Somalia: CARE SOMALIA /SOMALILAND TOWARDS SELF RELIANCE (TSR) PROJECT MID TERM EVALUATION

CARE SOMALIA /SOMALILAND

TOWARDS SELF RELIANCE (TSR) PROJECT

MID TERM EVALUATION

TERMS OF REFERENCE (ToR)

a)Introduction

CARE Somalia/Somaliland received funds for the second phase of the TSR project from the European Commission (EC). The first phase of the project ended in December 2012 and the second phase is a follow-up to and expansion of the former TSR program. The TSR 1 project has made considerable achievements in increasing livelihood security of the target communities. Not only have immediate needs been addressed, but more importantly systems have been established to help cushion livelihoods from the effects of future droughts. The TSR 2 project will build on these achievements by more deeply addressing structural root causes of poverty, decreasing vulnerabilities and fostering a culture of self-reliance.

The new phase of TSR 2 introduces a number of methodological changes and additions to promote investment and further empower women. The enhancements entail: (a) Supporting specific activities that help project participants use the village savings and loans associations (VSLA) funds to start small business ventures (TSR 2 will pilot a profit and loss sharing system that aligns with Islamic financing principles and is not interest based, working closely with local religious leaders; (b) Expanding activities to enhance women’s role in household decision making on allocation of resources through budget management training, and development of leadership skills and basic money management skills (e.g. literacy and numeracy, bookkeeping, management, planning and maintenance); (c) Intensive training on entrepreneurial and vocational skills to help project participants pursue profitable self-employment opportunities; and (d) linking successful VSLAs to remittance companies to further improve access to financial services, and encourage remittance companies to start considering services beyond remittances, as part of a wider range of (Islamic) banking services.

CARE’s VSLA approach is at the core of the program, building on the achievements and lessons learnt of TSR 1. The primary purpose of a VSLA is to provide simple savings and loan facilities, in a community that does not have access to formal financial services and through these and other enabling activities empower women to manage resources and invest them for the benefit of their household. Loans can provide a form of self-insurance to members, supplemented by a social fund which provides small but important grants to members in distress.

In implementing this, CARE envisages a community based approach where communities, through a participatory rural appraisal approach, identify their needs and implement appropriate solutions hence enabling communities to start building a better and more dignified life.

b)Background

The overall objective is reduced poverty and increased food security for chronically food insecure pastoral populations in Northern Somalia.

Indicators

· The proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day in Northern Somalia is reduced by half

· The proportion of people who suffer from hunger in Northern Somalia is reduced by half

The specific objective is improved livelihood security of 4,727 vulnerable households (28,362 individuals) in Sool and Sanaag regions of Northern Somalia.

Indicators

· At least 70% of targeted population score higher on the positive coping strategies index

The project will directly contribute to 4 expected results as outlined below:

Result 1: Improved access to financial services (savings, loans and insurances) for 3,467 vulnerable households by the end of the project.

Indicators

· 3,467 HH have access to financial services through participation in VSLAs.

· 181 VSLA functional by the end of the project

· At least 30% of the HH that receive conditional cash injections participate in a VSLA

· At least 60% of the participants report an improvement of their self-esteem and social position through their participation in VSLA

Result 2: Improved and diversified employment opportunities for 1000 vulnerable households by the end of the project

Indicators:

· 30% of the households start income generating activities during the project

Result 3: Strengthened ability of 1000 women to manage household budgetary decisions and influence household resources allocation

Indicators:

· 30% men and women reporting meaningful participation of women in household budget decision-making

Result 4*: Improved community infrastructure in 42 villages, and increased resilience to the impact of* drought for 3,000 households by the end of the project

Indicators:

· 1,260 HH benefit from conditional cash transfers

· 42 communities with completed infrastructures by type

c)Objectives of the evaluation

The midterm evaluation (MTE) is meant to assess whether the project is on course based on its original plan. The evaluation shall be a ‘formative’ one whereby full participation of the project staff and stakeholders is emphasised in order to enhance and improve the project performance and output. CARE shall hire an external consultant for to carry out the mid-term evaluation.

The project’s midterm evaluation is a part of the agreement with the EC. The mid-term evaluation will be done to check on the progress achieved by the project so far and come up with any possible re-orientation of the project after determination of the relevancy of the current project strategy. The purpose of the mid-term evaluation is primarily:

1. To provide information on the performance of the project against existing project and program indicators to date;
2. To independently assess the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability of the project to date;
3. To provide evidence-based recommendations and lessons learnt to improve program design/strategies and update the logframe, if and where necessary;

At the end of the evaluation, the external consultant shall produce a report and present it to CARE and possibly other stakeholders.

d)Scope of Evaluation

The mid-term evaluation should cover the implementation period from 28 November 2013 to May 2015. The geographical scope of the evaluation is Erigavo, El-Afwayn, Ainabo and Bo’ame districts of Sanaag and Sool regions respectively. While the main emphasis should be on measuring outcomes and sustainability, the evaluation should also cover the project concept and design, implementation, results and outputs. The evaluation should include findings, lessons learned and recommendations.

T As mentioned earlier, the evaluation is a formative study aimed at improving project performance, therefore, the main issues that the evaluation should address include:

A.An assessment of a number of critical elements in the project approach and methodology

1. To assess in detail the relevance of the relief component against the current food security context of the project area. In order to do so the consultant will analyze the food security situation, bringing together existing sources of information and where necessary verify this through fieldwork.
2. To assess the ability to withstand shocks and identify the key coping mechanisms and their impact on household income sources for each of the wealth groups within the project target areas.
3. To assess the impact and sustainability of the Village Saving and Loan Association (VSLA) model in the context of Somalia/Somaliland and the linkage of the project relief component and its Village Saving and Loan Association (VSLA) component.
4. To analyse the impact the project has on the status of women within their households and the community in general (i.e. involvement HH budget decision making and resource allocation, economic position as a result of livelihood opportunities ((self-)employment), involvement in community leadership and decision-making, etc)
5. To assess the effectiveness of measures taken to ensure project achievements are not lost and provide suggestions for improving the sustainability of the project.
6. To review the effectiveness and relevance of the selection criteria for areas, structures and participants: are vulnerability criteria adequately applied in the selection of participants for different project interventions

B. An assessment of the achievements of the project so far against Log-Frame Indicators and the OECD criteria

Furthermore, the consultant shall assess the project achievements against the following criteria (relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability):

Relevance

The consultant should look at the design of the project and assess the extent to which the stated project objectives address the identified problems or real needs.

Efficiency

· Analyse the quality of day-to-day management (adequacy of project budget, management of personnel, project properties, communication, relation management with elders, community leaders, other development partners, etc)

· Local capacity building: How far the project was able to strengthen the capacity of Village committees and Village Saving and Loan Association (VSLA) groups

· Review if the technical design and quality of works undertaken is appropriate and adequate.

· Review and assess the quality of monitoring

Effectiveness

· Assess whether the beneficiaries (communities) perceive that the planned benefits have been delivered and received.

· Assess the appropriateness of the indicators (OVI’s) including any changes made during the course of project implementation.

· Assess the robustness of the monitoring protocol and data collection & compilation by project staff based on the log frame indicators.

Impact

· Assess progress against the planned overall objectives and against the log frame indicators.

· Assess the impact of the projects on the purchasing power of beneficiary households and, as a result, their poverty reduction.

· Analyse the project approach to gender and its impact on gender equity and related issues.

· Assess the possible intended or unintended impact on environment

Sustainability

· Ownership of objectives and achievements: to what extent were the stakeholders consulted and involved in defining the objectives, the selection process for activities and beneficiaries, implementation, monitoring and evaluation?

· Institutional capacity: Assess the degree of commitment of stakeholders, community and village committees in cost sharing, and the measures taken to strengthen their capacity and suggest improvements for the future.

· Document lessons learned by the project so far

· Analyse the capacity building component of the project including appropriateness of training methods and suitability of messages and curriculum.

· Assess the economical and financial sustainability of the interventions.

e)Methodological aspects

The consultant shall use mixed methods including desk review, key informant interview sample survey, and observation using simple but numerically sensitive tools to collect data. The sample size must be statistically representative of the population. The analysis will involve statistical and content analysis using appropriate packages as deemed fit by the consultant. The analysis among others should show trends and to the extent possible should be disaggregated by gender. Unless otherwise necessary, the consultant shall use the sampling techniques consistent with the baseline for comparability with baseline performance and target.

f)Tasks

1. Briefing by CARE, the partner and/or the EC in Nairobi and/or Somaliland
2. Review of reference documents (Desk Review)

· EC regulations, project financing agreements, evaluation guidelines

· Project document

· Project baseline survey

· Project log frame

· Progress reports.

· Financial reports.

· VSLA manual

· Any other relevant documents

1. Design the evaluation and submit an inception report including critical elements in the project approach, project and relevant program indicators and the OECD criteria; and the corresponding data collection tools, sampling technique and sample size.
2. Train enumerators who will pre-test the data collection tools.
3. Obtain feedback on data collection tools from key CARE and partner staff and finalize data collection tools(including translation into Somali)
4. Field Work

· Interact with field staff and finalize the field visit plan

· Interact with local NGOs, other international NGOs and other stakeholders as relevant

· Meet with local authorities

· Collect data from a representative sample of individuals from the target groups and key stakeholders, including the partner NGO, VSLA’s and women’s groups, village committees, elders, user committees and local authorities, through e.g. household questionnaires, key informant interviews (KII) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). There should be adequate women representation and participation during FGD discussions and the data collection exercise in general.

· Assess progress on and quality of constructed on-site facilities and associated infrastructure through cash for work, such as berkads, check dams, etc. e

1. Present of preliminary findings to and validation by key stakeholders in the field, including the project team of CARE and the partner to obtain their feedback to be incorporated in the draft report.
2. Undertake data entry, verification and analysis;
3. Write and submit first draft of report
4. Present findings to CARE and obtain feedback to be incorporated in the final report
5. Finalize the report incorporating feedback and submission of final report.

g) Deliverables

The consultants will produce the following specific deliverables after signing the contract:

DeliverableDay to be submitted 1. An inception report with methodology including sampling technique, sample size, appropriate draft data collection tools (validated and translated into Somali) and an updated detailed work plan. Day 2 2. Training of enumerators and testing data collection tools. Finalized tested data collection tools submitted to CARE for approval Day 4 3. Data Collection, Preliminary assessment report outlining main findings and recommendations and debriefing with the project staff. Day 11 4. Draft report, including all annexes (see below) incorporating feedback from project staff on preliminary findings Day 14 5. Presentation of findings and recommendations to CARE and partners Day 19 6. Final report, including all annexes (see below) Day 21

The draft and final report will have the following structure:

1. Executive Summary (max. 2 pages)
2. Introduction.
3. Methodology, including sampling.
4. Analysis and findings of the study.
5. Conclusions, recommendations and best practices.
6. Annexes

a. Performance indicator tracking table reflecting the status on each indicator against target and previous results, if any

b. Revised logframe, including biannual benchmarks for the project duration

c. Relevant maps and photographs of the study areas

d. Bibliography of consulted secondary sources

e. Finalized data collection tools (in English and Somali)

f. List of key informants

g. Raw data in an agreed format

The report will be written in English.

The consultant needs to produce 3 hard copies of all deliverables. The final report will also be provided in electronic copy (both PDF and MS Word format) on a CD.

g)Qualifications required

The evaluator should be an experienced and independent consultant with the following expertise:

· Minimum of 10 years professional experience in developing countries, including previous experience working in Somalia/Somaliland;

· University degree in Project Management, Livelihoods, Women Empowerment or other relevant related subject;

· Excellent understanding of women empowerment, local governance and community action. .

· Be conversant with Village Savings and Loans Association concept or the Group savings and loan association or similar associations.

· Demonstrated experience in community development / community targeting / Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)

· Have a good understanding of Somalia/Somaliland and its history, and the resulting impact this may have on the working environment.

· Have an understanding of operating conditions in an insecure environment

· Have practical experience in assessments, planning and implementation of interventions using participatory methods such as PRA.

· Familiar with Project Cycle Management and evaluations, especially under EC funded projects.

· Have excellent analytical and writing skills

· Be willing to travel extensively in the working areas of the project.

· Be a team worker who can produce a report and presentation together with other consultants involved in the evaluation.

· Fluent in English (both reading and writing).

· Understanding of the Somali language is an advantage

h)Work plan and Time schedule

The total duration of the evaluation is expected to take 21 days including the fieldwork and report writing. A tentative time schedule is attached. The final work plan and time schedule will be agreed upon between CARE and the consultants.

i)Tentative schedule

Note: the final schedule will be determined by flight availability.

Day 1-2 Review documents and finalize work plan and schedules

Meet with relevant CARE in Nairobi

Continue reviewing of documents

Day 3-4 Fly to Hargeisa and meet with Program Coordinator, Area Managers, field staff, finance staff and partner staff. Review and finalize field visit and interaction plan with project staff.

Day 5-11 Field visits in the three districts, interactions with community groups and project staff and field observations.

Day 12-14 Prepare a preliminary assessment report outlining the major findings and recommendation.

Brief the project staff and local officials on the initial findings and major recommendations. Check facts and figures. Incorporate feedback from the project staff.

Day 15 Fly to Nairobi

Day 16-18 Prepare first draft report and circulate to CARE staff

Day 19 Brief CARE staff in Nairobi and obtain comments and feedback.

Day 20 Incorporate feedback and prepare the final draft

Day 21 Present the final draft to CARE.

j)Guiding Principles and Values

The consultant shall adhere to the “Do No Harm” principle and any other humanitarian principles. The consultant will be required to follow CARE Somalia’s security advice.

Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

· Technical experience and expertise

· Quality of proposal

· Cost-effectiveness of proposal

The consultant shall ensure at all times the confidentiality of data, respect the privacy of all individuals concerned and make all data collected available to CARE in a usable format.

k)Terms**and Conditions:**

Logistics:The consultant’s travel from base to the field and back after the end of the contract (including airport tax), food, and accommodation will be covered by CARE.

Applications should be submitted by 21^st July 2015. All applicants must meet the minimum requirements described above. Applications that do not meet these requirements will not be considered. Each application package should include the following:

• Cover letter (maximum 1 page) and updated CV’s of all study team members

Technical proposal:Which should include (i) brief explanation about the Consultant with particular emphasis on previous experience in this kind of work; (ii) profile of the Consultant to be involved in undertaking the evaluation, (iii) Understanding of the TOR and the task to be accomplished, (iv) draft work and plan

• Financial Proposal: Which should include consultancy fees but excluding: accommodation and living costs; transport cost; stationeries, and supplies needed for data collection; and costs related to other persons that will take part from consortium partners and government authorities during survey process, workshops.

All applications should be sent to somconsultants@care.org with the subject line: “TSRII Mid Term Evaluation”

C*ARE is an Equal Opportunity Employer, promoting gender, equity and diversity. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. Our selection process reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.*

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted