CHARITY JOBS IN AFRICA

Organization: Concern Worldwide
Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Closing date: 10 Jan 2015

DRC WASH Consortium:

Terms of Reference for the development of a Knowledge Management and Learning Strategy

1. Summary

The DRC WASH Consortium which is comprised of five agencies, Action Against Hunger (ACF); Agence d'aide à la Coopération Technique et au Développement (ACTED); Catholic Relief Services (CRS); Concern Worldwide (as lead agency) and Solidarités International, seeks a consultant or consultants to develop a knowledge management and learning strategy and accompanying tools. The strategy will ensure the dissemination, appropriation and use of knowledge and learning by the three key target groups of the DRC WASH Consortium: the staff members of the five international NGOs and operational partners of the Consortium; the DRC and international WASH sector; and the communities and their members who are participating in the Consortium programme.

The objective of the knowledge management and learning strategy will be to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the programme by addressing challenges and mitigating risks related to:

The nature of the DRC WASH Consortium itself, for example:

o The high amount of internal documentation which is continuously improved and updated.

o A network of remote and weakly connected teams and operational bases.

o A high staff turnover rate for the 5 Consortium members.

o The multi-level relationships within the Consortium between operational staff of the 5 NGO members, regional NGO staff, Kinshasa-based NGO staff, and the Kinshasa-based Consortium Coordination Unit.

o The high number of partners and external stakeholders, and the need for harmonization between the approaches of the 5 members to build and maintain consistent relations with institutional partners.

The challenge of the DRC context, for example:

o Legal, institutional and policy reforms in the WASH sector that have been ongoing for many years, with sector responsibilities still shared between up to 9 ministries.

o Wider decentralization processes on standby.

o Weak coordination and institutional leadership and a resulting low level of capitalization of existing knowledge, and lack of any centralized information resource for the sector.

o A high demand for emergency WASH activities which has an influence on the WASH sector stakeholders’ capacity and vision for longer-term development of the sector.

o Extremely weak infrastructure (transport, internet, electricity etc.).

The challenges of the programme outputs required at local levels, for example:

o The use of a community-led approach which requires that village-level committees can acquire basic project management skills.

o Sustainable hygiene and sanitation change, which requires that village-level committees and other key community members can acquire basic skills for social marketing analysis and adapted campaigns, including improved channel of communication and tools for community monitoring and accountability.

o Sustainable access to water, which requires that village-level committees can acquire basic skills to analyse different technical options for improving water services, including pricing and comparison of options through local ‘business plans’, estimates of the long-term costs and benefits, and financial and budget management capacity to ensure their ability to afford their contributions to long-term costs.

o Capacity for support and follow up by local authorities to support communities on issues such as project management, governance, technical and maintenance issues. This includes supporting local authorities to be able to take informed investment decisions for WASH services in collaboration with communities, which take into account the capacity of local actors to ensure the sustainability of the proposed services.

Therefore, the Knowledge Management and Learning Strategy should:

1. Propose, develop and operationalize internal communications and knowledge management tools.
2. Enable effective coordination approaches with government partners and other stakeholders and provide the basis for a strategy for external advocacy to improve WASH sector knowledge management and learning
3. Develop appropriate tools at community level for WASH knowledge management and learning.

Note: at a similar time to the development of the overall Knowledge Management and Learning Strategy, the DRC WASH Consortium will be engaging other consultants separately to this assignment who will be working on the development of some specific tools at community level. The consultant(s) for the Knowledge Management and Learning strategy will liaise as needed with these other consultants to ensure complementarity of the work.

2. Background to WASH in DRC and the Consortium

Despite the country’s relative wealth in terms of water resources, access to clean drinking water in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remains low. Based on current trends, the DRC will miss the water target under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to halve by 2015 the proportion of its population without sustainable access to safe drinking water. The water and sanitation sector is also in a state of change amidst ongoing reforms relating to decentralisation and the implementation of new laws such as the Water Code, while implementation capacity at all levels remains weak. Statistics from the Multi-Indicator Cluster Survey^[1] report that 47 million Congolese do not use sanitary latrines, 10 million defecate in the open, and 40 million do not wash their hands at critical moments of the day.

In this context, the DRC WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) Consortium is working to increase the coverage of sustainable water and sanitation provision and hygiene behaviour in rural areas of DRC. The Consortium is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) through a grant of £23.9m from 2013-2017 as part of DFID’s 2013-2019 WASH programme in DRC.

3. The DRC WASH Consortium objectives and approach

The DRC WASH Consortium has the following overall objectives:

• Impact: Improved health and productivity through reduced morbidity and mortality resulting from water-related diseases in rural communities in the DRC.
• Outcome: Sustainable and integrated environmental and household health and sanitation which is adopted and managed by communities and integrated with local governance service provision institutions and strengthened locals partners and government.

These objectives are intended to be achieved through seven different outputs. The first five outputs are focused on the benefits for communities:

1. Individuals demonstrate knowledge of the economic, social, health and environmental advantages of improved water, sanitation and hygiene for their communities at community and household level.
2. Functioning governance institutions and service providers with increased capacity engage in WASH provision at the micro level.
3. Representative, accountable and responsive Community Committees are established by community members.
4. Communities have sustained and improved access to and availability of potable water
5. Communities have improved and sustained access to sanitation facilities.

The final two outputs are concerned with the Consortium’s wider influence on the WASH sector in DRC:

1. Increased coordination, participation and planning at the macro, meso and micro levels between consortium members and governance structures, service providers and other stakeholders in the WASH sector.
2. The Consortium produces and disseminates evidence for sustainable, community based solutions to WASH needs in the DRC.

In total, the DRC WASH Consortium aims to support 461 villages and 554,122 beneficiaries in up to 17 health zones in rural DRC through a 12-step process which lasts eighteen months in each village, followed by additional monitoring and evaluation for a further six months. Programme activities include the promotion of good hygiene behaviours through “Small Doable Actions”, support to the construction of household and institutional latrines, and (where judged technically and economically feasible for long-term sustainability) the development of water points such as spring protections, protected wells, and boreholes. The Consortium also works with local health services, local authorities, the private sector and civil society to develop their capacity to support communities and ensure the sustainability of WASH services. The Consortium aims to use its experiences, innovation and research to produce and disseminate evidence for sustainable, community based solutions to WASH needs in the DRC.

The Consortium comprises the following agencies: Action Contre le Faim (ACF); Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED); Catholic Relief Services (CRS); Concern Worldwide; and Solidarités International. Each agency has a country head office in Kinshasa, some regional offices in the provinces, and operational bases in each of the health zones of intervention. In total there are approximately 250 staff members directly involved in the programme implementation.

The Consortium is involved with series of stakeholders at macro, meso and micro level. A summary of the “expected relationship” for each level as set out in the proposal is included in Annex A.

The full logical framework is included in Annex B.

4. Timing of the development of the Knowledge Management and Learning strategy in the evolution of the Consortium programme

The approach of the DRC WASH Consortium is designed to be flexible enough to integrate learning during the programme in line with the need for adaptive programming expressed by DFID and others,^[2] especially if evidence produced shows that parts of the original Theory of Change may not be valid.

The programme therefore proceeds in a sequence of different phases of villages and conducts additional research and innovation projects to enable learning to be fed back into the programme. During the first two years of the programme, extra information becomes available from:

• Field experiences and results from the completion of the first phase of villages (Sept 2013 – Feb-March 2015) and ongoing experiences from the second and third phases (in progress between April 2014 – Oct 2015). The fourth phase of villages is due to start in July 2015.
• Research projects on: spare parts and supply chains for handpumps; community mobilisation and behaviour change.
• Innovation projects on: preparation and rapid response for cholera outbreaks; WASH mapping.
• Sharing of experiences with other sector actors through six-monthly external Technical Reviews.

Key developments to the programme approach so far include:

• Detailed development of an economic approach to better define, estimate and measure life-cycle costs and use this information as part of informed decision-making for investment in drinking water infrastructure.
• Revision of the selection process for intervention areas and villages to increase the likelihood of success given the extremely challenging context in rural DRC.
• Initial review of the Consortium’s approach to community mobilisation and behaviour change.

The consultancy for the development of the Knowledge Management and Learning Strategy should consider how this previous knowledge and learning has been integrated into the programme approach. The Knowledge Management and Learning Strategy will be effective from May 2015 until the end of the Consortium programme in 2017.

5. Objectives of the Knowledge Management and Learning Strategy

The Knowledge Management and Learning Strategy should ensure the specific objectives and expected results for each of the three key target groups of the Consortium as specified below:

1) Operational staff members and partners of the DRC WASH Consortium.

Objective: contribute to effective operationalization of the Consortium approach through ensuring timely access to knowledge and learning for:

o Staff of the five member agencies, including focal points for governance (Country Directors), Programmes (WASH Coordinators and Programme Managers, Systems and Finance (Log, HR and Admin staff), and other relevant staff at National, Regional and field level.

o Provincial institutions who are collaborating with the Consortium programme (CPAEA, B9 of the Ministry of Health, SNHR at provincial level, Ministry of Planning at provincial level)

o Institutions at District, Territory and Zone de Santé levels who are partners with the Consortium programme.

o Other key international agencies (UNICEF, other international or national NGOs).

Results expected:

§ All staff and partners have rapid access to key knowledge.

§ New staff or partners become effective in their roles more quickly.

§ Minimisation of duplication or reinvention.

§ New ideas and innovation approaches are shared.

§ Sharing of experiences leads to learning and improved implementation.

2) WASH Sector in DRC (and international).

Objective: contribute to the development of a WASH sector which effectively shares knowledge, learns and adapts, in DRC and beyond, including:

o Governmental institutions: CNAEA, Ministry of Health, SNHR, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Planning, and others.

o Donors and technical partners: e.g. DFID, WSP, USAID, AFD, GIZ, KFW, Koica and others.

o Other international implementing agencies or NGOs: UNICEF, WASH Cluster, ICRC, Red Cross Movement, Oxfam and others.

Results expected:

§ Existing knowledge in the DRC WASH sector is effectively shared (e.g. research, surveys, data, mapping etc.).

§ The Consortium and the DRC WASH sector has access to the latest thinking internationally.

§ Gaps in sector knowledge are identified and the Consortium contributes to addressing these through innovation, research and sharing of evidence.

§ Sharing of knowledge leads to learning and improved implementation approaches.

3) Communities participating in the Consortium programme.

Objective: contribute to improved WASH knowledge and practices of:

o Participant communities (554.444 people living in 461 villages).

o Different WASH users within these communities, considering for example: women, men, children, people living with disabilities, community health volunteers, village project committees, entrepreneurs, ‘natural leaders’ and other key people identified.

Results expected:

§ Faster access to basic knowledge on hygiene and WASH practices.

§ Sharing ideas between different communities on key community-based actions for improved WASH practices and services.

§ Improved learning on project management and financial management for village project committees.

§ Adapted approaches to community mobilisation and marketing of improved WASH services by village project committees, community health volunteers, entrepreneurs and ‘natural leaders’.

§ Identification of evidence and lessons to share with other Consortium members, partners and the wider WASH sector.

6. Key activities of the assignment in order to develop the strategy

Contextual review

• Review of existing knowledge management and learning strategies and tools used by similar organisations or programmes (including the Theories of Change or conceptual models underlying these approaches) and identification of the approaches most relevant to the Consortium.
• Review of the existing knowledge management and learning needs and practices of the three target groups in DRC.

Development of a Knowledge Management and Learning strategy

• Development of a knowledge management and learning strategy which addresses the objectives for the three target groups and takes into account the contextual review.
• Identification of the key tools required for the three target groups.

Development of key tools for the implementation of the Knowledge Management and Learning strategy

• Development of the key tools required for the Consortium staff and partners.
• Development of a concept note which could be used to seek funding for development of the tools identified for the DRC WASH sector.
• Development of the key knowledge management tools required at community level, in collaboration with other consultants engaged separately to this assignment who will be working on the development of some specific tools at community level (as noted in Section 1).
• Outline methodology and timetable

The Knowledge Management and Learning strategy should be completed during the period Jan - March 2015. The proposed approximate timings are as follows. The consultant(s) may suggest alternative arrangements in their methodology. However it is important to note the constraints on field visits (visits to project sites typically require at least a week per project site including travel time e.g. 2-4 days travel + 3-5 days at or near the project site).

Contextual review2 days – review of lessons from other programmes

7 days – field visit, activities, interviews

1 day – write-up of contextual review 10 days Development of a Knowledge Management and Learning strategy 5 days 5 days Development of key tools for the implementation of the Knowledge Management and Learning strategy 3 days – development of tools

7 days – field visit, testing of tools

2 days - final revision of tools 12 days

The assignment should draw on:

• Existing data available (see list below).
• Interviews / workshops with key internal and external stakeholders in Kinshasa.
• Interviews / workshops with key internal and external stakeholders in at least one field site, ideally more, including the views of direct programme participants.

Existing documentation and knowledge management tools to be considered:

ü Six-monthly narrative reports covering July-Dec 2013, Jan-June 2014, and July-Dec 2014. These include logframe updates; strategic and programmatic overviews; operational, governance and communication issues; and orientations for next steps.

ü Minutes of quarterly meetings of the Governance Board, Programmes Technical Working Group, and Systems-Finance Technical Working Group.

ü Minutes of six-monthly internal Technical Reviews.

ü Reports of six-monthly external Technical Reviews.

ü Reports on research projects (spare parts and supply chains for handpumps; community mobilisation and behaviour change; climate and environment assessment).

ü The Consortium website, Facebook and newsletter.

ü Internal communication guidelines and procedures.

ü Key programme tools (e.g. the Manual for the 12-step implementation approach, the Technical Guide and the monitoring and evaluation guide).

8. Expected products

• Draft methodology as part of proposal.
• Contextual review for approval after XX days (to be agreed).
• Preliminary presentation of proposed structure of strategy and key tools for feedback in country.
• Final strategy.
• Key essential knowledge management tools for the Consortium staff and partners.
• Examples of key knowledge management tools for communities. The exact tools will be determined in discussion with the Consortium and the separate consultants working on this issue.
• Concept note for seeking funding to improve the knowledge management and learning for the WASH sector in DRC.
• Skills and experience of the consultant(s)

The consultant(s) should have the following skills and experience:

Essential

• Relevant academic and professional background in international development, WASH, and knowledge management and learning.
• Experience in developing knowledge management and learning strategies.
• Experience in developing knowledge management tools for use by communities.
• Excellent communication and report-writing skills in English.
• Ability to speak French.
• Willingness and ability to work long hours in a difficult environment.

Desirable

• Experience of working with consortia.
• Experience in DRC.

10. Management, reporting and quality assurance arrangements

The consultant(s) will be contracted by Concern Worldwide as the lead agency of the DRC WASH Consortium and will report to the Consortium Director and the Consortium WASH & M+E Coordinator. To ensure quality, the timing of payments will be made according to the delivery of key outputs, to be agreed in the contract. The contextual review will be approved by Concern Worldwide before proceeding to development of the full strategy. The proposed structure and contents of the final strategy will be approved by Concern Worldwide before proceeding to the completion of the final strategy.

[1]MICS 2010.

[2]DFID’s 2013 “end to end review” of programming (led by the Deputy Head of DFID DRC at the time) concluded that the conventional approach to programme management needs to change and that programmes need to be flexible to adapt to changing realities and emerging opportunities (for more info see presentation by Pete Vowles on Adaptive Progamming at “Hard to Measure Benefits” workshop at DFID in London, October 2013).

How to apply:

Please submit an Expression of Interest by January 9^th 2015toemily.bradley@concern.net outlining exact availability in line with the approximate timeline. The expression of interest should contain: (a) a technical offer and (b) a financial offer, comprising:

1. Technical offer:
2. Up to date CV of the consultant(s) explaining how the consultant(s) meets the skills and experience required.
3. Technical proposition detailing proposed methodology and resources needed (max 2 pages).
4. Example of at least one similar strategy previously developed by the consultant(s).
5. Financial offer:
6. A list of all expenses expected to be incurred by the consultant(s) including a daily rate.
7. Costs of transport in-country and accommodation while on field visits outside Kinshasa will be covered directly by the Consortium and should not be included.

The following additional information is available in the Annexes to this TOR:

· Annex A - The Consortium’s original 9-point strategy and 12-step process

· Annex B – Logical framework

· Annex C – Partners and stakeholders framework

Please contact emily.bradley@concern.net for all queries.