A. Background
The Resilient Arid Lands Partnership for Integrated Development Plus (RAPID+) program is a five-year program running from November 2021 – September 2026 convened and led by MWA. The program has primary funding from the Swiss Agency for Development and Corporation (SDC) and contributions and investment funds from private sector actors, four facilitating partners including CARE Kenya, the Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Food for the Hungry (FH) and World Vision (WV) and the five hosting county governments of Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit, Turkana, and Wajir. RAPID+ aims to improve access to water and rangeland services for 200,000 people in the five program counties. RAPID+ activities are anchored on four strategic pillars namely gender equality, market systems development, peace building and knowledge management.
B. Project Goal and Objectives.
The program goal is to improve access to safe and sustainably managed water and rangelands across the five counties to contribute to resilient livelihoods for communities in a peaceful environment. This goal is pursued by the following two outcomes.
- Pastoralist communities have increased access to sustainable and safe water for multiple uses benefiting men, women, and youth, and
- Pastoralist communities have improved access to safe and ecologically healthy rangeland resources that promote greater integrity, social cohesion, and gender equity.
The program Theory of Change (ToC) states that “If we improve access to sustainable and safe water for multiple uses that benefit men, women and youth and also improve access to safe and ecologically healthy rangeland ecosystems, that promote greater integrity, social cohesion and gender equity through strong public, private and community institutions; then communities in the target areas will have increased income, gender equity and empowerment, enhanced livestock systems, a more peaceful environment, conserved ecosystems and improved health status; and therefore, resilient livelihoods that promote peaceful cohesion and gender equity will be achieved.”
Under Outcome 1 (Water for Pastoralist communities) RAPID+ has achieved the following results:
Output 1.1: Capacities of public and community institutions to deliver water services are strengthened.
- Supported the development and review of the Wajir Water Management Bill 2023.
- Conducted commercial and social viability assessments for 3 rural water utilities, setting the stage for long-term rural water governance.
- Supported the Frontier Counties Development Council’s (FCDC) Sector Forum for Water to conduct policy discussion workshops on rural water service delivery and developed a Policy Brief of Rural Water Service Delivery in FCDC counties
- Provision of management consultancy services to Diocese of Lodwar’s Turkana Water Project to assess the scheme’s business viability and develop a Strategic Business Plan.
Output 1.2: Additional and existing water infrastructures are well-maintained and operational.
- Increased access to reliable and safe water for household use through rehabilitation 15 key water systems, benefiting 60,233 people (31,653 males and 28,580 females) living across Wajir, Marsabit, Isiolo, Turkana, and Garissa counties. These water systems also serve 34,440 livestock, including 3,810 camels, 24,650 shoats (goats and sheep), 4,740 cattle, and 1,240 donkeys, bolstering the resilience of pastoralist communities.
- Supported investments in climate smart and energy efficient innovations included solar hybrid systems.
- Supported Marsabit Water and Sewerage Company (MARWASCO) to reduce Non-Revenue Water (NRW) from 68% to 47% through leadership training and infrastructure upgrades.
- Enhanced Private Sector Participation in implementation of innovative Water interventions by de-risking to ease market entry to Aqua Clara Kenya for provision of safe water solutions for households in Isiolo County, reaching 50 households with water filters and training 16 market agents (12F,4M) to scale safe drinking water access.
Output 1.3: Integrated Water Resource Management and 3R practices improved.
- Supported WRUAs in review and finalization of sub-catchment management plans (SCMPs) in Wajir (Griftu and Ewaso-habaswein WRUAs), Isiolo (Waso Mara and Likiundu WRUAs), Marsabit (Dabel WRUA), and Turkana (Kakuma and Tarach WRUAs), Garissa (Dertu WRUA)
- RAPID+ organized a learning event for dissemination of the IWRM database developed during the 3R activities by Acacia Water.
Output 1.4 Increased household livelihood diversification as a result of MUS technologies.
- In Turkana, 43 households at Nasuroi Model Farm benefitted from water-efficient multi-use systems for high-value crop production. In Wajir, seven farmers engaged in fodder and crop farming at Markoror and Bangal farms benefited from RAPID+ interventions that introduced improved agricultural practices. In Garissa, a group of 20 farmers at Ubah farm (12 women and 8 men) transitioned to a water-efficient irrigation technologies comprising uPVC pipeline closed-channel irrigation system and are now producing a variety of crops, including mangoes, bananas, oranges, and coriander, which they supply to local markets in Garissa.
- Promoted private sector engagement through Pay-as-You-Go solar irrigation solutions, benefiting 12 (8M, 4F) farmers.
The Frontier Counties Development Council (FCDC) is one of six economic regional blocks in Kenya comprising of ten member counties including Tana River, Lamu, Garissa, Wajir, Mandera, Marsabit, Isiolo, Samburu, West Pokot and Turkana. FCDC is constituted through county assembly legislations passed by the member counties, while its corporate structure is regulated through the Companies Act, of 2015. FCDC is formed pursuant to Article 185 of the Constitution of Kenya. The council’s objectives are to address common developmental challenges and opportunities; share a common partnership framework on topical issues; provide standard policy, strategy, and capacity building; and establish investment platforms for member counties.
The Sector Forum for Water (SFOW) is one of the most recently established fora at FCDC through support from RAPID+. It came into force following signing of the forum Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by County Executive Committee Members (CECMs) for Water from the 10 member counties in June 2023. The functions of the SFOW are to: harmonize water policies and sector plans; create synergies and reduce duplication of activities by development partners; coordinate infrastructure development in the region to maximize the impact of funding; act as a forum for the exchange of information and learning; conduct joint assessments; share best practices on water policy practice; debate on inter-county issues related to water and water resource management and come up with ways of resolving them; advocate on any other issues related to water in FCDC counties among others. The counties are represented at SFOW activities by County Executive Committee Members for Water and Sanitation and the directors of water.
In 2024, RAPID+ supported SFoW in convening several dialogue meetings whose output was a policy brief on Rural Water Services Management in ASAL Counties. The brief identified challenges with regards to WASREB and County Government Relationships, The Political Economy of the Water User Associations, Legal ownership of community water supply schemes and Weak Stakeholder Coordination. To address these issues the brief made recommendations that SFoW convenes stakeholders for a policy dialogue to build consensus on the legal and administrative gaps that have been identified and design a framework for addressing the issues.
C. Purpose of the Assignment
The Policy Dialogue Meeting is planned as part of RAPID+ support to FCDC’s SFoW and is scheduled to take place for 1 day in October 2025. The meeting will be an in-person event expected to bring together stakeholders from National government (MEWSI, WASREB), and County Ministries of Water (CECs, COs and Directors) and the Frontier Counties Development Council (FCDC) with the venue in Nairobi (TBD).
The anticipated outcome of the discussions from the policy dialogue would be:
- Enhanced stakeholder consensus around issues of contention
- Information to guide legislative review of national and county water laws
- Framework for development of contextualized guidelines for Rural Water Services Management in ASAL counties
- Guidelines on transition planning for community managed water supply, where there are proposals for the County Government to take over management of such water supply.
MWA is therefore seeking the services of competent consultants/ subject matter experts in Kenya Water Sector Law and Policy to support the policy dialogue as a facilitator and rapporteur as per the objectives and scope of work below:
D. Meeting Objectives
This learning event will achieve the following objectives:
- Participants discuss the existing policy framework on rural water services management and their implementation challenges in ASAL counties
- Participants agree on some of the legislative reviews needed, a framework for the development of contextualized guidelines for Rural Water Services Management in ASAL counties, and guidelines for transition planning of rural water services management to county governments
- Participants agree on a road map for implementation of agreed actions
E. Scope of Work
The consultant shall be required to undertake the following tasks:
- Conduct in-depth review of key policy documents at national and county government levels to inform the preparation of policy dialogue discussions, presentations and any pre-read materials
- Effectively facilitate and rapporteur sessions during the Dialogue Meeting (1-days), ensuring that they foster participatory environment
- Provide strategic guidance and direction to steer the dialogue discussions towards practical outcomes for all stakeholders. This will include steering the conversations towards innovative approaches and actionable strategies that can be adopted to address the specific challenges raised by the various county teams
- The consultant will compile an 8–12 page Policy roadmap document clearly setting out the agreements at the meeting and providing legal/ policy analysis to guide decision makers on key aspects of the roadmap
- The consultant shall provide a 4-page Learning Brief drawing from lessons shared during the policy dialogue meeting
- The consultant shall provide a high-quality MS PowerPoint presentation suitable for a 1-hour webinar covering the Policy process for Rural Water Services in ASALs to be presented to a global audience
- The consultant shall present their findings via PPT and facilitate the technical discussion during the 1-hour webinar.
- The consultant will compile a brief webinar meeting report (1-4 pages excluding annexes) highlighting key insights, recommendations and actionable next steps identified during the session
F. Deliverables and Timelines
The expected deliverable and anticipated timelines for each are shown below:
Deliverable
Description
Timelines
Dates
Prepare and share workshop agenda, learning materials (Presentation, pre-read materials, draft guide)
MS Word, PDF
Workplan in MS Excel
1 week after contract signing
Mid-September 2025
Facilitate Water Policy Dialogue event sessions
MS Word, PDF
4 weeks after contract signing
Late-October 2025
Water Policy Dialogue session report and, Webinar Presentation, Graphically Edited and Publication Quality Policy Road Map, Learning Brief & Webinar meeting report
MS Word, PDF
MS PPT
4 weeks after contract signing
Early-November 2025
G. Anticipated Level of Effort (LoE)
The anticipated level of effort for this assignment is 6 man-days.
I. Duration of Assignment
The duration of the consultancy is September – November 2025.
Tentative starting date: September 2025
J. Consultant’s Qualifications
Below are the preferred qualifications for the consultants applying for the consultancy:
- Advanced University Degree in Law/ Public Policy and 15+ years’ experience in the government policy within the water sector
- Demonstrated thought-leadership on current state-of-the-art in Kenyan and regional water sector policies through policy/ legal practice and relevant publications
- Demonstrated practice of guiding the drafting/ development of national and county water sector policy frameworks in Kenya
- Demonstrated experience in supporting policy dialogue meetings between national and county governments
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
- Experience working in the ASALs of Kenya
K. Reporting and Communication
Internal: The consultant will be reporting to the RAPID+ Water Intervention Manager while maintaining a close working relationship with the Program Hub. The consultant will be expected to communicate regularly with the RAPID+ Program Hub and the County Coordination Units (CCUs) during the exercise.
External: The consultant may need to consult other stakeholders, including staff from the National and County Government Water Ministries, WASREB.
Consultants must adhere to the MWA Code of Conduct and Protection from Sexual Exploitation Abuse and Child Abuse (PSEA-CA) policies as well as research ethics consideration when performing their duties and interactions with external parties.
L. Information and Support to be provided by the Client
The client shall provide access to any relevant program documents.
M. Submission
This call for proposals is open to individual consultants or teams of individual consultants under a company (not to exceed a team of 2).
Budget
All costs inclusive of taxes should be included in the quoted budget outline by the consultant. This shall Include an itemized budget indicating professional fees, related expenses and taxes.
The client shall cater for costs related to travel, accommodation and incidental expenses for the facilitator/ consultants during the learning event.
Application Process
Interested individuals are expected to submit technical and financial proposals in English, including the following:
- Short cover letter stating interest and availability-1 page.
- Profile of consultant, a clear demonstration of previous experience in conducting similar assignments (1-2 pages)
- Methodological approach outlining the consultant’s understanding of the specific objectives and proposed methodology (1-2 page)
- Proposed activity schedule/ training outline/ work plan with timelines (1-2 page)
- Financial proposals including consultant fees and any logistical costs (0.5 page
- Professional CVs of consultants – No more than 4 pages.
- Contact details of 3 previous clients/organizations (including contact persons) that have contracted the consultant to carry out similar work
Statutory Requirements
Interested consultants are expected to submit the following statutory documents as part of the mandatory requirements:
- Kenyan firms: copies of a valid Kenyan certificate of tax compliance, certificate of incorporation, and company KRA PIN certificate.
- Kenyan individuals: copies of a valid Kenyan certificate of tax compliance, KRA PIN certificate, and National Identification Card/ Passport.
- International firms: Copies of Company Incorporation certificate, Tax-payer registration documents, Tax compliance certificate for your respective countries.
- International Individuals: Copies of Tax-payer registration documents, Tax compliance certificate (where applicable), Passports/ National Identity card for your respective countries
How to apply
The interested individuals/firms should submit their applications by 5:00 pm EAT, 19th September 2025.
All applications should be submitted electronically to the following email address: mwakinfo@mwawater.org
The email subject should be clearly titled “Consultancy to Facilitate Policy Dialogue Meeting Rural Water Services Policy in ASALs-RAPID+”
