Tenders are invited for Consultant to Support MWA in Facilitating FCDCs SFoW/ RAPID+ Policy Dialogue Meeting on Rural Water Services Policy in ASALs. Closing Date: 19 Sep 2025 Type: Consultancy 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 Councils (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 Lodwars Turkana Water Project to assess the schemes 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 councils 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 FCDCs 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 session Tender Link : https://reliefweb.int/job/4173927/consultant-support-mwa-facilitating-fcdcs-sfow-rapid-policy-dialogue-meeting-rural-water-services-policy-asals
