Consultancy: Gender Impact Assessment for Ukraine Programmatic Portfolio

Project location: Ukraine

Project duration: April 2024 – April 2026

Donor: German Federal Foreign Office

Implementing organization: ADRA Germany with ADRA partners from Ukraine

BACKGROUND

As an aid organization ADRA Germany e. V. provides support for people in need worldwide – regardless of ethnic origin, gender, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual identity. The state-approved non-governmental organization was founded in 1986 and is part of a global network with over 118 independent country offices and around 7,500 full- time employees. The organization has been conducting development cooperation and humanitarian aid projects for over 30 years. ADRA Germany is a member of the German relief network (ADH) and carries out projects financed with own funding, ADH funding as well as with institutional donors (GFFO, BZM, EU etc.). The main office with around 70 employees is located in Weiterstadt near Darmstadt, with a second office in Berlin.

Ukraine humanitarian response

ADRA Deutschland e.V., together with its local partners, the ADRA offices in Ukraine and Moldova, is implementing since March 2022 a cross-sector, life-saving humanitarian aid project financed mainly by the GFFO. Belonging to the global ADRA network with shared values and support systems, each ADRA office is an independent organization. The project builds on the existing humanitarian presence of local partner organizations and is in line with the UN Flash Appeal, which aims to address the key needs of IDPs and left-behind affected people in Ukraine and refugees crossing the border. The interventions of the project are focusing on 3 key areas:

1. survival packages (food and non-food items (NFI) in kind or cash) for IDPs and left-behind affected persons in Ukraine and refugees in neighboring countries,
2. protection, psychosocial support and legal counseling for IDPs and left-behind affected persons in Ukraine and refugees in neighboring countries,
3. safe shelter components for IDPs and left-behind affected persons in Ukraine and refugees in neighboring countries. In accordance with the Grand Bargain, the project is contributing to localization, which means a high degree of autonomy of the local offices towards implementation.

The communication between ADRA Germany and the offices in Moldova and Ukraine was supported by on-side visits as well as regular online meetings with project managers and project staff. While ADRA Germany was already cooperating with ADRA Ukraine in the years 2014-2017 along the conflict line with activities such as PSS, light repair (financed by GFFO), the cooperation with ADRA Moldova on a large-scale project and with an institutional donor was new.

The project has been planned in two phases:

Phase 1: 1-6 months – Focus on immediate needs to provide life-saving assistance through multisectoral interventions in Ukraine and neighboring countries to ensure that affected target groups have access to food, other essentials, and shelter, as well as psychosocial support and legal counseling. Conducting feasibility analyses for cash interventions in Ukraine determined the modality required, and the intensity of the emergency response continued to build over six months.

Phase 2: 6-21 months – Focus on providing rents and shelter rehabilitation and improvement support to ensure they meet minimum standards and requirements. Accompanying emergency assistance via cash and in-kind distributions due to emerging emergencies in this context and activities adapted in response.

Project Objective: Provide emergency life-saving humanitarian assistance to vulnerable internally displaced persons and populations left behind in the conflict region in Ukraine, and support women, children, and the elderly fleeing the war and seeking refuge in the neighboring Republic of Moldova.

Activity overview: Multi-purpose cash assistance, Winterization kits distribution, Evacuation, Transit centres support, Mobility assistance, Cash for rent, Psychosocial support and referral mechanism, Light repair

METHODOLOGY

The gender impact assessment will be conducted for Ukraine. It will include desk review and interviews with relevant partners and stakeholders. The report will include risk analysis, stakeholder analysis, and gender equality plans together with the gender, age and disability (GAD) marker.

The consultant will conduct:

1. Desk review of at least the following but not limited to it: Project concept and related documents of the proposed project, reports of previous projects and ongoing projects with the same thematic, ADRA Ukraine-related policies to gender equality and sexual and gender-based violence protection, donor gender equality and inclusion strategy (BMZ, GFFO)
2. Desk review of government policies and regulations on gender equality and gender transformation
3. In-depth Interviews with ADRA Ukraine, their beneficiaries and stakeholders to understand the current context, the (gender-specific) needs of the project and designed goal to relate them to the impact of gender equality. Interviews with ADRA will collect information on the current status and need for gender impact assessment to underline topics and issues that need to be highlighted in new strategies and proposals.

Research questions of the assessment

Analysis of gender equality, gender issues and gender-based violence in the targeted project areas with a focus on future gender equality, inclusion, protection and actions to be taken.

1. What is the current situation in terms of gender equality and protection from gender-based violence, gender needs, and how will the project activities contribute to make an impact in these areas?
2. What challenges and risks can arise? What mitigation strategies are recommended? Which target groups might require particular support or protection because they are exposed to or at risk of experiencing sexual or gender-based discrimination, disadvantages or violence (e.g., forced or early marriage for young girls, stigmatization of LGBTQI+ people, and people with disabilities)?
3. Are there specific needs of target groups that can be adequately addressed only by including specific activities just for them (e.g., the creation of protected spaces only for women/girls who have experienced sexual violence)?
4. How can we ensure that people of different genders and ages, with and without disabilities, can receive the same benefit from a project or are all able to participate in activities?
5. What current problems of gender equality have been identified and are relevant to the proposed project portfolio? This includes challenges of woman-led households in war conditions, gender-based violence in the context of the country, and what are the opportunities to strengthen the gender equality programmatic activities?
6. Which of the causes of these problems will be prioritized and addressed in future projects?
7. What existing local potential, structures (institutions, networks, policies, action plans etc.) and mechanisms can be built on? What gaps have been identified in the system?
8. What capacity building needs to be conducted to increase the capacity of the program team in human rights, gender equality and gender-based violence protection?

Recommendations

Based on the main findings on topics, the report should present predictions of impact, evaluation of impact and mitigation measures for empowering gender equality. Example:

1. Both negative & positive impacts will be assessed and presented based on program activities and components.
2. Evaluation of potential Impacts will be carried out according to their significance by using appropriate Matrices.
3. All adverse impacts (Negative Impacts) will be discussed in detail and mitigation measures/procedure to minimize negative impacts will be suggested, in the Gender Equality Plan together with Gender Marker Tool.
4. How to incorporate gender and inclusion sensitivity at each level: project design, implementation, reporting, monitoring and evaluation.
5. Practical steps and actions on how to achieve GG-1 and GG-2 markers.
6. Designing and inclusion of gender-sensitive and gender-transformative and inclusive activities
7. Proposing the set of gender equality indicators in project outputs, outcomes and impacts.
8. Gender- and inclusion-sensitive selection process and criteria
9. Integration of gender and inclusion risk analysis.
10. Approaches to strengthen the rights, representation and resources (the three Rs) of the target groups
11. Designing the community-feedback and grievance mechanisms to be inclusive
12. Capacity-building measures to strengthen the capacities of the project team (ADRA Ukraine) (e.g., training in human rights and women’s rights, gender equality and in participation of people with disabilities)?

DELIVERABLES, TIMELINE AND BUDGET

The gender impact assessment will be started in January 2024. A final report should be produced by 16th February 2024 and supported with a presentation. The consultant individual/company is expected to submit a financial proposal with a detailed work plan for the assessment. The budget should include any cost related to executing the assessment, any costs beyond the proposed budget will not be approved. A total of a maximum of 15 days is envisioned for the purpose of this consultancy to undertake and produce the final report. Expressions of interest should include a rough plan and outline of the proposed approach.

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS REQUIRED

The consultancy will be conducted by a consultant / consultancy firm with minimum criteria as below:

1. At least 4 years of expertise to carry out analysis related to the topic
2. Technical competency and knowledge of the topic of human rights, gender equality, gender-based violence research and protection, etc.
3. Familiarity with the gender equality programs in Central, Eastern Europe and Balkans and in war conflict countries will be an advantage.

The consultant/evaluation team must adhere to humanitarian principles, ADRA Protection Policy, and ethical values of ADRA.