Gender Analysis – National Consultant

Project: "Flood-proofing and drainage for medium-sized coastal cities in Vietnam for adaptation to climate change "
Start of assignment: March 2013
Duty stations: Hanoi, Tuy Hoa, Quy Nhon
Contact person: Ms. Tran Thuy ([email protected])
Address:  MoC/GIZ Wastewater and Solid Waste Management Programme
              Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
              Ministry of Construction
              37 Le Dai Hanh
              Hanoi, Vietnam
              Telephone: +84 4 39747258, Fax: +84 4 39747764
Internet: www.giz.de/vietnam and www.wastewater-vietnam.org

1. Background

Coastal cities are increasingly threatened by climate change through extreme whether events and increasing sea-levels. According to the global climate risk index, Vietnam is one of the countries most seriously affected by climate change. Flooding in Vietnams coastal cities regularly lead to casualties and economic losses. During flood events, untreated wastewater and hazardous substances are spread through water, which has strong negative impacts on the population and ecosystems. Heavier flood events negatively influence public basic services.
The project “Flood protection and drainage of medium-sized coastal cities in Vietnam to adapt to climate change” aims at the improvement of capacities of public institutions and the urban population to better cope with the increasing frequency and intensity of urban flooding.
The project follows a multi-level approach (national level, province, city) to increase capacities.
On national level, the project will advise the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment to improve the framework for urban flooding sector policy.
There will be a close coordination with the National Steering Committee on Climate Change.
On provincial and city level, cities and provinces will be supported to develop action plans to adapt to climate change as well as emergency plans. On micro level, awareness on climate change and urban flooding will be raised and the local population will be supported to develop and implement household measures to prepare for flooding.
The project is scheduled to start implementation in late 2012.

2. Purpose and objectives

There is a growing body of evidence linking gender equality to aid effectiveness and development more broadly. The World Bank has well demonstrated that activities that take gender equality into account tend to achieve their objectives more often than projects that ignore them. Gender equality and women’s empowerment are central to the achievement of all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Hence, gender equality should be integrated into all aid activities. Contribution to gender equality is therefore a cross-cutting issue in all development programs of GIZ. The main GIZ strategy to achieve or at least meaningfully contribute to gender equality (the goal) is mainstreaming gender into the respective program’s operations. In order to do so, gender-relevant inequalities - via the collection of relevant disaggregated data and qualitative information - have to be identified and based on the findings, levers have to be shifted in the course of project planning and implementation in order to tackle those inequalities found.
There is a gendered dimension to climate change. Studies have proven that climate change impacts affect men and women differently. This is because of different vulnerabilities as well as different roles and status within the society. Gendered division of labour often results in more women represented in the informal sector, which is often more vulnerable to environmental variability and climate change. Therefore, climate change may in fact worsen gender inequalities, for example creating extra work for women or exacerbating vulnerability of women in poor households.
The Vietnamese National Target Program to Respond to Climate Change (NTP-RCC) highlights that potential impacts of climate change and sea level rise could affect the Vietnamese achievement of goal 3 of the MDG: ‘Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women’. For example, it states that especially women have to adapt to natural resource decline and therefore have to spend more time working as they are usually in charge of household organisation, as well as the collection of water, fuel and food.

A study on Viet Nam and climate change found that there has been little research on the gender dimensions of vulnerability to climate change, and on opportunities to strengthen both resilience to climate change effects and gender equality. It has also been observed that on first sight some policies related to climate change, social development and gender equality, for example, do not show any clear inter-linkages. However, it is important to formulate both analytical and policy frameworks that create synergies between responding to climate change and pursuing social goals, such as strengthening resilience to climate change stresses and improving gender equality.

This study has the objective to conduct an analysis on the impacts of climate change induced urban flooding on gender equality, identify opportunities for the program to improve gender equality, and identify opportunities for men and women to be involved in decision making, policy development and policy design as long as they are within the scope of the project.
Recommendations from the gender analysis will be incorporated into the project design.
In order to fulfill the above objective, a detailed understanding of women's and men’s interaction with their immediate natural and social environment, their responsibilities within areas affected by climate change, their adaptive, their perception on the use of resources and the reflection of gender issues in policies is crucial.
Corresponding to the project design, the gender analysis will focus on three main issues:
a) Analysis of legal and political framework, relevant for gender in the project context.
b) Analysis of gender aspects in the context of climate change urban flooding at future project partners and involved public institutions (qualitative and quantitative analysis).
c) Survey of target group on local level regarding gender differentiated roles in the context of flooding and drainage and identification of practical demands of men and women in this context.Within its scope of intervention, the project will closely collaborate with an array of national, provincial and local government and associated bodies, i.e. PPCs, ministries/ departments like MoC/ DoC (project partner). Additionally, MONRE/ DONRE, Women’s Union and other relevant actors should be addressed in the analysis.

3. Approach and Methodology

The Gender Analysis will be conducted by an international consultant and a national supporting research assistant cum translator.
The international consultant is requested to undertake a desk study on:
1) Existing national policy framework and how far they reflect relevant gender aspects;
2) Implementation status of the policy framework and future planning in the context of climate change and urban flooding/drainage.
The following fieldwork shall be carried out:
1) Conduct qualitative semi-structured interviews (at national, provincial and local level) with relevant institutions and mass organisations (e.g. Women’s Union), decision makers and authorities;
2) Collect relevant information/data (i.e. gender relations of persons involved in policy processes; budget for gender relevant issues; monitoring of implementation);
3) Carry out quantitative and qualitative semi-structured interviews with target-groups in two of five project provinces (Tuy Hoa and Quy Nhon).
The international consultant will be responsible for developing a final concept and work plan – to be approved by GIZ – that is expected to include sufficient time with staff, materials,organisations and resources.
Both consultants need to consider and follow GIZ gender analysis guidelines, which will be provided upon start of the assignment.
The following will be provided to the consultants:
GIZ will assist in:
- Logistic support;
- Arranging interviews with staff from various stakeholders;
- Organising interviews/ meetings with relevant stakeholders;
- Office desk in Hanoi

4. Outputs and deliverables under responsibility of international consultant

1) Guidelines for interviews are finalized and translated into Vietnamese (by national consultant);
2) Interviewees are selected
3) Interviews are implemented in a timely and qualified manner;
4) Desk study data is compiled;
5) ll data sets (i.e. electronic transcripts as well as in-depth notes) resulting from the research are made available to GIZ;
6) Draft report of not more than 10 pages in English is submitted to GIZ;
7) Comments from GIZ on draft report are included in final report;
8) Final report of not more than 10 pages (without attachments) in English is sent to GIZ;
9) Exact deliverables will be defined with GIZ advisors upon signing of contract.

5. Tasks of the National Consultant

- Support the international consultant by approaching stakeholders and arranging appointments for talks and interviews and data collection (2 days)
- Interpretation during interviews with stakeholders in Hanoi and during field study (verbal and written) (7 days)
- Translation of questionnaires and interviews into Vietnamese and assistance with quantitative data collection (as agreed upon) (2 days)
- Data input (good command of SPSS and MS Excel required) (2 days)
- Scanning/ skimming of relevant policy documents; Translation of several policy documents (Vietnamese to English) (per page, approx. 30p.)
- Administrative and logistic support during field work if needed.

6. Start of assignment/Timeframe

The assignment is expected to start in 03/2013 and shall be carried out within 15 business days, from 1 March until 15 April 2013.

7. Qualification and experience of the national consultant

- Academic qualifications (University degree) in an appropriate field related to climate change, adaptation, disaster risk reduction, flood management
- Proven knowledge in Gender in development
- Good command of SPSS and Excel, experience with research projects, data collection and analysis
- Excellent oral translation skills (Vietnamese to English and vice versa)
- Very good written translation skills (Vietnamese to English and vice versa)
- Working experience in Technical Cooperation projects are an asset
- Polite manners, experience of working with government officials, team-working abilities.

8. Remuneration

Up to 150 USD per day (total of 15 days), depending on background and experience.

To apply:
Please send your application with a cover letter and CV (both in English) to Ms. Tran Thuy via email at [email protected]. The deadline for applications is 10 February 2013