Term of Reference (ToR) for study on Accountable water supply service in selected cities of Ethiopia

Background and rationale

Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) is an umbrella organization for civil societies, having 469 members operating in the humanitarian sector in Ethiopia. CCRDA has many forums in different thematic areas and WASH Forum is one of them. Through the project named Amplifying Citizen Voices to Ensure Accountable Urban Water Supply Services in Ethiopia, the water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) Forum aims to influence the government to improve accountability in service delivery of urban water utilities. This project is based on the “Accountability in the One WASH National Programme of Ethiopia: Reflections on enabling and subduing factors”, research conducted under Accountability for Water Project Phase I. Besides it will be guided by additional assessment to generate evidence on latest updates and identify key priorities for action through a desk review and stakeholder consultation.

The goal of the project is to enhance urban water governance in Ethiopia by strengthening accountability, promoting active community engagement, and improving the operational efficiency of water utilities. The need for amplifying citizen voices arises from the compromised clean water supply service due to unaccountable water governance in cities and towns in Ethiopia. Even though the legal framework states involvement of the user community in the management of the utilities, in practical terms this has never been the reality on the ground. Users are not included in decisions regarding the water supply system, nor are there functional mechanisms for making and handling user complaints. As a result, the utilities lack accountability for the service they provide to the customers.

The project will advocate for strengthening water governance, improving accountability, ensuring community engagement which will enhance the service level of the water utilities in selected cities of Ethiopia (i.e., Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa, Hawassa and Adama).

The Amplifying Citizen Voices project is designed to address these governance challenges by:

• Strengthening accountability mechanisms within urban water utilities;

• Promoting inclusive and structured citizen participation in water governance processes;

• Improving the operational efficiency and responsiveness of urban water service providers;

• Generating updated evidence to inform policy and practice through desk reviews and stakeholder consultations.

This study is expected to bring tangible data and information about the status of clean water supply service, water production capacity, accountability of the service, governance system, user involvement level in the service and the challenges in clean water supply in the four major cities of the country. These will be used as evidence for the advocacy work of the project.

Audience and use of findings:

The audience of the study are mainly the WASH Forum, donors (Norwegian Church Aid-NCA and Water Witness), the Ministry, local and regional government bodies, sector actors, the academia, the media and the user community. However, any other body interested in the matter can use the findings of the study.

 

Objective of the study

General objective

The objective of this study will be to document data and generate evidence about the status and accountability of clean water supply in the four major cities of Ethiopia.

 

Specific Objectives: the specific objectives of the study will be to:

• Review existing policies, regulatory frameworks, and institutional arrangements governing urban water supply services in Ethiopia.
• Document level of clean water supply as per the national standard.
• Assess the current status of urban water governance and accountability practices- citizen participation, transparency, and accountability mechanisms in urban water utilities.
• To understand the presence and functionality mechanisms for inclusion of user voices /customer forums in water supply services in the cities.
• Identify key challenges, gaps, and enabling factors in ensuring accountable urban water service delivery
• Generate stakeholder perspectives and priorities for action and provide strategic recommendations for strengthening accountability mechanisms in urban water supply.
• Develop an evidence-based advocacy brief / knowledge Product.

Scope of the study

The study seeks to assess the level of clean water supply services and accountability of the urban water supply in the cities of Addis Ababa, Adama, Dire Dawa and Hawassa. The study will cover the following areas, and the consultant should design both the qualitative and quantitative evaluation questions which will be guided by the key questions that the evaluation seek address. This include, but not limited to, the following:

Governance user involvement,

• What is the existing governance of the urban water supply system?
• To what extent is the governance involving the user community?
• How is the water utility management is appointed?
• To what extent the governance is inclusive to women and youth? Are they represented?

Compliant handling mechanisms in place,

• Is there any mechanism for the user to complain about the service?
• How are the users are satisfied with the water supply service?
• Are there functional user forums? How were they established? How they functi on?

Inclusion of vulnerable groups,

• To what extent does the utility benefit marginalized segments of the community?
• Are there ways to accommodate the needs of poor and PWDs in the clean water supply service?
• How are the needs of people with disabilities are addressed?
• Are associations of marginalized community members have stake in the urban water governance?

Water production capacity, demand, gaps,

• What is the source of water for each city? Are there water quality issues?
• How much water is produced every day? How can the production is affected with seasonal variation?
• How much is the total water demand of the city? How often is this revised?
• What is the gap b/n production/supply and demand?
• Any challenges with regard to water production and accountable service? Any plan for this?

Operation efficiency

• To what extent are the water supply structures healthy, the pipe network work well?
• How much is the operation efficient?
• Has the capacity to control the water system? How much is the utility has the necessary skilled manpower to perform operation?

Financial capacity of the water utilities,

• Is the water tariff of each city inline with the paying capacity of the user?
• How efficient is the utility in collecting water tariff?
• Does the utility self-sufficient in covering its budget?
• Is the utility has viable business plan?

 

Methodology

The baseline assessment is expected to use participatory methodologies in order to generate both qualitative and quantitative data. This also entails that a high level of stakeholder engagement to harness different views in water service delivery, governance and users/community engagement in water governance. Accordingly, participatory methods such as focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with key informants, examples of success, failure, and lessons learnt will be deployed. In addition, field visits and engagement with local community, will be undertaken to provide another layer of data and insights to understand the status of water supply/water service delivery. Desk- reviews of relevant documents is also integral to performing this assessment.

Accordingly, primary data could be obtained from sample households, institutional users, board members, utility management and workers, etc. Key informant interviews and FGDs could be sources of qualitative data. Observation of the water supply components could give more information about the service level. Quantitative data should be collected about water production, demand, supply level and the gap and the financial capacity of the water utilities.

The consultant is expected to propose the details of the method he/she will be using to produce these data and information.

 

Key sources and people to be consulted:

The consultant is expected to use the following, but not limited to, sources to get data and information.

• National and regional policies and regulations,
• Government reports- at all levels,
• Government and utility representatives,
• Actors in the sector,
• Households,
• Institutions,
• Business areas, etc.

 

Key deliverables of the assignment

• Inception report

The consultant is expected to present the inception report upon signing the contract in line with the agreed timelines. Most probably the inception report will be presented within five days of the date of the contract signing. The inception report will clearly articulate understanding of the terms of reference for the assignment and define each stage of the assignment. The consultant will need to articulate the methodology, the format of presentation of the deliverables.

• Study Report

The consultant is expected to present study report written according to technical report writing style showing clearly the process and the key findings of the study. The report should, but not limited to, capture the level of clean water supply of each city, governance, user participation in the governance, accountability mechanisms in place, availability of users’ forums, water production, demand and gaps, challenges, etc.

The outline of the report will be presented by the consultant in the inception report. However, the total length of the main report body could not be more than 20 pages. The report should be written in Verdana font, 11 size and double spacing. The consultant is expected to present the draft study report to the WASH Forum Steering Committee, donors, technical working groups and CCRDA to receive input before finalizing it. The final report should be presented to CCRDA in three hard copies (both in word and pdf) and a soft copy through a suitable device.

All raw data (data, photos, audio, filled questionnaires, observation checklists, etc.) collected during the study should be presented in suitable cloud options.

Summary of deliverables:

Deliverable Description

Inception Report Detailing methodology, work plan, and data collection tools.

Desk Review Report Summary of existing literature, policy and regulatory analysis, and recent developments in urban water governance and accountability.

Stakeholder Consultation Report Findings from Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), or consultation workshops.

Final Assessment Report Comprehensive synthesis of findings, challenges, opportunities, and actionable recommendations for strengthening accountability in urban water utilities.

Advocacy Brief / Knowledge Product Concise, evidence-based communication product for policy engagement and awareness raising.

Presentation to Stakeholders Presentation of key findings and recommendations to CCRDA, WASH Forum, NCA, WW, and relevant stakeholders.

 

Roles and Responsibilities

The consultant

• Read and understand the regulatory documents.
• Produce an inception report identifying how the study will be carried out.
• Is encouraged to use digital data collect.
• Oversee the entire process to ensure unbiased and correct data collection.
• Comply with all reporting deadlines.
• Develops a budget indicating/outlining various activities to be done in carrying out the study.
• Share the raw data with the office.
• Adhere to the safeguarding principles, child protection policy, and gender policy of CCRDA.
• The consultant should seek and do written consents of interviewees before commencing interviews and as well taking photos.
• After completing the draft report, the consultant will make a presentation to stakeholders as stated under 7 above.

CCRDA

CCRDA will have the following responsibilities.

• Facilitate the overall study process and write support letters, if needed.
• Cover all costs related to the study according to the contract.
• Coordinate with the TWG and follow and support the study process- inception, data collection, reporting.

TWG

• Act as technical hub for the study and back the CCRDA project team.
• Supervise and advise the actual data collection during the study.
• Comment on the draft report.
• Report to the Steering Committee on the progress.

WASH Forum Steering Committee

• Give strategic guide to the study.
• Hear progress reports of the TWG.
• Comment the inception and draft report and validate to final report.

Study management:

The study work will be managed by CCRDA advocacy project team. The TWG established by the Steering Committee of the WASH Forum will work closely with the consultant and the project team. The Steering Committee will oversee and strategically guide the study process.

Ethics

The consultant should follow every ethical procedure of research at all levels of the study. CCRDA will not be responsible for any breach of ethical issues on this assignment.

Ownership of the study outputs

All the study outputs- the report, raw data and information are the property of CCRDA (the WASH Forum) and should not be used by the consultant and any other body without written consent of the owner.

 

For More Information Please Refer This Link:

• https://docs.google.com/document/d/11CkzXVu-yN0prPfARIR6K3c4wDpGbuu1/edit

The consulting firm to be assigned to carry out this study must have staff with the following qualifications and relevant work experience.

• One lead consultant with at least MSc in related field of study.
• At least one researcher with at least MSc in hydraulic or civil or water resource engineering hydrology or related fields.
• One person with MSc in public/environmental health.
• One person with background in sociology or relevant field of study.
• And relevant staff for data processing.

CVs of these staff should be part of the technical proposal.