JO01 – RFP – PR107923 -A firm Market Systems Analysis for 4 Sectors (agriculture, manufacturing, tourism and services) – Iqlaaع

Tender Description

Brief Summary of Organization and Program:

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse, and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have a long-term impact.

The Program/Department/Team

Jordan faces an unprecedented ‘crisis within a crisis’. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated conditions caused by lackluster economic growth and a longstanding refugee crisis, which have since been compounded by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These disruptions to commerce and trade have had a disproportionate impact on Jordan’s micro and small enterprises (MSEs), especially informal businesses. The MSE sector is an essential driver of employment and economic stability in Jordan. The USAID Informal Livelihoods Advancement Activity (IQLAAع)’s objective is to place formal and informal Jordanian MSEs on a path to recovery, resilience and growth.

Our ‘markets in crisis’ approach integrating direct assistance with market systems development (MSD) interventions to support MSEs along the full journey from recovery to growth and resilience. Grounded in evidence-based, adaptive, and inclusive support, Jordan’s MSEs can emerge from the COVID-19 crisis stronger and more resilient, transformed through new ways of doing business and improved access to finance, markets, and services. Understanding that women, youth, and people living with disabilities (PLWD) face unique constraints to starting up and leading resilient MSEs, Iqlaaع will infuse a Gender, Youth and Social Inclusion (GYSI) lens throughout all interventions. Our consortium is committed to supporting MSEs build back, formalize, and grow, emphasizing systems-level change, equitable opportunities, and a dignified work environment for all women, men, and youth, and PLWD in Jordan. Mercy Corps seeks systems-level interventions to address longstanding barriers to MSE resilience, formalization, and growth.

Project Purpose

Iqlaaعis currently in Year 2 of the programme. This activity will provide technical support to the Iqlaaع program team to validate and update their program design based on high quality, evidence-informed sub-sector Markets Systems Analyses in Jordan. This analysis is focused on opportunities benefiting MSEs operating within the agricultural sector, including women, youth and PLWD small-business entrepreneurs.

This assignment is split across four phases. In phase one, the contracted firm will lead a process for sub-sector/market system selection across Iqlaa’s four subsectors (agriculture, manufacturing, tourism and services). Phase two will entail a deep analysis of the selected 1-3 sub-sectors/market systems within each sector. This will culminate in the firm leading the Iqlaaع team in intervention design to develop an opening portfolio of interventions for each selected sub-sector in phase 3. In phase 4 the firm will produce a report identifying key findings and recommendations.

The firm is expected to follow Mercy Corps’ sub-sector/market system selection guidance (which will be shared during the inception phase of the project) and to build the team’s capacities in market systems analysis, research methods, as well as on-the-job MSD implementation throughout all four phases. The firm will engage the programme team throughout the process, ensuring that the programme team fully understands why specific sub-sectors were selected.

Consultant Objectives and Activities (for each of the 4 sectors):

The objectives and activities for this Contract for Services include:

1. PHASE 1: SUB-SECTORS/MARKET SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & SELECTION
   1. Conduct a market scan across Iqlaa’s four sectors. This entails leading a rapid literature review and conducting a small number of key informant interviews, as needed, with priority stakeholders identified during the market scan. The programme team (including partners) can also help identify potential key informants.
   2. Produce a longlist of sub-sectors/market systems across sectors where there is high potential for MSE growth or increased resilience.
   3. Develop contextualized criteria for sub-sector selection, adapted from existing criteria.
   4. Conduct a desk-based screen of the long-list, using the sub-sector selection criteria, and develop a short-list of sub-sectors to investigate further. The criteria for shortlisting sub-sectors should include sectors that provide the greatest opportunities for women, youth and persons with disabilities.
   5. Identify priority stakeholders to inform a rigorous assessment of each sub-sector based on the criteria (which will focus on relevance to MSEs, including opportunities for growth, and the feasibility of catalyzing change).
   6. Build the capacity of Mercy Corps team members to conduct interviews with identified stakeholders, for example by running a half day workshop followed by pilot interviews with feedback. Interviewed stakeholders should also include those relevant to MSEs owned by women, youth and persons living with disabilities.
   7. Backstop Mercy Corps team members in conducting sector selection interviews, and conduct interviews directly as required.
   8. On the basis of findings, screen sectors using the sub-sector selection criteria. In close collaboration with the Mercy Corps team analyse findings against the agreed criteria,. Based on this analysis, present recommendations for which sub-sectors the programme should prioritise.
   9. Document rationale for selection and non-selection of each sub-sector, to be included in the report developed in Phase 4. The rationale should include quantitative and qualitative data and evidence, from secondary sources, key informants, potential buyers, Iqlaa & donor stakeholders.

Phase 1 deliverables:

• Market scan of sectors (includes literature review & key informant interviews)
• Longlist of sub-sector/market systems within each sector in which there is high potential for MSE growth or increased resilience (including criteria for inclusion on the list)
• Criteria for final sub-sector selection
• Short-list of sub-sectors to further investigate

PHASE 2: MARKET SYSTEMS ANALYSIS OF SELECTED SUB-SECTORS

Objectives

1. Conduct a market systems assessment

The consultant will conduct a market systems assessment as outlined below. Mercy Corps’ project team or Technical Support Unit (TSU) will provide to the consultant detailed tools, templates, and outlines in Mercy Corps format to use for deliverables.

Activities:

1. 1. Attend planning call with project team and Mercy Corps’ TSU focal point
   2. Conduct and capture secondary/background research specific to the selected sub-sectors
   3. Coordinate with Mercy Corps TSU and Iqlaa leadership and develop a list of research questions for each sector, based on the findings from the Phase 1 Sector Selection process, as well as Iqlaa’s proposed activity design. Besides exploratory questions about each market system/sector, the research questions will aim to validate and/or refine the existing design and proposed activities (from the programme proposal and Annual Workplan).
   4. Develop data gathering tools, questions and methods, in coordination with Mercy Corps MSD TSU and Iqlaa team members.
   5. Adapt MSA Report Outline and Template with input from the project team..[1]
   6. Prepare MSA plan, including research plan (including research questions, methods for data collection, methods for analysis – this should be presented using Mercy Corps’ research plan template), data collection instruments, and workplan, as well as the adapted MSA report outline. This document should be prepared in coordination with the team. Two rounds of revision to this plan should be anticipated.
   7. Prepare kick-off workshop agenda and materials
   8. Conduct kick-off workshop with training on market system assessments for Iqlaa team members, and hired enumerators, with a particular emphasis on qualitative/quantitative data gathering training
   9. Plan field/assessment logistics with the project team
   10. Conduct, and backstop the team/enumerators in conducting data collection activities
   11. Organize and conduct preliminary analysis of the data obtained, and prepare analysis workshop.
   12. Lead an analysis workshop with the programme team to identify key opportunities, and the root constraints that have blocked these opportunities, including drafting market donuts (for core and interconnected markets). Prioritize opportunities for intervention and justify the selection.
   13. Complete analysis, and develop (for the draft MSA report) the following:
       1. The market donut, market map (value chain), and stakeholder list (organized by market function and including market actor groups’ numbers and description of their power/influence).
       2. an assessment and description of market systems performance (opportunities, constraints, incentives, relationships, and how inclusive they are to women, youth and persons with disabilities) at the function and market actor group levels (for core and supporting functions and rules/norms)
       3. an assessment of MSE and system resilience capacities as agreed-upon with the project team and in line with Mercy Corps’ guidance on assessing resilience
       4. an assessment of cross-cutting themes (ex. youth, women, disability, environment, conflict) as agreed-upon with the project team

Phase 2 deliverables:

• Capture of secondary/background research (can be incorporated into the Phase 4 report, full references should be included)
• Research plan with workplan including:
  • Research questions, outlining priorities and practicalities of data collection, detailing data collection methods;
  • Data collection & logistics plan: summarizing team breakdown & preparation, providing sampling estimations, providing a data collection plan, data collection logistics, and data quality checks.
  • Workplan
• MSA Report Outline
• Kick-off workshop agenda & materials
• Analysis workshop
• Draft market donuts, market maps (value chain maps), and stakeholder list

Phase 3: Design interventions and program activities/partnerships

The consultant will work closely with the project team throughout this phase to develop project interventions, activities and potential partnerships based on the information gathered during the market assessment. The process is not purely linear, so it can be expected that design activities will commence while the market assessment is still taking place. The MSA report will include both the market assessment and intervention design. The outline/template will be shared by the MC project team.

Activities:

1. 1. Together with the project team develop a vision for selected market systems, for example by conducting a “who does/who pays” (WDWP matrix) exercise for the prioritized constraints and identifying potential market actor groups who could play key functions in the market system
   2. Together with the project team, identify the potential activities and partnerships (market actor groups or individual market actors) required to address the priority constraints that have prevented the vision (from the WDWP matrix) emerging
   3. Together with the team, conduct a potential partner selection exercise, that accounts for potential partners’ incentives and capacities, for example, by using the Will/Skill matrix
   4. Together with the team, select priority intervention areas and develop “intervention tables”, detailing for each intervention: the vision, objectives, target group (ensuring to include women, youth and persons with disabilities), potential pilot activities, potential partners, preliminary scale strategy, AND impact projections
   5. Conduct feasibility checks on the identified opportunity, partner, and solution (as per Mercy Corps project team guidance)
   6. Together with the team, construct sector-level and program-level results chains from the bottom up (i.e. the intervention areas identified as part of the design process).

Phase 3 Deliverables:

• Summary of proposed opening interventions and ‘intervention tables’ for each of them
• Impact projections and feasibility checks of the recommended opportunity, partners, and solutions.
• “Who Does Who Pays” activity results and prioritized activities / partnerships
• A list of selected partners from partner selection exercise
• Completed feasibility checks
• Outlined completed results chains as noted above

Phase 4: Draft and finalize MSA & Design Report

The consultant will start filling out the MSA report template from the beginning and continue throughout the MSA and design process for each of the selected market systems. This means that the MSA Report and Design template is closely aligned with the process described in this SoW and in the tools/template and resources that are available from the MC TSU.

The consultant is responsible for supporting the Mercy Corps team to present findings to USAID and incorporating any feedback (from the programme team, TSU, and USAID) or questions into the finalized report. We anticipate that the consultant will need to factor in 3 rounds of revision to the report.

Phase 4 Deliverables:

• Draft MSA Report (including excel tools/templates). Template is linked here for reference.We anticipate three drafts of the report, plus any support required in responding to donor feedback.
• Final MSA report with intervention design and Results Chains.

Cross-cutting: Build staff capacity in MSD

As part of the process of conducting the market assessment and design work, the consultant will build the capacity of the Mercy Corps project team in the Market Systems Development (MSD) approach. Most of this capacity building is done through learning-by-doing with the project team throughout the MSA & Design process. Training materials can be made available by the Mercy Corps project team or TSU but will need to be adapted and supplemented by the consultants.

Activities:

1. Conduct training on how to conduct MSAs and why they matter
2. Conduct qual/quant data gathering methods training
3. Conduct ongoing on-the-job learning capacity building throughout the entire process

Deliverables:

• All relevant training materials
• An assessment of staff MSD capacities with recommendation on further areas of growth for project team members

Further activity notes

• Throughout this process, the consultant should follow recognized MSD methodologies, and refer to Mercy Corps’ internal Youth Employment and MSD resources and templates[2].
• The consultant is expected to have regular check-ins with the programme leadership team throughout the duration of the consultancy. These updates may be shared onwards to the donor as required.

Consultant Deliverables:

The Consultant will be responsible for delivering the following as agreed with the Iqlaa team:

• Inclusive Market Scan report (includes list of potential sub-sectors)
• Subsector Selection matrix (MC template available for adaptation)
• Sector selection report, including final list of selected sub-sectors and evidence-informed justification
• Team Capacity Building Recommendations
• Research plan with work plan
• Market systems selection matrix, program impact objectives with Theory of Change
• Market donut, market map (value chain), and stakeholder list
• Market systems performance report
• Resilience capacities Assessment report
• cross-cutting themes assessment report
• Market systems constraints report
• Vision, expressed throughWWD+WWP matrix or equivalent
• Evidence of partner selection rationale
• Inclusive intervention tables
• Inclusive sector-level and program-level results chains