Consultancy on Latin America Cross-Country Office Responses

A. CONSULTANCY ASSIGNMENT BACKGROUND

The Latin American (LA) region is facing several complex emergencies, including the internal and regional impact of the crisis in Venezuela, the humanitarian consequences of the armed conflict in Colombia and persistently high levels of generalized violence in Central America. These conditions combine to create some of the world’s highest forced displacement numbers. We are also seeing across the LA region increasing transcontinental mixed migration with an unprecedented number of refugees and migrants on the move across the continent in search of safety, international protection and/or better opportunities.

According to UNHCR, there are now more than 13.5 million forcibly displaced people in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala and the number of people on the move is increasing exponentially and including people fleeing generalized violence and natural disasters, but also thousands of Venezuelans refugees and migrants and growing numbers of people originating from Ecuador, Nicaragua, Brazil as well as nationals from outside the mainland, including Haitians and Cubans. In addition, there are other people on the move within South and Central America who emanate from other regions, including from countries in Africa and Asia. Continued violence in the North of Central America, alongside instability in Haiti, have also contributed to large numbers of refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers travelling through the mainland despite the increasingly hostile environment for refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers in Mexico and the US. In 2021, the U.S. Border Patrol apprehended more than 1.7 million people from more than 160 countries at the U.S. southern border. This figure is the highest recorded since 2000 and triples the average number of apprehensions recorded between 2012 and 2020.

NRC across the LA region started to explore how our advocacy and programme responses can better affect positive outcomes for displaced people across NRC’s countries of implementation. Programme-wise, NRC operates in countries of origin (Venezuela, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras), countries of transit (Colombia, Panama, Honduras, Guatemala) and countries of destination (Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico) within the Latin America Region.

Recommendations from the regional office (RO) and several strategic workshops conducted between LA Country offices (COs) and RO back in 2021 highlighted the need for NRC to develop multi-CO response approaches, to ensure a more relevant NRC’s response, especially in light of:

• NRC’s strong geographical footprint with presence all along the main migration routes from Venezuela and Peru to Mexico ​(and in a total of 9 countries)
• NRC’s current response is mainly country specific while there is an ambition to strengthen it by having a more consistent regional approach (towards “route-based” and cross-country programming)

The recently approved Small Advocacy Fund (SAF) action for Latin America will be the first step to contribute to creating a new understanding of the mixed migration situation across the LA region, as well as facilitate cross-collaboration across NRC’s Country Offices. Nevertheless, in light of the increasing displacement phenomenon in Latin America, key donors already require interventions able to demonstrate a sound regional strategy, showing the connections between the programmes across the different targeted countries.

The current Ukraine crisis might also further decrease international attention and funding towards the LA continent from 2023 thus increasing the need for NRC to adjust its response to the changing dynamics and taking advantage of NRC’s presence in countries of host/transit/origin to develop appropriate responses to better reach and protect displacement-affected people.

B. OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF WORK

Building on previous initiatives, the consultancy is expected to focus on three specific geographic areas/areas of work:

• NRC’s Cross-CO responses including:
• Area-based response linkages between Colombia and Venezuela
• Area-based response linkages between Colombia and Ecuador
• NRC’s Response to mixed migration flows across LA: response linkages between Venezuela, Colombia CO and North of Central America and Mexico CO (NCA&M) (“route-based”)

Objectives

The objectives of this work are:

• Map out existing programmatic linkages in each of the three above-mentioned geographic areas/areas of work
• Identify and prioritize opportunities for concrete programmatic co-ordination and integration for each of the three geographic areas/areas of work
• Provide realistic and achievable recommendations and concrete actions to be applied to make the collaboration between COs effective in the short term ensuring a more relevant NRC’s response. This would include the development of cross CO tools/methodologies for implementation as prioritized with CO teams
• Provide further recommendations for the development of relevant “route-based” and cross-border response programmes
• Develop a short briefing document for external partners to highlight concrete linkages between countries

Scope of Work

The key objectives include:

1. Map out the current programmatic linkages and existing collaboration between/cross COs in response to the critical needs of migrants and displaced people

• The mapping will include a quick analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the existing collaboration (what works well, what is challenging, why)
• The mapping will also include current existing tools designed to ensure collaboration between/cross COs

2. Explore potential further programme linkages between countries identifying opportunities for concrete programmatic co-ordination and integration among NRC’s countries of implementation

• The identification of relevant linkages will be based on previous internal strategic workshops conducted in LA in 2021 and based on NRC’s existing programming (or planned in CO strategies)
• A prioritization process will be undertaken during the consultancy period to narrow-down the areas of work for objective 3
• While the consultant is expected to work on 3 different geographical areas/areas of work, he/she is expected to do the necessary linkages between each as relevant based on current context and inputs from NRC teams

3. Based on the above and for the prioritized areas of work, propose and develop realistic and achievable recommendations and measures to be applied to enhance collaboration between COs to ensure a more relevant NRC’s response

• Realistic and achievable measures and recommendations will include the development of concrete actions plans for each geographical areas/areas of work as well as the development of relevant processes (for instance cross-CO information sharing processes by defining clear roles and responsibilities, tools and sequencing and other relevant processes identified as relevant in the framework of the consultancy)
• The development of tools and processes will need to be reviewed and final versions approved by CO and RO staff as relevant

4. Provide further recommendations for the development of relevant “route-based” and cross-border response plans

• Based on the identified programming opportunities (Objective 2), the consultant will identify what other type of responses would be relevant but cannot be implemented immediately (i.e. those not prioritized, those requiring further resources) how those can bring an added value to NRC’s existing programmes in each CO and what are the needed resources/enablers to allow for their implementation

5. Develop a short briefing document highlighting the collaboration between COs and how it is bringing an added value to NRC’s existing programmes

• Development of a 1-2 page document to be used for external partners showing the connections between the actions across the different countries

Methodology:

The review is estimated to take 6 to 8 weeks. NRC will ensure that the consulting team have all the necessary background documents available. The working methodology will be a mix of desk study, interviews with key RO and CO teams and conduction of workshops with field-based staff.

The consultant will be expected to conduct two workshops (one day workshop each) with CO field teams for each of the three geographic areas/areas of work (objectives 2, 3 and 4).

The consultant will liaise with:

• Key RO Programme Staff: Senior Sub-Regional Adviser, Head of Core Competencies (CC), relevant CC and thematic advisers (depending on final prioritization)
• Key CO Programme Staff: Heads of Programmes, Head of Operations, relevant CC Specialists/PDMs and thematic advisers as well as field-based staff

C. IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE AND DELIVERABLES

Deliverables

The outputs expected from this consultancy entail (for each of the geographic areas/areas of work):

• Mapping of existing collaboration and mapping of programmatic co-ordination (including strengths and weaknesses analysis)
• Notes/summary for each workshops conducted
• Development of an action plan for the implementation of concrete collaboration between countries including development of concrete processes and/or tools to facilitate its implementation (for prioritized areas of work)
• Report responding to the key objectives outlined in this ToR and including further recommendations for the development of relevant “route-based” and cross-border response plans defining what other type of response is needed and how it can bring an added value to NRC’s existing programmes in each CO
• Short briefing document for external partners

Implementation Schedule

The review should start in September 2022 and with a timeline of 6 to 8 weeks as detailed below:

Delivery Dates and Milestones

Week 1

• Contract signing
• Inception meetings with NRC
• Desk review (NRC sharing past study report, minutes of sub-regional workshops, NRC Integrated programming and area-based approaches etc.)
• Interviews with key RO and CO team members

Week 2

• Interviews with key RO and CO team members (continued)
• Preparation of workshops

Week 3-6

• Cross-CO workshops
• Synthesis and analysis
• Development of action plans (3 actions plans)

Week 6-8

• Report writing and briefing paper for external partners
• Submission of draft deliverables to NRC
• Revision of deliverables following NRC’s comments and feedback
• Submission of final deliverables to NRC (possibly including a second round of comments)

Duties of the consultant:

• Lead and coordinate the assessment including being responsible for:
  • Desk review
  • Preparation and facilitation of interviews with NRC staff
  • Preparations and facilitation of workshops with key CO and RO staff
  • Deliverables (including addressing NRC questions/comments)
• Ensure the timely submission of the above-mentioned deliverables

Reports should be submitted in Microsoft Word format, in UK English. All text should be unformatted. Graphs or other graphical devices should be editable (i.e. not pictures). All references must be cited according to convention, and detailed in a bibliography, using the Harvard system as set out in the UNESCO Style Manual. All verbatim quotations must appear in quotation marks and must not be of excessive length. All data collected under the consultancy must be submitted with the deliverables, in a widely recognised format such as Microsoft Excel.

Everything submitted to NRC must be the original work of the consultants. Any plagiarism in any form, or any other breach of intellectual property rights, will automatically disqualify the consultant from receiving any further payments under the contract by NRC, and NRC will seek to recover any payments already made.

Duties of NRC:

• Accompany and support the consultant
• Ensure proper inception meetings with the consultant and identify key RO and CO staff to be interviewed
• NRC will provide the consultant with the relevant documents for the desk review
• Introduce the Consultant to the key identified RO and CO staff
• Participation to interviews and workshops as relevant
• Review and feedback to the draft deliverables
• NRC will bear the Consultancy fees

Experience and Qualifications

• The ideal consultant(s) will have a minimum of 5 years’ experience in programme management positions in humanitarian/ recovery contexts
• The ideal consultant(s) will have a proven track record organizing and leading programmatic workshops with multi-sectorial stakeholders for organizations delivering humanitarian programming
• Excellent written and spoken English and Spanish are mandatory
• Knowledge of the Latin America context is mandatory
• Experience with NRC and with NRC’s range of Core Competencies, is desirable
• Previous experience with Cross-CO/Route-based programming would also be an asset
• Ability and availability to travel in Latin America countries as for the conduction of workshops