Monitoring and Results Measurement Consultant for BOUZOUR Project - LBN/23/01/SWE

1. BACKGROUND AND OVERALL OBJECTIVE

Lebanon has been suffering from a severe financial and economic crisis with long-lasting effects on its economy and its people. With the drastic devaluation of the currency, prices of imported items have risen sharply, and households are now increasingly struggling to cover food needs. The combined effects of the crises have resulted in unprecedented levels of unemployment and pushed both the Lebanese population and the approximately 1.5 million Syrian refugees further into poverty. The Lebanese agriculture sector remains one of few sectors where both Syrian refugees and vulnerable Lebanese host communities can legally find employment as well as vulnerable Lebanese host communities but has been particularly hard-hit by the ongoing crises.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) is therefore implementing the BOUZOUR project ‘Building Inclusive Markets and Decent Work for Syrian refugees and Lebanese host communities’ funded by the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida). The project focuses on the agriculture and agri-food sector as a key sector for the livelihoods of both Lebanese and Syrian vulnerable population groups and in particular women of both communities and aim to develop specific agricultural and agri-food value chains with potential for decent job creation that will benefit both groups.

The project makes use of the ILO’s Approach to Inclusive Market Systems (AIMS)^[1] to safeguard jobs and livelihoods of vulnerable Lebanese and Syrian communities threatened by the crises and encourage decent job creation for both groups in sectors with potential.

The “Approach to Inclusive Market Systems” (AIMS) developed by the ILO and UNHCR, is a holistic and market-based livelihoods strategy that seeks to apply the “market systems” or “making markets work for the poor” approach to the context of forced displacement. Traditional approaches to livelihoods typically build the capacity of the target group through vocational training, for example. However, such approaches often run into significant problems as several people may start up the same income generating activity, in locations where additional market demand might not exist. This can result in a large percentage of new start-ups failing after a short time and may furthermore generate negative spillover effects on members of the host community who are already operating in this sector.

AIMS therefore takes a two-pronged approach that is based on the assumption that, in order for people to build sustainable livelihoods, two conditions need to be fulfilled:

• The existence of opportunities, either for self-employment if a certain good or service is demanded on the market, or for salaried employment if employers are looking for employees to recruit.
• The availability of the necessary skills and competencies to access these existing opportunities.

The Approach seeks to work on both sides in parallel. On the one hand, tailored interventions aim at developing the skills and capacities of the target group to engage with the market, and make use of existing opportunities, for instance through technical or entrepreneurial skills development and strengthening social networks. On the other hand, ILO’s value chain development approach is used to develop value chains with potential to expand and diversify the market opportunities available to the target group as well as the host community.

This is not a “one-size-fits-all” approach; it adjusts to each local context, legal framework and market realities. What AIMS proposes, subsequently, is a framework that makes it possible to identify value chains with potential economic opportunities for the target group while at the same time also paving the way for demand-side labour market interventions. In doing so, the framework ultimately enables the design of targeted interventions that respond to local market realities and challenges, in identified key value-chains.

2. OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF WORK

The project’s monitoring and results measurement (MRM) system is based on the Donor Committee for Enterprise Development (DCED) Standard for Measuring Results in Private Sector Development.

The MRM system is designed to structure data collection, strategy development, analysis and reporting.  The system will not only answer questions like ‘what happened or what did not happen’ but also analyse and explain ‘why something has worked or has not worked’.  Considering this, the purpose of using a DCED Standard-based results measurement system in the project is two-fold: i) to improve project performance; ii) to provide credible estimates of project achievements for reporting purposes. In terms of results measurement, the project sets benchmarks for each indicator of each intervention. 

The International Labour Organization (ILO) is seeking a consultant to develop, adjust, and enhance the project’s MRM system based on the DCED Standard to ensure comprehensive tracking and assessment of the 10 project interventions, each with its unique timeline.

The consultant’s key responsibilities are:

• Ensuring a sound TOC is in place as a starting point
• Review and refine the logical framework (logframe), outputs, outcomes, and indicators and targets (both qualitative and quantitative) of the program.
• Design the M&E framework, integrating gender-sensitive and impact-monitoring tools.
• Verify and identify resources required for effective data collection and monitoring.
• Establish intervention-specific timelines to allow for customized tracking and analysis of each intervention.

The consultant will adhere to the DCED Standard while delivering on two key phases:

Phase 1: Setting up the MRM System and Data Collection Methods

1. MRM System Design: Assist the project team in developing an MRM system that includes:

• Custom tracking mechanisms for each intervention to reflect their individual timelines, milestones, and deadlines.
• Result-oriented planning mechanisms for the overall project
• A centralized data repository for storing, tracking, and analysing gender-sensitive MRM-related data, ensuring that information from all interventions is accessible and comparable.
• Integration of gender-sensitive indicators and data tracking to inform gender-sensitive intervention adjustments.

1. Documentation: Develop comprehensive documentation of the MRM system, including:

• Methods and tools used in the setup.
• A clear, adaptable strategy for ongoing and intervention-specific data collection.

1. Baseline Data Collection: Support project team in rolling out a strategy for collecting baseline data for each result, aligned with its individual work plan.
2. Determine if other baseline/endline rapid assessments will be needed.

Phase 2: Assessment of interventions and Feedback

Since the 10 interventions have varying timelines, the MRM system must provide adaptive feedback to allow the project team to adjust strategies as data becomes available. This phase includes:

• Potential Impact Measurement: Develop methods to do this and identify and measure the number of beneficiaries who have increased productivity, income, or employment through the project’s interventions.
• Progress Tracking: Customize tracking for each intervention based on its timeline, ensuring all indicators are monitored.
• Analysis: Provide in-depth analysis of the collected data to:
  • Explain why certain interventions have succeeded or underperformed.
  • Identify initial indication of systemic change and provide attribution analysis to highlight broader project outcomes.
• Integration & Communication: Integrate all collected data into the MRM system and prepare communication materials, including:
  • Success stories highlighting significant achievements.
  • Infographics, charts, and other data visualizations for easy interpretation and dissemination.

3. DELIVERABLES (please check the attached ToR)

4. TIMELINE

The work is tentatively expected to start on November 2024 and continue till October 2025.

• All the produced documents will have to be submitted in English. The consultant will also submit to the ILO the following materials:
  1. Electronic copies of all data sets
  2. All quantitative and qualitative data (completed questionnaires, recorded interviews, focus groups, etc.)
  3. Any other documents that will be used or collected in the course of the consultancy

5. PAYMENT SCHEDULE

1. First payment covering 20% of the full payment, tentatively due by December 2024 upon satisfactory delivery and project approval on the following deliverable:
   • Deliverable 1: Workplan with a detailed timeline for the assignment and a proposal of a template MRM system for the project.
2. Second payment covering 20% of the full payment, tentatively due by January 2025 upon satisfactory delivery and project approval on the following deliverables:
   • Deliverable 2: Centralized data repository and creation of gender-sensitive tracking mechanisms. This includes documentation of the methods and tools used in the setup of the MRM system, including intervention-specific tracking and gender-sensitive tools.
3. Third payment covering 20% of the full payment, tentatively due by April 2025 upon satisfactory delivery and project approval of the following deliverable:
   • Deliverable 3 (Part 1): Comprehensive MRM reports for the first 5 interventions, including cleaned data (MS Excel/SPSS) and detailed quantitative and qualitative analysis.
4. Fourth payment covering 20% of the full payment, tentatively due by July 2025 upon satisfactory delivery and project approval of the following deliverable:
   • Deliverable 3 (Part 2): Comprehensive MRM reports for the remaining 5 interventions, including cleaned data (MS Excel/SPSS) and detailed quantitative and qualitative analysis.
5. Fifth and final payment covering 20% of the full payment, tentatively due by October 2025 upon satisfactory delivery and project approval of the following deliverable:
   • Deliverable 4: Continuous integration of data into the MRM system, preparation of success stories, data visualizations (infographics, charts), and systemic change reports.

  All payments are in fresh USD via international bank transfer. A USD account should be available in the name of the consultant for payment transfers.

6. FOCAL POINT (s) AT ILO

The consultant will coordinate with the Project Technical Officer, and with the backstopping of the relevant technical departments involved in the ILO Beirut Office and ILO Headquarters

7. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONs AND APPLICATION

This call is open for individual consultants only. Registered companies, registered institutions, organizations, and sole proprietorships with a legal identity are not eligible to apply.

To apply for this assignment the consultant should possess the following qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Monitoring & Evaluation, Economics, International Development, Social Sciences, or related fields.
• 5+ years in Monitoring & Results Measurement (MRM) for development projects.
• Proficient in quantitative and qualitative data analysis (MS Excel, SPSS, etc.).
• Proven experience in detailed MRM reporting and documentation of systems/tools.
• Proficient in English

It is considered an advantage candidates that have:

• Experience applying the DCED Standard for Measuring Results.
• Expertise in any of the following: agriculture, solar energy, entrepreneurship, and gender-sensitive program design.
• Experience working in Private sector development projects or similar contexts with refugee livelihoods.
• Experience with Market Systems Development (MSD) projects