1. Summary
Purpose:
This review will assess the satisfaction, relevance, efficiency and effectiveness of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent and Moldova Red Cross Society emergency response to the Ukraine and Impacted Countries Crises in Moldova, to inform the continued response as well as future emergency relief operations.
Commissioners:
This review has been commissioned by the Head of Country Office, IFRC Moldova and the Head of Country Cluster Delegation.
Audience:
The primary audience for this review would be displaced people from Ukraine, Moldova Red Cross Society, IFRC Moldova Office. The secondary audience would be external stakeholders such as relevant local government.
Duration of consultancy:
Approximately 30 working days, with approximately 7-14 days in the field.
Estimated dates of consultancy:
Within 17 July 2023 – 31 August 2023
Geographical scope of consultancy:
Republic of Moldova including the following districts:
Calarasi, Criuleni, Falesti, Telenesti, Anenii-Noi, Basarabeasca, Edinet, Balti, Orhei, Briceni, Comrat, Ungheni, Rezina, Chisinau, and Drochia.
2. Background
The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is supporting Moldova Red Cross in the Ukraine and Impact Countries Emergency Appeal until 31 December 2025. The Moldova Red Cross Society, together with the Federation members, published a revised National Society Response Plan in April 2023 focusing on the provision of assistance via three main pillars: Food & Water, Health & Care, sanitation and hygiene services (WASH), integrated assistance support (which includes Shelter, Housing and Settlements, Livelihoods, and multi-purpose cash assistance), with the establishment and scaling up of Humanitarian Service Points, and protection and prevention while taking into account the seasonal constraints. The actions will target both displaced people from Ukraine and vulnerable host communities, aiming at preventing tensions, and community conflict as well as promoting social cohesion.
The IFRC is also supporting MRCS to enhance its capacities for responding to the expected high influx of displaced people from Ukraine and expand the outreach of assistance at the most transited Border Crossing Points. The IFRC will foster Moldova Red Cross’s resources and capacities to set up Humanitarian Service Points and Mobile Emergency Units where the MRCS will provide diverse comprehensive services, including the provision of household items and improved migrants’ kits to support “people on the move”.
3. Purpose and scope
The purpose of this review is to assess the satisfaction, relevance, efficiency, effectiveness and coordination of the distribution of relief items to the targeted displaced people from Ukraine in Moldova, host families of the refugees and vulnerable host communities (an approximate total of around 3,000 Households) as well as to provide lessons for future emergency relief operations in Moldova.
The review will focus on the Federation-wide Ukraine and Impacted Countries Emergency Appeal response specific to the distribution of relief items in March 2023.
- Relevance would include the appropriateness of the items provided and how well the response has been targeted to meet the needs of the most vulnerable.
- Efficiency and effectiveness will reflect on the degree of organization in the distribution process and the timeliness of item delivery.
- Coordination would look at the support provided by the IFRC, MRCS HQ and its branches as well as key external stakeholders such as government agencies relevant to the review objectives.
- Satisfaction would include whether people were satisfied with the type and quality of the items provided and whether the selection was fair. This would also include whether they received sufficient information and access to provide feedback.
Geographically, the scope of the review will include areas in Moldova served by MRCS as a part of the Ukraine and Impacted Countries Crises emergency response, focusing on the abovementioned districts.
4. Review criteria and key questions
The review criteria will be used to guide the review recommendations:
- Relevance and appropriateness
- Effectiveness and efficiency
- Coordination
- Satisfaction and impartiality
Key questions to be addressed in this review are attached as guidance and are expected to be further finetuned by the review team in consultation with the IFRC Moldova Country team.
5. Review methodology and process
The methodology will adhere to the IFRC Framework for Evaluations, with particular attention to the processes upholding the standards of how evaluations should be planned, managed, conducted, and utilized. A review management team may be appointed, consisting of one Programme Coordinator and PMER experts from the IFRC Country Cluster Delegation, will manage and oversee the review.
The review team/consultancy firm shall consist of reviewers/evaluators who were not involved in the response operation.
The recommended review methodology will be detailed in close consultation between the review team and review management team, but will draw upon the following primary methods:
- Desk review of operation background documents, relevant organisational background and history and any relevant sources of secondary data;
- Desk review of documentation in accordance to IFRC compliance and donor accountability;
- Field visits/observations to selected sites;
- Key informant interviews and/or focus group discussions;
- Surveys.
- Sampling method is to be decided by the review team, but at minimum, the final sample should include both MRCS and IFRC personnel involved in the response interventions and the ‘most vulnerable’ beneficiaries. The review team should visit a representative number of communities in the operation areas.
- Data collection methods will be decided by the review team, in consultation with the review management team.
6. Review deliverables and illustrative timeline
The following will be developed and delivered in line with the IFRC Guide and Procedures:
- Review work plan will be submitted before the review team is deployed to the field.
- Draft Review report will be submitted within two weeks of the reviewer’s return from the field.
- Final anonymized data sets that the review findings are based on, for both quantitative and qualitative data collection.
- Final Review report will be submitted one week after receipt of the consolidated feedback from IFRC and meet the requirements outlined in the IFRC Guide and Procedures.
- (Optional) Final Review report presentation that includes a summary of the Review report (including process, findings, and recommendations) that will be presented to various stakeholders including MRCS and IFRC Secretariat. Discussions on responding to the findings will also take place to initiate the management response.
All products arising from this review will be owned by the IFRC. The reviewers will not be allowed, without prior authorization in writing, to present any of the analytical results as his or her work or to make use of the review results for private publication purposes.
The following is an illustrative timeline that will be revisited and refined with more details during the inception stage of the MTR:
Time Schedule
Activities
Deliverables
Week 1
- Desktop review of background information.
- Development of detailed review work plan that includes data collection/analysis plan and schedule, draft methodology, and data collection tools.
- Knowledge gained on the current operation in Moldova.
- Review work plan
Week 2-4
- Field data collection in target communities according to the data collection schedule
- Key informant interviews or focus group discussion.
- Desk review of documentation in accordance to IFRC compliance and donor accountability;
- Prepare the draft Review Report
- Review by IFRC and MRCS
- Progress report
- Draft Review report
Week 4
- Revise and submit the final Review Report
- Final presentation on the Review report
- Final Review Report
- Final presentation
- Evaluation quality and ethics
The reviewer(s) should take all reasonable steps to ensure that the review is designed and conducted to respect and protect the rights and welfare of the people and communities involved and to ensure that the review is technically accurate and reliable, is conducted transparently and impartially, and contributes to organizational learning and accountability. Therefore, the review team should adhere to the review/evaluation standards and applicable practices outlined in theIFRC Framework for Evaluation and respect the Red Cross Red Crescent 7 Fundamental Principles.
7. Qualifications
Selection of the review team will be based on the following qualifications:
- Demonstrable experience in leading evaluations of humanitarian programmes responding to disasters, with specific experience in assessment, review or evaluations.
- Knowledge of strategic and operational management of humanitarian operations and proven ability to provide strategic recommendations to key stakeholders.
- Strong analytical skills and ability to clearly synthesize and present findings, draw practical conclusions, make recommendations and prepare well-written reports in a timely manner.
- Experience in qualitative data collection and data analysis techniques, especially in emergency operations.
- Excellent English writing and presentation skills in English, with professional working proficiency of Moldovan, Romanian and/or Russian languages. To provide relevant writing samples of similar review reports.
- Regional knowledge of Moldova.
- Immediate availability for the period indicated.
The review team will provide an independent, objective, and critical perspective, and will be the primary author of the Review Report. S/he should not have been involved or have a vested interest in the IFRC operation being reviewed, and will be hired through a transparent recruitment process, based on professional experience, competence, ethics, and integrity for this review.
The review team should take all reasonable steps to ensure that the piece of work is designed and conducted to respect and protect the rights and welfare of the people involved and to ensure that the review is technically accurate and reliable, is conducted in a transparent and impartial manner, and contributes to better programming, organizational learning, and accountability.
How to apply
Interested review team/consultancy firm candidates should submit their application material by 5 July 2023 to Bidsreceiving.Poland@ifrc.org with the title Review of the Relief Items Distribution for the Ukraine and Impacted Countries Crises Emergency Response in Moldova. If you required more information regarding the review, please contact Fadzli Saari, fadzli.saari@ifrc.org by 29 June 2023.
Application materials should include:
- Company profile highlighting previous similar assignment(s);
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) of the lead reviewer;
- Cover letter summarizing your experience as it pertains to this review and three professional references;
- Two-page technical proposal with proposed evaluation methodology;
- Financial proposal outlining an all-inclusive fee required to undertake this assignment including daily consultancy rate and all costs for data collection and travel (based on the IFRC standard per diem rate in Moldova); and
- At least one example of a previous evaluation report authored by the consultancy firm most similar to that described in this TOR.
Application material is non-returnable, and we thank you in advance for understanding that only short-listed candidates will be contacted for the next step in the application process.