Call for Proposal: Request for Proposal Coordinating Lead Author (Individual Consultant) for the second edition of the Biennial Report: “Global Infrastructure Resilience”

Background and context

The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) is a multi-stakeholder global partnership of national governments, UN agencies and programmes, multilateral development banks and financing mechanisms, the private sector, and academic and knowledge institutions. It aims to address the challenges of building resilience into infrastructure systems and the development associated with it. The vision, mission, goal, and objectives of CDRI are explicitly linked to the post-2015 development agendas. The Coalition will also contribute to the resilience of the global infrastructure systems in an increasingly interconnected world.

CDRI published the first edition of its Biennial Report, titled – “Global Infrastructure Resilience: Capturing the Resilience Dividend” in October 2023. It is CDRI’s principal vehicle for engaging and focusing the attention of a global audience of political leaders, policymakers, practitioners and researchers on the critical and multifaceted challenges posed to disaster and climate-resilient infrastructure. 

Biennial Report: Second Edition 

The first edition of the Biennial Report was well received and captured the curiosity of a wide range of stakeholders. It presented a compelling economic, financial, and political imperative for investing in resilience based on GIRI (Global Infrastructure Risk Model and Resilience Index), a first ever fully probabilistic risk assessment of infrastructure assets covering 6 hazards and 7 infrastructure sectors. The Report provided data driven country specific risk metrics to support investments for infrastructure resilience with pathways for upscaling finance, application of Nature-based Infrastructure Solutions (thematic focus for the first edition) and strengthening infrastructure governance. The Report along with its executive summary is now available for download at: cdri.world/gir.The GIRI data platform is also an integral part of the Biennial Report  and makes available the data from the model for visualisation, interpretation, and analysis. It can be accessed at: cdri.world/giri.

For the second edition of the Biennial Report (hereafter referred to as the “Report”), CDRI aims to further bolster the uptake of resilience. 

For the same, a new thematic area would be selected alongside other components of the Report that would be integrated as “Chapters” within the Report. Together, they would define the meta-narrative and key messaging of the Report.

The second edition of the Biennial Report, much like the first, will be guided by a high-level International Advisory Board (IAB), which will review and approve the draft of the Report before publication. For the development of the Report, CDRI will engage with multiple stakeholders, including its members, Multilateral Development Banks, bilateral agencies, and technical and academic organizations. Contributions will be invited from these stakeholders for the different sections of the Report. 

It is in this backdrop that CDRI seeks to hire a consultant for the role of the Coordinating Lead Author on the second edition of the Biennial Report. 

Objectives

The key responsibilities of the Coordinating Lead Author will be as follows. 

1. Producing the draft of the Second Biennial Report in collaboration with various technical partners/contributors. The Coordinating Lead Author is expected to be the pen holder for the final draft Report and provide strategic guidance to the various contributors. 
2. Coordinating with and supervising various partners/contributors with support from the Project Management Team
3. Coordinating with the Advisor for the Biennial Report and the Project Management Team at CDRI. The Project Management Team for the Biennial report includes Director-Research, Knowledge Management and Capacity Development, Lead Specialist, Senior Specialist and Analyst.
4. Detailed scope of work

Strategic Guidance to the Report

• Contribute to the development of timelines for different milestones towards the development of the Report in coordination with the Project Management Team and advise the selection of technical partners/contributors and the commissioning of contributing papers and studies, to ensure timely production of inputs to the Report.
• In linewith theoverall frameworkof theReport, reviewconcept notesand Termsof Reference (ToR) for the development of each component /chapter/section of the Report, 
• Participate in and chair, when required, meetings, online workshops, and other kinds of fora organized by the Project Management Team to scope out the content of each component /section of the Report and ensure coherence between them, taking into account the core messages of the Report.
• Provide substantive supervision support and review of the chapters/sections produced by various consultants and experts in close coordination with the c Project Management Team.
• Supervise the Peer Review process of the report including the review of the contributions from technical partners for each component/section of the Report, in close coordination with the Project Management Team.
• Considering the rationale and objectives of the Report and the thematic focus define the core messages of the Report for consideration by the CDRI Secretariat and Executive Committee and the International Advisory Board of the Report. 
• Ensure complementarity with other global knowledge initiatives that focus on issues of disaster and climate resilience.

Overall coordination and oversight of the GIRI data platform 

• Substantive oversight and coordination for updating and maintaining the GIRI data platform. This would include the substantive supervision and validation of contributions from technical partners, including Terms of Reference (ToR), proposed methodologies and data, the review of draft results and ensuring coherence between the different contributions.

Drafting of the Report

• Prepare a roadmap for all components within the Report that will guide the conceptualization, timelines and drafting of all chapters within the report. 
• Prepare periodic reports on the findings of the Report for the CDRI Secretariat and the International Advisory Board and participate in briefings as required. Ensure that feedback and recommendations are enfolded into subsequent drafts of the Report.
• Finalize the draft chapters of the report in close collaboration with various consultants and experts. This will include reviewing at least three drafts (first, second and final) and weaving, and threading the contributions from technical partners produced under all components/sections of the Report.
• Draft the Executive Summary of the Report and review the preliminary text (Foreword, Index, List of Tables and Figure, Abbreviations, ISBN number etc.) and post-text (Bibliography, Annexures, contributing author credits etc.) 

Design and outreach of the Report

• Advise on the design and layout of the final version of the Report, in both print and digital versions, 
• Review the final proof read version of the report to ensure high quality 
• Advise the CDRI Secretariat and Project Management Team in the development of a communication strategy for the Report and participate as required in launch events, briefings to CDRI Members and the media.
• Advise the Project Management Team in engaging the potential users as well as other stakeholders of the Report (as well as associated data systems) during the process of development of the Report.

Key technical and core competencies and soft skills

• Knowledge ofthe political,social, cultural,and economiclandscape thatcondition the challenge of infrastructure resilience in CDRI Member Countries and globally;
• Having a strong network with experts and institutions that have worked in the realm of infrastructure resilience would be essential;
• Extensive experience of interacting, engaging, and working with a large pool of experts and institutions who have expertise in infrastructure resilience would be essential;
• Ability to lead informed and strategic discussions with government counterparts and stakeholders.
• Proven experience of working in developing and emerging economies would be essential;
• Demonstrate strategic vision and international leadership in the area of disaster risk management, resilience and sustainability with in-depth knowledge of the policy issues, governance framework and financing instruments in addressing the challenge of disaster and climate resilient infrastructure in CDRI Member Countries and other developing regions;
• Leadership experience in the UN system or Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), would be desirable;
• Strong track record and proven experience of producing high-quality research, data analysis and publication is essential.
• Excellent report writing, presentation and editing skills in English including analytical skills (quantitative and qualitative) and the ability to communicate and summarize the key findings.
• Excellent inter-personal, teamwork, communication and time management skills;
• Flexibility in remote working arrangements and experience of conducting stakeholder interviews and collecting data remotely.

Expected deliverables

1. Roadmap documents for all components within the Report

The detailed implementation roadmap for the Report to be prepared and submitted to CDRI in the first three months (Quarter 1) of the assignment.

2. Progress Reports of all components within the Report

Interim progress Reports of the work under all chapters /sections of the Report in Quarters 2 & 3.

3. Zero Order Draft of the Report

The Zero Order Draft of the Report will be submitted to CDRI for a first level internal review within 11 months of the assignment.

4. First Order Draft of the Report

The First Order Draft of the Report will be submitted for an independent peer review in month 13 of the assignment. The first draft review process will involve identifying three to four reviewers per chapter with an editor to track all the comments and responses.

5. Second Order Draft of the Report

The Second Order Draft of the Report will be submitted to the International Advisory Board in month 14 of the assignment. The Report will need to strike a balance between the needs of a technical and a political audience (regulators, policy makers, financial institutions etc.). The International Advisory Board will review the Report to ensure that this balance is maintained in the insights and messaging. The Board will also ensure that the strategic goals of the CDRI are met, and the draft is in line with the Charter of the CDRI. The Advisory Board will review this in a time-bound manner and the process could be done electronically.

6. Final Draft of the Report

The Final Draft of the Report will be submitted to CDRI in months 15-16 of the assignment after incorporating the feedback and comments received from the International Advisory Board.

7. Status Report on the GIRI data platform

Submission of a Status Report of the data platform detailing out the updates and maintenance exercises undertaken during the tenure of drafting the second edition of the Report. 

8. Period of engagement

The duration of the assignment will be 18 months.

9. Qualification criteria

Evaluation Criteria for Qualification:

• Advanced universitydegree atthe doctoratelevel, ina fieldrelevant to civil engineering, environmental engineering, environmental science, sustainable development, disaster and climate resilient infrastructure, environment management and sustainable finance.
• Minimum 20 years of relevant experience in research, policy and practice in disaster risk management and resilience.
• Professional experience traversing diverse regions and geographies, especially in developing and emerging economies. 
• Proven record of producing high quality global reports and publications on resilient infrastructure and related topics.

1. Submission of proposals

• Consultant should submit a technical proposal and financial proposal for the detailed Scope of Work (SoW) as mentioned above. Proposals should be prepared with scanned copies of all necessary documents and converted into separate PDF files – each having different passwords. The file must be named as.

• [Consultant name] Technical Proposal

• [Consultant] Financial Proposal (Name of Assignment) (PASSWORD protected file)

• Clarifications by Bidders: Bidders requiring any clarification on the RFP document may contact Procurement Division of the CDRI in writing by email: tender.projects@cdri.world
• Technical Proposal: A project proposal document covering the Consultant’s interpretation of the overall SoW. The document should contain the overall approach toward the delivery of the project too.
• Financial Proposal: Agencies shall quote an all-inclusive lumpsum price covering all aspects mentioned in the scope of work as per the format given in Annexure-I. All payments shall be subject to tax deduction at the source per India's tax laws.
• THE PROPOSAL IS TO BE SUBMITTED through EMAIL to tender.projects@cdri.world on or before 01 April 2024 by 11:59 PM IST with the subject line: “PROPOSAL SUBMISSION FOR “Selection of CDRI Second Biennial Report Coordinating Lead Author” [your name].” Proposals received later than this deadline are liable for rejection.
• The email should include all the password-protected-PDF files listed above as attachments. Each Consultant should send only one email for the specified service. Multiple emails may lead to the disqualification of the bidder.
• PASSWORD: The password FOR FINANCIAL PROPOSAL MUST NOT BE SHARED ALONG WITH TECHNICAL PROPOSAL. Sharing of passwords for the Financial Bid along with the bids may lead to its rejection.
• Use Times Roman font to send passwords and ensure readability.
• The password of the Financial proposal will be asked after the evaluation of the Technical proposal.
• Validity of Proposal: The proposal must remain valid and open for acceptance for a period of 60 days from the date of opening of the proposal.