ECHO Transition Evaluation Consultant

Terms of Reference for: ECHO’s Outcome Evaluation

Country: Türkiye

Duration: November 20, 2023 – December 10, 2023 (10 days of work)

Reporting to: Director of MELTECH – Türkiye

1. CONTEXTUAL BACKGROUND

Since 2013, Relief International (RI) has been registered in Türkiye, initially focusing on cross-border operations into Syria. In 2015, we expanded our programming within Türkiye, operating from our main office in Gaziantep. Our comprehensive range of services includes specialized and non-specialized healthcare, mental health support, specific needs rehabilitation, and physical rehabilitation, distribution of mobility and sensory aids, social cohesion activities, advocacy initiatives, as well as protection and livelihood support for refugees with disabilities.

Our partnership with ECHO in Türkiye program began in April 2016, initially supporting two centers that provided specialized health services, namely Mental Health and Psycho-Social Support (MHPSS) and Physical Rehabilitation (PR). Over the years, this partnership with ECHO grew significantly, continuing to prioritize specialized healthcare services. RI has supported six PR and four MHPSS centers. In 2019, DG-EXHO announced its exit strategy from the health sector, prompting the transition of MHPSS and PR services from NGOs to the Ministry of Health (MoH). RI successfully completed the transition of MHPSS services to MoH by the end of December 2020, while the transition of PR services is still ongoing.

2. PURPOSE OF THE EVALUATION

Over the course of seven years, RI, in collaboration with ECHO, has provided extensive support to refugees in the country. As the multi-year program (7 years) in partnership with ECHO draws to a close, In 2019, ECHO announced the existing strategy from health sectors. Based on that, the transition process of MHPSS and PR services started to hand over all the beneficiaries to Ministry of Health facilities. All MHPSS clients were transferred to MoH facilities and other service providers at the end of 2020. Whereas four PR centers have been closed so far, and the remaining two centers will be closed at the end of June 2024. To evaluate the process of the transition and the impact of this process on the target communities (including the available resources and coping mechanism), RI is embarking on an Outcome Evaluation to assess the impact and effectiveness of the transition process.

The evaluation will primarily focus on transitions that have occurred under three key programs implemented by RI with ECHO funding:

1. Supporting Safe and Inclusive Access to and Transition of Physical Rehabilitation Services in Turkey – SIAT II (June 2022 – July 2023):

This action aimed to ensure the provision of safe and inclusive access to physical rehabilitation services in Türkiye. The evaluation will examine the outcomes and challenges encountered during this phase.

1. Supporting Safe and Inclusive Access to and Transition of Physical Rehabilitation Services in Turkey – SIAT I (April 2021 – May 2022):

The evaluation will also assess the earlier phase of the program, which focused on facilitating safe and inclusive access to physical rehabilitation services. This will provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of the interventions implemented during this period.

1. Supporting Transition and Access in Turkey for Specialized Health Services STAT (April 2020 – March 2021):

This action aimed to support the transition and access to specialized health services in Türkiye. The evaluation will delve into the outcomes and lessons learned from this phase, shedding light on the success and challenges encountered.

The objective of this evaluation is to:

1. Assess the transition process of services and its impact on beneficiaries and the health sector, while identifying challenges and gaps that may have arisen during this process.
2. Assess the specialized health service needs among refugees and identify challenges they face in accessing these services, particularly considering the transition.
3. Assess if resources are available? If yes, what are the access seeking behaviors? Assess people’s abilities and restrictions to access these services. Assess that if there are no available resources, what coping mechanism is being used?
4. Utilize the findings from the evaluation to identify key lessons learnt on the transition process that can inform final transition action as well as advocacy initiative at country and international level.

3. PROPOSED METHODOLOGY

For this Outcome Evaluation, the consultant will conduct an in-depth desk-based review of existing RI program data, primary data that collected by conducting with a sample of transferred beneficiaries, as well as publicly available information on the transition and available health services in Turkiye. Relief International will provide the consultant with access to key program data (anonymized) that will enable the individual to perform the necessary analysis.

4. EXPECTED DELIVERABLES

The following deliverables are expected from the RI team during the evaluation process:

1. Inception Report (November 25): The consultant will prepare an inception report that outlines the evaluation’s methodology, objectives, and proposed timeline. This report will serve as a blueprint for the evaluation and will ensure alignment between RI and the external company in terms of expectations and approach.
2. Data Analysis (November 25): The consultant will analyze the data from the FGDs, in addition to the aforementioned existing program data.
3. Draft Report (December 1): The consultant will prepare a draft report that presents the findings, analysis, and conclusions derived from the evaluation process. The report will outline the impact of the provided services on the communities (including the available resources and coping mechanisms), assess the transition process and its impact on beneficiaries and the health sector, identify challenges and gaps, and address the specific evaluation objectives defined by RI and ECHO.
4. Final report (December 8): The consultant will share the final report which incorporates feedback provided by Relief International. The report includes max 2 pages summary, key lessons learnt and advocacy messages

5. EVALUATION CONSULTANT TEAM

• Relevant university qualifications, preferably in a field related to development studies and health, refugees’ studies. Master’s degree (or equivalent) preferred.
• A minimum of five years of experience with strong and demonstrable quantitative and qualitative research techniques and skills, data collection and analysis, and especially in similar assessments and surveys.
• Demonstrated understanding of refugee’s health needs in the Turkish context.
• Familiarity working with Humanitarian Organizations.
• Political, cultural and gender awareness.
• Fluency in English language, both written and verbal.

6. APPLICATION PROCESS AND REQUIREMENTS

Application Deadline: 10th November

Interview dates: 14th November

Your final application is due on 10th November, and should be submitted electronically

Application must include the following:

• Proposal including: outline of evaluation framework and methods, including comments on the TOR, proposed timeframe and detailed work plan with number of days per phase.
• Proposed evaluation budget, with details about all costs
• Cover letter clearly summarizing experience as it pertains to this assignment (max
• 1 page).
• Three professional references.
• CVs and evidence of past evaluations for each team member.
• At least one example of an evaluation report most similar to that described in this
• TOR and drafted by the consultant that will be drafting the RI report.