Consultancy TOR for Evaluation of SOS CV Kenya

Evaluation of SOS CV Kenya - Marsabit Emergency Programe
 

Terms of Reference, November 2012

I. Introduction

Brief Description of the Program
 

SOS Kenya has been implementing the Kenya Emergence Programme in Marsabit since October; 2011.The programme was initiated in response to food security emergency situation which remained at the crisis phase in most parts of the pastoral zones in the country at that time. 

Livestock productivity declined rapidly due to poor and inadequate recovery and longer trekking distances triggered by depletion of water, pasture, and browse. 

The food security situation was affected adversely by an upsurge in conflict incidents over resources and livestock disease outbreaks not only in Marsabit District but also in the surrounding districts of Isiolo District, Laikipia and Samburu. 

The programme was implemented in five villages of Marsabit Central Division which included: Hula Hula, Manyatta Ginda, Manyatta Jillo, Milima Mitatu, and Parkishon.

A baseline survey was conducted between November to December 2011 to establish the pre-intervention status on the key programme indicators that were used in monitoring during the course of the programme implementation, review the ongoing project activities and project implementation strategy and give recommendation and identify existing gaps that need to be addressed in order to achieve the desired project objectives.

Programme objectives and intended results to be achieved:
 

The programme goal was to ensure that people affected by frequent droughts in the ASALs i.e. Marsabit Central Division, especially women and children, secure their rights to basic services specifically access to food, water, health services and are economically empowered during the emergency and recovery phase.
 

The programme was expected to yield seven results:
 

1) Increased access to food through the provision of cash and food.
 

2) Reduced morbidity and mortality rates especially among children aged below 5 years.
 

3) Increased number of boys and girls access education in Marsabit central division
 

4) Increased livestock levels at the household and community level in the 5 selected communities
 

5) Improved access to sustainable portable water and improved sanitation in the community
 

6) Increased access to financial investments through grants support for community groups and individuals
 

7) Sustained government and community involvement in the project
 

The specific activities pursued in realizing the results include:

• Water trucking to community water points in five villages and five primary schools.
• Installation of Water tanks for rain water harvesting in selected secondary schools
• Supply of drugs, therapeutic feeds to District Hospital and Health centers and the provision of mobile clinic services.
• School feeding program
• Relief Food Distribution through an Electronic Voucher Cards to households
• Livestock restocking to the vulnerable communities
• Building the capacity of groups on entrepreneurship and business skills and issuing of business startup grants

II. Purpose  and Objectives of the Evaluation

The overall objective of this assignment is to carry out the final evaluation to assess how adequately the project has achieved its stated objectives as well as to determine the nature and extent of impact the project has had so far on the main target communities. 

This evaluation is purposed to assess lessons learned and provide practical recommendations for replication and expansion of the approach, with particular attention to further improving food and livelihood security of target population.

More specifically, the evaluation should focus on assessing project relevance/appropriateness, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability and impact. 

These criteria are understood as follows:

1. Appropriateness / Relevance;
 

i. Assess the appropriateness of the  project objectives to the problems that was intended to address, and to the physical and policy environment within which it operated
 

ii. Consistency in project planning and response in its implementation
 

iii. Assess the coherence of the program with international standards and other Humanitarian operational guidelines such as SPHERE
 

2. Efficiency:
 

i. The evaluation should assess the level of efficiency in input delivery, cost control and activity management.
 

3. Effectiveness:
 

a. Measure the extent to which the program was successful in achieving its objectives using the indicators identified in the proposal
 

b. The extent to which planned project outcomes and other deliverable have been achieved
 

c. Progress in the quality of the implementation of each of the sectors (Food component, school feeding program, water trucking, health component, livestock restocking and microfinance).

4. Assess Impact of the project
 

a. What negative or positive impacts or effects did the EP have on the lives of the beneficiaries? (direct/indirect, intended/unintended results)
 

b. Assess the contribution of the program to the reduction of human suffering, particularly for the vulnerable groups
 

c. provide lessons learnt and concrete recommendations on the relevance of applying a similar approach in future as well as the for the on-going SOS EPs

5. Sustainability; concerns likelihood of the continuation of the same activities in light of the achieved project results. This looks into the design of the project vis-à-vis sustainability and the project outcomes.

6. Examine extent in which Cross-cutting issues were addressed.
 

a. Assess the processes and systems used by the Emergency Relief project to ensure the involvement of all the stakeholders, particularly women, youth and Children in design, planning, implementation and monitoring stage;
 

b. Identify lessons learnt and give recommendations of general and specific nature which are useful to the ERRP project for the planning, preparation and implementation of Emergency projects in the future; and unintended project impact.
 

c. Degree of coordination with other humanitarian and development projects in the program

III. Evaluation Methodology
 

The consultants are expected to expound an in-depth process for carrying out the evaluation in the expression of interest (EoI).  It should however involve a mix of a literature review, interviews, site visits, household surveys, measurement of outputs etc.

IV. Evaluation Team Qualification
 

The evaluation team should;

• Have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in Social Science. A post-graduate degree is an added advantage
• Have comprehensive experience and thorough understanding of Humanitarian/Emergency Relief operations and monitoring tools.
• At least five years of hands on experience in conducting assessments, midterm reviews and evaluations evaluation of humanitarian projects in challenging environments.
• Ability to interpret and analyze complex qualitative and quantitative data, and to present findings and recommendations in a clear and concise way.
• Experience in the use of participatory appraisal techniques in data collection
• Excellent report writing, research and analytical skills.
• Knowledge of Marsabit and its environment and sensitivity to cultural issues of pastoral communities is an added advantage.

V. Deliverables
 

The following are the key deliverables for the evaluation process:

• Detailed evaluation framework/design and implementation plan agreed with the SOS, CV.
• Data collection tools
• Draft evaluation report
• Final draft evaluation report
• Two hard copies of the final report and a soft copy to SOS CV Kenya National office

VI. Time frame
 

The Evaluation is expected to be conducted in November 2012 and it is expected to take a maximum of 30 days including the submission of the final report.

VII. Application Details
 

Interested consultants or firms should submit their Expression of interest to the Deputy National Director on joseph.kajwang@soskenya.org this should detail;

• how they will carry out this assignment
• how they are qualified,
• the consultancy fees (in USD)

Please indicate “EP FINAL EVALUATION” as the subject heading

The deadline for applications is 12th November 2012 by 5.00pm.