"Challenge" Coordinator Consultancy

Background of the project: 

The IRC’s Airbel Impact Lab designs, tests, and scales life-changing, cost-effective solutions for people affected by conflict and disaster. By applying the IRC’s deep technical expertise and field experience with a range of skills from the behavioral sciences, human-centered design, rigorous research, and multi-disciplinary problem-solving in humanitarian contexts, we work to develop breakthrough solutions that combine creativity and rigor, openness and expertise, and a desire to think afresh with the experience of a large-scale implementing organization.

Airbel and the Columbia country office are interested in supporting Colombian implementers and innovators across Early Childhood Development (ECD) and Livelihoods sectors to come together in service of supporting a family’s multi-faceted needs. For the first phase we are proposing the support of organizations in Colombia working in the typically siloed ECD and livelihoods spaces to identify joint, multifaceted solutions that address the needs of families, and apply the latest research. Then we want these partnered organizations to test solutions through an iterative, prototyping approach with families to improve them and ensure they are optimized for value, impact and scale and pilot-ready. Finally, we will support the development of partnership models and create requirements needed to integrate systems and change the normal ways of working in service of families. By the end of the proposed project, we will have both integrated programs and partnership models ready to deliver on the promise of a “two-generational” approach in ECD and Livelihoods for families.

Scope of Work:

 Alignment / 4 weeks: Review the evidence base and latest research, the most promising programs across existing ECD and livelihoods organizations, assess technology solutions and innovation partners and solicit and onboard a technical mentor group drawn from the IRC technical units and Colombia based experts to support the teams moving forwards.

Research and Opportunity Identification / 6-8 weeks: In this phase, we will dive into the needs of families and organizations as they exist at the intersection of ECD and Livelihoods. As we listen to and observe displaced families and their use of existing programs, we will be looking specifically for challenges around access, application, and operations that exist for families around both ECD and Livelihoods, especially in light of the new challenges that COVID has brought. We will aim to talk with ~40 different families accessing a range of different services and across different geographies

Challenge Launch / 6 weeks: We will publicly share the opportunities arising out of the research, and solicit prospective local, cross-sectoral, cross-functional teams ready to develop solutions. This phase will be characterized by multi-partner teams submitting for the challenge and together, defining their vision. 

Co-Create Solutions / 8 weeks: This is the phase of work where ideas will flourish, assumptions and risks will be stated and teams will begin developing and combining elements of their concept for testing. Teams will align their goals, approach and understanding of the problems to be solved.  At the end of this phase, teams will have research plans, a definition of their concept, and a functional prototype that is ready to test. 

Prototyping and Testing / 10 weeks: This phase is characterized by making solutions tangible and then testing and refining them with the target population. We will aim to evaluate ideas, based on their potential for impact, scalability, cost effectiveness, equity and value to the user. Each cycle consists of three stages; build, measure, and learn.

These phases of work will deliver a minimum of two prototypes that are ready to be piloted and will deliver on the target population’s intersectional needs and values, draws on the most promising evidence, with promising potential for scalability and cost effectiveness in the Colombian context.

Deliverables:

•  System Strengthening Report: including stakeholder map with dynamic flows and partnership model learnings, as well as recommendations for the sustainable development of integrated partnerships in Colombia. Plans will be shared in PPT presentations in Spanish and English.
• Prototypes of the two most promising integrated programs including all assets and materials needed to pilot the programs. 
• Program pilot plans including delivery plans, potential for impact, pathways for scale, cost modeling, and the business model. This document should also articulate and visualize the program elements, delivery mechanisms as well as include the primary research questions to address in piloting.  Plans will be shared in PPT presentations in Spanish and English
• Pilot testing requirements and research and testing findings. This document will share consolidated research findings across teams and shared in a PPT presentation in Spanish and English. This document will contain findings from the field research, our evaluation framework for existing programs, requirements for integrated program’s success, and evidence reviews.