VCA Call for Proposals: mapping of local climate solutions in Kenya  

August 31, 2022

Hivos, alongside Akina Mama wa AfrikaSlumdwellers InternationalSouth South NorthFundación Avina and WWF is currently implementing the Voices for Just Climate Action program. The program aims to ensure that by 2025, local civil society and underrepresented groups will have taken on a central role as creators, facilitators and advocates of innovative climate solutions. Their inclusion is crucial for effective and lasting climate responses, and because the climate crisis is also a societal challenge with ethical and human rights aspects.

Region: Kenya
Office: Hivos East Africa
Task: Mapping of local climate solutions in Kenya
Application deadline: September 20th 2022

The overall approach of the program is to work with civil society to build wide societal support for locally shaped climate solutions through an inclusive and rights-based approach. This includes building a broad-based climate alliance at the country level, and bridging divides (urban-rural, gender, youth) that amplifies voices in new unusual ways. In addition, it will influence national and global policies and financial flows (e.g. climate finance, private sector investments) in support of these locally shaped solutions.

Purpose of the assignment

Local approaches to climate mitigation and adaptation, led by rural and urban communities in the Global South, need to gain traction if we are serious about a just transition. These communities often face challenges arising from poor infrastructure, lack of access to essential services, informal work, and socioeconomic marginalization, making them more vulnerable to climate change and less able to transition to low-emission technologies. At the same time, they are often guardians of traditional knowledge and sources of innovative solutions, both of which are essential elements for effective climate solutions. As custodians of traditional knowledge, these communities have designed local-led climate solutions to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change. Hivos believes that youth, women, Indigenous peoples, and others who are most affected by the climate crisis, are often at the forefront of some of the most effective – and inclusive – climate actions around the world and these groups must be meaningfully participate in decisions taken that affect their lives.

The VCA program aims to bring together partners and work collaboratively to promote locally-driven climate solutions as approaches that can inform policies at global, regional and national arenas as well as promote them as case studies that can be used to show community participation to climate negotiations. VCA aims to profile these solutions that generate evidence of climate impact and promote collective advocacy at national, regional, and global levels for changing the support towards local led climate solutions.

It is against this context therefore that Hivos believes it’s important to map existing locally-led climate solutions in Kenya. The result will be shared with stakeholders and will be used to inform advocacy around support towards local led climate solutions. Hivos aims to recruit a consultant who will support the VCA program to understand what we mean by locally-led climate solutions as well as map out existing solutions across the country.

Specific activities of the assignment

  1. Understand how communities and stakeholders define local-led climate solutions through conducting FGD’s, key informant interviews, desk research and/or field visits.
  2. To identify locally-led climate solutions existing in the country and document them with reference to three high potential areas, three ASAL areas and three coastal areas.
  3. To identify the challenges and needs being faced by the implementers of the local climate solutions and provide recommendations to address them.

Specific deliverables of the assignment

  1. An inception report detailing the methodologies to be applied and the timelines for each deliverable
  2. A final report of the mapping study with all agreed deliverables both in long version and an abridged version

Qualifications of the consultancy firm/individual

The call is open to organizations and/or individuals with the following qualifications:

  • The organization/individual should be registered in Kenya and originally from Kenya.
  • The organization/individual must have good knowledge and a proven track record working on climate justice and policy work at local, regional, and international levels.
  • The organization/individual should have background knowledge and understanding of the climate change sector in Kenya.
  • Strong practical, analytical, research and evidence-based climate change advisory experience.
  • Extensive research and policy circle networks in the country and the respective counties are an advantage.

How to apply

We ask you to send an application with the following information as one PDF document:

  • A detailed financial and technical proposal showing the proposed approach to the assignment
  • At least one example of a previous piece of work that you/your organization have produced on locally-led climate solutions
  • References who can explain your work and competencies.

All applications should be in English and should not be longer than 5 pages long. The budget can be attached as an annex. Applications must be submitted to eastafricajobs@hivos.org by September 20th, 2022 with the subject line VCA Mapping Local Climate Solutions.

About Hivos

Hivos is an international development organization guided by humanist values. Together with citizens and their organizations, we aim to contribute towards just, inclusive and life-sustaining societies where people have equal access to opportunities, rights and resources. We work in partnership with others in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America on three impact areas: civic rights; gender equality, diversity and inclusion, and climate justice. Our approach is solution driven, and we build wider movements for change by amplifying and connecting voices.