Terms of References (TOR) for Documentation of Whole System Design Frameworks for the KOBAC Action, including O&M roles and responsibilities
1. BACKGROUND AND PROJECT CONTEXT
The Building Resilient Communities in Somalia (BRCiS) Consortium is implementing KOBAC – a 36-month EU-funded action operating in the displacement-affected urban centres of Jowhar and Afgoye. KOBAC’s central theory of change rests on three interlocking outcomes: (1) local authorities coordinate and deliver inclusive urban services accountable to displacement-affected communities (DACs); (2) mandated authorities collaborate with DACs and the private sector to jointly design, deliver, and maintain sustainable urban infrastructure; and (3) DACs access livelihood opportunities directly linked to the operation, maintenance, and sustainability of that infrastructure.
A defining feature of KOBAC is the commitment to whole-of-system infrastructure design. Rather than investing in standalone assets (boreholes, individual flood defences, streetlighting), KOBAC seeks integrated system solutions in which grey/hard infrastructure, green/nature-based components, government oversight roles, community-level maintenance responsibilities, and DAC livelihood opportunities are conceived and documented as a single coherent approach from the outset.
As of mid-2026, KOBAC is moving from its inception phase into implementation. Infrastructure priorities have been extensively assessed and consulted upon with municipalities and communities in both locations; shortlisting is planned for late June/early July 2026. The teams now face the challenge of translating this rich body of work into clear, multi-stakeholder whole-system design documentation that simultaneously captures what is being built, who is responsible for what, how livelihoods are embedded, and how accountability between all parties will be maintained and tracked over the life of the project.
As the project moves from inception into implementation, the Consortium has identified a critical gap: there is no standardized methodology or harmonized process for documenting whole-system infrastructure designs while simultaneously integrating O&M accountability plans that (a) assign and track responsibilities across all actors, (b) quantify and embed livelihood opportunities into O&M plans, and (c) enable periodic review for mutual accountability between all parties. This consultancy is commissioned to fill that gap.
2. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this consultancy is to develop a standardized, replicable process and documentation framework for whole-system infrastructure design, including integrated Operation & Maintenance KOBAC. The framework should serve immediately as a project accountability tool and over time as a replication guide for future infrastructure systems across or beyond the two cities.[MH1]
The consultancy has two equally important dimensions: 1) developing the tool/framework, and 2) producing a small number of fully worked examples that demonstrate the framework applied to real KOBAC infrastructure priorities. These worked examples are essential – they are what will allow BRCiS teams and municipal counterparts to replicate the process independently for subsequent infrastructure systems.
Specific Objectives
- Review and synthesise lessons from past BRCiS and EU BREACH infrastructure and O&M approaches to identify recurring strengths, failures, and design gaps that should inform the framework.
- Develop a standardized “Whole-System Design” documentation framework that integrates the following components for each infrastructure system:
- The system design itself: how grey/hard and green/nature-based components relate and reinforce each other.
- O&M responsibilities: assigned by actor type (municipal department, line ministry, community structure, private operator where applicable), with specified frequency, cost implications, and escalation pathways.
- Livelihood integration: a structured methodology for identifying which O&M functions generate employment or enterprise opportunity, quantifying slots, and assigning them to specific KOBAC Outcome 3 pathways.
- Accountability and review: a built-in mechanism enabling periodic review of whether each party is meeting their stated responsibilities throughout the project lifecycle.
- Process narrative: a record of how the design was reached – which stakeholders were engaged, what decisions were made and on what basis and challenges encountered and mitigations – to enable replication.
- Produce fully worked documentation for 2–4 KOBAC infrastructure priorities (distributed across Jowhar and Afgoye) that demonstrate the framework applied to real infrastructure activities developed by the project, serving as reference cases.
- Facilitate co-development workshops with BRCiS teams and municipal counterparts in both locations to produce these worked examples collaboratively.
- Propose a monitoring integration approach that embeds the framework’s accountability commitments into existing KOBAC MEAL and/or Outcome 1 municipal coordination structures.
3. SCOPE OF WORK AND DELIVERABLES
The consultancy is structured in three phases. Phase 1 begins immediately upon contract signature and is not dependent on infrastructure shortlisting. Phases 2 and 3 are sequenced to follow shortlisting confirmation, though the consultant should be prepared to work with infrastructure priorities at varying levels of design maturity (worked examples may be presented as living drafts to be updated as designs are finalised). The overriding principle is that collaboration with BRCiS member teams and municipal counterparts moves at pace; the consultancy should accelerate, not gate, the teams’ own momentum.
Phase 1 – Inception and Lessons Review (Weeks 1–3)
The consultant reviews existing BRCiS project documentation, O&M plans from prior programmes (NEGAAD, BREACH, BRCiS III, and others as available), and relevant secondary literature on integrated infrastructure documentation in fragile urban contexts. The purpose is to ground the framework in what has and has not worked in directly comparable programming, and to agree the framework structure with CMU before development begins.
Deliverable D1- Inception Report and Framework Outline
**Description-**A concise document (max 10 pages) setting out: key findings from the lessons review[KS2] , including recurring O&M failures from prior programmes; immediate recommendations to steer preliminary private/gov engagements and infrastructure selections; the consultant’s proposed methodology for the co-development workshops; and an annotated structural outline of the Whole-System Design Documentation Framework for CMU approval before Phase 2 begins.
Timing- End of Week 3
Phase 2 – Framework Development and Worked Examples (Weeks 4–8 or as adjusted)
Building on the approved inception report, the consultant develops the full documentation framework and facilitates co-development workshops in Jowhar and Afgoye to produce 2–4 fully worked examples against real KOBAC infrastructure priorities. Workshops may be conducted remotely or in-person depending on access and the consultant’s proposed methodology, but must be substantively collaborative – the worked examples are co-produced with the teams, not drafted independently by the consultant.
The framework must treat the five components below with equal rigour. In particular, the O&M responsibility assignment and the livelihood opportunity identification must be developed simultaneously and show clear mutual dependence: the livelihood opportunities are derived from O&M functions, and O&M plans are designed with livelihood integration in mind from the start.
The framework must be infrastructure-type agnostic (a single adaptable template, not separate variants per infrastructure type). The five integrated components are:
- The system design itself: how grey/hard and green/nature-based components relate and reinforce each other.
- O&M responsibilities: assigned by actor type (municipal department, line ministry, community structure, private operator where applicable), with specified frequency, cost implications, and escalation pathways.
- Livelihood integration: a structured methodology for identifying which O&M functions generate employment or enterprise opportunity, quantifying slots, and assigning them to specific KOBAC Outcome 3 pathways.
- Accountability and review: a built-in mechanism enabling periodic review of whether each party is meeting their stated responsibilities throughout the project lifecycle.
- Process narrative: a record of how the design was reached – which stakeholders were engaged, what decisions were made and on what basis – to enable replication.
Deliverable D2-Draft Whole-System Design Documentation Framework (both versions)
Description- Full draft of the infrastructure-type agnostic framework in BRCiS operational format and municipality-facing format, incorporating all five integrated components. Submitted to CMU for review and comment prior to the co-development workshops.
Timing- End of Week 5
Deliverable D3- Draft Documentation of 2-4 KOBAC Infrastructure System Designs
**Description-**Facilitation of co-development workshops in Jowhar and Afgoye with BRCiS teams and municipal counterparts, producing 2–4 fully populated framework documents for real KOBAC infrastructure priorities. Worked examples may be presented as living drafts where design detail is still maturing.
**Timing-**End of Week 8
Phase 3 – Finalisation and Monitoring Integration (Weeks 9–12, or as adjusted)
The consultant incorporates workshop outputs and CMU/Member feedback to produce the final framework and worked examples and develops the monitoring/accountability proposal.
Deliverable D4- Final Whole-System Design Documentation Framework and Worked Examples
Description- Finalised framework (both versions) incorporating all feedback, accompanied by 2–4 fully worked examples and a brief replication guide (max 4 pages) enabling BRCiS member teams to apply the framework independently to subsequent infrastructure systems.
Timing- End of Week 10
Deliverable D5-Monitoring Integration Proposal
Description- A concise technical note (max 6 pages) with a concrete recommendation for how the framework’s role-based accountability commitments should be tracked, reviewed, and escalated throughout the KOBAC project lifecycle. Must specify proposed integration with existing KOBAC MEAL structures and/or Outcome 1 municipal coordination platforms, with sufficient detail for CMU to make an implementation decision.
Timing- End of Week 12
Note on contract duration: the preferred timeline is 2–3 months. However, the CMU recognises that the pace of Phase 2 is partly dependent on infrastructure shortlisting and the readiness of municipal counterparts. A longer contract period may be agreed where justified, provided the consultancy continues to operate at pace and does not create dependencies that slow the teams’ own implementation momentum.
4. MANAGEMENT AND COORDINATION ARRANGEMENTS
The consultancy will be managed day-to-day by the BRCiS CMU (Programme Manager and KOBAC Consortium Coordinator), who will serve as the primary point of contact, coordinate access to BRCiS Member teams, facilitate engagement with municipal counterparts, and provide timely review of all draft deliverables.
BRCiS Members (NRC for Jowhar, Concern Worldwide for Afgoye) will serve as operational counterparts during the co-development workshops and are responsible for mobilising relevant government stakeholders at the municipal and line ministry level. The consultant is expected to work closely with field teams. Responsibility for resolving inter-governmental coordination ambiguities (e.g. between municipal departments and line ministries) rests with BRCiS Members, not the consultant; the framework should, however, be designed to surface and document such ambiguities clearly so they can be resolved.
All deliverables require written CMU approval before the subsequent phase commences.
5. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
Applications are open to individual consultants and small firms or teams. Where a team is proposed, the application must clearly identify the lead consultant responsible for overall quality and the primary point of contact with the CMU.
Essential
- Demonstrated expertise in urban infrastructure planning and O&M systems, with a primary background in engineering or a closely related technical discipline.
- Experience developing integrated O&M frameworks, maintenance management systems, or infrastructure sustainability documentation in development or humanitarian contexts.
- Experience working in fragile, conflict-affected, or displacement-affected contexts; Somalia or Horn of Africa experience is desirable but not mandatory – strong analogous experience is acceptable.
- Demonstrated ability to design and facilitate participatory co-development or co-design processes with multi-stakeholder groups including government counterparts.
- Experience linking infrastructure interventions to livelihood or market systems outcomes, with an ability to translate technical O&M functions into employment and enterprise development opportunities.
- Strong written communication skills in English, with the ability to produce clear documentation for both technical and non-technical audiences including municipal government counterparts.
Desirable
- Familiarity with integrated green-grey or nature-based infrastructure design in urban settings.
- Experience with MEAL framework design or integration for infrastructure sustainability monitoring.
- Familiarity with EU-funded development programmes and EU reporting standards.
- Knowledge of Somalia’s urban governance structures, durable solutions programming, or municipal services landscape.
6. APPLICATION AND SELECTION PROCESS
Application Requirements
Interested applicants should submit the following:
- A technical proposal (max 8 pages, excluding annexes) describing the applicant’s understanding of the assignment, proposed methodology, and approach to the co-development workshops, worked examples, and monitoring integration deliverable.
- A financial proposal detailing total fees and estimated expenses.
- CV(s) of the lead consultant and any team members, clearly demonstrating relevant experience against the qualifications listed above.
- Two examples of comparable previous work (integrated O&M frameworks, whole-system design documentation, or equivalent), with brief annotations (max half a page each) explaining relevance to this assignment.
- Contact details for two professional references.