Terms of References (ToR)

Background and Rationale

Bangladesh is facing a growing increase in the frequency, intensity, and duration of heatwaves, driven by climate change, rapid urban expansion, and ongoing environmental degradation. The extreme heatwave during April- May 2024, when temperatures surpassed 43°C in several parts of the country, revealed serious weaknesses in public health systems, urban infrastructure, livelihoods, and water security.

The southwestern coastal districts of Khulna and Satkhira have been among the most severely affected, due to the combined effects of high temperatures, humidity, salinity intrusion, and limited natural cooling systems. Meanwhile, Faridpur, as a central floodplain and rapidly growing urban centre, is increasingly exposed to heat stress, largely due to land-use changes, insufficient urban greenery, and housing conditions that intensify indoor heat accumulation and outdoor heat intensities, having extreme impacts on the productivity and income generating activities.

The primary aim is to develop Heat Action Plan (HAP) for the municipalities to reduce heat-related mortality, morbidity, and economic losses, particularly among vulnerable populations. It also seeks to strengthen the capacity of institutions and communities to anticipate, respond to, and recover from extreme heat events. Ultimately, the HAP envisions the development of a heat-resilient urban system, where the impacts of heat stress are minimized through proactive, coordinated measures that support a more sustainable and adaptive environment.

Scope of work

The consultant/consulting firm will undertake the following tasks:

The Consultant/consulting firm will develop the Heat Action Plan for the three municipalities incorporating/considering the followings:

1. Comprehensive Heat Risk Analysis/ climate profiling for Faridpur, Chalna, and Satkhira by examining historical temperature trends, extreme heat events, identifying patterns in heatwave frequency, duration, and intensity, changes in vegetation cover and water bodies, mapping spatial heat-risk zones with climate projections and spatiotemporal analysis of Land surface temperature (LST), Urban Heat Island (UHI) effects, in order to generate an evidence-based understanding of localised heat risk exposure and  vulnerability.  Develop climate projections/modelling using IPCC SSP.
2. Ward-wise Resource/land use Mapping, Heat vulnerability and exposure mapping, ward-wise risk categorisation  by identifying high-risk population groups, informal settlements, analysing key physical, environmental, and socio-economic factors including housing conditions, urban density, vegetation and water coverage, water supply and quality, air quality, waste management, transportation, sanitation and wastewater management, natural resources while integrating gender, disability, and socio-economic dimensions to generate an inclusive understanding of differential heat risk.
3. Impact of heat in different sectors, services and professions including public health, water resources, livelihoods, agriculture, education, energy and urban systems, in order to understand the multi-dimensional consequences of extreme heat on critical development sectors.
4. The institutional capacity (Municipalities, Hospitals, Educational Institutions, GO/NGO services agencies)  assessment and governance framework for heat risk management by mapping key stakeholders across relevant sectors and reviewing existing preparedness measures, early warning systems, heat emergency response mechanisms, and policy frameworks to effectively anticipate, respond to, and manage extreme heat events, while identifying coordination gaps and assessing the extent to which emerging heatwave risks are integrated into national and sectoral plans and policies.
5. Guiding by the assessment/analysis results, develop comprehensive HAPs for Faridpur, Chalna and Satkhira municipality that establish evidence-based heat risk profiles, development of heat threshold, operational early warning and trigger systems linked to meteorological forecasts, coordinated public health preparedness and response mechanisms; context specific Nature-based Solutions (NbS), while integrating urban cooling and infrastructure development interventions, low-cost technological solutions with design for individual and community structures, strengthening context specific water security and livelihood protection measures, and institutionalizing a multi-sectoral coordination framework with clearly defined stakeholders’ roles and responsibilities at different stages with implementation plans and institutional setup for implementing HAP. Further incorporate robust monitoring, evaluation, and learning mechanisms and a phased implementation roadmap to ensure short-, medium-, and long-term heat resilience strategies for sustainable adaptation with structural and non-structural actions.

Objectives of the assignment
The overall objective of this assignment is -

• to develop evidence-based HAPs for Faridpur, Khulna, and Satkhira
• to strengthen heat resilience through improved policy environment, as well as enhanced institutional and structural development strategies including urban redesign and ecosystem-based adaptation approaches, that support phased resilience building.    

Methodology

The assignment will be conducted using a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative climate and spatial analysis with qualitative field-based insights. Secondary data on historical temperature trends, heatwave events, and climate projections in the selected locations will be analysed alongside GIS/RS-based mapping analysis to identify heat exposure patterns and Urban Heat Island (UHI) effects.

Vulnerability and sectoral impact assessments will be undertaken using available socio-economic, health, water, and livelihood data, complemented by gender- and social inclusion-sensitive analysis. Primary data will be collected through Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) to capture local experiences, institutional capacities, existing policy environment related to heat risk, and community coping and adaptive practices.

Findings from the analysis will be validated through municipalities-level stakeholder workshops and translated into practical, context-specific HAPs through a participatory planning process aligned with national and global best practices.

1. Deliverables:

The deliverables submitted by the Consultant(s)/firm are as follows:

2. Timeline

The duration of the consultancy work will be four (04) months, starting from June 2026 to September 2026. Depending on the tasks associated with this Terms of Reference, the Consultant(s)/firm will be responsible for the submission of the deliverables as follows:

3. Required Qualification and Experience

The Consultant(s)/firm should have practical, demonstrable, and relevant prior experience of doing similar assignments. Required experience and expertise for the Consultant(s) will include:

• The Consultant(s)/firm must be an individual or a firm/institution, holding necessary legal status to work in Bangladesh.
• The team leader should obtain Master’s degree/Ph.D. in Climate Science/ Climate Change, Meteorology, Geographic Information Science, Urban and Regional Planning,  Disaster Science and Climate Resilience, Geography and Environmental Science, or a closely related discipline, with strong interdisciplinary grounding.
• Minimum 7-10 years of established track record in development research and consultancy, particularly in areas related to in climate risk assessment, urban resilience planning, Climate Change Adaptation, Disaster Risk Reduction, Government’s Development plans, policies, and programs.
• Strong understanding of climate science/ meteorology, heatwave risk assessments, GIS based analysis, climate change vulnerability mapping, and use of climate and socio-economic datasets, plans/policy analysis and the Bangladesh context, particularly in coastal and floodplain settings.
• Proven experience in developing HAPs or similar plans, climate adaptation strategies, or similar urban climate resilience frameworks and policy influencing.
• The Consultant(s)/firm must have demonstrated understanding of Bangladesh's climate adaptation context and climate action plans or policies, or relevant experience in climate change adaptation related works.
• Having experience of working with the government stakeholders at Local and National level.
• Having good interpersonal skills, including the ability to conduct discussions with stakeholders and community groups.
• Demonstrated experience in stakeholder consultation, participatory planning, and facilitation of multi-sectoral workshops.
• Strong analytical, report writing, and communication skills.
• Team should be balanced with gender roles and able to magnify gender analysis in the study findings.
• The Consultant(s)/firm should have strong analytical, presentation and writing skills in Bangla and English.
• Consultant(s)/firm must have experience working with City Corporations or Pourashavas in Bangladesh, and familiarity with Bangladesh’s Urban Resilience Project (URP) or similar local government programmes.

4. The General Terms and Conditions

• All soft and hard copies of the assignment will be treated as the property of the client. The Consultant(s)/firm could not use/disclose any data for any personal or organisational purposes. 
• In any circumstances, Consultant(s)/firm shall have no opportunity to alter the timeline and planning of data collection and submission of first draft and final report. 
• The Consultant(s) must maintain the standard quality in data collection, processing, and reporting.
• The Consultant(s) shall have the responsibility to rewrite the plans, modification of sections until the satisfaction of quality required by the client.  
• In case of any deviation, the client shall have the right to terminate the agreement at any point of the project.
• Consultant(s) shall be bound to pay back the full money to the client given as advance of payment in case of any deviation, dissatisfaction of quality and other point mentioned in the agreement.
• The client will not deduct withholding tax from the consultancy fees which will be in conformity with the prevailing government rates.   

5. Mode of Payment

• 25% of total contract amount will be paid upon signing the agreement and submission of the final inception report including detailed methodology of the study.
• 50% of total contract amount will be paid after the submission of the Draft HAP.
• The remaining 25% will be paid upon satisfactory submission and approval of all deliverables, including the final HAPs and other outputs as specified by Practical Action.

6. Lines of Communication

The Consultant(s)will work closely with the Practical Action in Bangladesh team and maintain close coordination with relevant municipalities. Regular coordination meetings will be held to ensure a shared understanding of the assignment, as well as to review, finalize, and present key outputs.    

7. Organisational Policies, Safeguarding and Code of Conduct

1. Ensure that the role is delivered in compliance with organisational policies on Safeguarding, Diversity and Dignity at work and the Code of Conduct.
2. Responsible for gender responsive behaviour in all actions and decisions.
3. Ensure non-discriminative behaviour based on gender, age, sex, race, ethnic background, culture, disability, nationality, religion and marital status.
4. Be sensitive and adaptable to gender and social inclusion.

8. Organisational Core Values

1. Ensure that you are People Centred, striving to create an equal, fair, accessible, dignified and respectful environment for everyone we work with – from colleagues and communities, to supporters, suppliers and stakeholders.
2. Ensure you are Impact Driven, existing to make a positive difference, so everything we do is driven by our energy to create lasting value for the people and communities we serve.
3. Ensure you are Transparent and trustworthy, acting with integrity, honesty, and strong ethics, building mutual trust with everyone we work with to achieve the highest standards.
4. Ensure you are Innovative, and champion learning, curiosity and fresh thinking, bringing local knowledge to create global impact.
5. Ensure you are a Resilient changemaker working for sustainable development, meeting challenges head-on, and evolving through the lessons learnt.

9. Application Process

A proposal including both technical and financial aspects should be emailed by 30 May 2026 to procurement.bd@practicalaction.org.bd with a subject line “Heat Action Plan”. Please include a detailed CV of the experts (only) highlighting relevant experience. Both consulting firm and individual Consultant(s) are encouraged to apply. No late and hard-copy submissions will be accepted. Practical Action reserves the sole right to select the Consultant(s)/consulting firm.