Market Assessment Consultancy (Deadline Extended!)

Near East Foundation - Lebanon

Request for Applications for Conducting a Market Assessment (Local Posting)

CONTRACT DATA

Period of Performance: November 2020 – December 2020

Location of Assignment: Beirut Lebanon (with Travel to travel to project locations in Tripoli, Berqayel, Halba, Taanayel and relevant communities/geographical areas)

Background: For 100 years, the Near East Foundation (NEF) has worked to build more sustainable, prosperous, and inclusive communities in the Middle East, Caucasus, and Africa through education, governance, and economic development initiatives. Working through a network of country offices and local partners, NEF currently has approximately 250 staff members – almost all nationals – and programs in ten countries: Armenia, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Mali, Morocco, Palestine, Senegal, Sudan, and Syria. Its programs are organized around three themes: Peacebuilding through Economic Cooperation, Climate-resilient Agriculture, and Microenterprise Development.

Assignment Overview: 

The Near East Foundation (NEF) is promoting economic empowerment among vulnerable individuals in Lebanon, including refugees and poor and marginalized women and youth. We achieve this through capacity building and support of market-linked skills development, development of new income-generating activities (IGAs) (refugees) and MSMEs (Lebanese), and access to services to support growth of existing, high-potential IGAs and MSMEs. These efforts are intended to support self-sufficiency and protection among target beneficiaries by expanding their access to economic and social resources. Our methods maintain sensitivity to competition and protection risks, reduce the potential for tension/misunderstanding, and foster social stability between displaced and host populations.

Many factors are important to the success of these economic activities, including access to markets, quality of products (quality inputs, standard production and processing skills), market demand, competitiveness and compatibility, easy availability of raw material/inputs and market trends/polarity, etc. In addition, activities and considerations related to vulnerable groups – e.g., obstacles, risks, and opportunities that are unique to men or women, youth or adults, people with disabilities, and/or other marginalizing characteristics. Thus, a robust market assessment and mapping must be conducted.

Building on the lessons of four years of experience and taking into account the dynamic economic situation in Lebanon, NEF has launched a fourth phase of this work, providing financial and non-financial services; assisting refugees and marginalized Lebanese develop life and technical skills, access social resources, and engage in IGAs to reduce their social and economic vulnerability while mainstreaming protection in all stages of the project).

This study will provide detailed focus on analysis of the current markets, livelihood capacities, and competencies in areas where NEF operates in Tripoli, Berqayel, Halba, Taanayel and other relevant communities/geographical areas. In consultation with the consultant, NEF will also identify three additional areas where it does not currently work for to conduct market analysis and livelihood capacity assessments.

The assessment methodology should include desk analysis and collection of primary data through focus group discussions, business surveys, key informant interviews, and market observations, as detailed in the present Terms of Reference (ToR), NEF’s assessment guidelines (Download Here) and sample (Download Here). It will also involve review and analysis of relevant policies and dynamics that affect access to economic opportunities, including government policies, access to financial services, access to markets, and transport.

Audience and Use: The key audiences of the study are the Near East Foundation, the donor, and the local Community Based Organizations in the project areas. The study will support targeting/planning of project activities and strengthening participants’ understanding of local market dynamics, opportunities, and risks. Information from the assessment report (or results) will also be shared with potential funding sources and may be shared with other stakeholders such as local decision makers and public policy makers within and outside of Lebanon.

Research Objectives: The assessment has several key objectives, which apply to current and potential geographic areas. Across each objectives, NEF is seeking an evaluation of market demand and opportunities for work and self-employment outside those traditionally offered by livelihoods programming (e.g., bookkeeping, cosmetic services, food preparation).

• Analyze and describe local markets, including current goods, services and employment in demand in the local market
• Identify, describe and assess livelihood opportunities related to these local markets, including promising business niches, potential employment and self-employment opportunities for refugees and vulnerable community members, noting how these opportunities differ for each demographic
• Identify, describe and assess livelihood capacities and competencies among target groups, including skills, resources and specific constraints around income earning opportunities for women and youth.
• Analyze how livelihood opportunities differ between the refugee and local community, including how they related to business creation and business expansion; identify opportunities and provide recommendations for entering into new market niches and for avoiding market saturation by project-supported entrepreneurs.
• Analyze the value for money (cost effectiveness and comparative analysis). This may include a cost-benefit analysis, a social return on investment calculation, benchmarks with comparable programs, or other approaches. Within this analysis, alternative programs should also be analyzed, such as “do nothing”, training and technical assistance only (no direct financial support), full government subsidies, and indirect market system development (no direct support to beneficiaries).
• Identify market dynamics with a focus on innovative partnerships (including partnership with the private sector) in addition to innovative, impactful delivery methods (e.g., in time of disruption, but also to reach scale, improve inclusivity of programs).
• Describe and recommend potential new locations to focus livelihoods interventions, particularly areas where there are significant concentrations of refugees, where need is high (regarding livelihoods support), where there is potential for microenterprises to flourish, and where there are significant service gaps (especially regarding livelihoods);

Research Methodology: The methodology and research tools to be employed during the assessment include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Desk Analysis

The consultant will review recent (last 5 years) documents related to the following: (1) existing market assessments in the target areas; (2) market regulatory and price control policies, laws and mechanisms (including those that restrict refugee livelihoods), (3) relevant documents on market trends, where available, especially for Tripoli and surrounding villages, and (4) other relevant documents, resources, and data sources.

• Market Mapping and Value Chain

The consultant will provide a general map of potential local and regional markets in terms of type, size and volume of market, supply chain, women- and youth-led businesses/trades, main access barriers, key trade organizations, and security arrangements, especially for women and youth.

• Interviews with Key Informants and Focus Groups

The consultant will interview key informants in the areas where NEF operates in Tripoli, Berqayel, Halba, Taanayel and relevant communities/geographical areas; these will include mainly women and youth, beneficiaries of NEF’s current programs, aspiring entrepreneurs, membership bodies (e.g. chamber of commerce, syndicates), suppliers, wholesalers, producers, farmers, vendors, consumers, financial institutions, and other relevant market and policy actors. The consultant also will conduct at least one focus group discussion in each project village involving individuals who are members of the targeted demographic for project beneficiaries: Lebanese and refugee women and youth.

Expected Outputs/Deliverables of the Consultancy: Under the supervision of the Country Representative, and with support from the M&E Officer, the Consultant will be required to deliver the following outputs:

• A brief inception report (maximum 5 pages), which details the consultant’s understanding of the work and context, methodology and includes a concrete action plan for delivering the outputs and proposed structure for the final report.
• A solid and well-organized draft report in English detailing the methodology, analysis, key findings, lessons learned and in-depth recommendations that will inform current project and future programming, submitted for review and comments to NEF by the 30^th of November 2020 with the possibility of having up to 3 rounds of reviews. Collected quantitative and qualitative data and analysis should be annexed. At this time, the consultant will also submit a concise (1 page) but detailed summary of the market analysis and livelihoods capacity assessment, including key findings, opportunities, constraints, recommendations, and service gaps.
• A 4-hour presentation/debriefing on the report, highlighting key results, lessons learned and recommendations to key NEF staff after the 14^th of December 2020. 
• A final version of the market assessment report by the 25^th of December 2020. The report will be written in English and submitted electronically in a MS – Word document. The consultant is responsible for proofreading the final report. The report should consist of:

• Executive Summary (no more than 1,500 words)
• Details of the assignment methodology and analysis
• Findings
• Conclusions and recommendations
• Lessons learnt from similar programs or initiatives
• Annexes

• The consultant shall prepare a brief workplan. The workplan should set out the consultant’s approach for conducting research activities for conducting the assessment. The period of consultancy should not exceed 20 working days, starting with the day the agreement is signed.

Deadlines:

• Contractual Starting Date: November 2, 2020
• Deadline for Inception Report: November 9, 2020
• Deadline for data collection phase: November 27, 2020
• Deadline for the draft report: December 7, 2020
• Deadline for the presentation/debriefing of the draft report: December 14, 2020
• Deadline for the final deliverables: December 25, 2020

NEF will be responsible for:

• Provision of previous and actual project documents for contextual background;
• Provision of previous Market Assessments and External Evaluations conducted;
• Logistics and transportation for the days of field work (including the FGDs) when applicable.
• The consultant is expected to use his/her own laptop and phone
• Payment Method:

The payment will be made as 35% in advance, 50% on submission of the draft report and 15% on approval of the final report. NEF will not be responsible for any further expenses incurred by the consultant during the consultancy visits and for any loss and/or damage to him/her.

Skills, experience and selection criteria:

• University degree in relevant field;
• Proven capability and experience in conducting similar assessments;
• Should have a clear vision for how to approach the project subjects and be able to build a trust and rapport with the subjects and communities being profiled;
• Experience in the livelihoods and protection sectors in Lebanon;
• Experience in research methodology;
• Experience in qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques including conducting focus group discussion and key informant interviews; 
• Ability to access to data and information sources, including contacts within relevant private sector and government entities;
• Native Arabic speaker;
• Excellent writing and communication skills in Arabic and English;
• Availability and willingness to travel to various areas in Lebanon during weekdays; and,
• Ability to work under strict and demanding timelines.