Terms of Reference: Developing an Anticipatory Action Framework for the India Humanitarian Hub Network
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Item
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Detail
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Issuing and Contracting Organisation
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Northeast Affected Area Development Society (NEADS), host organisation of the India Humanitarian Hub (IHH) Secretariat
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Assignment type
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Consultancy firm or team of senior consultants with a named team lead
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Location
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Location: Primarily remote, with travel to 4–5 agreed member operating areas for field consultations and assessments. Validation consultations and member coordination meetings will be conducted online.
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Duration
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5th November 2026 to 31st December 2026
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Level of effort
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55 team-person-days (Section 4), split across three named roles
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Reports to
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IHH Secretariat
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1. Background and purpose
The India Humanitarian Hub (IHH) is a member-owned platform of 15 locally led Indian organisations, founded on 19 March 2019. It is the India country hub of the Start Network, a global network of humanitarian organisations working to change how crises are anticipated, financed and responded to.
Our members work across India, with the deepest presence in the districts most exposed to climate risk. Between them they have led responses to floods, cyclones, storms, heatwaves, landslides, wildfires, riverbank erosion and displacement, and they bring recognised strength in anticipatory action, community-led innovation, disability inclusion, women's livelihoods and the use of technology in disaster risk.
India’s early warning systems (IMD, CWC, INCOIS, SACHET alerts) have improved sharply, yet many at-risk households receive a warning without the means to act on it. Members have uneven anticipatory action (AA) practice and no shared triggers, pre-agreed early actions or pre-arranged funding. The IHH Executive Committee has asked the Secretariat to engage a consultant to build an AA Framework through a consultative process with all 15 members.
The framework has two layers: (a) a network-wide framework (principles, trigger design standards, activation and decision protocols, financing links, roles, governance and update process) and (b) operational annexes for priority hazard and geography combinations, each with a trigger matrix, early action menu and trigger-to-action SOP, plus templates so other members can build their own.
Test of success: when a trigger is reached, a member knows what to do, who decides, how fast, and where the money comes from.
2. Objectives
- Assess AA readiness of all 15 members, building on work already done.
- Agree with members [3 to 5] priority hazard and geography combinations.
- Design forecast-based triggers linked to official agencies and back-tested against historical events.
- Co-design early action menus and SOPs with clear roles, timelines and accountability.
- Map pre-financing and the fund flow from trigger to disbursement (Start Network mechanisms, government funds, CSR, members’ resources).
- Align the framework with national, state and district disaster management systems and warning channels.
- Build member capacity (workshops, simulations, training of trainers) so the framework is owned and used after handover.
Guiding principles: locally led and member-owned; build on what exists; aligned with government systems; inclusive by design; practical and proportionate; evidence-based and honest about uncertainty.
3. Scope of work
3.1 Hazards and geography. Priority hazards are riverine and flash floods, cyclones and storm surge, and heatwaves. Drought, landslides, cold waves and Himalayan cloudburst or glacial lake hazards are screened in Phase 1; those without a credible forecast entry point are recorded as “preparedness-first” in a register of hazards considered but deferred. Lightning-type short-lead hazards are included only where a forecast-based entry point exists. Geography follows members’ operating districts. Because the contract runs through the dry season, heat triggers are finished early and can be run in “shadow mode” (monitored, not funded) in the 2027 heat season.
3.2 Activities by phase
- Phase 1, inception, diagnostic and prioritisation. Kick-off with Secretariat and Technical Reference Group (TRG); methodology, work plan, consultation schedule, risk and safeguarding log; data protection and consent protocol. Desk review of AA practice and policy in India and South Asia, plus an inventory of existing assets (Start Fund alert history, Anticipatory Action Plan Grant eligibility, members’ own early warning practice, IHH innovation projects). Readiness assessment of all 15 members by self-assessment and key informant interviews, extended to cover compliance and fund-absorption readiness (FCRA, 12A/80G, CSR registration, audit, cash delivery history), government linkages, community structures and 24x7 duty capacity, with members placed in capability tiers. Field visits to [4 to 5] locations with community and district consultations. A scored prioritisation matrix agreed with members (actionability window, forecastability, exposure, member presence, government gap, financing viability, inclusion).
- Phase 2, trigger design. Data source assessment per hazard (IMD, CWC, INCOIS, state agencies, global and satellite products). Layered triggers: readiness (seasonal and extended-range outlooks), preparedness (medium-range impact-based forecasts, flood forecasting products) and activation (short-range forecasts plus observations, with community confirmation). Back-testing against hydromet records and impact proxies, reporting hit, miss and false-alarm rates, with a written “acting in vain” policy. Staged activation model (readiness, activation, stop) with decision rights (RACI), a time-bound decision rule, a trigger-watch duty roster and a decision record template.
- Phase 3, early actions, SOPs and financing. Early action menus co-created with members and communities, each action tagged with the lead time it needs, indicative cost per household and delivery channel. Trigger-to-action SOPs (roles, targeting and pre-registration, pre-positioning through local vendor agreements, logistics, district coordination, accountability), a last-mile warning audit and message library in Hindi and local languages, and inclusion standards (persons with disabilities, older people, women-headed households, migrants, landless and tenant farmers, marginalised hamlets, protection risks, feedback mechanisms). A government alignment matrix by state and district. A financing options paper and fund-flow map with time-to-cash targets, including FCRA and CSR constraints (to be verified by a qualified advisor). The draft network framework (main document no more than [25] pages).
- Phase 4, validation, simulation and handover. Conduct online consultation with all 15 IHH member organisations to present the draft framework, gather feedback and document recommendations for finalisation. Facilitate at least two tabletop simulations, using virtual formats where feasible, to test the framework against realistic scenarios. Provide online capacity-building sessions for member focal points, finalise the monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) framework and after-action review template, prepare a pilot concept note for one or two priority hazard and geography combinations, and submit the final framework, operational annexes and editable tools.
3.3 Out of scope. Implementing early actions, raising funds for pilots and setting up a financing mechanism. The consultant designs the framework and the path to putting it into practice.
How to apply and selection criteria
Proposal Submission Guidelines
Email subject: RFP – Development of an Anticipatory Action Framework for the India Humanitarian Hub Network
Applicants should ensure that their proposals include all the documents and information specified in this RFP and are submitted before the stated deadline.
Technical proposal (maximum 5 pages: understanding, method and member consultation approach, work plan, team structure, day allocation by role consistent with Section 4); financial proposal in INR with taxes shown separately; CVs of all team members; at least two work samples meeting condition 4; two recent client references; a signed conflict of interest declaration. Questions are accepted until [date], with answers shared with all applicants.
Proposals are assessed on quality and cost. Only proposals scoring at least 70% of the technical marks have their financial proposals open; shortlisted applicants may be interviewed.
For detailed information, please check the complete version of the RFP attached below.