Date : 10.01.2025

Start Date for publishing and offers withdrawal: 13.01.2025

Deadline for responses : 26.01.2025

Start Date for assignment: February 2025

Location: Northeast Syria, Raqqa and Hassake governorates

Duration of the mission: 6 months

1.                 Acronyms

ERL	Early Recovery and Livelihoods
FSL	Food Security and Livelihoods
IDP	Internally Displaced People
MoU	Memorandum of Understanding
NES	Northeast Syria
NWS	Northwest Syria
SI	Solidarités international
TPM	Third-Party Monitoring
VCA	Value Chain Analysis
VSLA	Village Savings and Loans Association

2.              Presentation of Solidarités International

2.1.             in general

Solidarités International (SI) is a French NGO, independent of any political, economic, ethnic or religious group. For more than 40 years, it has been providing humanitarian aid to populations affected by armed conflicts and natural disasters by meeting their vital needs (water, food, shelter) and strengthening their resilience. Particularly committed to the fight against water-borne diseases, the leading cause of death in the world, SI provides expertise in the areas of access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene promotion, as well as in the essential area of food and livelihood security. SI’s teams are present in more than 27 countries and support close to 5 million people.

2.2.           in the country

After thirteen years of conflict in Syria, the impact of present and past hostilities on civilians remains the principal driver of humanitarian needs. Northeast (NES) and Northwest Syria (NWS) contexts are both characterized by: (i) ongoing and protracted displacements with low return opportunities, into densely-populated areas where humanitarian assistance is overstretched, (ii) no availability of alternative durable solutions, such as eventual re-installation or re-integration within host community because of social and cultural related issues, as well as the will of authorities to protect local communities, (iii) the depletion of productive assets and savings, (iv) limited economic opportunities and (v) the widespread destruction and contamination of agriculture and water-related infrastructure by explosive remnants as well as other infrastructures have had a profound impact on the population.

SI has strong experience in NES over several years, implementing projects for major donors across the governorates of the proposed intervention. As a result, SI has developed a strong understanding of the humanitarian situation, and the cultural and socio-economic dynamics on the ground. SI has built a strong network and working relationships with communities throughout Raqqa and Hasakeh governorates. Starting in 2017 with the opening of its field offices in Ar-Raqqa and Hasakeh governorate, SI rapidly proved its capabilities to implement both emergency humanitarian assistance for affected populations, and recovery interventions through infrastructure rehabilitation and economic recovery interventions.

In addition to the intervention to be monitored under this Third-Party Monitoring (TPM) exercise, SI is currently leading the implementation of a USAID-BHA funded multisectoral project, implementing Wash, Shelter, and Cash interventions, integrated with Health, Protection and Humanitarian Coordination, both in Raqqa and Hasakeh governorates. SI is also currently implementing the second phase of an integrated program in Markada sub-district (Hasakeh governorate) and Tabqa sub-district (Raqqa governorate). The integrated intervention allows SI to support the vulnerable communities with livelihoods support (business grants, agriculture inputs for vegetable production at the household level, animal production support, skills development), market access through the rehabilitation of markets in targeted locations and providing basic wash support to targeted communities through hygiene promotion activities.

3.              Description of the context and the project

3.1.            PRESENTATION OF THE INTERVENTION AREA

The economic crisis in Syria is having a profoundly negative impact on the humanitarian situation, leading to increasing levels of extreme poverty, food insecurity and poor access to livelihoods. In 2023, 73% of households surveyed in NES stated that they had insufficient means to meet their basic needs[1]. In the Markada subdistrict, an assessment conducted in September/October 2022 by SI highlighted the fragility of the community living in the city and the neighboring areas: they face major challenges related to water and marketability of the produced commodities, pushing the community to rely on other means for generating income (migration to cities for better employment opportunities, adopting negative coping strategies, etc.). The assessment observed limited support from local authorities as well as very limited support from international organizations, limiting the communities’ access to basic services, improving their livelihood conditions and supporting them in reaching a more resilient status. The crisis notably led to the disruption of formal financial services and institutions. Services providing credits are almost inexistant and deeply inaccessible for vulnerable households. The focus group discussions conducted in January 2023 in both governorates (Raqqa and Hasakeh) highlighted the difficulties of local communities in accessing financial services and mostly rely on coping mechanisms such as selling productive assets to access cash to cover several needs. The lack of saving capacity implies a higher vulnerability of poor households to sudden shocks and expenses. On the other hand, lack of access to loans is a barrier toward the development of income-generating activities. 35% of cash transfer recipients under the LEARN program – implemented by SI and partners – declared having previous business management experience and noted the lack of access to starting capital as a constraint. The challenging socio-economic situation was also highlighted in Raqqa, as the Raqqa City Urban Household Assessment conducted by REACH in spring 2024 showed that the most reported needs are Food (82%) and Livelihoods (77%).

The community in NES relies mainly on agriculture and its byproducts, as the key sector for income generation and employment, putting the community at further risk of climatic challenges and changes, water scarcity, displacement and supply and market disruptions. Lack of financial services and resulting financial exclusion prevents households from seizing market opportunities, maintaining their incomes and graduating out of poverty. In June 2022, SI conducted a Value Chain Analysis (VCA) in Raqqa sub-districts focusing on wheat and vegetable value 5chains. It highlighted recurrent difficulties for farmers to access seasonal loans, which are limiting their capacity to buy agricultural inputs or diversify their activities. The assessment highlighted the importance that associations and other collective structures used to hold in that regard. Prior to the crisis, cooperatives used to provide a range of services to their members including seasonal loans enabling them to buy seeds every year. Currently, those associations are mostly empty shells, acting only as representatives of their members.

3.2.          DESCRIPTION of the PROJECT to be monitored and intervention logic

Project title: MAHFAZAT – Strengthening communities’ livelihoods and resilience in rural and urban areas of Raqqa and Markada sub-districts, by initiating community-based saving and loans associations

Start and duration of the project: October 1^st, 2023, until July 31^st, 2025 (22 months).

Location of implementation: Ar-Raqqa sub-district, Ar-Raqqa District, Ar-Raqqa Governorate and Markada sub-district, Al-Hasakeh District, Al-Hasakeh Governorate.

Sector of implementation: Support to livelihoods – Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA)

Intervention logic and activities:

Overall objective: To strengthen the resilience and livelihood opportunities of rural and urban communities in Raqqa and Markada sub-districts.

Theory of change: If households improve their budget management and manage to save money regularly and, if they can access micro-loans, then they will be able to face unexpected shocks and invest in new income-generating activities, thus building their resilience.

Project Outcome: Improve the capacity of rural and urban communities to manage and ensure access to credit

Activity 1: Initiate community-based saving and credit groups based on the Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) methodology

• Community engagement meetings, including with key stakeholders and community leaders
• Community Needs Assessment, including Gender Dynamics and Protection Risk analysis
• Selection of VSLA members to form up to 20 VSLA groups
• VSLA group establishment (election of association leadership, internal rules and regulations)

Activity 2: Facilitation of VSLA first saving cycles

• Total duration of the saving cycle: 7 months.
• With the support of recruited community agents.

Activity 3: Provision of training to members

• Financial Literacy and Bookkeeping
• Business skills and business development training
• Management and conflict resolution

Activity 4: Linking groups with farmers’ associations and other market actors

• Linkages with market actors to support access to market opportunities, based on VSLA members’ profiles.

Activity 5: Knowledge building and sharing with the humanitarian community

• Community restitution event at the end of the 1^st saving cycle for VSLA members to share feedback, success stories and lessons learned.
• 2 workshops with Food Security and Livelihoods (FSL), Early Recovery (ERL) and Cash Working Groups in NES, to share the project’s main achievements and lessons learned.
• Internal impact evaluation.

 

Project beneficiaries: 400 direct beneficiaries split into 20 groups (15 in Raqqa, 5 in Markada), 2,400 semi-direct beneficiaries (household members of direct beneficiaries), 19,800 indirect beneficiaries.

Project stakeholders: Farmers and small-scale vegetable producers (including those already supported by SI as part of other project supporting vegetable gardening in both Markada and Raqqa), business owners, market actors, local authorities.

Summary of major changes in the implementation of the project being evaluated, and the reasons for these changes:

• In both Ar-Raqqa and Markada, the duration of the savings cycle was originally planned to be 9 months but will be shortened to 7 months due to delays during the Community Engagement phase (Activity 1).
• In Markada, challenges were faced in relation with local authorities, which voiced concerns about the VSLA activity, including that activities could heighten tensions in the area, potentially leading to cases of theft and fraud among VSLA members. Issues were resolved as of October 1^st, allowing the implementation of activities.

4.             Purpose and scope of the TPM

4.1.            Purpose of the TPM

VSLAs programming in NES and Syria in general is still very limited, with little experience in the Syrian context among humanitarian and development actors. As such, the MAFHAZAT project was conceived by SI as a pilot intervention for the Village Savings and Loans Association approach. SI is therefore particularly interested in gathering evidence-based lessons learned and recommendations to contribute to knowledge building on the model development in Northeast Syria.

The TPM findings will be leveraged for several purposes and used by a range of stakeholders, as illustrated in the table below.

Results	Target audience
Real-time feedback on project implementation and adaptation of implementation approach	SI teams, donor
Informing replication and/or scale-up of the VSLA approach through analysis of project successes and challenges, identification of key lessons learned and recommendations	SI teams, donors, FSL and ERL Working Group, the wider humanitarian community, local authorities in NES

4.2.          scope of the TPM

The TPM exercise will run from February 2025 (3^rd month of the VSLA cycle) until the end of July 2025 and will cover activities implemented in both the Raqqa sub-district and the Markada sub-district.

The TPM exercise will provide continuous feedback to SI for the entire remaining duration of the project, focusing on activities 2, 3 and 4 (as outlined above). However, the TPM consultant or consultancy is also expected to support SI under activity 5 of the project (knowledge building).

5.             TPM Questions

Question 1: How do the different VSLA groups perform, and what are the key success factors and barriers underpinning the successful development, management and sustainability of VSLA groups?

• To what extent are the VSLA group’s rules and regulations (frequency of meetings, share size, roles and responsibilities, etc…) adapted to the preferences of VSLA members?
• How does the socio-economic profile of VSLA members (gender, displacement status, etc) influence their ability and willingness to participate in Saving Groups, and what factors mediate or moderate this relationship?
• How do specific VSLA groups (e.g.: urban vs. rural, business owners vs. farmers) respectively perform, and why?
• How can SI best support the participation of VSLA members and the performance of VSLA groups?

Question 2: To what extent is the VSLA approach implemented by SI in line with protection and gender mainstreaming principles?

• Did specific groups (women, men, IDPs, etc) face specific challenges, risks or incidents as a result of their participation in the VSLA groups?
• Did the VSLA intervention lead to any negative outcomes for the VSLA members and/or communities at large?
• Did VSLA participants face any sensitive incidents related to their participation in the activity, such as fraud, theft, etc?
• How can SI mitigate, and address, identified challenges, risks and incidents, during this project and potential future iterations of the project?

Question 3: To what extent does the VSLA approach allow VSLA members and their households to meet their financial, economic and social objectives?

• What are the (economic and social) objectives pursued by VSLA members in participating to VSLA groups, and to what extent are these objectives met as a result of participation to the VSLA group?
• What role do external factors (agricultural cycles, market trends, humanitarian aid, climate change, inflation) play in shaping the seasonality of income and savings within VSLA communities?​ How does the seasonality of income and savings impact the ability of VSLA members to meet their financial, economic and social objectives?​
• To what extent do VSLA members consider that VSLA groups are efficient in helping them address their household needs?
• To what extent do VSLA members feel that VSLA groups help them be more prepared for unforeseen shocks?
• ​What financial and economic (as well as non-economic) outcomes have been experienced by VSLA members as a result of their participation in VSLA groups?

 

NB: Additional research questions may be identified, and existing research questions may be redefined during the TPM inception and implementation, as needed.

6.             TPM methodology

The TPM methodology should be co-designed by SI and the TPM consultant/consultancy during the first weeks of the consultancy, as outlined in Section 8 below. Applicants are required to share suggested methodological approaches in their technical proposal.

Applicants should keep in mind that additional monitoring priorities or approaches may be suggested by SI during the course of implementation, based on challenges identified by the implementing team and/or feedback received through SI’s Feedback and Complaint Response Mechanism.

Considering the scope and objectives of the project, SI is encouraging applicants to consider a TPM methodology based on continuous and regular monitoring of key project activities, in order to provide SI with regular feedback and orientation through the project implementation. Suggested data collection methods include:

• Desk review of available project documentation, including VSLA group rules and regulations, bookkeeping and attendance records, training materials, monitoring data collected by SI Program and MEAL teams, etc.
• Observation and monitoring of a sample of VSLA groups during their regular group meetings (at least half of VSLA groups are observed twice during the TPM period).
• Focus Group Discussion with selected VSLA members and/or their household members, including half of the FGD with women only.
• In-depth interviews with selected VSLA members and stakeholders (including Community Agents supporting the implementation of VSLA groups).
• Quantitative survey with VSLA members – based on a margin of error of a minimum 7% and a confidence level of 95% (i.e. a total of approximately 132 surveys), ensuring representativeness based on gender (minimum 50% of participants), locations and income levels.
• Scoping interviews with SI staff.

Considering the complexity of the intervention and the fact that this intervention is a first pilot (both for SI and in the region), the consultant will need to ensure proper contextualization of data collection approaches and tools, based on discussions with the implementing team, as well as based on piloting of data collection tools with relevant target groups.

7.               Deliverables

The consultant or consulting firm is expected to produce the following deliverables:

• TPM Inception Report, including a detailed outline of the data collection methodology, data collection tools, and data collection plan.
• Overview of key TPM findings at least every 6 weeks and/or feedback meetings, summarizing key findings of TPM in the last period.
• Final report compiling all TPM findings.
• Validation workshop with SI (presentation and discussion of key findings).
• PowerPoint presentation to TPM findings to the donor and the NES FSL and ERL Working Group.

8.             TPM schedule

Task and/or deliverable	Timeline (approximate, to be confirmed)
Kick-off meeting with SI teams	TBC – early/mid-February
Inception report (including detailed data collection methodology and plan, data collection tools)	Validated by SI maximum 3 weeks after the Kick-Off meeting.
Start of data collection	Maximum 1 month after Kick-Off meeting
Monthly TPM report	Frequency TBC
First draft of final TPM report & validation workshop with SI	Maximum end of June 2025
Final TPM Report	Maximum end of July 2025
Presentations to the donor and NES Early Recovery and Livelihoods Working Group	Maximum end of July 2025

9.             Budget

A detailed breakdown of the budget should be provided by the consultant or consulting agency as part of the financial proposal.

The financial proposal may include, as applicable:

• Local and/or international consultant(s) fees (per working day),
• Enumerators fees or salaries,
• Local and/or international transportation,
• Booking of venues, refreshments and stationery.
• Any other operational costs associated with data collection, analysis and reporting.

10.       Consultant profile/team composition

The TPM consultant/consulting firm should meet the following criteria:

• A solid and diversified experience in the implementation of TPM and/or evaluation exercises in humanitarian assistance activities, preferably in Northern Syria – is required.
• Experience in TPM and/or evaluation of livelihoods interventions – required.
• Strong knowledge and demonstrated experience of protection and gender-mainstreaming in TPM and/or evaluation assignments – required.
• Experience in managing evaluation assignments in remote management settings – required.
• Experience with Village Savings and Loan Associations or similar community-based approaches – highly desirable.
• Experience conducting TPM and/or evaluation in emergency contexts for reputed donor agencies and international organizations – highly desirable.
• Full working knowledge of English and excellent report writing skills – required.
• Full working knowledge of Arabic – required.
• Demonstrated capacities to access and conduct evaluation assignments in NES– required.

11.            Application

Interested applicants are required to submit their proposal, using the following guidelines:

• Cover letter – one page maximum (this document should be signed and/or stamped)

• Technical proposal – 10 pages maximum (this document should be signed and/or stamped) including the following but not limited to:

• Understanding of the TPM scope of work
• Proposed methodology, sampling, and data collection methods
• Proposed approach for data collection, cleaning and analysis
• Composition of the team and assigned roles in the survey
• Confirmation of availability to work in NES.

• Financial proposal, including the breakdown of costs in EUR (this document should be signed and/or stamped).

• Consultant(s) resumes, including:

• Sample copy of at least two similar assignments in past work.

• 3 references for similar/relevant consultancies

All documents should be sent in PDF versions.  Offer not including at least 3 references for consultancy of research work in the field of WASH will be not considered.

 

Criteria for evaluation of the offers will be:

• Quality of technical proposal: 40%
• Team capacity and references: 30%
• Price: 30%

 

Solidarités International considers individual candidates and teams equally.

The applicants must send off requested documents by email to nes.tender@solidarites-syria.org With subject “VSLA TPM”, before the deadline of: 26^th of January 2025. Offers received after the deadline will not be considered.

Questions may be submitted to SI until the 19^th of January 2025. All applicants will receive answers to their questions and questions of other applicants on the 22^nd of January 2025.

12.         Procedures and Logistics

All associated costs for planning, conducting (fieldwork) and reporting of the proposed survey will be borne by the consultant. SI may only support the following aspects of the consultancy:

• Provide access to available necessary secondary information, project literature and information used during the project life.

• Technical review and validation of the key TPM deliverables as outlined in the sections above.

• Where possible and necessary coordinate with beneficiaries, stakeholders and partners to support field work plan for interviews and data collection.

• Payment of consultancy fee as per mode of payment outlined in the signed agreement entailing the final approved technical and financial proposals.

No data may be used by the Consultant regarding this study without the written authorization of Solidarités International for a period of 5 years. As the Consultant is acting as a contractor, it will ensure that it presents itself as such for all interviews held as part of the consultancy.

The Consultant agrees to comply immediately with any specific security instructions from SI based on its security analysis and knowledge of the area and its actors. In the event of an incident encountered during the course of the consultancy, the Consultant undertakes to contact SOLIDARITES INTERNATIONAL as soon as possible.

[1] REACH Syria. Turning data into action: Meeting humanitarian challenges amid funding shortfalls in Syria. May 2024.