Consultancy assignment for documentation of lessons learnt in Cash Consortium for South Central Somalia
Cash Consortium for South Central Somalia
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Consultancy assignment for documentation of lessons learnt in Cash Consortium for South Central Somalia
Background:
In response to the famine in Southern and Central Somalia, several agencies have been implementing a large-scale unconditional cash transfer programme. The initiatives represent a comprehensive effort to address the alarming food insecurity of the most vulnerable households in the region.
Adeso, Danish Refugee Council, Save the Children and Action Against Hunger (ACF) International formed the Cash Consortium that has been implementing the Food Assistance to South Central Somalia (FASCS) project since September 2011. The objective of the project is to provide vulnerable households with access to basic food and non-food items. The project is providing households that are experiencing food and livelihoods crisis with unconditional cash grants in order to allow them to purchase their food and basic non-food items. The project is being implemented in Lower Juba, Gedo, Hiran, and Mogadishu regions of South and Central Somalia.
The FASCS project has completed the first phase, reaching over 40,000 households with monthly cash transfers for six months. During phase I, consortium agencies transferred a total of USD 30 million to vulnerable households. Phase II of the project is now underway and is expected to reach around 40,000 households with an initial 3 months’ of unconditional cash transfers to beneficiaries. Some of the households supported during the first phase will receive continued support in the second phase, with the addition of new households through retargeting in existing areas, or expansion of the project into new locations.
The Consortium has a strong common M&E approach with involvement of the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) as the external expertise agency. The Consortium is part of the Somalia Cash and Voucher Monitoring Group (CVMG), in which other agencies are also involved, using common M&E tools to document evidence of the processes and impact of cash programming at scale. The CVMG forum is coordinated by UNICEF with technical support from ODI.
Key study question:
• Have the approaches and processes used by the consortium been effective in addressing and responding to the humanitarian emergency in southern and central Somalia?
Objective and scope of the consultancy assignment:
The objective of this consultancy is to review consortium-wide processes and approaches in order to gather lessons learnt for the future of the Cash Consortium in Somalia, as well as similar consortia in other emergency contexts. The scope of the consultancy is to facilitate the process of reflective learning, to document lessons learnt and make recommendations for improvement. As the consortium is currently in the process of developing exit and transitional strategies, it is important that the lessons learnt during different stages of the response are documented in a structured manner. This review will help in building the strategic direction of the consortium in 2013 and define its role in the continued aid response in South Central Somalia.
Various institutional structures and mechanisms have helped the consortium members to achieve their shared goals and these should be reviewed within the scope of this consultancy: common programmatic approaches and standards, consortium-wide coordination structures (with steering group and technical working group), common M&E framework and joint reporting systems as well as collective coordination with donors and stakeholders.
This is a Nairobi-based assignment and the consultant will not be expected to conduct field visits to project areas in South Central Somalia.
Key areas of lessons learnt in cash consortium:
Following are the key areas identified for reflective review. These will be finalised with the consultant at the outset of the assignment:
• Setting up of the cash consortium: Review the process of establishing the Cash Consortium in response to the humanitarian crisis in the South Central Somalia in 2011, looking at leadership and consensus building between members.
• Operational management structure and coordination systems: Analyse the systems for information-sharing that lead to decision-making within the consortium. How is consensus built and how are differences in approach resolved?
• Developing common programmatic approaches: Assess the extent to which needs assessment, response analysis and intervention strategies are shared among agencies and how common approaches are agreed upon. This should also include an analysis of discussions concerning exit strategies or transitional approaches to phase out existing programmes.
• M&E framework, reporting systems and organisational-learning: assess the systems in place for sharing, cumulating and analysing monitoring and evaluation data, including how this data is reported internally (between consortium members) and externally (to other organisations and donors). Look at systems for identifying good practice and promoting learning within the consortium and with the wider community of humanitarian practice.
• Next steps for the Cash Consortium: examine the appropriateness of possible operational and management structures for the Cash Consortium in the future, enabling the possibility of scaling-up or scaling-down the response depending on continuing humanitarian needs in South Central Somalia.
Methodology and process:
Prospective consultants are encouraged to submit bids outlining their proposed methodology. The Consortium will expect the use of various methods of organizational (consortium-wide) introspective processes to learn from the experience during the programming phase. The consultant should use a range of data collection and analysis techniques, including:
• Review of existing materials and reports: This will include review of existing secondary reports and documentation available at consortium level, consortium documents like project proposals, M&E reports, external evaluation reports and related reference materials. • Interviews with consortium members: The consultant is expected to develop a structured approach to collecting information through interviews and discussions with key consortium members. • Participation in internal meetings of consortium: The consultant is expected to participate in different ongoing meetings of the consortium, including the TWG, Steering Committee and participation in CVMG meeting, if possible. • Interaction with stakeholders and donors: The consultant will have meetings and discussions with key stakeholders and donors to draw external views and opinions on consortium-wide approaches. • Lessons learnt workshops: A minimum of two workshops will be conducted, facilitated by the consultant and based on a pre-agreed ‘lessons learnt framework’. The first workshop (one full day) will focus on identifying lessons learnt, leading to an interim report. The second workshop will (half-day) focus on specifics as follow-up of the first workshop; the consultant will facilitate discussion on key lessons learnt and develop consensus for recommendations on how to improve processes. The workshops are to be spaced systematically to allow the consultant the necessary preparation time within the consultancy period. • Meeting for dissemination of results: At the end of the consultancy, a half-day meeting will be organized whereby consultants will disseminate the key results to all consortium members (and possibly will involve other stakeholders). The final report will be shared at the end of the consultancy assignment.
Consultancy Period:
This consultancy assignment is expected to last not more than 20 working days, i.e. a period of 4 weeks with 5 working days per week. Ideally an individual consultant is sought, however a team of maximum 2 consultants can apply (provided the number of working days for both consultants together does not exceed 20).
Work plan and time schedule:
The Cash Consortium is looking to start this consultancy in October 2012. Below is a tentative work schedule for the assignment, which provides a brief outline of likely tasks. This can be further reviewed and modified depending on the consultant’s proposal.
Period Key tasks Week 1 • Review of reference materials and reports • Interaction with key members of Cash Consortium • Possible participation in consortium meetings Week 2 • Interaction and meetings with key stakeholders • One day workshop on lesson learnt at consortium level • Possible participation in consortium and other meetings Week 3 • Working on compilation of interim report • Preparations for second workshop (half-day) to share findings and gather consensus on lessons learnt • Follow up on pending tasks Week 4 • Mainly working on final report • Final dissemination meeting (2 hours session) • Sharing of final report and follow up, if any
Remuneration
Constancy rate per day will be decided based on the proposals received. Payment is subject to taxation as per the laws of Kenya 10% for nationals and 20% for foreigners.
Any other costs incurred, such as international travel and accommodation, should be mentioned in the proposal and budget submitted. The consortium will decide to cover such costs either directly or through the contract agreement.
The Consortium will organise the logistics of local travel and other related costs of meetings and workshops.
Key deliverables:
The consultant will be responsible for conducting all required initial preparations pertaining to the assignment. Following are the key deliverables in accordance to the scope and contractual requirements of the assignment:
• A work plan for the entire period of consultancy, to be finalised in consultation with the Cash Consortium Coordinator. • Frameworks for the lesson learnt workshops, with workshop schedules and methodology. • Power point presentation on lessons learnt and key recommendations as part of dissemination workshop/meeting. • Final report on lessons learnt in consortium with incorporation of comments and feedback included.
Management and Coordination:
The consultant will report to the Cash Consortium Coordinator on all aspects of consultancy deliverables and day-to-day work schedules. The technical contractual coordination of the assignment will be undertaken by the M&E focal point of the Consortium at Adeso. The consortium coordination team will work closely with all aspects of coordination and logistics pertaining to this assignment.
Qualifications of the consultant:
• Master degree in planning, monitoring and evaluation, economics or social sciences and other areas relevant for the assignment. • At least five years of relevant professional work in social research or related studies with specific reference to lessons learnt in an organizational context (consortia based lessons learnt experience is a plus). • Thorough knowledge and understanding of cash transfer programming approaches and its linkages. • Extensive experience in working with INGOs and local NGOs, local authorities and beneficiaries. • Demonstrated analytical and writing skills. • Excellent knowledge of English.
Application process:
Applications should be submitted by 20thSeptember 2012. All applicants must meet the minimum requirements described above.. Each application package should include the following:
• Cover letter with the applicant’s current contact information • Proposal for the consultancy assignment with methodology and budget • CVs of consultants (including detailed work experience, education/degrees, and details of similar assignments) • Professional References (minimum of three, with complete contact information)
All applications should be sent to Adeso at consultancy@adesoafrica.org with the subject line: Consultancy for documentation of lessons learnt in Cash Consortium
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