Solomon Islands Knowledge-Action-Sustainability for Resilient Villages (SOLKAS) project has an assignment based in Honiara/remote (hybrid) for interested and qualified applicants on this locally ledclimate adaptation project….
Consultants/ Consultancy firm for Development of Climate Resilience Digital Products for Deployment on Tablets in the Solomon Islands.

Background
SOLKAS is a partnership between the Government of the Solomon Islands, through the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management, and Meteorology (MECDM), and Save the Children Solomon Islands (SCSI). It is one of the largest locally led adaptation projects globally, and one of the first with a strong focus on the education sector. Largely funded under the Green Climate Fund (GCF) with co-finance from the governments of Australia, New Zealand and the Solomon Islands, it has been designed to reduce children, youth and communities’ exposure to climate hazards and help build sustainable, resilient communities and livelihoods in the context of climate change. Working with communities across six provinces, the project will strengthen resilience to climate change impacts by strengthening the capacities of national, subnational, and local governments, communities, and schools to understand, plan for and implement responses to the climate crisis. Working closely with Ministries (Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology (MECDM), Ministry of Education and Human Resources Management (MEHRD), Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAL), Ministry of Provincial Government and Institutional Strengthening (MPGIS),Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR), Ministry of Rural Development (MRD) and Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs (MWYCFA), the project will achieve this through activities under three components:

1. Community-led development of adaptation plans, climate change knowledge and skills, and access to climate change information.
2. Resilient livelihoods, food and nutrition security, and school-level infrastructure; and
3. Institutional strengthening.

Consultancy Objective
The Solomon Islands is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, including:

• Increasingly severe tropical cyclones
• Droughts and extreme rainfall events
• Increasing atmospheric temperatures
• Heat waves of increasing severity, frequency, and duration
• Increasing sea surface temperatures
• Sea level rise (including higher storm surges and king tides)

To address these challenges, Save the Children intends to develop a suite of community co-designed digital toolkits to provide communities, stakeholders, and policymakers with accessible tools and information to enhance climate resilience.

The consultants/consultancy firm will design, develop, and deploy:

1. CRIMS Stream: A Climate Resilience Information Management suite of digital tools for data driven community climate risk assessment and climate adaptation planning and decision-making (CRIMS).
2. School Stream: A Climate Resilience Information Management suite of digital tools for data-driven school-based climate risk assessment, adaptation planning and decision-making.

Project Overview

CRIMS STREAM: Climate Resilience Information Management suite of digital products for data-driven community climate adaptation planning and decision-making (CRIMS)

The development of the CRIMS will be under the anchor ownership and leadership of the MECDM and MEHRD. Three digital tools will be co-developed, piloted and refined with oversight provided by the MECDM Technical Working Group. The users of these tools are intended to be community members–including Disaster Risk Committees or community leaders (to be determined during discovery) with data flowing to MECDM. The tools are:

A. Community Climate Risk Assessment
B. Community Climate Adaptation Planning
C. Community Climate Program Management Modules

SCHOOLS STREAM: Climate Resilience Information Management digital products for data-driven school-based climate adaptation planning and decision-making

Two digital tools for assessing and planning for climate change adaptation planning and decision-making by schools will be co-developed, piloted, and refined to scale. These tools are intended to be used by the School Disaster Management Committee with data flowing to the Solomon Islands Education Management System (SIMIS) managed by MEHRD and integrating with NDMO. The tools are:
A. School Climate and Disaster Risk Assessment (aka School Safety Self-Assessment)
B. School Climate Resilience Planning

The budget allocation for this TOR is approximately USD 650,000.

Scope of Work

Discovery (April-June 2025)
Discovery involves an initial desktop review and briefings by SOLKAS and Save the Children on project design and intention to inform understanding of work conducted to date.

Building on the work to date and desktop review, the consultant/firm will then conduct extensive stakeholder and community consultations to ensure the tools meet the needs of stakeholders and are contextually appropriate and sustainable for rural and remote settings in Solomon Islands. This includes:

• Establishing technical working groups (TWGs) with key stakeholders:
   CRIMS STREAM: MECDM, community members, Ward Development Committees, provincial disaster officials (NDMO within MECDM)
   SCHOOLS STREAM: MEHRD and schools, and NDMO (part of MECDM)
• Conducting interviews and workshops with government agencies and local communities to gather insights on user and system requirements and current challenges
• Analysing existing warning systems and tools to identify the opportunities for innovation
  The findings from this phase will determine the definition of the digital tools, enabling a co-designed approach that is user-centric and aligned with the sustainable, locally governed ambitions of the project.

Design & Development (July 2025-January 2026)

The suite of digital tools is to be developed by the consultant/firm over a 7-month period, with an agreed approach for project management tools and ceremonies to ensure effective communication, timeline, and risk management. Monthly status reports are required to be produced for key project stakeholders, and schedule of sign-off milestones are to be agreed upon during Discovery.

Deliverables:

1. (CRIMS Stream) Community Climate Risk Assessment tool
2. (CRIMS Stream) Community Climate Adaptation Planning tool
3. (CRIMS Stream) Community Climate Program Management Modules
4. (Schools Stream) School Climate and Disaster Risk Assessment (School Safety Self-Assessment) tool
5. (Schools Stream) School Climate Resilience Planning tool

Testing & Soft Launch (Piloting) (February-May 2026)

A comprehensive phase of testing and debugging will occur over three months, during which necessary adjustments and iterative improvements will be made based on end-user feedback. This period will culminate in a soft launch of the toolkits. Following this, a phased rollout will continue.

CRIMS Stream: Pilot in 10% of targeted communities, with a roll out to reach 75% during soft launch period. Scale ambitions from 2026-2027 is to reach 90%.

Schools Stream: Pilot in 10% of targeted schools, with a roll out to reach 75% of targeted schools across six provinces during soft launch. Scale ambitions from 2026-2027 is to reach 90%.

Training– (April-June 2026)

The training program is to include:

• Stakeholder training sessions, including for community members and government representatives for effective use and maintenance of the tools, and train-the-trainers' sessions
• Technology training sessions for IT teams of Save the Children and MECDM to facilitate troubleshooting, post-deployment support and effective project handover
• Producing user manuals, maintenance guidelines, and technical documentation to ensure successful handover to government representatives

Launch & Project Handover– July 2026

A final project report with recommendations for a product roadmap is to be included in the project handover. The consultant/firm is to provide 3 months of technical support and troubleshooting post-launch to strengthen the technical capacity within Save the Children team/MECDM/ SIG ICT.
Qualifications and Experience
The consultants/ firm should have:

1. Proven experience in digital product development, particularly for development or humanitarian projects.
2. Expertise in integrating geospatial data and working with APIs.
3. Knowledge of climate resilience, disaster management, or environmental science.
4. Deep understanding of the Solomon Islands context or similar Pacific Island nations.
5. Strong communication skills and ability to work with diverse stakeholders

Child protection and safeguarding requirements

• Maintain a child safe environment at the workplace and safeguard children’s rights, acting in the best interests of children at all times.
• Comply with the Child Safeguarding Code of Conduct and child safeguarding and protection policies and standards (click here to view further details).
• Demonstrate the highest standards of behaviour towards children in both your private and professional life.
• Never abuse the position of trust that comes with being a part of the Save the Children family.
• Maintain a safe and positive relationship at all times when working with children and young people.
• Respond to any concerns for the safety or wellbeing of a child in a program in accordance with internal reporting processes.

Additional Information

1. Any offer of engagement will be subject to a satisfactory National Police Record Check and, where required, a Working with Children Check
2. Consultants must sign on to the project’s Child Safeguarding Policy and Code of Conduct

Submission Requirements

Interested consultants / consultancy firms should submit:

1. A detailed technical proposal outlining the approach, methodology, and timeline including time intended to be in the Solomon Islands to build and maintain relationships with the Ministries and stakeholders to ensure a functional technical working group (TWG)to guide design; and testing on the ground.
2. A financial proposal with a breakdown of costs in accordance with the deliverables and anticipated timeframes.
3. Portfolio of similar past projects.
4. CVs of the consultant(s) or team.

Deadline for Submission: 31 March 2025
Terms of Reference may be requested from: raveen.chand@savethechildren.org.au or can be download through the link provided: https://tinyurl.com/4e82ckpz

Questions (up until 23 March 2025) may be directed to : SOLKAS Project Manager (email below)

Finalised proposals should be submitted before 8AM (Honiara time), 31 March 2025 via email to: marguerite.bennett@savethechildren.org.au