Research Consultant

Research Consultancy (20 days)

CARE Nederland is looking for a research consultant

CARE Nederland, a Dutch-based member of the CARE International confederation, is looking for a consultant to conduct research on the effectiveness of applying equitable partnership standards and localisation principles.

Advancing equitable partnerships is one of the key ambitions in CARE Nederland’s Strategic Roadmap. Our key assumption is that including the people (and other local actors like CSOs) closest to impact in our humanitarian and development programmes will lead to more effective, relevant and sustainable outcomes. And because these are the people who experience poverty and exclusion the most, we assume that their inclusion will lead to more equity, legitimacy and justice. However, there is currently very little evidence available on the effectiveness of equitable partnerships and localisation. Existing research has focused more on efficiency, whereas comprehensive analysis on the relation between equitable partnership efforts and programming results seem less available.

At the level of CARE Nederland, through programming experience and participation in various platforms / working groups, we have obtained results that show improved collaborative relations in addressing power imbalances. But we do not know yet if these changes have led (or will lead) to more effective response to what is needed in a specific context and achieve more impact in the end.

The main objective of this research is to collect evidence for advocacy towards financial partners and to advance equitable partnerships and localisation internally.

The key research question is: Do equitable partnerships and localisation lead to better programmatic results, according to the OECD/DAC criteria?

Sub questions will be proposed by the consultant and agreed upon with CARE Nederland.

• A solid research report that presents the correlation between efforts towards equitable partnerships and localisation on the one hand, and project / programme results on the other, including lessons learned and concrete recommendations for CARE/INGOs, Civil Society Organisations and financial partners.
• An overview of evidence that is already available, in the countries selected, and an inventory of what CARE Nederland has done on Equitable Partnerships and Localisation in the past 5 years. A link with (past and ongoing) impact evaluations of programmes will also be made.
• Overview of suggested advocacy messages that are concise, with concrete language, and include examples of approaches to equitable partnerships.
• A presentation that summarizes results to be used during a validation workshop.

• A well-elaborated methodology for assessing the correlation (potentially as causal effect) between equitable partnerships / localisation and project / programme results. We truly look to go beyond case studies and stories of change and obtain more robust evidence.
• Based on literature research, the consultant will propose how to measure success based on the OECD/DAC criteria as a starting point, while considering locally informed metrics of success, and advice how contextualized indicators could be fed into this action research. This will include analysis of the current CARE International partnership standards (can be shared upon request through the contact person mentioned below) and the degree to which they reflect progress towards locally defined success or might be used to operationalise the standards further. As the process might be equally important as the results, we are eager to see how the consultant proposes to do this research in a truly participatory way.
• The consultant will work remotely. Data will be collected in several countries where CARE is involved in projects/programmes by/through partner organisations and country offices. This can be primary as well as secondary data. A preliminary scoping led us to propose including DRC, Philippines and Yemen. Contact with country offices and partner organisations will be facilitated by CARE Nederland staff.

This assignment foresees 20 days of work to:

• Propose a research framework, in particular the methodology, and including tools
• Support data collection from a distance
• Perform a thorough analysis of the data
• Prepare a draft and final research report
• Presentation and dissemination within CARE, in-country partners and among other organisations in the form of a validation workshop (online)

The assignment will cover a period of maximum three months and starts in February.

Are you interested in this assignment and do you meet the profile sought? Please send your application using the button on our website.

What you will need to upload to apply is:

• A cover letter, summarizing your motivation to apply and relevant expertise and experience
• A CV (including references to articles, publications and other that show your track-record)
• A technical proposal that describes the methodology you propose, combined with a detailed financial proposal
• Please merge the technical and financial proposal into one document as you can only upload two documents (besides a CV).

For more information, please contact Lenneke Kono Tange, Program Manager DRC, konotange@carenederland.org

• • We welcome applications from any country.
• • We request two references as standard.
• • As long as the vacancy is still visible, responding remains possible.
• CARE maintains a zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse and child abuse and takes all concerns and complaints about sexual exploitation and abuse and child abuse involving CARE staff and related personnel seriously.
• Acquisition in response to this advertisement is not appreciated.