Environmental Peacebuilding Association

Palestine: Evaluation of Urban Gardening Project

May 21, 2017 | DanChurchAid
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Since the land available for horticulture is extremely limited in the Gaza Strip and, with the current closures and movement restrictions in place, fresh vegetables and fruits are very expensive. Concurrently, the population continues to grow at over 3% annually; putting extra strain on the resources in one of the most densely populated areas of the world. 97% of the Gaza Strip population are urban or camp dwellers, and therefore do not have access to land. Therefore, there is a need to come up with innovative approaches to achieve optimal investment for urban agriculture modalities and to mobilize for such production patterns in the Gaza Community.

By utilizing the available open spaces around schools, universities, hospitals and backyards and top roofs of the buildings for planting and livestock production, the urban gardening approach aims at supporting productive activities that can make important contributions to resilience, dignity, improve food security and food consumption through nutritious and fresh food for vulnerable families.

The project implementation depend on the community based approach and invests in community empowerment and awareness raising, hence contributes to improve community resilience.

The project has been implemented by the DCA partner, MAAN Development Center through two phases. The first phase has been implemented in 2014, where two urban gardening demonstration sites have been established inside two private schools in urban areas of Gaza Strip targeting a total of 665 students (435 males and 230 females). The sites include various urban gardening modalities such as small scale green houses, hydroponic units, Aquaculture (fish tanks), compost units, vertical plantation units and Rainfall catchment system. Additionally, the schools’ staff had been trained on how to manage the demonstration sites. The proposed second phase in 2015 aims at investing in the established demonstration sites to sensitize and promote the students awareness towards applying urban gardening modalities in their communities.

The second phase has been implemented in 2015 and aimed at investing in the established demonstration sites to conduct practical orientation and educational sessions for the students, hence, sensitize and promote the students awareness towards applying urban gardening modalities in their communities.

This has been done through lessons / sessions provided in dedicated extra-curricular activities. In the 2^nd phase, the two demonstration sites have been used as resource to make teaching and learning more practical in the two schools. From this, the students will get a better understanding of urban gardening principles that will enable them to share urban gardening practices within their families and the community. School gardens will also be used as a resource to the community. The intension is to make a center for training and awareness on urban gardening. The project includes working with school teachers and students councils to promote students awareness on Urban Agriculture and to support positive attitude towards the applying of Urban Agriculture. Demonstration sites, educational materials, and educating sessions has been used to achieve such objective. The project has supported initiatives of student to apply urban agriculture in their houses/neighborhoods. This aims at enabling students start up, replicate and practice the urban garden models in their homes as well as to transfer this practice to the students’ family that in turn contributes to spread this culture among the community. Additionally, this aims at making competition among students for creativity and motivate them to replicate the urban gardening models in their homes using their available resources.

The project supports students to think on how to make use of recycled and cheap materials and the best usage of limited spaces to get effective urban gardens. The initiative is considered as startup model (small urban garden) that will allow the students and their families to develop and adopt in the future. Additionally, campaign on Urban Agriculture has been implemented targeting other adolescents and parents in the community.

The overall objective of the project

To enhance the community resilience related to food security in Gaza Strip.

The specific objective of the project is:

Urban gardening approach promoted among school students, adolescents and their households/ communities through building their capacities to apply urban gardening models in the community.

2 Evaluation Purpose, Objectives and Intended Use

2.1 Purpose

The evaluation is intended principally for learning and accountability purposes. It is meant to highlight strengths and weaknesses of the project and recommendations to guide future program work in this area. It is expected to generate relevant findings, lessons and recommendations to be shared with key stakeholders and used by implementing agencies to guide and inform future programming in urban gardening in Gaza.

The evaluation should be combined with a research to explore the opportunities for scaling up the urban gardening approach in Gaza. This will include researching UNRWA and ministry of education needs, interest, requirements for possible funding/scale up of the urban gardening project to UNRWA and governmental schools.

2.2 Objectives

The evaluation should provide an assessment of the results as compared to the set objectives and appropriateness of implementation strategy.
To come up with recommendations, lessons and best practices to inform and guide future urban Gardening interventions in Gaza.
To assess the performance of the project based on project relevance, efficiency, impact, sustainability and engagement of key stakeholders
Explore and provide recommendations for the opportunities of scaling up the urban gardening approach in Gaza (UNRWA, government schools and in the community).
The evaluation should explore and provide recommendations for linking up the urban gardening project to other relevant DCA funded projects in Gaza.

2.3 Intended users of the evaluation

The intended users of the evaluation are the implementing partner, (Ma’an), the donor of the project DANIDA and the contracting authority DCA.

The evaluator is responsible for making the evaluation utilization-focused practice-oriented with concrete suggestions for improvements and replications of positive results and findings. See Michael Q Patton: Utilization-focused Evaluation, Sage Publications or other text on the issue for more information

The evaluation is to be seen as an element in / and to be guided by DCA’s procedures for project implementation. As such it is meant to provide recommendations to guide future similar projects of DCA and other actors in the field of urban gardening.

3 Specific Evaluation Questions

3.1 Assessing Relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability of the project with particular attention to:

Urban gardening educational material: The consultant should Assess the Urban gardening educational material developed through the project to come up with recommendations for possible refinement and upgrade (i.e. relevancy to the school students considering the Gaza context and availability of resources)
Urban gardening units (provided to school students to assist them practice and replicate the urban gardening approaches in their homes/communities): The consultant should assess the relevancy, efficiency, productivity of the Urban Gardening units, units’ management practices, challenges faced by beneficiaries to come up with recommendation to inform and guide the design of urban gardening units of future similar interventions.
Awareness raising activities: the appropriateness of implementation methodology and to which extent it contributed to sensitize community to apply Urban Agriculture models (change in knowledge, attitude and practice).
Innovation: The consultant should assess the innovation aspects of the project considering Gaza context especially the high levels of poverty and the limited resources and spaces. The evaluation should come up with recommendation for innovative urban gardening approaches to enable poor people establish low cost/recycled based gardens by their own initiatives (without external help). This is in line with DCA strategy to enhance the resilience of targeted communities. Furthermore, the consultant should come up with creative ideas on how the project in a new phase can support the students to establish their own urban gardens.
How economically have resources/inputs (funds, expertise, time, etc.) been converted to results? Are the investment and recurrent costs justified? Could the same results have been achieved with fewer resources?
Sustainability: What is the probability of long-term benefits? Will the intended benefits continue when development cooperation is terminated? Is local ownership established?

3.2 Scaling up the urban gardening approach: the consultant should research UNRWA and ministry of education needs, interest, requirements for possible funding/scale up of the urban gardening project to UNRWA and governmental schools.

3.3 Linking up to other DCA funded projects: The consultant should explore possible linkages to the nutritional health project that is being implemented by DCA partners AEI and MAAN (urban gardening component)[1].

3.4 To what extent has the project contributed to achieve the project goal and objectives?

3.5 To which extent does the project live up to the humanitarian accountability principles and benchmarks?

3.6 To which extent is the project rights-based? To what extent has the project/organization taken into consideration different gender interests? Have rights-holders (men and women, boys and girls) participated in project design, and implementation?

3.7 How does the different level of coordination affect the project performance?

Coordination between the project and other projects in inside the organisations

Coordination with the relevant clusters and key actors.

4 Scope of the Evaluation

An external consultant will be hired for 8 working days to carry out the evaluation:

Desk review (1 day): Review of project documents and data – One day
Field study (5 days): meeting with stakeholders directly involved with the project (DCA, MAAN, the target beneficiaries and school staff). Further to this, meetings will be held with other relevant stakeholders including the relevant humanitarian cluster coordinators, other national and international actors including UNRWA, Ministry of agriculture and Ministry of education) – 5 working days
Preliminary findings note: A note on preliminary findings will be prepared during the field study period. This will together with relevant underlying documentation be presented for discussion with major stakeholders in Gaza.
Final reporting (2 days): This will include reporting on the result as compared to the goals and objectives set for the intervention. It will also include a throughout assessment of the project approach and implementation strategy. It has to include throughout documentation of best practices, lesson learned and recommendations.

We aim to start the consultancy on June 15^th, 2017 and finish by the end of June 2017. Field work in Gaza should be in the period of 15^th of June 2017 until 24^th of June 2017.

5 Approach and Methodology

Develop an action plan and methodology for the consultancy service in close coordination with DCA and MAAN
Compile and review of existing documentation – All documentation will be made available to the evaluator. The evaluator will collect and produce additional documentation.
Develop evaluation tools and field test
Interviews and group discussions with key stakeholders and beneficiaries, other NGOs and UNRWA. The DCA Gaza office will prepare a tentative list of individuals and groups for the evaluator to meet / interview. The evaluator may choose to include additional interviews before or during the visit to Gaza.
Gender-sensitive: must allow an understanding of the degree to which different gender interests are taken into consideration
Benefit from and make reflections for the urban gardening approaches implemented in other countries.
In addition to these key principles, it is important that the methodology chosen and presented in detail by the consultant is: Appropriate for addressing the key questions, will lead to results and findings that are believable, credible and valid to primary intended users, Is practical, cost-effective and ethical and includes data creation or data collection among the final beneficiaries
Prepare draft evaluation report to be presented and discussed with DCA and MAAN
Submit the final evaluation

6 Evaluation management and values

The evaluator will be reporting to the DCA Gaza Projects Officer and DCA head of programs (HoP). The evaluator will be briefed by DCA on arrival in Palestine, similarly a debriefing session will be arranged before departure from the region. The field work in Gaza will be carried out in close cooperation with the DCA and MAAN team in Gaza. All major recommendations will be shared with the DCA HoP and Gaza project Officer.

7 Professional Qualifications of the Team

One external consultant with international experience working on urban gardening approaches in different countries will be assigned to carry out the evaluation. The applicants will be evaluated according to the following selection criteria and scores:

Experiences in food security, particularly in the area of urban Agriculture/Gardening approaches
Experience in community mobilizations and resilience approaches
Experience in projects evaluation
Experience in qualitative data analysis, research and report writing
Prposed methodology and time frame including plan for methods and tools

8 Deliverables

A draft note with preliminary findings and recommendations will have to be presented for discussion with the DCA and MAAN before leaving Gaza.
A draft report with findings and recommendations will be shared for comments
A final report will have to be submitted to DCA. The report should include an Executive Summary, with sections including Methodology, Findings, Recommendations, plus annexes of all persons interviewed and focus group participants, and meeting note. The evaluation report should follow the format 1-3-25 as described in Annex 1, DCA Evaluation policy. Failure to comply with this format results is considered breach of these Terms of Reference. This means: starting with one page of main messages, follow that with a three-page executive summary and then present findings in no more than 25 pages of writing, in a language that a bright, educated, but not research-trained person would understand.

9 Proposal Submission Form

To be completed by candidates:

Programme:

Contract:

Proposal submitted by:

Name:

Address

Telephone number:

Fax number:

E-mail address:

Date of proposal:

Financial proposal

My proposal for remuneration of my services is as follows:

Please submit the proposal in USD.

Currency

Amount

Global Remuneration (fees only)
USD
Other Expenses
USD
VAT or other professional tax on services
USD

CONTRACT AND TERMS OF PAYMENT

The consultant with sign a contract with the DCA Office in Jerusalem. In case of an International consultant, DCA shall cover all travel costs (public transport from home to airport, air ticket from home country to Israel A/R, all local travel costs associated with the assessment) and per diems for travel days and days worked in Palestine/Israel. The payment shall be made according to the following schedule:

50% of the fees after signing the contract agreement
50% of the fees plus full reimbursement of other expenses after submission and approval of final report

Duties and Taxes

The consultants shall pay all duties and taxes levied by its home government at any stage during the execution of the work and is requested to provide to DCA valid deduction of source otherwise DCA is obliged to deduct a certain percentage as per the Palestinian Income Tax Law 2013 depending on his/her residency. The deducted amount will be paid directly to the Palestinian Authority as required by law.

Please send a proposal to DCA on geze@dca.dk, by 30th of May 2017 COB

Information

General Information

Principal area of specialization
Years of experience in principal area of sp.
Other areas of specialization
Years of experience in other areas of sp.
Years of study / degrees obtained
Academic institutions
Experience in the region of Contract
Last three assignments in the field of the contract
Languages
(indicate level on a scale from 1 to 5, for understanding, speaking and writing)
Membership in professional organizations
Experience in working in cooperation with local partners/participatory approaches

References

Name & country of customer
Type of services
Periods
Contact person name
Phone and Email

10. Procurement Criteria

The evaluation of the applicants will be based on 65 % technical and 35 % financial scoring.

Any technical offer collecting less than 80 points will be considered not compatible with the technical criteria of the contract and thus be excluded.

Candidate no.:

Maximum points

Score

Score after interview (if amended)

Score

Score after interview (if amended)

Significant experience in food security, particularly in the area of urban Agriculture/Gardening approaches

Experience in community mobilizations and resilience approaches

Experience in projects evaluation

Experience in qualitative data analysis, research, report writing and communication skills.

Subtotal on expertise

Prposed methodology and time frame including plan for methods and tools

Subtotal on Methodology

TOTAL TECHNICAL SCORE

100

[1] Nutritional health project is funded by Danida humanitarian frame and aims at improving the Nutritional health status of targeted malnourished children as well as the food security status, hence, micronutrient intake of the most vulnerable targeted families. An urban gardening component has been added to this project in 2016. The urban gardening component includes awareness activities on urban gardening and provision of urban gardening units for vulnerable families toward improving their food security status that in turn will contribute to improve the nutritional health status of their kids.

How to apply: