TERMS OF REFERENCE
Innovative Funding Mechanisms for Locally-Led Responses
Background Information
DCA, as one of the founding organisations of Charter for Change and signatory to the Grand Bargain, and with a long tradition for empowering and partnering with civil society organisations is strongly committed to localisation and local leadership (L&LL). This commitment is articulated in DCA’s Localisation Framework[1] which is built around four key pillars – Equitable Partnerships; Capacity Strengthening; Financial Resources and Support; and Coordination, Policy and Advocacy. This commitment is further mirrored in DCA’s Global Strategy and across its Global Goals; Save Lives, Build Resilient Communities, and Fight Extreme Inequality, and Create Engagement. DCA has a long tradition of working as partnership-based and practising localisation in both stable and fragile contexts. DCA currently works with some 200 partners globally and provides 24% of its humanitarian funding and 30% of its development funding directly to local partners and community-led initiatives, including women-led, youth-led and faith-based organisations.
Among the partnership models and funding mechanisms DCA utilises to channel quality funding directly to locally-led responses and strengthen localisation and local leadership across our reach, include: localised consortia models, locally-led anticipatory action, network based solutions, flexible concessional funding, and the survivor and community-led response (sclr[2]) approach which includes elements of Group Cash Transfer (GCT).
DCA has also been piloting and supporting a number of innovative and inherently locally-led partnership models through its innovation initiatives—this study will seek to capture learnings from such models to inform future practice and influence broader system actors.
At a time of unprecedented funding cuts that threaten humanitarian and development work and the very existence of local and national NGOs – at a time of unprecedented need and protracted crises – gains made on localisation are at risk. Those who suffer the most from these developments are the marginalised: grassroots civil society, vulnerable populations and human rights defenders. According to a recent ICVA Survey on the impact of US funding cuts, some 11 L/NGOs have already closed and 204 have had to reduce operations. Yet, opportunities exist to harness the current recalibration needed, in furthering the localisation agenda.
DCA continues to pursue ambitious pathways to further strengthen its L&LL approach, in shifting increasing power and resources to local actors, and is seeking an expert consultant to support in developing analysis to explore enhanced innovative funding mechanisms that could be pursued and supported in furtherance of the localisation agenda, across the HDP Nexus.
In pursuing innovation, DCA supports the transition from traditional top-down models of delivery towards more inclusive, community-driven solutions, recognising that in the realm of innovation, there exists a spectrum of creativity ranging from subtle adaptations to paradigm-shift revolutions. Four distinct categories illuminate this spectrum: implementing existing solutions in new contexts, incremental innovation, radical innovation and disruptive innovation. For this study we are interested in especially the first three tiers.[3]
We are also particularly keen to understand how our locally-led consortia models can be documented, strengthened and scaled, and how they can be positioned as a fundraising and influence tool for DCA, partners and donors alike.
Furthermore, digitalization—such as in cash programming—and trends like direct giving offer promising avenues for transformative funding flows. The study should also explore how digital technologies can support and accelerate localization, including opportunities for DCA and other actors to engage.
Contract Purpose and Expected Results
Overall Objective
Through this consultancy, DCA will seek to draw on its own experience and those of other actors across the humanitarian and development response networks, as well as on relevant available analysis and academic studies, to identify and strengthen innovative funding mechanisms that advance the localisation agenda. This consultancy will assess existing innovative funding models and propose enhancements or new models and tools to ensure efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability in supporting innovative locally led humanitarian and development responses.
To this extent, DCA will contract an identified humanitarian and development financing expert(s) with a long-standing and demonstrable experience of advising on and/or implementing impactful and innovative funding mechanisms and locally led responses.
Purpose
- Considering current and future trends, the consultant(s) will:
- Review and describe current and alternative innovative funding mechanisms, including those employed by DCA, which do, or could, seek to advance the localisation agenda as described in the Grand Bargain framework[4], to extract transferable tools and insights for internal and external use
- Assess value-add (efficiency, effectiveness, applicability, sustainability) against localisation commitments, and suggest areas for possible enhancement to ensure they are fit for purpose into the future, providing qualitative and quantitative analysis throughout
- Using this analysis, the consultant(s) will:
- Propose areas for possible enhancement of current mechanisms to ensure they are fit for purpose into the future and inclusive of marginalised local actors including women-led and youth-led initiatives, providing qualitative and quantitative analysis throughout
- Explore and articulate optimum models for innovative and impactful funding mechanisms to enhance localisation including where they may not already exist, providing qualitative and quantitative analysis throughout
Scope of Work
The Consultant(s) will undertake the following tasks:
Conduct desk analysis of existing literature, analyses, and academic studies on localisation and local leadership, and funding mechanisms supporting localisation.
- Conduct key informant interviews with relevant stakeholders including with DCA staff at HQ and Country Office levels, DCA partners and the DCA Global Partner Group, ACT Alliance Members and their local partners, Local2Global, Charter4Change members, ICVA, Grand Bargain Facilitation Group members including NEAR, Grand Bargain Signatories including donors, and other relevant stakeholders, and members of the Grand Bargain Community of Practice on Localisation
- Ensure engagement with innovation teams to extract lessons from DCA’s own innovation work
- Coordinate with designated DCA and ACT Alliance colleagues throughout the consultancy.
- Prepare and submit a first draft of the final report for review by the DCA Review Committee.
- Incorporate feedback and submit a final report.
- Present findings to DCA and relevant stakeholders in coordination with DCA
- Create relevant communication on findings and models for internal distribution in the organization and for external advocacy towards donors
Results
The consultant(s) will produce the following deliverables:
- Deliver an inception report following the initial stage of research and analysis (by end May)
- Deliver a first draft of a final report for review by the DCA Review Committee (by end July)
- Deliver a final Report incorporating feedback from DCA and stakeholders (by end August)
- Present findings to DCA and relevant stakeholders in coordination with DCA
- Short-form communication pieces on findings and models for internal and external use (timing aligned with final report)
Note: This consultancy will be a desk-based assignment. Due to funding limitations, field visits will not be conducted. Insights will instead be drawn from virtual engagements, key informant interviews, and documentation provided by stakeholders.
Timeline: June – September
Location: Remote
Facilities: N/A
Reporting: Brona Higgins, Senior Humanitarian Policy and Practice Advisor: brhi@dca.
Narrative Proposal: Please provide an outline of how the report analysis and development would be conducted, including initial thinking on structure and methodology.
[1] See more on DCA’s Localisation Framework here: https://fabo.org/pluginfile.php/123468/mod_glossary/attachment/1101/DanChurchAid%20Global%20Localisation%20Framework
[2] The sclr approach grew from research into how people respond to crisis, recognising that they are always the first and last responders in any context. It uses microgrants to transfer power and resources to existing and emergent self-help groups and organisations that mobilise during every crisis, allowing for the rapid provision of additional assistance to scale up interventions and increase their impact. The core components of SCLR are: Participatory Action Learning in Crises (PALC), Group Microgrants (or Group Cash Transfers), Skills Training, Connecting, Coordination, Resilience and Systems Change. See Local to Global for more). Learnings from DCA’s Ukraine programme, have shown that the sclr and GCT approach resulted in the transfer of decision-making power, strengthened social cohesion, an increase in the sense of dignity and psychosocial benefits, self-protection, self-reliance and resiliency, and gender equality, while improving groups’ institutional capacities to respond even more rapidly to crises.
[3] More on DCA’s Innovation Approach here: https://fabo.org/dca/Innovation_Hub
[4] The Localisation Agenda as described by the Grand Bargain processes. More on definitions including on what is meant by a local and national actor can be found here: https://interagencystandingcommittee.org/sites/default/files/migrated/2023-05/Grand%20Bargain%20Caucus%20on%20funding%20for%20localisation_Monitoring%20and%20accountability%20framework_VF.pdf
How to apply
Kindly find the Request for Proposal on the DCA website .