Request for Proposals

Consultant for

Community Inclusion Currency

Project

1

Document Release Date:

04.03.2021

You can download the full document here: https://www.redcross.or.ke/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=%27375

Location:

Nairobi and Mombasa

Type of Contract:

Individual Contract

Post Level:

Consultant (Kenyan work permission)

Language Required:

English, Swahili is an advantage

Starting Date:

05.04.2021

Expected Duration of Assignment: Until 15.06.2021

Last Date for Receipt of Proposals: 21.03.2021

Tender Number: Kenya/2021/001

Background

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement has been implementing Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) and investing in cash preparedness for many years. Giving disaster affected people cash is a growing and critical part of humanitarian action with the potential to drive transformational change in the architecture and ways of working for aid agencies.

Digital technology has the potential to transform the way in which cash programmes operate. Data management and digital payment platforms (e.g. mobile money) are already demonstrating how new technologies can have a great impact on efficiencies and convenience for people receiving cash assistance. Emerging technologies such as blockchain and digital ID’s are also being explored to address challenges experienced in providing and managing cash assistance. Blockchain and the wider category of distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) claim to provide a more transparent, accountable, efficient, and secure way of exchanging information.

Kenya Red Cross is currently implementing pilot projects on Community Inclusive Currencies (CIC), in partnership with Danish Red Cross, Norwegian Red Cross and Grassroots Economics Foundation. Community Inclusion Currency is a blockchain based response and humanitarian relief platform for people during a crisis. CIC introduces a replicable mechanism for communities to eradicate poverty by creating connected, inclusive, and sustainable local economies using community currencies and open source blockchain technology. We propose reinventing cash transfer programs to act as a catalyst for communities to develop and trade their own medium of exchange (CICs) backed by their own productive capacities. In the situation where households or communities are facing scarcity of the national currency, CICs can be introduced to ensure access to water, food, and shelter. Current pilots in Kenya have shown that CICs enable vulnerable

communities to have a long-term multiplier – more than 21 times traditional donor assistance – effect on cash transfer fund impacts.

The CIC pilot project was first implemented in the urban informal settlement Mukuru in Nairobi beginning of 2020 and later in Kisauni in Mombasa in November 2020. The projects seek to strengthen resilience of disaster affected communities through increased trade possibilities, in turn ensuring the households included can meet their basic needs. Furthermore, to create a network that can be activated in disaster. The CIC project in Mukuru, is being used as a reference point for learnings for the intervention in Kisauni. The project in Kisauni started in the light of the negative impacts on the economy due to the COVID-19 restrictions. The socio-economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are projected to have great negative economic impact on the long-term, especially among communities living in urban informal settlements, many of whom are daily wage earners.

Objective and Purpose

The main objective is to ensure learnings, knowledge and good practices are documented and turned into a Programme Quality Toolbox. The purpose of the Programme Quality Toolbox is to develop a common standard on the design and implementation of the Community Inclusion Currency throughout the programme cycle. The Community Inclusion CurrencyToolbox should include: step by step guidance on how to plan for, design, budget for, implement, monitor and evaluate a CIC project. In this way, we should end up with standards on the different phases of a CIC programme cycle. These can be used when implementing the CIC approach in other countries.

Scope of the work

1. Develop a Programme Quality Toolbox that covers the whole CIC project cycle.

• Create the structure of the Programme Quality Toolbox within the first week of the contract and share it with the supervisor for review. It should be adjusted and updated during the whole contract period. The Programme Quality Toolbox will be saved and worked on directly from two document storage platforms.

• Create an overview of existing materials which can be found in GoogleDrive, a dashboard, reports submitted, project documents and at the different partners. Gather all the materials in one place and read it.

• Minimum two project visits to Mukuru and two to Kisauni to get a better project understanding and to do field observations.

• Create interview guides and conduct interviews with key stakeholders with focus on the project teams. Minimum two interviews with people from GEF, KRCS, DRC with focus on the project cycle and five interviews with beneficiaries.

• Based on the material overview, the interviews and field observations, identify and write down what information is missing in order to ensure the Toolbox is complete.

Make a plan on how to get the missing information for it to be included in the Toolbox before the end of contract.

• Consider if conducting a survey to get more data is relevant.

• When developing the Toolbox, reflections should be included on how to do CIC in the different response phases: disaster response, early recovery, recovery and long-term projects.

• Incorporate in the Toolbox under each project cycle a minimum three concrete examples and/or lessons learned from Kisauni and/or Mukuru to illustrate better.

• Incorporate pictures in the Toolbox.

• First draft of the Toolbox should be submitted 7 weeks from the contract start date for review.

• Final draft of the Toolbox should be submitted 9 weeks from the contract start date for review.

• Arrange for a presentation on the Toolbox with relevant stakeholders to present the final product.

• Present the Toolbox when it is done in the DRC Cash Matrix Meeting.

2. Strengthen the quality of the CIC programme and ongoing projects.

• Create a database to store challenges and action points taken within the first week of contract start date.

• Include in the database the challenges mentioned and identified as well as the actions taken based on the interviews made, the participation in meetings, the project site visits and the materials read.

• Present the challenges that have not been addressed to the team for actions to happen at the weekly and bi-weekly team meetings throughout the contract period.

• Adjust the Toolbox when needed based on the findings.

3. Data Analysis

• Summarizing results from CIC data covering, gender, trade numbers and volumes in different categories

• Suggestions around impact claims

• Suggestions around data protection

4. Submit weekly reports and a final report.

• Submit and get approved an implementation plan based on an existing format within the first week from the contract start date. Adjust the implementation when changes occur.

• Write and submit a weekly short progress report to the direct supervisor with point of departure in the implementation plan using an existing format. The short progress report will be shared with relevant team members and will be discussed in weekly meetings with the direct supervisor and team members.

• Two weeks before the contract ends, submit a final report that reflects the overall achievements of the CIC projects as well as recommendations for future considerations. A special focus should also be on; the positive and negative outcomes that were not foreseen during the project design phase (as stated in the logical framework), reflections on CIC in the different response phases, locations (urban vs. country sides), reflections on what the advantages are for the beneficiaries, Red Cross and donors, how can CIC be seen as new tool and new way of responding in humanitarian settings.

Deliverables

• A CIC Programme Quality Tool Kit which include: a step by step guidance on the CIC project cycle:

o The Preparedness Phase, Situational Analysis (for preparedness), Response Analysis, Programme Design, Implementation Phase, Monitoring and Evaluation.

o For the different steps in the project cycle different standard documents and/or annexes will be developed such as guidance on community entry, a budget example, training package on CIC divided into different levels as well as an Internal and external communication package.

• Lessons learned database with actions points taken to meet them.

• A one or two pager with an introduction to the idea behind CIC to be presented for external use. This could touch upon following topics: basic income, community currency, Modern Monetary Theory, currency as a public utility or commons.

• A comprehensive CIC presentation.

• Weekly short reports progress reports and a final report

Roles and Responsibilities

The M&E consultant will be working under Danish Red Cross and be part of the collaboration between Kenya Red Cross, Grassroots Economics and Danish Red Cross. The consultant will work under direct supervision of the DRC Programme Manager, under the guidance of the Country Manager and the Innovative Financing and System Change Unit. As the projects are implemented by KRCS and GEF, the consultant will work closely together with both and specific persons from KRCS and GEF will be supporting with the overall supervision.

Skills and Qualifications

Competencies

• High competencies in data science, monitoring and evaluation,

• Ability to work and deliver outputs under pressure,

• Very sensitive to deadlines and agreements,

• Self-motivated and able to recommend constructive solutions to challenges,

• Exceptional technical, critical and analytical skills,

• Exceptional communication and writing skills,

• Participatory and interactive approach to consultancy work.Education:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Data Science, International Relations, Political Science, Economics or related.

• If not a master’s degree a minimum of 5 years of experience is expected.

Experience:

• At least 3 years of professional humanitarian or development related work experience at the national and/or international level. Experience should be related to monitoring and evaluation of complex level frameworks and/or strategic plans involving multiple stakeholders,

• Experience in developing, implementing, and monitoring of strategic documents and project documents,

• Experience in developing Standard Operating Procedures, strategies and/or project documents

Language and Computer Requirements:

• Fluency in English both oral and written and Swahili is an advantage

• Superior computer literacy

• Superior writing and presentation skills

• Managing all of the office package

General Instructions

Please read carefully the method of tender submission and comply accordingly.

1. DRC reserves the right to accept or to reject any bid, and to annul the bidding process and reject all bids at any time prior to the award of the contract, without thereby incurring any liability to any Bidder or any obligation to inform the Bidder of the grounds for its action.


2. Cost of bidding:

The Bidder shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of its bid, and the Organization will in no case be responsible or liable for those costs, regardless of the conduct or outcome of the bidding process.

1. Clarification of Bidding Document:

All correspondence related to the contract shall be made in English. Any clarification sought by the bidder in respect of the consultancy shall be addressed at least five (5) days before the deadline for submission of bids, to the e-mail indicated.

ANNEX 1: TENDER ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

A three stage assessment procedure will be used to evaluate all proposals from bidders. The total number of points which each bidder may obtain for its proposal is:

Technical Proposal: 60 marks

Oral presentation: 40 marks

1. Mandatory Requirements

The proposal shall be evaluated on the basis of its adherence to the following compulsory requirements, this applies to both local and international firms or individuals.

Document/ Requirements

Tax compliance certificate

Certificate of incorporation/registration (Only applicable for firms)

PIN certificate

Proceed to next stage (Yes / No)

2. Assessment of the Technical Proposal

The technical proposal shall be evaluated on the basis of its responsiveness to the TOR. Specifically, the following criteria shall apply:

Evaluation Criteria

Maximum

Bidders score

Remarks

Points

Possible

Introduction: 15

• Description of person submitting and the person’s qualifications

2) Background: 10

Understanding of the project, context and requirements

3) Proposed Methodology:

The proposed 10 methodology MUST provide an indication of its effectiveness and added value in the proposed assignment.

4) Firms Experience in undertaking assignments 5 of similar nature and experience from related geographical area for other major clients

• Provide a summary and supporting information on related technical and geographic coverage experience.

5) Work Plan: A Detailed logical, weekly work 5 plan for the assignment MUST be provided.

6) Written communication skills: The written 15 communication skills is central as most of the deliveries will be written and in English.

TOTAL SCORE: 60

The firm, or team of consultants that attains a score of 40 and above out of 60 in the technical evaluation will be invited to proceed to oral presentation.

3. Oral phase assessment

Criteria Maximum Bidder’s Remarks Score points

Understanding of the assignment 5

Clear and scientific methodology

Ability to answer the questions with clear and well formulated answers 10

Total Score out of 30

30

How to Apply