Terms of Reference (ToR) for conducting Social Audit under Education Support project in Surkhet and Kailali

1. Background and Context

Established in 2001 the Forward Looking (FL) is the national NGO working for empowerment of persons with disability in Nepal. We champion the rights of people with disability in Nepal. The FL is non-governmental, non-profit making, non-sectarian and non-political organization working mostly in disability. The organization is run and operated jointly by people with and without disability.

At the FL, we believe that people with disabilities should have equal access to rights and opportunities. In Nepal, disability is often treated as a stigma and people with disabilities may easily face discrimination in all aspects of life. Our work includes combating injustices and advocating for the rights issues on national level via different programs.

We work towards improving the way people with disability are perceived and treated within our society. We do this by running income generating, capacity building initiatives, education projects and campaigns to educate the public about the issues faced by people with disability on a day-to-day basis. Forward Looking is going to launch the project is Surkhet and Kailali district. Our principal donor is Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission (Felm, Nepal).

Project Background

Name of Project: Education Support Project (ESP)

Duration of project: 2022 to 2025 and social audit period is this year.

Project location: Karnali Provice: Surkhet district (3 Municipalities) and Sudurpaschim Provice: Kailali district (1 Sub-Metropolitan and 2 Municipalities).

• Objective of social audit

The overall objective of the social audit is to verify the implementation of the project and its results by the community with the active involvement of the primary stakeholders. Further social audit is conducted to examine, assess and analyze all project activities and service delivery performances for determining the extent to which the implementation of an endorsed plan, policy, program, or project has contributed to the overall socio-economic development. It should also measure/assess the engagement of beneficiaries and stakeholders. Specific objectives of the assignment are as follows:

• Verify the implementation of the project and its results by beneficiary communities along with the active involvement of primary stakeholders (persons with disabilities, Schools, and Local Government
• Assess the alignment of project implementation with Forward Looking project policies and operating procedures
• Measure to which extent project activities were conducted in a transparent and participatory manner
• Examine the level of engagement of primary stakeholders in the project design, implementation, monitoring
• Examine the extent to which the implementation of the endorsed plans, policies, programs, or project has contributed to overall socio-economic development

• Scope of Work

The social audit will be conducted in 1 project. 

• Study the Forward ESP project documents, reports, and outcomes  
• Develop a detailed survey plan with well-defined methodology, tools and present it to the FL team for feedback and approval. 
• Develop a checklist and data collection instruments for selected beneficiaries.
• Visit and observe project interventions and materials/equipment provided by the project
• Interview project beneficiaries, representatives of local institutions, and local level governments 
• Organize public meetings   
• Develop preliminary research findings and draft reports.
• Submit the final social audit report.

• Participants of the Social Audit  

Social audit in principle is a participatory process and should engage a wide range of stakeholders so that a wide range of perspectives are captured. Participants of social audit should be carefully identified, and it should be as much participatory^[1] as possible. Major participants of a social audit are: 

• Project beneficiaries (scholarship students, Income generation beneficiaries, vocational training beneficiaries, other beneficiaries)    
• Representatives of local government.
• Representatives of other NGOs working in the area on similar issues
• Project staff members
• Any other relevant stakeholders

• Approach and Methodology

The consultant shall visit beneficiaries and observe implemented projects, support, and interventions. The team shall interview some project beneficiaries of Projects. The consultant shall hold Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with different groups of project beneficiaries to collect qualitative data. 

Institution/Group	Number of FGD
Scholarship student +OJT	2+1=3
Income generation and vocational trainees	2
Total	5

• Expected Deliverables  

The firm will submit reports in English upon completion of each task. Report formats will be proposed by the consultant/firm and will be finalized by Feim Nepal and FL. The report should be factual, detailed, illustrative, pictorial, based on facts, clear / easily understandable, and free from errors. Incorporation of photographs in appropriate sections of the report is advised. Following are the expected results of the assignment:

• Detailed survey plan, i.e. inception report including detailed methodology and plan of action.

• Checklist for a beneficiary survey of each four sectoral themes.
• Draft report of analysis (Segregated by relevant attributes).
• Key findings and final social audit report as per the suggested reporting template. 

• Duration  

The assignment is expected to complete within 56 days from the date of signing of the contract. However, the number of working days can vary depending on the pace of work and external conditions. 

SN	Major tasks of the consultant	No. of Days
1.	Review the FL project Documents, reports, and outcomes	2
2.	Preparation of checklist and survey tool	2

3.	Meeting with FL Team and agree on survey plan & tools, Modification of plan & tools	1
4.	Field visit and Survey[2]	3
5.	Data analysis & Draft report preparation	5
6.	Submission of draft report & Presentation	1
7.	Feedback incorporation in the draft report	3
8.	Work on final report & submission of Final report	7
	Total working days	24

• Budget and Payments Procedure

The consultant/firm shall submit the total budget with a detailed breakdown including applicable taxes at the time of proposal submission. The budget covers consultancy fees along with travel and accommodation costs and other applicable budget lines (as per the agreed budget). The final budget will be agreed upon between the project and the consultant/firm prior to signing the agreement.  The consultant/firm shall bear all tariffs, duties, and applicable taxes or charges levied at any stage during the execution of the work. 

The total consultancy fee will be paid in two installments:

• 60% upon submission and approval of the inception report

• 40% upon acceptance of the final report.

Note: The project will not be responsible to provide insurance and other hidden costs for consultants.

• Requirements

Application along with basic document requirements the proposed consultants are as follows:

• CV(s) of the proposed consultant(s)
• For consultancy company: copies of – firm registration certificate, VAT registration certificate, latest tax clearance certificate, tax exempted by the government, a copy of tax exemption certificate should be submitted.
• For freelance consultant: Copy of citizenship certificate and PAN or VAT registration certificate has to be submitted.
• Technical proposal: A concept note including the approach, methodology and work plan, and timeline of activities.
• Financial proposal: Detailed budget breakdown including taxes.

1. Application Process

Interested consultancy company and freelance consultant who meet the above requirement criteria should apply by submitting their Expression of Interest (EoI) with Concept Note (not more than 5 pages). The outlines should include the methodology, brief technical description and capacity and estimated budget to accomplish the baseline survey. Application mentioning in subject “EOI for Social Audit of ESP” to the following email address. Hard copy can be submitted to the Forward Looking address below. 

The closing date for applications is October 13, 2023. Only short-listed applicants will be contacted for interview. The short-listed applicant will be required to present their proposed methodology and previous similar experience. Any decision for disqualification reserved solely with Forward Looking.

Forward Looking

Kupandol Height, Lalitpur

Phone No. 015010730

Email: info@flooking.org.np

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