Terms of Reference End of project Evaluation

Terms of Reference End of project Evaluation

Title of the Project

Enhanced Resilience for Pastoralists and Sustainable Returnee Re-integration in Sanaag and Lower Juba, Somalia

Area of intervention

Sanaag and Lower Juba, Somalia

Project Reference Number

PN: 2017.1802.2

Length of Project (Months)

46 months

Start date of the Action

1^st July 2017

End date of the Action

30^th April 2021

1. Background

CARE has been working in Somalia since 1981, implementing a varied portfolio of projects in all regions of the country. The Enhanced Resilience for Pastoralists and Sustainable Returnee Re-integration project in Somaliland/Somalia aims to support resilience building for disaster-prone and chronically food insecure pastoralists populations and sustainable returnee re-integration in Sanaag and Lower Juba regions of Somalia. **

The project Geographic Areas are Sanaag region and Lower Juba: Sanaag region is an area of concern based on CARE’s vulnerability assessments in 2015 and 2016 and as such selected based; 1) the region being highly fragile and contested between Somaliland and Puntland, 2) 60% of households reported suffering water shortages year-in and year-out. 3) Less than 10% of women reported to have access and ownership of key productive capitals; land, livestock & businesses. 4) Lessons learned in resilience programing from BMZ and EU investments in Togdheer and Sool could be built upon which benefits the project. 5) Support from the local community and district administration for CARE’s leading role in holistic programs that creates synergy using layering, integration and sequencing models for maximum impact. Lower Juba is selected based on 1) chronic vulnerability of all livelihood groups (classified IPC Phase 3, Crises and IPC 4, humanitarian emergency) due to the persistent underdevelopment 2) frequency and severity of displacements and migrations as a result of the on-going conflicts, 3) UNHCR’s priority region for refugee returnees and re-integration areas and 4) Over 70% of the refugees in Dadaab have indicated that they are preparing to voluntarily return to Somalia by the end of the year of almost 50 % of them are returning to Lower and Middle Juba regions.

In Lower Juba, CARE targets refugee/IDPs returning to Kismayo district as the region is ravaged by conflict and instability with no formal governance systems.

Using its program approach which seeks maximum synergy between different humanitarian and development projects in the same geographical zone, CARE formulated this project to address the massive humanitarian and development challenges facing populations in Sanaag and Lower Juba. The specific objective of the project is to strengthen the resilience of chronically food insecure pastoral populations and sustainable reintegration of refugee and IDP returnees through provision of cash relief, income generation support, farm inputs, rehabilitation of water sources, construction of latrines and hygiene promotion.

The project contributes to resilience-building and re-integration of refugees and IDPs’ efforts by focusing on the following four key outcomes:

Outcome 1: Improved access to water resources through the rehabilitation and maintenance of existing water infrastructure

Indicators

1.1 Number of rehabilitated water infrastructure in communities

1.2 Number of communities with technicians trained on maintnance of rural water infrastructure

1.3 Number of beneficiaries with access to 15 l of clean drinking water (person/day) by the end of project

Outcome 2: Improved access to income, savings and social safety nets to strengthen against crises at household and community level

Indicators

2.1 % increase of men and women with improved access to social/financial services (savings and loans) by the end of the project

2.2 % increase in diversification of asset ownership at HH level

2.3 At least 30% of the HH that receive conditional cash transfers participate in a VSLA

Outcome 3: Improved nutritional status and strengthened capacities of IDPs, returnees and host communities to cope with external shocks

3.1 % of beneficiaries (men and women) who are able to restore their livelihood assets within the first year of the project

3.2 Number of beneficiaries in return areas (men and women) with improved access to water and food.

Outcome 4: Strengthened coordination, cooperation and exchange of information between NGOs for the successful integration of refugees and IDPs

4.1 Number of organisations actively participating in inter-agency coordination at national and regional level.

4.2 Number of organisations directly contributing to the generation and use of information for improved inter-agency coordination.

2. Purpose of the evaluation

To assess the impact of the project on the lives of project beneficiaries and the contribution of the project to the principle objective of the project, which is, to support resilience building for disaster-prone and chronically food insecure pastoralist populations and sustainable returnee re-integration in Sanaag and Lower Juba regions of Somalia. In other words, this external end of project evaluation aims at assessing achievement of the stated objectives, outcomes and outputs (both intended and unintended), best practices and lessons learnt from the implementation process. It will also measure the level of community and other stakeholder participation and ownership of the implementation process. The evaluation exercise will come up with conclusions and recommendations for learning and future programing in resilience building and sustainable re-integration of refugees and IDPs in Somalia.

3. Objectives of the evaluation

To assess (i) the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability of the project towards meeting the specific objective and (ii) the contributions of the project to a) Food and Nutrition Security, b) Reconstruction of Social and Productive Basic Infrastructure, c) Re-integration of Refugees and IDPs, and d) Disaster Risk Reduction

The specific objectives of the evaluation are:

a) Assess whether this project, in design and implementation strategies, is consistent with the overall goal of BMZ, national priorities, policies and action plans for enhancing resilience and supporting re-integration of refugees and IDPs, i.e. the extent to which the various actions have contributed to priorities set under each of the above;

b) Examine to what extent resilience programing (and activities undertaken under this project) has effectively contributed to improved availability and accessibility of water, diversified incomes, stronger community cohesion, improved relations between refugees/IDPs and host communities and reduced impact of droughts

c) Examine to what extent the key outcome areas have been achieved and participatory approaches applied

d) Analyze and verify the achievement of intended outputs as described in the operational framework for each action i.e. logical framework

e) Analyze the efficiency of the operation: planning of activities, involvement of beneficiaries in the implementation, beneficiary targeting, and value for money, etc.

f) Assess the impact of the project on enhancing resilience of drought-prone communities and supporting sustainable re-integration of refugees/IDPs and draw out key lessons learnt and opportunities for future programing in resilience and durable solutions

4. Scope of work

In the course of this evaluation, the evaluators shall interact with a wide range of respondents or informants such as, beneficiaries who benefitted from the project such VSLA members, CfW beneficiaries, village committee members, etc., and relevant government departments and authorities such as the Ministry of Water Resources Development, National Disaster Preparedness and Food Reserve Authority (NADFOR), Jubaland Refugee and IDPs Agency (JRIA), Erigavo district authority, etc.

5. Evaluation methodology

The consultant shall prepare comprehensive participatory methodology for undertaking this evaluation. The methodology must include among others, literature reviews; meeting and interviewing project staff, officials in relevant government authorities; visiting the target villages and interviewing direct project beneficiaries (VSLA members, VC members, CfW beneficiaries, etc.) and stakeholder consultations. The consultant is expected to develop and use data collection tools (questionnaires, key informant and semi-structured interview schedules, focus group discussion guides, etc.) as appropriate to the sampling process employed.

6. Indicative plan

Advertising the evaluation consultancy

8^th March 2021

Assessment of applications and awarding of contract

20^th – 31^st March 2021

Skype call with Project Manager and M&E Coordinator, review of project documents and development of data gathering tools

1^st – 5^th April 2021

Field work (detailed itinerary and route maps for the field work will be jointly developed during contractual stage)

6^th – 20^th April 2021

Report writing

21^st – 30^th April 2021

7. Key tasks of the consultant

a) Collect relevant data / information on the project implementation, outputs and outcomes from relevant sources

b) Develop methodology and tools for the data collection and analysis process. The tools will be shared and approved by CARE before starting field work

c) Develop a practical work plan for the work

d) Visit project sites and carry out data collection

e) Consult with relevant stakeholders for their views on the project

f) Debrief CARE Somalia/Somaliland after completing the assignment and validate the findings prior to submitting final report

g) Prepare and submit final evaluation report to CARE Somalia/Somaliland as per time frame set in the ToR.

8. Responsibilities of CARE

· Provide relevant documents/resources (proposal, reports etc.) for desk review

· Officially introduce the consultants to relevant stakeholders

· Review and approve the study instruments/tools

· Support supervision of the consultant during the entire process of evaluation planning, field data collection and reporting

· Provide input to the draft report and final report

· Recruitment of competent enumerators

· Logistic support – transport, per diem and accommodation for the consultant

9. Consultant’s profile

A consultant with strong knowledge and experience covering the key result areas of the project is recommended for this evaluation. The Consultant should have at least have a degree in disaster risk management, environmental studies, climate change or any relevant social sciences field and experience in evaluation, sound knowledge of the Somalia/Somaliland context and the geographical area of the operation and demonstrated ability to manage the available time and resources and to work with tight deadlines. The Consultants should be independent from the parties involved.

The Consultant should also have demonstrated experience in evaluating humanitarian and development project focusing on strengthening drought resilience capacity, disaster preparedness and emergency response. The consultant should have good understanding of participatory methodologies and must be fluent in spoken and written English. The consultant should be able to analyze and collect data using appropriate statistical packages if needed.

He/she should have:

a) Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, resilience building, food security and livelihoods in arid and semi-arid areas

b) Experience in humanitarian and development contexts

c) At least 5 years working experience in the dry lands of the Horn of Africa

d) First-hand knowledge of the socio-cultural, economic, political situation in Somalia/Somaliland will be an added advantage

e) Relevant qualification such as a degree in disaster risk management, climate change adaptation development studies or environmental management and competences and experiences fitting with the scope and geography of this assignment

f) Strong analytical and writing skills and the ability to clearly present findings and drawing practical conclusions and recommendations.

g) Evaluation of a previous BMZ funded projects is an advantage

10. Reporting

The evaluator will write and produce a precise final report (minimum 20 pages and maximum 30 pages) written in simple and understandable English. The draft report is to be shared with field teams and discussed with CARE Somalia. Comments and inputs from the CARE will be included in the final report.**

The following report format to include:

a) Cover page: Title of the evaluation with the title of the project, names and logos of the donor and implementing partner, consultants’/firm’s name and address and dates of the evaluation)

b) Table of contents: Executive summary (a maximum of 3 pages), main report including the findings, conclusions, lessons and recommendations.

c) Annexes

• Terms of Reference;
• List of persons / organizations interviewed;
• List of literature and documents consulted;
• List of sites visited;
• Examples of case studies
• List of abbreviations

d) Submit 3 hard and 3 soft copies of the final report to CARE.

11. Expression of Interest

Any person/firm interested in carrying out this evaluation should send an expression of interest comprising:

a) Technical proposal including the methodology and work plan to comply with the requirements of the evaluation

b) Financial proposal: consultant fees per day. CARE will pay for transport, food and accommodation in the field

c) CVs of the persons to carry out the evaluation**

Submission of the applicants

Qualified individuals or companies are required to submit a detailed technical and financial proposal as separate attachments to the same email to SOM.consultant@care.org, in the subject line should be clear and mark End of project Evaluation, applicants after the deadline will not consider, the deadline is 21/03/2021