Спеціаліст/ка з якісних досліджень для дослідження досвіду отримання гуманітарної допомоги в Польщі, Румунії та Молдові

Project: Understanding the user journey experience of aid recipients (persons fleeing Ukraine) to support an improved humanitarian response in Poland, Romania and Moldova – PRM

Duration: 4 months (up to 88 working days)

Location: Poland, Romania, Moldova (PRM)

Reports to: Senior Programme Manager

About Ground Truth Solutions (GTS)

Our mission is to ensure that people affected by crises have a say in humanitarian action, from individual aid projects to global humanitarian reform. To achieve this, we collect feedback from people at the receiving end of aid. We challenge and support aid agencies to use this feedback to optimise their work. We help agencies to understand and communicate the resulting insight back to affected communities. We work with policymakers, governments, and aid agencies to bring about the change we want to see.

About the project

GTS will support the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) and its implementing partners to exemplify their Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) commitments and listen to Ukrainian and host community voices and improve programming in real time, by enabling a better understanding of the user journey experience, priorities and feedback of aid recipients and their communities.

The consultancy

GTS seeks the services of a research organisation or independent consultant(s) to conduct a qualitative study evaluating and developing examples of user journey experience based on perceptions of humanitarian assistance provided to people fleeing Ukraine to Poland, Romania and Moldova. This study is part of a project implemented by GTS and funded by the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC).

Objectives

• Catalyse better quality and more adaptive programming, with response-wide strategies being shaped by collective community feedback
• Ensure community perceptions and priorities form a significant and tangible element in DEC’s monitoring and evaluation (M&E) efforts in Ukraine and surrounding countries, such as Poland, Romania and Moldova
• Provide evidence of DEC partners collectively responding to feedback and adapting accordingly
• Provide a model for a management response combining both the supply (progress toward CHS commitments) and demand (people’s feedback) elements of accountability
• Enable DEC partners to become accountability champions across the response, catalysing broader cultural change, and providing lessons learned for future DEC-funded deployments

Research questions – Is the humanitarian response accountable to people’s needs, priorities, and expectations? How can humanitarian assistance be more responsive to the unfolding needs of the fleeing population in host countries neighbouring Ukraine?

Sample – the target population is people in need of humanitarian assistance in countries bordering Ukraine, and local aid workers / volunteers in host countries. We want to talk to:

• General population that fled to:
  - Poland – 12 interviews
  - Romania – 12 interviews
  - Moldova – 12 interviews
• Vulnerable populations in the above areas, such as:
  - Women, who fled with their children
  - People living with chronic illnesses
  - Youth

Methodology

User journeys involve a creative problem-solving process that visualises individuals’ relationships with a product or service. They explore how different archetypes of people make use of a product or service in order to develop improvements from their perspective. Applied to the DEC project, they offer a qualitative research approach that explores the unique perspectives and experiences of various people in need of humanitarian assistance in Poland, Romania, and Moldova.

User journey analysis allows us to chart and visualise people’s interactions and perceptions of humanitarian assistance through a series of qualitative interviews. Participants are encouraged to tell their stories – their actions, feelings, perceptions, and frame-of-mind – so that individual stages of their experiences can be evaluated. Doing so allows us to move away from an operational, system-centred view, toward a human-centred understanding of the programme that is mindful of the diverse experiences of those in need of humanitarian assistance.

Practically, this entails in-depth qualitative interviews that investigate people’s experiences from first arriving to the host community, becoming aware of and registering for assistance, receiving assistance/or not. The methodology applied here is based on the following steps:

1. Individual Interviews

Total number of interviews: 12 key informant interviews in each country (3 cities per country).

The interviews can – when possible – be conducted via video calls. The alternative preferred method would be face-to-face interviews, to ensure thorough documentation of persons experience.

2. Code the individual transcripts

Lead on data analysis using MAXQDA, with support of Ground Truth Solutions.

3. ‘Sense Making’ Workshop

GTS will, together with the hired consultant(s), take part in a workshop to analyse and synthesise the data collected to build a shared understanding of user experience patterns and bring out key insights. The documentation will support the development of aggregated user personas and user journey maps based on discussed patterns and common highlights.

4. User journey maps

The transcribed and translated qualitative interviews will be developed into five composite user journey maps. Each of these illustrated maps is composed of quotes from multiple interviews that were combined into a representative user journey, based on the sampling approach. They give insight into people’s feelings and perceptions, how these change over time, and what they would recommend improving the experience. These user journey maps will provide an opportunity to learn from those either receiving or in need of humanitarian assistance. It is important to note, however, that each user journey is made up of multiple interviews, combined into a representative account that speaks to different personas’ experiences.

5. Personas

Each user journey map is based on the experience of a persona. These archetypes will reflect the combined experiences of between two to five interviewees, collated into a composite account based on the sample designed in collaboration with our data collection partner. Each of the three personas per country will provide tangible identities that represent the general characteristics of different kinds of users. They make it possible to explore different permutations of characteristics and how they impact recipient experiences.

Geographic scope –

• Poland (locations to be decided in consultation with data collection partner)
• Romania (locations to be decided in consultation with data collection partner),
• Moldova (locations to be decided in consultation with data collection partner)

Scope of work

• Attend orientation – kick off meeting with GTS to establish a shared understanding of research purpose and set of guiding principles
• Conduct desk review
• Develop communication plan with GTS team, including regular check-ins
• Write inception report, including a summary of the desk review and proposed research framework and line of inquiry
• Co-design interview guides (including protocol and tools) with GTS
• Identify eligible respondents in collaboration with GTS
• Conduct and record in-depth interviews/focus group discussions, translate verbatim transcripts
• Lead on data analysis using MAXQDA with support of Ground Truth Solutions
• Draft report on user journey experience of humanitarian assistance provided in PRM and submit for review by GTS
• Revise report responding to, and integrating feedback
• Present research findings, in collaboration with GTS, to relevant stakeholders, including participating communities

Deliverables

• Inception report outlining communication plan, methodology and research tools
• Transcripts and audio recordings of qualitative interviews
• Draft report on community perceptions of humanitarian aid
• Final report on community perceptions of humanitarian aid
• Slide deck and delivery of presentation on key findings

 Timeline

It is anticipated that all tasks will be completed by 30 March 2023, with the potential for an extension. A detailed work plan will be agreed upon at the beginning of the consultancy.

Relevant experience & skills

 A degree in Social Sciences, International Development, Humanitarian Action, or any other related area of study/equivalent experience.

• A strong and proven background (e.g., through prior publications or references) in international development or humanitarian action.
• Familiarity with the context of Ukraine, preferably with experience working with Civil Society Organisations and humanitarian actors and organisations
• Proven research skills, including in both quantitative and qualitative analysis.
• Excellent analytical and reporting skills.
• Fluency in written and spoken English, Ukrainian and Russian. Excellent written English.

Application

Interested candidates are required to apply before 15 November 2022 at the following address [email protected] indicating ‘GTS Qualitative Researcher – PRM’.

The application must include:

 A brief cover letter and CV.

• A brief narrative proposal outlining a proposed methodology; the deliverables and tasks; and expected number of days each task will take.
• A financial proposal, including the consultant’s fee per day and any other anticipated costs.
• 1-2 examples of relevant previous work (I.e.: prior publications or at least two references)

 Questions concerning this consultancy can be directed to the above email. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Seeking to recruit a suitable candidate as soon as possible.