Tenders Are Invited For Resilience Analysis For Project Design Under The Bmz Transitional Development Assistance Programme For Mali And Niger

Tenders are invited for Resilience Analysis for Project Design under the BMZ Transitional Development Assistance Programme for Mali and Niger Closing Date: 6 Jul 2026 Type: Consultancy arche nova e.V., together with Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (ASB), is preparing a project under the BMZ Transitional Development Assistance (TDA) framework in the Gao region of Mali and the Tahoua region of Niger. Implementation of the envisaged action will take place in cooperation with local partner organisations. The BMZ TDA framework is designed to strengthen the resilience of people and local structures affected by protracted and acute crises, enabling them to better manage existing shocks and stresses and to reduce vulnerability to future crises. As a funding instrument situated within the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, TDA places particular emphasis on the interlinkages between immediate needs, longer-term resilience building and structural change. In this understanding, resilience is strengthened by supporting affected populations and local structures to cope with crises more independently, to prepare for recurring pressures, to reduce negative impacts over time, and to create more sustainable prospects through longer-term institutional and structural improvements. In line with BMZs approach, TDA projects are expected to contribute to stabilization, adaptation and transformation capacities, while promoting participation and self-help. Against this background, the present ToR sets out the scope, objectives, methodology and expected deliverables for a project-shaping resilience analysis that will inform the design of the proposed BMZ Transitional Development Assistance project in Mali and Niger. The Project Project Duration: November 2026-December 2030 Countries: Niger (Tahoua) and Mali (Gao) The project SWIFT Strengthening WASH, Inclusion, Food Security, and Transformative Resilience for the most at-risk Population Groups in Conflict- and Climate-Affected Border Regions of Mali and Niger aims to strengthen the resilience of refugees, IDPs and host communities affected by protracted conflict and climate shocks in the border regions of Mali (Gao) and Niger (Tahoua) through climate-adapted livelihoods, improved food security, sustainable WASH services, inclusive governance, and peaceful resource management. The project target groups are internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees, returnees, and vulnerable host communities affected by conflict, climate change, food insecurity, and weak basic infrastructure. Particular attention is given to women and girls, who face heightened protection risks and limited access to services and opportunities; youth, who are especially affected by unemployment, poverty, and social exclusion; people with disabilities, who encounter significant barriers to safe and inclusive services; and agropastoral households, whose livelihoods are increasingly threatened by drought, resource scarcity, and conflict. The project outcomes are: Outcome 1: Target households at risk of food insecurity have sustainably improved their food and nutritional security by adopting climate-resilient agro-pastoral practices, increasing and stabilising the incomes of women and young people, and gaining equitable access to a diverse and high-quality diet, including through sustainable school feeding programs. Outcome 2: Targeted populations access to water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH) services is sustainably improved in an inclusive and climate-resilient manner, supported by the strengthening of hygiene practices and digitalised local governance ensuring transparency and efficiency. Outcome 3: The resilience of communities to shocks is strengthened through the integration of risk management into local planning and the operationalisation of inclusive mechanisms for prevention, early warning and crisis response. Outcome 4: Target communities on local, regional and national level apply inclusive and equitable governance practices, strengthen social cohesion and a culture of peace, and manage their resources peacefully and sustainably, with the active and equal participation of women, young people, IDPs and persons with disabilities in decision-making and local planning processes. The resilience analysis is expected to assess and, where necessary, refine the assumptions underlying these outcomes and the proposed pathways through which the project is expected to contribute to resilience strengthening. Objectives The objective of the consultancy is to conduct a project-shaping resilience analysis that provides a sound evidence base for the design of the proposed BMZ Transitional Development Assistance project in Gao (Mali) and Tahoua (Niger). The analysis shall identify the key risks, crises, conflict dynamics and vulnerabilities affecting the target groups and local structures, assess existing resilience capacities and gaps at individual, household, community and local institutional level, and generate practical recommendations for project design, the theory of change, the logframe indicators, do-no-harm analysis and risk mitigation measures. In doing so, the consultancy shall identify the relevant actors at all levels and ensure their meaningful involvement in the data collection and analytical process. Particular emphasis shall be placed on the local perspectives of people affected by risks and crises. In particular, the analysis shall: identify the main risks, crises and vulnerabilities affecting the target populations and local systems; assess how these risks interact and affect different groups in different ways; identify the target groups, local structures and parts of the system whose resilience should be strengthened; analyse existing resilience capacities and gaps, distinguishing between stabilization, adaptation and transformation capacities; identify existing local assets, practices, knowledge and structures that can be built upon by the project; assess the capacities, roles and constraints of local actors and identify realistic entry points for localisation and capacity strengthening; generate practical inputs for the projects theory of change, logframe, indicators and monitoring framework. Key Results The consultancy is expected to deliver the following key results: a systematic analysis of the risk, crisis and conflict context in the target areas; a clear identification of the target groups, vulnerable groups and relevant parts of the system whose resilience should be strengthened; an analysis of existing resilience capacities, gaps and potentials at individual, household, community and local institutional level; a resilience capacity matrix that distinguishes between stabilization, adaptation and transformation capacities across different levels; practical recommendations for project design, including implications for localisation, inclusion, conflict sensitivity and sustainability; explicit inputs for the projects theory of change, logframe, indicators, assumptions, risk analysis, and mitigation of the identified risks. Framework for Key Questions Context, risks and vulnerabilities Assess the local context in Gao (Mali) and Tahoua (Niger), focusing on the major risks, crises, vulnerabilities and conflict dynamics affecting the target groups and relevant local structures. In particular, the analysis should: assess ecological, economic, political, security-related and social risks and crises affecting the target areas; analyse how climate change, insecurity, displacement, food insecurity, limited access to services, weak governance and social tensions affect different population groups; identify conflict dynamics, violence patterns and relevant drivers of tension; assess how different risks and crises are interrelated and how they may evolve over time. Resilience capacities and gaps Analyse how individuals, households, communities and relevant local structures currently respond to crises, shocks and recurring stresses, and identify which groups are particularly vulnerable to the highlighted risks and why. The analysis should: examine existing coping, preparedness and adaptation strategies used by different groups and structures, including both effective and potentially negative coping strategies; identify existing resilience capacities at individual, household, community and local institutional level; distinguish clearly between stabilization capacity, adaptation capacity and transformation capacity: assess which capacities are already in place, which remain weak or insufficient, and which should be strengthened through the project; identify existing local assets, practices, knowledge, community mechanisms and institutional arrangements that can be built upon; present the findings in a resilience capacity matrix structured by target group, sector/system, level and type of capacity. Actors, governance and localisation Map relevant actors at local, subnational and other relevant levels, including public institutions, community-based structures, civil society actors, local partner organisations, informal networks and other relevant stakeholders. The analysis should examine: their roles, interests, resources, capacities and limitations; existing coordination and decision-making mechanisms; patterns of inclusion, exclusion and representation; relevant power relations affecting access to services, resources and participation; realistic opportunities for strengthening local ownership, localisation and sustainable local structures through the project. Humanitarian-development-peace nexus Map relevant humanitarian, development and peacebuilding actors active in the target areas and assess their respective roles, comparative advantages and areas of intervention. The analysis should identify: existing coordination and exchange mechanisms; opportunities for complementarity, cooperation Tender Link : https://reliefweb.int/job/4218832/resilience-analysis-project-design-under-bmz-transitional-development-assistance-programme-mali-and-niger