Case Study Consultancy

Terms of References

Case Study

1. BACKGROUND INFORMATIONS

Lebanon continues to witness multifaceted and intertwined crises, which puts the country and its people in a vulnerable position. The severe economic crisis was compounded with the increasing number of COVID-19 cases being reported starting from September 2020. Furthermore, the explosion that destroyed large neighbourhoods in Beirut, on August 4, 2020, led to the resignation of the government and further social, economic and administrative demise.

Protests in Beirut broke out on Saturday August 8th and Sunday August 9th, demanding accountability and justice following the blast.

Social entrepreneurship 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 SE, others supported the identification of social ventures and their evolvement into SE through the provision of ad hoc technical and financial support, and others focused on developing a legal framework for SE[3].

2. Brief Presentation of Project

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 has been 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 Organizations (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.

3. Purpose of Consultancy /Rational

Oxfam through SEE Change is seeking to recruit a research consultant to conduct two case studies on the process of designing, developing, and implementing support services for social enterprises. The purpose of conducting case studies is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the impact of technical and financial support on development of Social Enterprises (SE).

The case studies aim to highlight the importance and effectiveness of the technical and financial support provided in promoting the growth and success of social enterprises’ projects by examining their growth stages. The case studies will focus on the following topics:

1. Design Process Evaluation: The consultant will evaluate the technical and financial support design process, this includes strategic planning, target audience, needs assessment and service development and in what way they complement the social enterprises identified needs.
2. Implementation Evaluation: The consultant will evaluate implementation strategies to ensure that the support provided was delivered efficiently. This includes coordination mechanisms, frameworks and guidelines, and a monitoring process to track the progress and impact of support provided to SEs.
3. Measuring impact: The main objective of the studies is to show up the impact of support services on the development of social enterprises (SEs). The Consultant will analyze the result, outcomes, and achievements resulting from the provision of technical and/or financial support. This includes assessing the growth and sustainability of social enterprises, improvement of their operational efficiency, and positive social and environmental changes.
4. Identification of Lessons Learned and Best Practices: Based on the findings and results of the studies conducted, the consultant will identify lessons learned and best practices. These insights will be used to make recommendations to improve existing services or develop new ones.

4. Suggested Methodology

The consultant is tasked with developing a methodology of two case studies, which aims to highlight the process of designing, developing and implementing support services for the social enterprise, to obtain an in-depth analysis of the impact and success of the financial and technical support provided throughout the life of the project through the following:

1. Conducting interviews with social enterprises that have received financial and technical support from SEE Change.
2. Conduct Key Informative Interviews (KIIs) with the support organizations (SESOs) that provided technical support, as well as the SEE Change team including partners and possible other consultants who have worked with SEs and SEE Change.
3. Preparing a detailed evaluation report summarizing the results, findings, recommendations and lessons learned.

5. Expected Deliverables

The consultant is expected to present the deliverables listed below:

Type of deliverable

Description

Expected number of weeks

A Final Methodology with a clear work plan

Methodology that highlights the research questions, data collection tools, sample description, and clear timeline.

1

 Interviews and KIIs

Conduct interviews with the SEs, SESO and team

3

 Case study (draft)

Present a draft report, including the research findings and initial recommendations (number of rounds of feedback depends on the report quality)

3

 Case study (Final)

Submit a final report, incorporating feedback and finalizing the recommendations

2

6. Qualifications

This project should be led by a consulting firm or individual with the following experience

• Relevant experience in conducting case study with proven track record for professional delivery of high-quality products.
• Previous experience with INGOs.
• Strong expertise in conducting both quantitative and qualitative research.
• Excellent English communication skills, including advanced writing abilities.
• Strong Arabic communication skills preferred.
• Immediate availability to start the project.

[1] Developing Social Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation in the Mediterranean and Middle East. 2019. Tallie Hausser, Constantin Tsakas, Karine Moukaddem. Med Brief No 23.

[2] BRD, 2019. Mapping of SE in Lebanon. Unpublished report.

[3] EU MADAD-funded BADAEL and EU MADAD-funded FURSA

[4] A project implemented by Oxfam, BRD, Utopia, and Najdeh between 2017 and 2020. It aimed to raise awareness around social entrepreneurship in tens of local communities in Bekaa and North Lebanon, supported 45 SEs financially and technically, contributed to national advocacy initiatives

[5] A project implemented by SFCG, COSV, UPP, NOVAC between 2015 – 2018. It aimed to strengthen the prospects of youth in refugee and host communities for social and economic inclusion in Iraq, Lebanon and Turkey. COSV supported 10 SEs among 25 SMES.

[6] A regional project that is currently being implemented by Oxfam in different countries in the MENA region, including Lebanon. The project aims to support over 10 SESOs and 10 SEs, contribute to national advocacy initiatives, and create platforms for regional and international exchanges