Country: Iraq
Closing date: 23 Sep 2016
1.HISTORICAND JUSTIFICATION
The French Red Cross is operational in Northern Iraq since 2013, especially in Dohuk, Erbil and Ninewa governorates. Focused first on the influx of Syrian refugees, then on the IDP crisis and the challenging return of population in newly liberated areas, FRC is providing assistance in a range of sectors including WASH, Livelihoods, Shelter and Relief. In 2016, FRC will continue its emergency and early recovery assistance for Syrian refugees, Iraqi IDPs, returnees and most vulnerable host communities.
In the Livelihoods sector, the FRC plans to expand its program in Dohuk, Erbil and Ninewah governorates (especially in Rabia and Sinjar areas). In the past, the FRC, supported by UNDP, implemented Cash For Work (CFW) projects in the liberated areas of Zumar & Rabia in Ninewah governorate from August 2016 to April 2016. Activities included waste collection, and market place and shop's rehabilitation activities (from August 2015 to April 2016). In addition, the FRC is implementing a project which aims at supporting economic independence, resilience and self-reliance of abused Yezidi women and SGBV/Trafficking victims in Dohuk governorate. At last, the FRC is about to launch a 3-years intervention with the objective to increase economic self-reliance and access to essential livelihood opportunities for vulnerable refugees and host community members.
1.1Concerning Rabia
The sub district of Rabia which is part of Tal Afar district represents a key position (between Mosul and Syria at the north of Sinjar border) as it is a border crossing traditionally known as a lucrative business center for local tribes and multiple Iraqi governments. ISIS took control of Rabia in August 2014. In October 2014, Rabia was liberated in a relatively quick operation because of the joint Sunni Arab Shammar-Peshmerga alliance that attacked under cover of coalition air support.
Almost a year after its clearing, the picture in Rabia is mixed. One of the successes in the area is its repopulation. Indeed, 12 000 out of 13 000 families have returned. In terms of security, the area is stable as the Peshmerga forces are stationed around the sub-district with locals providing security inside the city.
However, beyond the security aspect, life conditions in Rabia are harsh. Indeed, the infrastructure and services are still depleted partly because of the ongoing anti-ISIS war, the country’s economic crisis, and the disputed territory politics’ consequences. The federal government is skeptical about the possibility for Rabia to build alliances with Erbil. In addition, the KRG is unable or unwilling to fully commit itself to a territory outside the constitutionally-defined Iraqi Kurdistan. Rabia has been under-resourced for a long period of time.
The destruction wrought by conflict in the sub-districts is particularly important as the damages have affected local infrastructures, access to services, the local economy and the social fabric of originally diverse areas. One of the main consequences is the general impoverishment of the area, and the use of de-capitalizing survival mechanisms by population who return, although they do not have a lot of assets left after the occupation of the area by AOGs. Community mechanisms, economic and agricultural activities are most of the times negatively affected.
Rabia is well-known for its fertile soil and agriculture, but the conflict has seriously affected both main sources of livelihoods – farming and herding. In addition, IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) and other remnants of war remain a threat in the villages and fields, impeding the revival of the local economy, wounding and killing dozens and wreaking further havoc in communities, which were already affected by chronic under-development.
Local authority buildings have been devastated during the conflict, paralyzing public administration. In terms of public service provision, the lack of water, sanitation and solid waste management systems are posing serious health risks. Sewage channels blocked, by damage or lack of maintenance, are overflowing raw sewage into the streets. The looting or destruction of the entire collection system has resulted in solid waste piling up in streets. Even tools for street cleaning are no longer available.
FRC implemented a CFW project from December 2015 to April 2016 supported by UNDP so as to rapidly inject cash into the local economy, to give sufficient purchasing power to local households to enable the jump-start of livelihoods activities, and to partially restore community infrastructures/places, especially regarding waste management, to offer services in a clean and secure environment for the population. 200 households benefited from this project: among these, 30 were women.
1.2Concerning Sinuni
In August 2014, ISIS forces attacked and took control of Sinjar city and neighboring villages in Sinjar district, home to the largest concentration of ethnic Yazidi minorities in Iraq, as well as Arab and Assyrian communities. While an estimated 20,000-30,000 Yazidis were initially reported to have sought refuge atop Sinjar mountain, most families moved further East into formal and informal IDP settlements across Duhok Governorate, leaving around 1,500 displaced households living in critical need both in tented communities on the mountain itself. Sinjar city and northern Sinjar district have been progressively liberated, even if many villages around are still under the control of ISIS. Approximately 30% of the households reportedly returned to Sinjar District; however, insecurity, destroyed infrastructure and lack of economic opportunities continue to hinder return efforts.
The population’s relative isolation from markets and basic services has fuelled frustrations among these communities towards aid agencies who themselves must navigate the complexities of the politicized environment. The various militias and Kurdish political parties present on and around Sinjar mountain have created a microcosm of intra-Kurdish relations with Yazidi militia, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (PDK), Turkey-based Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK), and Syria-based People’s Protection Units (YPG) all actively fighting IS to the South. Additionally, Sinjar is part of a corridor of disputed territories claimed by both the KRG and the Iraqi Central Government.
Media coverage of the escape of 30,000 Yazidis from their homes to the top of Sinjar mountain following an IS ground assault helped to bring global attention to the larger displacement crisis facing Iraq in 2014. However, while NGOs and INGOs rushed to serve the critical needs of a growing IDP and refugee community in Duhok Governorate, few organizations have managed to conduct sustained long-term programming to assist those stranded on Sinjar Mountain or returned in Sinjar District.
Since summer 2016, the FRC has opened an office in Sinuni and is providing a second-line response on Sinjar Mountain with the objective of ensuring the provision of WaSH services at household level.
After these both experiences (in Rabia and Sinuni), FRC is studying the opportunity to develop sustainable food security and livelihood programing to meet the needs of the population so as to improve their economic independence and resilience capacity.
2.OVERVALL OBJECTIVE
The overall objective of this consultancy are:
· To produce a food security and livelihood situational analysis of Ninewah governorate (North of Iraq)
o Understand what the situation was before this crisis, in terms of agricultural productions, livelihood, food security, and income generating activities, and how the crisis impacted it;
o Assess and describe precisely the damages caused by the crisis, especially in terms of agricultural losses
o Identify the needs, and propose short/middle term programmatic orientations, recommendations and actions, in collaboration with the FRC team
· To develop a concept note and a project proposal for submission to potential donors, including short/middle term activities based on communities’ practices and habits, to meet their needs and restore people’s livelihood and to improve their food security.
3.SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
The Situation Analysis will focus on:
Mapping out key local, national and international stakeholders (state, no state, and private sector actors) of influence or with programming interest, with an inventory of pertinent existing livelihood assistance programs in target areas, interviewing those which are most relevant. This mapping will discuss:
What types of institutions exist and have a key role in urban livelihoods, what services are they meant to provide, what progress have they made and what are their limitations (this may include services outside of direct livelihoods assistance, but which are interrelated with livelihoods e.g. health, education, housing…)?
Identify services that could help to address barriers to enhancement of livelihoods of people dependent on the informal economy and social inclusion of vulnerable groups, in particular for the inclusion into new and/or existing training programs and social protection systems, together with access to education, health, secure housing and other basic services
Evaluation of programs and policies with a view to proposing feasible measures to ensure they are inclusive towards people dependent of the informal economy and vulnerable groups, in particular in accessing basic services
What types of beneficiary selection as well as monitoring and evaluation systems and indicators are in place and being used to manage these initiatives, and what is their effectiveness
Identify constraints and facilitating factors around vulnerable groups in both formal and informal economy.
Conducting a multi-sectoral assessment:
Profile livelihoods by wealth group breakdown, access to services and opportunities
Food and income sourcing strategies (in the absence of quantitative measurements), important assets (including houses) and entitlements
Assess food security by area and wealth group, paying particular attention to the gender dimension of food security
Relate food security to poverty coping mechanisms
Relate this analysis to the gaps identified and prioritize services needs and support that a program could work
Model the way in which shocks affect household livelihood patterns and review the way that households respond to and recover from these shocks
Carry out a review of specific economic activities and services
What type of training is currently offered, how accessible is it and how effective is it in ensuring income generation
Identify asset accumulation activities and evaluate the relative security and risk of business places and other asset accumulation activities
Explore and document potential for partnership with specific members of the private sector, or groupings of the private sector, to expand or improve income generating opportunities/formal employment/ work conditions
How important is agriculture, what potential exists for building on this in terms of both food security and income generation?
The assessment should include a strong gender analysis.
The assessment and project formulation should take into account community participation and local capacity for response, as well as the FRC/IRCS partnership, in the development of the logic of intervention.
Proposition of strategic orientations and actions based on the assessment and situation analysis
4.METHODOLOGY OF THE CONSULTANCY
The evaluator will describe the evaluation methodology. The proposed methodology should be validated by the FRC Livelihood Coordinator. It will include at least the following phases:
Preparation:
To peruse available documents and literature enabling to understand the context of the mission,
To define the framework of the evaluation,
To approve the evaluation work plan with the team on the field.
Briefings in the French Red Cross Head office:
With the person in charge of the Middle-East Desk and the Livelihood/Food Security expert, to have information on the local context, on the procedure for the evaluation, for contract management, and departure organization.
Field visits & in-depth interviews with stakeholders:
FRC delegation in Iraqi and IRCS,
National and local authorities,
Humanitarian organizations in the areas targeted by the evaluation,
Affected communities,
Every relevant person.
Analysis and evaluation:
This stage will be guided by data collected from secondary sources (studies, reports, statistics...) and primary sources (interviews, questionnaires, observations, focus groups, mapping...).
The evaluator has to develop its findings and recommendations by explaining to what extent it rely on objective and verifiable opinions, analysis or elements.
Restitution:
Before leaving Iraqi and before giving the initial report, the evaluator will hold a feedback meeting with project stakeholders to discuss its first observations / analysis.
Finalization:
The evaluation report and the proposal will be finalized in collaboration with the Livelihood Coordinator of the French Red Cross.
The duration of the mission is evaluated at 15 days and should start in October 2016 at the latest.
5.QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
This assignment has to be undertaken by a team of highly qualified and experienced in livelihoods, food security, gender and social cohesion programming with a bias towards rural programming. The following knowledge and skill areas are the minimum requirements:
Food Security and Livelihood Security background;
Gender and social cohesion background
Post emergency livelihood security programming experience;
Focus on rural programming;
Evidence of previous rural programming support;
Good analytical and writing skills;
Familiarity with the Iraqi context preferred.
6.DELIVERABLES
Deliverables under this consultancy will include the following:
An evaluation report detailing the methodology and resources used, identified needs, recommendations and strategic orientations resulting from analysis to meet the needs identified and findings of the evaluator
A concept note and project proposal detailing the target area, the identified beneficiaries, their needs and resources in terms of food security, the planned actions and their justifications. A logical framework, a timetable and a budget will be presented, as well as a methodology for monitoring and evaluation. The format will be given by the FRC.
Detailed deadlines for aforementioned deliverables to be proposed in the consultancy offer.
7.PROCEDURES AND LOGISTIC
· FRC will provide the Consultant with background materials for the assignment.
· The consultant is expected to work using her/his own computer, but may access the FRC office for printing of relevant documents or should he/she be required to work on-site at any point during the assignment.
· FRC might will provide a vehicle for the in-country travels of the consultant
How to apply:
APPLICATION PROCESS
All offers shall be submitted to the following email address: consultancy.middleeast.frc@gmail.com ; before September 23th.
The offer must include :
CV of the evaluator(s)
Technical offer, including details about how the work planned, the methodology and resources used
Financial offer that shall include a total lump sum amount with a breakdown of a daily professional rate per number of anticipated working days to include all costs (telephone, daily subsistence allowance, travel related costs, accommodation etc.)
EVALUATION OF THE OFFERS
Applications will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of their qualifications and financial proposal.
The consultancy should be awarded to the offer that has been evaluated and determined as:
• Responsive/compliant/acceptable
• Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation v