Consultant - Lessons Learnt Workshop

  BRAVE Project Lessons Learnt Workshop

Terms of Reference

1. Background

Introduction to the Project

The FCDO funded project "Building Resilience and Addressing Vulnerability to Emergencies" (BRAVE) aims to empower communities to proactively address the challenges presented by climate change.

The implementation in Gilgit Baltistan and Chitral is in partnership with the Aga Khan Foundation, along with Aga Akhan Rural Support Program (AKRSP) and the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) as downstream implementing partners in Astore, Ghizer and Chitral Districts.

The BRAVE project Theory of Change (ToC) is based on climate action planning, execution, and transfer of new applicable knowledge and practice – alongside provision of timely and effective humanitarian support in the aftermath of disasters to save lives and safeguarding long-term resilience investments. Through the implementation of anticipatory measures and participatory approaches, vulnerable households and communities will enhance their capacity to withstand and adapt to climate-induced shocks and disasters. The BRAVE’s five components comprising community based climate change adaptation; exploring and piloting diversified climate smart on-farm livelihood pathways; off-farm diversified livelihood skill development; partnering with public sector to institutionalize climate change adaptation plans aim to contribute to increasing capacity and ability of at-risk communities (especially women and extreme poor) to anticipate, adapt to, and absorb the negative impacts of climate-induced shocks and stresses; and, humanitarian aid supports life-saving efforts and most importantly sustain the resilience gains achieved through the ongoing resilient building initiatives. Through key initiatives, BRAVE activities aim to foster a culture of resilience and adaptation while addressing the multifaceted challenges posed by climate change. The program also seeks to bridge the humanitarian-development-climate nexus.

Project overview

BRAVE aims to improve community resilience to climate change and the capacity of key government institutions responsible for delivering climate resilience, including systems for adaptive and shock responsive social protection and save life and protect the gains of investment made on the resilience building outcomes. Key objectives and activities implemented by AKRS-P and AKAH-P include:

 Formation of inclusive climate adaptation forums to implement climate action plans at different levels. Activities implemented to achieve this objective include the formation of climate adaptation forums at the village and union council level; awareness raising sessions for communities to develop their capacities on the impacts of climate change and mitigation measures; consultations with government stakeholders for innovative and scalable climate adaptation models; linkages with disaster management authorities and prepositioning of stockpiles.

Enable climate vulnerable communities and at-risk households to adopt climate resilience and diversified livelihood pathways. Activities implemented to achieve this objective include creation of knowledge hubs to research on contextually appropriate climate-smart agriculture technologies; establishment of farmer field schools and provision of input supplies (seeds and kits) to vulnerable households to strengthen on-farm livelihoods; afforestation (Miyawaki plantations) to combat climate change; repairing of irrigation channels; and community awareness on ecological disaster risk resilience and nature-based solutions.

Develop climate sensitive private sector pathways for priority actions that generate financing and jobs. Activities implemented to achieve this objective include development of business hubs to strengthen linkages between entrepreneurs and government departments, diversifying off-farm livelihoods of communities through skill development in sectors such as hospitality management, freelancing, and hard-skills; research on identifying viable value chains and promotion of the identified value chains; designing of climate financing models and financial inclusion strategies especially for women.

Develop climate sensitive public sector pathways for priority sectors that generate climate knowledge and promote risk sensitive practices. Activities implemented to achieve this objective include dialogue and engagement around strengthening community structures; vertical integration of village level climate adaptation plans with district and provincial level development planning; horizontal integration of adaptation planning across line departments; development of training manuals for gender responsive climate change adaptation; connecting knowledge and business hubs with climate change adaptation processes to ensure alignment with resilience building efforts in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Humanitarian relief and recovery support to the disaster affected communities to preserve dignity, safeguard lives and livelihoods and reduce vulnerability to further harm. Activities implemented to achieve this objective include provision of emergency tents, winterization kits, debris removal & hygiene kits, repair of productive physical infrastructures, cash for work (CFW) repair of drinking water system, construction of disaster risk management structures and restoration of on-farm and off-farm income generation activities.

The BRAVE programme anticipates that communities will be better equipped to anticipate and adapt to address the risks and opportunities posed by changing climate. The expected impact of the climate resilience component is “increased capacity of the at-risk and climate vulnerable households and communities to anticipate, adapt to, and absorb the impact of shocks and stresses induced by climate change and natural disasters (including measurable changes in gender roles and social inclusion). Additionally, effective humanitarian relief and recovery responses alleviating suffering, mitigating the socioeconomic impacts of disasters on vulnerable populations, and safeguarding long-term resilience investments is an essential pillar of the overall strategy to build adaptive and resilient communities. Local communities will be involved in identification of their multi-hazards and risks, employing anticipatory actions, participatory analysis and climate induced disaster management planning and implementation appropriate climate risk reduction and resilience measures in coordination with knowledge hub. The Consortium will involve implementing and monitoring community-based climate resilience and adaptation pilots that develop skills and practices adaptive, absorptive, and anticipatory capacity to climate change, in a conflict-sensitive manner. Synergies will be developed with other components of the programme, private sector, academia, line departments, and relevant governmental institutions to achieve the desired impact.

2. Objectives of the Workshop

The main objectives of the workshop are to:

• Reflect on and document key lessons learnt from the implementation of BRAVE across all three districts and under all five outputs.
• Identify successful practices, innovations, and challenges experienced during project delivery.
• Identifying which BRAVE programme’s resilience gains were most at risk and how they were protected through humanitarian response
• Generate actionable recommendations to guide the design and implementation of the next phase of BRAVE (both resilience and humanitarian)
• Provide strategic guidance for the institutionalisation and scale-up of BRAVE approaches and systems within the AKDN network, government and partner organisations.

3. Scope of the Workshop

The workshop will focus on:

•  All five outputs of the BRAVE project
• Theory of Change, outcomes and outputs
•  Synergies with other projects/programs (within AKDN and outside the network)
• Implementation experience across the three project districts
• Stakeholder engagement and partnership models
• Gender and equity outcomes
• Resilient livelihoods outcomes
• Sustainability and scalability of interventions
•  Institutional mechanisms and capacity development efforts
• Integration with government systems and policies

4. Participants

• The workshop will include a diverse group of stakeholders including:
• BRAVE project implementation team (central and district level)
• Community/adaptation forum representatives (where feasible)
•  Government counterparts from relevant line departments
• Technical experts and consultants involved in BRAVE
• Members of Business hubs and knowledge hubs
• Representatives from Lead Implementing Agency (Concern WW)

5. Methodology

The workshop will employ participatory and inclusive methods, including:

• Group discussions and breakout sessions
• Thematic panels on each of the five outputs
• Presentations of field insights and case studies
• Tools for mapping challenges and successes
• Collaborative development of recommendations

Project documents, M&E reports, and data will be provided to the consultant. Pre-workshop data review, synthesis of monitoring and evaluation reports, and documentation of implementation experiences will inform the discussions.

  6. Deliverables

The key deliverables from the workshops will include:

i. Two, two-day workshops (one in Gilgit and one in Chitral)

ii. A comprehensive Lessons Learnt Report capturing key insights under each output and district comprising the following:

• A set of strategic and operational recommendations for the next phase of BRAVE (both resilience and humanitarian streams)
• Recommendations for institutionalisation within local and national systems with a specific focus on integrating climate adaptation plans into the project actions/activities and district government annual development plans, climate smart agricultural practices and nature-based solutions, innovative approaches introduced and building back
• Recommendations for scaling up and/or introduction of successful models and practices including (including early warning systems, climate resilient livelihoods, institutional strengthening)
• Workshop facilitation and proceeding (agenda, participant list, photos, and summary notes)

7. Timeline/Contract Duration

The total duration of the assignment is 20 working-days (the timelines will be finalised at the initial scoping meeting)                                                                                                                          

Task

May

June

Wk. 3

Wk. 4

Wk. 1

Wk. 2

Wk. 3

Wk. 4

Initial meeting to plan out the workshops

Inception report (objective and scope, methodology, workshop design, work plan and timelines, reporting format)

Conduct Workshops

Draft Report and Presentation of Key Findings/Lessons Learnt

Feedback

Final Report

8. Consultant Requirements:

Education

• Master’s degree or higher in Climate Change, Disaster Risk Reduction, International Development, Social Sciences, Environmental Studies, or a related field.

2. Experience

• Minimum 10 years of professional experience in project evaluation, lessons learnt documentation, or facilitating reflection/learning workshops, preferably within the humanitarian, development, or climate resilience sectors.
• Proven experience conducting large, participatory workshops involving diverse stakeholders including communities, government, NGOs, and donors.
• Experience in working on climate change adaptation, resilience building, or disaster risk management projects, preferably in the context of the northern areas of Pakistan
• Prior experience in conducting lessons learnt exercises and synthesizing findings into actionable recommendations.

3. Skills

• Strong facilitation skills with the ability to design and deliver participatory and inclusive workshops.
• Excellent analytical and synthesis skills to consolidate lessons from diverse inputs and present coherent findings.
• Strong report writing skills in English, with ability to produce clear, concise, and actionable documentation.
• Proficient in using participatory learning tools, visual methods, and workshop technologies (such as Mentimeter, etc.) to drive engagement.
• Ability to analyse gender and inclusion dimensions of projects and provide specific recommendations.

4. Knowledge

• Familiarity with Pakistan’s climate change policies, institutional frameworks, and adaptation strategies is a strong advantage.
• Understanding of climate-smart agriculture, anticipatory action, social protection systems, humanitarian-development nexus and livelihood resilience models.
• Knowledge of conflict-sensitive programming and social inclusion principles (especially gender, disability, and extreme poverty considerations).

5. Language

• Fluency in English (spoken and written) and Urdu is mandatory; local language(s) will be an advantage.

6. Applications

The following documents are to be submitted:

1.     Mandatory Requirement: NTN of the Consultant

2.     Technical Proposal: As per the ToRs defined above.

The Technical Proposal should include the following:

2.1 Consultant Profile

2.2 Proposed lead and/or team as per the requirements of the assignment. CV(s) of staff who will be engaged for this assignment reflecting at least the academic qualification, previous relevant experience, contact number, current location, etc.

2.3 Approach and Methodology

2.4 Understanding of assignment

2.5 Proposed Agenda of the Workshop

2.6 Workplan of assignment

2.7 Documented evidence, e.g., copy of previous lesson learnt workshop reports, , contract award or reference letter from the clients stating the scope of services and deliverables related to previously completed similar assignments (Maximum two previous related documents/sample)

3.     Financial Proposal inclusive of all applicable government taxes:

Item

Costs (PKR)

Consultancy Charges

Taxes (GST)

Total Cost (including GST)

8. Selection Process and Criteria

The Proposal will be evaluated through a competitive selection process. The following overarching criteria will be followed:

•  Consultant (s) previous similar experience; 
• Staff skills, credentials, and knowledge as reflected in the ToRs and CVs;
•  Justification and suitability as reflected in the TORs
• Quality and relevancy of previous work – as reflected in the sample workshop materials/manuals submitted and previous contract/reference letter submitted.