1. Who is the Danish Refugee Council?
Founded in 1956, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a leading international NGO and one of the few with a specific expertise in forced displacement. Active in 40 countries with 9,000 employees and supported by 7,500 volunteers, DRC protects, advocates, and builds sustainable futures for refugees and other displacement affected people and communities. DRC works during displacement at all stages: In the acute crisis, in displacement, when settling and integrating in a new place, or upon return. DRC provides protection and life-saving humanitarian assistance; supports displaced persons in becoming self-reliant and included into hosting societies; and works with civil society and responsible authorities to promote protection of rights and peaceful coexistence.
About the Mixed Migration Centre
The Mixed Migration Centre (MMC) is a global network engaged in data collection, research, analysis, and policy and programmatic development on mixed migration, with regional hubs in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Latin America, and a global team based across Copenhagen, Geneva and Brussels. MMC is a leading source for independent and high-quality data, research, analysis and expertise. MMC aims to increase understanding of mixed migration, to positively impact global and regional migration policies, to inform evidence-based mixed migration 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. The three overall objectives of the MMC are:
• To contribute to a better, more nuanced and balanced understanding of mixed migration (knowledge)
• To contribute to evidence-based and better-informed migration policies and debates (policy)
• To contribute to effective evidence-based protection responses for people on the move (programming)
The MMC is part of, and governed by, DRC. MMC regional hubs are hosted within DRC regional offices, but part of the global MMC network. While its institutional link to DRC ensures MMC’s work is grounded in operational reality, it acts as an independent source of data, research, analysis and policy development on mixed migration for policymakers, practitioners, journalists, and the broader humanitarian sector. The position of the MMC does not necessarily reflect the position of DRC. For more information on MMC visit our website (https://mixedmigration.org/).
Since 2014, MMC has been implementing 4Mi (please see our website for details) as its flagship primary data collection system which is an innovative approach that helps fill knowledge gaps, and inform policy and response regarding the nature of mixed migratory movements and the protection risks for refugees and migrants on the move. 4Mi has a unique network of field enumerators situated along frequently used mixed migration routes and in major migratory hubs. It aims to offer a regular, standardized, quantitative system of collecting primary data on mixed migration. In Asia and the Pacific, 4Mi has been active and implemented in Türkiye, Afghanistan, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.
2. Purpose of the consultancy
The Mixed Migration Centre (MMC) seeks proposals from a consultant to implement 4Mi data collection in Türkiye for a specific period mentioned below to collect data on mixed migration movements to and through Türkiye in selected locations. The consultancy entails conducting surveys with 1,700 refugees and migrants of Afghan, Iranian, Pakistani, Palestinian, and Syrian nationalities, with a particular focus on those who have transited through Iran to reach Türkiye.
3. Background
Türkiye is the main transit country for the Eastern Mediterranean Route towards Europe, which sees migrants travel along sea and land routes from Türkiye to Greece, sub-routes via Bulgaria and Northern Cyprus, as well as the sea routes from Lebanon to Europe. Migration dynamics towards and through Türkiye are shaped by diverse factors, including conflict, deprivation of human rights, and economic insecurity.
MMC Asia and the Pacific aims to document the complex migration dynamics towards and through Türkiye by collecting data on the experiences of refugees and migrants. The aim is to garner an improved understanding of who is taking these routes, their migration drivers, their routes, conditions of their migration journeys, unmet assistance needs, and the corresponding impact of those unmet needs on their migration intentions. Ultimately, these insights can be used to implement policies and programming to support refugees and migrants along the Eastern Mediterranean Route, through a whole of route approach.
4. Objectives of the consultancy
The primary objectives of this consultancy are to enhance understanding of mixed migration movements to and through Türkiye. The study will examine the experiences of migrants, especially those who have passed through transit countries, such as Iran, to reach Türkiye. Specifically, the consultancy will seek to answer the following questions:
1. Who is undertaking mixed migration journeys? What are their socio-demographic profiles?
2. What do refugees’ and migrants’ journeys look like? What are their routes, durations, conditions, financing methods, and forms of assistance received?
3. What is motivating refugees and migrants to make the journey?
4. What role do transit countries play? How do migrants navigate their journeys through these transit countries, and what are the key challenges and risks they face during transit?
5. What protection risks do refugees and migrants face on the journey, and where?
6. How vulnerable are refugees and migrants on their journey, and what determines their vulnerability?
7. What types of assistance do refugees and migrants receive along their journey, and from which actors? What unmet needs remain?
8. How prevalent is smuggling, and how does it manifest itself?
9. How do refugees’ and migrants’ experiences and unmet needs, particularly in relation to legal pathways and return options, local integration, access to information, and other barriers or enablers, shape their decision-making along their migration journeys?
10. What are the experiences of refugees and migrants in terms of integration within host communities?
11. What are the key factors that enable or constrain mobility for people on the move and how do these influence decisions about future migration plans?
5. Scope of work and Methodology
The consultant is expected to conduct quantitative data collection.
Phase 1. Desk review to inform data collection sites.
On the basis of a brief desk review, which will feature in the inception report, the consultant will:
• Refine sampling locations to ensure alignment with 4Mi’s global sampling frame and the objectives of the study.
• Propose up to seven (7) locations in Türkiye, specifying whether they are settlement areas, transit points, or crossing locations.
Phase 2. Data collection
In this phase, the consultant will oversee the enumerator training, and survey administration ensuring the collection of high-quality, ethically sound data. With respect to enumerator training and survey piloting:
• The consultant will organise and administer training for enumerators in coordination with MMC, ensuring the use of 4Mi training materials and survey SOPs.
• Training will include ethical considerations, and data protection protocols for working with vulnerable populations.
• Pilot surveys will be conducted and shared with MMC for review before full-scale data collection begins.
For survey data collection, the consultant will conduct 1,700 surveys. The distribution will be confirmed at a later stage, but will tentatively comprise of:
• 800 surveys with Afghan migrants and refugees
• 300 surveys with Iranian migrants and refugees
• 250 surveys with Syrian migrants and refugees
• 250 surveys with Palestinian migrants and refugees
• 100 surveys with Pakistani migrants and refugees
Data collection will take place face-to-face using a mobile-based application, with real-time uploads to MMC’s regional server for data validation and quality control.
The consultant will be responsible for ensuring that enumerators have smartphones with an Android operating system and other equipment 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 the data collection process.
It is anticipated that the consultant will be in regular contact with a primary contact point from the MMC team to ensure that the agreed timeline is fully complied with. The MMC contact point will take responsibility for ensuring timely responses to drafts and inputs to the consultant.
6. Deliverables
The consultant will submit the following deliverables:
Phase 1/ Desk review/ Presentation of desk review and inception report (1 week)
1. Conduct a brief desk review to refine sampling locations and ensure alignment with 4Mi’s global sampling frame.
2. Submit an inception report (3-4 pages) outlining:
• Scope of the study
• Sampling criteria and locations for data collection
• Survey implementation work schedule
• Potential challenges and mitigation strategies
• Project team composition
Phase 2 / Data collection/ 1,700 surveys (2 months)
• Enumerator training
• Field visits
• Collect 1,700 surveys
• Submit data on a bi-weekly basis and respond to validation queries
7. Duration, timeline, and payment
Timeline
Activities / steps to feature in workplan:
• Completion of a brief inception report, which outlines, with demonstration of feasibility: an agreed sampling strategy that suits the objectives of 4Mi in Türkiye, 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 crucial for 4Mi implementation;
• Validation of the inception report by MMC and consultant’s integration of any feedback;
• Enumerator preparation and training. 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 provide this feedback to enumerators and conduct any relevant re-training; and
• 4Mi data collection (1,700 4Mi surveys) in Türkiye.
Duration
The total number of working days should not exceed two (2) months for the hired consultant. The consultant shall be prepared to complete the assignment no later than December 31, 2025.
Estimated start date of consultancy: November 1, 2025
Estimated end date of consultancy: December 31, 2025
Payment
30% at the validation of the inception report.
40% at the submission of 1,200 surveys.
15% at the submission of 1,500 surveys
15% at the submission of the total number of surveys.
8. Proposed Composition of Team
• Project Coordinator
• Project Officer
• Enumerators
9. Eligibility, qualification, and experience required.
Essential:
- The consultancy is open to firms. The research team’s managers should have an advanced degree (Master’s or Ph.D.) in migration studies or in 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 field of migration and forced displacement.
- Proven experience in designing and leading research on migration and similar relevant topics.
- Proven knowledge and understanding (e.g. through prior publications or data collection) of mixed migration dynamics in Türkiye.
- Familiarity with the Türkiye context and proven access to relevant stakeholders for securing data collection permits/authorization in Türkiye.
- Ability to independently carry out data collection in Türkiye and expertise with data collection, specifically using a survey tool.
- Proven ability to access the relevant respondent groups.
- Experience with conducting MMC 4Mi surveys.
- Excellent command of spoken and written English.
- Demonstrated experience in implementing safety and duty of care guidelines in refugee-specific research informant protection.
• Türkiye-based consultants, research groups, or organizations will be strongly preferred.
10. Technical supervision
The selected consultant will work under the supervision of MMC Asia and the Pacific’s Regional Manager and Regional Research and Data Specialist.
11. Location and support
Türkiye.
The Consultancy Company will provide its own equipment, i.e. computers and mobile telephones with an Android operating system for enumerators.
12. Travel
The consultant is expected to travel for field visits in the selected locations during the data collection phase to monitor data collection activities. The consultant will be, therefore, expected to arrange transportation, accommodation, insurance, and food and to make adequate provision for related expenses in the financial proposal.
13. Submission process
Refer to the RFP Invitation Letter.
14. Evaluation of bids
Refer to the RFP Invitation Letter.
How to apply
The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) hereby requests you to submit price quotation(s) for the Consultancy for 4Mi Data Collection on mixed migration movements to and through Türkiye with reference number RFP-RO05-003666428.
Please check attached Annex A.1 Terms of Reference for the details.
RFP Issuing Date : 08 October 2025
RFP Closing Date: 17 October 2025, 09:00 AM, UTC
17 October 2025, 13:00 PM, Tbilisi (GMT +4)
Complete Tender Documents can be found in this link.
RFP-RO05-00366428 Solicitation Docs_4Mi data collection in Türkiye.zip
Address for the submission of proposals:
Hard copies at: 2 # Titsian Tabidze Tbilisi, Georgia
Electronic copies at rfq.aero@drc.ngo
Important Note: All consultants shall be tax registered as a legal entity in the relevant country. The tax registration can be as a company, Public Limited Company (PLC), or any other incorporation that defines the contracted consultant as a legal entity responsible for paying taxes on the payment they receive for the contracted services and not as an individual person
We look forward to your response.
Yours Sincerely,
DRC Procurement Team