Call for Research Consultant on Private Sponsorship Programs

BACKGROUND

Caritas International supports victims of violence, natural disasters, and poverty in their own country or on the run by collaborating with our national and international networks. We accomplish our mission without discriminating based on nationality, political, philosophical, or religious beliefs.

Established in March 2012 and led by the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC)[1] Europe, the SHARE Network provides a Europe-wide platform for mutual exchange and learning amongst regional and local actors to foster welcome. Caritas International has been a partner within this network for many years.

The SHARE QSN project, implemented from January 2021 to June 2023 and co-funded by the European Union’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), supports pilot and ad-hoc sponsorship initiatives develop into sustainable, community-driven programmes, bringing together a consortium of actors in Belgium (BE), France (FR), Germany (DE), Ireland (IE), Italy (IT), Spain (ES), and the United Kingdom (UK), who are all experienced in refugee integration and are currently carrying out private sponsorship programmes in their national contexts.

The project uses a multi-stakeholder, grassroots and bottom-up strategy fostering refugee participation, bringing all grassroots sponsorship stakeholders and the lessons they are learning to the EU level. The project is in close alliance with UNHCR’s Three Year Strategy on resettlement and complementary pathways as well as the EU’s Action Plan on Inclusion and Integration.

As part of its monitoring and evaluation work in the project, ICMC Europe, the lead partner, will be working with partners and external evaluators in Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain to conduct an assessment and gather feedback on community sponsorship groups and lead sponsors activities in each partner country from the various stakeholders involved. It will look at the drivers and barriers to engagement of local sponsors, as well as good practices for local sponsoring groups, including those during COVID-19, aiming to contribute to the knowledge base on how to facilitate sustained and long-term engagement from a wide spectrum of society. In Belgium Caritas International is the lead sponsor and act as the intermediate organisation between Fedasil (donor, Federal Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers), the sponsor groups and refugee families.

Caritas International, as partner within the QSN Project, is subcontracting an External Evaluator/Researcher to conduct an assessment on the community sponsorship scheme in Belgium. The aim of the evaluation is to develop an understanding of the effectiveness of the Community Sponsorship model in Belgium with a view to feeding into the ongoing development and enhancement of its designs**. A qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews will be adopted to ensure an in-depth understanding of the experiences and processes underpinning the schemes. Interviews will look into aspects of the application processes, refugee reception and support in the first few months and how this evolved over time, challenges faced, successes enjoyed and progress around integration. The evaluation will follow the Data Protection Principles, and relevant ethical guidelines.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND KEY AREAS OF ACTIVITY

The external evaluator will cover the field research work that includes the interviews undertaken with different stakeholders of the Sponsorship model (support organisations, sponsor groups, refugees, local authorities, wider community implemented in (country name) according to the following timeline:

TIMELINE

Training session/kickoff meeting for external evaluators in 6 countries: 1^st week of October

Desk research: 2^nd week of October

Outreach to participants/setting up first interviews: October

Undertaking interviews and summarizing results: November 2021 – March 2022

Weekly meetings with ICMC research coordinator to report progress and any other aspect related with the research: November 2021 – March 2022

Data Analysis and presentation of first draft (both evaluation and case study): April – May 2022

Presentation of final draft (in country’s language): June 2022

DELIVERABLES

Findings will be presented in two documents:

· An evaluation report which aims to: (1) improve programme effectiveness by highlighting challenges and areas of best practice (2) map out which groups are well suited for private sponsorship and areas for programme growth (3) ensure the accountability of programme implementation

· A Case Study which aims to identify the impact of CSS on wider communities and institutions in areas where Sponsorship groups operate (particularly rural communities of low diversity)

Both documents will be drafted by the external evaluator/researcher, hired by Caritas International, with the support of ICMC Europe’s research consultants. Regular meetings will be held between the external researchers and the research consultants to monitor progress and address eventual challenges.

The evaluation report and the case study will be produced in the language of the country where research is conducted and will be translated into English.

QUALIFICATIONS AND KEY COMPETENCIES

The successful applicant will:

· Have the ability to work in an English spoken environment and demonstrate excellent writing and communication skills in Dutch, French and English. Ability to communicate in Arabic is an asset.

· Possess experience in conducting and analysing qualitative research (in-depth interviews)

· Ability to reach out participants from wider members of the community for interviews in case studies.

· Have experience in applying ethical considerations to the collection and management of data

· Have experience in writing up research for non-academic audiences

· Be a good team player and have the ability to work collaboratively as a member of a research team

· Must have excellent organization and writing skills in Dutch and/or English.

· Ability to work to deadlines

· Proven professional experience in the migration and integration field.

· Possess strong computer skills in Microsoft programs and experience in various online platforms (Zoom, Teams, WebEx, etc.)

· Demonstrate proven interest in the work of Caritas International and enthusiasm for working within a European NGO environment.

CONDITIONS

▪ Subcontract Agreement taking place between October 2021 – June 2022 with a maximum budget of 6000 € (VAT inclusive).

▪ Work will require travel within Belgium to conduct field research and may require limited travel within Europe which will be financed separately.

▪ The researcher should be available for first kickoff meeting during the first week of October and regular meetings with research coordinator from November – June 2022

▪ Flexibility in timing of work will be required.

[1] The International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) serves and protects uprooted people, refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants, regardless of faith, race, ethnicity or nationality (www.icmc.net)).