Request for Proposal – Economic Impact of Mine Clearance Consultant

1. Who is the Danish Refugee Council?

Founded in 1956, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a leading international NGO and one of the few with a specific expertise in forced displacement. Active in 40 countries with 9,000 employees and supported by 7,500 volunteers, DRC protects, advocates, and builds sustainable futures for refugees and other displacement affected people and communities. DRC works during displacement at all stages: In the acute crisis, in displacement, when settling and integrating in a new place, or upon return. DRC provides protection and life-saving humanitarian assistance; supports displaced persons in becoming self-reliant and included into hosting societies; and works with civil society and responsible authorities to promote protection of rights and peaceful coexistence.

DRC Yemen conducts activities in humanitarian mine action, economic recovery, shelter and settlements, and camp coordination and camp management.

1. Purpose of the consultancy

DRC Yemen seeks a consultant to develop a tool and methodology for assessing the impact of mine clearance in Yemen. There is currently no reliable tool for determining the economic impact of mine clearance tasks. Tools currently in use in the sector rely heavily on information about land usage, output, and potential earnings collected during interviews with community leaders, landowners, and other stakeholders who often do not have formal or up-to-date information to provide. As a result, most economic impact figures provided by HMA actors are, at best, rough estimates.

MEAL capacity in the HMA sector is typically lower than in other humanitarian sectors, so a process that is replicable and relatively low-intensity (for data collection) is essential for the method proposed by the consultant to be adopted.

1. Background

DRC’s Humanitarian Disarmament and Peacebuilding (HDP) sector in Yemen is currently conducting manual mine clearance (MMC), explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), non-technical survey (NTS), and explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) in areas under the control of the internationally recognized government. As HMA actors begin mine clearance work in Yemen, developing a contextualized, effective tool for measuring the economic impact is essential to better prioritize tasks and gain a more comprehensive understanding of the effects of clearance on communities.

1. Objective of the consultancy

The purpose of this consultancy is to:

• Pilot a novel approach to impact evaluation in the HMA sector;
• Develop a tool and methodology that can be used by HMA organizations in Yemen to measure economic impact on beneficiaries accessing cleared land following the completion of a mine clearance task;
• Determine a process that is replicable and relatively low-intensity so that it is possible for HMA actors to adopt it.

1. Scope of work and Methodology

The consultant will

• Consult with DRC to understand the information that HMA or MEAL teams can reasonably collect in the Yemeni context;
• Consult with DRC HDP and Economic Recovery teams to understand the HMA and economic contexts of areas where DRC operates as well as projects implemented;
• Conduct a comprehensive literature review on the economic situation in IRG-controlled areas of Yemen;
• Draft a tool and clear methodology (including data collection plan) to measure economic impact of mine clearance;
• Validate the tool and methodology with DRC’s HMA and economic recovery teams; and
• Train DRC’s MEAL team and key economic recovery and HMA staff on the use of the tool and methodology, and analysis of the results.

In the technical proposal, the consultant should outline the research methodology, including data sources, sampling methods, and data analysis techniques. The methodology should be sensitive to the security and logistical challenges in the research areas.

The consultant should consider the following factors (among others) for determining economic impact:

• The types of livelihoods people depended on before the contamination (crop farming, rearing livestock, etc.)
• How the contamination has curtailed their engagement in their livelihoods e.g. have they been prevented or are they unable to engage in certain economic activities because the fields are contaminated? Have they reduced the acreage under production and to what extent? How many livestock have been injured and what is their value? If someone was injured, what livelihoods activities were they doing that he cannot engage in any more (it should be monetized as much as possible)? Are there roads that they used to travel on that they may have abandoned making transport to markets and other places difficult and how much more do they have to pay to when traveling?
• How people have been economically impacted by the contamination, using monetary figures to the extent that these figures are meaningful and accurate, and other costs saved, including transportation, following clearance.
• The increased value of land following clearance.

The Consultant will provide the documentation by email.

1. Duration, timeline, and payment

The total expected duration to complete the assignment will be no more than 25 working days.

The consultant shall be prepared to complete the assignment no later than 30 April 2024. Please note that this consultancy will be fully remote and requires only the development of the tool, methodology, and training. The consultant will not travel to Yemen and will complete data collection or analysis.

1. Eligibility, qualification, and experience required

Essential:

• Experience developing novel research methods in environments where key information is not readily available
• Demonstrable expertise in developing similar assessment tools

Desirable:

• Experience conducting evaluations in Yemen
• Experience in conducting training on research tools and methodologies
• Understanding of the HMA sector

Qualification:

• Bachelors degree in economics, social sciences, statistics, or related field, or substantial work experience in economic impact evaluation
• A minimum of five years conducting economic impact evaluations.
• Excellent English (essential) and Arabic (preferred)

1. Technical Supervision

The selected consultant will work under the supervision of HDP Coordinator.

1. Location and support

The consultancy will be completed fully remotely. The consultant will provide her/his own computer.

1. Submission process

Please submit a cover letter (up to 2 pages) detailing proposed methodologies, and experience utilizing these methodologies (including in sectors other than HMA); CVs of key staff; and a financial proposal. Teams of consultants or individuals are welcome to apply.

Applications proposing methodologies for economic impact assessments currently in use in the HMA sector will not be considered.

The financial proposal should detail the total costs for the consultancy. Please note that the consultancy is NOT for the implementation of the economic impact assessment, only the tool and training development, and that the consultancy will be conducted remotely.