Sabir II Project Onsite TPM Services

Supported by the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Expertise France has launched the second phase of the Syria Area-Based Integrated Recovery (SABIR) project in order to respond to the protracted crisis in NES following the same integrated area-based approach, targeting a cluster of communities in specific geographic areas in the south of Al Hasskah and Ar-raqqa provinces, and taking into account the links and exchanges between sectors, local regions and stakeholders to maximize impact.

The SABIR II project was built on lessons learned from SABIR I, maintaining and expanding good practices, especially the successful area-based and holistic approach to respond to the inter-related and multi-sectoral needs as a mean for stabilization, while adopting a more active community engagement and localized approach under SABIR II through forming community-based committees who would represent the targeted communities and their interests. Particular attention is devoted to mitigating climate change, prevailing environmental degradation, and water scarcity in the NES.

SABIR project’s overall intended impact is to contribute to addressing the post-crisis recovery challenges to pave the path towards sustainable development. The sub-objective of SABIR II is to build more resilient local communities towards greater stabilization in the northeast of Syria.

SABIR II focus areas:

1) Support the recovery of essential services through the rehabilitation of public infrastructures.

2) Promote access to livelihoods and empower the local economy through agriculture, livestock, TVET, entrepreneurship, micro-grants, and other income-generating activities.

3) Reinforce the capacity of social capital through capacity development to partnered organizations and the Community-Based Committees.

The main activities of the project that will be supported within the first and second focus areas:

A. Rehabilitation of public infrastructure:

Activities that could improve access to essential services such as: (i) water supply for domestic and irrigation purposes complemented by climate smart techniques; (ii) electricity; and (iii) education infrastructures:

• Rehabilitation of water stations.
• Rehabilitation of irrigation networks and canals.
• Rehabilitation of small groundwater wells/equipping wells with solar energy systems.
• Rehabilitation of electricity networks/installation of new lines and transformers.
• Rehabilitation of schools to provide a better and safer learning environment.

B. Livelihoods and Economic Recovery:

Activities that could improve access to livelihoods and income generation for local households, including sustainable agricultural and non-agricultural livelihoods through input materials, cash-for-work opportunities, climate-smart techniques, extension, and training to create an enabling environment for efficiency and sustainability of interventions:

• Provision of agricultural inputs.
• Supporting the agriculture of fodder crops for piloting to cope with the water scarcity and climate change.
• Training for farmers on innovative agriculture techniques.
• Supporting environmental principles; household composting, organic farming, intercropping, crop rotation, etc.
• Provision of vaccines, veterinary care, fodder and training to livestock farmers.
• Provision of technical and vocational training/apprenticeship to increase the employability of local youth.
• Provision of small grants (in-kind) to expand startups.
• Supporting Cash for Work (CfW) activities.

C. Strengthening local capacity:

• Establishing Community Based Committees (CBCs) through SABIR II to build stronger links with local communities where the activities are to be implemented. These CBCs would ensure good coordination, outreach and communications with communities, conflict resolution during all project cycle from beneficiary selection to hand over of the implemented activity.
• Provide training to CBCs on coordination mechanisms, community dialogue, conflict management and resolution, and accountability.
• Conduct organizational capacity assessment for the eight implementing partners contracted under SABIR II to develop a tailored capacity building strategy and plan to be implemented.

1. Job Description/ Assignment

PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

EF is seeking a qualified firm to conduct third-party monitoring activities aimed at supporting the project MEAL processes and providing an independent verification of project activities implemented by partners. It is expected that through this TPM mission, EF will have an in-depth understanding of the project performance from different perspectives. This will be based on comprehensive analysis of each project and conclude findings into recommendations.

Assignments and tasks:

The key activities that will be covered by the firm will mainly include:

• Distribution monitoring/post-distribution monitoring of livestock and agriculture in-kind distribution of inputs depending on the timeline of activities.
• Distribution monitoring/post-distribution monitoring of cash business grants, or transaction monitoring of onsite activities and satisfaction surveys with business grants beneficiaries
• Verification of selection of beneficiaries if appropriate and within timeline.
• Attend and observe the technical vocational trainings conducted by partners if possible within the timeline.
• Conduct random training evaluation upon the completion of some technical vocational training courses.
• Satisfaction surveys with beneficiaries of the livelihood component (business grants, vocational training, livestock and agriculture beneficiaries, etc.)
• Conduct onsite monitoring of infrastructure rehabilitation activities in the areas of electricity, education, and water.
• Collect random feedback from the community to assess the project’s appropriateness to their needs and its potential impact.

1. Methodology

The onsite TPM methodology will be developed by the consultant as well as all relevant tools and presented in the inception report. The methodology should adopt a mixed-method approach comprising both qualitative and quantitative data including innovative approaches and methods. The sampling can be discussed with EF during the inception phase. The TPM exercises or cycles should enable EF to understand and assess the performance of the project as it is being implemented by the partners and assess any gaps that need remedy or intervention such as low quality of implementation, challenges faced, recommendations, etc.

o Desk review of background documents (project document, project monitoring data, progress report, mid-term review report, field visit reports etc).

o Quantitative surveys with beneficiary groups and checklists where possible

o Qualitative approaches such as

• Key informant interviews (e.g., with EF project staff members, partners’ key staff, local authorities, etc.) to gather substantial anecdotal evidence on the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance and impact of the project activities implementation and delivery.
• Focus group discussions (e.g., with community members of the infrastructure component, project beneficiaries, others, etc.)
• Other participatory approaches as recommended by the selected firm.

The developed methodology should ensure a participatory approach and should cover the Livelihood and WASH reapplication activities and the access to basic services component (rehabilitation of water, education and electricity infrastructure). The third component of the SABIR II project, the capacity building one, is not to be covered in this assignment.

1. Deliverables:

The selected firm is expected to lead, accomplish and submit the following deliverables within the agreed timeframe and budget:

1. An inception report and workplan, which will serve as an agreement between parties on how the mission will be conducted. Items to address:
2. Between 2 or 3 onsite TPM reports summarizing findings of activities verified by the TPM agency on the ground (15-20 pages each)

The report should cover the below sections:

• Executive Summary in bullet points (max. 2 pages)
• Introduction
• Methodology, including sampling and limitations
• Analysis and findings of the TPM exercise.
• Address concerns, lessons learned and comments from EF
• Recommendations to improve the projects after highlighting any gaps in the implementation if any.

All deliverables must be provided in English.

1. Eligible entities to apply:

• Local or international private consulting firm or organization with a bank account and an official and valid registration in Kurdistan Region of Iraq or neighboring countries, existence of a field team in the NES is mandatory.
• For consultancy companies, they need to have a current network in NES, with registration documents (preferrable).
• Coordinated team, through existing TPM, NGO, or association of able individuals.
• At least 7 years’ experience in working with humanitarian sectoral programs relating to livelihood, infrastructure, or education.
• Demonstrated experience with quantitative and qualitative research, data base management and statistical data analysis.
• Experience of working in NES is mandatory.
• Previous experience in on-site monitoring activities.
• Ability to deal with hardship and remote area field work
• Strong understanding of humanitarian and evaluation ethics and a commitment to ethical working practices
• Action-oriented and evidence-based approach and strong drive for results.
• Highly developed self-management and communication skills.