Democratic Republic of the Congo: Consultant - DRC Multipurpose Cash Transfer Learning and Evaluation

Alternative Responses for Communities in Crisis – Consultancy Terms of Reference

Mid-Term Evaluation; Identifying Best-Practices for Joint-Cash Transfer Interventions

Introduction and Context

The provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, where the current Mercy Corps’ Alternative Responses for Communities in Crises-III program is implemented, have faced a chronic crisis for over twenty years. A combination of persistent armed conflict, forced and prolonged displacements, epidemics, poor governance and poor service delivery across the province have created a chronically insecure and hostile environment, fostering vulnerability within the population.

The province of North Kivu has been the epicenter of protracted conflict in the DRC. It hosts a multitude of armed groups, whose movements and attacks have caused massive displacements both within North Kivu and the province of Ituri. Further, forced camp closures and inter-ethnic tensions have compounded the vulnerability created by this violence and reinforced a sense of insecurity within the population. The dynamics created by these multiple crises have gender dimensions which unfold differently, and therefore create different needs within all affected groups, including boys, girls, women and men, as well as people with disabilities.

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action—helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Having distributed over USD $275 million through cash-programming in 27 of the 40 countries where we work, Mercy Corps is a global leader in cash based assistance.

Program Context, Goals and Constraints

In late December 2015, Mercy Corps began implementing the ‘Alternative Responses for Communities in Crisis (ARCC) III’ in North Kivu, a UNICEF-funded program, with the aim of supporting conflict-affected households to improve their well-being, while building their resilience to future shocks. The experience of this program has shown that unconditional multi-purpose cash transfer programming is a rapid, effective and efficient way of addressing the diversity of needs and levels of vulnerability within communities in crises. Beyond responding to immediate needs, cash-based assistance also serves to strengthen the resilience of households affected by protracted crises, by improving access to financial capital, and empowering households to be the decision makers in responding to their individual needs.

Humanitarian assistance in North Kivu and Ituri has been critical to addressing life-threatening risks in this environment; however, humanitarian interventions alone cannot break the fragility trap. Emergency support should only be provided to those with acute needs. Immediate humanitarian response to acute needs must be matched with opportunities for minimizing chronic dependency and building self-reliance and resilience to recurring shocks. Mercy Corps’ strives to apply these principles in all interventions, taking stock of the multiple variables that can influence the success of an emergency response and lay the foundations for transition. We believe that cash-based interventions are one avenue to continue addressing these complex dynamics and to test improved approaches. Mercy Corps is convinced that the ARCC-III program, with its double mandate of emergency and transitional interventions, strongly contributes to this process.

Unconditional, multi-purpose cash transfers utilized by the ARCC-III program are an effective modality to respond to the immediate needs of populations touched by conflict. This type of cash assistance allows conflict-affected people to meet their most immediate needs based on their own prioritization. Multi-purpose cash transfer programming has the potential to significantly reduce protection threats and the number of families and individuals using negative coping mechanisms to survive. Past programming data has demonstrated that when beneficiaries have access to financial assets, household economies improve and spending on services like health and education increase, fundamental social dividends contributing to resilience.

Consultancy Required

In order to better understand program impact, it is critical that effective learning process and analyses are nurtured so that innovations and good practices can be shared and applied. This consultancy will have two objectives:

1. Conduct a mid-term evaluation, write full technical report

2. Conduct research on the Best-Practices for Joint-Cash Transfer Interventions, write a guidance note

3. Mid-term Evaluation

The recruited consultant will undertake an external monitoring and evaluation technical appraisal of the ARCC-III program, notably for interventions related to one stream of funding for the program. The evaluation should incorporate both qualitative and quantitative data collection, including: review of post-distribution monitoring data, sample surveys with beneficiary households, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. This assessment will culminate in a report to the donor, following donor guidelines. Contents and formatting of the report to be agreed upon by Mercy Corps DRC and the consultant.

1. Research Stream: Identifying Best-Practices for Joint-Cash Transfer Interventions

Mercy Corps believes that the innovative approaches to inter-organizational joint intervention strategies used in ARCC-III can be used to develop guidance for future cash-based interventions in contexts of chronic crisis - where needs are high and funds are limited. By contributing to the development of best-practices of cash-based emergency responses, Mercy Corps and its donors can continue to be at the forefront of innovative humanitarian programming that has the greatest potential to positively impact communities in crisis.

Mercy Corps is seeking a consultant to conduct an assessment to develop a guidance paper for best-practices on multi-sectoral interagency cash interventions. Mercy Corps believes the collection and dissemination of this information is valuable to inform future cash programing in DRC. Based on experience with joint interventions that Mercy Corps has carried out under the ARCC-III program, we are seeking an external consultant to collate and produce a report on the lessons learnt and advantages of conjoint sector-specific and multi-sectorial cash-responses, notably applying lessons from joint interventions Mercy Corps carried out with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and with the World Food Program (WFP). Information will be collected through a series of surveys and key-informant interviews (with program staff, operations departments, logistics, partner organizations, and key cluster representatives) to document lessons and recommendations for future joint cash programing. Findings will be developed into a report which will be shared with the donor, Mercy Corps globally as well as the humanitarian community at large.

Consultancy Timeframe

25 working days in mid-April to early May 2017 (estimated three weeks to be spent in-country)

• Consultant recruitment deadline: 30 March 2017

• Deadline for finalising the mid-term evaluation methodology and data collection tools: 7 April 2017

• Deadline for finalising data collection: Objective 1: 21 April 2017, Objective 2: 28 April 2017

• Deadline for the draft report (Output 1 & 2): 05 May 2017

• Deadline for the final deliverables: 20 May 2017

Consultancy Deliverables

Deliverables for the assessment are the following (Objectives 1 & 2):

• An assessment plan detailing a proposed methodology, the calendar and tools for data collection, which will be validated by Mercy Corps

• Data collection, identifying key informants and conducting interviews, review of program documentation;

• Data compilation and analysis;

• A draft mid-term technical monitoring and evaluation report, in-line with donor guidelines (in French)

• A final mid-term technical monitoring and evaluation report, with feedback integrated from Mercy Corps

· A draft guidance paper for best-practices on multi-sectoral interagency cash interventions for review by Mercy Corp staff and to be approved by Mercy Corps (in French or English);

• Development of a dissemination strategy for Mercy Corps to carry-out with clear steps and forums/contacts with which to share the guideline report on multi-sectoral cash interventions

• A final best-practices guideline report (both in English and French) based on the following table of contents (unless a different structure is agreed upon by Mercy Corps and the consultant):

• Executive summary (no more than 3 pages)

• Overview of the context (no more than 2 pages)

• Organization and program background

• Evidence-based conclusions: these include the findings and the analysis

• Recommendations

Consultancy Logistics

Mercy Corps DRC will provide the consultant with logistical support through:

• Ensuring that the consultant receives key documents in a timely manner

· Full and active support of ARCC program team and MEL staff

• Translators and Interpreters from Swahili to French.

• Helping to set up the data collection schedule

• Arranging meetings with the project team and key staff

•Arranging travel to Goma, DRC, and local travel during time in the field for data collection

• Providing administrative support such as photocopying, fax machines, and office space

Qualifications and experience required

In addition to outlining their capacity to meet the specific requirements of this consultancy, through their application and throughout the selection process, the consultants must demonstrate that they have:

• Strong statistics background – acquired through either academic studies, practical experience or both. The consultant will need to be able to conduct quality data-analysis (using SPSS/STATA) that goes beyond descriptive presentations of data.
• Fluency in English and French required.
• Have strong experience conducting research or assessment exercises on humanitarian programs, preferably cash programming.
• All data collected and study outputs in soft and hardcopy will be the property of Mercy Corps

The Consultant will report to:** Deputy Country Director of Programs

The Consultant will work closely with: ARCC-III Program Manager, Grants Officer, and the Emergency Programs Intern

Parties interested in bidding for this should submit the following to Mercy Corps by the closing date of 20 March 2017 here: http://app.jobvite.com/m?3dKJsiwV

Note: Bids can be submitted in either English or French

· CVs of the consultant(s) envisaged for deployment.

· Proposed total cost of consultancy

· 2 references.