Call For Proposal For Consultancy To Review And Strengthen The Lga Development Plans Of Biu, Kwaya Kusar And Guyuk To Make Them More Gender Responsive And Climate Smart At Community Development And Reproductive Health Initive (coderhi)

Project Title:Support to Improving Social Cohesion through Community Development Planning in 3 LGAs in North-East Nigeria

Implementing Partners:

CODERHI, CRUDAN and YAHARAKARI, in partnership with Oxfam

Project Locations:

Biu and Kwaya Kusar LGAs, Borno State, and Guyuk LGA, Adamawa State

RFQ Reference No.: CODERHI/CDP/RFP/CON/2026

Background

CODERHI, CRUDAN and YAHARAKARI, in partnership with Oxfam, are implementing the project "Support to Improving Social Cohesion through Community Development Planning" across 31 wards in Guyuk LGA of Adamawa State and Biu and Kwaya Kusar LGAs of Borno State, with support from Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the European Union (EU).

The project promotes inclusive governance, social cohesion and participatory development planning by strengthening engagement between communities and Local Government Area (LGA) authorities. Through participatory Community Development Planning (CDP) processes, communities have identified and articulated their development priorities, which have informed the development of LGA Development Plans for Biu, Kwaya Kusar and Guyuk.

The three LGA Development Plans provide a framework for addressing development priorities across ten sectors in each LGA. They are intended to support more effective linkage between community priorities, LGA planning and budgeting processes, implementation and service delivery.

However, for these plans to remain relevant, inclusive and responsive to emerging development challenges, there is a need to assess the extent to which gender considerations and climate change adaptation measures are adequately reflected across the plans.

Women, men, youth, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable and marginalized groups may experience development challenges differently and may have unequal access to resources, services, opportunities and decision-making processes. Similarly, climate-related risks such as flooding, drought, heat, water scarcity, soil degradation and changing agricultural conditions can affect sectors and population groups differently.

The consortium therefore seeks to engage a qualified consultant or consulting firm to review and strengthen the existing LGA Development Plans for Biu, Kwaya Kusar and Guyuk, with particular focus on gender responsiveness, inclusion, climate change adaptation and climate-smart development.

The assignment is not intended to develop new LGA Development Plans. Rather, it will strengthen the existing plans while preserving the original community-identified problems, priorities, demands and overall planning structure.

Purpose of the Consultancy

The purpose of this consultancy is to strengthen the existing LGA Development Plans for Biu, Kwaya Kusar and Guyuk by systematically identifying gender and climate-related gaps and integrating appropriate, practical and context-specific measures into the existing priorities and interventions.

The review should improve the plans' usefulness for LGA planning, budgeting, implementation and monitoring while ensuring that the original community priorities remain substantially intact.

Objectives of the Consultancy

The specific objectives are to:

• Conduct a systematic gender gap analysis of the existing LGA Development Plans for Biu, Kwaya Kusar and Guyuk.
• Assess the extent to which the plans reflect the differentiated needs and circumstances of women, men, youth, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable and marginalized groups.
• Assess the extent to which climate change risks, adaptation measures and climate-smart considerations are reflected across the ten sectors of each plan.
• Identify gender and climate-related gaps, risks, opportunities and practical entry points for strengthening the existing plans.
• Incorporate appropriate gender considerations, gender-responsive language and relevant gender-responsive projects into the existing plans.
• Incorporate appropriate climate change adaptation measures and climate-smart projects into relevant sectors and priorities.
• Ensure that proposed gender-responsive and climate-smart interventions are practical, contextually relevant and capable of informing subsequent LGA planning and budgeting processes.
• Facilitate stakeholder validation of the proposed revisions in the three LGAs.
• Produce three validated and strengthened LGA Development Plans, together with an integration matrix and final consultancy report.

Scope of the Assignment

The consultant/consulting firm will review the existing LGA Development Plans for:

• Biu LGA - Borno State
• Kwaya Kusar LGA - Borno State
• Guyuk LGA - Adamawa State

The review will cover the ten sectors contained in each LGA Development Plan.

The assignment will include:

Review of Existing Plans

The consultant will conduct a systematic review of the existing plans to understand the existing problems, priorities, proposed solutions, projects and interventions and assess the extent to which gender and climate considerations are already reflected.

Gender Gap Analysis

The consultant will:

• Identify gender gaps across the ten sectors;
• Assess the extent to which the needs of women, men, youth, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups are reflected;
• Assess issues relating to participation, access to services and resources, decision-making and expected benefits;
• Identify areas requiring gender-responsive strengthening; and
• Apply appropriate gender analysis tools and frameworks.

Climate Change and Adaptation Assessment

The consultant will:

• Assess existing climate change and environmental considerations within the plans;
• Identify relevant climate risks and vulnerabilities;
• Assess the adequacy of existing adaptation measures;
• Identify opportunities for strengthening climate resilience;
• Identify appropriate climate-smart projects and interventions; and
• Consider the differentiated effects of climate change on vulnerable groups.

Integrated Gender and Climate Mainstreaming

The consultant will ensure that gender and climate considerations are appropriately integrated rather than treated only as separate components.

The review should establish a clear relationship between:

Identified gap/risk affected population proposed adjustment/intervention expected result indicator/target, where applicable.

Proposed interventions should also avoid creating or worsening environmental problems and should promote environmentally sustainable approaches where relevant.

Stakeholder Engagement and Validation

The consultant will engage relevant stakeholders, including:

• LGA political and administrative leadership;
• Relevant LGA departments and sector officials;
• Planning and budgeting officials;
• WDSCs/LGDCC/CDPIT and community representatives;
• Women and youth representatives;
• Persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups;
• Traditional and community leaders;
• Relevant state-level stakeholders; and
• Other stakeholders considered necessary.

Stakeholder engagement will help verify findings, identify additional gaps and validate the proposed revisions.

Particular attention shall be given to ensuring that the revised plans do not change the original community-identified problems and priorities without proper justification and stakeholder agreement.

Expected Deliverables

The successful consultant/consulting firm will be expected to deliver:

Deliverable 1: Inception Report and Detailed Workplan

The inception report should include:

• Understanding of the assignment;
• Proposed methodology;
• Review and assessment approach;
• Gender analysis approach;
• Climate assessment approach;
• Stakeholder engagement and validation approach;
• Proposed team composition and roles; and
• Detailed start-to-finish workplan for the 19-working-day assignment.

Deliverable 2: Gender and Climate Assessment

A systematic assessment of the three existing LGA Development Plans and their ten sectors, identifying:

• Gender gaps;
• Climate-related gaps and risks;
• Opportunities for strengthening;
• Relevant gender considerations;
• Climate adaptation opportunities; and
• Proposed practical adjustments to existing priorities and interventions.

The assessment findings should directly inform the revised plans.

Deliverable 3: Gender and Climate Integration Matrix

A practical matrix demonstrating how identified gaps and risks have informed the strengthening of the plans.

The matrix should, as appropriate, include:

• Existing Sector/Priority
• Gender Gap
• Climate Gap/Risk/Opportunity
• Proposed Gender-Responsive Adjustment
• Proposed Climate Adaptation/Climate-Smart Adjustment
• Indicator/Target, where applicable

Deliverable 4: Three Strengthened LGA Development Plans

The consultant will submit strengthened and revised plans for:

• Biu LGA;
• Kwaya Kusar LGA; and
• Guyuk LGA.

The revised plans must maintain the existing planning structure and incorporate agreed and relevant gender and climate considerations, including gender-responsive and climate-smart projects.

Deliverable 5: Stakeholder Validation Outputs

The consultant will facilitate and document validation of the proposed revisions and incorporate agreed feedback into the final plans.

Deliverable 6: Final Consultancy Report

The final report should document:

• Activities undertaken;
• Methodology used;
• Key findings;
• Gender gaps identified;
• Climate-related gaps identified;
• Adjustments and interventions incorporated;
• Stakeholder engagement and validation;
• Key recommendations;
• Lessons learned; and
• Relevant annexes.

Duration

The assignment is expected to be completed within 19 working days across Borno and Adamawa States.

Interested consultants/consulting firms should demonstrate that the proposed methodology and workplan can realistically deliver all required outputs within the specified timeframe.

The consultant will be required to provide a detailed start-to-finish workplan showing activities, locations, timelines and expected deliverables.

Required Qualifications and Experience

The assignment may be undertaken by an individual consultant or a consulting firm.

Academic Qualifications

The lead consultant/team leader should possess at least a Master's degree or equivalent advanced qualification in one or more of the following fields:

• Gender Studies;
• Development Studies;
• Social Sciences;
• Sociology;
• Public Policy;
• Policy and Strategic Studies;
• Local Government Administration;
• Environmental Sciences;
• Climate Change;
• Social Protection; or
• Other relevant fields.

Where a consulting firm is applying, the proposed team should collectively demonstrate complementary qualifications relevant to the assignment.

Professional Experience

Applicants should demonstrate:

• At least 5 years of relevant professional experience in gender equality, social development, development planning, governance or related fields;
• Demonstrated experience in gender analysis and gender mainstreaming;
• Experience reviewing policies, development plans or programmes;
• Experience integrating gender considerations into development planning;
• Knowledge and practical understanding of climate change adaptation and climate-smart development;
• Experience in local government development planning and/or participatory planning;
• Understanding of local government planning and budgeting processes;
• Experience facilitating stakeholder consultations and validation processes;
• Experience working with government institutions and community structures;
• Understanding of the socio-cultural and governance context of North-East Nigeria;
• Strong analytical, report-writing and facilitation skills; and
• Demonstrated ability to deliver assignments within tight timelines.

Experience working in Borno and/or Adamawa States will be an advantage.

Knowledge of relevant local languages, particularly Hausa and/or Bura, will be an added advantage.

For consulting firms, the proposal should clearly identify the proposed team members, their roles and relevant experience.

8. Key Guiding Principle

A fundamental requirement of this assignment is the preservation of community-identified priorities.

The consultant shall not remove, substitute or materially alter existing community-identified problems, priorities or demands.

Gender and climate considerations should be used to strengthen, clarify, make more inclusive, sustainable and actionable the existing priorities.

Where a proposed adjustment could materially change an existing priority or introduce what could reasonably be considered a new priority, the proposed change must be clearly identified and subjected to stakeholder validation and agreement before incorporation.

Proposal Requirements

Interested consultants/consulting firms should submit a Technical and Financial Proposal containing the following:

A. Technical Proposal

The technical proposal should include:

• Understanding of the assignment;
• Proposed methodology and approach;
• Approach to reviewing the ten sectors across the three LGAs;
• Approach to gender gap analysis;
• Approach to climate change and adaptation assessment;
• Approach to integrating gender and climate considerations;
• Approach to stakeholder engagement and validation;
• Proposed team composition and roles, where applicable;
• Relevant previous experience; and
• Detailed workplan demonstrating how the assignment will be completed within 19 working days.

B. Financial Proposal

The financial proposal should provide a clear and detailed cost breakdown, including:

• Professional fees;
• Applicable logistics/operational costs;
• Applicable taxes;
• Any other relevant costs.

The financial proposal should represent value for money and remain realistic in relation to the scope and duration of the assignment.

Supporting Documents

Applicants should provide:

• Current professional CV(s);
• Evidence of relevant previous assignments;
• At least one sample/report of a similar completed assignment;
• Certificate or evidence of satisfactory completion of similar work, where available;
• Registration documents, where applicable;
• Tax clearance/TIN documentation;
• SCUML certificate, where applicable; and
• Any other relevant supporting documents.

10. Proposal Evaluation

Proposals will be assessed based on the following broad criteria:

• Evaluation Area
• Consideration
• Understanding of the assignment
• Demonstrated understanding of the purpose, scope and expected results
• Methodology and technical approach
• Quality, practicality and relevance of proposed methodology
• Relevant experience
• Experience in gender, climate, development planning, governance and related assignments
• Team qualifications
• Qualifications and experience of proposed consultant/team
• Workplan
• Realistic and achievable 19-working-day workplan
• Similar assignments
• Evidence of successful delivery of comparable assignments
• Financial proposal
• Cost reasonableness and value for money

The consortium reserves the right to seek clarification from applicants where necessary during the evaluation process.

Consultancy Management and Coordination

The consultancy will be implemented collaboratively by CODERHI, CRUDAN and YAHARAKARI, with CODERHI providing overall operational coordination and managing the approved budget line.

Oxfam will provide strategic guidance, technical support, quality assurance and oversight.

The selected consultant/consulting firm will work closely with the consortium, relevant LGA authorities and other identified stakeholders throughout the assignment.

A designated CODERHI focal person will serve as the primary day-to-day contact for the consultant, with CRUDAN, YAHARAKARI and Oxfam involved as appropriate.

12. Payment

Payment will be made against satisfactory completion and acceptance of agreed deliverables.

The proposed payment structure is:

• Milestone
• Payment
• Submission and satisfactory approval of the inception report, methodology, initial document review and detailed workplan
• 30%
• Submission and satisfactory approval of all final deliverables, including assessments, integration matrix, validation outputs, three strengthened LGA Development Plans and final consultancy report
• 70%
• Total
• 100%

Payments will be subject to applicable financial procedures, statutory deductions and the terms of the consultancy contract.

Important Notice

CODERHI, CRUDAN, YAHARAKARI and Oxfam reserve the right to:

• Accept or reject any proposal in accordance with applicable procurement procedures;
• Request clarification from applicants;
• Cancel or amend the solicitation process where necessary; and
• Select the proposal that provides the best combination of technical quality, relevant experience, feasibility and value for money.

The issuance of this Call for Proposal does not constitute a commitment to award a contract to any applicant.

Only shortlisted applicants may be contacted.

Contact and Further Information

For any clarification regarding the assignment and submission requirements, interested applicants may contact: Alfred Buba :Alfred.buba@coderhi.org

Annex 1: Terms of Reference (TOR) - Link

Annex 2: RFQ Form - Link