Terms of Reference Rapid Assessment of the Community-based Feedback and Complaint Mechanisms (CBFCM) in Oxfam Somaliland/Somalia

CURRENT CONTEXT

Oxfam’s commitment is to actively centre the voice and experience of people and community in all our work and consider power, privilege and equity in the design of community-based feedback and complaints mechanisms CBFCMS, and to respect the knowledge, wisdom and perspective of others, as there is always scope for Oxfam to grow and learn as an organisation working with communities. 

Functional feedback and complaints mechanisms that are accessible and safe to use are a demonstration of our organization-wide accountability commitment, to be truly accountable to the people and communities we work with and those affected by our programmes, by ensuring that they understand what is appropriate and inappropriate conduct of our staff and partners, getting their feedback about our programmes and/or complaints about conduct of our staff, agents or partners  and taking appropriate action to address these concerns. Accountability is “the process of using power responsibly, taking account of, and being held accountable by different stakeholders, and primarily those who are affected by the exercise of such power”[1]. It is the right to be heard, and the duty to respond.

However, anecdotal information indicates that where CBFCMs initiatives and experiences exist in Oxfam, many are still disjointed, some are uncoordinated, and largely undocumented. In many places, they are non-existent, or if they are, not all of them are fully functional. The design of Oxfam’s CBFCMs by Affiliates, Country Offices and in part Partners has not always ensured community involvement, in most cases resulting in not fit for purpose mechanisms. Also different affiliates still approach the issue of CBFCMs differently with different emphasis, approaches, tools and resources, therefore lacking a standardised coordinated approach.

Although Oxfam prides itself for encouraging communities we work with to speak out and report PSEA and child protection concerns and incidents concerning them, recent reports in some countries like not only attests to the limited awareness at community level on SEA and child protection risks and reporting mechanisms, but has also led to an increase in attention to ensure that SEA and child abuse and exploitation by humanitarian and development organisations like Oxfam are addressed through investment in preventive approaches but also responding to reports of abuse and exploitation when these incidents are reported. 

Oxfam has two responsibilities for accountability in the programmes it manages, holding a responsibility for mutual accountability with its partners (as do the partners) and also holding a shared or joint accountability (with its partners) to the communities affected by its programmes.

In addition to some of the above challenges, COVID-19 has added additional challenges to how effective current CBFCMs are, placing additional barriers to reporting that are currently not fully understood or risks mitigated.

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT: 

1.     Map out existing CBCM’s initiatives in select field/project locations, and document best practices and lessons learnt in implementing CBFCMs across the Oxfam confederation 

2.     Undertake a rapid assessment of the existing CBFCMs in Oxfam terms of effectiveness, responsiveness, experiences and lessons plus existing gaps.

SUB-PROJECTS (IF ANY): (if you wish, you can have a separate TOR document for each sub-project)

Scope of the Task

Map out existing CBCM’s initiatives, and document best practices and lessons learnt in implementing CBFCMs across the Oxfam confederation 

               i.         Describe the type and nature of the CBFCMs in place. The setup, functionality (trust by communities, accessibility and safety of reporting channels)

              ii.         Who manages the system at Oxfam level, at community level? What are the capacities in place (dedicated staff, training, etc)? How is oversight for the mechanisms organised?

   iii.         What is the nature of feedback/complaints that are received. How is the information handled (analysed) and utilised (taking action/acted upon) By who? Feedback to communities

B.     Undertake a rapid assessment of the existing CBFCMs in Somaliland and Somalia in Oxfam terms of effectiveness, experiences and lessons plus existing gaps

               i.         How are communities continuously engaged in the design, planning and implementation of the reporting mechanisms

              ii.         Existing coordination/linkages with partners (other NGOs, government entities) in terms of overall coordination, joint reporting mechanisms, information exchange, referral mechanisms etc

            iii.         What is working well with the existing CBFCMs mechanisms (best practices) 

             iv.         What is not working well/challenges

              v.         Opportunities

C.     Deliverables:

               i.         And inception report to be submitted within 4 days after the beginning of the assessment

              ii.         A description of the nature and character of the CBFCM(s) in place, including the process of establishment.

            iii.         A country report presented as a synthesis of the effectiveness of the CBFCMs, best practices (what is working well), challenges (what is not working well) and lessons learnt. It should also make recommendations on how to address existing challenges)

             iv.         A set of case studies focussing on key best practices.  

D.    Methodology

               i.         Preparation phase: desk review, writing an inception report for the assessment, and tools for data collection.

              ii.         Sampling: The selection criteria includes a mix of both humanitarian, development/resilience contexts.

            iii.         The assessment should target key Oxfam staff, partners and communities and should take the form of consultations.

E.     Proposed assessment sites:  

Proposed locations for the assessment include regions: Sool, Sanaag, Togdheer in Somaliland and Bari and Nugaal in Somalia.

TIMELINE: (this is assignment is subject to completion to 4 weeks)

Profile of the consultant:

A.    Minimum of 7 years professional experience specifically related to similar assignment in the Somali context.

B.     Higher university degree in social research or relevant field;

C.     Excellent research skills both for qualitative and quantitative research methods; particularly in humanitarian response settings;

D.    Excellent English speaking and writing skills; understanding of local cultural will be an added value

Application:

Applicants should submit an EOI to SOM-Consultancies@oxfam.org by 16^th March with the following:

·       A technical proposal including methodology and understanding of the issues at stake of the study.

·       Methodology and proposed tools

·       The timetable showing the details for the completion of each of the assessment phases.

·       Detailed budget including daily rate in USD

·       An up to date CV of the consultant

·       Technical sample of assessment/evaluation reports done by the candidate

·       3 references

Only complete applications will be considered.