receiving first draft
• 10% upon approval of Final Draft

Conditions: The technical partner/consultant will arrange and cover all living and transportation cost in the conduct of the engagement.

1. Background

The project “Moving Urban Poor in Mindanao Towards Resilience” or MOVE UP-Mindanao is an urban DRR project funded by the European Union’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) and implemented by a consortium of development and humanitarian organizations, namely Action Against Hunger, Plan International, Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE) and Assistance and Cooperation for Community Resilience and Development (ACCORD). The principal objective of the MOVE UP project in its fourth iteration is “to contribute in building the resilience of urban poor populations to withstand and manage the impact of natural and human-induced disasters by strengthening urban disaster preparedness, response and management capacity of the National, Sub-national and Local government units, and other stakeholders through the adaption and/or replication of tested Urban Resilience strategies”. The strategies were introduced and developed under successive MOVE UP projects that began in 2016 funded also by ECHO.

The Action’s interventions are designed to support five strategically selected cities (Cagayan de Oro, Kidapawan, Iligan, Marawi and Tandag) where conflict and natural disasters cause urban displacement – either within the cities, or cities receiving or sending internally displaced people (IDPs) between the cities/municipalities. These were selected based on historic and recent conflict and displacements-related trends and IDP mobility. The action will also target four provinces (Cotabato, Misamis Oriental, Bukidnon and Surigao del Sur) where the cities are located and/or considered as a component city of the province. In addition, another province (Bukidnon) that also supports IDPs is included in the action. Inclusion of provincial level activities under this action aims to align and seek synergy with provincial-level long term development, disaster risk reduction and preparedness plans.

Along with promotion of the models that have already been developed, this action will also focus on strengthening social safety net measures to provide more adaptive, shock- and crisis-responsive services that meet the needs of different vulnerable groups in terms of conflict, natural disasters and displacements at the city and provincial level. The action will support the review of development, DRR and social safety net/social protection programs/plans and processes as well as criteria for targeting the most vulnerable. The outcomes will be used to lobby and advocate for strengthening services offered by the cities and provinces. At the end of the action, the lessons learned in implementation, along with previous gains from developing the ECHO-funded models, will be documented and disseminated among the stakeholders at the country level and shared at regional-level events.

2. RATIONALE

Disasters and livelihood are interconnected. As the latter is affected by hazards, families absorb the shocks and stresses brought about by the loss of livelihood.

Increasing resilience in livelihood activities is a component and a specific outcome of MOVE UP. The Action intends to enhance urban resilience by improving the capacities of LGUs and stakeholders to reduce the vulnerability of the urban poor communities and their livelihood activities to disasters and facilitate the determination of livelihood strategies that can help them overcome these external shocks and allow for speedy recovery. The process of enhancing resilience in livelihood has been developed and tested continually as a core strategy of the Action, The various steps involved – from program mapping and review, identification of the vulnerabilities and coping mechanisms of the communities, harnessing human and material resources for locating risk areas, bridging needs and lack of capacities, to formulation and rollout of program interventions – have been carefully studied for standardization of the strategy while retaining an adaptability to changing situations, priorities and resources of LGUs.

The Action’s present interventions in Mindanao for integrative Resilient Livelihood strategies to be adopted in the plans and processes of LGUs are designed to support them in promoting shock responsive livelihood options that are informed by the context (climate-risk informed, culturally appropriate and conflict-sensitive). The Action has already started on the basic participatory community hazard, risk and vulnerability assessments in the partner LGUs, to gather preliminary information on the risks and how these affect the safety and livelihood security of the population in the city and barangays.

The activities will rely on an assessment of the livelihood activities in representative communities, the programs supporting them, the criteria and indicators for including the urban poor and other sectors in these programs and the factors that impact the community and their livelihood activities.

At the same time and complementarily, a manual of operations on the process for capacitating LGUs to integrate resilient livelihood programs in their local planning will be developed from the assessment, to document the context-specific adaptation measures and to serve as a guide for the Action, LGU staff and development planners.

A consultant/consultancy team is needed for the assessment, with the following objectives:

1. Objectives

The engagement of the consultant/consultancy team aims to achieve the following objectives:

a) Identify gaps and needs in resilient livelihood strategies for the urban poor

Identification of the gaps and needs involves gaining an in-depth knowledge of the representative LGUs’ existing programs for implementing livelihood options and modalities. The aim is to explore entry points for adopting resilient livelihood strategies in their programs, using risk and climate information and culture sensitive indicators (e.g. Islamic financing principles), to enhance their effectivity and efficiency. Potential resilient livelihood options and strategies to respond to shocks should target the reduction of negative impacts of disasters, conflict and pandemic conditions to the urban poor sector.

The programs may be adapted for the context of conflict and resultant effects – such as displacement of households, strains on their resources, limited access to markets – which increase their vulnerabilities. The forward-looking interventions should go beyond usual emergency response orientation, but have the built-in capacity in a long-term, “new normal” setting to address the needs of and adequately prepare the landless urban poor, female-headed households, members of indigenous peoples, senior citizen dependents and others uniquely situated.

The programs review and assessment of gaps and needs should focus on:

i. Identifying specific interventions, their framework and objectives, and the beneficiary groups/sectors in the existing livelihood/social safety net programs.

ii. Examining the impacts these interventions have on men and women, with regards to their existing vulnerabilities (physical, social, human, financial).

iii. Assessing opportunities for capacity building offered by the programs, and coping strategies resorted to by the beneficiaries.

b) Recommend inclusive strategies to incorporate and enhance resilient livelihood for the urban poor, for integration into local development plans

The review and assessment of the LGU programs aims to formulate effective strategies that will support and sustain resilient livelihood options thru enhanced LGU sectoral and development plans. The adaptive strategies will help improve the ability of the urban poor to respond to shocks and stresses, recover in a timely manner and prepare for recurring risks and hazards. Essentially, these strategies, indicators and modalities to scale up resilience in livelihood activities and programs are the ways forward and included in the LGU’s development plans, such as the CDP, LDRRMP, LPRAP, Food Security Plan, etc.

c) Develop the manual of operations to support climate risk-informed, culturally-appropriate and conflict-sensitive planning for resilient livelihoods

In support of and using the scoping and assessment activities in (a) and (b), the selected expert/s will develop and write the operations manual to fully document the process for engaging with LGUs and communities as partners in building resilient livelihoods, using the MOVE UP urban resilience framework and the context-specific indicators (climate risk, culture and conflict) of the Action.

The manual will describe and explain the steps and tools for scaling up livelihood activities into sustainable and resilient programs and the effective integration of these activities and programs into local development plans and processes.

4. ACTIVITIES/SCOPE OF WORK

A) The consultant/consultancy team shall carry out the following:

a) An initial meeting with MOVE UP 4 staff to discuss the details of the consultancy

b) Conduct an assessment of shock-responsive (to both climate and man-made shocks) livelihood options and modalities in the plans and programs of the LGU partners of the Action, related to enhancing livelihood resilience for the urban poor. The consultant/s shall hold virtual or face-to-face meetings (only where possible) with key LGU officers and staff to gather and discuss documents. The assessment shall identify needs and gaps in adapting and implementing these options and modalities and recommend strategies on how to integrate urban resilience in livelihood (including risk transfer mechanisms) in DRRM plans and other local development plans. Specifically, the assessment should cover programs related to livelihood of communities in the following LGUs (MOVE UP 4 partners):

Cities: Cagayan de Oro, Tandag, Marawi, Iligan & Kidapawan

Provinces: Misamis Oriental, Bukidnon, Surigao del Sur and North Cotabato

c) Submit a report on the assessment made, with recommendations for adopting climate-informed and culturally-appropriate livelihood options and measures to strengthen resilience in the communities, and ways forward for integrating these options and activities into LGU plans and programs.

d) Develop, design and write the manual of operations for adopting and integrating risk-informed, culturally appropriate and conflict-sensitive resilient livelihood programs. Development of the manual will be done together with the assessment activity described in (b) and in coordination with project staff;

e) Facilitate virtual workshops with partners and stakeholders to validate the results and recommendations contained in the assessment report, and invite comments on the draft manual’s structure, design and contents. The consultant shall incorporate the feedback of the participants and resource persons and integrate them into the finalization of the assessment report and the manual of operations.

f) Lead virtual trainings and workshops for LGU staff and stakeholders for integrating urban resilience and resilient livelihood strategies in local development plans and processes.

g) Document and package the results of trainings, workshops and meetings conducted.

g) Prepare and submit a final report on the consultancy engagement.

B) The specific deliverables and activities are:

a) Based on agreements in the inception meeting, submit an approach paper outlining the detailed work plan for conducting the assessment (review framework and methodology, timeframe, tools and questionnaires, mobilization plan and budget, etc.);

b) A final Assessment report, based on draft/s presented, that contains the review framework and methodology, desk review findings, review and evaluation of the livelihood programs and parameters (objectives, target sectors, inclusion criteria for beneficiaries, funding, status of implementation, challenges encountered, innovations made), analysis of needs and gaps in the promotion of resilient livelihood activities, and recommendations for integrating and enhancing resilient livelihood for the urban poor;

c) A final Manual of Operations, based on draft/s presented, generally explaining the process flow and steps for assessing livelihood options and modalities, adopting resilience-supportive measures and strategies, and integrating these into local development plans. Specifically, the manual will document the assessment activity for MOVE UP 4 described in 4A(b);

c) Facilitation and documentation of the validation workshops, trainings and meetings;

d) A final Consultant’s Report that contains the documentation of the activities mentioned in the preceding paragraph (c).

5. Methodology

The methodology for the assessment of shock-responsive livelihood options and modalities shall be comprised of three phases (Document review, Data collection and analysis and Presentation of findings), also applicable to gathering the data and information (for designing and writing) to develop the process manual:

• Document review – Existing LGU plans and policies, including but not limited to the following, will be reviewed:

Socio-Economic Profiles, Comprehensive Development Plans, Land Use Plans, DRRM Plans, Climate Change Action Plans, Annual Investment Programs, Executive Legislative Agenda, Locator Maps, Hazard Maps, Good Practices data

The project has already carried out risk assessments at the community and household levels with the LGUs and barangays. The project staff will coordinate with the consultant to review the results of the assessments done.

Project staff will also coordinate with the consultant/s on previous needs assessments, knowledge products, training materials, project evaluations, and other resources from the present and previous MOVE UP phases that are relevant to development of the process manual.

• Data collection and analysis –

Use data collection methods that comply with the new normal such as key informant interviews or virtual small group meeting using remote tools (or face-to-face when allowed) to validate results of the desk review.

• Presentation of findings –

The consultant shall facilitate the conduct of workshops for Action Against Hunger, MOVE UP 4 staff, key LGU informants and stakeholders in presenting the outputs. The aim of such workshop is to present the findings of the assessment and the design and contents of the draft manual for validation and provide space for feedback from the stakeholders. The consultant shall incorporate the feedback of the stakeholders to validate on the initial findings and integrate them into the finalization of the assessment report and process manual.

6. EXPECTED Deliverables and TIMELINES

• Activity: Inception meeting, contract signing and meeting with AAH for levelling of expectations, review of relevant documents available

• Expected deliverable: Signed contract and list of relevant project documents to be provided by the consortium to the consultant

• Timeline: 1 day

• Activity: Prepare Approach Paper

• Expected deliverable: Submission of Approach Paper

• Timeline: 2 days

• Activity: Collection of LGU plans and relevant documents on livelihood activities and safety net programs, MOVE UP 4 staff to provide basic project documents, training modules, knowledge products, briefers and presentations on frameworks for Urban Resilience and Resilient Livelihood, evaluations etc.

• Expected deliverable: Submission of copies of LGU plans and documents

• Timeline: 5 days

• Activity: Document Review

• Timeline: 5 days

• Activity: Data collection phase

• Expected deliverable: Recordings/transcripts of meetings

• Timeline: 5 days

• Activity: Assessment report writing

• Expected deliverable: Draft of report

• Timeline: 3 days

• Activity: Designing/writing for process manual

• Expected deliverable: Draft manual

• Timeline: 5 days

• Activity: Validation Workshop

• Expected deliverable: Actual conduct of workshop

• Timeline: 1 day

• Activity: Finalization of assessment report and process manual

• Expected deliverable: Final Assessment Report and Process Manual

• Timeline: 3 days

• Activity: Facilitate the conduct of workshop on Integrating Urban Resilience into Plans/Policies

• Expected deliverable: Actual conduct and training report

• Timeline: 3 days

• Activity: Submission of consultant’s final report

  • Expected deliverable: Final Consultancy Report
  • Timeline: 1 day

**. BACKGROUND REQUIREMENT**

a) Professional Background:

• Relevant University Degree in related field of study (Research, Policy, Program Management, DRR, Conflict) is required. With Master’s Degree preferred but not required.

• Has knowledge, expertise, experience in formulating qualitative and quantitative data research and development of training modules and other like material.

b) Work, Knowledge, and Experience:

• Has knowledge and expertise in the conduct of qualitative and quantitative data collection particularly in relation to Disaster Management.

• Has strong academic and / or work background on development research, preferably in areas affected by natural and human-induced disasters

• Has demonstrated knowledge in the use of digital tools for developing learning resource materials

• Has the capacity in technical report writing, good analytical skills, has understanding in partnership working with government and its partners.

• Preferably based in Mindanao