Consutant Team on Political Economy Analyses (PEA) Development

The Project “Collective Actions for Water Conservation” (short name: CAWACON), supported by USAID Local Work in Vietnam is to support network of Vietnamese NGOs, business, research institutions, associations, and individuals who are interested in conserving and protecting surface water in the Vietnam Water Conservation Network (VWCN). Within this framework, the members will work together to not only raise awareness of the public on causes of water pollution, its impacts on health, and economics, but also move to a sense of shared responsibility to protect rivers, streams, lakes, and coastal water areas. The network will provide a platform for members and the public to dialogue and exchange information and share practices on water conservation. In addition, the network will identify gaps and challenges in water pollution control and mobilize the participation of all stakeholders in collective actions and innovative solutions at community, provincial and national levels to conserve clean water. In particular, the VWCN will reach to business sector and other donors to mobilize funding and supports needed to sustain its It is envisioned that after the project ends, VWCN will continue to be a strong partnership platform for people, civil society, private sector, and the Vietnamese government to bring concerted efforts to conserve water and advocate for the protection of rivers, streams, fish, and the ecosystem. These efforts will serve to protect water resources from pollution and ensure access to safe water for all people. Water management, including water pollution control and conservation, is extremely complex issue. Its governance requires a good set of laws, infrastructure, technology and high level of management capacity. It requires participation of all social components because every single entity of society and life depends on good quality of water and its ecosystem. The main focus of this project for the next three years is on awareness raising on water pollution and health, on behavior change through small grants and initiatives, based on scientific data and information. It is very important to have in depth and thorough understanding of the current governance, political and institutional context, and to be able to identify the critical issues and problems for designing activities and collective actions to reach the outcomes. A Political Economy Analyses (PEA) for Water Pollution and Conservation is to serve as the foundation for designing a strategic planning and an action plan as well as policy advocacy works for VWCN. The geographical areas will be in Hanoi, Danang and Ninh Binh. Scope of Work

Review water pollution control and water management performance data to identity area of persistence problem. This could include both qualitative data (such as national report on water pollution status 2012) or quantitative data (national statistics)
Review national institutional policies on water pollution control (Revised Law on Environment Protection, National Action Plan on Marine Plastic Pollution Management, concerns of people on water pollution in Viet am Provincial Governance and Public Administration Index (PAPI) 2018’s, current Public Private Collaboration Program on plastic waste management By understanding these institutional issues, the analysis will also examine who can influence or change sector level institutions and how.
Review water programs of key international donors (Water Group 2030), and of key stakeholders at various levels (national and sus-national level, international supports), together with their economic and political interests that both influence and are affected by the changes in sector policy making and implementation. It helps to identify key factors and target groups for collective actions in policy processes.
Review and analyse current financing mechanism for community and CSO in water conservation activities, focusing on the tax incentives for supporting CSO and communities ( Law on Income Tax of Enterprises 2015 and others). The PEA should identify opportunity to advocate for private funding policy for CSO and communities in water conservation activities.
Meet with interview with key stakeholders that involve in different processes within the sector such as policymaking, sector ministries, stakeholder’s participation, private sector and business. The interview includes some of experts on partnership between stakeholders (Government – Private Sector and CSOs) which will affect the degree to which our project/network can influence policy. Challenges /Opportunities for changing processes to make them more efficient and effective, will be examined.
The analysis will also include determining 2 or several specific priorities and issues within the water sector and potential approaches for the collective action (CAWACON) to engage and influence policy design or implementation.
Two sub- situational analyses of Water Pollution and Conservation in Tho Quang Bay (Au Thuyen Tho Quang), Danang and Trang An Tourist Complex, Ninh Binh province to understand the social, political and economic factors influencing environmental pollution in the areas. This will examine the perceptions of the current status of water quality; identify key stakeholders for management of water quality; and deep-dive into the respective fishery businesses in Tho Quang/ and tourist activities in Trang An and their impacts on water quality, and the exploration of the relationship between public and private sectors in water conservation.

Competency The project is seeking a team of researchers (Team Leader/Institutional Specialist, Member/Water Management Researcher) to conduct this assignment. The team leader and members need to acquire experiences and skills as follows:

Political economy expertise
Situational analyses skills
Strong knowledge on water management, water pollution and water conservation issues in Vietnam, both historically grounded and up-to-date
Strong knowledge of the NGOs and other sector (particular business sector) in water management area
Good local networks in country
Good Vietnamese and English skills
Knowledge of the USAID Local Work in Vietnam is advantage

Activities The research will involve desk review, key informant interviews, group discussion and field visits in Hanoi, Ninh Binh and Da Nang and delivery workshop of the report. Outputs

A report must outlining the key issues and context within the water pollution management and issues, main stakeholders, institutions and processes analyses, priority areas and potential entry points. (See attached template of the report for reference)
Two reports on situation analysis for Tho Quang and Trang An case, including both analysis of the water pollution issues as well as recommendations for CAWACON’s collective actions.

Timeline and Level of Effort The assignment will be conducted in September-October 2020. Team Leader: 35 days Team member: 35days Reporting The team will work closely with STA, project team and report directly to Project Director. CECR will provide work such as coordination, organization of meetings, setting appointment with key interviewees. Interested consultant team please send EOI summarizing approach, methodology, proposed budget to following address CECR: Doan Vu Thao Ly, Project Manager, Ly.doan@cecr.vn Deadline for application: 30/10/2020