Overview

Strengthening Host and Refugee Populations in Ethiopia (SHARPE) promotes increased refugee self-reliance and generates economic opportunities for host communities through catalytic investment in eight strategic engagement areas (sectors and subsectors): cereals, horticulture, livestock, poultry, fisheries, finance & business services, labour market development and aid. These investments will help expand or reform regional markets for food stuffs, financial and business services and (self) employment in Jijiga, Dollo Ado and Gambella. They will also support humanitarian aid delivery in support of regional markets. Growth should be inclusive of host and refugee communities, fostering increased resilience and self-reliance.

SHARPE desires to understand better the major motivations for, enablers of and impediments to private sector engagement with refugees and host communities in Somali and Gambella regions of Ethiopia. Although there is growing interest in and belief that the private sector can play a significant role in addressing the challenges faced by refugees and host communities, there are a range of barriers in working with these groups.

In this regard, SHARPE desires the services of a local consultancy firm to collaborate with to conduct this research.

Overall Scope

Under the supervision of the SHARPE Monitoring and Results Measurement (MRL) Advisor, and in close collaboration with the SHARPE MRL team in Addis, the qualitative research firm will use an array of tools to collect data from selected respondents. The consultancy firm will be provided with a draft interview guide to use during the interviews, and a list of all individuals to be interviewed.

We expect that a list of 60 – 80 respondents will be identified for participation in the study. However, this will be confirmed with the successful candidate upon selection. The selected candidate will need to be available for between 2 and 3 weeks of data collection across both the Somali and Gambella regions.

After data collection, the raw data set will be submitted to the SHARPE team, and the consultant will be expected to address any concerns or queries from the SHARPE MRL Advisor. Once the data has been accepted, the consultants may be asked to assist in the preliminary analysis, which will be led by the MRL Advisor.

Duties and Accountabilities

In particular, the consultancy firm will:

• Review the interview guide and make any recommendations to improve it.
• Review SHARPE market assessment reports, World Bank Enterprise surveys and other recommended relevant documents.
• Translate questionnaires into the local languages of the Somali and Gambella regions.
• Conduct interviews using the identified interviewees list developed by the SHARPE programme, covering respondents that work in Somali and Gambella region (or are interested to work in the respective regions). 
• Produce raw quality assured qualitative data from the completed interviews.
• Respond to queries raised by the SHARPE team on the submitted data, recontacting respondents as required.
• Submit a final, accepted copy of the raw data to the SHARPE MRL Advisor.
• Assist in the preliminary analysis of the findings in collaboration with the SHARPE MRL Advisor.

Deliverables

In line with these duties and accountabilities, the Consultancy team is expected to deliver the below mentioned outputs within the given timeframe. The Consultant will report directly to MRL Advisor, collaborating with MRL Team in Addis.

The successful candidate will be offered a short-term consultant contract for between 30 and 40 days, based on the number of interviews that are required. These should be split across the team members and allow for 20 to 30 days of primary data collection. The contract will be completed between January and February 2021.

Deliverable Time line Provide comments on the interview questionnaire developed by the SHARPE MRL Advisor20th January 2021 Completed attendance of all team members in the training organised by the SHARPE team20th January 2021 Translated interview questionnaires in the local languages of the Somali and Gambella regions of Ethiopia22nd January 2021 Submitted list of all conducted interviews upon completion05th February 2021 Submitted first copy of quality assured qualitative data.11th February 2021 Submitted final copy of quality assured qualitative data, with all queries from the SHARPE team addressed.17th February 2021 Support on the analysis of data23rd February 2021 

Job Requirements

Expertise Required

The requirements of the team are the following

• Legally registered consulting firm with a valid license.
• An experienced team consisting of a lead researcher and a supporting researcher/s.
• A lead researcher who is an expert in qualitative research, with over 5 years’ experience, and with additional experience in either Economic Development or Private Sector Development.
• A research assistant/s, with at least 2 years’ experience in qualitative research, and a minimum qualification of a degree in a relevant discipline with a strong focus on qualitative analysis.
• A team with proven experience in using participatory methods for qualitative data collection and analysis in program assessments, with examples provided where possible.
• An added advantage if they have experience undertaking studies on Private sector at Gambella or Somali Region.

How to Apply

 Documents for submission

• Maximum 3-page CV for each team members in the study) with a summarized expert of their role in the study should separately be included.
• 1-page letter describing interest and qualifications.
• 2-3 references who can describe your qualifications in conducting qualitative research similar to this assignment.
• A draft workplan that will allow the team to accomplish the planned deliverables as indicated below.

 Interested firms should submit a high-quality proposal and supporting documents to:

Jasper Hatwiinda, SHARPE MRL Lead (jasper_hatwiinda@sharpethiopia.com) AND Ben Fowler, SHARPE MRL Advisor (ben@marketshareassociates.com) AND Ranu Nath, SHARPE MRL Advisor (rnath@marketshareassociates.com)