Switzerland: CONSULTANT STRENGTHENING ACCOUNTABILITY TO AFFECTED POPULATIONS (AAP) THROUGH NETWORK LEARNING

Organization: International Council of Voluntary Agencies
Country: Switzerland
Closing date: 12 Oct 2014

Terms of Reference

Research consultant

strengthening accountability to affected populations (AAP)*through network learning*

1. Summary

ICVA is seeking to carry out a desk review in order to explore examples of Best Practices in the area of Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) and how these are shared with peers through partnerships and/or networks both in operational settings and via policy development. The research output should also identify, where possible, the extent to which the IASC’s Commitments for Accountability to Affected Populations are reflected in NGO accountability practices.

1. Rationale

In light of these commitments and as a member of the IASC, ICVA is seeking to conduct a desk review to highlight some examples of Best Practice within the ICVA membership and wider humanitarian community to identify various means of employing tools and methodologies to achieve organisational goals on AAP. Earlier this year, ICVA’s three Regional Hubs hosted learning events with member and non-member NGOs to share their respective understanding and approaches to AAP. The results of the desk review will be used to inform future workshops and advocacy to strengthen the visibility of AAP within the NGO community.[1]

1. Objectives

The objectives of the consultancy are to:

1. Based on the results of the desk review, identify a strategy and methodology for collecting Best Practice examples and advocacy routes at the regional and country level through ICVA’s members and indicate how to improve upon dissemination within the ICVA network.
2. Identify ways that AAP can be enhanced by ICVA’s policy outreach and advocacy.
3. Make recommendations as to where, within the current tools and resources available, the ICVA Secretariat can strengthen the commitments to AAP. These recommendations should be defined with a view to informing future activities in support of AAP at the Geneva and regional levels.

The consultancy will refer to the various global initiatives on AAP (such as the Sphere Project, the on-going process of developing a Core Humanitarian Standard, the HAP International Standard, etc.) and will explore the relationship of current Best Practice to the five commitments identified by the IASC. These include:

1. Leadership/governance: ensuring feedback and accountability mechanisms are integrated into country strategies, programme proposals, monitoring and evaluations, recruitment, staff inductions, trainings and performance management, partnership agreements, and highlighted in reporting.
2. Transparency / Information sharing: providing accessible and timely information to affected populations on organizational procedures, structures and processes that affect them to ensure that they can make informed decisions and choices, and facilitate a dialogue between an organization and its affected populations over information provision.
3. Feedback and Complaints: Actively seeking the views of affected populations to improve policy and practice in programming, ensuring that feedback and complaints mechanisms are streamlined, appropriate and robust enough to deal with (communicate, receive, process, respond to and learn from) complaints about breaches in policy and stakeholder dissatisfaction.
4. Participation: Enabling affected populations to play an active role in the decision-making processes that affect them through the establishment of clear guidelines and practices to engage them appropriately and ensure that the most marginalized and affected are represented and have influence.

5. Design, monitoring and evaluation: Designing, monitoring and evaluating the goals and objectives of programmes with the involvement of affected populations, feeding learning back into the organisation on an on-going basis and reporting on the results of the process. The organisation learns from experience to continually improve its performance

6. Methodology

The methodology for the assessment will include a desk review of relevant IASC and ICVA (and member) documents as well as what is more broadly found to be relevant (by the consultant) within the humanitarian community.

The consultant will have access to ICVA’s archive and online materials for the synthesis. The consultant will provide periodic progress updates to ICVA’s Director of Partnerships and Policy. The consultant will benefit from some preliminary materials to be provided by ICVA including some existing AAP materials, the reports from the regional learning events and list of key informants.

The Asia Regional Representative and the Director of Partnerships & Policy will be the consultant’s main contacts to provide oversight to the desk review, and to help identify relevant documents and focal points, as well as review the recommendations of the report.

5.Deliverables

1. A draft work plan outlining timeline, list of key resources and contact persons
2. A draft inception report outlining results of the desk review and identifying a preliminary list of positive trends in AAP learning and perceived obstacles
3. A final report of not more than 20 pages which meets the three objectives above, highlighting the AAP learning and practice trends, as well as a detailed methodology for collecting Best Practice examples and advocacy routes at the regional and country level through ICVA’s members
4. Timeline and costs

Compensation will be competitive and in accordance with the experience of the consultant. It would cover up to 15 consultancy days. The final report will be due Friday, 14 November.

1. Supervision

Supervision will be remotely by the Asia Regional Representative (based in Bangkok) and by the Director of Partnerships & Policy (based in Geneva).

1. Qualifications or specialized knowledge/ experience required

· Proven understanding of and professional experience working on issues related to accountability to affected populations.

· 8 years of progressively responsible professional work experience with a focus on humanitarian and/or international assistance.

· Excellent writing, conceptual and analytical skills.

· Demonstrated professional research and writing experience.

9.Deadline for Submissions

[1] The IASC defines accountability as “the obligation on the part of public officials to report on the usage of public resources and answerability for failing to meet stated performance objectives”^[1]. In April 2011, the Inter Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Principals agreed that communication with and inclusion of crisis-affected populations in providing humanitarian assistance are integral parts of achieving accountability to affected populations. The IASC Principals endorsed five Commitments for Accountability to Affected Populations (see below) and agreed to incorporate these into the policies and operational guidelines of their respective organizations. They also agreed to promote these Commitments with operational partners, within Humanitarian Country Teams and amongst humanitarian Cluster members, and to develop plans to put these commitments into practice.

How to apply:

Interested candidates are requested to submit (1) a letter of interest, outlining their relevant background and experience, (2) an updated CV, and (3) 1 writing samples to recruitment4@icvanetwork.org with Q and A research in the subject line by Sunday 12 October, 2014.