Impact Evaluation Of The Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance

Timeframe:Two months from the start of consultancy Location: Beirut, Lebanon Consortium partners: ACTED, CARE, IRC, Save the Children, SOLIDARITÉS International, World Vision International Objective Evaluate the contribution of the LCC in achieving its principal objective ”to contribute to the improvement of the living conditions of the population affected by the Syrian conflict through multi-purpose cash assistance”; through achieving its theory of change and showing expected improvement in the LCC indicators. OVERVIEW AND RATIONALE FOR CONSORTIUM APPROACH After five years into the Syrian crisis in Lebanon, cash assistance has proven to be an effective modality for delivering humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable refugees in Lebanon. Humanitarian agencies have used cash or vouchers to support refugees and vulnerable Lebanese with rent, education, health, food and shelter. Building on the success of using cash and learning from the challenges of past approaches, the Lebanon Cash Consortium (LCC) was formed in June 2014 to support vulnerable refugees with multipurpose cash assistance via monthly payments. The Consortium approach aims to harmonize cash assistance provided by various agencies, reducing differences in targeting processes, consolidating various sectoral payments into a single payment, cutting the number of card types from two to one and instituting comprehensive analysis of households needs in place of the previous sectoral analysis. The consortium uses Inter-agency agreed upon targeting methodologies to identify socio-economically vulnerable households for assistance. Although coordination has been active in the Inter-Agency Cash Working Group, the LCC goes a step further bringing harmonized programming across its member agencies. This move has been intended to deliver greater efficiency and more coherence due to a centralized mechanism to channel funds, common tools and timelines and economies of scale. The previous pilot phase has built out the monitoring tools and information management systems, and given the consortium approach a considerable scalability. Technically, the consortium leverages the expertise and on the ground presence of six leading humanitarian agencies, each with a history of cash programming and with current active programs in many humanitarian and development fields. These aspects are expected to contribute to better joined-up programming leading to improved outcomes. The members of the consortium are ACTED, CARE, IRC, Save the Children International, SOLIDARITÉS International and World Vision International. These agencies have joined in a partnership governed by a funding agreement and guided by a steering committee with formal roles and responsibilities, a technical working group, a monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning group and a communications group. Eligible Syrian refugee households across the country receive multipurpose cash assistance (MCA) from the LCC to meet needs in line with the Inter-agency agreed gap in Survival Minimum Expenditure Basket (SMEB) of $175 per month transferred via ATM cards. The rationale behind the MCA modality choice goes beyond its unconditional use; it is safer than cash in envelop for the beneficiaries and for program staff, it involves less chances for misappropriation than vouchers, and it is considered by beneficiaries as “dignifying” because it leaves them the choice of timing, amount and frequency of withdrawing the money. Basic needs, which MCA is intended to meet, include food, housing, water, hygiene and clothing.The LCC is currently leading a SMEB review reprocess which could lead to a confirmation or revision of the package in 2016. Building on the achievements and lessons learned from the previous and current actions and studies, and through robust monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning systems, the LCC will keep on developing evidence and lessons learned to contribute to wider learning on multi-purpose cash programming in Lebanon and beyond. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The current study will be a mixed-method approach, utilizing qualitative (FGDs) and quantitative data.The quantitative part will entail two lines of research. The first line will compare beneficiaries to non-beneficiaries, using an impact evaluation methodology (Regression Discontinuity). In addition, the second line of this research will be comparing the same beneficiaries before and after receiving MCA for one year (Pre Post). This will build on the previous impact evaluation conducted for the six-month period of receiving LCC MCA. The main objectives will be as following: MCA will prevent the increase of negative coping mechanisms, including food and non-food, among beneficiaries and through the course of assistance (CSI indicator). MCA will enable beneficiaries to access their basic needs, and improve expenditure on food and non-food items listed in the SMEB MCA will allow beneficiaries to achieve acceptable Food Consumption Scores (FCS indicator). Thus, MCA will contribute to the improvement of the living conditions of the Syrian families supported under the multi-purpose cash assistance In sum, the impact evaluation line intends to measure the negative and positive outcomes of cash assistance to households in terms of their coping strategies and abilities to meet their basic needs. Accordingly it will measure the achievement of the above theory of change. The qualitative part will be a combination of 16 FGDs (8 Males – 8 Females) across the 8 governorates in Lebanon. The main aim of the FGDs is to triangulate the findings with the findings of the impact evaluation. As such, the objectives of the FGDs are aligned with those of the impact evaluation. PURPOSE OF THE IMPACT EVALUATIONThe main objective of the impact evaluation of the multipurpose cash assistance to Syrian refugees is to provide the donor, the LCC and other cash program stakeholders in Lebanon with an independent assessment of the achievements made by the program. It aims to generate learning and guide strategic direction and possible re-design of cash programming by providing evidence of its appropriateness, effectiveness and impact. It will be a valuable chance to assess whether multipurpose cash contributes to increasing access of Syrian refugees to essential food and non-food items, thus to improving access to the survival minimum expenditure basket, achieving food security and reducing the most negative coping strategies, after receiving cash for 12 months, which are indeed the objectives of the donors. ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT EVALUATION Evaluation questions What is the contribution of the MCA in helping beneficiaries meet their basic needs, and what gap is MCA filling? After consulting the baseline and midline evaluation reports, what is the difference in beneficiaries’ lives during the period they receive MCA and after receiving the LCC MCA for 12 months? Do the objectives of the LCC, based on the results of the revised SMEB, correspond with the needs and priorities of the beneficiaries? What is the impact of the MCA on the households’ expenditure priorities, debt reduction, coping strategies, income resources, access to credit, type of expenditures (including remittances), social network and access to healthcare? Has any negative impact of LCC MCA been observed at the individual, household and community level? How do beneficiaries cope with the end of the assistance? The impact evaluation will also incorporate several constructs regarding HH constitution, such as rent, income, number of people in a family working, etc.Indicators to measure (see annexes) (1.1) Percentage of beneficiaries whose use of negative Coping Strategies (Index) has not increased by the end of their assistance (CSI)(1.2) Percentage of the target population that achieves acceptable Food Consumption Scores (FCS) (2.1) Percentage of beneficiaries’ whose expenditure on access to essential goods and services listed in the Survival Minimum Expenditure Basket (SMEB) has improved. (3.2) Percentage of beneficiaries that withdrew the full amount of cash transfer value by the end of the MCAAdditional analysis Moreover, the evaluation will take an in depth look at the intended and unintended outcomes of the provision of MCA on the access to basic needs and inter community relationships (social tensions), in order to recommend improvements for longer-term strategies, focusing on program quality and accountability, and contribute to learning in a wider perspective within the agencies. The appropriateness, effectiveness and impact should also be evaluated against the international standards of emergency and humanitarian aid (like Sphere and HAP) and the donor’s objectives. OVERVIEW OF CONSULTANCY To this end, the IRC is seeking a consultant to conduct the Impact Evaluation Analysis and produce a report on the impact and on the achievements of the cash consortium. The consultant will build on previous studies conducted by the LCC on the outcomes and impact of the MCA, especially the baseline and midline studies. S/he will report to IRC’s MEAL Manager for the LCC, and will work closely with the LCC’s lead agency (Save the Children) and other consortium members as needed. Tasks and Deliverables Review the LCC documents, focusing on MEAL and research tools and documents, as well as other cash programs documents in the SRR region Submit an evaluation proposal to IRC, which lays out the objectives, evaluation questions, sampling, methodology, analysis design, and timeline… Produce an impact evaluation executive summary that can be used as a separate document for press release and learning event(s), which will be accessible to a general audience. One report on the Impact evaluation: a detailed description of the entire impact evaluation (description of the cash program, research design, data collection activities, results of data analysis, executive summary, conclusions.), along with the pre-post findings. This report provides a clear statement of the objective of the impact assessment; the literature review; a description of the programme including its objectives; a detailed documentation of all the activities conducted (research design, data collection activities, data cleaning and meeting tests’ assumptions, results of data analysis, regression graphs); a description of the methodology used; a description of the method of targeting; the limitations of the research design and execution;findings, interpretation of results, conclusions and when appropriate, recommendations for programme improvement. A presentation: a non-technical PowerPoint presentation of the Impact Evaluation research design and findings, with a focus on the latter. A research dissemination meeting in Lebanon, to take place during May-June 2016. The meeting will be organized by the ERD Programme of the IRC. The consultant will present the findings of the report and respond to questions from the audience. The audience could include the Government of Lebanon, Donors, national and international Humanitarian Aid Organizations (UN and non-UN). The report needs to be clear and easy to read if it is to be accessible and effective. Consultant should write for a general audience, and should bear in mind that English will not be the first language of many readers. Technical and academic jargon must be avoided, with an additional detailed technical note that can be shared upon request. Not all stakeholders will necessarily agree with the findings; this should be reflected in the report.All deliverables must be approved by the IRC MEAL Manager for the LCC before being considered final. TIMEFRAME 50 days is allotted for the completion of these pieces of work. The consultancy will start on April 25, 2016 and the final outputs should be completed by June 30, 2016.