Consultancy: SEE Change Action Research Consultancy

Terms of References

SEE Change Action Research Consultancy

1. BACKGROUND INFORMATIONS

Lebanon continues to witness multifaceted and intertwined crises that further aggravate a vulnerable socio-economic situation pushing a substantial percentage of Lebanon’s residents under the poverty line. The severe economic crisis was compounded with COVID-19 pandemic and a devastating blast in Beirut port that destroyed large neighbourhoods in the capital, and led, in August 2020, to the resignation of the government. In the absence of a functioning government, the socio-economic and Covid-19 situations have continued to deteriorate. 

Social Entrepreneurship (SE) is increasingly regarded as a tool capable of easing communal tensions and contributing to communities’ socio-economic development. SEs can “contribute to the economic security of all segments of the population and contribute to economic diver­sity as it invests in territorial development and proximity, promoting community participation, prioritizing local impacts and modelling participatory values”^[1].

In Lebanon, a 2019 mapping showed that SE has recently gained more national visibility among urban communities in big cities^[2]. This can be explained by the fact that SE responds to the national priorities and is aligned with Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (LCRP) goal, and the strategy of both the Livelihood and Social Stability Sector. During the past few years, several projects started promoting SE as a tool to strengthen social stability and support local economic development for Lebanese, Palestinian, and Syrian refugees. Some of the projects invested in building the knowledge and awareness of community members on social entrepreneurship, others supported the identification of social ventures and their evolvement into SE through the provision of ad hoc technical and financial support, while others focused on developing a legal framework for social entrepreneurship^[3].

Brief presentation of projects

SEE Change: Oxfam in partnership with Beyond group and COSV is implementing an EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian crisis (EUTF) Funded project entitled “Social Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Change” (SEE Change).  As of September 2020, and over the course of three years, the project will be implemented in five different areas in Beqaa, North, South and Mount Lebanon.

The project aims at increasing   the   impact   of   social entrepreneurial activities in Lebanon, creating employment and social stability opportunities, and supporting the local economy.

The action aims to have an impact on 4 levels:

• Technical level: Developing the capacity of around 7000 community members through the provision of trainings on SE, social economy, social impact measurement, and community outreach.
• Social level: Engaging at least 200 community members in: 1) identifying local assets that hold the potential of being transformed into social justice incubation programs, 2) monitoring and measuring the social impact of SEs that will be supported by the program.
• Economic level: Providing technical and financial resources to support the scale-up, social and economic impact of around 60 existing SEs. Additional support will be provided for the Social Entrepreneurship Support Organisations (SESOs) to ensure that they provide improved and tailored support to the SEs.   
• Policy level: Sustaining the advocacy work initiated through previous projects, namely BADAEL[4], FURSA[5], and MedUp![6], aimed at creating a conducive ecosystem for SEs, civic engagement, and inclusive economic development.

2. PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH/ RATIONALE

Oxfam is looking for a research consultant to conduct an Action-Learning Research. The research aims to achieve the following objectives: track the implementation of the project across all its successive phases, identify key challenges that require prompt solutions, document the adopted approaches and procedures, and compile learnings.

Practically, the researcher will assess the assumptions that were used to design the specific activities in each stage of the project, those related to the roles and needs of the local communities, SEs, and the SESOs. The research will also assess the assumption related to the advocacy and influencing work that will be implemented throughout the project.

Therefore, the research will be guided by the following research questions:

• How are communities involved in social entrepreneurship activities? How can they play a role in oversight and monitoring of social impact?
• What were the needs of the local communities to take on their role? Did the Project provide them with those requirements?
• Was the support provided to SEs and SESOs relevant to their context and operations? Did the support provided benefit the SEs and SESOs and helped in scaling-up their operations?
• Did the advocacy plan target the right audience? Were the approaches and tools used coherent with the set objectives?
• What other activities were recommended to pursue the objectives of the Project?
• What are the main lessons learned from the project?

The findings will be generated periodically throughout the implementation of the project, to allow the team to incorporate the recommendations during implementation.

3. SUGGESTED METHODOLOGY

The research consultant is expected to develop the methodology for the research, manage the research using qualitative and quantitative tools, and produce research pieces that document the process and the learnings.

To meet this expectation, the action learning research consultant is expected to monitor, take part, and follow-up on all the activities that will be implemented by the different partners in the consortium. He/she shall provide feedback on the implementation and the process adopted by the end of each activity. Additionally, the consultant must provide a progress report every 6 months to the project team where he/she provides more detailed comments on the course of the action, gives suggestions for improvements, and generates lessons learnt from the implementation process. The consultant must be able to generate case studies and policy briefs to better document the findings.

By the end of the project, the consultant should present to the project team a consolidated study on the observations he/ she has on the project activities implemented throughout the whole project, what are the recommendations for future planning on similar actions, and what kind of lessons can be extracted from similar projects.

4. EXPECTED DELIVERABLES

The consultant is expected to submit the deliverables listed below:

Expected total number of days is between 45 and 60:

• Type of Deliverable: A. Final methodology and workplan

Deadline:  One week into the assignment

• Type of Deliverable: B. Development of the tools used to collect data prior to each phase (e.g. observation checklist, semi-structured interviews, Key Informant Interviews (KII), online surveys, etc…

Deadline:  Before the implementation of each phase

• Type of Deliverable: C. Feedback on each project activity (meeting, call, short report, etc…)

Deadline:  After every activity agreed with the project team

• Type of Deliverable: D. Progress report on the implementation

Deadline:  Every 6 months

• Type of Deliverable: E. Final report

Deadline:  By the end of the project

Consultant qualifications:

This project should be led by a consultancy group or an individual with:

• Relevant work experience in conducting similar research studies for businesses, social businesses, associations and NGOs;
• Prior experience working with SEs/SMEs in Lebanon;
• Strong experience in conducting quantitative and qualitative research;
• Experience facilitating discussions on online platforms;
• Tech-savvy and agile, able to deploy tech devices and programs for the benefit of conducting meetings and interviews using digital applications such as Zoom and Microsoft teams.
• Excellent interpersonal, organizational, and time-management skills;
• Excellent communications skills in English, including advanced writing skills;
• Strong communication skills in Arabic are preferred;
• Availability to start immediately and to follow the implementation of the project over 3 years