Consultancy for: 4Mi Data Collection on Mixed Migration along the Southern Route to South Africa At Danish Refugee Council

Terms of Reference

Consultancy for: 4Mi Data Collection on Mixed Migration along the Southern Route to South Africa

About MMC

The Mixed Migration Centre (MMC) is a leading source for independent and high-quality data, research, analysis and expertise on mixed migration. MMC aims to increase understanding of mixed migration, to positively impact global and regional migration policies, to inform evidence-based protection responses for people on the move and to stimulate forward thinking in public and policy debates on mixed migration. MMC’s overarching focus is on human rights and protection for all people on the move. MMC focuses on 7 core regions, with regional teams in each of these: East and Southern Africa, North Africa, West Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe. Read more about MMC here: www.mixedmigration.org.

Since 2014, MMC has been implementing its flagship 4Mi project, which aims to offer a regular, standardized, quantitative system of collecting primary data on mixed migration to establish a solid evidence base on the needs and protection incidents facing people on the move. 4Mi consists of a unique network of field enumerators situated along frequently used routes and in major migratory hubs. Field enumerators are trained and closely supervised and use a smart phone-based survey application to record and transmit completed interviews to regional 4Mi hubs for storage and analysis. 4Mi uses standard closed question surveys to invite respondents to anonymously self-report on a wide range of issues, including migratory drivers, means of movement, conditions of movement, the smuggler economy, aspirations and destination choices, and protection incidents. Over the years, in Eastern and Southern Africa, 4Mi has been active and has implemented data collection in Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Read more about 4Mi here: http://www.mixedmigration.org/4mi/.

Background

A 2017 MMC study maintains that the Southern Route is characterised by mixed movements of refugees and migrants with diverse and interlinked migration drivers. At the end of the Southern Route, South Africa is a key destination country for refugees and migrants, particularly for those who do not want to engage in riskier crossings of the Mediterranean or Red Sea. According to a 2022 IOM report, based on interviews with Ethiopians in detention centres in Tanzania, perceived labour prospects make South Africa a particularly attractive destination for refugees and migrants. Moreover, Bonfiglio (2020) argues that, for some, the prospect of tertiary education and South Africa’s relatively open asylum policy allowing refugees to self-settle in the country and gain access to the labour market serve as drivers which shape South Africa’s choice as a destination country for refugees and migrants coming from conflict-affected communities in Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

While the total number of refugees and migrants in South Africa is unknown, UNDESA estimates from 2019 report a total migrant stock of 914,000. According to the same source, the top countries of origin are from neighboring countries, namely Mozambique (346,433), Lesotho (187,019), Zimbabwe (61,876), and Eswatini (34,114). In addition, UNHCR estimates there are 273,694 refugees and asylum seekers in South Africa, including from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, South Sudan, Somalia, and Zimbabwe. South Africa does not have a camp policy and, as mentioned above, refugees and migrants mostly live in urban area along host communities and have the right to work and study anywhere in the country. At the same time, the African Centre for Migration & Society at the University of the Witwatersrand has examined the persistence of xenophobia and outbreaks of violence against refugees and migrants, providing integration and access challenges to these populations in South Africa.

In terms of experiences along the journey, MMC (2017) found that the use of smugglers to facilitate (parts of) journeys was common among refugee and migrant respondents. In addition, respondents reported that risks along the route include being held for ransom, physical and mental abuse, discrimination and robbery. More recently, IOM (2022), through its Missing Migrants Project, has begun to engage with more families who have lost a member along the Southern Route. Despite the presence of these studies, an information gap remains on the full range of refugee and migrant profiles opting to move along the Southern Route, their drivers and aspirations, their specific points of transit and border-crossing, and their experiences and protection incidents along the journey.

Objectives of the consultancy

The primary objectives of the consultant will be:

1) To assess and provide a roadmap for the implementation of 4Mi in South Africa;

2) To pilot the 4Mi survey with refugees and migrants in South Africa, to establish an initial evidence base; and, using 4Mi data,

3) To provide an updated analysis of mixed migration along the Southern Route.

Implications and outcomes

MMC Strategic Objective

Outcome of Study

To contribute to a better, more nuanced and balanced understanding of mixed migration (knowledge)

• Fill gaps in information and knowledge on mixed migration dynamics on the Southern Route to South Africa;
• Improve understanding on patterns and drivers of refugees and migrants who have made the journey to South Africa.
• Elaborate the experiences of refugees and migrants on the journey, especially in terms of their interactions with smugglers and experiences with protection abuses.

To contribute to effective evidence-based protection responses for people on the move (programming)

• Inform mixed migration and protection programming along the Southern Route, including reported origin and transit countries;
• Inform protection programming of humanitarian actors along the Southern Route and in South Africa in terms of vulnerabilities that refugees and migrants get exposed to while on the move along the Southern Route and in the country.

Methodology and timeline

The consultant is expected to use a combination of qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methods.

Phase 1: Desk Review to Inform Data Collection Sites and Target Populations

On the basis of a desk review to feature in the inception report, the consultant will refine sampling targets and locations and ensure alignment with 4Mi’s global sampling frame. According to a Migration Policy Institute 2021 study, the following locations are the main sites of urban settlement for refugees and migrants in South Africa: Greater Johannesburg, Pretoria, Ekurhuleni, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. The consultant may propose 2 locations, specifying whether they are locations of settlement, transit, and/or points of crossing into South Africa.

As part of the objectives of this study, the consultant must identify the main socio-demographic characteristics of refugees and migrants engaged in mixed migration along the Southern Route to South Africa. In so doing, the inception report will design a rationale for a sampling frame. Special attention must be given to gender and age, to allow for future work on the specific dynamics of women on the move as well as children and youth on the move.

At project kick-off, MMC will share and train the coded 4Mi survey, and data collection SOPs, and guidance as well as existing training documentation.

Phase 2: Data Collection, Validation and Analysis

After identifying, in coordination with the MMC team, the specific target groups and locations to conduct 4Mi data collection in phase 1, the consultant will recruit enumerators in each location, organize and administer trainings in coordination with MMC to ensure use of 4Mi training documentation as well as survey SOPs. Pilot surveys shall be built into the workplan per each selected location and sent to MMC for review. The MMC 4Mi regional team will provide the consultant with a Training of Trainers, either in person (in SA) or remotely. The standard 4Mi survey is already coded, but the consultant will provide additional translations to the survey if necessary (currently English, French & Arabic versions are available).

Data collection will take place in selected locations, between 400 – 500 surveys with refugees and migrants (spread across 2 locations). Data collection should take place face-to-face using a mobile-phone-based application to collect the data, and surveys automatically uploaded to the regional server for the MMC 4Mi regional team to validate and clean data. The consultant will be responsible for ensuring that enumerators have smart phones to conduct 4Mi surveys. The MMC 4Mi team will liaise with the consultant to provide feedback on data quality to enumerators. The consultant will provide day-to-day support and supervision to enumerators throughout data collection.

The consultant shall analyse the collected data and present key preliminary findings to the MMC team during a virtual meeting.

Phase 3: Report Writing

The consultant will draft a final and brief report (10 pages) providing an overview of mixed migration dynamics along the Southern Route to be delivered to MMC. The report focuses on the different profiles of refugees and migrants traveling along the Southern Route, including their experiences, migration drivers and aspirations. Moreover, it provides an overview of dynamics along the route in terms of reported places of transit, organisation/arrangement of journeys, and reported protection risks and incidents.

Timeframe

Activities / steps to feature in workplan:

• Completion of brief inception report, which outlines: an agreed sampling strategy that suits the objectives of 4Mi in South Africa, based on demographic characteristics in addition to pre-defined MMC sampling criteria (e.g., respondents over the age of 18 who have been in the country for less than two years); the suggested language/s of surveys; proposed survey locations; and any other key methodological features agreed upon by the consultant and MMC.
• Validation of the inception report by MMC and consultant’s integration of any feedback;
• Enumerator recruitment and training, and survey translations (if needed – MMC has translated the 4Mi survey already in a variety of languages). MMC will share existing training documentation, and SOPs on surveying. Trainings can be adapted to the specific context and sampling framework in a country. If errors or inconsistencies are spotted by the MMC team while conducting the cleaning and validation, the consultant is expected to feed this back to enumerators and conduct any relevant re-training;
• 4Mi data collection (between 400 – 500 4Mi surveys) in South Africa;
• Writing of brief report on overview of mixed migration along the Southern Route;
• Full copy-editing of report by consultant before submission to MMC;
• Validation of report and integration of any feedback by MMC;

Total number of working days should not exceed 70 days for the hired consultant.

Estimated start date of consultancy: August 1, 2022

Estimated end date of consultancy: October 15, 2022

Deliverables

1. Brief inception report (5 pages max);
2. Raw data from 400 – 500 4Mi surveys with refugees and migrants collected in South Africa (which have been validated by the MMC team).
3. Brief final report (10 pages) providing an overview of mixed migration dynamics along the Southern Route

The consultant is responsible for ensuring that the final report is fully copy-edited and complies with MMC’s editorial and style guidelines. MMC shall provide a template for the report.

Payment timeline

40% at the validation of the inception report

60% at the submission of the total number of surveys

Reporting arrangement

The assessment shall be completed in close cooperation with MMC Eastern and Southern Africa. The primary contact point for the consultant will be Flannery Dyon, 4Mi Project Manager.

It is anticipated that the consultant will be in regular contact with the primary contact point according to a timetable that will be finalized during the inception phase. The contact point will take responsibility for ensuring timely responses to drafts and inputs to the consultant.

CONSULTANT QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Essential:

• The consultancy is open to both firms and individuals. Individuals or research team managers should have an advanced degree (Master or PhD) in migration studies or the social sciences, with expertise in quantitative research methods.
• At least five years of experience conducting primary data collection and managing research projects, with at least three years of these being within the migration field.
• Proven experience in designing and leading research on migration and similar relevant topics.
• A proven knowledge and understanding (e.g. through prior publications or data collection) of mixed migration dynamics in Eastern and Southern Africa.
• Familiarity with the South African context and proven access to relevant stakeholders for data collection permits/authorization in South Africa.
• Ability to independently carry out data collection in South Africa and expertise with data collection specifically using a survey tool.
• Familiarity with the MMC 4Mi Methodology.
• Excellent analytical and reporting skills.
• Excellent command of spoken and written English.

Desirable:

• Previous experience with 4Mi methodology and data
• Previous experience with MMC
• Experience using phones or tablets to collect data
• South Africa-based consultant, research group, or organization strongly preferred.

GENERAL

Commitments: DRC has a Humanitarian Accountability Framework and a Code of Conduct (CoC) Mechanism, outlining its global accountability commitments and measures with regard to behaviour of staff. All staff are required to contribute to the achievement of the framework and the CoC Mechanism (https://emergency.drc.ngo/respond/accountability/)

ASSESSMENT AND AWARD OF CONSULTANCY

MMC/DRC will evaluate the proposals and award the assignment based on technical (80%) and financial (20%) feasibility, as part of a Quality and Cost-based selection method (QCBS).

MMC/DRC reserves the right to accept or reject any proposal received without giving reasons and is not bound to accept the lowest or the highest bidder.

Only those shortlisted will be contacted for an interview with the panel to ensure their understanding of the consultancy services.

SELECTION CRITERIA

For the award of this project, MMC/DRC has established evaluation criteria which govern the selection of offers received. The offer will be evaluated using the following criteria, and points will be allocated in the scale from 1-10 for each of the criteria stipulated below, whereas the weighting is as follows:

• 40% – Research proposal, demonstrating the capacity and experience to independently carry out data collection in South Africa
• 20% – CV including references of previous relevant research and data collection exercises
• 20% – Proposed workplan of activities and deliverables
• 20% – Financial proposal