Consultancy for an External Expenditure Verification of a Project funded by the European... Tender

Procurement Summary

Country : Thailand

Summary : Consultancy for an External Expenditure Verification of a Project funded by the European Commission

Deadline : 01 Apr 2018

Other Information

Notice Type : Tender

TOT Ref.No.: 21864607

Document Ref. No. :

Competition : ICB

Financier : European Commission

Purchaser Ownership : -

Tender Value : Refer Document

Purchaser's Detail

Purchaser : CÁRITAS ESPAÑOLA
122/11 Catholic Bishops- Conference of Thailand, 6th floor, Soi Nonsi 14 Nonsi Rd., Chongnonsi, Yannawa, Bangkok, 1020 Tel. +66 (0) 2681 3900 Attn: Mrs. Vittoria Garofalo / Mrs. Fatima Zidan / Mr. Yago Aparicio
Thailand
Email :vgarofalo.ssgg@caritas.es / fzidan.ssgg@caritas.es / yaparicio.ssgg@caritas.es

Tender Details

Tenders are invited for Consultancy for an External Expenditure Verification of a Project funded by the European Commission.

PURPOSE OF THE EXTERNAL EXPENDITURE VERIFICATION

With this tender, Caritas Spain, acting as Coordinator of an EU grant contract and on behalf of the grant co-beneficiary local partner in Thailand, is requesting to receive proposals for performing an expenditure verification of the project:

Name of the Project: Strengthening capacities and developing sustainable livelihood opportunities for the Myanmar refugees largely encamped along the Thai-Myanmar border in preparation for eventual repatriation.

Country /Area: Thailand, Thai-Myanmar Border temporary shelters

Project Duration: 24 months

Start date of Project: 01/01/2017

End date of Project: 31/12/2018

Expected contributions as per funding sources:

European Commission: EUR 1, 445, 830.48

Caritas Spain: EUR 361, 457.62**

TOTAL: EUR 1, 807, 288.10**

The language of the Grant Contract is English; therefore both proposals and deliverables are expected to be submitted in English language.

Summarized description of the Project:

The project implementation period is 24 months, from 1st January 2017 to 31st December 2018. The project total budget amounts 1, 807, 288.10 EUR, with declared incurred expenses of 847, 422.59 EUR for the first year. The European Commission co-funds a maximum of 80%, while Caritas Spain contributes the remaining 20%.

The project is a 2-years action aimed to contributing to a long-term solution to the challenges encountered by the Myanmar refugees living in nine temporary shelters along the Thai-Myanmar border, by fostering livelihood opportunities while the target population remains in the camps, thus creating capacities that potentially can serve the refugees in their future life outside the camps.

Developing their livelihood skills now to promote self-reliance, while we have the opportunity to do so, will have a major impact on preparing them for viable and sustainable lives in Myanmar, and providing them with livelihood skills to help them avoid becoming 'welfare clients' once again, upon returning to their homeland. Furthermore, the two main set of livelihood activities (organic agriculture and small animal raising and micro-business) proposed under the project ensure broad-based inclusiveness, including the most vulnerable and the affected Thai communities.

The project is being implemented in all nine camps along the Thai-Myanmar border, and includes residents of Thai host communities nearby/affected by the camps who choose to participate in this project.

Specifically, the project implements actions aimed at supporting continued access to basic services for refugees, by providing them with opportunities for developing sustainable livelihood skills while still living in the camps, and thereby promoting greater self-reliance,

as well as contributing to develop sustainable livelihood strategies among the surrounding Thai hosting communities (Outcome1 and Outcome 2).

The project also implements actions that contribute towards improving community-led camp governance, by building the livelihood skills, leadership and community-based governance capacities of a number of camp-based refugee staff, empowering them to participate in the Livelihood Camp Committees. In addition, the project will improve the capacities of a number of Livelihood Camp Committees members and camp leaders, so that they are in better position to exercise their role towards the refugee community and better promote the participation in livelihood activities within the camps (Outcome 3).

The project will then mainstream livelihoods skills and capacity building of refugees at camp level along the activities proposed, and through COERR active participation in repatriation planning processes, such as UNHCR-CCSDPT Strategic Framework for Durable Solution (Outcome 4).

The project is aimed at achieving the following chain of changes:

Outcome 0: To favour an efficient, transparent and quality aid, in a Rights-based approach framework, strengthening Caritas agents as responsibility-holders, open to learning and accountability processes.

Outcome 1: To continue with the provision of livelihood-sector-based basic services in the nine camps and their hosting communities which will contribute significantly towards reducing vulnerability and increasing self-reliance and preparedness for a possible return process.

Intermediary Outcome 0: Methodological and Operational Structures are ready for an efficient management towards transparency and accountability, operating efficient Monitoring and Learning management mechanisms.

The proposed intermediary outcome integrates transversal activities that will guarantee the necessary material, human and management resources for the correct project implementation. It is also proposed to conduct one significant activity entitled “Systematization of experiences and knowledges”. For this action we put the focus on each person´s learnings gained during its participation in an intervention (whether it is at institutional, strategic, operative, or technical role or level or as a target group).

Intermediary Outcome 1: Encamped refugees and Thai residents in hosting communities obtain knowledge and skills sufficiently to develop appropriate Farm-based livelihood strategies.

Based on the livelihood priorities stemming from the current living context and expressed by the refugees themselves, the project is highly oriented to develop knowledge and skills of the refugees through Farm-based livelihoods activities applying appropriate low-external input Organic Agriculture and Animal Husbandry technologies. This organic agriculture modus will ensure that the project activities will result in production of fresh food items by the participants themselves, demonstrating to them how to begin and manage farming activities with little resources. At the same time, participants from Thai villages located nearby the camps will also be trained. This will also contribute to protection of the environment and sustainable management of natural resources.

Intermediary Outcome 2: Encamped refugees obtain knowledge and develop entrepreneurship sufficiently to initiate activities in Non-Farm livelihood sector.

A second work package is composed of Non-Farm based Livelihoods projects which are designed for those refugees not interested in farming and which are highly suitable for those refugees who may not be able to do farming. The project intends to develop entrepreneurship and self-confidence through basic business training and close accompaniment.

Intermediary Outcome 3: Strengthened Livelihood Camp Committees through the project will contribute to the livelihood sector´s camp governance.

This result will be achieved by developing leadership and management skills of 90 Livelihood Camp Committees (LCCs) members and camp leaders, and through supporting the LCCs to reinforce their active role in the camp governance. In addition, the project will contribute to build up both the Technical skills as well as Leadership skills of 90 Camp-Based Refugee Staff Support (CBRS) persons working on the project. The project will empower them so that they will be able to conduct livelihood projects as well as to participate in the Livelihood Camp Committees.

Intermediary Outcome 4: Livelihood Working Group (LWG) is strengthened by COERR's contribution through participation and provision of inputs for development of sector plans for the UNHCR-CCSDPT Strategic Framework for Voluntary Repatriation. COERR regular and active participation in the Livelihood Working Group will enable the project to contribute to developing the sector plan for promoting better livelihood opportunities for the refugees within the framework of a future voluntary repatriation to Myanmar.

SCOPE OF THE EXPENSES VERIFICATION

The expenditure verification is a requirement under Article 15.7 of the General Conditions of the European Commission grant contract. Therefore, the subject of the expenditure verification will be the interim and final Financial Reports in connection with the Grant Contract.

The scope of the required service is widely detailed in Annex A to these ToR (Annex VII of the Grant Contract: Model Report of factual findings and terms of reference for an expenditure verification of an EU financed grant contract).

The following summary contains the general rules constituting the basic guidelines and rules that shall govern the expenditure verification:

Contract with European Commission containing the project formulation documents and general and special conditions.

Collaboration agreement entered into CBCT-COERR and Caritas Spain.

METHODOLOGY, SCHEDULE AND LOCATION

3.A METHODOLOGY

The project is being reported to the back-donor in two times, Interim report (comprising 12 months) and Final Report (comprising another 12 months and inclusive of the previous period). Since an Interim Financial report covering the implementation period 01/01/2017 - 31/12/2017 has already been submitted to the European Commission, the revision of such period may begin immediately after the service awarding. Therefore, recommendations and comments are expected before finishing the current implementation period (01/01/2018 - 31/12/2018). Recommendations will be submitted as per agreed schedules.

The methodology suggested for performing the service is as follows: two verifications of each period financial report shall be done; between the first and the second revision, there will be from 2 to 4 weeks of difference to make possible an adequate response to the verification findings. Hence, the second revision will take into account the responses given to the initial findings before concluding the verification of that period.

3.B SCHEDULE

The schedule of the verification will be agreed with the EU Gr

Documents

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