Consultancy to Support the Domestication of the National Water Resources M&E Framework in Yobe State at WaterAid

USAID SMALL TOWN WASH ACTIVITY

Terms of Reference for Recruitment of Consultant for Domestication of National Water Resources M&E Framework in Yobe State

State	Yobe
LGA	All
Small Town	Yobe State
Name of Activity	Consultancy to Support the domestication of the National Water Resources M&E Framework in Yobe State
Activity Component	Component 2
Activity Number	2.2: Develop a term of reference for the domestication of the National Water Resources M&E Framework in Yobe State
Date (start – end)
Responsible Staff/ Designation	WASH Specialist

Introduction

At present, the 2016 Nigerian Water Resources Policy and Strategy has no legislation backing it. The Water Policy of 1993 (Decree 101), which expounds a command (top-down) structure of water management by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources (FMWR), was wholly rejected by stakeholders in the States. The Policy remains un-implemented since its enactment in 1993. A draft National Water Resources Bill (2009) was produced with the support of Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Reform Programme (WSSSRP) to incorporate good water governance practices as well as integrated water resources management principles. The bill is still awaiting enactment into Law. There is equally no regulatory framework in place at the federal level; coordination is non-existent and sector monitoring and review are currently inconsistent with institutional structures on ground. 

The situation is similar in the States. There were no water policies, Laws and M&E Framework in place in most States before now. Although, states are now making frantic efforts to develop the frameworks for the sector and develop implementation strategies; water Laws and regulatory frameworks have not yet been developed in virtually all the States in Nigeria. The consequences of weak policy and institutional/regulatory framework are absence of a water and sanitation sector action and investment plans, leading to poor funding of the sector. Without water and sanitation sector governance structure, effective coordination, sustainable institutional capacity, regulatory framework, effective private sector participation, coupled with adequate funding, State water and sanitation institutions are unable to deliver quality water and sanitation services to the people. 

Women and children are the most affected by the poor service delivery. Women spend many hours searching for water. Many children die of water-related diseases e.g. diarrhoea, while many miss school in search of water, the quality of which is suspect.  

The Nigerian water sector is bedevilled with weak institutions caused by; low technical and managerial expertise; poor funding; poor service delivery orientation (institutions are unaccountable and insensitive to users and customers) and poor data collection and monitoring. 

The consequence of low technical capacity, poor funding, lack of performance monitoring and review mechanism, coupled with low private sector participation is that water and sanitation sector institutions are not effectively and efficiently delivering services. The population does not have access to safe water supply and sanitation services. The efforts of the Federal Government of Nigeria therefore are geared towards creating an enabling environment for public-private sector partnership, providing a lead to States so they can formulate their own policies and strategies for the provision of water supply and sanitation services in the country.

Background

The guiding principles of the sector Monitoring and Evaluation are development oriented. It is to address key development priorities of government and its citizens, undertaken ethically with integrity, utilization-oriented, to advance government’s transparency and accountability, to undertake in a way which is inclusive, participatory and to promote learning. In addition, the desire to achieve sustainable results in the sector remains the driving force of the monitoring and evaluation framework. These results should be evidence based that will inform decisions which will ensure a sustained sector performance. Other benefits include:

• it allows practitioners to learn from each other’s experiences, building on expertise and knowledge;
• it often generates (written) reports that contribute to transparency and accountability, and allows for lessons to be shared more easily;
• it reveals mistakes and offers paths for learning and improvements;
• it provides a way to assess the crucial link between implementers and beneficiaries on the ground and decision-makers; and
• it provides a more robust basis for raising funds and influencing policy

In Yobe state, the WASH policy which was signed by the state government in 2010 and reviewed in 2021 recognizes a framework for monitoring and evaluation that encompasses monitoring of water supply and sanitation coverage and evaluation of service delivery. In particular, the policy states as follows:

• The M&E division or unit in the Ministry of Water Resources shall be empowered to develop a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation arrangement that will help in the assessment of performance of sector institutions as well as the effectiveness with which services are delivered.
• The State shall maintain a monitoring network for urban, Small Towns and rural water supply and sanitation systems.
• WASH department at LGA level shall develop M & E framework to receive data from the rural communities and be sent to the Agencies concerned.
• Community participation in M&E shall be promoted in line with current best practices.
• The State shall maintain a water, sanitation and hygiene database/information management system based on the national framework for monitoring and evaluation.   

In the meantime, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) framework for the Water Sector in the state has been under review since 2010, then supported by EU funded Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Reform Programme (WSSSRP II). Unfortunately, the review was not concluded before the exit of WSSSRP II and a draft M&E document was therefore not operationalized.

Meanwhile, the draft National Water Resources M&E framework has been reviewed, finalized and approved for implementation. The expectation from the FMWR to the Ministries responsible for water supply and sanitation service delivery in the states is to domesticate it in line with state context, targets and operational modalities.

In line with this, meetings were held between the M&E Officers in the MWR, RUWASA and the USAID supported ST WASH Activity on plans to domesticate the M&E framework.. The outcome of the meeting was a consensus to commence the process of the domestication of M&E framework for Yobe state. The STWASH Activity will support this process by engaging a consultant who will facilitate the domestication process under the leadership of the State Ministry of Water Resources. With the development of a new WASH Policy for Yobe state, developing an M&E framework that will track the performance of the policy is desired.

This consultancy is therefore to support the state Ministry of water resources together with Agencies and Departments under the Ministry and in the WASH sector in the process in the domestication of the National M&E framework in Yobe state.

Main Objective of the Consultancy

To support YobeState Ministry of Water Resources together with agencies and departments under the ministry and in the WASH sector in the process in the domestication of the National M&E framework in Yobe. The M&E framework is expected to provide transparency and guidelines for tracking performance on improved service delivery in the WASH sector.

Specific Tasks of the Consultancy

The specific objectives of the consultancy are:

• Carry out a review of the draft M&E framework developed by WSSSRP II in order to identify gaps compared to current context in WASH and possible alignment with the National Water Resources M&E Framework.
• Carryout a quick review of the approved National M&E Framework with a view to understanding the context upon which it was developed, identify areas that need to be domesticated to fit the Yobe state M&E situation.
• Use the M&E section in the Yobe state WASH Policy to apply recommended processes that the M&E Framework should contain.
• To ensure a coordinated approach to the conception, implementation and reviewing of all sector M&E processes leading to the required change in the water resources sector.
• Facilitate the linkage of Small Towns Agency / Unit data  to National Water Information Management System (NAWIS) and WASHIMS so that basic M&E data of the small towns can be processed  and feed into the National database for Water resources.
• Hold series of meetings with relevant stakeholder groups including the State Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs), organized private sector, the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Community Based Organizations (CBOs) with a view to generating areas of concern and interest that may impacts on their businesses, operations, maintenance, funding and general organization of the WASH sector.
• Facilitate a 1day stakeholders workshop where the draft M&E Framework is shared with them for their inputs, corrections and concurrence before it is taken to high level State forum for finalization.
• Ensure that all comments and inputs received through stakeholders’ consultative engagements align with current thinking and realities around WASH from a global perspective to a contextual national, State, LGA and community perspectives.
• Facilitate necessary workshops and meetings with relevant and identified stakeholders with a view to elucidating and sharing information and securing their consent to all provisions of the Framework.
• Develop an implementation strategy and action plan that would be used to actualize the Yobe State M&E Framework
• Submit end of consultancy report.

Methodology/ Approach

The consultant is expected to submit a proposal for carrying out the assignment. The proposal should contain among other things:

• A brief description of global M&E issues, especially with the global SDG agenda
• Brief description of the National M&E Framework, identifying in specific terms what the issues are
• Narrow down to M&E Issues in the State.
• Justify the operationalization of the M&E for revitalization of the WASH sector of the State
• Methodology for carrying out the assignment, stating key milestones to be delivered and how
• Propose a work plan for carrying out the assignment stating number of days required for each identified activities with the cumulative days, including meetings, workshops, retreats, and final validation workshops
• Propose budget for carrying out the assignment, including fees and other expenses that needs to be covered in the course of carrying out the assignment.
• Any other thing the consultant may consider necessary for a successful delivery of the assignment.

Linkage with Performance Indicator

This activity will facilitate the achievement of the following STWASH Activity performance indicator number:10: Number of policies, laws, agreements, regulations, or investment agreements (public or private) that promote access to improved water

Gender Consideration

During the implementation of this activity, engagement of stakeholders across different spectrum, specifically with gender lens will be ensured. Women, children, the physically challenged and other vulnerable groups will be considered.

CARM Consideration

Awareness will be created on the community accountability and reporting matrix framework. Stakeholders will be made to know that they will need to report any critical or emergency complaint through the CARM channels.

Duration of the Assignment

This consultancy will be for 30 days for fees calculation based upon which he/she will propose a budget for delivering the assignment. The successful candidate will be invited for negotiation to finally agree on fees and number of days if necessary.

Deliverables

Report Name		Content
Inception Report		This is a short report of updates and possible amendments to methodology and work plan. Other issues to be included in the inception report are: Any updates or changes to the work plan and give reasons for such changes.  A summary of progress made by the consultant confirm methodology for carrying out the assignment.  Any important issue which will affect negatively the completion or content of the study shall be illuminated and necessary actions prescribed. Propose outline and structure of the M&E Framework A draft template of how the final report shall be delivered under various headings.
Mid-point check in meeting		Details on progress of the consultancy will be discussed and all confirmation done.
Power point presentation.		Power point presentation summarising the M&E framework and report of development should be used as a de-brief on the consultancy.
Final Report		Develop draft final report and share. A quick review to ensure discussions made during the de-brief have been reflected and then an okay is given for the consultant to finalize it The deliverables shall include: The Final Report of the Assignment, and the Final Domesticated M&E Framework for the State. All scheduled reports will be submitted as soft copies in editable format of Arial 12 font in a Flash disk.

Staffing Requirement.

This is a senior level individual consultancy. If the consultant however proposes to have an assistant to support him/her in carrying out the assignment, it should be considered in the workplan and budget of the consultant.

Qualification and Skills:

The proposed Consultant should have at least a Bachelor’s degree in at least one of the followings: Development Studies & Policy Strategy, Public Administration, Political Science, Statistics, Tests & Measurements, or other related disciplines, with vast knowledge of performance monitoring of the WASH issues globally and the Nigerian WASH sector in particular. A Post-Graduate Master’s degree will be an added advantage.

General Professional Experience:

A minimum of 3 years post qualification experience in Policy and Regulatory Framework Development, Performance Management design, Partnership Agreement Drafting, Public-Private-Partnership Development & Modelling, development of Public Policy and Strategies at senior management level is required.

Specific professional experience:

At least 3 years’ experience in the WASH Sector reform process with adequate knowledge of policy, institutional structure, regulatory framework including private sector engagement and PPP Agreement drafting. Must also be proficient in use of English language and computer skills, especially in MS-Office. It will be of advantage if the consultant is resident in the NE region, familiar with the region and speaks Hausa language fluently.