Researcher

Invitation to Tender for Research on Interventions to support protection and recovery in emergencies (INSPiRE)   Community-based responses to the protection of female members of the host and refugee community in Shatila camp – Beirut, Lebanon   Organization:          Basmeh and Zeitooneh for Relief and Development Job Title:                 Researcher Job location:           Shatila camp, Beirut Start Date:              15-October 2017   Background Basmeh and Zeitooneh works on relief and development in marginalized and vulnerable areas in Lebanon and Turkey.  In March 2017, the Protection program in partnership with Trócaire, began implementing the first phase of the participatory action research project using an art and drama therapy approach with a group of females from both the host and refugee community. Trócaire works in partnership with local NGOs, communities and in particular with women, girls and at-risk groups to prevent, mitigate and respond to threats against their safety, dignity and rights in humanitarian contexts that are highly vulnerable to current and future crises and shocks. This research is part of a wider program of research in Lebanon/Syria, Myanmar and DRC, linked to protection programming in each context.   We are seeking an Arabic and English-speaking academic researcher to work closely with a team consisting of an art therapist facilitating the sessions, a clinical social worker providing ongoing support to the participants, and both Basmeh&Zeitooneh Protection Program Manager and Trócaire Protection Adviser. The research project will support women to use creative methodologies including drama exercises and artistic tools to explore themes and issues that are relevant to them. The research team will then adapt and translate these research outputs into a form that can be used in future programming, for example short video narratives or exhibitions with accompanying discussion guides.   Aims and objectives of the research The aim of this project is to inform Protection of Women and Girls programming, including mental health and psychosocial support response in Shatila Camp – Beirut, Lebanon. The risks and threats experienced by people in humanitarian emergencies are often influenced by pre-existing power dynamics and vulnerabilities. Those who hold less power in society, are dependent on others for survival or are otherwise marginalized are more likely to be exposed to risks of harm. People affected by humanitarian crises often experience distinct and cumulative disadvantages linked to their gender, age and social location. Women and girls in humanitarian settings are often disadvantaged by gender discrimination, disproportionate risks of experiencing sexual and gender based violence, barriers to access and enjoyment of services (including health, psychosocial and justice services), socio-economic disadvantage, lack of participation and representation in public life and legal systems that do not adequately uphold their rights. Increasingly complex and protracted crises have led to increased pressures on local actors to implement protection programming in remote or urban conflict-affected environments where there is a significant level of complexity of need and there may be few services to which to refer individuals who require more specialized support. Local actors are often best placed to ensures ‘goodness of fit’ between support needed and support offered, ensuring that people in crisis have access to community based supports that are culturally meaningful, relevant and appropriate and avoid causing harm.   Objective 1: The researcher will support Basmeh&Zeitooneh staff to conduct participatory research with program participants to understand how women mobilise processes of support, including informal mechanisms of coping and adaptive responses to adversity. Women participants will be supported to reflect and analyse strategies and processes they engage with informally in family and community settings and their experience of engaging with formal structures and programs, and develop creative outputs which include paintings, video, drama or narrative accounts based on these experiences of coping and support.   Objective 2: These participant accounts of lived experience will directly inform programming, through the adaptation of existing programming and the integration of materials generated through the process in future programs with women in each setting.   Theoretical and conceptual framework This research is underpinned by a pragmatic approach that is action orientated and seeks to inform changes in practice. A gender analytic lens is employed throughout to examine in detail how displaced adult females experience differential impacts and engage in gendered adaptive behaviors in emergency contexts. While the increased susceptibility of girls and women to symptoms of psychological distress following potentially traumatic events is a robust and thus far unexplained finding,4 much less is known about how adaptive responses to emergencies are shaped by socially constructed gender roles and how this intersects with age related or generational differences. Intersectional analysis of age and gender will be employed throughout. Consistent with a pragmatic approach, the research is primarily focused on participatory intervention design including a specific focus on coping, adaptation and identity in humanitarian contexts in supporting psychosocial wellbeing and social connection. Social Innovation The participatory ethnographic research will contribute to the development of socio-culturally adapted interventions for use in the context of the Syria response. These innovation products will have lasting social benefit, firstly in reducing human suffering associated with conflict-related distress but also in linked domains, given the centrality of mental health for sustainable development and building cultures of peace.   Methodology Participatory research with female program participants in Shatila camp, Beirut, to identify, analyze and reflect on informal, culturally grounded mechanisms of psychosocial health and wellbeing, in the context of adversity. This will generate much needed knowledge on how conflict affected women cope and respond to experiences of difficulty. This process will result in the co-design of culturally relevant tools and resources (for example dramas or narratives) for use in protection interventions in the program context. The overall modality of the project would be that a researcher would serve in an advisory role supporting Basmeh&Zeitooneh to engage in participatory research with program participants and support the adaptation of the program in response to the outcomes of the research. In Beirut, this will involve working with a small group of women program participants at B&Z community center. These women have been participating in an ongoing PAR process since March 2017. The researcher is expected to hold three workshops with the participants and to hold in-depth interviews to gather relevant data for the key research questions.   Key Questions What are the key findings and recommendations in terms of psychosocial programming regarding identity during displacement? Given that the participants have been attending activities at the center in Shatila for an average of 12-15 months, what is the value of this enduring support from the staff’s perspective? How does providing ongoing support to the same individuals and families reflect on their interaction with beneficiaries? This would be a particularly useful finding for the sector where people are engaged for a short period of time. When the space is led by the participants, it implies that belonging, listening and understanding have shifted from the common perspective of support provision. How does this translate in the delivery of psychosocial support from the common understanding? Shatila is a divided space where most people prefer to go unseen. This approach works to support women in exploring different mechanisms applied in coping and adaptation, and highlights belonging and standing out. How can our programming and interventions better serve to support women and girls in these processes of coping, adaptation and psychosocial resilience, particularly potentially vulnerable and marginalised women and girls who may have difficulty accessing existing support structures? How can we best translate this new understanding and knowledge into practical tools and guidance for program staff?   Expected Outputs of the Participatory Action Research Project A research report, to include an executive summary, a list of acronyms, a literature review, a methodology section, an analysis section and a discussion section. Data collected through the research should be anonymised and presented in a digital annex to the report. (Delivery of this research output will be led by the researcher). A booklet outlining the technical approach aimed at practitioners, in order to use the learning from this process in future protection programming in Shatila and more broadly. (Delivery of this research output will be led by the researcher). An exhibition of paintings developed through the research (delivery of this output will be led by B&Z).  Photo and video documentation of research outputs (delivery of this output will be led by B&Z). A booklet/ leaflet for participants to share with their families and community networks including reproductions of the paintings and a short input from each participant beside their artwork (delivery of this output will be led by B&Z).    Timeline The above outputs will be completed before the end of December 2017.   The research requirements include An initial brief report outlining the research methodology submitted for feedback to Basmeh and Zeitooneh and Trócaire, and finalised within an agreed timeframe. Close engagement with Basmeh & Zeitooneh Protection Unit and the Trócaire HQ Technical Adviser in order to inform the research and facilitate ownership and uptake of findings. Project activities and final report to be completed within an agreed timeframe. A presentation and validation with partner staff and Trócaire staff and a presentation to the protection working group or MHPSS working group in-country. Regular progress updates to Basmeh & Zeitooneh and Trócaire along an agreed timeframe. Program tools and guides, using participatory creative outputs developed by participants, which can be used in future programming in the context of Shatila. A clear breakdown of costs to be provided. Research report to be completed within the agreed timeframe.   Budget All costs associated with the research such as researcher fees, transcription fees, and communications fees should be included in the overall budget to be submitted. Basmeh&Zeitooneh will cover the costs of creative sessions with participants, photo and video documentation as well as research dissemination.