Final Evaluation – Reunification Pathways for Integration (REPAIR)

Organizational Context

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, with a network of 191-member National Societies (NSs). The overall aim of IFRC is “to inspire, encourage, facilitate, and promote at all times all forms of humanitarian activities by NSs with a view to preventing and alleviating human suffering and thereby contributing to the maintenance and promotion of human dignity and peace in the world.”  IFRC works to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people before, during and after disasters, health emergencies and other crises.

IFRC is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (Movement), together with its member National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The work of IFRC is guided by the following fundamental principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality.

IFRC is led by its Secretary General, and has its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The Headquarters are organized into three main Divisions: (i) National Society Development and Operations Coordination; (ii) Global Relations, Humanitarian Diplomacy and Digitalization; and (iii) Management Policy, Strategy and Corporate Services.

IFRC has five regional offices in Africa, Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, Europe, and the Americas.  IFRC also has country cluster delegations and country delegations throughout the world. Together, the Geneva Headquarters and the field structure (regional, cluster and country) comprise the IFRC Secretariat.

IFRC has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment and other forms of harassment, abuse of authority, discrimination, and lack of integrity (including but not limited to financial misconduct). IFRC also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. 

Job Purpose

The goal of the REPAIR project is to enable safe and legal family reunification (FR) to Europe by providing assistance to Beneficiaries of International Protection (BiP) and their family members from pre-arrival to post arrival stage and facilitate the integration of reunited families. The project is co-funded by the European Union’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF).

The objectives of the project are:

Objective 1: To improve access to FR by assessing needs, providing recommendations and developing resources that increase the level of support for BiP and their family members in the process of applying for FR.

Objective 2: To increase the number of families who receive an individual follow up on their FR case and are supported in their integration.

Objective 3: To build capacities at the national level to assist authorities, service providers and to promote the role of receiving communities in actively supporting FR and the integration of reunited families.

Objective 4: To enhance quality and depth of the action through established links between organisations in-country and transnationally and to share findings and lessons learned from the programme.

Key Outputs:

• Needs assessments on Family Reunification (FR).
• Development and dissemination of national Family Reunification Guides and tools.
• Direct counselling and administrative, legal, material and logistical support in the different phases of a family reunification procedure and to newly arrived family members.
• Integration support through guidance and effective follow-up on individual cases with on-site visits.
• Developing a national stakeholder network and follow-up of individual cases by national stakeholders’ network.
• Information sessions with communities and diaspora.
• Training and awareness-raising on family reunification needs within the RC, NGOs, local authorities, and diaspora communities.
• Exchange visits as well as ongoing learning and sharing of tools between European National Societies and within the RCRC Movement.

a) Purpose
The purpose of this evaluation is to assess the 1) relevance, the 2) effectiveness and the 3) replicability (for broader scales, to other national contexts, and in the EU in general) of the Red Cross activities implemented under the REPAIR project. Additionally, the evaluation should analyse cooperation between the elements of the Movement (IFRC, ICRC and National Societies) within the project, as well as partners’ engagement with external organisations, particularly those representing and operated by diaspora communities.

The evaluation should provide lessons learned and recommendations for future similar projects.

b) Type of evaluation
External evaluation.

c) Scope

Timeframe: 1 October – 6 December 2024

Geography: Austria, France, Great Britain, Slovenia and Hungary.

Programmes: Work in each country falling under the REPAIR project

Job Duties and Responsibilities

This evaluation will focus on the following criteria:

Relevance of the operation and programmes in relation to the needs of beneficiaries of international protection in the project countries.

Questions:
● Were REPAIR activities relevant and sufficient in relation to the different needs of
beneficiaries of international protection (including ones based on nationality, gender, age and vulnerability)?
● Were activities based on the participation of beneficiaries of international protection? Did they adapt to the preferences of migrants, or changes in needs, capacities or context?
● Were some activities more relevant and more appropriate than others?
● How did the Red Cross REPAIR activities relate to overall National Society plans, strategies and
policies on assistance to beneficiaries of internation protection? And how did this affect the National Societies’ standing/positioning nationally with authorities, UN actors, other NGOs etc?
● Was the project aligned with EU guidance and policies around legal pathways to the EU guidance and policies around legal pathways to the EU territory, and especially regarding family reunification?
● How far will the activities, approaches and resources established or carried out in REPAIR be sustainable or continue to inform and support future activities beyond the lifetime of the project?

Effectiveness of the intervention in meeting people’s needs.

Questions:
● Have the programme achieved the results expected?
● Have there been any positive or negative changes as a result of REPAIR project activities, directly or indirectly, intended or unintended?
● What evidence (both direct and indirect) is available that the interventions contributed to meeting the needs of affected people? What was the impact for the people assisted?

RCRC Movement Coordination

Questions:
● Throughout the course of the project, what was the added value of IFRC project coordination?
● Throughout the course of the project, what was the added value of IFRC in the family reunification file?
● Have the partner National Societies been able to effectively learn and benefit from each other’s participation in the project?
● Has the network been used in full capacity?
● What is the added value of a RC exclusive project, compared to a more diverse consortium, with external partners?

Job Duties and Responsibilities (continued)

Evaluation methodology & process:

The evaluator will be expected to develop a detailed evaluation methodology in the inception report, which needs to be approved by the Evaluation Manager (the IFRC REPAIR programme manager who will ensure coordination with relevant technical and National Society partners).

The tools used in the evaluation needs to include: desk review and analysis of key documents, key informant interviews, and interviews with volunteers and migrants the Red Cross has been working with (including FGDs, and individual interviews). The evaluator can suggest other tools.

● Desk review: Conduct a desk review of key documentation, including proposals, project reports and project output materials including needs assessments, case studies and lessons learned documents (see annex of key documents).
● Key informant interviews: the evaluator needs to interview a sufficient number of people involved in the project to have a good overview and understanding of the implementation period. This includes people from IFRC, PNS and external stakeholders. Skype/Teams interviews can be arranged.
● Interviews with volunteers and people the Red Cross worked with: the evaluator should interview a sufficient number of Red Cross volunteers and people the National Society worked with under the REPAIR project to have a good overview and understanding of the project activities and their impact. The evaluator needs to work with NS to ensure a sufficient portion of the data collected comes from people the Red Cross worked with under the REPAIR project.

Selection of interviewees will be critical to ensure an appropriate perspective and analysis of the project as a whole.

Evaluation deliverables & illustrative timeline:

a) Inception report. An inception report demonstrating a clear understanding of the ToR with a realistic plan of work for the evaluation is required. The inception report should include the proposed evaluation methodologies, a data collection and reporting plan with identified deliverables, draft data collection tools such as interview guides, and travel and logistical arrangements for the evaluation.
b) Debriefing / Feedback meeting: Debriefing to the REPAIR project management team to discuss the initial findings, conclusions and recommendations, before submission of the draft report.
c) Draft report. The consultant will produce a draft report which will be reviewed by the IFRC REPAIR programme manager. The consultant will be given the feedback after no more than five working days to incorporate into the final report.
d) One-day participatory lesson learning event. Online event to be organized with the participation of the REPAIR project management team, members of the Transnational Steering Group, and IFRC colleagues.
e) Final report. A Final report will be submitted within 10 days of receiving the feedback from the draft report. The final evaluation report will be no more than 20 pages (excluding executive summary and annexes) highlighting key findings, conclusions and recommendations.

Experience

Evaluation quality & ethical Standards

The evaluator should take all reasonable steps to ensure that the evaluation is designed and conducted to respect and protect the rights and welfare of the people and communities involved and to ensure that the evaluation is technically accurate and reliable, is conducted in a transparent and impartial manner, and contributes to organizational learning and accountability. Therefore, the evaluation team should adhere to the evaluation standards and applicable practices outlined in the IFRC Framework for Evaluation and respect the Red Cross Red Crescent 7 Fundamental Principles, and will be asked to sign the Red Cross code of conduct. 

The IFRC Evaluation Standards are:

1.Utility: Evaluations must be useful and used.

2.Feasibility: Evaluations must be realistic, diplomatic, and managed in a sensible, cost effective manner.

3.Ethics & Legality: Evaluations must be conducted in an ethical and legal manner, with regard for the welfare of those involved in and affected by the evaluation.

4.Impartiality & Independence: Evaluations should be impartial, providing a comprehensive and unbiased assessment that considers the views of all stakeholders.

5.Transparency: Evaluation activities should reflect an attitude of openness and transparency.

6.Accuracy: Evaluations should be technically accurate, providing sufficient information about the data collection, analysis, and interpretation methods so that its worth or merit can be determined.

7.Participation: Stakeholders should be consulted and meaningfully involved in the evaluation process when feasible and appropriate.

8.Collaboration: Collaboration between key operating partners in the evaluation process improves the legitimacy and utility of the evaluation.

It is also expected that the evaluation will respect the seven Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross and Red Crescent: 1) humanity, 2) impartiality, 3) neutrality, 4) independence, 5) voluntary service, 6) unity, and 7) universality. 

Knowledge, Skills and Languages

Qualifications

The evaluation will be carried out by a single evaluator, supported by Red Cross staff and volunteers. The evaluator cannot have had a major role in the REPAIR project itself. 

The proposal should include a timeline and daily fee. IFRC has standard operating procedures for Travel, Accommodation and Perdiem, which will be followed. 

The evaluator must have experience or significant knowledge of migration within the EU as well as with Community Engagement and Accountability or similar approaches. The evaluator must also have previous experience in conducting evaluations for similar size, international migration projects.

The evaluator will coordinate directly with the IFRC Europe Regional Office in Budapest, and should meet the following requirements:

Required:
● Demonstrable training in evaluation of projects
● Demonstrable experience in leading evaluations in humanitarian programmes related to migration and/or Community Engagement and Accountability.
● Experience in participatory approaches to evaluations
● Excellent English writing and presentation skills in English, with relevant writing samples of similar evaluation reports.

Desirable:
● Very good understanding of the RC/RC Movement 
● Field experience in the evaluation of humanitarian or development programs with prior experience of evaluating Red Cross programmes.
● Academic background and/or work experience in migration.
● Previous experience in coordination, design, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of non-camp-based migration projects.

Competencies, Values and Comments

Application Procedures
Applications are to be submitted by the 6 September 2024 through the IFRC recruitment Portal using the below link:

The following should be submitted with the application:
● Curriculum Vitae (CV)
● Proposal, including budget: A technical proposal should accompany the application, detailing the consultant’s understanding of the ToR with budget indicating the Daily Fee. IFRC has standard operating procedures for Travel, Accommodation and Perdiem, which will be followed.
● Evaluation methodology in short.
● The proposal should explain how the challenges and constraints outlined in the ToR will be dealt with and include a revised timeline of activities with the suggested locations.
● One sample of recent evaluation writing (a report or similar).

For any queries regarding these terms of reference, please contact:
Ms Virag Viniczai
Senior Regional Migration Officer, ROE
[email protected]

With copy to:
Mark South
IFRC CEA Regional Delegate
[email protected]