Baseline Study REVIVE

Request for Expression of Interest

Yayasan Humanis dan Inovasi Sosial (Humanis) is a Jakarta-based non-profit development organization across Southeast Asia. Humanis works with marginalized groups and frontrunners to exercise rights and freedoms, bring about changes, and influence decisions. True to its name, Humanis envisions a just and sustainable societies across the region. We believe every individual is guaranteed to their rights and respect diversity. To achieve this, we work in three impact areas: Gender Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (GEDI), Climate Justice (CJ), and Civic Rights in the Digital Age (CRIDA).

 

Humanis seeks qualified candidates for the position of: Title : Baseline Study REVIVE

Duty Station : Remote

Report to : PM REVIVE

Duration : 6 (six week)

 

Guiding Principles

The consultant shall comply with the principles stipulated in the Humanis Safeguarding Policy to ensure the assessment processes promote and protect people’s health, well-being, and human rights and enable them to live free of harm, exploitation, and abuse. The policy entails a wide range of policies, procedures, and activities seeking to address the welfare of staff, partner organization(s), and those who encounter them, such as children (under 18 years old) and (vulnerable) adults. Consent to participate in the assessment will be given freely, without coercion or influence from financial inducements, improper pressure, or any form of misrepresentation. Research ethics will ensure and acknowledge respondents’ rights to participate or object to involvement in the assessment, while maximizing possible benefits and minimizing possible harms.

 

Background

REVIVE (Renewable Village-based Ventures for Economic Empowerment) is a two-year program led by Yayasan Humanis dan Inovasi Sosial (Humanis) aimed at strengthening the institutional and economic viability of village-owned enterprises BUMDesa) managing community-based renewable energy (CBRE) systems across Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara. With over 40 solar microgrid systems funded through Indonesia’s Special Allocation Fund (DAK) now operational on the island, there is growing urgency to address the risk of infrastructure underutilization, failure, or abandonment. These risks stem from weak institutional governance, lack of business models, and limited integration with local productive economies.

 

REVIVE seeks to unlock the transformative potential of CBRE to boost local livelihoods and contribute to inclusive rural development. The program will focus on four key areas:

1. Institutional capacity strengthening. Supporting the selected 12 BUMDesa in building inclusive governance, operational, and financial management capacities for sustainable CBRE asset management.
2. Business model development. Designing and piloting context-responsive sustainable business models that align with local economic structure, enabling BUMDesa to generate consistent revenue while delivering affordable and reliable energy services
3. Productive Use of Energy (PUE) activation. Conducting assessments and implementing interventions to support energy-enabled income-generating activities, potentially in agriculture, fisheries, food processing, or small-scale manufacturing.
4. Market access facilitation. Linking local producers and micro-businesses with viable offtakers, intermediaries, and value chains to ensure economic sustainability and growth.

 

By strengthening the technical, management, and economic foundation of these decentralized energy systems, REVIVE minimizes the risk of operational failure and maximizes their contribution to energy-based economic empowerment in underserved and remote villages.

To ensure inclusivity and long-term success, REVIVE adopts a gender-transformative and socially inclusive approach, promoting the active participation of women and marginalized groups in governance, enterprise leadership, and benefit-sharing mechanisms. In parallel, Humanis will work with local civil society organizations (CSOs) and local women champions in Sumba to facilitate community engagement through Musrenbangdes (village development planning forums) and participatory monitoring. These partnerships aim to ensure that the knowledge transfer, community capacity building, and funding from the Waverley Street Foundation (WSF) are deeply rooted in local ownership and align with community aspirations.

 

Finally, REVIVE will generate evidence-based policy recommendations for national and regional government. These outputs will inform the development of a structured, decentralized support mechanism for community-based renewable energy enterprises, enabling the scalability and replication of successful models across other regions in Indonesia.

SCOPE OF BASELINE STUDY

The baseline study will cover:

• Geographic focus: 12 DAK-funded solar micro-grid sites in Sumba Island (4 districts), East Nusa Tenggara.
• Market actors:
  • Local producers, traders, cooperatives, MSMEs, and intermediaries
  • Buyers/off-takers (local, regional, national)
  • Supporting institutions (banks, microfinance, cooperatives, NGOs, government programs)
• Target groups:
  • BUMDesa boards and management teams,
  • Local households and energy users (including women, youth, and marginalized groups),
  • Micro-entrepreneurs and producers benefiting from CBRE,
  • Local CSOs and women leaders,
  • Relevant government institutions at village, district, provincial, and national levels.

 

 

Qualifications and Experiences :

The consultants can either be a firm or a team of specialists. The following are the collective selection criteria for the institution or a team of consultants:

• Minimum 10 years of experience conducting baseline studies, evaluations, or applied research in rural development, energy access, or enterprise development.
• Proven experience with participatory and gender-sensitive research methodologies.
• Familiarity with community-based renewable energy systems and Indonesian rural governance (BUMDesa).
• Excellent analytical, writing, and communication skills in English and Bahasa Indonesia.
• Experience working in Eastern Indonesia (preferred).

 

For more detailed Term of Reference (ToR) information, please click the following link : 2510 ToR Baseline Study REVIVE