Consultancy for kcca urban refugee coordination framework

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Background and justification

Kampala is Uganda’s capital and a major destination for refugees, asylum seekers and other mobile populations. Many public institutions, humanitarian and development partners, civil-society organisations, private providers and refugee-led organisations operate in the city. As at end of August 2026, 8.5% of Uganda’s 2,041,652 refugees & asylum seekers live in Kampala and the surrounding areas. KCCA requires a practical mechanism that identifies these actors, clarifies their roles, coordinates services and referrals, and align their agreed interventions with city priorities.

KCCA in partnership with the Refugees in East Africa: Boosting Urban Innovations for Livelihoods Development(Re:BUiLD) program at the International Rescue Committee (IRC) is commissioning this assignment to establish the KCCA Urban Refugee Coordination Mechanism. The mechanism shall be embedded in KCCA’s structures and linked to the National Migration Policy 2025, National Migration Action Plan 2025–2029, KCCA Strategic Plan and ordinary city planning and budgeting systems.

Purpose and specific objectives

Purpose: To establish a KCCA-led Urban Refugee Coordination Mechanism that aligns actors, clarifies responsibilities, coordinates urban refugee interventions, and mobilizes and tracks stakeholder contributions through a transparent and accountable system linked to KCCA structures and strategic plan.

Specific objectives:

• Develop a practical KCCA-led coordination mechanism specifying membership, leadership, institutional roles, decision-making, referrals, information sharing, reporting and accountability arrangements.
• Secure stakeholder agreement and operational readiness for the proposed mechanism by testing their institutional, legal, technical and financial feasibility; agreeing on roles and initial contribution commitments; incorporating stakeholder feedback; and preparing a costed 90-day activation plan for KCCA approval.
• Define and articulate the complementary role of the KCCA Refugee Coordination Mechanism within the broader refugee response architecture, clarifying how it will interface with existing national, city-level, humanitarian, development, and private sector coordination mechanisms to strengthen refugee inclusion, improve equitable access to urban services, and promote sustainable economic self-reliance for refugees and host communities in and around Kampala.
• Produce a comprehensive snapshot of the urban refugee population in Kampala, including demographic characteristics, geographic distribution, socio-economic profile, access to services, livelihood opportunities, and key challenges affecting refugee inclusion and self-reliance.
• Undertake a financial landscape analysis to assess current, available, and potential resources that can support implementation of the KCCA framework.

Scope of service

A. Inception and actor mapping

Confirm the work plan and rapidly map KCCA units, divisions, national institutions, UN agencies, development partners, CSOs, refugee-led organisations and private providers, showing mandates, services, geographic coverage, resources and coordination relationships.

B. Current Coordination assessment

Review existing coordination, referrals, planning and reporting; identify gaps and overlaps; and map current and potential cash and in-kind contributions from KCCA, relevant national institutions, UN agencies, development partners, CSOs, philanthropic organisations and the private sector.

C. Actor consultations

Consult KCCA leadership, relevant directorates and all five divisions, MIA, OPM, MoLG, service and security actors, UN agencies, partners, CSOs, refugee-led organisations, refugees and host communities. Record decisions and unresolved issues.

D. Coordination mechanism design

Design the KCCA-led mechanism, including purpose, membership, chairing, secretariat/focal function, technical working arrangements, division focal points, decision rights, meeting cycle, escalation, partner alignment and community representation.

E. Operating arrangements and tools

Prepare an actor register, role matrix, annual coordination calendar, action and decision logs, referral protocol, service directory, reporting template, complaints/feedback process and lawful data-sharing standards.

F. Activation and capacity plan

Prepare a costed 90-day activation plan, first-year coordination work plan, capacity requirements and immediate financing actions. Distinguish KCCA mainstream expenditure, incremental costs and partner contributions.

G. Validation and finalisation

Facilitate KCCA-led technical and stakeholder validation, resolve comments, complete legal, finance, planning, data and safeguarding checks, and submit the mechanism for KCCA management approval.

Methodology

The firm or individual consultant shall apply a rapid, participatory and practical mixed-methods approach combining desk review, analysis of available administrative and programme data, key-informant interviews, actor and financing mapping, focused consultations, co-design sessions and validation. The methodology shall generate evidence for designing a coordination mechanism that can be implemented within KCCA’s existing structures.

As an initial step, the firm or individual consultant shall prepare a concise snapshot analysis of the urban refugee situation in Kampala. Using available KCCA, OPM, UBOS, UNHCR and partner data, the analysis shall show:

• Available estimates and profiles of refugees and asylum seekers, disaggregated by sex, age, nationality, location and vulnerability, where data permit.
• Their distribution across Kampala’s five divisions and major refugee-hosting communities.
• Priority needs, protection risks and barriers to accessing city services.
• Available services in livelihoods, education, health, protection, documentation, shelter, WASH, skills development and social assistance.
• Service coverage, accessibility, duplication, unmet needs and referral and service gaps.
• The extent to which urban refugees are included in KCCA plans, budgets and service-delivery systems.

The firm or individual consultant shall conduct an actor and service-mapping exercise covering KCCA directorates and divisions, relevant ministries and government agencies, UN agencies, development partners, civil-society organizations, refugee-led organizations, private-sector actors, philanthropic organizations and representatives of refugee and host communities. The mapping shall identify each actor’s mandate, services, target groups, geographical coverage, resources, referral arrangements, coordination platforms and potential role in the proposed KCCA mechanism.

A financing analysis shall also be undertaken to establish, as far as information is available, current and prospective cash and in-kind contributions supporting urban-refugee priorities. It shall identify potential contributors to the financing basket, existing funding channels, financing gaps, contribution modalities and the legal, institutional and fiduciary requirements for managing stakeholder contributions.

Findings shall be presented through a concise situation snapshot, actor and service matrix, coverage and gap analysis, financing map and priority action summary. The consultant shall verify the findings through consultations and co-design sessions with KCCA, national institutions, partners, service providers and refugee representatives. The validated evidence shall directly inform the membership, roles, operating procedures, service-referral arrangements and financing design.

All engagement shall be voluntary, confidential, protection-sensitive and compliant with applicable data-protection and safeguarding requirements. The assignment shall use existing information wherever possible and shall not involve refugee registration, biometric data collection or determination of refugee status.

Deliverables, timing and payment

1. Inception report - Week 1 Final methodology, work plan, stakeholder-engagement plan, safeguards, quality controls and approved data-collection tools - 50%
2. Actor and contribution map - Week 4 Actor/mandate/service register; coordination-gap analysis; current and prospective stakeholder cash and in-kind contribution map; priority issues and consultation record.
3. Draft mechanism - Week 7 Draft KCCA coordination mechanism, actor platform, financing-basket design, situation snap shot, governance and fiduciary arrangements, operating tools and 90-day activation plan - 40%
4. Validation report - Week 10 Validated mechanism and financing basket; consultation and workshop record; legal/finance/technical review; complete comment-response matrix.
5. Final operational package - Week 12 Final editable and print-ready mechanism; coordination ToRs; first-year work plan, budget 10%

Assignment management and institutional responsibilities:

KCCA:

Commissioning institution, contract authority and owner of the coordination mechanism; provide policy and operational direction, access and convening; consolidate comments; accept deliverables; and process management approval and integration into city plans and budgets.

KCCA directorates and divisions:

Provide evidence and operational co-design; validate service, referral and coordination arrangements; nominate focal points; and integrate approved actions into directorate/division work plans and reporting.

MIA and OPM:

MIA provides the NMP/NMAP policy and reporting interface. OPM provides technical authority on refugee management, protection and existing refugee coordination arrangements. Both validate mandate and referral provisions.

Assignment Reference Group

KCCA-led group with relevant national institutions and selected partners to review outputs, resolve technical issues and support validation without replacing KCCA’s contract authority.

Consultancy firm

Deploy the approved team; manage quality, schedule, ethics and security; maintain evidence and consultation logs; submit complete outputs; and respond to consolidated comments.

Highlights of the content of the final urban coordination mechanism

• An actor register showing mandates, services, geographic coverage, resources, gaps and proposed roles in the KCCA mechanism.
• The KCCA Urban Refugee Coordination Mechanism: organogram, membership, chairing, secretariat support, division focal points, technical working arrangements, decision rights, meeting cycle, escalation and national interfaces.
• Common operating tools: role matrix, annual coordination calendar, service and referral directory, action/decision logs, reporting template, complaints and community-feedback process, and lawful data-sharing standards.
• The Stakeholder Urban Refugee Financing Basket: identified contributors; cash and in-kind commitment schedules; contribution agreements; eligible priorities and expenditures; allocation criteria; governance; fund flow; fiduciary controls; audit; financial and results reporting; and resource-mobilisation plan.
• A costed 90-day activation plan and first-year work plan stating responsible KCCA units and actors, milestones, financing requirements, risks and evidence of completion.

Firm and key-personnel requirements

Lead firm.

The lead firm shall be legally registered, registered in the PPDA Register of Providers. It shall demonstrate experience in migration or refugee policy, multi-sectoral coordination and programming, Understanding of Uganda’s migration and refugee architecture, and institutional or financing-mechanism design. At least two comparable assignments completed in the preceding ten years are required, including one in Uganda or a comparable East African setting.

Lead Consultant or Team Leader.

The proposed Team Leader shall hold at least a master’s degree public policy studies, development planning, international development, governance, or a related field; have at least ten years of relevant experience; and have led at least two comparable national or multi-institutional assignments involving migration/refugee policy, multi-sectoral planning, coordination or implementation frameworks.

Core team.

The firm shall provide complementary expertise in Monitoring and Evaluation, urban/local-government planning, institutional development, public finance/costing, data governance, safeguarding and inclusive stakeholder engagement.

Proposal submission and evaluation

The technical proposal shall present the consultants’ understanding, methodology, work plan, team organization, quality and risk controls, relevant experience and CVs. The financial proposal shall be activity-and deliverable-based and include all professional fees, fieldwork, consultations, travel, production, taxes and other assignment costs, subject to the solicitation instructions.

Confidentiality, ownership and professional standards

All information obtained through the assignment shall be used only for the contracted purpose. The consultant shall comply with applicable Ugandan law, KCCA requirements, research ethics, data-protection obligations, safeguarding standards and conflict-of-interest rules. All accepted reports, datasets, tools and source files shall become the property of KCCA. Publication or third-party disclosure requires KCCA’s prior written approval.

NB: This advert will close on 30-Oct-26. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Professional Standards: All International Rescue Committee workers must adhere to the core values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. Our Standards are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Safeguarding, Conflicts of Interest, Fiscal Integrity, and Reporting Wrongdoing and Protection from Retaliation. IRC is committed to take all necessary preventive measures and create an environment where people feel safe, and to take all necessary actions and corrective measures when harm occurs. IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients.

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