Research Consultant for the DFID programme

APPLICATION SUBMISSIONS GUIDELINE: 

Interested researchers or research firms are required to send an expression of interest email using the following subject line “DFID Research”. Upon expressing interest, the interested researcher or research firm will receive the detailed TOR, based on which they would submit their proposal.

CONTACT PERSON EMAIL: 

lebanonhrb@savethechildren.org

DESCRIPTION: 

Integrated Shelter and WASH response to meet the basic needs of the most vulnerable children and their families- Research TOR

           

Role: Research for the DFID programme

Funded by: DFID

Supervisor/s: MEAL Director         

Time Frame of Assignment: 20 December 2017 – 23 March 2018 (50 working days)

Location: Bekaa, Akkar, Beirut and Mount Lebanon Governorates

DFID Project Background

The “Integrated Shelter and WASH response to meet the basic needs of the most vulnerable children and their families” program is currently being implemented in Akkar, Bekaa, Beirut and Mount Lebanon regions. The program was initiated on 1 January 2017 and is intended to end on 31 December 2018. According to DFID’s theory of change, the goal of the programs to contribute to DFID’s identified impact of lives saved, civilians protected, suffering reduced and resilience built.

Research Scope and Purpose

Lebanon currently has the highest refugee-to-host-population ratio in the world. As of June 2017, the number of registered Syrian refugees in Lebanon had reached 1,001,051 million. The refugee population in Lebanon was less than 150,000 in January 2013, this number grew six times larger by the time the year ended. With this huge influx, the demand for housing has significantly increased causing a surge of rental prices within the Lebanese rental market.

It has been extensively discussed through literature on housing, how the informal nature of the rental market in Lebanon, its inelasticity, and the lack of regulations have all well-contributed to this drastic increase in rental prices. Numerous studies have shown that the vast majority (over 80%) of Syrian refugees are renting as a means for housing. According to the latest Vulnerability Assessment of Syrian Refugees (VASyR) in Lebanon, conducted jointly by UNICEF, UNHCR, and the WFP, in some cases Syrian refugees pay over 300 USD per month for rent (in Beirut). In addition, some studies have shown that the highest percentage of refugees’ incomes is spent on rent, values have reached as high as 92% (in Tripoli). where most families are obliged to cut food in order to pay for their rent. The issue of high rental prices has become a heavy burden to Syrian refugees and is numerously ranked by most studies as their first and utmost concern. Not only has this issue forced refugees to search for low-priced rentals with substandard shelter conditions, but also a large number of most vulnerable communities among refugees have resorted to severely insecure shelters including tents in informal settlements and within non-residential buildings. According to the VASyR conducted in 2016, 62% of Syrians in Lebanon lack affordable and suitable shelter. This decrease in availability of affordable and safe shelter options for vulnerable refugee communities, had been also strongly emphasized in the Shelter Strategy, co-led by the Ministry of Social Affairs and the UNHCR.

Since 2014, the shelter sector in Lebanon has embarked on numerous shelter initiatives, aiming to ensure adequate, safe, dignified, and secure living conditions to the most vulnerable communities. In light of the above and within the context of multiple evidence gaps related to shelter programming and its wider effects, this research aims to explore the effectiveness, sustainability, effect on refugee vulnerability and effect on housing market dynamics of the shelter programs described. The research will be covering the Bekaa, Akkar, Beirut and Mount Lebanon regions of Lebanon. It will be conducted on an area based level within cadastrals, where shelter programs have been extensively implemented for rehabilitation/upgrading buildings (occupied or non-occupied) for the use of vulnerable populations. As such, the research’s findings and the evidence generated from this research will be crucial in supporting the shelter sector for advocacy regarding decisions on housing for vulnerable populations, it will also contribute to assessing the sustainability of the impact delivered by these shelter programs on vulnerable populations. It will as well help better inform donors and other actors in the region about the changing situation and housing needs of the most vulnerable and the means to best serve them.

Research Question and Sub-questions

Research question: How has housing support (including Occupancy Free of Charge (OFC) interventions) affected the vulnerability of refugees and the dynamics of the local housing market?

Sub-Questions (to be refined with the researcher/s during Inception Phase)

1. What are the typologies of housing used by the most vulnerable communities in the designated areas?
2. What were the vulnerability changes for the households who benefited from shelter programming?  
3. Are there any unified standards for adequate housing (including safe and child-friendly spaces, playgrounds, proximity to schools and healthcare facilities), if yes, what are they?
4. What are the shelter programs that have been implemented in the designated areas (Bekaa, Akkar, Beirut and Mount Lebanon) since the year 2014?
5. What are the main shelter-related challenges reported by children disaggregated by typologies of housing?
6. What are the national rental pricing trends in Lebanon since 2012?
7. What are the local rental pricing trends in the formal housing market of Bekaa, Akkar, Beirut and Mount Lebanon, since 2012?
8. Are the prices different in the informal housing market (non-residential buildings, substandard residential buildings)?
9. Are the prices different for female-headed households and child-headed households?
10. Have the housing market (formal and informal) been saturated in these areas, and if not, what would be the most suitable in terms of programming and policy making for increasing housing stock?
11. Is the program sustainable post OFC interventions? If not, what aspects of the program could be adjusted to make it more sustainable?

Deliverables

The research team will submit three reports and two presentations to the SCL Steering Committee:

• Inception report: Following the desk review and prior to beginning of the field work, an inception report will be produced subject to approval by SCL. This report will detail a draft work plan with a summary of the primary information needs, the methodology to be used, and a work plan/schedule for the field visits and major deadlines. With respect to methodology, the inception report will include a description of how data will be collected and a sampling framework, data sources, and drafts of suggested data collection tools such as questionnaires and interview guides. It should also include the draft of the final report outline (i.e. Table of Content). 

Once the report is finalized and accepted, the research team must submit a request for any change in strategy, methodology or approach to the SCL MEAL Director.

• Draft report: A draft research report will be submitted to SCL MEAL Director who will lead the revision process with the reference group and provide feedback within two weeks of receipt of the draft report. Quantitative and qualitative data collected and analysis developed should be annexed to the draft report.
• Final report: The Final Research Report should include a two page executive summary that summarizes the key lessons learned, conclusions and recommendations. It should also include best practices case studies that can be shared with SCL technical and management staff. Quantitative and qualitative data collected and analysis developed should be annexed to the draft report.

All material collected in the undertaking of the research process should be lodged with the SCL Person to be referenced by the MEAL Director prior to the termination of the contract.

Presentation of findings:

• At the end of the field work and after submission of the draft report, the research team will present preliminary findings to validate and prioritize learning at the SCL Lebanon level
• After submission of the Final Research Report, the research team will provide a final presentation for relevant stakeholders

Essential Competencies Required

Save the Children Lebanon seeks expressions of interest from people with the following skills/qualifications and expertise:

• Background in delivery of Shelter programs (process rather than engineering focus)
• Understanding of the Lebanese housing market, housing and rental policies and agreements, and Security of Tenure– ideally in both global, local and humanitarian context
• Sound and proved experience in conducting research, particularly utilization and learning focused research and projects’ evaluations.
• Expertise in qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques
• Expertise in participative research and evaluations with focus on child participation and designing assessment tools

Application Process

Interested researchers or research firms are required to send an expression of interest email to the following email address: lebanonhrb@savethechildren.org using the following subject line “DFID Research”. Upon expressing interest, the interested researcher or research firm will receive the detailed TOR, based on which they would submit their proposal to the same email address mentioned above (proposals over 4 pages will be automatically excluded). Proposals must include the following:

• Outline of research framework and methods, proposed time frame and work plan, proposed research budget, and proposed payments schedule aligned with deliverables schedule

• CVs and evidence of past research papers for each team member