Consultant - AAP Toolkit Consultancy

BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT 

The goal of the BHA-funded Empower to Enable (E2E) project is to foster accountable and client-centered humanitarian assistance by empowering frontline staff to enable crisis-affected people’s participation in the design and delivery of humanitarian assistance. The project also aims to advance the humanitarian sector towards the localization of humanitarian assistance and operationalization of AAP standards.

The project is grounded in the recognition that the global humanitarian community has thus far made little progress on AAP because of institutional and structural barriers (including incentive structures and top-down decision-making mechanisms), not because of technical deficiencies in feedback mechanisms. The objectives of the project will be achieved through close collaboration and consultation with inter-agency coordination bodies and a Project Advisory Committee (PAC), while the research and toolkit generated will be piloted in two displacement contexts (the DRC and Iraq).

This consultancy is part of the E2E project managed by the IRC Client Responsiveness team (Measurement Unit) and is supported by USAID’s BHA. 

SCOPE OF WORK

Based on the findings of the E2E Learning Report and with the collaboration of the project team and the Project Advisory Committee, the consultant will create the E2E Toolkit, a set of practical resources for humanitarian leadership looking to advance their AAP commitments by empowering their frontline staff to enable the participation of affected people. The specific components of the E2E Toolkit will be informed by pre-existing literature and toolkits, the E2E Learning Report, in-country Toolkit co-creation workshops in the DRC and Iraq, engagement with IRC staff and local partners, and input from key stakeholders (Project Advisory Committee and other AAP experts). All components of the Toolkit will be practical, accessible to both frontline staff and humanitarian leadership, and adaptable to many contexts, including any country program and at the HQ-level. The Toolkit consultant will develop the Toolkit based on best practices in adult learning and behavior change and will also create an evidence-based communications plan for how to disseminate the Toolkit in an effective way.

The E2E Toolkit is likely to include:

1.      A checklist that will provide organizational leaders with a highly accessible product (e.g., 1 page) that they can use to assess whether their organization is enacting the enablers identified by the Learning Report and identify areas for improvement.

2.      Case studies that reveal how the enablers and barriers identified in the Learning Report affected organizations in their attempts to advance AAP. The case studies will also provide examples of how organizations made changes to reduce barriers and/or increase enablers.

3.      A list of further resources that will help organizations assess their practice (eg. discussion guides to explore the E2E enablers with staff) and put changes into practice (eg. summaries of key learning and / or links to additional materials on each enabler).

The consultant will facilitate two in-country co-creation workshops in the DRC and Iraq to help determine the components of the Toolkit. Based on the results of the in-country workshops, prior research, and input from the Project Advisory Committee and IRC Client Responsiveness team, the consultant will create the draft of the E2E Toolkit. During the in-country workshops, the consultant will assist in the creation of the Toolkit testing workplan with the pilot countries. The Toolkit will be piloted in two IRC country programs (DRC and Iraq), both of which will then provide feedback on the usability and relevance of the Toolkit. The Consultant will be responsible for updating the Toolkit, taking into account the feedback and learning resulting from the 2 countries’ pilot program results.

DELIVERABLES

Deliverable 1: SoW of the E2E Toolkit for change management

Based on the learning and evidence generated from the Learning Report and with feedback from the project team and the Project Advisory Committee, the consultant will develop a SoW for the E2E Toolkit, which will include a plan for the content of the Toolkit as well as a communications plan/methodology for effectively disseminating the Toolkit.

Deliverable 2: Co-Creation Workshops

The consultant will also assist in preparation for and co-facilitation of the Toolkit co-creation workshops in IRC DRC and Iraq. At the Toolkit co-creation workshops the consultant and the IRC Client Responsiveness team will co-facilitate collaborative workshop sessions to gather input on what country programs need in order to more successfully utilize their frontline staff to enable participation of affected people in the design and delivery of humanitarian aid programs. The consultant will use information gathered from these workshops to inform the checklist, case studies, and list of further resources.

Deliverable 3: E2E Toolkit for pilot phase

The consultant will be responsible for developing the E2E Toolkit and use case recommendations for each of the accompanying tools and guidance to aid in its uptake by humanitarian organizations. The Toolkit should be based on research into similar resources that are currently available; the findings and recommendations of the E2E Learning Report; input gathered from Learning Report workshops and presentations; input and recommendations from the Project Advisory Committee; and from the inputs and feedback shared by participants of the two in-person Toolkit co-creation workshops in the DRC and Iraq. The Toolkit will be no longer than 20 pages, will be written in English, and in a manner that is accessible to all levels of English speakers.

Deliverable 4: Finalized E2E Toolkit (which incorporates feedback) with guidance on how to encourage utilization

The consultant will participate in pilot program progress updates and Project Advisory Committee meetings. The Client Responsiveness Project Manager will collect the pilot countries’ feedback on the draft Toolkit and feedback from other relevant stakeholders and will share this information with the consultant to update the Toolkit.

Practical learning and case studies emerging from the pilots in two countries will be developed and included in the final version of the E2E Toolkit. The case studies will document how the E2E Toolkit improved the utilization of frontline staff in enabling participation and will provide examples and learning on how the E2E Toolkit was used and the changes it generated. Inputs from other organizations consulted and their feedback on the E2E Toolkit will also be incorporated into the final version.

The consultant will also include a communications/dissemination plan and a list of recommended guidance on how to encourage the utilization of the Toolkit. The consultant will work closely with the IRC Client Responsiveness Project Manager to support the dissemination of the Toolkit to humanitarian actors and IRC field teams.    

The consultant will not be required to provide graphic design services for the final product.

A financial proposal, including daily rate and overall total should be submitted as part of the application.

The consultant will report to the IRC’s Client Responsiveness Project Manager. Additional technical advice will come from the IRC’s Client Responsiveness team.