Consultancy on Evidence Mapping – Towards a Common Refugee Research Agenda in Kenya_RFP-RO01-002761 Consultancy

1.Who is the Danish Refugee Council?

Founded in 1956, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a leading international NGO and one of the few with specific expertise in forced displacement. Active in 40 countries with 9,000 employees and supported by 7,500 volunteers, DRC protects, advocates, and builds sustainable futures for refugees and other displacement-affected people and communities. DRC works during displacement at all stages: In the acute crisis, in displacement, when settling and integrating into a new place, or upon return. DRC provides protection and life-saving humanitarian assistance; supports displaced persons in becoming self-reliant and included in hosting societies; and works with civil society and responsible authorities to promote the protection of rights and peaceful coexistence.

About ReDSS

ReDSS is a secretariat working on behalf of 14 international and national NGOs working on forced displacement in the Horn of Africa. We were established in 2015 in response to a desire by the NGO community to be more proactive in shaping durable solutions policy and programming in the region. Our team works at both a regional and a country level and focuses on the translation of evidence and research into policies and programmes that can better deliver for displacement-affected communities. We do this through a range of activities, including convening key stakeholders at multiple levels to produce consensus around collective actions that can be taken; supporting new evidence generation through commissioning and undertaking research and analysis; and building the capacity of key actors through delivering training and developing tools and guidance. We do not implement programmes directly, and by maintaining this distance are better able to play a neutral role across the system. Since ReDSS was established in 2015, we have played a critical role in shaping durable solutions narratives in the region, building on our initial work in Somalia and expanding to Ethiopia and Kenya which has allowed us to work on a wide range of policy and programming processes.

2. Purpose of the consultancy

ReDSS wishes to commission a consultant to support the development of a common research and policy agenda that sets out the state of evidence against the current policy priorities of the government. The objective is to produce a comprehensive evidence mapping that identifies gaps, and that can inform a scale up in evidence generation for refugee interventions. This will help inform the development of the common research agenda (and, potentially, already inform policy and programming). An inclusive and collaborative approach bringing together key actors to foster ownership and ongoing dialogue and discussion over the course of the project will be critical.

3. Background

Kenya is host to over 600,000[1] refugees and asylum seekers, primarily in the Kakuma and Dadaab refugee camps, but with significant populations in urban areas. Encampment, for the majority of refugees, coupled with the protracted refugee situation, has left thousands of men, women and children living in limbo with limited prospects for durable solutions. Hosting communities experience similar or worse living conditions, with many at the verge of extreme poverty.

After the 2022 elections there appear to be genuine opportunities to promote real change in refugee management in Kenya, with the government stating its intention to transition from camps to integrated settlements under a vision currently termed the “Shirika Plan” (previously referred to as the “Marshal Plan”). Through the Ministry of Interior and National Administration, the Plan is under developed based on input from multiple stakeholders, focusing on key sectors outlined in the Support for Host Community and Refugee Empowerment (SHARE), Kenya’s Comprehensive Refuguee Response Framework. Since the development of the Shirika Plan is taking place within the context of years of collective effort to promote the socio-economic inclusion of refugees, it is expected that the Plan will incorporate existing frameworks and initiatives, including the Kalobeyei Socio Economic Development Plan (KISEDP) and the recent Garissa Socio Economic Development Plan (GISEDP). For urban refugees, a process to develop a comprehensive strategy to address their needs and inclusion in service provision is currently underway.

While these policy processes are progressive and innovative, the opportunities they avail remain fragile and need concerted effort if they are to bear fruit. They also need to be evidence-based, informed by local context and driven by local partners if they are to lead to better outcomes for displacement-affected communities in the country. Furthermore, the need to place collective accountability to displaced populations at the centre of any action cannot be over-emphasized. As numerous research outputs have shown, the delivery of durable solutions depends largely on the degree of participation accorded to displaced populations and host communities, which involve extensive periods of consultation, sensitisation, negotiation and conflict resolution tailored to gender, age, clan and other demographic features. Moreover, a much deeper understanding of marginalization and inclusion, as well as conflict dynamics around land, social capital, rights and demography are needed. This implies the need for more meaningful locally led and locally generated evidence to translate policy to practice. However, most studies conducted in Kenya are tied to specific organisational agendas or interests and often tailored to short-term humanitarian priorities leading to a lack of common analysis and undermining the development of a common narrative. These requirements also speak to the need for more power and influence to be handed to local actors, on all sides. Too much of refugee policy is driven by outsiders to the areas in question, including from the aid sector. If genuinely feasible approaches are to be identified then they will need to be embedded within the context in a way that is only possible if genuinely local actors can drive them. All of this is complex, and involves multiple actors operating in different spaces and at different levels.

It is against this backdrop that ReDSS, the Refugee-Led Research Hub (RLRH), and Maseno University have come together to develop a Kenya Evidence Platform with the aim to ensure Refugee programming and policymaking in Kenya is engaging with and responding to locally driven and generated research on the promotion of more durable solutions. Through this 3 year project (2023-2026) funded by the Kingdom of Netherlands, we wish to use our networks and influence to support the development of Kenya’s transformative refugee agenda, based on evidence and best practice, and to do so in a way that promotes the role of local evidence generation. This builds on our past work in the region and the country, providing an opportunity to step up the scale of our efforts significantly. The objective is not only to produce more local evidence but to invest in multi-stakeholder coordination in the use and uptake of evidence to adapt programming and policies. An Advisory Group composed of representatives of the government, refugee donors, NGOs, local organisations and refugee representatives will guide the work of the Platform to ensure relevance and alignment with the wider Kenyan refugee policy environment.

4. Objective of the consultancy

The objective of the consultancy is to support the development of a common research and policy agenda that sets out the state of evidence against the current policy priorities of the government. The objective is to produce comprehensive evidence mapping that identifies gaps, and that can inform a scale up in evidence generation for refugee interventions. This will help inform the development of the common research agenda (and, potentially, already inform policy and programming). An inclusive and collaborative approach bringing together key actors to foster ownership and ongoing dialogue and discussion over the course of the project will be critical.

The audience for the evidence mapping and common research agenda will comprise the Kenya Evidence Platform, the network of researchers and academia established within the platform, the members of the Advisory Group and other relevant refugee practitioners and policy makes in Kenya. It will provide the basis for research to be commissioned under the Evidence Platform and will also be equally relevant for independently commissioned research on broader refugee interventions in Kenya. As such, it will be developed as a public good and will be made openly accessible on the ReDSS website.

5. Scope of work and Methodology

More specifically, the consultant will be expected to:

1. Engage the Advisory Group to develop a framework for the evidence review in line with current policy approaches in Kenya. This should be informed by existing policy frameworks such as the 2021 Refugee Act, KISEDP and GISEDP, as well as the Shirika Plan currently under development.
2. Conduct comprehensive evidence mapping against this framework to determine the state of refugee related evidence in Kenya; identify critical gaps in knowledge; and areas in which there is a need to strengthen and/or scale-up evidence generation for refugee socio-economic inclusion.
   1. Develop a clear methodology that includes inclusion/exclusion criteria to enable an efficient mapping strategy (based on a ‘policy and operational relevance’ criteria to be agreed upon with the Advisory Group)
   2. Collaborate with the Advisory Group to identify both academic, fundamental and operational literature available.
3. Present the evidence mapping results in a user-friendly format, including through a synthesis report, excel spreadsheet and/ or visual graphs.
   1. Provide an intuitive visual overview of the distribution of evidence (both what is known as well as where there is little or no evidence) on key refugee related outcome areas
   2. Draw conclusions from that evidence including on the quality and use of the evidence (where applicable) and produce a comprehensive synthesis report, with recommendations as to areas in need of greater focus, both thematically and geographically.
4. Based on the evidence mapping and synthesis report, support the Kenya Evidence Platform in developing a common research agenda through a participatory and inclusive process, setting out the existing evidence base, current knowledge gaps and challenging untested assumptions against the current refugee policy trajectory in Kenya.
   1. Facilitate multi-stakeholder dialogue on the outcomes of the evidence mapping, through validation, dissemination and uptake planning workshops
   2. In collaboration with the Advisory Group, develop the Common Research Agenda strategy document. The research agenda document should be a short 5 pager document setting out research direction for the Evidence Platform going forward.

6. Deliverables

The Consultant will submit the following deliverables in 3 phases as highlighted below:

Phase I (Inception)

• Initial foundational work to develop: a framework for the evidence review, methodological approach and tools; the workplan; and agree on roles and responsibility and establish mutual understanding of expectations between the Consultant, ReDSS and the Evidence Platform Partners
• Produce and present an inception report (maximum 15 pages) highlighting the methodology, tools, initial scoping that identifies the nature and extent of the evidence base, inclusion/exclusion criteria, and an outline for the synthesis report
• Facilitate an online inception report validation session with KEP partners and the Advisory Group (2-hour online session)

Phase II (mapping and analysis)

• Undertake a comprehensive desk review of existing literature, including but not limited to operational research, academic writings, assessments, surveys, etc. based on the agreed criteria
• Produce a draft synthesis report for review and feedback, containing: an overview of the findings including strategic identification of key gaps in knowledge, where there is a need to strengthen and/or scale up evidence generation (new primary research) including proposed framing of suitable approaches for future research
• Produce the final edited synthesis report (max 50 pages, Calibri 11, single spacing) and an executive summary (10 pages highlighting key messages on the state and quality of the evidence base vis-a vis the current refugee policy trajectory and key recommendations to take forward)
• Develop an excel spreadsheet presenting the evidence mapping on agreed dormains (author, title, thematic focus, geographic focus, year of production, status, links to full text)

Phase III (uptake)

• Facilitate a half-day multi-stakeholder validation workshop to present the draft synthesis report and receive feedback ahead of producing final report and recommendation
• Facilitate half-day dialogue session with the Advisory Group and the Evidence Platform to develop a common research agenda (strategy document) highlighting key research priority questions to address in the course of the project
• Present final consultancy products during a launch session with stakeholders

7. Duration, timeline, and payment

The total expected duration to complete the assignment will be no more than 40 working days.

Deliverable

1st Instalment 20% – Upon submission of the inception report

2nd Instalment 40% – Upon satisfactory submission of Phase II deliverables

3rd Instalment 40% – Upon satisfactory finalisation of Phase III deliverables

8. Eligibility, qualification, and experience required

The successful candidate will lead the organisation and implementation of the work and is responsible to deliver the required outputs, working with a variety of internal and external stakeholders. Qualifications will include:

• Excellent understanding of forced displacement in East Africa region, particularly refugee response in Kenya
• Proven experience in similar assignments conducting literature reviews, rapid evidence assessments or evidence gap maps etc.
• Ability to manage, negotiate and collaborate with a wide range of actors including with government actors, practitioners and policy makers
• Solid writing, analytical, writing and presentation skills, particularly in the context of forced displacement.
• Have a relevant Master’s degree in either; conflict studies, information science, political
  economy, political science, anthropology or a related field
• Have at least 10 years of experience conducting research in East Africa
• Have at least 5 years of experience conducting research in Kenya

9. Technical supervision

The selected consultant/s will work under the supervision of the ReDSS Kenya Manger and be guided by the Kenya Evidence Platform Advisory Group members.

10. Location and support

The Consultancy scope includes all refugee hosting areas in Kenya. However, the consultant will be free to work from any location they wish as long as they will be available for various physical consultative meetings in Nairobi. The Consultant will provide her/his computer and mobile telephone, data analysis platforms, and other essentials required for the accomplishment of the deliverables.

11. Travel

Field travel is not anticipated. However, should this need arise, ReDSS will cover all the consultant’s travel and accommodation related expenses to and in the field.

12. Submission process

Interested Firms/Individuals that meet requirements should send their proposal and other required documents to the email address tender.ro01@drc.ngo on or before 4th April 2024 at 5.00PM EAT. Bids submitted after the stated time will not be considered.

Please indicate “Kenya Common Refugee Research Agenda: RFP-RO01-002761” in the subject line of your email application.

13. Evaluation of bids

Please refer to the RFP Letter of Invite

Additional information

For additional information regarding these terms of reference, please send your questions to Regional Supply Chain Manager EAGL RO: Procurement.ro01@drc.ngo

Please find complete bidding documents in the following link; RFP-RO01-002761 – Consultancy on Kenya Common Refugee Research Agenda

Tagged as: Danish Refugee Council, Kenya