Consultancy to Produce Project Evaluation and Replication Guidelines for Disability Inclusive Financial Services

ABOUT GOOD RETURN

Good Return’s mission is to enable those living in poverty to achieve economic empowerment through responsible financial inclusion and capability development. We do this by engaging with partners across the Asia Pacific, where two-thirds of the world’s poor live. We help them deliver better financial services and economic opportunities to those living in poverty.

Our work focuses on promoting responsible inclusive finance, building financial capability & consumer empowerment, and providing access to credit through our micro lending platform and impact investment programming to support SMEs in the agricultural sector.

Good Return is the registered business name of World Education Australia, an Australian Aid accredited agency and member of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID). We hold Australia Financial Services License granted by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Visit www.goodreturn.org.au for more information.

ABOUT OUR PARTNERS

We have been working in partnership with various Financial Service Providers across the Asia Pacific Region since 2010. Our current partners are located in Cambodia, Nepal, Laos, Philippines, Myanmar, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Tonga, Nauru & Samoa.

Our partnerships are based on a shared mission to provide responsible and inclusive financial services to people living in poverty as well as build the financial capability of consumers.

Chamroeun Microfinance Plc (Chamroeun) is a leading Cambodian social microfinance institution working to achieve positive and lasting changes in the livelihoods of economically active poor families in a socially responsible manner.

Together, Chamroeun and Good Return are delivering the ‘Education & Access: Responsible Finance for People with Disabilities’ project, supported by the Australia-Cambodia Cooperation for Equitable Sustainable Services (ACCESS) Program. ACCESS is a five-year (2018-2023) initiative by the Australian Government to improve the sustainability, quality, and inclusiveness of services for persons with disabilities and for women affected by gender-based violence (GBV) in Cambodia. The ‘Education and Access’ Project contributes to ACCESS outcome IO 2.5 – ‘Ministries, Public and legal entities, including the private sector increasingly provide economic opportunities to people with disabilities’.

The project aims to increase economic opportunities for people with disabilities in five provinces, by providing financial education and access to inclusive financial services as a catalyst for their entrepreneurial activities. The project is designed to achieve three primary outcomes:

1. People with disabilities are empowered to optimise their entrepreneurial activities
2. Financial services are adapted to the needs of people with disabilities
3. People with disabilities benefit from a tailored financial services offer.

In addition, the project has a fourth target outcome to ensure sustainability of the benefits by documenting a replication model for dissemination to key stakeholders at sector level.

The key activities undertaken by Good Return and Chamroeun to deliver the primary outcomes are as follows:

• Carrying out a Needs Assessment to understand the financial capabilities, needs and vulnerabilities of people with disabilities
• Adapting Good Return’s existing Consumer Awareness and Financial Empowerment (CAFE) Financial Coaching Program to be more accessible to people with disabilities
• Delivering the adapted CAFE Program to approximately 290 people in 36 learning groups
• Adapting Chamroeun’s service delivery channels to be more accessible to people with disabilities
• Implementing a disability inclusion awareness program for key Chamroeun staff
• Developing a tailored loan product available to the participants who complete the adapted CAFE Program.
• Disbursing and servicing loans to eligible participants to support their business activities.

Please visit our website (www.goodreturn.org.au) for further information on our partners.

PURPOSE OF ASSIGNMENT

The purpose of this assignment is to produce guidelines for the replication and scale-up of disability inclusive financial services in Cambodia, drawing on lessons learned from the ‘Education and Access’ project. This will be achieved through delivery of the following objectives:

1. Evaluation of the Education and Access Project:
2. Assess the extent to which the three primary outcomes of the ‘Education and Access project’ have been delivered.
3. Document lessons learned from the design, planning and implementation of the project, taking into account where relevant the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the project implementation.
4. Evaluate the effectiveness and scalability of the project activities as a model of inclusive finance which could be replicated by other financial service providers in Cambodia.
5. Provide recommendations for the replication and scale-up of inclusive finance in Cambodia, including necessary adaptations to the new context of the COVID-19 pandemic where relevant.
6. Compilation of replication guidelines which can be used by financial services providers in Cambodia to plan and implement strategies for disability inclusion, identify barriers to access, and address these to make their products and services accessible to people with disabilities in the new COVID-19 context.

SCOPE OF POSITION:

Under the overall authority of Good Return’s Program Director and direct supervision and guidance of the Field Support Officer (Social Impact), the consultant will deliver the assignment. The consultant may choose to deliver the assignment remotely or by working in a team with other local/international consultant(s).

The consultant will also work closely with Program Impact and Effectiveness Manager, Good Return; CAFE Program Manager and Team, Good Return; and Head of Credit Plus and Credit Plus Team, Chamroeun Microfinance Plc.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

The assessment will include four stages, with an estimated total time requirement of 20 working days (indicative timings, to be agreed with consultant), as follows:

Stage 1: Desk review (5 days)

Desk review will cover the following areas:

‘Education and Access’ Project background: Good Return and Chamroeun will provide information including:

• Program documents (original proposal, monitoring reports);
• Needs Assessment report produced for the project;
• Documentation and reports of accessibility reviews carried out for the project (Accessibility review of CAFE Program materials; Accessibility audits of four Chamroeun branches; Disability Inclusion Scorecard and Action Plan for Chamroeun).

‘Education and Access’ Project Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL): Good Return and Chamroeun will provide data collected, analysis and reports produced for internal MEL purposes, including:

Good Return:

• Database of quantitative data collected from baseline and endline surveys of approximately 290 coachees in 36 learning groups who participated in the adapted CAFE Program
• Transcriptions and thematic analysis of about 5 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with coachees who participated in the adapted CAFE Program
• Analysis and MEL report produced by Good Return using data from the sources above
• Feedback collected from other project beneficiaries (CAFE Program Coaches, enumerators from Disabled People’s Organisations)

Chamroeun:

• Data collected from a sample of about 25 applicants for the tailored loan product, and documentation of Chamroeun’s assessment of the loan applications
• Loan account data for a sample of about 10 CAFE coachees approved for the tailored loan product or Chamroeun’s standard loan product
• Records of Chamroeun’s contact with loan clients, including reports of client visits by Chamroeun staff
• Transcriptions of interviews with a sample of 2-3 beneficiaries of the tailored loan product
• Analysis of the above data to assess whether the tailored loan product offered by Chamroeun meets the needs of people with disabilities for access to finance, without increasing their existing financial vulnerability

Banking / microfinance sector in Cambodia

• Good Return and Chamroeun will provide background information, including industry data and relevant research reports.

Inclusive banking / financial services:

• Good Return and Chamroeun will provide external information about initiatives to promote or implement disability inclusive banking / financial services in Cambodia and other countries.
• This should be supplemented through research by the consultant to identify other relevant external sources.

Stage 2: Key informant interviews (4 days)

The consultant will carry out key informant interviews with:

• Staff members of Good Return, Chamroeun
• Members of partner organizations and DPOs who supported project activities
• Key stakeholders from the ACCESS Program

Interviews are expected to be conducted remotely online wherever possible.

Stage 3: Evaluation of the ‘Education and Access’ Project (3 days)

The consultant will analyse and synthesise the data from the preceding steps to produce a draft report covering objectives 1 a, b and c, and a final report incorporating feedback from review by Good Return, Chamroeun, and the ACCESS Program Team.

Stage 4: Production of Replication Guidelines (8 days)

The consultant will use the insights from the report to produce draft guidelines for implementation of an inclusive finance model by financial services providers in Cambodia (objective 2).

The draft will be shared with stakeholders at sector level for review, and the consultant will then incorporate stakeholder feedback to produce the final replication guidelines. Translation to Khmer will be carried out by Chamroeun and Good Return.

DELIVERABLES:

1. A draft report in English of the evaluation of the ‘Education and Access’ Project, covering objectives 1 a, b, c and d.
2. A final report incorporating feedback from Good Return, Chamroeun and the ACCESS Team.
3. Outline for the replication guidelines to be produced, showing proposed sections, headings, tables and figures and annexes
4. Draft replication guidelines in English for financial services providers in Cambodia to plan and implement strategies for disability inclusion and accessibility.
5. Final replication guidelines incorporating stakeholder feedback.

QUALIFICATIONS

Essential

• 3+ years experience in disability inclusion
• 3+ years experience in microfinance, banking or other related field
• Experience of producing high quality written reports, guidelines and / or manuals in English
• Excellent command of the English language
• Strong skills in Khmer language an advantage
• Experience of carrying out assessments and evaluations in the development sector
• Deep understanding of the context of people with disabilities in Cambodia
• Ability to work independently and work effectively with remote teams
• Strong skills in planning, time management and organisation

Desirable (optional)

• Knowledge and understanding of financial capability training and financial inclusion programs
• Experience reporting to international donors

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

Duration of contract: September – October 2021

Expected duration of assignment: 20 days (start date and total days involvement to be finalised with the consultant)

Fees and Reimbursements: The fees for this assignment are expected to be in the range of USD 250-350 per day (incl. WHT/VAT), plus reimbursement of other expenses.

Insurance: The Contractor is responsible for effecting any insurance that they may require whilst undertaking the Services, including but not limited to: workers’ compensation insurance, public liability insurance, property insurance, professional indemnity insurance, health and life insurance.

Taxes: The Contractor is responsible for any payments of local and/or country of residence taxes.

IMPORTANT:

• Good Return and Chamroeun are committed to equal opportunities, and do not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, religion, ethnic origin, disability, age or other characteristics. Applications from people with lived experience of disability and local consultants are encouraged. Please inform us if you require any accommodation or adaptations to be made to the application process

  The successful candidate will be required to comply with our child protection and prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (PSEAH) policies, and may be subject to pre-hire checks.

• Good Return is an inclusive organisation. We strive to build a team that truly represents our diverse society and those of the Asia-Pacific communities we operate in. We actively encourage all applicants, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, disability and sexuality, to apply. If you require adjustments to the recruitment or interview process to accommodate your specific needs, let us know and we will try to provide them.
• Good Return is a child safe organisation. Our recruitment processes reflect our commitment to the protection of children from abuse; successful candidates will need to comply by our Child Protection Policy and undergo pre-employment checks.