Background of the Consultancy

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN Migration Agency, was established in 1951 and is the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration working closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. With 173 Member States, 8 states holding observer status and offices in over 100 countries, IOM is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. Since 1996, IOM Ukraine has assisted over 600,000 migrants, IDPs, victims of trafficking, and other vulnerable groups, directly or through its project partners.

Despite the fact that the Ukrainian economy is growing (although this growth is being currently compromised by the economic shock caused by the COVID-19 outbreak), levels of industrial production are demonstrating signs of decline and the economy in the Donbass region continues to deteriorate due to ongoing instability, resulting in limited investments in the region’s industries and few employment opportunities. The unemployment rate in Eastern Ukraine has increased since the onset of hostilities and the continued flow of IDPs further limited employment opportunities. In the Donetsk region (GCA) the unemployment rate in the beginning of 2019 was 14.5 per cent. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), as of 2017, the level of unemployment among youth in Ukraine reached 18 per cent. High unemployment rates, including among youth, have a negative impact on the socio-economic stability of communities and translate into higher vulnerability of the population to violence, exploitation and abuse. This coupled with the ongoing conflict and internal displacement is damaging the wellbeing of Ukrainian society.

Nature of the Consultancy

The Consultancy aims to provide strategic direction to IOMs future livelihoods interventions in the ECA (hereinafter - Donetsk and Luhansk regions, GCA) and areas close to Line of Contact (LoC). The intended output of the Consultancy is a report detailing the economic landscape in ECA/GCA with a focus on opportunities for MSEs (Micro and Small Enterprises) as well as guiding recommendations for the most appropriate allocation of further IOM’s support in terms of impact and value for money. The report aims to instruct an integrated system of beneficiary support that takes into account socio-economic opportunities in beneficiary’ community and seeks to have an impact at the individual level as well as household and community level (both social and economic).

Tasks to be performed under this assignment

-        Conduct a review of humanitarian MSEs support provided by IOM through interviews with IOM beneficiaries (in the period 2019-2020), relevant stakeholders, community members, and review of existing studies, to assess socio-economic impact of IOM interventions; highlight IOM’s successful initiatives and comparative advantage, where relevant;

-        Provide an ECA economic market analysis with a focus on most promising sectors/subsectors that can generate employment or serve as a fertile environment for MSEs to start up with analysis of labour market trends and needs in relation to the identified sectors or subsectors. This needs to be accompanied with market projections assessing the impact of supporting these particular businesses;

-        Review the Government’s MSMEs development plan and identify the most suitable entry points for IOM to support the Government’s initiatives through livelihood interventions to MSEs;

-        Identify specific challenges and peculiarities pertinent to micro entrepreneurship in the Eastern Ukraine and come up with specific suggestions for IOM on the most efficient ways to contribute to its development, taking into account security aspects;

-        Recommend specific IOM interventions (approaches/models) that could help generate sustainable local economic growth both in urban and rural areas of ECA;

-        Identify other possible livelihood intervention opportunities beside the existing material support to entrepreneurship that IOM could offer to the beneficiaries of the programmes in the Eastern Ukraine; identify some basic conditions for providing such support[1];

-        Approach relevant community members and local stakeholders (via online communication tools, if not possible otherwise) to confirm whether the identified promising sectors or subsectors would constitute viable income generating opportunities.

-        Identify best practices from other countries that present with similar environment to Ukraine that could feasibly provide pilot interventions in ECA

Deliverables, overview:

In close consultation and coordination with IOM, the Consultant is expected to produce the following deliverables as part of the assignment:

-        Inception report, confirming the understanding of the assignment, its goals and objectives, suggested research methodology, tools to be used and presenting a detailed work plan that will guide the study;

-        Short presentation of the initial findings and tentative conclusions and recommendations;

-        Developed on findings received and discussion with the project team during the presentation of preliminary findings, draft report to be shared for Programme Manager’s feedback;

-        Once the received comments are addressed, comprehensive final report that includes executive summary, list of acronyms, introduction, research context and purpose. The length of the final report should be 20-30 pages excluding annexes.

Specific requirements for the expected deliverables:

The final report needs to include the following sections:

• Review of the current IOM’s livelihood programme, its modalities, value for money, achievements and gaps. This is expected to be produced based on a desk review of relevant documentation, interviews with the programme team, beneficiaries and other relevant stakeholders;
• MSE market analysis and projections. This is expected to be produced based on a desk review of relevant documentation and interviews with key informants;
• Recommendations. When specific areas for possible IOM’s intervention are identified, including justification and projections, a roadmap of actions is expected to be provided to guide IOM’s further implementation: this might include but does not limit to: possible partnerships, modalities and implementation mechanisms.

All deliverables are to be written in English and meet good language standards. The final report should meet the standards laid out in the UNEG Quality Checklist for Evaluation Reports.

Consultancy workplan with deliverables and monitoring points

This consultancy is scheduled to start on July 1, 2020. The final report is expected on week 10, by September 16, 2020.

The tentative timeline that could be amended upon discussions with the consultant is presented below:

Evaluation budget

Interested external evaluators should provide an indicative all-inclusive budget including the evaluators’ professional daily fee in USD which should include all related costs for carrying out the consultancy.

Call for consultants

The external evaluator should meet the following requirements: 

• Advanced degree in a relevant field such as Economy, Economic Research or Economic Policies is required.
• Minimum of five years of experience in economic research is required.
• Experience in the country or region, in livelihoods and development is preferred.
• Skills in evaluation design, qualitative data collection and analysis, drafting and editing in English, communication, time management and cultural sensitivity are required.

Interested external evaluators are invited to submit the following application materials to [email protected], referring to this advertisement in the subject line of your message:

• CV of the evaluator;
• Proposal outlining the proposed methodology for the research including data collection and analysis techniques and timelines;
• Proposed all-inclusive budget for the evaluation, to include expert fees all other expenses to be incurred.

Any questions should be addressed to the e-mail mentioned above.

The deadline for applications is June 24, 2020.