CONSULTANCY - CAPITALIZATION OF LESSONS LEARNED AND RECOMMANDATIONS

Expertise France is a French public agency under the tutelage of the French Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economy and Finance with a strong inter- ministerial vocation. Expertise France offers project engineering and technical assistance by developing and implementing international cooperation actions worldwide. The agency operates in various fields of development and institutional cooperation including safety and security reform, post-crisis/ stability, public health, human rights, strengthening of institutions and NGOs and governance. Carrying out large-scale, multi-stakeholder projects, Expertise France can ensure the cooperation between individuals, teams and institutions with very different statuses, cultures and specialties. Besides, Expertise France has acquired a sound experience in administrative and financial management of large-scale international projects and is accredited by the European Union for the management of delegated Community funds.

CONTEXT

The Middle East is currently experiencing a profound crisis. The conflicts in Syria and Iraq are both a reflection and a transmitter of this crisis, with growing potential to further destabilize neighboring countries and the wider region. These crises have resulted in a humanitarian disaster affecting more than 13.5 million people who were forced to flee their homes from Syria, and more than 17 million people in need of humanitarian aid (12.2 in Syria and 5.2 in Iraq). Lebanon is now home to the largest number of Syrian refugees per capita relative to its total population, putting a severe strain on the country’s fragile infrastructures, economy, and security. The population of Lebanon was estimated at about 4.8 million (including almost half a million Palestinian refugees) in 2013. Even though Lebanon has not signed the 1951 Refugee Convention, up to date it has taken in about a fourth of its own population.

REGIONAL PROGRAMME DESCRIPTION: QUDRA Resilience for Syrian refugees, IDPs and host communities in response to the Syrian and Iraqi crises

’Qudra – Resilience for Syrian refugees, IDPs and host communities in response to the Syrian and Iraqi crises’ is a regional action financed by the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis, the  Madad‘ Fund and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), seeking to strengthen the resilience of Syrian refugees, IDPs and host communities in response to the Syrian and Iraqi crises.  The programme launched in June 2016, is being jointly implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Expertise France (EF),  Spanish Agency for International Development (AECID) and Hungarian Interchurch Aid (HIA).

Qudra aims to build the resilience of host communities, refugees and displaced persons in five key areas (1) Improving school infrastructure and access to extracurricular activities (e.g. sports); (2) Expanding and improving basic vocational skills; (3) Strengthening social cohesion through community-based services; (4) Strengthening the capacities of local administrations; (5) Promoting dialogue and exchange of experience among the key stakeholders of the action.

PROGRAMME DESCRIPTION – SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE 3 : SOCIAL STABILITY

In Lebanon, Expertise France ensures the consistency and the implementation of the Specific Objective 3 of Qudra. The project seeks to improve social stability between communities in Lebanon through a comprehensive and local approach of protection for children and adults. To do so, activities revolve around four pillars: (i) support to Social Development Centers (SDCs) of the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA), (ii) Child Protection activities, (iII) protection activities and (iv) dissemination of information.

Expertise France is working within the framework of the LCRP and MoSA National Plan for Safeguarding women and children in close partnership with Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA). The programme is currently being implemented in 10 SDCs of MoSA.

Rehabilitation of the Social Development Centres are ongoing and should last until end January 2019. Protection activities are going to start as of November 2018, in the SDCs and through 5 mobile units. Expertise France has selected 4 local NGOs as partners to implement the activities.

The program is ending next June 2019. There could be a second phase on the Specific Objective focusing on institutional reinforcement of MoSa in terms of social system, with a continuation of rehabilitation/protection activities in current and new SDCs.

COORDINATION WITH IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS

A team of international external experts will conduct an appraisal mission in all 4 countries in which Qudra is currently active. In each country, the international experts will conduct interviews with the Qudra team (GIZ and Expertise France in Lebanon) and relevant stakeholders. Their mission will assess progress and achievements to date, identify lessons learned and design a potential second phase in keeping with the strategic priorities of its commissioning parties and its political partners.

The consultant will focus on the Specific Objective 3 (protection) whereas the team mentioned above will have a global approach. Coordination meetings will be organised to assure the smooth implementation of the consultancy.

1. general objective:

The general objective of this consultancy is to provide lessons learned / best practices for Expertise France related to QUDRA and to provide recommendations to strengthen implementation in the potential 3 coming years of program, in the field of institutional reinforcement of MoSa and social protection/child protection.  

This consultancy will be complementary to the mission of international experts led by GIZ, and will provide a decisive support in the writing of the Description of Action and logframe for a potential capitalisation on a second phase.

2. Specific objectives :
   1. To provide lessons learned on QUDRA for Expertise France
   2. To assess the needs in terms of protection reinforcement of MoSa / protection activities in SDCs in Lebanon
   3. Based on the needs assessment, to provide strategical recommendations in the field of institutional reinforcement and protection activities in Lebanon, for the end of the EF programme and for a potential follow-up
   4. To provide expertise on how to address and reinforce transversal issues (gender, environment, social cohesion) and how to address the question of the refugees return in the frame of the programme implemented by Expertise France.
3. guidelines :

The consultant will receive prior the mission a briefing by the implementation team in Paris and/or Beirut to review the context of the mission and have the same understanding of what is expected. He will receive notes and reports written during the life of the programme. He will also receive recommendations and key contact points from the programme director and from the programme manager for Expertise France in Lebanon.

4. deliverables :

Feedbacks of the mission

• Executive Summary with key findings, conclusions and recommendations
• Annexes including the ToR, a list of documents reviewed, and a list of persons interviewed

To provide lessons learned after 2 years of implementation

• Note on lessons learned
• Note on best practices in Lebanon

To conduct a needs assessment in Lebanon, on protection activities in SDCs at local level, and on institutional reinforcement of the protection system at national level. The needs assessment will be based on group and individual discussions on the field and with the Ministry.

To provide strategical recommendations in the field of protection in Lebanon for the end of the programme and for potential follow-up.

• Context note on protection
• Issues to be addressed and main challenges in the field of protection and social cohesion
• Note on the relevance of the programme
• Key actions to reinforce or implement in short or middle term to support protection national policies and strategies.
• Update the risk matrix of the component

Report Writing

• Provide written input for a proposition of logframe for a potential intervention on a second phase

To provide expertise on how to address and reinforce transversal issues (gender, environment, social cohesion) and address the question of the refugees return in the frame of the programme implemented by Expertise France.

• Recommendations to address transversal issues mentioned above.

   5. Technical Skills, Experience & Knowledge

A. Knowledge of the context

• A proven knowledge of protection program (Programing and implementation)

• A proven knowledge of the political and institutional context in Lebanon

• A proven knowledge of institutional reinforcement programming, in collaboration with the local government
• Understanding of the protection context and challenges, related to the Syrian crisis
• Knowledge of the Lebanese context and of the relationship between host and refugee communities.

B. General skills

• Master degree in the field of protection, Political science, public administration, gender studies, international law, international relations and other relevant
• 5 years’ experience in reports writing and proposal writing, at least 3 years’ experience on protection
• Work experience in Lebanon
• Proven ability to cooperate and negotiate with local and institutional partners as well as government representatives.
• Proven record of former assessment /evaluation reports
• Experience with complex evaluation design and implementation is an asset
• Excellent written and oral English language skills. Excellent written and oral Arabic language skills