Evaluator of the North Iraq Joint Response 3, Cordaid IRAQ

Cordaid Iraq

Evaluator of the North Iraq Joint Response 3 (NIJR3) under the Dutch Relief Alliance (DRA)

Background

At the end of 2014, beginning of 2015, the Dutch Minister for International Trade and Development Co-operation set-up a Dutch Relief Fund (DRF) to increase effectiveness of Dutch humanitarian aid. In response to the challenges of the humanitarian system and the growing gap between humanitarian needs and humanitarian funding worldwide, the DRF provided a pilot funding window for relief operations for the period 2015 – 2017, with a total budget of €570 million of which €120 million has been reserved for Dutch NGOs which have a Formal Partnership Agreement (FPA) with the EU. The Dutch NGOs eligible for this funding formed a consortium: Dutch Relief Alliance (DRA). The DRA is an alliance of, at the time, 16 Dutch NGOs which respond to chronic crises as well as acute crises, for which they receive funding from the DRF. The DRA has funded and currently funds twenty-one joint responses (e.g. Syria, South Sudan, Ethiopia, CAR, et cetera), of which the North Iraq Joint response is one.

The specific objectives of the Dutch Relief Alliance are:

1. Deliver fast humanitarian aid in major crises;

2. Deliver humanitarian aid linked to needs and gaps in response to major crises in a timely, appropriate, effective and efficient manner;

3. Generate synergies and cooperation between the Members aimed at increasing efficiency and effectiveness in providing humanitarian aid in crisis situations;

4. Increase the visibility of this Dutch contribution towards the Dutch constituency, Parliament and in-country.

5. Work together, also with other parties, to tackle the major bottlenecks in the humanitarian practice through co-created innovation, joint learning and research;

Context

With more than 10 million people in need, the Iraq crisis is one of the largest humanitarian crisis on earth. As a response, with funding from the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, twelve Dutch NGOs with a presence in Iraq have formed a consortium in order to create a better coverage and fill gaps in the life saving needs of the Iraq displaced people and host community. Each consortium member has its own expertise, geographical focus and track record in the country. The overall goal is to save lives and alleviate suffering through providing safe access to services and resources with dignity. The target is to reach 46,000 people with health support, 64,130 people with protection assistance and 61,650 people with improved access to water supply, sanitation and hygiene. The total planned number of beneficiaries is approximately 170,730 individuals and 33,860 households. The consortium is called the North Ira Joint Response 3 (NIJR3), is a succession of a similar response in 2015 and 2016, and its specific objectives (SOs) are twofold:

· SO1: Save lives and alleviate human suffering through the effective and efficient implementation of humanitarian response activities in Iraq between 1 March 2017 and 31 December 2017. The activities are in the sectors of Health, protection and WASH.

· SO2: Realize added value through the collaboration between the NIJR3 members and other stakeholders/ partners in the Joint Response. Members share knowledge and experience, build upon an extensive network of stakeholders, ensure flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances, and ensure coordination, complementarity, and mutual learning.

North Iraq Joint Response 3

The North Iraq Joint Response 3 is a 9-month programme from the 1^st of March 2017 to the 31^st of December 2017. The total budget is €5,918,460 granted by MoFA. The lead organization for the NJR3 is Cordaid. The members of the consortium are: CARE, Cordaid, Dorcas, ICCO & Kerk in Actie / ACT Alliance, Oxfam Novib, Save the Children, Stichting Vluchteling, Tearfund NL, Terre des Hommes, War Child, World Vision, and ZOA, there is also technical support from War Trauma Foundation. Cordaid, Dorcas and Tearfund form the Response Task Force (RTF) for the NJR3. The RTF members provides feedback and advice to the lead organization. The selected governorates in Iraq are Dohuk, Kirkuk, Ninewa and Salah al Din. The 3 sectors of intervention are Health, Protection and Wash.

The NIJR3 is designed as an adaptive and flexible grant structure which encourages improved cooperation and enhances linkages across partners in delivering quality programming through continuous learning, adaptive implementation, and information sharing. Moreover, through the NIJR3 model of inter-agency learning, the efficiency and effectiveness of the actions of all agencies in the joint response are strengthened. The response modality also focuses on generating added value for key stakeholders (MoFA, UNOCHA, NJR3 members, local humanitarian stakeholders and target populations) through providing space to create synergies between agencies and programmes and through joint activities aiming at the strengthening of the local humanitarian capacities.

The evaluation should assess the following evaluation criteria:

I. Effectiveness

II. Efficiency

III. Relevance

IV. Timeliness

V. Reach

VI. Quality

The evaluation should also look at the Value of Collaboration amongst the members:

In general: How has collaboration contributed to the delivery of effective, efficient, relevant and timely aid for (more) beneficiaries, and how have different stakeholders benefited from the collaboration in NIJR3 (beneficiaries, local partners, local NGO sector, local Government, Dutch NGOs, Dutch NGO sector, MoFA, Dutch public)? What gives added value and what doesn’t, e.g. should we or should we not, in NIJR2 next phase, collaborate in geographical areas, thematic areas, program implementation, and what is cheapest/ most efficient?

Deliverables

1. An inception report, which will serve as an agreement between parties on how the evaluation will be conducted. Items to address:

· Understanding of the issues and questions raised in the ToR

· Data sources; how to assess the questions in the ToR

· Research methodology, including suggested sample and size

· Team composition, including an Iraqi consultant

· Schedule of activities and traveling (timeline)

· Proposal for a workshop presentation in Iraq and in The Netherlands

· Detailed budget

· Appropriate validated draft data collection tools (e.g. methodological guidelines, group interview questions)

1. A 25-50 page draft and final report (in MS Office and PDF for final), excluding annexes and in English, in the following format at a minimum, to be submitted to Cordaid. Preferably as little text as possible, use of graphs, visuals, tables and a dashboard with results. The report should consist of:

a) Executive Summary in bullets (max. 2 pages)

b) Introduction

c) Methodology, including sampling and limitations

d) Analysis and findings of the evaluation. The analysis should consist of two parts:

1. NIJR3 Key Objective

2. NIJR3 Added Value Objective, including an analysis of how the response has benefit the different stakeholders: (beneficiaries, local partners, local NGO sector, local Government, Dutch NGOs, Dutch NGO sector, MoFA, Dutch public)

e) Address concerns, lessons learned and comments from NIJR3 partners

f) At least 10 (but as many as you find) cases of substantial anecdotal evidence (short descriptions of a few sentences are sufficient) of added value from respondents

g) Several stories of change and quotes from respondents

h) Conclusions for each of the two parts and for all of the evaluation questions

i) Recommendations for Iraq Joint Response phase 4

j) Annexes:

· Relevant maps and photographs of the evaluation areas

· Bibliography of consulted secondary sources

· Finalized data collection tools

· List of interviewees

1. Workshop presentation in Iraq and in The Netherlands. The evaluators will be required to present preliminary findings before the publication of the final report to NIJR3 partners and lead a half day workshop once a final draft has been agreed in Erbil and the Hague. The structure and activities of the learning and evaluation meeting will be agreed with Cordaid.

2. Video motion and infographics summary of the evaluation findings, including summary of the three NIJR phases in English, Kurdish and Arab.

Application process

· Full ToRs and questions can be requested to Ignacio Arteche (ignacio.arteche@cordaid.org).

· Quotations should reach Cordaid no later than 18^th of December.

· Final decision will be made by Cordaid, no later than the 20^th of December.

Quotations should be submitted to Cordaid by e-mail with the subject line ‘Consultancy_NIJR3 Evaluation#Name#’ to Ignacio Arteche ignacio.arteche@cordaid.org

Contents of quotation

The following should be included in applications:

· Two relevant reference assignments previously performed by the consultant agency/ lead consultant that are comparable in content, time and money.

· A draft proposal/ work plan of max. 4 pages, including a draft evaluation matrix and time planning based on this ToR that proves their comprehension of the proposed consultancy and clearly shows how they would approach this assignment;

· CVs of all of the proposed team members (including the team leader and at least 1 experience evaluator), proving relevant experience and/or diplomas. See also chapter award criteria in the full ToR;

· Total price, accompanied with a cost break down in days or hours spend and the related fee, travel costs et cetera.

Maximum budget

Maximum Euro budget that the quotation can propose is 50.000 euro and the expected time required is one month.

Quotations should be submitted to Cordaid by e-mail with the subject line ‘Consultancy_NIJR3 Evaluation#Name#’ to Ignacio Arteche: ignacio.arteche@cordaid.org no later than 18th of December 2017.