Consultancy to Document, Profile and Assess the Re:BUiLD Programme

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

Background and Context

Launched in 2021, the Re:BUiLD program has advanced self-reliance for over 21,000 refugees and vulnerable host communities in Kampala and Nairobi while addressing the limitations of traditional livelihoods programming.  Of these clients, 10,950 were reached in Kampala . Over five years, Re:BUiLD has achieved significant policy advancements and rigorously tested financial inclusion, business and employment pathways through randomized evaluations, cost analyses, and continuous learning, generating robust evidence on what works, what does not, and at what cost. Building on this evidence, Re:BUiLD has launched its second phase to scale the most effective and cost-efficient interventions. The evidence generated by Re:BUiLD is shaping programming and business development efforts.

Several elements of the Graduation Approach (GA) and Market System Development (MSD) approach which recognizes that economic vulnerability is multi-dimensional, systemic and that households often require coordinated support over time to overcome constraints that prevent them from progressing towards sustainable livelihoods, align closely with Re:BUiLD interventions, including climate resilience livelihoods initiatives, Urban Savings and Loan Associations (USLAs), the Loan Guarantee Fund (LGF), the Enterprise Growth Fund (EGF), mentorship, business and financial literacy training, vocational training and market linkage support.

Through Re:BUiLD, the IRC in Uganda and partners have gained considerable experience implementing and adapting programming to the needs of urban refugees and vulnerable host communities.  There is an opportunity to consolidate these experiences, document how elements of the Graduation Approach and MSD approach have been operationalized, profile the experiences and trajectories of participating households, assess market shifts, assess emerging outcomes and identify opportunities to strengthen implementation and scaling. This strategic direction is in line with the priorities of donors interested in supporting partners that apply the Graduation model and MSD approach to promote sustainable livelihoods and economic self-reliance and systemic changes for refugees and vulnerable communities.

To this effect IRC Uganda desires the services of a consultant to   generate an accessible and evidence-informed account of the Graduation Approach and MSD approach under Re:BUiLD. The consultant will document the intervention pathway, highlight participant experiences, structural changes and results, assess what is working and what requires improvement, and identify lessons for replication, adaptation and scale-up and prepare a  ready to publish learning brief.

The assignment will also translate the evidence into a compelling donor-ready pitch that communicates the relevance, added value, results, scalability and investment potential of the Graduation Approach and MSD approaches for urban refugees and other vulnerable populations.

Purpose of the Consultancy

The overall purpose of the consultancy is to document, profile and assess the Graduation Approach, MSD approaches under the Re:BUiLD, with a focus on its design, implementation processes, participant experiences, learnings, emerging outcomes, sequencing, impact, private sector engagement and potential for sustainable impact.

The assignment will strengthen IRC and partner capacity to articulate, implement and improve a Graduation Approach and MSD approach that responds to the realities of urban refugees, improve private sector engagement and generates credible evidence of progress towards sustainable livelihoods, resilience,  self-reliance and systems change.

The assignment will generate practical learning and recommendations to improve the approaches, strengthen the evidence base for programming and inform donor engagement and resource mobilization.

Specifically, the consultancy will:

• Document the Graduation Approach as implemented under Re:BUiLD in Uganda including its core components, sequencing, bundling of services, delivery mechanisms and adaptations to urban refugee contexts.

• Document Market Systems Development Approaches as implemented under Re:BUiLD in Uganda including its core components, private sector engagement and adaptive management

• Profile the experiences and livelihood trajectories of selected project participants, highlighting changes in economic inclusion, resilience, well-being, agency and self-reliance.

• Assess available evidence of the approach's results, contribution to change, implementation strengths, limitations and sustainability prospects.

• Identify implementation gaps, contextual barriers, promising practices and opportunities for improving the design and delivery of the approach.

• Develop a compelling donor-ready pitch that presents the rationale, evidence, lessons, investment proposition and potential scale-up opportunities for the Graduation Approach and MSD approaches.

• Provide actionable recommendations for IRC and its partners to strengthen implementation, learning, measurement and future resource mobilization.

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Scope of Work

The consultant will undertake the following tasks.

1. Inception and Desk Review

The consultant will:

• Hold an inception meeting with IRC and relevant implementing partners.

• Review project documents, including the proposal, results framework, theory of change, implementation plans, monitoring reports, assessments, evaluations, partner reports and relevant donor reporting.

• Review available participant-level or aggregated monitoring data, subject to access permissions and data protection requirements.

• Review existing studies and evidence on the Graduation Approach, MSD, economic inclusion and livelihoods programming for urban refugees.

• Identify key evaluation and documentation questions, information gaps and potential sources of evidence.

• Prepare an inception report outlining the methodology, work plan, sampling approach, interview guides, analytical framework and deliverable schedule.

2. Assess Results, Contribution and Emerging Impact

The consultant will analyze the available evidence to assess results across the Graduation Approach pathway and Market Systems Development approach.

The analysis should consider the following domains, as relevant to the project indicators and available data:

• Economic inclusion - Employment, enterprise development, diversification of livelihood and access to markets

• Economic stability - Income patterns, savings, asset accumulation, financial inclusion and capacity to manage shocks

• Household well-being - Food security, essential needs, housing stability and access to services.

• Resilience - Ability to cope with economic, social and environmental shocks without resorting to harmful coping strategies

• Agency and empowerment - Decision-making, confidence, aspirations, control over resources and participation in economic activities

• Social inclusion - Social networks, community participation, access to institutions and reduction of exclusion barriers

• Sustainability - Continuation of livelihood activities, retention of gains, post-support resilience and prospects for se