August 10, 2026

Short-Term Consultancy Assignment Comparative Assessment of Multiple-Use Water Services (MUS) Practices by Different Implementing Organizations in Nepal

Short-Term Consultancy Assignment

Comparative Assessment of Multiple-Use Water Services (MUS) Practices by Different Implementing Organizations in Nepal

The Sustainable WASH for All (SUSWA) Project invites applications from qualified consultants to undertake a short-term assignment on ‘Comparative Assessment of Multiple-Use Water Services (MUS) Practices by Different Implementing Organizations in Nepal’

Purpose and Objectives

The overall purpose is to design, execute, and analyze a comparative field-based assessment of MUS schemes implemented by different organizations in Nepal. Specific objectives:

Identify, categorize (typology), and map MUS implementing organizations active in Nepal’s rural water sector and synthesize their MUS system’s distinct design and governance models.
Select a representative sample organizations (representing different typologies) and their sample schemes across the three ecological zones.
Design and apply a common comparative evaluation framework to evaluate the contribution of MUS across all selected schemes. The framework may use multiple aspects such as contribution to water access, use efficiency, reliability of supply, livelihood/resilience outcomes, institutional performance, etc.
Collect primary data (household surveys, KIIs, FGDs, technical/scheme audits) and compile relevant secondary data (organizational M&E reports, design manuals, project completion reports to prepare a comparative analysis of the MUS systems
Analyze cross-case performance and synthesize findings supported with field-based evidence and selected case studies to produce an explanatory narrative — not just a ranking — of why certain organizational models outperform others in given contexts.
Deliver a typology of “what MUS model works where,” to inform an appropriate integrated model of water services.

Methodology

Information collection:

Document review of each organization’s MUS design manuals, M&E and project completion reports.
Key informant interviews with organization technical and program staff.
Household surveys within each scheme’s command area, tagged by implementing organization and the different uses for each household (domestic, livestock, irrigation, other productive use).
Focus group discussions with women’s groups, WUSCs, and farmer/livestock user groups.
Scheme-level technical audit: functionality checklist, discharge measurement, infrastructure condition. Some dysfunctional schemes will also be very insightful about the governance or technical or financial reasons of low/no functionality.
Informed consent required from all stakeholders.

Analysis and synthesis

Cross-case comparison matrix scoring each scheme against the common framework.
Statistical testing (e.g., ANOVA / Kruskal–Wallis) of performance differences between organizational models.
Qualitative thematic analysis (e.g., NVivo) of KII/FGD data to explain observed performance differences.
Scheme/site mapping, spatial overlay with ecological zone and climate data.
Contextualization against climate/ecological zone data.
Synthesis into a good model typology/framework with performance–context fit

Team Composition, Roles & Qualifications

The following team structure is recommended for this study. Roles may be combined depending on available resources;

Role	Indicative Level of Effort	Key Responsibilities	Qualifications
Team leader	Full duration, ~25–35%	Overall design authority, organizational liaison at senior level, framework finalization, final analysis and write-up, quality assurance	Master’s degree with 10 years of experience (preferably PhD) in a relevant field, with demonstrated understanding of MUS/water security studies/research.
Field Study Coordinator/ Qualitative study lead (KII/FGD)	Full duration, ~80–100%	Day-to-day field logistics, enumerator supervision, data quality checks, scheduling with organizations and communities, Conduct/facilitate KIIs and FGDs, transcription oversight, NVivo coding support	Postgraduate degree in water resources, development studies, or related field with 5 years of experience in water resources, water security and MUS etc.; prior fieldwork coordination experience including conducting KIIs/FGDs and coding in NVivo or equivalent.
Water Resources Engineer/ Field Survey team member	Full duration, ~80–100%	Scheme technical audits, discharge measurement, infrastructure condition assessment, Household survey administration, basic scheme technical audit support, data entry	Civil/water resources engineering background with 5 years of experience with MUS approach, rural water security and scheme assessment, household survey, and familiarity on water resource management and water security.
Data/GIS Analyst (Quantitative)	part-time	SPSS data cleaning and statistical analysis (ANOVA/Kruskal–Wallis, descriptive statistics), Scheme/site mapping, spatial overlay with ecological zone and climate data	Data/GIS Analyst: proficiency in SPSS and statistical testing (ANOVA, non-parametric tests), QGIS; experience with spatial overlay of infrastructure and climate/ecological data.

Deliverables and Duration

The consultant team shall produce:

1	Inception note: organizational typology table, finalized sampling frame, and confirmed scheme list	2 Weeks
2	Finalized data collection instruments (survey, KII/FGD guides, technical audit checklist) — pilot-tested	1 month
3	Field data collection completion report (with clean, coded dataset)	2 months
4	Cross-case comparative analysis report (quantitative + qualitative findings), Submission of draft study report: MUS model typology with performance–context fit, and recommendations & sharing	4 months
5	Submission of Final study report: MUS model typology with performance–context fit, and recommendations & sharing	4-5 months