Consultancy to carry out Environmental Social Impact Assessment For Drip Fundi Program

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Background

The Millennium Water Alliance (MWA) https://mwawater.org/ is a permanent global alliance of leading humanitarian, research, and business organizations that convenes a trusted network and serves as a hub for collective impact, accelerating learning, and influencing priorities and funding to scale sustained WASH services and resilience globally. MWA and its members collectively serve over 50 million people in over 100 countries and are leading advocates for greater water and sanitation commitments by governments and the private sector.

MWA is implementing the DRIP FUNDI (Fixing Uptime Now and Decision Improvement) program across five counties in Kenya: Marsabit, Garissa, Wajir, Isiolo, and Turkana. The primary objective of the program is to increase the uptime of boreholes across these counties, addressing the persistent issue of borehole non-functionality and improving access to safe water by treatment through inline chlorination—a major challenge in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) of northern Kenya and in rural areas nationwide. The program is partnering with respective county government borehole repair teams and private sector partners to facilitate the rapid repair of boreholes.

Rationale

The program has set up a carbon financing system to support the continued repair of boreholes beyond the program’s life. National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) is the Designated National Authority (DNA) and, in accordance with the Climate Change (Carbon Markets) Regulations 2004, the DNA is mandated to keep a registry of Carbon Projects in Kenya. MWA is seeking a consultant(s) to support the preparation of the Environmental Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) report as per regulation 19 (1), the subsequent acquisition of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) license and undertake follow-up for the issuance of a Letter of No Objection by the DNA.

Scope of Work

The tasks will entail conducting a program-level Environmental Impact Assessment for the DRIP FUNDI program, which will include, but is not limited to, the following.

• Screening: This will entail a review of the program documents and Project Concept Note, location (counties), and potential impacts.
• Stakeholders’ Consultations: Undertake consultations to ensure that the views and concerns of program-level stakeholders are incorporated into the project design, implementation, and ownership, thereby leading to sustainable environmental management.
• Environmental Social Management Plan (ESMP): Identify measures to avoid or minimize significant adverse impacts and maximize positive effects and propose mitigation measures. The Proposed EMP must specify the anticipated impacts, responsibilities for implementing these measures, estimated reasonable costs, and the timeframe for implementing the measures for each project.
• Draft and Final EIA Report: Prepare a draft EIA report for review by MWA and a final report that incorporates reviewers’ comments.
• Payment of requisite NEMA fees: Facilitate submission of the report and payment of the program’s license fees through the NEMA online portal.
• EIA license: Coordinate follow-up with NEMA regarding the EIA license and ensure submission to MWA once they are issued.
• Letter of No Objection: Follow up on the issuance of the Letter of No Objection by NEMA.

Deliverables

The consultant will deliver the following at the end of the assessment, both in hard-copy (well-bound) and soft-copy formats.

MWA Responsibilities

• Provide relevant program documents
• Support the scheduling of stakeholders’ consultations

Duration of the Assignment

• 3 months.

Qualifications and Experience

The individual should demonstrate relevant expertise in environmental studies, environmental science, natural resource management, or any other related discipline. Additionally, the individual should fulfill the following criteria:

• The EIA expert should be registered by the National Environment Management Authority as a Lead Expert and have a valid license to conduct EIAs.
• At least five years’ experience in carrying out EIAs in Kenya.
• An MSc. in environmental science or a related discipline is desirable.
• Professionalism and the ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Demonstrated knowledge, skills, and experience in conducting EIAs/EAs for water infrastructure projects.

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated to ensure that they meet all mandatory requirements and are responsive. To determine responsiveness, a proposal must include all documentation as requested under the proposal submission section. Proposals that fail to meet these requirements will receive no further consideration. Responsive proposals will be evaluated and ranked according to the criteria below.

Technical Qualification

• Education and technical experience of the expert/firm.
• Understanding of the scope and/or assignment.
• Proposed methodology and approach.
• Demonstrated experience in conducting and coordinating similar assignments.

Consultants with a minimum score of 70% will be considered technically qualified, their applications will proceed to the financial evaluation stage, and they will be invited for an oral interview.

Financial Proposal

Only the financial proposal of the technically qualified consultants will be evaluated. The lowest-priced proposal will receive the maximum number of points, and all other financial proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price.

Proposal Submission

Each application must consist of:

1. An application/cover letter. The letter should be no longer than two pages.
2. Technical proposal not exceeding 10 pages. With the following as annexes:

• The CVs of the team lead and key team members (if any) in a similar format and not exceeding 4 pages per CV.
• Valid lead expert license from NEMA
• Previous similar assignments within the last three years.
• Contact details of three organizations that have contracted with the firm for a similar assignment within the last 3 years.

3. A separate financial proposal. The proposed fees must be a total “fixed price” quotation, indicating the overall total amount in Kenya Shillings, inclusive of all taxes.
4. The calculation of fees should indicate a detailed breakdown of the cost calculation, specifying:

• Details of daily professional fees and time input.
• Detailed breakdown of reimbursables such as communication and any other related costs.
• Proposed payment terms.

5. Statutory, administrative, and fiscal documents.

• For companies: A valid Kenyan Certificate of Tax Compliance, Certificate of Incorporation, and KRA PIN certificate.
• For individuals: copies of a valid Kenyan Certificate of Tax Compliance, KRA PIN certificate, and National Identification Card are required.

Interested individuals or firms should submit their applications by 29^th July 2025, at 5:00 PM EAT. All applications should be submitted electronically to the following email address: mwakinfo@mwawater.org. The email subject should be titled “ESIA DRIP FUNDI Consultancy”.