Impact Bond Research Consultancy At Danish Refugee Council

Terms of Reference
Scoping of opportunities to deploy impact bonds as a financing mechanism to advance efforts for durable solutions to displacement, with a focus DRC’s Economic Recovery portfolio
Timeline: from Sep- Dec 2021
Background
DRC is interested in exploring the potentials for impact bonds and other related financing mechanisms to support outcomes for durable solutions to displacement, with a focus on its Economic Recovery portfolio. Financing models that leverage investment capital in impact bond models are increasingly applied in social sectors and for humanitarian and development outcomes. As such they may contribute to bridging the current funding gap in the humanitarian sector, in particular the lack of sustainable and predictable financing for solutions to displacement, support innovative, more relevant and cost-effective programming and sustainability of outcomes that may further DRC’s and other partners’ thinking and approach to support durable solutions through the economic recovery of displacement affected communities.
Scope
To this end, DRC is looking to contract the services of an individual or consultancy team with relevant experience and qualifications for an assessment of the opportunity and relevance of impact bonds or other outcome funding modalities for Economic Recovery programming in Jordan and Turkey. The consultancy is expected to include:
 A literature review, summing up key experiences in the impact bonds/outcome funding field relevant for DRC’s economic recovery programming in the focus countries (Turkey and Jordan), as well as other internal/external resources relevant to the effective conduct of the consultancy, e.g. country and regional Economic Recovery Strategies
 General mapping and structured typology of DRC’s Economic Recovery programming in the two countries
 Documented analysis and subsequent recommendations on best fit for scaling up and/or improving quality/effectiveness through outcome funding / impact bond approaches, incl. an assessment of the relevance and risks of impact bonds for existing programming, but also an analysis of how/where/why impact bonds could enable us to start up new/improve emerging activities in support of Economic Recovery for displacement affected communities
 Initial modelling of selected outcomes and baselines relevant to Economic Recovery Programming to be used for either impact bond design and/or other Economic Recovery/Durable Solutions programming with alternative financing components. This could include integrated programming outcomes (links between economic recovery and other sectors such as protection)
 Outline(s) of critical impact bond design features for DRC to proceed with an Economic Recovery-focused impact bond model for the specified countries
 A check list / assessment tool to help DRC in the future to assess where and under which circumstances various impact bonds structures could be considered relevant financing mechanisms for economic recovery programming, at a global level and across an array of contexts
Based on this, DRC expects the consultancy to;
i. Provide a basis for deciding on how to proceed with design of an impact bond for Economic Recovery for durable solutions in one or more programming contexts, including consideration of key enabling factors
ii. Enable broader outreach for DRC in the impact bond / sustainable/social investment space to support further programming and partnerships in this field
iii. Inform our engagement with strategic donors and other key stakeholders with respect to the adoption of impact bonds in support of enhanced scale and quality of programming
iv. Inform ongoing reflections as to the utility of impact bonds in support of DRC’s strategic priorities at global level
v. Function as a starting point for organizational learning on the intersection between impact bonds/innovative financing, Economic Recovery and Durable Solutions programming, as well as other elements of DRC’s Response Framework, Integrated Programming and Strategy 2025
Deliverables of consultancy
The consultant(s) are expected to deliver the following:
 An assessment report (40 pages max) covering as a minimum the following:
o Executive Summary
o Brief overview of the state of relevant impact bond / outcome funding initiatives for DRC, and links to relevant resources
o The potential relevance of impact bonds for a number of selected economic recovery outcomes for durable solutions in the two focus countries
o The potential role(s) for DRC and selected partners in impact bond structures in the selected context(s) (Investor, Outcome Funder, Service Provider)
o Modelling of basic elements of proposed impact bond(s) for selected outcomes/contexts (to be determined with DRC based on first findings of assessment)
o Mapping of potential partners for selected impact bond financing model(s)
o Recommendations for most feasible ways / critical paths for DRC to proceed (or not) with the design of impact bond(s) in the focus context and sectors, and an estimation on timelines for each step in such a process.
The consultant(s) is expected to provide i) a report design overview, ii) a draft report for comments and input, and based on this, iii) a final report with professional lay-out taking into account the comments and input provided by DRC, iv) a summary of key findings and recommendations to share with external parties
 Slide deck in high quality design PPT format (20 slides max) presenting key findings of the assessment report and recommendations for DRC
 Presentation of slide deck / key findings at two online DRC events: one for regional + focus countries, and one global webinar/workshop with DRC staff and potential partners
 Abovementioned resources, including the Mapping and Typology of DRC Economic Recovery programmes and Checklist/Assessment Tool
Duration
The consultancy is expected to start in September 2021 and finish no later than December 2021, with the total level of effort estimated to around 25 – 40 working days.
Qualifications
The successful candidate(s) must be able to work independently to deliver the required outputs working with a large and complex interface with a variety of internal and external stakeholders. Qualifications will include:
 Relevant background in financing, economics, business development, economic development or similar, ideally including specific expertise in Economic Recovery programming and/or Alternative Financing
 Some understanding of the regional / country context(s) as relates to challenges and programming for displacement affected communities, in particular relating to economic recovery
 Understanding of the field of social/development/humanitarian impact bonds and related outcome funding modalities
 Proven track record in conducting similar studies and design of innovative humanitarian/development financing instruments for non-profits
 Ability to structure complex insights into written and visual products that bring out key features and enable decision making.

Assessment of proposals
All bidders will be scored on a scale from 1 – 10 for each of the below criteria. All bidders must obtain a score of at least five for the total technical scoring, in order to proceed to the financial evaluation.
All received bids meeting the minimum requirements will be assessed for profile and qualifications (document 1), technical approach (document 2), and similar experience (document 3). Bids will be scored according to the criteria below for the initial screening.
Technical/finance proportion: 75/25
Minimum passing technical score: 50