Food Security Innovations Consultant

Scope of work

The IRC is currently implementing the “Small-Space Food Security Innovations: Assessing Solutions and Program Models for Crisis Contexts” Project funded by Implementer-Led Design, Evidence, Analysis and Learning (IDEAL activity. The IDEAL activity is funding by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA). This project is responding to an identified need to address land access and resource constraint challenges in food security programming and provide innovative food security solutions for agricultural production to the people we serve in camps, settlements, and host communities. The IDEAL community implements small-space solutions such as kitchen gardening, low tunnels, and greenhouses in countries across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia—and are looking for new solutions to include in programming.

The goal of the project is to assess the potential of innovative small-space food security and nutrition solutions and programming models for emergency contexts with security, mobility, land access, and natural resource challenges.

The objectives of the project are to:

1. Identify, document, and evaluate the potential of solutions
2. Determine feasible programming model recommendations to integrate these solutions into emergency programs; and 3) disseminate the findings and recommendations to practitioners.

The scoping research will include a systematic review of qualitative and quantitative literature evaluating potential solutions.

The review will include:

1. Academic and grey literature
2. Key informant interviews with industry experts and leaders
3. Cost modeling of technologies utilizing Microsoft Excel or R
4. Context analysis of key geographical regions using external data sources and internal resources.

The Consultant will be responsible for:

1. Academic and grey literature
2. Key informant interviews with industry experts and leaders.
3. The Consultant will work in partnership with the Economic Recovery and Development (ERD) Senior Coordinator on key inputs for
4. Cost modeling of technologies utilizing Microsoft Excel or R; and (d) context analysis of key geographical regions using external data sources and internal resources.

Deliverables:

• Submit a report in the form of a Microsoft Word document on a systematic review of academic and grey literature
• Submit a report in the form of a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet including a database of research and library of research
• Submit a report containing 20-30 key informant interviews with industry experts and leaders that are sourced and conducted by the consultant together with detailed notes and summaries on those key informant interviews
• Submit a report containing an analysis of technologies using criteria created in collaboration with IRC’s ERD Senior Coordinator
• Submit a report containing a recommendation of 2-4 technologies for case studies with inputs into each case study
  

IRC will support the consultant activities by providing the following assistance and documents:

• Template for the report on a systematic review of academic and grey literature
• Template for the report including a database of research and library of research.
• IRC’s ERD Senior Coordinator will assist with identification of key informant interviewees through peer networks