Consultant

Terms of References – Consultancy

May 2023

Assignment

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation is seeking a (1) consultant (or team) to facilitate and document a capitalization of Swiss experience (CapEx) with localization in the Middle East (Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq). The consultant shall define a methodology for a participatory reflection involving Swiss cooperation teams in the region and a selection of cooperation partners, review experiences, facilitate the process, and draft a report with findings, conclusions and recommendations. The consultant shall work closely with the working group on localization that includes representatives of the different country teams and that is coordinated by the Chief of Staff Regional Cooperation based in Amman. The scope of the CapEx will be limited to thirty (30) payable days including the whole assignment.

Background

At the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016, more than 60 of the biggest donors and humanitarian aid agencies signed on to the Grand Bargain (GB), committing to improving the effectiveness and efficiency of humanitarian action. One of the commitments made was on localisation: to increase international investment in the capacity, delivery and leadership of national and local actors in emergency response.

The Grand Bargain’s Commitments on localisation are as per the below:

• Increase and support multi-year investment in the institutional capacities of local and national responders.
• Understand better and work to remove or reduce barriers that prevent organisations and donors from partnering with local and national responders in order to lessen their administrative burden.
• Support and complement national coordination mechanisms where they exist and include local and national responders in international coordination mechanisms.
• Achieve by 2020 a global, aggregated target of at least 25% of humanitarian funding to local and national responders as directly as possible.
• Develop, with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, and apply a ‘localisation’ marker to measure direct and indirect funding to local and national responders.
• Make greater use of funding tools which increase and improve assistance delivered by local and national responders, such as the UN-led country-based pooled funds etc.

Switzerland has actively engaged in the Grand Bargain. As former co-convener of the Grand Bargain work stream on localisation, Switzerland has funded the study on the future role of intermediaries and endorsed the final Grand Bargain Intermediary Caucus Outcome Document on ‘The Role of Intermediaries in Supporting Locally-led Humanitarian Action’.file:///C:/Users/ABJ/Downloads/Outcome%20Paper%20Towards%20Co-ownership%20-%20Caucus%20on%20Intermediaries%20-%20August%202022.pdf

In the Middle East region, various steps towards localisation of aid have been taken in all country portfolios of the Swiss Cooperation Programme Middle East (SCP ME). The degree of reflection, experience and emerging evidence on what approaches work well differ among WoGA partners and depend on opportunities and risk appetite in each operational context. A collective reflection on the status of localisation across the region has not yet been realized.

Objectives for capitalisation of Swiss experience on localisation in the Middle East

The overall objective of this capitalisation study is to contribute to the Swiss Cooperation institutional learning on localization to answer the central questions of what localisation is for the Swiss Cooperation in the Middle East context and beyond the Grand Bargain, why it is to foster, and how to best do it. Of particular interest for the Swiss Cooperation in the Middle East is to understand to which extent and how localization can foster local ownership and sustainability, and provide entry points to work across the triple humanitarian-development-peace (H-D-P) nexus. The so-called Triple Nexus aims at combining the interventions of humanitarian, development and peace actors towards collective outcomes cohesively and over multiple years. The approach seeks to capitalize on the comparative advantages of each sector to reduce need, risk and vulnerability following the recommendations of the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) and in accordance with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda

The tasks will include:

1. Review and document Swiss cooperation (CH) different approaches towards localisation in the region

• • How the localisation agenda is understood by the different actors and under the different instruments of Swiss cooperation (rationale, objectives)? – What arecontext-specific challenges, risks and opportunities that country teams and cooperation partners perceive in relation to the localization agenda, incl. political (exposure of partners through international support, diaspora engagement, etc.), financial and capacity issues? – How do the localisation approaches differ or are similar across the different country offices and the different instruments of Swiss Cooperation? – How do Swiss partners, in particular local ones (Non-profit organisations, local governments and local private sector) in the region view CH’s localisation agenda. What are their main concerns and needs?

A.1 PARTNERSHIP MODELS

• • What partnership models is CH implementing (e.g direct contract with local organisation, different types of intermediaries, support to networks, alliance building, etc)? Are they in line with set objectives (implementation only, scaling results, advocacy, etc.)? – What is CH role in the different models (e.g. regarding selection of partners, project formulation and negotiations, financial oversight, monitoring, capacity development, strategic steering and dialogue) and what are associated needs in terms of resources (financial, human, institutional flexibility)? – Examine with CH’s intermediary organizations and sub-grantees if commitments under GB intermediary caucus outcome document are implemented – (How) does CH engage with other actors than NGOs/civil society/UN in meaningful localisation efforts (strengthening national/ local systems)? What are the experiences so far? Are there good models on which CH could build?

A.2 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT AND EMPOWERMENT

1. • What are the range of priority areas covered by CH’s capacity development support? Does this match local organisations needs and priorities (relevance)?
   • What are the different approaches by CH to capacity development (CD) and empowerment approaches (e.g. CD carried out by INGO or UN, CD carried out by contracted entities, CD & empowerment through participation in thematic networks, alliance and platforms etc.)? How do they compare in terms of effectiveness and efficiency for similar objectives?
2. Benchmark CH localisation efforts in the Middle East against GB commitment but also analyse them under the angle of results (localisation as a “mean to an end”)
   • Where does CH situate itself on the 6 commitments of GB for its humanitarian programming in the Middle East? And possibly on other reference framework (SDG localization agenda, OECD)?
   • What are indications of the effects and impact of localisation efforts at the level of supported local non-profit partner organisations (empowerment and participation in decisions, institutional development & sustainability, improved quality of interventions, capacity to access funding directly and manage larger programmes, etc) and under what conditions?
   • What are indications of the effects and impact of localisation efforts at the level of final beneficiaries (e.g. better served by local vs. international organisations?). Beyond ethical considerations for localisation, do assumptions (efficiency, effectiveness, continuity of response) materialise?
   • What are links / causalities between CH localisation efforts and the triple nexus? Could they be enhanced and how?

• • What dimensions of sustainability are CH localization efforts contributing to? Under what conditions? – Are CH localisation efforts strengthening (local) good governance? – Are CH’s local partners able to engage in meaningful advocacy and coordination at local, national and regional level?
  • • Are they in a better position than other partners to engage with (local) authorities or private sector towards joint H-D-P objectives? – Do CH local partners play a specific role in terms of conflict sensitivity / promotion of social cohesion/preventing violent conflict? – How does this interact with diaspora engagement & funding?

1. Draw lessons and identify best practices/room for improvement/new entry points on how to best approach localisation in relation to the objectives pursued, both at country and regional level (as relevant).

• What are the lessons learnt from the different approaches in the region?
• What works best, for what objectives?
• What are the institutional, programmatic, reputational risks of CH engagement with the different types of local actors in the different contexts? How and to which extent can these be mitigated?
• Possible to draw conclusions on cost-benefit of different localisation approaches for a given objective?
• What are the opportunities/entry points for CH to leverage its support/collaboration with local actors towards its international cooperation objectives?
• Would a shift to the localisation agenda of the SDGs be advisable and possible (beyond the GB)? If yes, where and how? What are major risks and pitfalls to support or work through local systems?

1. Identify opportunities to present and discuss the lessons and conclusions of the capitalisation within the Swiss federal administration and to the international aid community at regional and/or country level.

• How can CH contribute to inform the debate and foster best practice on localisation based on this capitalisation and recommendations (both internally and in the region)?
• Suggest entry points/ platforms for Switzerland to engage on the conclusions of the CapEx in the different contexts (country, regional) and internally
• What are recommendations for follow-up measures by Switzerland (short-term, longer-term vision/ commitment)?

Qualifications

The consultant (or team) is expected to have the following qualifications:

• Senior expert with 10+ years of experience in the areas of Governance, Localization, Rule of Law, Development Cooperation, humanitarian assistance, conflict prevention and peace promotion or any other related field
• Advanced University degree (M.A.) in a relevant field related to the assignment
• Professional fluency (C2) in Arabic and English required (written and oral)
• Excellent drafting and writing skills in English
• Excellent facilitation skills
• Prior knowledge of the Middle East
• Experience designing and delivering reports and studies in the MENA region
• Experience in advising and accompanying national and international locally-led organisations operating in conflict-affected contexts required
• Experience working with civilian grassroots organisation and local authorities an advantage
• Willingness to travel to the different programme countries (visa assistance provided)
• Nationals of a Middle East country encouraged to apply

Payment and reporting schedule

The final schedule will be jointly defined while signing the contract. Note that payment percentages are an indication. Fees/reimbursables are paid upon presentation of invoices and against time reports within the limits of the number of days (max. 30 days). The planned payment and reporting schedule is as following: 1st instalment after Inception report, 20%; 2nd instalment after final benchmark analysis assessment, 30%; 3rd instalment after final consolidated report 50%.

Important: It is the responsibility of the consultant to ensure the organizational and security aspects of the in-country visit including field missions (i.e. lodging, partner contracts, visa, and logistic arrangements). The offer shall include and specify all relevant costs