Consultancy: Regional Information Management Advisor – Localization Barometer At International Council of Voluntary Agencies

Support to ICVA’s West and Central Africa Region

Regional Information Management Advisor – Localization Barometer

Consultancy description: Developing a localization barometer for West and centralAfrica

Area of expertise: Information/Data Management

Location: Preferably Dakar

Contract: Consultancy

Consultancy period: Stage 1: 17 days asap till end of April 2024 with stretch assignments throughout the duration of the project to support on follow up stages.

Overall timeframe of the project: April 2024 – March 2025 (estimated total of 140 days of work).

NB: Funding has been secured to cover the stage 1 and 7 plus a pilot project in 2 countries. Additional funds are under discussion for 6 additional countries. We are looking for one consultant to be engaged for the entire duration of the project, with an evaluation by ICVA at the end of each stage.

About ICVA

Founded in 1962, ICVA (International Council of Voluntary Agencies) is a global network of over 160 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) active in 160 countries, operating at global, regional, national, and local levels, whose mission is to make humanitarian action 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.

Background to the consultancy

Localization has become a key theme in humanitarian aid in recent years. Since the Grand Bargain commitments, and specifically over the last two 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 such as: permanent seats at the EHP (Spell out) and in the main coordination forums, more partnerships and capacity-building initiatives, improved direct access to funds, localization forums/working groups, etc.

However, to date, in the absence of clearly established objectives and measurement criteria, it is difficult to estimate the progress made in localization and the steps that still need to be taken. With the pressure to follow through on commitments, localization has become a “box to tick” for many players (donors, INGOs, UN agencies, etc.), without being sufficiently geared towards concrete, well-considered action, or without having a clear vision of what can work, what is blocking it, best practices, etc. The deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the region increasingly exposes national players who are on the front line of the response. However, awareness of the need to work first and foremost with national/local players from the outset is not yet sufficiently accompanied by the necessary resources to do so.

ICVA is therefore proposing to develop a regional methodology that will make it possible to quantitatively and qualitatively assess the degree of localization of humanitarian responses, monitor their evolution over time, and identify successes and challenges in each of the countries of West and Central Africa, so as to:

• ensure a system of exchange of best practices and lessons learned,
• carry out evidence-based advocacy actions, and
• improve the localization agenda of countries with concrete proposals.

The project is regional in scope, to ensure harmonization, benchmarking and constructive exchange of best practices and lessons learned between countries, but is based above all on national ownership, leadership and follow-up, to ensure that it meets the needs and expectations of national stakeholders, and that the project is fully owned by them, thus ensuring greater sustainability.

Scope

The consultant will be required to develop the regional methodology and tools for data collection and data visualization at the start of the project as detailed below. Once the 8 countries have been identified, they will be responsible for liaising with each country national researchers and the respective NGO fora to support and guide on the data collection and support the regional framework adaptation as necessary to the different contexts. Each country will be able to decide which indicators it considers most relevant, appropriate and measurable and then reflect on the relevance or adaptability of the proposed collection methods to foster country ownership.

Methodology and deliverables

Stage 1: Indicator library and scoring methodology (15 days for the development in April 2024, then 2 days per country on a rolling basis)

The consultant will draw on the indicators developed by NEAR, HAG and included in IASC localization policies, and will develop a library of indicators based on the 6 components of localization: 1) Partnerships, 2) Financing, 3) Capacities, 4) Coordination and complementarity, 5) Policy, influence and visibility and 6) Participation.

To this end, they will develop a framework of tools to facilitate country ownership. This will take the form of an exhaustive matrix of existing and available indicators, together with their collection methods – organized in the form of a decision-making tree – and questionnaires (as ready to use xlsform version). These elements will serve as essential supports during the methodological definition workshops in the countries.

A scoring methodology will be developed to ensure that spatial and temporal comparisons are possible within each component.

Stage 2 – Overview choice of indicators and methodological definition at country level (2 days per country on a rolling basis)

The consultant will support the recruitment of the national researcher(s) as needed and will brief the national researcher on the methodology and tools developed.

The country will then organize a 2-day workshop based on the library of indicators to:

• Determine the components to be assessed 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 consultant will be responsible for collect method and tools adaptation while maintaining an overall methodology consistency at the regional level. This will be done by a reinforced engagement with the different stakeholders at the regional and country level.

Stage 3 – Primary and secondary data collection (5 days for the first country, then 2 days per country on a rolling basis)

• Primary data collection: The form templates are revised and adapted by the regional advisor, with the help of the national researcher, for online surveys. These online surveys will be aimed at a wide audience, potentially including national and international NGOs, UNS, donors, etc. The surveys will be as short as possible. In order to maximize the number of respondents, they will be both e-mailed to INGO and NNGO forum mailing lists and presented and carried out in real time at a plenary meeting of each forum.
• Training/presentation of primary and secondary data collection by regional advisor to national researcher (provide templates or tools if necessary).

Secondary data collection (retrieval of minutes, attendance lists, financial data, etc.) will be carried out by the national researcher, as well as the monitoring of the data collection process, supervision and follow-up by the national researcher with the technical support from the regional advisor.

Stage 4 – Triangulation/analysis and qualitative data collection (5 days for the first country, then 2 days per country on a rolling basis)

• Primary and secondary data processing will be carried out by the national researchers, with special technical support from the regional advisor to ensure a harmonized approach. Primary and secondary data sets will be analyzed, and hypotheses will be formulated, which will constitute preliminary conclusions to be tested during interviews and focus groups.
• Interview and focus group frameworks will be developed by the regional advisor with the support of the national researcher, 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 researcher. These KIIs will enable us to delve deeper into certain key aspects that emerged from the qualitative study, and to explore any barriers or feelings identified. In addition, focus groups will be organized by the national researcher to present the survey results and discuss certain aspects.

Qualitative interviews and focus groups will feed into the narrative part of the final report, as well as identifying good/bad practices and examples, and collecting quotes where appropriate. The recommendations will also be presented to the participants for fine-tuning.

Stage 5 – Reporting and editing (5 days for the first country, then 2 days per country on a rolling basis)

A report of around 20 pages will be produced by the national researcher for each country. The regional advisor will propose a template for the report and provide the cleaned dataset as well as graphics and visuals to enable the national researcher to write the report.

The report will include:

1) the methodology (objectives and indicators used, quantified indicators),

2) an analysis of the countries’ results and 4) targeted recommendations.

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

Stage 6 – Dissemination of the report (4 days)

A regional restitution event will be organized in the presence of country representatives as well as donors, UN agencies, NGOs. This workshop will provide an opportunity both to disseminate the results of the study and to initiate discussion on its follow-up.

The regional advisor will be required to present the results of the study as the basis for defining collective ambitions (quantitative and qualitative) towards localization.

Some in-country workshops will be organized at country-level by the national researcher in the presence of all non-state actors (NNGOs, INGOs, UN) and the authorities where most relevant where the ambition is also to be able to integrate the results thus obtained into the HRP and influence a national localization strategy that would take into account all the report’s recommendations.

Stage 7 – Regional benchmarking (10 days for the development, then 2 days per country on a rolling basis)

At the regional level, a tool (Dashboard type) will be developed by the regional advisor to monitor the results of the studies in each country, and to provide a comparative overview between the countries in the region. This tool will be updated annually.

A briefing document will be developed to summarize the main dashboard results.

Engagement with ICVA

The consultant will report to the ICVA Regional Team in West and Centra Africa and will work closely with the national researchers and the NGOs fora.

The consultant will consult with the team and update regularly on progress during each stage of the project. They will also be the focal point for the national researchers and will support them as needed.

Consultant requirements, competencies, and skills

Mandatory skills

• Excellent technical skills and relevant experience in information management, data collection, treatment and visualization tools;
• Experience in regional scale information management project;
• Experience in developing monitoring tools and indicators as well as good use of data visualization tools;
• Experience in literature reviews and documenting results;
• Excellent writing and communication skills, including the ability to develop materials ready for publication with limited external editing and with the ability to analyze complex information/data and transmit synthesized messaged to various audiences;
• Proven ability to work autonomously and/or in a virtual work environment and meet agreed deadlines with limited direct oversight;
• Availability and flexibility to work a minimum 2-3 days per week on this assignment throughout the project timeline: April 2024 – March 2025;
• Fluent in French and in English.

Preferably

• Expertise in the humanitarian sector and an established understanding of localization challenges;
• Experience in the WCA region, specifically in the Central Sahel countries and coastal areas.

Note: Throughout the work, the consultant must be registered in accordance with the legal requirements at their base and must be able to submit documentation that proves that she/ he is meeting all legal obligations for the consultancy, including full compliance with ICVA regulations including the safeguarding policy.