CONSULTANCY FOR THE FEASIBILITY STUDY OF A CLIMATE CHANGE RELATED LIVELIHOOD PROJECT at AWO International

Introduction:

AWO International was founded in 1998 as a professional association for development cooperation and humanitarian action within the framework of the German welfare organization “*Arbeiterwohlfart*” (AWO). It draws on the expertise and vast experience of AWO in Germany, which has been an integral part of the German welfare state since the last century.

In close cooperation with local non-governmental organizations in Central America, East Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, AWO International is working to ensure that disadvantaged people can sustainably improve their living conditions. The organization adopts a special approach in all its development projects, which is the enhancement of “Social Structures”, also known as community-based organizations or self-help groups. Its goal is to strengthen and empower social structures to achieve grassroots-driven and participatory development through self-help initiatives.

The Regional Office in Southeast Asia (RO SEA) under the Humanitarian Action program has been aiming to strengthen the resilience of the vulnerable communities by conducting measures on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) and responding to the needs of people affected by disasters and crisis. Recently, in 2021, 3 projects were completed, 1 in Indonesia and 2 in the Philippines, all in partnership with partner organizations. Currently, another project is being planned in the Philippines under the Engagement Global – BENGO program for Private Entities with the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) as the donor agency. Together with the partner organization, Ecosystems Work for Essential Benefits, Incorporated (ECOWEB), a concept note was drafted and submitted. The newly planned project aims to reduce poverty and at building the resilience of the target communities in the Municipality of Sibagat, Agusan del Sur, by improving their livelihood through enhanced climate smart abaca farming and processing, crop diversification, and self-organization, while reducing the greenhouse gases from the related agriculture activities and applying green technologies. The project contributes to capacity development and strengthening of civil society actors and structures and addresses the following crosscutting issues: Gender equality, inclusion incl. people with disabilities, covid-19 prevention and conflict sensitivity.

The pre-registration of the concept received an “A” prioritization from BENGO, indicating the availability of funding for the project. However, the final approval by the donor will only be granted after a full proposal is submitted that meets the expectations and standards of BENGO-BMZ. To support the proposal development, a feasibility study is thus, planned to be conducted. The main objective of the feasibility study is the verification of the practicability of the project concept (incl. the plans for construction and operation of a small water power plant and an abaca processing unit), to outline recommendations to be addressed in the final project proposal and to contribute to the finalization of the log frame.

Scope of Work:

The Consultant (or team of Consultants) is responsible for the following tasks and outputs:

• Overall planning and development of an inception report to be finalized in coordination with Regional Office Southeast Asia (RO SEA)
• Enumeration of the required data and information for the feasibility study and compilation of a draft report, in close coordination with RO SEA and ECOWEB.
• Presentation of study results in a reflection and planning workshop (with AWO International and ECOWEB) including contribution to the finalization of the project logframe.
• Submission of the final feasibility study including annexed adapted log frame based on the recommendations of the study.

Deliverables and Timeline:

The study should be completed in 8 weeks (January 11 – March 08, 2022), with the following deliverables:

• Inception Report – the consultant/s shall submit an inception report detailing or outlining his/her proposal for the study, including study design, methodology, and timeline.
• Repository of all gathered documents – the consultant/s shall compile all documents including forms used, scanned copies of collected references data, etc. This can be saved in google drive, giving access to ROSEA and ECOWEB.
• Initial Study Findings’ Report – the consultant/s shall submit a report on initial findings. This will serve as a draft version of the final report and is subject for presentation to RO SEA and ECOWEB in a planning workshop.
• Final Report – the Consultant shall submit the final version of the report incorporating the feedback from RO SEA and ECOWEB. The report should not exceed maximum 30 pages, excluding the annexes.

Degree of Expertise and Qualifications:

With the vast scope of the study, a team of Consultants is preferred that possessed the following background and experience.

Professional background in key areas:

• University Degree in related field of study like Research, Program Management, DRRM, Climate Change, Agriculture, Development Studies, Environmental Studies/Engineering, Renewable Energy, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering etc., with Master’s level is an advantage but not required.

Required Knowledge, Experience, and Capacity:

• knowledge, expertise, and several years of experience doing works in relevant areas including resilience, DRRM, climate change, livelihood (agriculture), and renewable energy-based power plant. With specific expertise on ‘Abaca’ is preferred but not required.
• knowledge, expertise, and experience in formulating qualitative and quantitative data research, and applying OECD DAC evaluation criteria.
• capacity in technical report writing, excellent analytical skills, understanding working in partnership with NGOs, government, and other stakeholders.
• a strong knowledge on and working experience in Mindanao, specifically Agusan del Sur.

Note: The study requires expertise in many and different technical aspects, hence, a team of Consultants is preferred rather than an individual. It is required that every member of the Consultant team shall possess the needed professional background, knowledge, experience, and capacity, as mentioned above. As there will be two construction measures one of the team members should be able to evaluate the plans in relation to technical realization and sustainable operationalization. In a team, there should be a leader, who shall serve as the lead Consultant and the main focal point during the entire study period, while the rest shall be the team members who will have different roles and responsibilities depending on his/her expertise.

For the full terms of reference, please refer to the link: https://tinyurl.com/AWOFeasibilityStudy2022