Somalia: Final Project Evaluation

Oct 8, 2017 | CARE
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CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty and providing lifesaving assistance in emergencies. Its programmes go beyond meeting basic needs at the onset of an emergency to helping affected communities recover and rebuild their lives long after the crisis ends. CARE has been providing assistance to communities in Somalia since 1981. CARE works in partnership with the government, international NGOs, civil society, leaders and local authorities in order to bring effective and lasting change to the most vulnerable communities. CARE currently works through three main programs: firstly, the Rural Women program which supports poor, rural women and girls in addressing long term underlying causes of poverty and vulnerability as well as social, cultural, political and economic obstacles towards positive change. We help women and girls improve their economic status, access education and support them to play a greater role in local leadership and conflict resolution. Secondly, the Urban Youth program focuses on job creation and livelihood opportunities for poor youth through interventions such as secondary education, vocational training, small business development and microfinance. Thirdly, the Emergency program provides direct humanitarian relief to victims of drought and conflict in Puntland, Mogadishu, and Lower Juba.

CARE SOMALIA /SOMALILAND
TERMS OF REFERENCE FINAL PROJECT EVALUATION
EU funded Deegaankaagu waa noloshaada project
“Your environment is your life”

Introduction


The project


The Deegaankaagu waa noloshaada project -“Your environment is your life”, is a four and half years - EU funded project that aimed to combat rangeland degradation and hence contribute to MDG 1 as well as MDG 7, implemented by CARE and in partnership with Adeso and the Puntland Ministry for Environment, Wildlife and Tourism (MoEWT) and FAO. This initiative aimed to reduce hunger and food insecurity in the Puntland State of Somalia by improving rangeland conditions, promoting sustainable use of rangeland resources, empowering local communities and strengthening institutional capacity of the Ministry of Environment to develop and implement a policy and operational framework for effective management of rangeland resources.

The specific objective of this project was to improve rangeland conditions and to promote a sustainable use of rangeland resources by empowering communities and by contributing to an enabling institutional and legal framework for rangeland protection. Additionally, the project sought to create jobs linked to environmental monitoring and protection and as result of the introduction of alternative income generation and energy production, improving the local economy and community resilience.

The project aimed to achieve the following results:

Result 1: Improved state of natural resources

Activities under this result focused on supporting local communities to take actions to rehabilitate and improve areas of pastures, water harvesting and protection of water points and manage these resources in a sustainable way. Community led- activities to halt environmental degradation included for example: reforestation of the grazing lands with suitable and adapted tree species, construction of barriers, small dams and soil bunds to slow down water flow leading to erosion, rehabilitation of existing dams and water ponds, control of growing gullies and rehabilitation and reduction of grazing pressure on pastures.

Result 2: Improved community capacity for resources management and conflict prevention

Activities under this resulted aimed to strengthen communities ‘capacities and raise awareness on resources management and environmental protection. Activities sought to ensure that resource based conflicts would be mitigated through negotiated benefit sharing mechanisms and practices between different communities.


Result 4: Strengthened institutional and policy framework


Key activities under this result focused on updating, enacting and implementation of existing policy on rangelands. Activities implemented sought to enable the regional Government to manage resources sustainably.

Key activities focused on working with the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism (MoEWT) to lead an awareness campaign throughout Puntland, with the main result to come up with a new environmental law that rescues traditional values and codes discussed with civil society and approved by parliament.

Objectives of the evaluation

The overall objective of the final evaluation is to assess the project’s performance and achievements against the project’s overall objectives and specific objectives and to identify factors of success or failure. The evaluator is expected to follow a participatory and consultative approach to assess the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability of the activities implemented since 2013 (following the OECD DAC Evaluation Criteria). Additionally, the objective of the evaluation is to assess to what extent the programme has contributed to increased resilience and how the programme fits within the broader strategy of CARE in Somalia in the long term. Furthermore, the evaluation will assess the overall impact (positive as well as negative) observed as a result of the project intervention and draw conclusions, lessons learned and recommendations which could inform future programming, policy making and overall organizational learning.

Scope of Evaluation

The final evaluation will cover all activities undertaken in the framework of the project during the entire project period (2013 - 2017). The geographical scope of the evaluation is Bari, Karkaar, Nugaal, Mudug, Sool and Sanaag regions respectively. A set of guiding questions covering each of evaluation criteria have been drafted and included in this TOR, the evaluator is expected to amend, complete these questions and develop a solid evaluation matrix as part of the evaluation inception report.


3.1 OECD DAC guiding evaluation criteria: Relevance Was the project design appropriate in the context of environment and natural resources reform framework (including climate change, environment conservation, food security and livelihoods, and water resources) and well as the rangeland reform framework? To what extent has the project addressed the identified problems or real needs on the ground?

Efficiency:

Was the process of achieving results efficient? To what extent was the project implemented in a timely and cost-effective manner? 1 There is no result 3 as the project focused on the results 1, 2 and 4 of the call for proposals. Have the resourced been used effectively? Do the results in terms of quantity and quality justify the resources used? What factors contributed to implementation efficiency? What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the project implementation process?


Effectiveness:

To what extent have the planned results (outputs, outcomes) been achieved? How effective were the strategies, methodologies and activities used in the implementation of the project? What were the supporting factors and barriers that affected these achievements?

Impact:

To what extent has the project contributed to longer-term outcomes and goals? Are there any possible intended positive or negative impact or consequences of the project?


Sustainability Is there an enabling environment that supports ongoing positive impacts? To what extent are the outcomes and results of the project likely to be sustained after the completion of the project? What are the contributing factors and constraints that require attention in order to improve prospects of sustainability of the project outcomes and the potential for replication of the approach? How were capacities strengthened at the individual and organizational level (including the institutional, legal and policy framework)

Methodology


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 and location. Unless otherwise necessary, the consultant shall use the sampling techniques consistent with the baseline for comparability with baseline performance and target. There should be adequate women representation and participation throughout the data collection process. Where necessary, especially in rural areas, focus group discussions should be conducted separately for men and women.

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. 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.

Deliverables and Timeframe

The total time frame of the evaluation will be 23 consultancy days, with the following deliverables and deadlines:

The assignment shall start the latest on 14 October 2017. A first meeting shall be held before the assignment starts in order to review the ToR and agree on tentative work plan; An inception report shall be submitted to CARE detailing the work plan, sampling frame and data collection tools no later than 16 October, 2017; A draft report shall be submitted no later than 30 October 2017. CARE will send its comments within 3 working days; Final report (in English and not exceeding more than 35 pages, annexes not included) no later than 6 November 2017.

The draft and final report will have the following structure:

  • Executive Summary (max. 2 pages)
  • Introduction.
  • Methodology, including sampling.
  • Analysis and findings of the study, including quotes supporting the findings (from community members, government representatives and other relevant stakeholders)
  • Conclusions, lessons learned, recommendations and best practices.

Annexes


a. Performance indicator tracking table reflecting the status on each indicator against target
b. Evaluation matrix
c. Bibliography of consulted secondary sources d. List of key informants
e. Finalized data collection tools (in English and Somali)
f. Relevant maps and photographs of the study areas g. Raw data in an agreed format

Tasks of the consultants


The consultant will undertake the following specific tasks:

  • Design a participatory methodology and develop both quantitative and qualitative tools for conducting the evaluation;
  • Review existing project documentation and other secondary data relevant to the project’s
  • interventions and project areas;
  • Conduct field work in the project districts including interactions with project beneficiaries, implementing partners, other stakeholders and key informants and regular debriefing with the CARE team;
  • Conduct the evaluation in line with these terms of reference and approved methodology;
  • Present evaluation findings and draft evaluation report to the CARE team and other project stakeholders in a debrief session.
 

Application procedure:

Qualified consultants or consultancy firms are requested to provide the following documentation:


A technical proposal (max 5 page): interpreting the ToR and elaboration of the proposed methodology and design, including (1) draft work plan; (2) brief overview of the consultant/consultancy firm and the skills and experiences they would bring to the assignment (including CVs of all team members assigned to the evaluation); (3) contact details of three referees from other organizations that have recently contract the consultant/consultancy firm to perform similar work for the last 1- 2 years.


A financial proposal: clarifying the following costs: (1) budget with professional fee per day, excluding logistical costs (vehicle hire, enumerators per diem, accommodation and living costs; stationeries, and supplies needed for data collection; and other costs related to field mobilization costs, as these will be provided by CARE.


Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria: Technical experience and expertise Quality of proposal Cost-effectiveness of proposal

Expertise required

  • The evaluator should be an experienced and independent consultant with the following expertise: Masters’ Degree in International Development, Natural Resource Management, rural development or programme management or any other relevant field;
  • A first level university degree in rural development or Natural Resource Management with a combination of 7 years’ of work experience in Project Management and Monitoring & Evaluation may be accepted in lieu of the master's degree.
  • At least 10 years of experience in the humanitarian, transition, or development field, and in project evaluation, policy formulation/development, regulatory and decentralization activities.
  • Previous experience of carrying out assignments in the field of monitoring;
  • Work experience in conflict context; Somalia would be an added advantage; Excellent writing and communication skills in English;
  • At least one previous experience working with a diverse group of stakeholders, including donor/development organizations, government officials, civil society leaders, community leaders, and project beneficiaries.
  • University degree in statistics or equivalent field;
  • Fluent in English (both reading and writing).
  • Somali would be an advantage. (If not at least one person the evaluation team should be fluent in Somali);
  • Excellent understanding of natural resource management, rangeland management, socio- economic development, alternative energy, and governance and institutional development.
  • General professional experience
  • At least 10 years of professional experience in data collection and analysis and reporting. Specific professional experience Minimum of 5 years’ experience in the evaluation of development cooperation projects;
  • Work experience in conflict context; Somalia would be an added advantage.

 HOW TO APPLY:

The applications should be sent by 13th October 2017 to somconsultants@care.orgwith the heading Final Evaluation for EU funded Deegaankaagu waa noloshaada project.