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.
About the Mixed Migration Centre
The Mixed Migration Centre (MMC) is a leading source for independent and high-quality data, research, analysis, and expertise on mixed migration. MMC aims to increase understanding of mixed migration, to positively impact global and regional migration policies, to inform evidence-based protection responses for people on the move, and to stimulate forward thinking in public and policy debates on mixed migration. MMC’s overarching focus is on human rights and protection for all people on the move. MMC focuses on 6 regions, with regional teams in each of these: Eastern Africa & Yemen, North Africa, West Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe. MMC is part of the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), a leading humanitarian organization responding to displacement and mixed migration in 40 countries. Read more about MMC here: www.mixedmigration.org.
Since 2014, MMC has been implementing 4Mi (please see our website for details) as its flagship primary data collection system which is an innovative approach that helps fill knowledge gaps, and inform policy and response regarding the nature of mixed migratory movements and the protection risks for refugees and migrants on the move. 4Mi has a unique network of field enumerators situated along frequently used mixed migration routes and in major migratory hubs. It aims to offer a regular, standardized, quantitative system of collecting primary data on mixed migration. In Asia and the Pacific, 4Mi has been active and implemented in Türkiye, Afghanistan, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.
Purpose of the consultancy
The Mixed Migration Centre (MMC) seeks proposals from a consultant to implement pilot 4Mi data collection in Pakistan for a period of 2.5 months to collect data on mixed movements of Afghan migrants and refugees to and through Pakistan in selected locations.
Background
Pakistan has hosted large Afghan populations for over four decades, since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. According to UNHCR, as of June 2022 there were approximately 1.3 million registered Afghan refugees in Pakistan – nearly 62 percent of the total Afghan refugee population in the immediate region. Pakistan is both a destination country for Afghans, as well as a transit corridor for Afghans crossing to Iran, Türkiye, and moving onwards to Europe. Since the Taliban takeover in August 2021 in Afghanistan, Pakistan has been an option for many Afghans seeking to access foreign consular services to qualify for visas in third countries or applying for relocation programs. As of January 2022, there were an estimated 775,000 Afghans living without documentation in Pakistan.
MMC aims to document these complex Afghan migration dynamics to and through Pakistan through data collection and research among Afghans, with the aim to increase understanding of who is taking these routes, the drivers of their decision to migrate, the routes they take and the conditions of their journey, including the protection risks they face and their needs.
Objectives of the consultancy
The primary objectives of this consultancy will be to understand:
- Who is undertaking mixed migration journeys? What are their socio-demographic profiles?
- What do refugees’ and migrants’ journeys look like: route, duration, conditions, financing, and assistance?
- What is motivating refugees and migrants to make the journey?
- What dangers do refugees and migrants face on the journey, and where?
- How vulnerable are migrants on their journey, and what determines their vulnerability?
- How prevalent is smuggling, and how does it manifest itself?
- How are decisions made regarding migration and the migration journey, and what influences those decisions?
Scope of work and Methodology
The consultant is expected to use both quantitative and qualitative data collection.
Phase 1. Desk review to inform data collection sites
On the basis of a brief desk review to feature in the inception report, the consultant will refine sampling locations and ensure alignment with 4Mi’s global sampling frame. The consultant may propose up to 5 locations, specifying whether they are locations of settlement, transit, and/or points of crossing into Pakistan.
Phase 2. Data collection
In phase 2, the consultant will organize and administer training for enumerators in coordination with MMC to ensure the use of 4Mi training documentation as well as survey SOPs. Pilot surveys and interviews shall be built into the work plan per each selected location and sent to MMC for review. The standard 4Mi survey questions are already developed, coded, and translated. The semi-structured interview questions are also developed and translated.
The consultant will conduct 400 surveys among Afghans in selected locations. Data collection should take place face-to-face using a mobile-phone-based application to collect the data. The surveys will be automatically uploaded to the regional server, allowing the MMC’s 4Mi regional team to validate and clean data.
Alongside the surveys, the consultant will conduct 30 semi-structured interviews with a diverse sample among the same population in consultation with the MMC team. The semi-structured interviews will be recorded, transcribed, and translated into English and shared with the MMC team.
The consultant will be responsible for ensuring that enumerators have smartphones with Android operating system and other equipment to conduct 4Mi surveys and interviews. The MMC 4Mi team will liaise with the consultant to provide feedback on data quality to enumerators. The consultant will provide day-to-day support and supervision to enumerators throughout data collection.
It is anticipated that the consultant will be in regular contact with a primary contact point from the MMC team to keep up with the timeline that will be finalized during the inception phase. The MMC contact point will take responsibility for ensuring timely responses to drafts and inputs to the consultant.
Phase 3. Report writing
The consultant will draft a final and brief report (5-10 pages) providing an overview of the successes and challenges of data collection among Afghans in Pakistan as well as lessons learned. The report should also provide an overview of the field enumerators’ observations on the dynamics of Afghan movements to and through Pakistan in terms of reported places of transit, organization/arrangement of journeys, and reported protection risks and incidents.
Deliverables
The consultant will submit the following deliverables:
Phase 1: Desk review
Expected deliverables: Presentation.
Indicative description tasks: A brief inception report (3-4 pages) outlining –
- Scope of the study
- Sampling criteria and locations for data collection
- Survey implementation work schedule
- Potential challenges
- Project team composition
Maximum expected timeframe: 1 Week
Phase 2: Data collection.
Expected deliverables: 400 surveys and 30 semi-structured interviews.
Indicative description tasks:
- Field visits
- Collect 400 surveys.
- Conduct 30 semi-structured interviews.
- Submit data on a bi-weekly basis and respond to validation queries.
Maximum expected timeframe: 2 Months
Phase 3: Reporting
Expected deliverables: Final report.
Indicative description tasks:
Prepare the first draft report (5-10 pages):
- Project achievements
- Experienced challenges
- Best practices
- Lessons learned and enumerators’ observations and inputs related to fieldwork.
Incorporate feedback from MMC before submitting the final report.
Maximum expected timeframe: 1 Week
MMC shall provide a template for the report, however, the consultant is responsible for ensuring that the final report is fully copy-edited and complies with MMC’s editorial and style guidelines.
Duration, timeline, and payment
Timeline
Activities / steps to feature in workplan:
- Completion of brief inception report, which outlines, with demonstration of feasibility: an agreed sampling strategy that suits the objectives of 4Mi in Pakistan, based on demographic characteristics in addition to pre-defined MMC sampling criteria (e.g., respondents over the age of 18 who have been in the country for less than two years); the suggested language/s of surveys; proposed survey locations; and any other key methodological features crucial for 4Mi implementation;
- Validation of the inception report by MMC and consultant’s integration of any feedback;
- Enumerator preparation and training. MMC will share existing training documentation, and SOPs on surveying. Trainings can be adapted to the specific context and sampling framework in a country. If errors or inconsistencies are spotted by the MMC team while conducting the cleaning and validation, the consultant is expected to provide this feedback to enumerators and conduct any relevant re-training;
- 4Mi data collection (400 4Mi surveys and 30 semi-structured interviews) in Pakistan;
- Writing a brief report on an overview of lessons learned from fieldwork, enumerators observations, as well as mixed movements to and through Pakistan;
- Full copy-editing of report by consultant before submission to MMC;
- Validation of report and integration of any feedback by MMC;
Duration
The total number of working days should not exceed two and a half (2.5) months for the hired consultant. The consultant shall be prepared to complete the assignment no later than December 31, 2023.
Estimated start date of consultancy: October 25, 2023
Estimated end date of consultancy: December 31, 2023
Payment
20% at the validation of the inception report.
80% at the submission of the total number of surveys and final report.
Proposed Composition of Team
- Project Coordinator
- Project Officer
- Enumerators
- Eligibility, qualification, and experience required.
Essential:
- The consultancy is open to firms. The research team’s managers should have an advanced degree (Master’s or Ph.D.) in migration studies or in social sciences, with expertise in quantitative research methods.
- At least five years of experience conducting primary data collection and managing research projects, with at least three years of these being within the field of migration and forced displacement.
- Proven experience in designing and leading research on migration and similar relevant topics.
- Proven knowledge and understanding (e.g. through prior publications or data collection) of mixed migration dynamics in Pakistan.
- Familiarity with the Pakistan context and proven access to relevant stakeholders for securing data collection permits/authorization in Pakistan.
- Ability to independently carry out data collection in Pakistan and expertise with data collection, specifically using a survey tool.
- Familiarity with the MMC 4Mi Methodology.
- Excellent analytical and reporting skills.
- Excellent command of spoken and written English. Knowledge of Pashtu and Dari is an asset.
- Demonstrated experience in implementing safety and duty of care guidelines in refugee-specific research informant protection.
Desirable:
- Previous experience working with 4Mi methodology and data.
- Previous experience working with MMC.
- Experience using phones or tablets to collect data.
- Pakistan-based consultants, research groups, or organizations will be strongly preferred.
Technical supervision
The selected consultant will work under the supervision of:
- Abdullah Mohammadi, MMC Asia and the Pacific Regional 4Mi Coordinator.
- Shreya Bhat, MMC Asia and the Pacific Research Officer.
Location and support
Pakistan.
The Consultancy Company will provide its own equipment, i.e. computers and mobile telephones with an Android operating system for enumerators.
Travel
The consultant is expected to travel for field visits in the selected locations on a monthly basis during the data collection phase in order to monitor data collection activities. The consultant will be, therefore, expected to arrange transportation, accommodation, insurance, and food and to make adequate provision for related expenses in the financial proposal.
Submission process
Refer to the RFP Invitation Letter.
Evaluation of bids
Refer to the RFP Invitation Letter.
How to apply
To submit the bid and for more information, please go through the link below_
