Consultant: UA research on Long-term housing of Ukrainian refugees in Europe (PL, DE, SK, HU and RO)

Background

Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) as a global housing non-profit organization has been present in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) for decades- having national offices and partnerships in more than 10 countries. The Area Office (AO) for Europe and Middle East (EME) is based in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Context: the current refugee crisis in Europe

Since the war started in Ukraine, more than 5 million people fled to neighboring countries to Ukraine and then moved to further countries all over Europe. Depending on when the war ends and what will be the situation in Ukraine after the war, it is expected that a large number of these Ukrainian refugees will need permanent affordable housing mid-term or long-term. HFHI as one of the leading voices for affordable housing in Europe is already engaged in supporting sheltering the refugees in Poland, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. We would also like to be contributing to develop demonstration projects on the ground and to promote best practices and policies to help the integration and permanent housing of Ukrainians in several European countries and at the EU level. For this purpose, we are commissioning this research consultancy to help us gather evidence for this future work – both to inform our programming response and our policy advocacy work.

Objective

The purpose of comparative analysis is to identify the gaps in the provision of housing/shelter and integration refugees. in CEE countries bordering Ukraine.

To do so, the consultant will conduct a gap analysis of the legal, policy and institutional framework that support provision of shelter and housing and accommodation for refugees in the targeted countries.

Key tasks of the Consultant:

The research would cover the countries where HFHI is responding to the long-term housing need of Ukrainian refugees: Poland, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania,.

Germany’s system of housing/shelter provision should be used both as a benchmark for comparative analysis as they seem to have the most developed housing system and experience in providing housing for refugees but also as country which is expected to have to house big number of refugees.

The consultant should look into:

Analysis of Legal framework and institutional setup involved in shelter/housing provision for refugees

Analysis of Government’s housing and related policies and regulatory frameworks

Analysis of major obstacles for shelter and housing provision

Analysis of related support programs (country and EU level)

Our Theory of Change is that the long-term housing of Ukrainian refugees cannot be understood and solved as a stand-alone issue, but rather as part of a systemic change in the general housing/shelter provision of these countries

Therefore, our research questions should focus to understand the basic gaps in the general housing system of the 5 countries.

Research questions:

What are the institutional and policy gaps in affordable shelter/housing provision in general in the 5 countries?

Specifically, what are the gaps in

• Market rental regulation

• Subsidized private rental options

• Subsidized public rental (social housing) provision

• Affordable ownership provision

• Cooperative or community-led housing

• Provision of housing stock, especially affordable / publicly subsidized / developed on non-for-profit basis

What are the gaps in the general social service provision related to housing?

More specifically related to the Ukrainian refugees: what are the gaps in providing mass transitional and emergency shelter? Is there a way to avoid temporary shelter in camps or containers?

Methodologically, we propose investigating the German general housing system and the long-term housing provision for refugees from previous years as a benchmark and identify the gaps in the institutional and policy framework in the 4 other countries compared to the German system and formulate program and policy recommendations based on the benchmark and the identified gaps. We are very interested in German and other examples of long-term housing which served also the integration of refugees into the host society. Understanding also that the integration system involves much more than housing, but highlighting the fundamental role that housing provides as a platform for other integration services such as employment, education, health, and participation.

To achieve all this, we expect the Consultant to:

• Do extensive desk research

• Carry out interviews with 10-15 policy makers or program leads in 5 countries

• Review existing or emerging EU policy initiatives and funding dedicated to the housing of refuges from Ukraine – including loan programs by financing institutions like EIB, EBRD, Council of Europe Development Bank etc.

Deliverables

1. Gap Analysis Report for each country in the form of country profiles, containing sections outlined in this ToR including an Executive Summary, with a focus on Poland and using Germany as a benchmark (40-50 pages)

2. Power Point Presentation of the main findings (as stated by the report) to be presented to stakeholders

3. Summary of the EU policy and funding opportunities to support the long-term housing of Ukrainian refugees (5 pages)

4. Summary of interviews with stakeholders (max 1 page per interview)

5. Draft Policy recommendations to national and EU level (5-10 pages)

All documents will be delivered in English. Consultant will provide verbal translation during the presentations or meetings.

Cooperation

Primary contacts: Gyorgy Sumeghy, Associate Director, Policy and Advocacy and Amanda Entrikin, Director of Global Affairs and Advocacy, HFHI/Government Relations and Advocacy

Project lead: Besim Nebiu, Director, Central and Eastern Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS)

Ongoing cooperation with: HFHI/EME CEE/CIS Department, HFHI/ Government Relations and Advocacy and HFHI/Communications Department and HFH colleagues in the 5 countries.

Level of effort

The contract for the work is a flat-fee lump-sum payment that requires the consultant’s best effort to complete the job as specified. It is expected that the consultant will have access to available data and open sources, as additional funds for intercity travel, hotel and per diem expenses will not be available as part of the study.

Ownership & Copyright

HHFI/EME will be the legal owners and copyright holders of the report; whilst acknowledging the role and contribution of the consultant.

Timeline and conditions

As per the contract

The assignment is expected to be finished by end of June.

Selection criteria

All proposals will be evaluated systematically, based on the following prioritized list of our key evaluation criteria:**

· Proven experience in research related to affordable housing in Europe

· Proven experience in housing for migrants/refugees in Europe is advantage

· Proven experience of integration of migrants/refugees in Europe is an advantage

· Proven experience of contributing to policy positions/understanding housing policy in Europe and at the EU level

· Proven experience of doing research and prepare publications in English

· The best value for money offer