1. Background. Terms of Reference Needs assessment for the Middle East Academy Centre February 2017 Page 1 of 5

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1 Terms of Reference Assessment of learning needs and capacity in relation to the Syrian Crisis for the Humanitarian Leadership Academy- Middle East Academy 08/02/17 1. Background The Humanitarian Leadership Academy (the Academy ) is a global learning initiative established to support local organizations and communities in overcoming capacity barriers and acting as leaders in humanitarian action. The Academy aims to accomplish this objective by facilitating access to learning resources, platforms, and tools, creating a marketplace for contextualized humanitarian learning, and by helping to support and nurture a cadre of Arabic-speaking humanitarian learning professionals and providers. Collaboration is the cornerstone of the Academy. We work with partners across the humanitarian sector and beyond, from technology companies to universities, to ensure the best solutions are found for those most in need. The Academy operates through a global network of centres and a digital platform (Kaya). The global network is composed of ten Academy s, ultimately reaching forty countries. The Middle East Academy is due to be launched in 2017, and will form a cornerstone of the Academy s efforts to improve access to humanitarian learning in the Middle East Region. Ahead of its launch, the Middle East Academy seeks to commission a comprehensive, strategic, and locally-led Needs Assessment, aimed at identifying key areas of demand within the regional learning landscape. The Needs Assessment will guide and inform the Academy s regional strategy, and its approach to partnerships and learning. The Needs Assessment should be focused on providing practical evidence-based findings and recommendations that the Middle East Academy can act upon based on the final output of the exercise. The Needs Assessment should adopt a broad approach by examining the various layers of the humanitarian landscape. It should also provide insight into how the Academy s activities might affect local livelihoods and recovery efforts (for example, by investing in young people through the provision of training and fostering livelihoods). It is also important that the Academy fully understands the relevant local learning markets and has a broad mapping of potential partners including governments, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, academic institutions, and civil society groups. February 2017 Page 1 of 5

2 A preliminary Needs Assessment for the Middle East Academy was carried out by INTRAC in July Its findings concluded that further, more in depth research was necessary. It was recommended that the Academy carry out another, more comprehensive, crisis-specific mapping and needs assessment to provide further depth of analysis to complement the primarily desk-based exercise. This crisis- based assessment will be used to inform the Middle East s strategy. 2. Key Deliverables The output of this project is a documented, strategic learning needs and capacity assessment. This should also include an Executive Summary of the report in Arabic. The Needs Assessment should be submitted as a final draft by April 8, 2017 and following feedback from the Academy, a final version submitted by April 23, This should also include a presentation of findings and a Q&A session. The geographic scope of the assessment will include Jordan and Lebanon as refugee-receiving countries as well as Syria. Security considerations will guide the research reach. Part of the research within Syria may need to be conducted by referring to organizations working inside Syria who are best placed to assess the current and developing needs of NGOs and communities there. Security considerations must always be taken into account. The key deliverables of the research will include the following elements: 1. A targeted review of the humanitarian sector landscape related to the Syrian crisis with particular focus on Jordan and Lebanon as refugee-receiving countries. This will include a brief historical/situational analysis of the crisis and emergency response activities in the region as well as the following: An analysis of humanitarian response efforts pertaining to the Syria Crisis with particular focus on Jordan and Lebanon as refugee-receiving countries; Strategic mapping of key humanitarian stakeholders and coordination mechanisms involved in the Syrian crisis with particular focus on Jordan and Lebanon as refugeereceiving countries. This includes mapping of governmental actors, local authorities, UN agencies, NGOs, civil society, and academic institutions. This mapping should be based on the Dalberg database format and cover all the organisations strategically relevant to the Academy; Identification of barriers, gaps, challenges, and patterns of problems in the delivery of humanitarian aid in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, with a focus on organizational and individual capacity and constraints within the sector. This should also include an evaluation of the main shortcomings related to the provision of humanitarian aid, including in areas of learning delivery, knowledge management and capacity-building of aid workers. February 2017 Page 2 of 5

3 The percentages of nationals employed within international aid organizations in the research assigned regions, and the main impediments hindering the employment of national and regional staff (Arab Nationals). 2. A targeted review of the regional humanitarian learning landscape, particularly as related to the Syrian crisis affecting Syria, Lebanon and Jordan amongst others. The review should describe, evaluate, and analyse the following: The Regional Humanitarian Learning Landscape: The Needs Assessment should evaluate the accessibility of learning programmes by humanitarian actors involved in responding to the Syrian Crisis, including those in leadership, middlemanagement, and lower management positions, and first responders. It should provide an assessment of the effectiveness of existing learning tools in addressing the needs of humanitarian actors on the ground, and assess, in particular, existing infrastructural barriers to the effective delivery of such learning tools, in areas such as language, cost, and technology; The Impact of Learning Gaps on Humanitarian Personnel: The study should also evaluate and assess existing shortages of trained humanitarian personnel particularly in local communities and the impact of such gaps on ongoing relief efforts; Status of preparedness training at the national and regional levels, particularly in fragile and insecure environments; Existing frameworks and gaps in thematic learning areas, including project and programme management, humanitarian aid delivery, WASH, protection, International Humanitarian Law, minimum standards (Sphere), shelter, and other key subject areas. This can also include a brief survey of secondary literature identifying existing gaps and needs in knowledge and practice in-country, such as documented case studies, UN reports, and other stakeholder reports. This research should be supplemented with interviews with existing practitioners. 3. An analysis of existing training providers and programmes, with a particular focus on Arabic-language providers and content. This should include: Stakeholder mapping of key organisations providing humanitarian training for the Syrian crisis with particular focus on Jordan and Lebanon as refugee-receiving countries. This can include existing programs that work to delivering knowledge and/or evidence-sharing initiatives, focusing on research or evaluations relating to humanitarian practices, capacity building, innovation, and lessons learnt. This should also include a list of the main providers of the humanitarian content and the available languages. This mapping should be based on the Dalberg database format and cover all the organisations strategically relevant to the Academy; Identification of the main learning and knowledge resources and partners that the Academy could work with in order to develop locally relevant training packages February 2017 Page 3 of 5

4 targeting groups such as entry-level humanitarians, volunteers, civil defense, police forces, and border control. This also entails capturing learning efforts developed by previous learning and capacity-building initiatives. Research on potential learning partners and the potential to work with these partners to create distance/digital learning modules (including in areas of training the trainers ) that can be used in distant or difficult-to-access areas of operation and downloaded from the web portal in Arabic. Documentation of successful, collaborative examples and approaches to learning delivery that can be used by the Academy. This should include information on activities such as: o The development of a humanitarian lexicon in the Arabic language; o o Successful translation and Arabization of course content; A number of case studies that document, analyse, and disseminate fieldbased best practices as a source of humanitarian learning. 4. A review of the technology infrastructure to identify the feasibility of relying on e-learning methods as a main vessel for the delivery of humanitarian education. This will include: A general overview of internet penetration rates in the Syria and surrounding states; The accessibility of e-learning tools to humanitarian providers, and their willingness to rely on e-learning tools, online, or blended learning solutions. The review should also highlight existing training delivery methods favoured by the humanitarian sector in the region; Investigate broader perceptions of the credibility and effectiveness of e-learning as an educational capacity-building tool. This will inform our assessment of whether it is feasible to rely on e-learning as a central platform for the delivery of training. It is expected that an initial desk research will identify existing reports, initiatives and studies that may provide useful background material. The Needs Assessment should adopt a broad approach by examining the various layers of the humanitarian landscape. The successful candidate should review the following documents in addition to relevant materials publicly available on our website: Needs Assessment for the Middle East Academy - Final report, INTRAC, July 2016 Middle East Academy Strategic Direction, Brehon Advisory, September 2016 Dalberg Database Humanitarian Leadership Academy Core Narrative February 2017 Page 4 of 5

5 3. Deadline for Submissions and Process Timeline The deadline for submission of a final, detailed proposal (no more than four pages- containing sections on 1) organisational experience and ability, 2) methodology, 3) personnel, 4) timeline and 5) detailed budget) should be submitted to r.soueidan@humanitarian.academy by February 19, Notification of the final decision and contracting will be made on February 24, Contracting Arrangements A contract for consultancy services will be put in place, based on the Academy s standard terms and conditions and these TORs. We strongly encourage organizations from the region to apply. February 2017 Page 5 of 5