TERMS OF REFERENCE

CONSULTANCY FOR DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPREHENSIVE WASH MASTERPLAN FOR A MUNICIPALITY IN GHANA

About the Project – Advancing Community Agency and Government Accountability WASH (ACAGAW)

The ACAGAW project represents a strategic partnership between WSUP and Spark Microgrants, operational from 2026 to 2028. This initiative is designed to address the systemic fragility of WASH services in Northern by simultaneously fostering community agency and municipal government accountability. By working with the West Mamprusi and Savelugu Municipalities, the project aims to bridge the gap between service provision and citizen demand, creating a replicable development model that moves beyond mere infrastructure delivery toward sustainable, integrated systems.

 The ACAGAW seeks to transform lives by delivering grants and technical facilitation to over 100 communities, enabling families to launch local projects while advocating for improved municipal services. The intervention is anchored in a comprehensive Theory of Change (ToC)that integrates infrastructure investment, such as new water and sanitation units, with governance strengthening, specifically targeting the adoption of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for water utilities and the creation of municipal WASH master plans. The initiative prioritises the inclusion of women and youth, ensuring they are central to leadership decision-making within the WASH sector.

The project’s core objectives are:

1. WASH Master Planning & Resource Mobilisation: Develop a comprehensive municipal WASH strategy through participatory planning, digital infrastructure mapping (e.g., mWater), and establishment of monitoring systems, supported by capacity building for effective municipal WASH governance.              

2. Utility Capacity & Governance systems for inclusive and accountable water services: Strengthened accountability and data-driven decision making enabled through coordinated roles of CWSA and GWCL in technical oversight and PURC in service regulation.

3. Robust WASH Infrastructure for Schools & Households: Improve access to safe water and sanitation through targeted investments in schools, peri-urban areas, and small towns, including water network extensions, school WASH facilities, and promotion of household sanitation using market-based and behaviour change approaches    

4. Established Sanitation Markets: A robust supply chain system and a resilient sanitation market driven by strengthened supply, increased community demand, and effective regulation by District Assemblies

5. Female Leadership & Community Rights: Gender Focused female leadership across government institutions and community WASH engagement with accountability

This consultancy is therefore intended to support the WMMA to:

• Develop a WASH Masterplan with a clear financial strategy and monitoring framework.

• Disseminate the plan to stakeholders.

• Build capacity of municipal authorities and partners to implement and track progress.

Purpose of the assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to support the West Mamprusi Municipal Assembly (WMMA) and Savelugu Municipal Assembly (SMA) to each develop a comprehensive WASH Masterplan that will guide the planning, financing, implementation, and monitoring of sustainable water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services in the municipality. The Masterplan will consolidate existing WASH infrastructure and service-level data, set clear priorities and targets, and provide a framework for achieving universal and climate-resilient WASH access in line with national policies and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 6). In addition, the assignment will establish a robust monitoring framework to enable both Municipalities and partners to track progress and ensure accountability, alongside a financial and investment plan to secure sustainable funding for implementation.

WSUP requires the services of a consultant to develop a composite WASH Masterplan for the West Mamprusi Municipal Assembly (WMMA) and Savelugu Municipal Assembly (SMA), working in close collaboration with both Assemblies and all relevant stakeholders identified in this ToR.

Specific objectives of this assessment include;

• Review and consolidate existing WASH infrastructure, service level data and any other relevant data

• Develop a composite WASH Masterplan outlining priorities, interventions, timelines, and roles.

• Develop a robust monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework to track progress.

• Prepare a financial and investment plan for implementation.

• Validate and disseminate the WASH Masterplan with municipal authorities and stakeholders.

• Build the capacity of municipal staff and stakeholders on the monitoring framework and use of the plan.

• Develop an adoption strategy for the municipal assembly, especially the General Assembly

Scope of Work

The service provider/consultant is expected to implement the following activities:

1. Inception Phase

   • Conduct initial stakeholder consultations with the West Mamprusi Municipal Assembly (WMMA) and Savelugu Municipal Assembly (SMA), relevant departments within both Assemblies, the Northern and North East Regional Coordinating Councils, the Regional Environmental Health Departments, and all key WASH-related stakeholders and partners. The consultations should also engage all relevant sector institutions and service providers, including but not limited to the Ghana Water Ltd. (GWL), Ghana Health Service (GHS), Ghana Education Service (GES), the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and development partners active in the municipalities. The consultations should aim to validate baseline information, ensure alignment with existing sector plans and policies, and secure stakeholder inputs and ownership for the masterplan development process.

   • Review relevant national WASH policies, guidelines, and municipal medium-term development plans, byelaws and census data on WASH access and services.

   • Submit an inception report with proposed methodology, work plan, and tools.

2. Situational Analysis

   • Review existing data and analytical outputs on WASH infrastructure, service levels, and institutional performance within the municipality. These have been produced by WSUP and the municipalities. Data available include:

     • Existing WASH infrastructure mapping data and asset inventories;

     • Results from service level assessments and performance benchmarking;

     • Findings from the internal self-assessment of municipal WASH systems and the “fresh thinking” prioritisation of interventions; and

     • Information on ongoing and planned WASH initiatives, including the parallel WASH finance improvement programme.

   • Identify service gaps, underserved populations, institutional challenges, and climate risks.

   • Conduct climate risk/vulnerability assessment for WASH access and services

   • Conduct stakeholder consultations and validation workshops.

3. WASH Masterplan Development

   • Define strategic objectives, targets, and priority interventions for the municipality (short, medium, and long-term).

   • Align the plan with SDGs, National WASH Policy, and the District Medium-Term Development Plan.

   • Integrate cross-cutting issues (climate resilience, gender and social inclusion, governance, private sector participation).

4. Monitoring and Evaluation Framework

   • Design a results-based monitoring framework with indicators, baselines, targets, and reporting mechanisms.

   • Propose digital or practical tools for data collection, analysis, and reporting.

   • Define roles and responsibilities of municipal staff and partners in monitoring.

5. Financial and Investment Plan

   • Estimate costs of interventions and develop a phased investment plan.

   • Identify potential financing sources (government, donor, private sector, user tariffs).

   • Propose strategies for sustainable financing, including cost-recovery mechanisms.

   • Validation, Dissemination and Capacity Building

   • Organise validation and dissemination workshops for municipal authorities, sector actors, and communities.

   • Train municipal staff and partners on using the monitoring framework and financial tools.

   • Produce simplified versions (strategy, policy briefs, infographics) of the plan for wider use.

Support and guidance to be provided by WSUP to the Consultant

WSUP, the West Mamprusi and Savelugu Municipal Assemblies will jointly support the consultant by facilitating introductions and coordination with key WASH sector stakeholders and institutions, providing access to relevant municipal and project data, including existing WASH infrastructure mapping and planning documents, and offering logistical support for consultations and validation workshops. They will also facilitate engagement with communities and local leaders, designate municipal focal persons to collaborate with the consultant, and provide technical guidance and oversight to ensure the WASH Masterplan aligns with national policies and local development priorities.

Deliverables

Table 1:  Milestones/Deliverables with Dates

 All deliverables will be produced as a draft for discussion and finalised once WSUP, WMMA and SMA have had an opportunity for review and comment.

The Consultant should expect to be asked to respond to at least one round of comments and questions on draft documents before WSUP accepts the final versions.

Deliverables will not be accepted as evidence for payment processing until they are completed to the satisfaction of WSUP.

Reporting and Liaison

The Consultant will be expected to liaise closely with the Project Manager for this, Michael Adrah of WSUP Ghana.

Expected schedule of the assignment

The assignment is expected to take an estimated maximum period of 21 weeks, commencing on 31st August 2026 and concluding on 18th January 2027.

Budget and payment schedule

This consultancy would be a lump sum contract. Payment will be made based upon activities and deliverables being completed to the satisfaction of the Client, as follows:

• 20% upon acceptance of deliverable 1

• 30% upon acceptance of deliverable 2

• 30% upon acceptance of deliverables 3 & 4

• 20% upon acceptance of deliverables 5 & 6

Payment will be by bank transfer upon receipt of the invoice.

Contract Terms

A standard WSUP consultancy contract format will be used, subject to the Consultant's agreement with the terms. The full template is available on request. In particular, the following clauses should be noted

• All parties must adhere to the guidelines set out in the Safeguarding Policy as set out in WBP1000 (see link https://www.wsup.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/WBP1000-Safeguarding-Policy_July2021.pdf  ) and agree that any allegation made against you or anyone working on your behalf, directly or indirectly, relating to safeguarding or the protection of children, will be reported to WSUP within 72 hours.

• All parties must adhere to the highest standards of business ethics, and in particular, both Parties shall abide by WSUP’s Business Ethics policy detailed in: https://www.wsup.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/WBP800-Business-Ethics-Policy-July-21.pdf.

• It is the responsibility of the Consultant to ensure that its staff who are working on WSUP projects are covered by appropriate Health and Safety and Insurance policies, including all insurances mandated by the law of Ghana.

• The Consultant shall use reasonable endeavours to maintain in force public liability and professional indemnity insurance cover which is adequate to protect WSUP against claims arising from the services. The cover arranged by the Consultant shall indemnify WSUP against claims by third parties.

Consultant Profile

To achieve the desired quality and efficiency, WSUP seeks to engage a consultancy with the following profile

Core competencies

Team Leader / Senior WASH Planning Specialist

• Provides overall leadership and technical direction for the assignment. Leads the development of the masterplan, ensures alignment with national policies and municipal development objectives, coordinates stakeholders, and oversees quality assurance of all deliverables.

Water Supply and Sanitation Engineer

• Assesses existing water and sanitation infrastructure, identifies service gaps, develops technical improvement options, and prepares infrastructure investment priorities and implementation plans.

GIS and Data Management Specialist

• Leads the collection, analysis, and visualization of spatial and service-level data. Supports digital infrastructure mapping, service coverage analysis, and evidence-based prioritization of interventions.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Specialist

• Designs the monitoring framework, develops indicators and reporting tools, establishes data management systems, and ensures the masterplan can be effectively tracked and measured over time.

Financial and Investment Planning Specialist

• Develops cost estimates, investment requirements, financing strategies, and resource mobilization approaches. Identifies funding opportunities and proposes sustainable financing and cost-recovery mechanisms.

Climate Resilience Specialist

• Conducts climate risk and vulnerability assessments and ensures that proposed WASH interventions are resilient to climate variability, flooding, drought, and other environmental risks.

Gender and Social Inclusion Specialist

• Ensures that women, youth, persons with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups are meaningfully represented in the planning process and that inclusion principles are integrated throughout the masterplan.

 Desirable

Experience working with NGOs, MMDAs or development partners on similar tasks.

It is highly recommended that bidders submit examples of previous work to demonstrate skills, alongside CVs of core team members.

Bidding Procedure

Bids including the following components should be submitted to wsupghana@wsup.com and copy Michael Adrah at madrahwsup.com on or before 19^th August 2026 at 17:00hrs GMT:

The consultant will submit separate technical and financial proposals addressing the objectives/tasks of the TOR. The technical proposal should provide the following information (max 15 pages, not including team CVs):

1. A brief description of the consultant or firm and an outline of similar projects/assignments conducted in the last three years

2. Proof of registration, including a business registration certificate (for companies/organizations) or a Ghana Card number and Tax Identification Number (TIN) (for individuals)

3. Summary of relevant experience of lead organisation and other participating organisations or key individuals

4. Description of consultants’ approach and methodology for the assignment. PowerPoint (or other similar app) presentation on how the consultant plans to address the objectives listed above. Describe the proposed methodology for each objective, and broadly who from WSUP and/or WMMA and SMA should be involved.

5. Concise statement of understanding of the objectives and requirements for this assignment, including proposed approach and a provisional work schedule for the tasks, clearly indicating task dependencies, duration, days spent in each water scheme on field visits, meetings and workshops.

6. Introduction to the consultants’ team for executing the assignment, providing various staff and a brief overview of their relevant expertise for the assignment.

7. financial proposal including the following:

   1. Consultant’s fees comprising the day-rate and a detailed listing of day allocations to different task components. The day rate should be inclusive of all applicable taxes, including With-Holding Tax (WHT).

   2. All required expenses, including transport, accommodation, and associated costs

   3. Financial proposals must be priced in Ghanaian Cedis (GHS)

   4. Exchange rates for international bidders will be determined by www.oanda.com rates on the deadline date for bid submission.    Bids must remain valid for a period of not less than 30 days after the deadline date for bid submission of proposals. A bid valid for a shorter period shall be rejected by the Employer as non-responsive

   5. ndividual CV(s) or company profile of no more than two pages per CV. Please provide all CVs, including the lead consultant who will take primary responsibility for the design and management oversight of this assignment and any sub-contracted participants, with participants named as far as possible

Clarification queries about the bidding process can be sent at any time to madrahwsup.com with wsupghana@wsup.com in copy.

Evaluation criteria will be as follows: 

Technical

1. Formal adherence to bidding requirements (10 marks)-see Bidding procedure section above

2. Strength of relevant experience and performance history, including references from others, previous experience with WSUP. (10 marks)

3. Evidence of understanding of the ToR and the context (10 marks)

4. Strength of technical proposal, including: (20 marks)

   • technical quality; approach and specifications

   • Consideration of gender and inclusion

5. Programme/workplan and expected ability to deliver within the timeframe. (20 marks)

6. Experience of the team put forward, both professional and diversity criteria (20 marks)

Financial

1. Price compliance and Clarity (10 marks)

2. Arithmetic accuracy and consistency (10 marks)

3. Taxes, duties & levies treated as required (15 marks)

4. Value for money/Cost competitiveness (30 marks)

5. Professional fees vs qualification (15 marks)

6. Cost realism and risks (10 marks)

7. Bid validity compliant (10 marks)

The proposals will be evaluated independently by a panel of at least three (3) members of WSUP. Each evaluator will score the submissions against the established technical and financial criteria.

A combined scoring approach will be applied, with a weighting of:

• 60% for the Technical Proposal, and

• 40% for the Financial Proposal.

The final score for each bidder will be calculated by aggregating the weighted technical and financial scores. If the combined scores do not produce a clear top-ranked bidder, WSUP reserves the right to invite shortlisted applicants for an interview. The purpose of the interview will be to clarify key aspects of the proposals and support the final selection decision.

WSUP may also consider qualitative factors arising from the interview, including the bidder’s understanding of the assignment, proposed approach, and team composition, before making the final award decision.

Consultants may wish to propose different approaches that will deliver the required benefits for WSUP whilst remaining within the budget available. All negotiations will be documented.