Training on Monitoring & Evaluation Consultancy Expression of Interest in Lodwar, Turkana County, Kenya

USADF in Partnership with CEZAM
 

Turkana Food Security Program

Expression of Interest (EOI)

Training on Monitoring & Evaluation Consultancy
 

Terms of Reference for a training on Monitoring & Evaluation
 

Assignment: Training staff and establishing a Monitoring and Evaluation framework
 

Closing date: April 4, 2014
 

Duration: 12 days
 

Location: Lodwar, Turkana County
 

Background information

Unites States African Development Foundation (USADF) provides grants to African organizations and enterprises that increase economic opportunities among the underserved communities in Africa. USADF launched the Turkana Food Security Program in March 2011 and has since funded twenty-four organizations involved in agriculture, fishing, livestock and micro-credit. 

The grants provide people with the opportunity to engage in the development process and gain food security, economic, and social benefits. 

USADF grants respond to applicants’ requests by actively engaging the local community group or enterprise in the design and implementation of the grant activities. 

This ensures that outcomes will best address the real community needs. USADF measures grant success in terms of jobs, increased production and income levels and improved social conditions.

CEZAM and Associates Ltd., an accounting and business development consultancy firm, is the local partner for USADF in Kenya, responsible with providing direct technical assistance and support to grassroots groups who are recipients of USADF grants. 

The partnership ensures that grantees have access to the support services they need to successfully plan and implement their development activities at the grassroots level.

Outcome of the assignment
 

The end result of the training, CEZAM staff should be able to guide and facilitate ADF grantees in developing their own monitoring and evaluation systems that enables grantees to gather data, assemble it and evaluate it by making comparison to their baseline and performance targets. 

To achieve this CEZAM staff will require to be trained on how to:
 

Guide grantees to develop data collection tools to collect information on predetermined performance indicators {Before an ADF grant is signed, ADF, CEZAM, and grantees develop performance indicators, based on grantees’ reporting of baseline data, to the extent it exists. 

Performance indicators become legally binding, through the signing of a document known as the Appendix A. 

The Appendix A indicators are the core of what the grant is trying to accomplish. 

They are not simple projections but indicators that must be met in order for the grantee to receive continued funding from the donor, ADF. 

They serve as the indicators that determine during the grant life and at its completion whether the grant is successful or not.}.

Develop a schedule for data collection activities

• Select and train a grantee committee to be responsible for data collection
• Train grantees’ management to interpret the data collected and use it as a guide in making management decisions important in managing the grantee’s business

Specific Tasks
 

Role and responsibility of the consultant are outlined below:

Task #1: Desk review & Key Informant Interview on M&E

• Complete brief desk review of existing M&E and data collection tools and systems in place.
• Hold meetings with relevant USADF/CEZAM staff and some grantees involved in M&E to better understand their existing M&E systems and tools that will be used and/or adapted for data collection, reporting and evaluation. 
• CEZAM will provide samples of the current systems in place for the consultants’ review.

Task #2: Training

• Train CEZAM staff to understand appropriate M&E mechanisms and tools, based on the projects’ pre-determined performance indicators and work plans.
• Train CEZAM on how to work with grantees to select and develop each grantee’s M&E committees, procedures, data collection tools, and processes for evaluation.

Task #3: Reporting
 

Within 1 week,
 

a) provide a training report that outlines and documents all the activities involved in conducting the M&E training of CEZAM staff and recommend any next steps.

b) develop a “How to” guide i.e. Step by Step Guide to Develop M&E Systems for ADF Grantees that should not be more than 5 pages with a target audience of CEZAM, current or future staff.

Deliverables and Schedule 

During the assignment, the consultant will deliver on the outputs described in the table above. 

Apart from the training report that should be submitted in English in electronic format/MS Word, other documents will be shared in English in electronic format/PDF. 

The suggested days for desk review and meetings with grantees (2 days) training (3 days) and drafting and submission of training report and “How to” guide (7 days) takes a total of 12 days. 

USADF/CEZAM is working on a very short timeline with all deliverables due in April. 

A specific timeline should be submitted by the consultant in the EOI.

Consultant 

The consultant should be a specialist in monitoring and evaluation, especially in the business and/or micro-finance enterprise sector with the following qualifications:  

Degree in social sciences, development/business studies; 

Experience in leading or participating in M&E of donor-funded projects, preferably of enterprise interventions in the food security sector;  

Experience in participatory and gender-sensitive M&E methods;  

Excellent teaching and coaching skills, experience in knowledge management, monitoring, and learning in business/non-governmental organizations or similar;  

Excellent analytical and writing skills;  

Good understanding of the socio-cultural and security context in Turkana;  

Fluency in English and ability to travel to Lodwar, Turkana County.
 

Submitting expression of interest 

USADF/CEZAM invites bids from individual consultants or firms with the experience and skills described above. 

Bids should include:  

• A technical offer that includes the basic methodology which will be used and related areas of focus (or topics) in the training as well as the proposed timeframe/time table;  
• A financial offer that covers all consultancy related costs (excluding training logistic costs that will be covered by USADF/CEZAM) in PDF format;  
• A CV detailing relevant skills and experience of no more than 3 pages, including contactable referees; and 
• One sample of a relevant M&E report. 

Bids should be sent by email to: z.muchunguzi@cezam-usadf.org with copy to j.emathe@cezam-usadf.org no later than April 2, 2014. 

Please address questions about this assignment to z.muchunguzi@cezam-usadf.org.