As the mission agency of the united methodist church (umc), global ministries and the united methodist committee on relief (umcor) funds relief, recovery, readiness, and development projects in 48 countries globallyThrough grants awarded to partners, these interventions are carried out by partners working in these broad sectors:
International disaster response (idr)
United states disaster response (usdr)
Sustainable development
Global migration
Over the last four years (2016, 2017, 2019 and 2020), umcor as a donor agency has awarded grants to implementing partners $60+ million usd for large-scale disaster recovery response through the usdr programThis was driven primarily by the increase in the number of natural disasters including hurricanes michael, matthew, maria, irma, and tornadoes that occurred in the u.sOver the last four yearsParticularly, in the coastal states of florida, mississippi, south carolina, north carolina, louisiana and texas, as well as puerto rico, back-to-back catastrophic disasters led to severe loss of life and properties that required immediate and long-term response.
Program description
Umcor through its usdr program walks with families affected by natural disasters along the road to recoveryWith a very robust case management program, usdr follows a flexible and all-inclusive survivor centered model that seeks to accommodate comprehensive service provision for many of the basic needs required to restore affected persons to their pre-disaster levelsIn addition to recovery and relief, umcor also tailors its interventions to address disaster preparedness in annual conferences (usdr’s main partners) that have a known seasonality to disasters.
Through the usdr program, umcor provides training and capacity building, ongoing technical assistance, networking opportunities, and financial investment for united methodist annual conferences (acs) disaster ministry priorities that help communities effectively, efficiently, and sustainably prepare and recover from disasters.
There are three main activities that usdr programs undertakeThese are:
Providing grants to acs or partners for disaster relief and recovery;
Providing funding and technical support towards training early response teams involved in disaster relief; and
Providing funding and technical support for disaster case management (dcm).
For large-scale u.sRecovery programs, there are generally three main program components: disaster case management, construction management, and volunteer managementBelow is a brief description of each component.
1Disaster case management
Dcm is a time-limited process by which a skilled disaster case manager (dcm) partners with a disaster affected individual or family to plan for and achieve realistic goals for recovery following a disasterOver the years, umcor has developed an 8-step process that case managers follow from intake to case closureThis was the basis for the case management processes implemented in the projects.
2Construction
For cases where client homes require rebuilding or repairs, a team of construction professionals work with dcms to restore client homesWithin the umcor model, three main construction approaches are used: 1) construction with volunteer labor 2) construction with licensed contractors and 3) using both volunteer and professional services.
3Volunteers
Through the united methodist volunteer ministry, volunteer mission groups are organized in all stages of a disaster including recovery effortsFor disaster recovery, volunteer teams are deployed in certain regions to undertake specific assignments needed for the recovery of clientsWith multiple cycles of teams, homes are rebuilt/renovated with limited resources.
Umcor is seeking an independent consultant(s) to undertake an impact evaluation of the disaster recovery program in 5 states and puerto ricoThe final evaluation is both an important learning and accountability exercise for umcor to assess the evidence of impact of the disaster recovery program and provide insights into future programming as usdr continues to provide disaster recovery services to survivors of disasters in the u.s.
With the overall goal of us disaster recovery program, which is the ability of households and communities to effectively, efficiently, and sustainably recover from the effects of the disasters and prepare for future disasters, the final evaluation will be guided by global ministries’ monitoring and evaluation unit to meet the following objectives:
Assess the impact of recovery programs in supporting the recovery of households affected by disasters
Disaster case management
Construction management
Volunteer management
Assess capacities of implementing partners to respond to long-term recovery needs of households
Make recommendations rooted in evidence and generated throughout this evaluation to inform how recovery programs are funded and implemented as it pertains to future programsFor example, the integration of different recovery components, the quality of technical assistance and training provided by umcor, and what improvements are needed.
Scope of the evaluation
The evaluation will focus exclusively on the usdr programs implemented in 5 southeastern states of the us and puerto rico, which aided in the recovery of around 8,000 households impacted by disastersThe evaluation should take into account cdc covid guidelines regarding data collectionThe entire evaluation should not exceed 4 months with the start date of january 2022.
Expected deliverables
Inception report
Conduct initial document review and include a detailed evaluation proposal, including methodology with detailed
ExplanationThis will be reviewed and validated.
Draft evaluation report
Answer to the evaluation questions and will include conclusions, lessons learned and recommendations.
Working session
As part of the report writing process, the evaluator will present the findings, collect attendances´ feedbacks and will facilitate discussion on lessons learned.
Final evaluation
Report
Address feedback received during the working session and written inputsFinal report should include at least a
Narrative overview, analysis, recommendations, and an associated powerpoint presentation.
Profile requirements for evaluator(s)
Experience leading independent or third-party humanitarian sector evaluations.
Familiarity with disaster case management programs is highly preferred.
Fluent in the english language (verbal and written)experience working with vulnerable populations
Experience working in faith-based organization is preferred
Application process - please follow the below steps to officially be considered.
Proposal should not exceed 6 pages (not including cvs, references and samples)Applicants meeting the criteria above are invited to submit a proposal via e-mail to evaluation@umcmission.org and mkperogi@umcmission.org (maureen erinne kperogi, ph.d.) with subject line: usdr evaluation proposal.
Any questions regarding the proposal bids should have the subject line: usdr evaluation inquiry.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
All applications for consideration should include the following:
Proposed evaluation plan (e.gMethodology, data collection/analysis)
Proposed budget and workplan (timeline)
Cvs of all proposed team members
Contact information of three references, who can speak to the skill and expertise of consultants or firms.
Two recent evaluation samples
