Consultant for Cash Impact Assessment - Iran

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Cash Programming Impact Evaluation, Iran

Period: September – December 2017

1. BACKGROUND

    

   Norwegian Refugee Council

   The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is a non-governmental humanitarian organization with 60 years of experience in helping create a safer and more dignified life for refugees and internally displaced people. NRC advocates for the rights of displaced populations and offers assistance within the shelter, education, food security, and water, sanitation and hygiene sectors. NRC aims to provide high quality and innovative technical solutions to daily challenges of life in displacement that also offer protection. In Iran, NRC aims to help Afghan refugees cope with the struggles of living in long-term displacement. NRC’s programmes support Afghan refugees as they seek to improve their living conditions, prevent secondary displacement, help to guarantee their access to basic services, and reinforce their coping strategies. Additionally, NRC supports UNHCR’s Regional Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees (SSAR) and advocate for better coordination in the humanitarian response. NRC has offices located in Tehran and Kerman, and undertakes further activities in the provinces of Semnan, Qom and Alborz.

    

   Danish Refugee Council

   The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a humanitarian, non-governmental, non-profit organisation founded in 1956 that works in more than 30 countries throughout the world.  DRC fulfils its mandate by providing direct assistance to conflict-affected populations – refugees, internally displaced people (IDPs) and host communities in the conflict areas of the world. DRC established its Iran country programme in January 2012. Its programmatic response has a two-pronged goal under two strategic objectives: 1) to empower displacement affected people to become more self-reliant in pursuing transitional and durable solutions; 2) To ensure that access to rights and essential services of the most vulnerable among displacement-affected people is protected. DRC is currently working in the Iranian provinces of Alborz, Tehran, Fars and Isfahan assisting vulnerable Afghans in urban, peri-urban and rural settings. The assistance being provided falls under DRC’s Protection and Livelihoods area of expertise. Protection encompasses access to services, including health and protection.

    

   Relief International

   Relief International (RI) is a humanitarian non-profit agency that provides emergency relief, rehabilitation, development assistance, and program services to vulnerable communities in more than 20 countries worldwide. RI’s work across the globe is characterized by four pillars of excellence: health, WASH, education, economic opportunity that are embedded into programmes through the “RI Way” that includes stakeholder participation, programme integration, civic skills and partnerships. Through its programmes implemented in the four provinces of Tehran, Khorasan Razavi, Yazd and Sistan & Baluchistan, RI aims to address needs and challenges faced by Afghan refugees communities, alleviating poverty and strengthening their lives and livelihoods. Through outreach amongst the most vulnerable communities living in Iran, capacity building amongst national NGOs working with the most vulnerable and marginalized, emergency responses, and building community awareness and capacities, RI aims to address the key drivers of vulnerability, enhance health and well-being, improve access to basic services and livelihoods opportunities, and strengthen resilience amongst Afghan refugee communities living in Iran.

    

2. CASH PROGRAMMING IN IRAN

    

   NRC, DRC and RI are all implementing ECHO-funded Humanitarian Implementation Plan (HIP) 2016 projects in Iran, with the aim of meeting the needs of the most vulnerable Afghan refugees. Cash-based interventions (CBIs) are a major element of each INGOs’ HIP programming, and in early 2017 the INGOs invested time to align CBI targeting approaches, modalities, and transfer values.

    

   Due to the different operating contexts faced by each INGO, there are still differences in the nature of each INGO’s CBIs. For example, NRC works with an unconditional cash transfer (UCT) modality in the form of a rechargeable Saman Bank ‘bon’ card for its HIP 2016 programming. In contrast, DRC is using HIP funding to provide UCT with a bank transfer modality. RI is working with a UCT modality, through the distribution of Saman Bank ‘gift’ cards for Individual Protection Assistance (IPA) and for a pilot study being conducted for unrestricted UCT, and through the distribution of restricted UCT through Refah store cards. Contextual differences also mean that in spite of the alignment exercise, each INGO conducts targeting, determines eligibility, and sets transfer values slightly differently. At the end of the HIP 2016 projects in December 2017, the three INGOs will have collectively transferred around €2.5m, and will have gathered a body of evidence on the effect of cash on Afghan households.

    

   There is an interest from the three INGOs, the donor community and also the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, to continue and potentially scale up cash-based programming in Iran in 2018, after the end of the HIP 2016 projects. The three INGOs aim to conduct a comprehensive, multi-agency evaluation of the impact of HIP 2016 CBIs, in order to understand the appropriateness and effectiveness of cash transfers in the Afghan refugee context, demonstrate how the use of cash supports humanitarian principles, and to help shape any future cash-based programming.

    

3. OBJECTIVES AND KEY ACTIVITES

    

   The cash programming impact evaluation aims to answer three key questions:

    

4. TIMELINE AND DELIVERABLES

    

   The start of the project will depend upon the Iranian Government’s approval of the Consultant. It is hoped that the project will start no later than the 1^st September 2017.

    

   The Consultant is expected to deliver the following documents:

    

   • An Inception Report in English, with a Farsi summary, 1 month after the start of the consultancy, summarising the literature review, the data review, the knowledge gaps, the methodologies and tools to fill the gaps (tools in English and Farsi);
   • A Fieldwork Report in English, with a Farsi summary, 2 months after the start of the project, summarising the fieldwork conducted, challenges, key findings, etc;
   • A Cash Impact Evaluation Report, no more than 20 pages (excluding annexes), with a Farsi summary, 3 months after the start of the project, with the evaluation findings and recommendations;
   • A Cash Impact Evaluation Presentation PowerPoint slide pack, no more than 20 slides, in English and Farsi, with the evaluation findings and recommendations.

      

5. SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES

    

   The Consultant will be responsible for:

    

   • Developing a detailed timeline, resource plan, and budget for the impact evaluation;
   • Managing the impact evaluation according to these project management tools;
   • Liaising extensively with each INGOs’ cash and education programme teams to learn about the 2017 cash and education programmes;
   • Developing detailed research questions, and developing research methodologies and quantitative and qualitative research tools in order to answer the research questions;
   • Liaising extensively with cash programme experts to shape these research questions, tools, and methodologies, in line with the Iran context and best practice;
   • Conducting literature reviews, data reviews, primary data gathering, and data analysis as required by the methodology;
   • Drafting deliverables in Farsi and English (see above);
   • Delivering PowerPoint presentations in Farsi and English to present key findings;
   • Ensuring each of the three participating INGOs is equally involved and equally benefitting from the impact evaluation;
   • Keeping key coordination mechanisms and key stakeholders, such as the cash and education working groups, UNHCR, and the relevant Iranian Government counterparts, well informed on the progress and results of the impact evaluation.

      

6. QUALIFICATIONS

    

   The Consultant must have these generic professional competencies:

    

   • 5 years of experience managing research assignments, assessments or evaluations in humanitarian, recovery or development contexts;
   • 5 years of experience working with INGOs, UN Agencies, or consulting firms.

      

     The Consultant must have these specific skills, knowledge and experiences:

      

   • Experience working with typical impact evaluation components (logframes, quantitative and qualitative methodologies, sampling, quantitative and qualitative analytical approaches, etc.);
   • Experience using humanitarian and development M&E frameworks and standards within impact evaluations (OECD DAC, SPHERE, INEE, etc.);
   • Experience managing projects using Gantt charts, resource plans, and budget trackers;
   • Advanced level in all common MS Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint);
   • Fluent spoken and written English and Farsi;
   • Experience working in refugee contexts is a plus;
   • Experience working in Iran is a plus;
   • Experience working on cash programmes is a plus;
   • Knowledge of data collection software e.g., KoBo or ODK Collect is a plus;
   • Knowledge of analytical software e.g., R or SPSS is a plus.

      

      

7. BUDGET AND PAYMENT TERMS

    

   Bids shall include budgets in USD that are based on the terms of reference above. The agreed sum shall include all fees and costs (including international flights, per diems, hotels, transportation around Tehran, taxes, and insurance) incurred in conducting the consultancy tasks, assuming the Consultant is based full-time for the duration in Tehran, Iran. The Consultant is responsible for paying any social security insurance or taxes required by the Iranian Government for work performed in Iran.

    

   The budget should not include costs related to provincial fieldwork (such as internal flights, hotels, local transportation), as the extent of the provincial fieldwork required is not yet known. The INGOs have a sufficient budget for conducting fieldwork.

    

   NRC commits to providing desk space for the Consultant to work in its office in Tehran, so office space does not need to be budgeted for.

    

   The lump sum will be paid in four instalments:

    

   • 20% upon acceptance by the INGOs of the Inception Report;
   • 20% upon acceptance by the INGOs of the Fieldwork Report;
   • 20% upon acceptance by the INGOs of the Draft Report;
   • 40% upon acceptance by the INGOs of the Final Report and PowerPoint presentations.

      

8. APPLICATION PROCESS AND REQUIREMENTS

1. What are the impacts of using cash transfers compared with non-cash based assistance?
2. Among the modalities currently in use, which is the most effective?
3. How can cash assistance to Afghan refugees in Iran be made more effective in achieving sustainable impacts, given the context of a protracted crisis?

    

   The impact evaluation will be an iterative process. These three key questions are not set in stone at this stage, and could be adapted as more information is discovered. The three INGOs have developed several sub-questions for each of the key questions.

    

   The Consultant will be employed by NRC, but will be working on behalf of NRC, the DRC, and RI, as the three organisations are participating equally in the impact evaluation. The Consultant will be accountable to a cross-INGO steering committee. It is expected that the Consultant will spend a majority of the time in Tehran, with trips to the provinces to gather data if required.

    

   The Consultant will be responsible for all aspects of delivering the impact evaluation, including:

   • Conducting a literature review, of relevant general CBI literature, and programme-specific literature;
   • Conducting a data review, of baseline, PDM and endline data from the three INGOs;
   • Developing the key research questions, and sub-questions;
   • Identifying knowledge gaps;
   • Developing methodologies and tools to fill any knowledge gaps;
   • Conducting fieldwork, if necessary;
   • Analysing fieldwork data;
   • Drafting reports, in English and Farsi;
   • Delivering a presentation/workshop on the findings, in English and Farsi.

      

     The Consultant will have access to fieldwork resources provided by the INGOs (e.g., programme or M&E officers who can help collect data), and remote access to INGO cash experts, who will support the development of methodologies, tools, and review deliverables.

      

This bid is open to individual consultants, groups of individual consultants, or consulting firms.

Bids must include the following:

• Cover letter to be submitted in webcruiter which stating the Consultant’s skills, experiences and references to show suitability for the consultancy (max 2 pages; letters over this limit will invalidate the bid);
• Provisional evaluation methodology, work plan, timeline and budget (max 2 pages; methodologies over this limit will invalidate the bid);
• CV of proposed Consultant(s) to be submitted in webcruiter which showing clearly similar assignments/research carried out (max 4 pages; CVs over this limit will invalidate the bid);
• Writing samples showing qualitative and quantitative analysis (max 4 pages for all samples; no sensitive or confidential information; samples over this limit will invalidate the bid).

Submit completed bids in hard copy to the NRC Iran Logistics Department or in soft copy by sending the file to ir.vacancy@nrc.no by close of day on 30 July 2017.

Address: NRC, Building 26, Narenjestan 6, off Pasdaran, Tehran, Iran. +98 2122046143.