Consultancy Opportunity National Wash Budget Analysis

CONSULTANCY TERMS OF REFERENCE

TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR CONDUCTING NATIONAL WASH BUDGET ANALYSIS FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2025/2026

1. Introduction

Water Witness Malawi (WWM) is implementing the Behavioural Adaptation for Water Security and Inclusion (BASIN) project, funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) through the Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CLARE) programme. The project seeks to strengthen inclusive water security by integrating behavioural and psychosocial insights into climate adaptation, water governance, and public financing. Recognising the importance of evidence on public financing for climate-resilient WASH services, Water Witness Malawi seeks to engage a qualified consultant to undertake a National WASH Budget Analysis for the 2025/2026 financial year. The analysis will provide evidence to better understand how public resources are allocated and prioritised for the WASH sector and the extent to which current public financing supports climate resilience and preparedness.

2. Background

Malawi is highly vulnerable to recurrent floods and droughts, with over half of its districts classified as disaster-prone. These climate shocks frequently damage water infrastructure, disrupt service delivery, and increase the cost of maintaining WASH systems. While significant investments are made in infrastructure, there are gaps in risk-informed planning and financing, particularly in integrating preparedness measures that reduce vulnerability and protect investments.

The Malawi 2063 (MW2063) vision and its First 10-Year Implementation Plan (MIP‑1: 2021–2030) provide the overarching framework for national development, including commitments to climate resilience, water security, and sustainable service delivery. Annual national budgets serve as the primary mechanism for translating these policy commitments into tangible investments, directing resources to sectors such as Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), disaster risk management, agriculture, and environmental management.

The effectiveness of policies depends on how well budget allocations are structured, prioritised, and executed, as this determines whether planned interventions are realised on the ground. Gaps in budgeting such as insufficient allocations, weak integration of risk considerations, or delays in disbursement can significantly constrain implementation and limit the impact of policy commitments. As such, the link between policy intent and service delivery outcomes is mediated by the budget process and its ability to support timely, risk-informed, and adequately financed actions.

The BASIN project assessments indicate that preparedness for climate extremes including early warning systems, climate-resilient infrastructure, and contingency planning is not consistently or explicitly reflected in budget structures. In many cases, preparedness is either underfunded, embedded within broader programmes without clear identification, or addressed reactively through emergency response and recovery spending.

Furthermore, the WASH sector remains heavily reliant on donor financing, with development partners accounting for the majority of development expenditure. This dependence raises important questions about the adequacy, sustainability, and alignment of public financing to support climate-resilient WASH services and long-term preparedness.

Despite these challenges, there is limited systematic analysis of how public budgets allocate resources to flood and drought preparedness, mainstream climate risk and preparedness across sector investments, or balance anticipatory (preventive) and reactive (response) spending. This evidence gap makes it difficult to assess whether current financing arrangements are sufficient to strengthen resilience and support effective adaptation.

A focused national WASH budget analysis is therefore required to assess how effectively current financing structures support water security, climate resilience, and preparedness, and to identify opportunities for strengthening risk-informed, equitable, and anticipatory budgeting at both national and district levels.

3. Purpose

Water Witness Malawi (WWM) seeks to undertake a comprehensive analysis of the Government of Malawi’s 2025/2026 National Budget to assess how public resources are allocated, disbursed and utilised in support of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector, with particular emphasis on water security, climate resilience and preparedness. The analysis will examine financing across key government institutions, including the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Water and Sanitation, Local Government Authorities and District Councils, as well as other relevant ministries and agencies with responsibilities for WASH and climate resilience.

The budget analysis aims to generate evidence on the adequacy, composition and effectiveness of public financing for the WASH sector, identify financing gaps and opportunities, and inform policy dialogue, advocacy and programme interventions. Specifically, the analysis seeks to answer the following key questions:

1. To what extent do budgets explicitly allocate resources for flood and drought preparedness (early warning systems, contingency planning, climate-resilient infrastructure, etc.)?

2. How is preparedness mainstreamed within broader WASH and water investments?

3. What proportion of total WASH spending is:

• Preparedness-specific (standalone)

• Preparedness-integrated (mainstreamed within investments)

• Reactive/response-focused

4. How are climate risks (flood/drought) incorporated into budget planning at national and district levels?

5. Are there frameworks or tools guiding risk-informed and anticipatory budgeting?

6. How are population vulnerability, hazard exposure, and geographic risk considered?

7. Are funds for preparedness disbursed and used effectively?

8. What are the delays between allocation, disbursement, and spending especially for preparedness-related activities?

9. Is there evidence that preparedness investments reduce losses or improve resilience outcomes?

10. What share of preparedness financing comes from:

• Government

• Development partners

• Private sector

Xi. Are donor funds aligned with national preparedness priorities?

4. Objectives

The objectives of the analysis are to:

1. Quantify allocations to water security, climate adaptation, and specifically flood and drought preparedness, both standalone and mainstreamed in relation to the overall national and district WASH budgets.

2. Assess the extent to which previous WASH national and district budgets have responded to water security and climate resilience needs and issues that were prevalent in previous budget analyses and joint sector review reports, including responsiveness to current water security needs in health care facilities and in schools.

3. Assess the integration of preparedness considerations within broader WASH and water sector investments.

4. Provide evidence to support the development of a sustainable WASH Financing Strategy that will set out approaches on how the WASH sector can finance its overall programmatic and operations to meet the sector’s objectives in the short- and medium-term including scaling up preparedness financing and mainstreaming.

5. Identify any gaps, challenges, and bottlenecks in the budget process, implementation and financing preparedness

6. Highlight any budget gaps in WASH budget allocations and outputs with reference to country priorities and priority themes articulated in the MW2063 vision (MIP1), Malawi National Resilience Plan (2018-2030); National Water Policy (2023) and Water Sector Investment Plan (WSIP) 2012

7. Develop and update a district-level real-time budget tracking tool to ensure budget accountability. This comprehensive tool should display all relevant information regarding WASH budget accountability, and include mechanisms, platforms, spaces, and linkages to processes that facilitate further action.

5. Scope of work

The study will employ a mixed-methods approach combining desk review, budget trend analysis, budget execution analysis, comparative expenditure analysis, key informant interviews, and a validation workshop to generate a comprehensive assessment of WASH financing and climate preparedness investments in Malawi.

The consultant will create customized tools to gather and analyze the necessary information, which will be reviewed and approved by the client before use. The consultant will also have to develop appropriate methodology for the study including the workplan which will be vetted by the client.

The analysis should at least address the following questions:

1. How are WASH budgets planned and accounted for?

• • • What is the process for planning the funding required by the Ministry of Water and Sanitation, (i.e., how are size, water resources, water users/population considered?)

    • What is the calculated/estimated need vs the amounts requested, allocated, dispersed, received and actually spent?

    • Are funds dispersed and used efficiently, and what are the time lags between request, approval, disbursement and spend?

    • What are the reasons for any differences?

    • How is expenditure by the MoWS tracked and what oversight procedures are in place to manage fiduciary risks?

2. Preparedness Financing Assessment

• • • Map explicit and implicit preparedness financing across sectors.

Develop a framework to classify:

• Preparedness-specific expenditures (e.g., early warning systems, contingency funds)

• Preparedness-mainstreamed investments (e.g., climate-resilient infrastructure design)

• Quantify and compare these categories across sectors and years

3. Where does the money flow?

• The consultant should perform comparative analysis (descriptive statistics) of the proportion of total government spend which goes towards water supply, Operations & Maintenance (O&M) as well as Other Recurrent Transactions (ORT), which are crucial to support continued functionality of water supply systems, building on the recently launched (climate-resilient) WASH financing strategy.

4. Priority advocacy messages and approach

• Based on the analysis, when and where are the key opportunities to influence the budgeting process for water security and climate resilience and adaptation or WASH in general?

The consultancy will be required to also achieve the following:

• Analysis should include data on the source of finances – whether these are from government, development partners, and the proportion generated by the Ministry itself.

• Identify, track, and document the Government’s budget allocations for WASH for the fiscal years 2024/25 and 2025/26,

• Track and document the Government’s budget disbursements for WASH for the fiscal years 2024/25 and 2025/26,

• Track and document the Government’s budget spending and outputs for WASH for the fiscal years 2024/25 and 2025/26, with a focus on inequalities by comparing actual geographical coverage against areas of greatest need and district-level plans.

Some of specific tasks that the consultant will be required to do will include:

1. Document review and stakeholder mapping to understand the WASH sector and Preparedness financing landscape

• The consultant will conduct a comprehensive mapping of current public, donor, and private expenditures based on a review of relevant literature to understand the current investment levels in the WASH sector.

• While the analysis will include government expenditures within the defined budget lines, it will also account for significant WASH investments made through other government agencies and budget lines not currently included in the WASH investment analysis.

• The analysis will extend beyond the Ministry of Infrastructure/Water and Sanitation Corporation to encompass other agencies involved in WASH investments, such as the Local Government, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Natural Resources and climate change and Water Boards. Additionally, the assessment will include an in-depth analysis of WASH sector expenditure trends by financing source, including domestic resources, grants, loans, and household expenditures through tariffs.

• Analyse preparedness integration in infrastructure, O&M, and ORT budgets.

• Track budget flows from allocation to expenditure.

• Conduct comparative analysis of:

  • Water supply investments

  • O&M

  • Preparedness-related spending

• Identify gaps in institutional capacity for risk-informed budgeting.

• Assess linkages between WASH and sectors such as agriculture, health, and disaster management for integrated preparedness financing.

• Review of budget documents, financial statements, sector reports, and relevant policy documents will also be done

• Conduct interviews with key stakeholders, including government officials, sector experts, and representatives from civil society organizations.

2. Assess the challenges and opportunities for mobilizing resources for WASH

• Perform a comprehensive analysis of the challenges the WASH sector faces in attracting private investors and development partners, referencing current strategic documents and reports related to water security and climate resilience.

• Outline the connections between the WASH sector and other sectors, such as Health, Education, Natural resources, Agriculture, Energy, Mining, and Urbanization, to facilitate joint resource mobilization.

3. Develop a strategic financing plan

• • • The strategic financing plan will be developed as a roadmap to leverage more resources for sector priorities, including taxes, transfers, and tariffs.

    • This consultancy will provide technical assistance to strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Infrastructure and WASH stakeholders, equipping them with the necessary evidence and strategic actions to prioritize adequate financing and increase the fiscal space for the WASH sector. The consultancy will carry out key activities to ensure the timely availability of information and analysis required to develop a robust Sustainable WASH Financing Strategy.

    • The analysis must also generate clear recommendations on how preparedness can be embedded within budget structures, including:

      • Dedicated budget lines for preparedness.

      • Climate budget tagging systems.

      • Integration into public investment management frameworks.

    • Identification of entry points to influence budgeting cycles

    • Actionable advocacy messages to:

      • Increase preparedness financing.

      • Shift from reactive to anticipatory spending.

      • Strengthen cross-sectoral coordination.

6. Deliverables

The consultant is expected to produce the following:

1. An inception report outlining the methodology/approach, work plan with clear timelines on how the assignment will be carried out.

2. Literature review report.

3. Data collection and analysis tools.

4. One policy brief based on the critical findings of the budget analysis with preparedness-focused recommendations.

5. Development of WASH sector and preparedness expenditure analysis.

6. Presentation on the key findings of the draft budget analysis.

7. A final report (electronic and 3 bound copies) – 60 pages maximum should comprise the following:

The whole analysis should be guided by the following budget analysis principles:

1. Relevance: the work has strategic and logical relevance to the country’s development goals. The work ‘makes sense’ and is related to tangible issues of concern to stakeholders.

2. Rigor: Budget analysis should: draw on accurate data from referenced sources so that data can be traced; use a transparent methodology which can be replicated by others – it should show its working. Results should be double checked for validity, accurate, and evidence based.

3. Clear change objectives: Budget analysis should result in a clear ask, targeted to encourage or inform change by specific stakeholders. Conclusions and recommendations should be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound).

The Consultant will report to the Country Director but closely work with the Programmes Manager at Water Witness International.

7. Duration of the assignment

This assignment is expected to be completed within a period of 25 working days from contract signing.

8. Qualifications and experience of the consultant

The consultant is expected to have the following qualifications:

• A minimum of master’s degree in the following fields: – Social sciences (Economics, Development Economics), Public Sector Financing, Statistics, and other social science subjects

Specifically:

a) At least 5 years’ relevant work experience in conducting budget analysis and expenditure tracking exercises, ideally within the WASH sector.

b) Extensive experience in public finance management frameworks and public budget formulation and analysis, among others;

c) Understanding of/familiarity with human rights-based approach to research and advocacy on issues related to the financing of WASH and other public services

d) Demonstrated comprehensive range of analytical skills especially in key macro and micro-economic fundamentals and their application to public policy development and analysis;

e) Experience and knowledge in regional social service delivery issues will be an added advantage;

f) Experience in working in the field of Governance and the broader public governance systems will be an added advantage; and

g) Demonstrated experience and solid track record in similar assignments will be added advantage.

h) Proven understanding of the importance of ethics in research work

9. Application

Interested consultant(s) should send an electronic Expression of Interest (financial & technical proposals) by 5pm on Monday, 03rd August 2026 to Apply Now with subject line “2025/2026 WASH National Level Budget Analysis” outlining exact availability in line with the approximate timeline. The expression of interest should contain: (a) a technical offer and (b) a financial offer, comprising:

1. Technical offer:

• Technical proposal detailing proposed methodology (maximum 7 pages).

• At least three traceable referees and references for similar assignments successfully delivered

• An example of a report from similar work which demonstrates evidence of the skills and experience required.

• Up to date CV of the consultant(s) and all team members to be available for the assignment

2. Financial offer:

• Details of charges and expenses in line with proposed methodology strictly in Malawi Kwacha.