Terms of Reference

Background

The Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS) has been providing basic psychosocial support services to the Ukrainian population since 2014, including the provision of Psychological First Aid (PFA) and Psychosocial Support training to first-line service providers. Since that time, the MHPSS Unit has positioned itself as an expert in training provision and a lead provider in basic MHPSS services. Currently, the URCS faces two key challenges: 1) The dominant funding provided by Red Cross and Red Crescent partners is a funding stream that can be unreliable, and 2) the demand for MHPSS services has increased dramatically, including more complex needs that may require alternative ways of working beyond the current focus.

URCS and partners are seeking a consultant or agency to support developing a stronger understanding of the way the URCS currently delivers MHPSS services versus the demand to 1) explore more efficient and sustainable service delivery approaches 2) identify the wider market for URCS services to identify whether to expand the existing approach or explore rolling out more specialised services to meet needs. The assessment will inform prioritisation of services based on sustainability and demand.

Purpose and focus areas

The overall purpose of this work is to have an overview of how URCS MHPSS services meet the current and predicted demand for services and investment opportunities. The assessment will look at sustainability of existing services to clarify which aspects may be marketable and necessary in the next 10 years, and which services may have less relevance to the current and future context. This may identify gaps in URCS MHPSS service delivery that could be implemented as part of the URCS mandate and expertise.

The assessment should assist URCS in shaping the MHPSS services that are relevant to the needs of the population and key stakeholders.

The following broad focus areas should be investigated as a part of the assessment:

1. A mapping and analysis of stakeholders, looking at demand for services and capacity strengthening/building
2. A review of the current approaches to MHPSS delivery and PFA training looking at the structure and approach to assess efficiency and explore more effective ways to utilise minimal resources to meet demand.
3. A review of the URCS strengths and unique selling points in relation to stakeholder and population demand, to identify marketable aspects of MHPSS programming
4. An identification of critical gaps in existing URCS MHPSS services in relation to the demand, including the URCS existing capacity to meet this demand
5. Financial planning for the identified MHPSS services

The assessment should provide clear and actionable recommendations for URCS and partners to inform decision-making and resource allocation in the short-term and long-term to help set priorities. The recommendations should point to URCS staffing, coordination and potential for funding and partnerships.

1. Scope

The review will cover the delivery of community based MHPSS activities for children and adults by URCS and delivery of training to other organisations. The Review will focus on key stakeholders within and outside of URCS and drawing upon best practice in mental health programming within Ukraine and case studies from abroad. The exercise should engage relevant government officials, experts from mental health reform and strategy, market researchers and mental health professionals. The review should make use of existing policies and key documents, literature and datasets.

1. Assessment questions

The following research/assessment questions should be considered as the starting point for further discussions between the consultant(s) and URCS and partners. It is expected that the consultant(s) will actively engage with URCS and partners to further specify and finalize the research questions in the inception phase.

Literature review: What do we know about mental health service delivery in Ukraine and other crises?

• What does the literature indicate about the most common and urgent mental health needs to be addressed in the Ukrainian population now and in 10 years from now?
• According to literature, what approaches are most effective in addressing these needs at scale?
• What are the most common services being delivered to the Ukrainian population?

Stakeholder consultations part 1: Who is doing what and what is missing?

• What is the vision of the government in creation of the MHPSS system in Ukraine including all 4 layers of the MHPSS pyramid interventions?
• Who else is operating in the MHPSS space and what services are they offering?
• What are the priority services currently being delivered that are working effectively?
• What are the services being delivered that are not meeting the needs?
• Where are the gaps in service delivery? What do actors need to prioritise?
• How does current service delivery match up to Ukraine’s roadmap for Mental Health?
• What is the financial landscape for paying for MHPSS services from other providers?

Stakeholder consultations part 2: What is the perception of URCS MHPSS service delivery

• What is URCS known for regarding MHPSS services? What do stakeholders think of when they think of MHPSS in URCS?
• Where do stakeholders see URCS’s unique selling points of MHPSS services? Where do they see their benefits?
• What do stakeholders see as the possibilities for partnership with URCS? What could those look like (in practical terms?)
• What is the feedback for receivers of URCS training provision?

Analysis of existing services and processes

• How do current services match the landscape?
• How does URCS MHPSS Unit currently function as a unit to deliver services?
• What are the current sources of funding and how they support URCS MHPSS service delivery?
• Are there any gaps in funding sources? What have been the solutions and how could future solutions look?
• Which are practical recommendations to improve efficiency and efficacy of service delivery?
• How can URCS effectively market its core services to stakeholders?

1. Methodology

This review and assessment shall be carried in close collaboration between URCS and partners and the Consultant(s). The consultant(s) are expected to use a combination of methods to address assessment questions including:

• Secondary data review (existing MHPSS needs assessments and reviews in Ukraine, Ukraine MHPSS roadmap and policy documents, examples of MHPSS service delivery reform in other contexts, WHO/IASC guidance on assessing MHPSS service delivery, case studies and examples of marketing MHPSS services, etc.).
• Key Informant Interviews and Focus group discussionswith 1) key external stakeholders and 2) URCS staff.
• Strategy development workshops with URCS MHPSS staff to explore alternative solutions to service delivery.

1. Roles & Responsibilities

The review and assessment will be led by the Сonsultant in close collaboration with the URCS MHPSS department and partners. The following broad roles and responsibilities are expected:

Consultant will be responsible to:

• Lead the assessment process
• Develop tools and guidelines for the assessment
• Prepare and submit an inception report per the DRC template
• Organize all needed KII and focus group discussions with all relevant people for the assessment
• Develop workshop methodology
• Organize and Conduct a workshop with URCS to explore service provision
• Accessing documentation, experience and knowledge in the realm of business development and market research
• Conduct a debriefing and/or PowerPoint presentation summarising the findings and recommendations of the review.
• Present the initial findings to DRC and URCS team for suggestions and feedback.
• Prepare and submit the draft report and final report to DRC/URCS as per the DRC review template. Prepare and submit draft Annexes to the report and final Annexes

URCS will be responsible to:

• Support finalisation of the inception report
• Review and approve tools and guidelines of the assessment
• Facilitate planning of the consultancy, linking with URCS MHPSS project staff and volunteers
• Facilitate access to project documentation and technical documentation
• Provide comments to the draft review report

DRC will be responsible for:

• Provide templates and deliverables formats of reports
• Support finalisation of the inception report
• Support development of tools and guidelines
• Support finalisation of the draft review report

1. Deliverables & Schedule

The assignment should be able to begin in November 2024 and completed by February 2024

Deliverables

Call for Expressions of Interest for the consultancy assignment and contracting of the consultant(s) (1st – 22th November 2024 )

An inception report (max. 10 pages, in En), including the finalized methodology and timeframe not exceeding 20 working days. (30th November 2024) The inception report (in En) shall cover:

• the proposed methodology. It is expected that methodology will include desk review, in-person or remote interviews with key informants, survey with beneficiaries, focus group discussions with volunteers, and final data analysis.
• data collection and reporting plans with draft data collection tools such as interview guides, questionnaires
• list of annexes to the report
• the roles and responsibilities within the consultancy team (if relevant)
• a timeframe with deadlines for delivery of outputs
• travel and logistical requirements.

Final Report (15th February2024)