TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO THE GOVERNANCE PROCESS AND SERVICES STRATEGY OF THE SOLAR HOUSES TECHNICIANS ASSOCIATION (SHTA) - AFGHANISTAN

CONSULTANCY: TERMS OF REFERENCES

1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION: GERES IN AFGHANISTAN
While a first survey in Afghanistan was undertaken in 1995, due to the fragile political and security situation,following the Taliban seizing power in 1996, GERES was forced to postpone operations until 2002, when the provisional government of Afghanistan invited international support/ interventions in the country.
GERES has been working on a constant base in Afghanistan since 2002 – just after the Taliban expulsion - in17 Provinces of Afghanistan with more than 10 funders and just about the same amount of formal partners,both afghan and international. During its 15 years of presence in Afghanistan and within the field of energy, various sub-sectors have been covered:

• Energy efficiency activities:
  o Energy Efficiency in Public Building (schools, clinics and health centers);
  o Energy Efficiency in private housing;
• Sustainable farming Development:
  o Greenhouses;
  o Post-harvest technologies;
• Economic and entrepreneurship development:
  o Capacity building of small entrepreneurs;
  o Income generation activities;
• Numerous diagnostic and surveys concerning the 3 above mentioned fields.

Within the last decade GERES have developed a comprehensive array of verified technologies and have reached out to thousands of beneficiaries. GERES has also trained more than a thousand local craftsmen in order to develop local capacities. For improving quality and developing local skills, GERES implement all its project in close collaboration with Afghan ministries (agriculture; health; education; environment; urban and rural development; and energy), national and international NGOs and local partners.
GERES has just completed a 4 years (2014 – 2018) rural development project (Central Highlands Program in Bamyan and Wardak Provinces) funded by AFD in Consortium with 2 others French NGOs.

2 BACKGROUND INFORMATION: THE KABUL GREEN HOMES PROJECT (KGHP)

The project ‘scaling up green homes in Kabul towards sustainable energy consumption and low emission development’ or Kabul Green Homes Project (KGHP) is focused on energy-saving technologies applied at house level. It includes value chain creation and strengthening of supply chains linked to Energy Savings Solutions (ESS). The project takes place in 15 Districts of Kabul Province in an exclusive urban environment and has 2 main sources of fundings:

• European Union: from March 2016 to August 2019 (42 months)
• French Development Agency: from August 2017 to July 2020 (36 months)
  The KGHP is implemented in Consortium with 2 afghan NGOs:
• RMO (Rural Movement Organization) in charge of the implantation of all activities at field level
• AMA (Afghan Microfinance Agency) responsible for the links between the Micro Finance Institutions
  (MFI) and i) households interested in investing in ESS and ii) craftsmen installers of ESS.
  The KGHP specifically aims at the dissemination of ESS through market mechanisms, professionalization of
  Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), access to green loans in order to improve private housing and living
  conditions of the population during winter.
  At the same time, the development of ESS devices on a large scale allows reducing CO 2 or Green House
  Gas (GHG) emissions so limits pressure on the biomass already limited and endangered in Afghanistan.

The objectives of KGHP are:

• To made ESSs accessible and affordable to different segments of Kabul’s housing market, and produced
  by collectively organised and qualified SMEs endorsed and promoted by financial institutions;
• To contribute to a favourable environment for scaling up ESSs and replicating in similar contexts thanks
  to dialogue with national and international institutions of Central Asia.

3 THE SOLAR HOUSES TECHNICAL ASSOCIATION (SHTA) TODAY
3.1 BACKGROUND OF SHTA
SHTA was established during a previous GERES project concerning the correlated thematic as the current one: “solar housing in Kabul city” which ended in 2015. The Association aimed at gathering and support craftsmen, installers of verandas and other Energy Saving Solutions (ESS) as a heating purpose for individual housing in Kabul. STHA was officially registered with the national union of craftsmen (Afghanistan Craftsmen Association – ACA).
At the completion of the first phase of the project, lacking experience and proper structuration, the Association did not manage to operationally last beyond the project. Most of their members got back to their individual business and showed less interest to SHTA. However, the board and historical members still maintained a sense
of unity within the Association thanks to regular meetings and sporadic technical/ commercial exchanges.
However, the Association was not structured enough to develop nor attract new members but was still
gathering 23 members at the initiation of the KGHP.

3.2 OBJECTIVES OF SHTA AS AN ASSOCIATION
The general objective of SHTA is to support the SMEs members in the dissemination of quality ESS in
residential houses in Afghanistan, Kabul particularly.
The specific objectives of SHTA are:

• To represent SMEs values, principles and expertise;
• To coordinate and connect various actors of the ESS value chain: SMEs/craftsmen with materials
  retailers upstream and ESS clients downstream;
• To accompany SMEs in technical, business management and administrative terms;
• To support SMEs members with business development in bioclimatic solutions through cost efficient
  market linkages;
• To facilitate links between ESS customers, SMEs and MFIs;
• To undertake ESS quality controls and certification;
• To develop after sales services dedicated to maintenance of all energy saving devices installed;
• To promote ESS towards new potential clients once the project is completed;
• To strengthen the ties between SHTA members and local authorities.
• Support SMEs for access to green loans ,

3.3 SHTA ACTIVITIES TODAY
Within The framework of the current KGHP, SHTA conducts the following activities:

• ESS awareness meetings: SHTA board members participate and bring their field expertise during
  awareness meetings with communities;
• Support to demonstration ESS site selection: Being acquainted to the local specific situation and
  conditions, SHTA board members participate to the selection of demonstration ESS;
• SME selection: SHTA board members also participate to the new SME selection in their area together
  with project’s staff;
• Technology transfer: SHTA members, especially board members are maximized as master craftsmen/
  trainers for new SMEs during ESS training cycles. They also share their experience at any step with
  newly trained SMEs;
• Marketing support: SHTA supports its members with channelling of ESS demands even though this
  support has been very limited so far;
• ESS dissemination contracts: As a pilot activity in 3 Districts, some members of SHTA have been
  trained to overview the contracting phase for disseminated ESS. Contracts are signed by SMEs,
  household owner and local authority. Following a positive feedback, this initiative has been extended to
  more districts;
• Links with MFIs for the awarding of 2 different green loans:
  • ESS clients’ consumers’ credits: SMEs members of SHTA, placed between ESS users and MFIs
  have a central position to be developed to help shifting from a subsidy approach to a market
  one, with the possibilities offers by micro-credit awarding to ESS customers;
  • ESS artisans’ productive credits: Access to short term credits is essential to numerous
  craftsmen and SHTA develops ad-hoc loans to match its member’s expectations;
• Quality check: SHTA members are actively involved during the ESS quality check stage together
  with RMO staff. Since SHTA members have past experience in implementing ESS, their contribution in
  the ESS quality control process is very useful to RMO own expertise. It also enables SHTA for future
  responsibility on ESSs implementation;
• After sales services: Maintenance of ESS is a key stage of their successes. ESS users are initially
  trained by the craftsmen in charge of the installation of their device. But later on, in case of technical
  issues, or modification/extension of the ESS, SHTA still represents the focal point for all these primary
  ESS users;
• SMEs visibility: SHTA leads initiatives as self-promotion tools of SMEs with the design and publication
  of:
  • A brochure in Dari language highlighting its SMEs networks and contacts;
  • Individual business cards for all its members;
  • Sign boards in front of shops of SMEs members.

3.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE KGHP RELATED TO SHTA
One of the main objectives of the KGHP, running until 2020, is to make SHTA autonomous and durable. It means the Association needs to engage in more tangible activities benefiting to its members enabling SHTA to take over most of the activities beyond the KGHP lifespan.
In terms of quantitative indicators, at the end of the project it is expected SHTA to gather 105 members: “SHTA will be expanded to at least 90 SMEs members with clear governance arrangements in place and will meet operating expenses as a result of a sustainable business model. At least 15 suppliers, wholesalers/retailers will also be identified as SHTA members to supply quality construction materials”.

4 OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The general objective of the assignment is to provide technical assistance to the governance
process and services strategy of SHTA implying a smooth transfer of responsibilities from the
Project towards SHTA.

The specific objectives of the assignment are twofold:

• To provide methodological support and practical guidance to the KGHP for assisting SHTA in
  this process defined in the general objective. Therefore the assignment will be carried out in close
  collaboration with the KGHP team and particularly the officer in charge of SHTA support officer.

• To support SHTA in the elaboration and implementation of its Action Plan for the next 3 years.
  The consultant and the KGHP team will not elaborate the Action Plan on behalf of SHTA board members
  but will facilitate and provide the members with appropriate capacity to produce the substance of such
  document. The Action Plan will become the main document guiding the action of SHTA and increase the
  level of ownership among all artisans’ members of the Association. A basic Action Plan has already been
  drafted and will be used as a base of discussion together with SHTA members.

More specifically but not exhaustively, the support to SHTA concerns the following fields of investigation:

• Set up of internal governance principles:
  • Process of attraction and inclusion of new SMEs in order to reach up to 90 members at the end
  of the project whereas only 35 craftsmen are included in SHTA and 14 only are active as of
  today;
  • Drafting of the tasks and responsibilities of each position in the board;
  • Set up of open and transparent modalities for representativeness and renewal of board
  members (including potential representatives of RMO to ensure continuity with support to the
  Association beyond the KGHP lifespan);
  • Modalities of connection and information flux from SHTA to SMEs and vice-versa;
  • Internal administrative management: budget follow up, financial reports to members;
  • SWOT analyse of the relevance for SHTA to be registered as an independent entity.

• Development of services delivered to members:
  • Definition of the set of services to be provided to the Association members: listing, modalities of
  implementation;
  • Modalities for the generation of financial resources balancing costs of services offers to
  members and ensuring financial viability.

5 ACTIVITIES OF THE ASSIGNMENT

• Activity 1: To support both the KGHP team and SHTA members with the diagnosis, definition and
  review of the current situation:
  o Objectives of the Association
  o Strengths and weaknesses
  o Priority issues
  o Governance system and obstacles
  o Activities undertaken today
  o Services requested by members
  o Pertinence of a registration as an autonomous association

• Activity 2: To co-construct with the KGHP team and SHTA members an action plan aimed at:
  o Strengthening SHTA governance
  o Define a clear strategy of services made available to its members

• Activity 3: 1 year later, To conduct an on-site evaluation of the governance and services delivery
  processes based on the initial action plan and propose a set of final recommendations (including a continuum of the action plan) both to KGHP and SHTA, leading to an autonomous self-management of
  this latest.

6 METHODOLOGY OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The external consultant will work under supervision of the KGHP Manager.
The methodology is based on the following stages:

• Initial desk review of all available documentation relative to the KGHP, SMEs involved in ESS and SHTA.
• A 1 st field mission in Kabul, Afghanistan to efficiently support the KGHP team and SHTA members through implementation of activities 1 and 2.
• Remote monitoring and interactions with the SHTA support officer between the 2 missions enabling the follow up and reorientations of the activities.
• A 2 nd field mission in Kabul, Afghanistan to follow up the progress of the process and provide final recommendation towards SHTA autonomy.

During the 2 field missions, a specific attention is required in the inclusion and capacity building of
the KGHP staff dedicated to support SHTA (SHTA support officer).
This person will participate actively in the initial diagnosis of SHTA during the first mission and associated to all steps of the work plan designed later on together with SHTA members.
Between the 2 field missions, this person will be the entire responsible of the implementation of the activities forecasted in the action plan contributing to SHTA empowerment. The challenge for the external consultant is to make sure the activities are conducted according to the schedule set during the 1st mission and obstacles with implementation are overcome thanks to a quick reaction/decision/action process carried out by the consultant and the KGHP staff under supervision of the KGHP Manager.

7 DELIVERABLES OF THE ASSIGNMENT

• A 1 st mission report following the field mission in Afghanistan including:
  o A diagnostic of SHTA current situation including customized facilitation tools and supporting
  materials used to perform the diagnostic part.
  o SHTA Action Plan aiming at strengthened governance objectives and set up of a strategy of
  services.
  o A training support adapted to SHTA capacity building steps between the 2 missions.

• During the remote support phase and following exchanges with the SHTA support officer, a
  memorandum of information drafted bimonthly, summarizing progress of activities linked to SHTA
  empowerment and difficulties encountered. The memorandum will be addressed to the KGHP Manager and the GERES Central Asia (GCA) Director.

• A 2 nd mission report following the 2 nd field mission in Afghanistan including:
  o An updated Action Plan for SHTA.
  o A training support adapted to SHTA capacity building steps following the 2 nd mission.
  o A set of recommendations enabling SHTA to become fully autonomous at the end of the
  project.

8 PLANNING OF THE ASSIGNMENT

STAGE OF THE ASSIGNMENT - DATE - WORKING DAYS BUDGETED
1 st mission in Afghanistan - End of July 2018 - 12 working days
Draft report - August, 15, 2018
Final report - August, 30, 2018
Remote support and guidance of the SHTA support officer -September, 2018 to June 2019 - 6 working days
2 nd mission in Afghanistan - July 2019 - 12 working days
Draft report August 2019
Final report August 2019
TOTAL 30

9 BUDGET OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The maximum available budget for this assignment is 15.000 Euros inclusive of all costs.

10 EXPECTED PROFILE OF THE CONSULTANT

• Background and experience:
  o At least 10 years of experience in the development sector
  o Proven knowledge in structuring of associations and organizations
  Governance models
  Services strategy
  o Experience of projects with market oriented approach
  o Comfortable with entrepreneurs of the private sector with limited education
  o Proven aptitudes to local staff capacity building

• Specific personal skills
  o Commitment for the entire assignment including 2 field missions
  o Excellent proficiency in English speaking/writing required o Comfortable and able to work in a high-risk country;
  o Flexible and adaptable to changing situations
  o Open minded and able to integrate and synthetize various inputs form local actors
  o Trustable in terms of commitments and deadlines

11 SELECTION CRITERIA OF THE CANDIDATES

CRITERIA - DETAILS - MARK
CV - Adaptation of the CVs to the assignment - 50
Technical offer:

• Methodology - 30
• Coherent planning of activities - 10
• Narrative quality - 10
  Financial offer - Balance between the quality of the offer and the budget requested - 50
  TOTAL 150

Interested candidates, individuals or firms, are invited to send their application and proposals including:
o Updated CV;
o 2 references of similar work;
o A technical offer including elements of understanding of the Terms of References, the detailed
methodology and tools suggested, the intended and precise schedule;
o A financial offer, including all budget items and their distribution between GERES and the consultants.

The above mentioned documentation is to submit to r.rameen@geres.eu and marilleau.sylvain@gmail.com
with the subject title “SHTA support consultancy” before June, 20, 2018.