Oxfam is a global movement of people who are fighting inequality to end poverty and injustice. Across regions, from the local to the global, we work with people to bring change that lasts.

PURPOSE OF THIS CONTRACT

The purpose of this procurement is to obtain a consultant for the realization of research on a selection of specific cases of Climate Finance projects (for adaptation, L&D, transition/mitigation) to national governments and/or (development) banks in Bangladesh and Philippines; assessing the level of grassroot community involvement in its design, implementation and spending, the level to which they respond to the needs of the communities and the level of direct access to this climate finance of the grassroots communities in the frontline of climate change.  

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

This research is a joint initiative of 2 regional programs in Asia: Fair Finance Asia - FFA and Transboundary Rivers of South Asia – TROSA.

TROSA (Transboundary Rivers of South Asia) is a regional programme funded by the Swedish Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, which started in 2017 and continues till 2027. The program promotes inclusive water governance in transboundary river basins (Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna) in South Asia. Currently, TROSA is operational at the regional level and in 4 countries in South Asia, namely Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Bhutan. TROSA’s PMU is hosted at Oxfam in Cambodia with a regional team-based Bangladesh, India and Cambodia.  Program partners work with a cross-section of stakeholders involving river basin leaders, communities, women groups, and Civil Society Organization (CSO) networks, governments, and the private sector at various levels. (https://cambodia.oxfam.org/TROSA)

FFA (Fair Finance Asia) is funded by the Swedish Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand. FFA Phase 1 was from 2018 to 2022. FFA launched Phase 2 in January 2023. FFA is a network of over 90 CSOs in Asia working to ensure that financial institutions operating in Asia are transparent and accountable to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria in their business activities and investment decisions. FFA aspires to reduce inequality in Asia by creating an enabling policy environment for integration of social and environmental considerations among financial institutions (FIs) in the region and ensuring that FIs advance the interests and needs of local communities towards their well-being. FFA is operational at the regional level and in 10 countries across Asia, namely Bangladesh Cambodia, Lao PDR, India, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. FFA’s regional Executive Team (ET) is hosted in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with staff based regionally. (https://fairfinanceasia.org/)

SCOPE OF WORK

An analysis of the level of involvement of grassroots communities in the frontline of climate change in the design, implementation and spending of Climate Finance projects; the level to which these projects respond to the needs of the communities; and the level of direct access to this climate finance of these grassroots communities; with specific attention for diversity in terms of gender, age, ethnicity and castes.

For detailed scope of work and deliverables, including specific expected tasks, please refer to the full Terms of Reference (link provided in Annexes)

DELIVERABLES

For detailed scope of work and deliverables, including specific expected tasks, please refer to the full Terms of Reference (link provided in Annexes)

1. PAYMENT SCHEDULE

This consultancy will be undertaken from October 15th, 2024, onwards and is expected to be completed by April 30th, 2025.

PROFILE REQUIREMENTS

For detailed profile requirements, please refer to the full Terms of Reference (link provided in Annexes).

AUDIENCE

The primary audience are the FFA executive team, TROSA PMU, involved Oxfam country offices and program partners, who will use the research product to support advocacy and influencing work at local, national and/or international level; with the underlying objective to support and strengthen availability, access to and accountability (transparency, disclosure), quality and effectivity of climate finance for climate change frontline communities.

The products (or parts of it) will be used in publications, foreseen for the International River Day (March 2025) and Bonn Intersessional (June 2025).

APPLICATION PROCESS

Clarifications

Any questions, remarks or requests for clarification can be sent up to 7 days before the submission deadline in writing to Petra Hamers - Policy Lead - GREEN: Climate Resilient Communities – Oxfam Novib at petra.hamers@oxfamnovib.nl and Linh Nguyen, Operations Coordinator for Fair Finance Asia at Linh.NguyenHong@oxfam.org.

Administrative compliance (list of documents to be submitted)

Responses must be submitted and prepared in English and received by the deadline.

To be shortlisted for evaluation against award criteria, the following documents must be included in the application: please refer to the full Terms of Reference (link provided in Annexes)

Evaluation and award criteria

Incomplete applications will not be assessed, only quotations that meet the administrative criteria will be assessed.

Award decisions will be based on best value for money criteria covering both technical quality and price.

Only quotations with combined scores of at least 65 points (out of 85) for the technical award criteria (approach paper and CV) qualify for the financial evaluation.

For detailed information about Evaluation Criteria, please refer to the full Terms of Reference (link provided in Annexes)

Oxfam withholds the right to conduct interviews with one or more potential consultants before an award decision is made. Purpose of the interview is to seek further clarification on the submitted quotations and learn more about the background and previous experiences of the potential consultants and their teams.

OTHER CONDITIONS

Issuance of this Terms of Reference does not constitute an award commitment on the part of Oxfam, nor does it commit Oxfam to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of a bid.

The attached Annexes are an integral part of this Request for Proposals.

Oxfam may contact bidders to confirm contacts, addresses, bid amount and to confirm that the bid was submitted for this solicitation.

Quotation validity

• The quotation shall be valid for 90 days from the 1 August 2024, 23:59 (GMT+7). If this is not possible, the bidder may propose a different timeframe.
• If the bidder is awarded the contract, all information provided in the quotation and negotiation process is contractually binding.

False statements

Bidders must provide full, accurate and complete information as required by this solicitation and Annexes. False statements in bids constitutes grounds for immediate termination of any agreement with the consultant. Oxfam takes fraud, misstatements, falsification, manipulation, alteration of facts and/or documents very seriously, has a zero-tolerance policy to such behaviours, and may choose to take legal action in a case of misrepresented disclosures by Contractors.

Conflict of interest

Bidders must provide disclosure of any past, present or future relationships with any parties associated with the issuance, review or management of this solicitation and anticipated award.  Failure to provide full and open disclosure may result in Oxfam having to re-evaluate the selection of a potential bidder.

Right to Select/ Reject

Oxfam reserves the right to select and negotiate with those firms it determines, in its sole discretion, to be qualified for competitive proposals and to terminate negotiations without incurring any liability. Oxfam also reserves the right to reject any or all proposals received without explanation.

Reserved rights

All applications and quotes become the property of Oxfam, and Oxfam reserves the right in its sole discretion to:

• To disqualify any offer based on applicant’s failure to follow solicitation instructions
• To waive any deviations by the applicant from the requirements of this terms of reference that, in Oxfam’s opinion, are considered immaterial defects requiring rejection or disqualification; or where such a waiver will promote increased competition
• Extend the time for submission of responses after notification to all applicants
• Terminate or modify the process at any time and re-issue the request for quotation to whomever Oxfam deems appropriate
• Issue an award based on the initial evaluation of offers without discussion
• Award only part of the activities in the solicitation or issue multiple awards based on solicitation activities

CODE OF CONDUCT

Oxfam is committed to integrity in its operations and supply chains and ensuring high ethical standards. Complying with all laws and regulations and ensuring fair competition are fundamental to this commitment. We actively promote these principles and standards, and expect all Oxfam consultants to demonstrate commitment towards them.

All consultants/applicant are required to agree and adhere to the Oxfam Consultant Code of Conduct, whereas individuals (including consultants) must sign the Oxfam Non Staff Code of Conduct[1]. These Codes of Conduct set out the specific standards and principles in the areas of human and labour rights, environmental impact and anti-corruption that consultants must follow.

REPORTING OF FRAUD & UNETHICAL BEHAVIOUR

Oxfam’s reporting and whistleblowing mechanisms are available for Consultants as well Oxfam employees, to ensure that Oxfam continues to operate under the highest ethical standards and principles.

You can use these reporting channels confidentially, anonymously, and in your own language to report any concerns involving fraud, corruption, waste, abuse or safeguarding concerns.

ANNEXES

The full Terms of Reference are available here