Purpose and Objectives:

The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) is an autonomous international organization that works to build the resilience of people and institutions to disasters and climate change impacts in Asia and the Pacific.

Under the U.S.-Thailand-Laos Cooperation on Transboundary Haze Management, SERVIR Southeast Asia has co-developed Air4Laos with the Lao PDR Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE) - a web-based platform integrating satellite-derived PM2.5 estimates, ground station measurements, forecasts, and fire hotspot information for Lao PDR. Following provincial training and community demonstration events in Vientiane Capital, Luang Prabang, and Champasak, participants consistently requested a mobile version of the tool to make air quality information accessible to the general public on smartphones.

ADPC therefore seeks a qualified consultant to design and develop a native mobile application for Air4Laos, with a Lao-English bilingual interface, in accordance with the Air4Laos Mobile App Feature List attached to this ToR as Annex A, which forms an integral part of this assignment. The application will consume data from the existing Air4Laos backend services; apart from the notification and alerting services required under this assignment, no new data processing infrastructure is required.

Measurable objectives include:

1. Deliver a complete UI/UX design for the Air4Laos mobile application covering the four core screens, notifications, and settings, consistent with the Feature List at Annex A

2. Develop a fully functional mobile application for Android and iOS covering the Home, Map, Statistics, and News screens with the features specified at Annex A

3. Implement the Notifications and Alerts module, including threshold-triggered bad-air alerts based on the official Lao PDR air quality standard

4. Deliver the settings and supporting features, including the Lao-English bilingual interface, home-screen widget, and low-bandwidth operation

5. Complete publication to the application stores, documentation, and full source code transfer to ADPC

Expected Outputs: The consultant shall deliver the following specific and measurable outputs:

1. UI/UX design package covering the Home, Map, Statistics, and News screens, the Notifications and Alerts flow, and the Settings screen, including navigation flow and design assets.

2. Functional beta build of the Air4Laos mobile application for Android and iOS, installable for testing by the ADPC team.

3. Completed Air4Laos mobile application for Android and iOS, integrated with the existing Air4Laos backend services and tested on representative devices, comprising:

   • Home screen - current PM2.5 reading for the user's location with colour-coded health recommendation and practical action icons; data source label switching dynamically between the NASA GEOS-5 model and the nearest ground station; temperature, wind speed, and rainfall; 3-day forecast at 3-hour intervals; 24-48 hour historical trend graph; last data update timestamp; location search by village, district, and province; multiple saved locations; share function; news and alert banner; and unit and standard toggle

   • Map screen - toggle between the satellite-derived spatial PM2.5 layer and ground-station point data; colour-coded PM2.5 index legend; zoom-to-my-location function; search by village, district, and province; and data source credits (MAE, SERVIR SEA, NASA GEOS-5)

   • Statistics screen - ranking of villages, districts, and provinces by PM2.5 from highest to lowest; ranking level toggle (district within province, province within country); default to the user's own location; ranking date and time; and colour-coded index legend

   • News screen - localized news feed on haze and PM2.5 filtered to Lao PDR, including relevant Thailand-side coverage; and an educational content library explaining PM2.5, its health effects, and the causes of haze, presented separately from news headlines

4. Notifications and Alerts module, comprising the bad-air push notification triggered when PM2.5 crosses into an unhealthy category under the official Lao PDR air quality standard; adjustable alert sensitivity; independent alerts for each saved location; daily digest notification; next-day forecast alert; fire and hotspot proximity alert using existing satellite hotspot detection data; SOP-trigger advisory for designated local officials, tied to the project's standard operating protocol thresholds; and an alert history log.

5. Settings and supporting features, comprising the Lao-English bilingual interface; home-screen widget for Android and iOS showing live PM2.5 without opening the application; selector for units and for the air quality standard applied (Lao PDR and US EPA); feedback button on each screen; and offline and low-bandwidth operation suitable for rural provinces.

6. Publication of the application to Google Play and the Apple App Store on behalf of ADPC, using ADPC-owned developer accounts, including build files, signing configuration, store listing assets, and deployment instructions.

7. User manual and administrator manual, in English, covering installation, operation, configuration, and troubleshooting.

8. Complete source code transferred to the ADPC repository, with commented code, dependency documentation, and build instructions - by 30 September 2026.

All outputs will be documented in English and shared in digital format compatible with ADPC systems. The application interface shall support both Lao and English. All features shall conform to the Air4Laos Mobile App Feature List at Annex A, with the exception of the user-submitted haze and visibility reporting function and the SMS-based alert fallback, which are excluded from the scope of this assignment.

Responsibilities and Tasks: The consultant shall be responsible for the following tasks:

Design

• Design the UI/UX of the Air4Laos mobile application in accordance with the Feature List at Annex A, adapting the My Air reference design to the Lao PDR context

• Design the Lao-English bilingual interface and coordinate with ADPC on Lao-language content and terminology

Development

• Lead the front-end and back-end development of the mobile application for both Android and iOS

• Integrate the application with existing Air4Laos data services, including satellite-derived PM2.5 estimates, ground station observations, forecasts, and fire hotspot data

• Implement location search and multiple saved locations at village, district, and province levels

• Implement the historical trend graph, share function, and the selector for units and air quality standard (Lao PDR and US EPA)

• Develop the home-screen widget for both Android and iOS

• Ensure the application operates reliably under low-bandwidth conditions typical of rural Lao PDR, including appropriate caching and offline behavior

Notifications and alerts

• Develop and configure the push notification service for PM2.5 threshold alerts based on the official Lao PDR air quality standard, with adjustable sensitivity and independent settings for each saved location

• Implement the daily digest notification, next-day forecast alert, and fire and hotspot proximity alert

• Implement the SOP-trigger advisory for designated local officials, including the access control required to restrict it to authorized users

• Implement the alert history log

Testing, deployment, and handover

• Provide support on code versioning and code maintenance in the ADPC GitHub repository

• Troubleshoot bugs and errors during the development and testing cycles

• Conduct testing on representative Android and iOS devices and address feedback from ADPC review

• Publish the application to Google Play and the Apple App Store on behalf of ADPC, using ADPC-owned developer accounts

• Prepare user and administrator manuals and hand over the complete source code to ADPC

Working Principles: The consultant will report to the Air Quality Thematic Lead, SERVIR Southeast Asia, ADPC.

Qualifications: The consultant should possess the following minimal competencies:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Geo-informatics, Remote Sensing, or a related field

• At least 3 years of professional experience in mobile application development, with a demonstrated portfolio of published applications

• Proven experience developing map-based or geospatial mobile applications

• Proficiency in cross-platform mobile development frameworks (e.g., Flutter, React Native) or native Android and iOS development

• Experience integrating mobile applications with REST APIs and geospatial web services

• Experience implementing push notification services (e.g., Firebase Cloud Messaging), including threshold-triggered and scheduled notifications

• Experience developing home-screen widgets for Android and iOS

• Experience building offline-capable or low-bandwidth-tolerant mobile applications, including local caching strategies

• Experience implementing multilingual interfaces and localization

• Ability to design and develop UI/UX for mobile applications, with good understanding of typography and colour theory

• Demonstrated experience with application store submission and release processes for both Google Play and the Apple App Store

• Ability to work with Lao-language content and to coordinate on translation and localization

• Working knowledge of relational database models such as PostgreSQL and MySQL

• Basic understanding of satellite remote sensing and air quality data is an advantage

• Professional experience in the Lower Mekong region desired

• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English

Duty Station: Home-based.

Duration: The contract will be for a period of 2 months between August 2026- September 2026.

Itinerary: There is no travel expected on this consultancy.

Condition of payment: Payment will be phased and based on completion and acceptance of deliverables as follows:

Phase 1 - Inception and Design:

• Kick-off meeting (virtual), review of the Feature List at Annex A and the reference UI design, and confirmation of the technical approach

Phase 2 - Development:

• Development of the four core screens, backend integration, the Notifications and Alerts module, and the settings and supporting features

Phase 3 - Testing and Refinement:

• ADPC review and device testing, with iterative correction of defects and refinement of the user interface

Phase 4 - Publication and Handover:

• Preparation of store listings, submission, and release on Google Play and the Apple App Store on behalf of ADPC

Payment Schedule:

1. Acceptance of the UI/UX design package for the Air4Laos mobile application - 40%

2. Acceptance of the completed Air4Laos mobile application for Android and iOS, including the Notifications and Alerts module and the settings and supporting features - 40%

3. Acceptance of the user and administrator manuals, publication to the application stores, and source code transfer - 20%

Selection Method: The consultant will be selected in accordance with ADPC’s recruitment process.

How to apply

Interested Candidates can submit the completed ADPC application form, (downloadable from www.adpc.net), resume, copy of degrees/certificate(s) together with a cover letter, to: procurement@adpc.net.

The email subject should clearly indicate the position being applied for, for example:

[Consultant to Design and Develop the Air4Laos Mobile Application, Name of Candidate]

Female candidates are especially encouraged to apply.

ADPC encourages diversity in its workplace and supports an inclusive work environment.

Terms of Reference

Biographical Data Form