Multi-sector integrated humanitarian programme to address protection risks in Afghanistan

Job Description

INTRODUCTION

The IRC has been a front-line responder of the Afghanistan crisis since 1988 to help communities affected by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future through the provision of integrated and multi-sectoral approach. In Afghanistan, with a portfolio of over $70 million, the IRC operational capacity extend to eleven provinces with integrated protection, heath & nutrition, economic wellbeing, education, and emergency response.

IRC is a leading agency in integrated protection with established networks of 68 community-based safe spaces dedicated to strengthening the safety and protection of at-risk individuals. IRC will utilize and leverage its footprint, acceptance, and existing human resource structure with over 400 trained protection national staff and volunteers, for continued safe programming. And will ensure an integrated approach between services, protection mainstreaming and referrals through the mapping and establishment of referral pathways.

IRC Emergency Response Programme is currently active in 10 provinces of Afghanistan with available emergency team and is an active member of ES/NFI cluster and Cash and Vouch Working Group which and implements emergency response projects according to the agreed SOPs, Minimum Expenditure Baskets and different standard cash packages including cash for winterization.

PROJECT BACKGROUND

The design of this project is driven by three main lens and aspects: a) the humanitarian protection needs on the ground which has exacerbated in Afghanistan and remain critical concerns b) IRC’s strategic approach for integrated programming to achieve higher results and maximum impact on the affected populations c) IRC’s ‘client-centred’ approach which relied on community and stakeholder engagement in inclusive and equal manner.

The project tackles the main protection concerns based on IRC’s assessments, community consultations, lesson learnt, and secondary data. The primary objective of this project is to provide comprehensive protection monitoring, mitigation and implementation services and interventions in complementary and integrated approach to mitigate negative coping mechanisms including but not limited to; selling of children, forced and early marriage, child labour amongst others. Thus, the IRC will provide interventions across three main sectors including: protection, health, and education.

The study will focus on the cash for winterization (i.e., cash assistance to purchase good necessary to face the colder winter months such as: winter jackets, blankets, heating materials etc…) activity implemented using HesabPay as a Financial Service Provider (FSP). IRC will target affected families in the district centres and where phone network is available for clients and internet are available to the HesabPay merchants and will distribute cash for winterisation to 930 households (6,510 individuals) which will be selected through house-to-house assessment based on the Emergency Shelter and Non-Food Items (ES/NFI) cluster standards urban centres where above 90% of the households have access to phones and internet is available. A Household Emergency Assessment Tool (HEAT) assessment will be conducted in all two targeted provinces to identify the eligible clients. The cash will be distributed through HesabPay as Money Service Provider which will provide access to cash-out points to the IRC’s clients in the nearest accessible area.

Scaling up and strengthening the use of cash assistance is a priority for IRC, giving cash to people affected by crises has increasingly shown to be a more effective, efficient and transparent means of providing vulnerable people with humanitarian assistance. Considering the protection mainstreaming the cash assistance gives people the dignity, choice, and self-determination to make their own decisions on how to prepare, prioritize, and take care of their families in times of crisis.

In June 2022, IRC conducted a 1-month pilot project as part of its FCDO-funded Integrated Emergency Support for Afghanistan project, to provide basic needs assistance while also testing the viability of digital humanitarian cash transfers in Afghanistan and generating learning to guide the modalities of future humanitarian programming. The pilot tested 2 key applications of digital payments in Kabul province using HesabPay’ s digital platform: 1) Cash transfers to individual households for digital purchases of goods and supplies. IRC is supporting farmers in Kabul province by provision of cash to purchase livestock and agricultural inputs. IRC identified 300 farmers who were then onboarded onto HesabPay jointly by HesabPay and IRC. HesabPay facilitated digital payments of 17,600 Afn to each of these individuals who spent these funds digitally at an agricultural fair with 4 HesabPay registered Agricultural supply merchants. After the fair was completed, these merchants cashed out in Kabul with HesabPay. 2) Stipend/Salary payments for IRC operational purposes. IRC identified 166 Community Health Volunteers to receive their 7,400 Afn monthly stipends digitally through HesabPay. HesabPay assisted with their onboarding, payments and cash out with merchants (agents) in 9 districts around Kabul.

Through current and future collaboration IRC is aiming to scale up humanitarian cash distribution through HesabPay to the extent possible; where IRC’s clients have meaningful, trustworthy, acceptable, and user-friendly access to the services within this platform.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of using HesabPay as a safe and secure delivery mechanism for providing aid at scale, in Afghanistan context based on the pilot.

Specific objectives

1. Generate evidence and provide recommendations on the feasibility and appropriateness of the use of HesabPay as a cash assistance delivery mechanism from a clients/users’ point of view.

2. Generate evidence on comparing and analyzing HesabPay services against other FSP modalities focusing on clients’ experience/preferences, service cost efficiency, security, geographic coverage, user friendly system, data privacy, communication and security.

3. Generate evidence and provide recommendation on the advantages of HesabPay delivery mechanism from an operational point of view (vendors, IRC staff and HesabPay staff).

4. Provide recommendations on the potential for scaling up and adoption of this payment mechanism by other humanitarian actors (UN and NGOs, both national and international).

Key Questions

1. Do HesabPay allow for effective Data Protection? How this would look like comparing to other FSPs (Hawala, M-Paisa and My Money)?

2. Is HesabPay aligned with IRC client’s preferences for receiving humanitarian cash assistance?

3. Did IRC clients face any major barriers in accessing the assistance provide through HesabPay?

4. Did this delivery mechanism affect any tensions at household and community level and how?

a. What could have been done to mitigate this risk?

5. Was the communication on the cash assistance provided through HesabPay effective in terms of distribution, disbursements as well as mechanisms for clients’ feedback and complaints

6. Is HesabPay cost efficient? i.e., how much does it cost to deliver 1 USD of cash assistance while comparing with other FSPs? (Transaction fees, IRC staff time/salary etc.…)

7. What are the human resources needed for an effective adoption of HesabPay as delivery mechanism? i.e., Numbers, of staff required and their level of skills, education and ability to provide training for recipients.

8. Is HesabPay safe for IRC clients and staff considering risk associated using other delivery mechanism?

9. What are the systems that are needed to manage risks such as fraud and error: level of automation, security in the system and at the point of disbursement, ability to monitor and rapidly correct, and security in the reporting and reconciliations process.

10. Speed: what is the time needed to roll out the HesabPay solution when an actor adopts it for the first time?

11. Money agents’ comfort with use as expressed by money agents/HesabPay vendors in terms of need for support and convenience of this delivery mechanism?

12. Scale: what is the largest target population HesabPay can reach? how large are the payments and how frequently can they be made? How can HesabPay cope with larger scale cash transfer programs?

13. How flexibly can HesabPay adjust the scale, timing and amount of payments?

METHODOLOGY

This is a post implementation learning study of the cash for winterization assistance delivered by IRC under the FCDO project in southern/western Afghanistan. It is expected that the findings of this study will feed back into future project proposals IRC will develop including HesabPay as a Financial Service Provider and provide evidence, data, information to be shared with the wider sector to outline learning, benefits, and limitation of this delivery mechanism. However, the approach to be taken is contingent on the funding available for this study and should be discussed with IRC Afghanistan, flexibility and adaptability of the methodology will be required.

The study will require the consultant to physically visit Afghanistan and conduct a desk review of existing documentation as well as primary data sources as appropriate. Interactive methods that facilitate information sharing with other humanitarian actors (other NGOs, UN agencies and donors) will be preferred. In-depth interviews with key informants will be undertaken to address gaps and gain understanding of the challenges and good practices. The following data collection methods are foreseen:

1) Desk review based of the available documentation (report, publications, studies etc.)

2) Face to face key informant interviews and focus group discussions with IRC clients, IRC and HesabPay staff as well as HesabPay vendors to refine and deepen the analysis, where possible and appropriate phone interviews would be another approach.

3) Validation workshop with key stakeholders: IRC program staff, finance, monitoring and evaluation, supply chain departments representatives, HesabPay representatives to be invited for the event to take place in IRC Kabul Main Office.

Regular engagement with the study focal point and Cash Relief Advisor to discuss research orientations, progression, key findings, and related decision making is expected.

KEY DELIVERABLES FOR CONSULTANT

1. Inception report to confirm agreement on the methodology, existing data, data collection tools, parameters, analysis plan, planned outputs, options on structure, and workplan.

2. Facilitation of one workshop with key stakeholders

3. Briefing on the initial findings

4. A final report and recommendations (not more than 10 pages) and an executive summary/brief (1 pager)

5. A power-point slide deck capturing the key findings

Qualifications

TENTATIVE TIMELINE

15th of January 2023 to 28th of February 2023

MILESTONES AND PAYMENT SCHEDULE

Payment will be made in two tranches:

Milestone 1 (30% payment) on finalization and sign-off of the inception report.

Milestone 2 (70% payment) on finalization and sign-off of the final report and dissemination workshop

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

· The consultant (s) should have the following skills and knowledge:

· A solid understanding of the use of humanitarian CVA,

· Knowledge of the Afghanistan context is highly desirable.

· Professional proficiency in written and spoken English, Pashto and Dari added advantage

· Excellent research skills, including the ability to collect, collate and analyze large amounts of qualitative and quantitative data and identify critical aspects to succinctly communicate complex subject matter (in a written and oral form) to make it accessible to wider audiences’ Previous experience of working with and evaluating digital cash payment systems within the private sector and or other humanitarian settings.

· Ability to create and facilitate effective collaborative learning experiences

· Expertise in the facilitation tools needed to run workshops (both in person/face-to-face and remotely)

· Experience of working with a diverse range of stakeholders, ensuring effective consultation and engagement is achieved.

· Familiarity with learning methodologies relevant for the humanitarian sector

· Excellent writing and presentation skills.

MINIMUM DETAILS IN APPLICATION

Expressions of Interest should include technical and financial proposals (maximum four pages), CVs of consultant(s) and two writing samples carried out in the last three years.