Consultancy – Barometer of the localization of humanitarian aid in Mali At International Council of Voluntary Agencies

Description of the consultancy: Development of a barometer of the location of humanitarian aid in Mali

Area of ​​expertise: Project management, information and data management

Location: Bamako, Mali

Contract: Consultancy

Consultation period: May 2024 – August 2024 (total estimated 30 working days)

About ICVA

Founded in 1962, ICVA (International Council of Voluntary Agencies) is a global network of more than 160 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) active in 160 countries, operating at global, regional, national and local levels, whose mission is to make humanitarian action that is more principled and effective by working collectively and independently to influence policy and practice. ICVA promotes and facilitates effective NGO engagement in the humanitarian sector, with a focus on forced migration, humanitarian coordination, humanitarian financing and cross-cutting system strengthening issues.

About PONAH

On January 18, 2024, PONAH (Platform of National NGOs Active in Humanitarian Affairs in Mali) held its first constitutive general assembly in order to adopt its statutory documents and establish its management bodies, after several months of operation. Its main mission is to ensure effective and efficient coordination of national member NGOs by participating in different mechanisms, sharing information, building capacities, advocating and serving as an interface with technical and financial partners, State and local authorities.

Context of the consultancy

Localization has become an essential theme in humanitarian aid in recent years. Since the Grand Bargain commitments and specifically over the last 2 years in West and Central Africa, several initiatives have been undertaken to improve and accelerate the place and role of national actors in humanitarian responses: permanent seats in the Humanitarian Team Countries (EHP) and in the main coordination forums, more numerous partnerships and capacity building initiatives, improvement of direct accessibility to funds, localization forum/working groups, etc.

However, to date, in the absence of clearly established objectives and clear measurement criteria, it is difficult to estimate progress in localization and the steps that still remain to be taken. ICVA and the NGO forums from different countries in the region propose to develop a regional methodology which will make it possible to quantitatively and qualitatively assess the degree of localization of humanitarian responses, to monitor their evolution over time and to identify successes and the challenges in each of the countries of West and Central Africa in order to be able to

1. ensure a system for exchanging good practices and lessons learned
2. carry out advocacy actions based on evidence
3. improve the localization agenda of countries with concrete proposals

The project aims to be regional in order to ensure harmonization, comparative analysis, constructive exchange of good practices and lessons learned between countries, but is based above all on influence, leadership and monitoring at the national level in order to guarantee a match with the needs and expectations of national stakeholders, complete ownership of the project by them and therefore better sustainability.

PONAH, due to its recent progress on the localization agenda and its desire to be part of such an approach, will lead the development of the methodology at the level of Mali. It will work in collaboration with the Forum of International NGOs of Mali (FONGIM) and the localization pillar of the action plan of the Humanitarian Country Team to ensure common concerns are taken into account and to avoid duplication.

Several baseline methodological approaches have been developed in recent years. This project is partially inspired by it and adapts its components in order to design an approach which:

1. is flexible and easy to use,
2. promotes the harmonization and pooling of resources,
3. integrates both quantitative and qualitative data,
4. responds to global indicators but are flexible enough to be contextualized.

Scope

The Mali national consultant will have to roll out the methodology and tools developed at the regional level within the country. A regional consultant (Regional Information Management Advisor) will be there to provide guidance, support and guidance on the technical aspects of the project (tools, methodology, etc.).

Each country will have to use the methodology and tools developed in order to adapt them and ensure the best possible appropriation of the project. Under the leadership of PONAH, the national consultant must therefore liaise with the regional consultant to ensure:

1. the inclusion of the project in the regional framework and
2. of appropriation by the greatest number at the country level.

Methodology and deliverables

Step 1: Indicator library and scoring methodology (0 days)

This step will be carried out by the regional consultant. There is no day scheduled for the national consultant. But it is important to know for the overall progress of the project.

Inspired by the indicators developed by NEAR, HAG and included in the IASC policies on localization, the regional consultant will develop a library of indicators based on the 6 components of localization which are:

1. Partnerships,
2. Funding,
3. Abilities,
4. Coordination and complementarity,
5. Politics, influence and visibility and
6. Participation.

To do this, it will develop framework tools aimed at facilitating country ownership. This will result in the creation of an exhaustive matrix of existing and available indicators, accompanied by their collection methods as well as questionnaires. These elements will serve as essential supports during methodological definition workshops in the countries.

A scoring methodology will be developed, ensuring that spatial and/or temporal comparison is possible within each component.

Step 2 – Overview: choice of indicators and methodological definition at national level (4 days)

The national consultant will support PONAH to organize a 2-day workshop based on the indicator library developed in step 1 to:

• Determine the components to be evaluated and the ambitions (“what success looks like”)
• Select and contextualize the most relevant indicators
• Define, for each indicator, the target audience and the evaluation measure.

During this stage, the national consultant will be responsible for adapting the collection method and tools while maintaining a strengthened link with the regional consultant to ensure methodological consistency at the regional level. This will be done in particular through reinforced engagement with the various stakeholders at the national level.

Step 3 – Collection of primary and secondary data (7 days)

• Primary data collection: Form templates will be reviewed and adapted by the regional consultant, with assistance from the national consultant, for online surveys. These online surveys will be aimed at a wide audience, potentially including national and international NGOs, United Nations, donors, etc. In order to optimize the number of respondents, they will be sent by email to the mailing lists of PONAH, FONGIM, and other NGO forums and presented and produced in real time during a plenary meeting of each forum.
• The collection of secondary data (recovery of minutes/reports, attendance lists, financial data, etc.) will be carried out by the national consultant.

The national consultant will be in charge of ensuring the monitoring and supervision of the primary and secondary data collection process at the country level (sending / reminders of emails / response rate, direct collection, etc.) in direct connection with the PONAH and with the technical support of the regional consultant.

The national consultant will be trained in the collection of primary and secondary data by the regional consultant.

Step 4 – Triangulation/analysis and qualitative data collection (12 days)

• The processing and analysis of primary and secondary data will be carried out by the national consultant, with technical support from the regional consultant to ensure a harmonized approach. Primary and secondary data sets will be analyzed and hypotheses will be formulated, which will form preliminary findings that will be tested in interviews and focus groups.
• Interview and focus group frameworks/frameworks will be developed by the regional consultant with the support of the national consultant, as well as the definition of targets and samples.
• Based on the quantitative data collected, additional interviews will be conducted with a sample of interlocutors by the national consultant. These KIIs will make it possible to deepen certain essential aspects that emerge from the qualitative study and to explore the barriers or feelings identified.
• Discussion groups (or focus groups) will be organized by the national consultant to present the results of the survey and discuss/examine certain aspects.

The qualitative interviews and focus groups will feed into the narrative part of the final report and will also make it possible to identify good/bad practices and examples and possibly collect quotes. Recommendations will also be presented to participants for refinement.

Step 5 – Reporting and Editing (5 days)

A report of approximately 20 pages will be produced by the national consultant. The regional consultant will propose a template for the report and provide all cleaned data as well as graphs and visuals to enable the national consultant to write the report.

The report will include

1. the methodology (objectives and indicators used, quantified indicators),
2. an analysis of the results and
3. targeted recommendations.

The national consultant will have to plan back and forths (via emails or interviews) with ICVA, the regional consultant as well as the country’s NGO forums (PONAH, FONGIM, etc.), and will take into account their feedback/requests for modifications as much as possible.

The report will be formatted and translated into English by ICVA.

Step 6 – Distribution of the report (2 days)

A restitution workshop will be organized in the country in the presence of all non-state actors (NGOs, INGOs, UN) and the authorities. This workshop will be both an opportunity to disseminate the results of the study but also to begin the discussion on its follow-up/use. More specifically, this study will constitute the working basis for defining collective ambitions (quantitative and qualitative) towards localization. The ambition could also be to be able to integrate the results thus obtained into the HRP and to influence a national localization strategy which would take into account all the recommendations resulting from the report.

A restitution workshop will also be organized at the regional level in the presence of certain country representatives as well as donors, UN agencies, NGOs, etc. with the aim of presenting the results of the project and being able to start sending advocacy messages.

Engagement with ICVA

Under the leadership of PONAH, the national consultant will report to the ICVA regional team in West and Central Africa and will work closely with the regional consultant and consultation forums. NGOs.

The consultant will speak with the team and provide regular updates on the progress made at each stage of the project. A project monitoring committee could be set up to do this.

Requirements, skills and abilities of consultants

Mandatory skills

• Excellent experience in project management;
• Experience in information management, data collection, KII;
• Proven experience in the humanitarian sector;
• Experience in literature review and documentation of results;
• Demonstrated understanding of localization challenges;
• Excellent writing and communication skills, including the ability to develop publication-ready materials with limited external review and the ability to analyze complex information and data and convey synthesized messages to diverse audiences;
• Proven ability to work independently and/or in a virtual work environment and meet agreed deadlines with limited direct supervision;
• Availability and flexibility to work a minimum of 2 days per week on this assignment throughout the project schedule: May 2024 – August 2024, with possibly very busy periods and others less so;
• Perfect command of oral and written French.

Preferably

• Expertise in humanitarian coordination.