Review of Current Country Strategy (2020-2023) and Development of New Country Strategy

Background and Rationale

Plan International Nepal is an independent development and humanitarian organization that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. Plan International Nepal has been working in Nepal since 1978 to help most marginalized children, their families and communities for accessing their rights to survival, development, protection and participation. Over the years, Plan International Nepal operated programmes through development partners in 49 districts in coordination with government, civil society organizations and various stakeholders.

In 2018, Plan International Nepal developed a Country Strategy (CS) through 2022. The country strategy was refreshed in 2020 as part of the organizational transformation mandated by Global Strategy 2017-2022. The strategy period was also extended until 2023. Through the Refreshed Country Strategy (RCS) (2020-2023), a vision was established as ‘an inclusive, just and safe society where all girls and young women enjoy their rights and live in freedom”. The overall goal of the RCS is ‘Girls and young women in all of their diversity reach their full potential as equal and active citizens in both development and humanitarian settings’.

To meet this goal, Plan International Nepal has been working on three strategic choices with following outcomes:

Outcome 1: Vulnerable and excluded children, especially girls, are valued and cared for without discrimination, fear and any forms of violence. Outcome 2: Empowered girls and young women lead change, have control over their bodies and make informed decisions about their lives. Outcome 3: Girls and young women are fully prepared and equipped to adapt and thrive in a changing climate.

As Plan International Nepal’s existing Refreshed Country Strategy (RCS) is ending in June 2023, the strategy needs to be reviewed to facilitate in development of new Strategy aligning with Plan Internationals Global Strategy “Girls Standing Strong”. The new CS (July 2023 – June 2028) will respond to Nepal’s dynamic social, environmental and policy landscape and changing context including policy frameworks. The new CS will also have a link to Plan International’s Regional priorities and a new Refreshed Global Strategy (2022-2027) that is due to official launch in July 2022.

Purpose of the assignment

The overall purpose of the consultancy is to conduct a participatory review and reflection of the current country strategy with emphasis on our theories of change, to determine our relevance and impact in challenging issues faced by girls and young women. The new country strategy will be developed in a participatory manner, based on a collaborative, gender- and conflict-sensitive analysis of the root causes of gender, social, economic and climate injustice in Nepal. The strategy will be built on our development, humanitarian and influencing work; inform our long-term programmatic approaches, including advocacy, campaigns and influencing, to achieve impact at scale. It will also inform our partnership and funding strategies to achieve our programmatic goals.

Specifically, the purpose of the review is to appraise the Refreshed Country Strategy based on: a. the relevance of the strategy’s theory of change aligning with Global priorities, country context through social, economic and political realms. b. Meaningful participation of concerned staff and relevant stakeholders throughout the review process. c. Our experience with current partnership modalities and working approaches to generate data/evidence to inform relevant partnership modalities and working approaches and leverage resource mobilisation including funding for upcoming period And, d. Development of new country strategy in alignment with Plan International’s global strategy and national priorities e. Development of new country strategy aligning with periodic plan of NPC, global strategy of Plan International. f. Develop the new country strategy aligning with Climate Crisis (CC), Disaster Risk Management (DRM) and humanitarian program for positioning Plan as a major actor in CC, DRM and humanitarian program. Also, COVID-19 should be taken into consideration.

Scope of work

a) Facilitate a participatory strategy review process (internally-staff and externally-relevant stakeholders especially with government stakeholders at all three tiers of government) using various facilitation tools to critically review our current CS (2018-2020) and RCS (2020-2023)

b) Produce a report evaluating the strategy and outlining specific recommendations for the new strategy.

c) Develop gender transformative country strategy (2023 – 2028) that upholds the rights, integrity and aspirations of girls and young women, while considering importance of young men and boy’s engagement. The consultant will review key documents and use a range of tools (e.g., PESTLE and SWOT) to lead the country team and partners, and other stakeholders through the strategy development process, assessing the overall country context and identifying strategic focus areas, objectives, and means of implementation. Identify opportunity for climate crisis, disaster risk management and humanitarian programs suitable for Plan International Nepal working areas.

d) To produce two clear and attractive PowerPoint Presentations (PPT) that accord to Plan International’s branding along with other deliverables outlined in subsequent section below. One will present the main findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the review for the Plan International Nepal Country Team, Regional Hub and Global Hub. The second PPT will present the new proposed Country Strategy. The consultant will present these to Plan International Nepal’s Country team and invitees at the end of each phase.

e) Along with this, the consultant will also need to develop a Strategy brief (one pager) highlighting the Plan International’s overall programme and its TOC. Also align with the disaster and humanitarian programming of government as well as likeminded organizations in Nepal.

Location

Nepal with field visits to Sunsari, Dhanusa, Makwanpur, Sindhuli, Kaski, Parbat, Banke, Bardiya, Jumla, Kalikot, and Dolpa (as relevant for the review) primarily for Phase 1 of this ToR. For Phase 2, field visit locations will depend on the recommendations from Phase 1.

Contract Duration and Timeline

The selected consultant should complete the assignment between August and December 2022.

Expectations for Deliverables

a) The review report will be an informative, well-written 15-20-page document that can be easily comprehended. It will be presented in a professional and attractive manner, in accordance with Plan International’s branding guidelines. b) The Plan International Nepal’s proposed new 5-years Country Strategy (2023-2028): • Is a well-written, professional 15-20-page document that can be easily comprehended and applied. • Emerges from broader consultations and learning from the experience of the existing Refreshed Country Strategy. • Responds to the country context/needs, as it is based on a collaborative, gender- and conflict-sensitive analysis of root causes of gender inequality and social injustice in Nepal. • Is based on Plan International’s focus on programming and influencing, and challenges traditional gender and social norms and power struggles. • Focuses on choices that, when implemented, will allow Plan International Nepal to maximize its impact at scale. • Presents appropriate resource (financial and human) needs to deliver the CS. • Positions the country in the context of the region and is clearly linked to the Plan International’s Global Strategy 2022-2027. • Adheres to existing humanitarian agreements, climate crisis (CC) agreements/negotiation including government and UNFCC priorities for Nepal, standards, norms, policy, and guidelines for Disaster Risk Management (DRM). c) The presentations will be clear, concise, and follow Plan International’s branding guidelines

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

The consultant (key individuals in the team) should have following qualifications and experiences:

• Advanced degree (minimum Master’s degree) in social sciences or humanities (development studies, political science, sociology or acceptable discipline) • Good understanding of development and humanitarian programs • Significant experience in strategy development (preferably for rights-based international development and humanitarian organizations) • Significant experience in conducting qualitative research, including reviews and evaluations, with team leader having strong leadership skills and the ability to work as part of a team, constructively with other experts • Excellent command of written and spoken English, with demonstrated competency in producing well-written documents, in clear, concise and correct language • Excellent analytical skills and experience in gender analysis, context analysis, political economy and power analysis • Ability to deliver a high-quality product to deadline • Knowledge of Nepalese context, including South Asian context an asset