INVITATION TO BID FOR CONSULTANCY

Save the Children International (SCI) Somalia program hereby invites interested consultants to bid for the consultancy assignment detailed below

ANNEX 1 : Consultancy Terms of Reference

Terms of Reference of End of Project Evaluation of Integrated Lifesaving Assistance for Drought and Conflict-Affected Populations in Somalia/Somaliland

1. BACKGROUND

Save the Children (SC) proposes an integrated multi-sector program that includes health and nutrition; water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH); child protection; economic recovery and market systems (ERMS); and disaster risk management activities targeting the most drought-affected populations in Somalia. The project will target six regions and 16 districts in the following areas: Lughaya, Zeila, Borama Districts in Awdal region; Iskushuban, Qardho, Banderbeyla, Bosasso Districts in Bari region; Dangorayo District in Nugal region; Baidoa, Dinsoor, Berdale, Burhakaba Districts in Bay region Waajid and Rabdure Districts in Bakool region; and Qoryoley and Barawe Districts in Lower Shabelle region. These locations are considered hotspots with urgent needs based on the latest FSNAU/FEWSNET’s Food Security Quarterly Brief and Drought Response Plans (February 3, 2020). These locations are rated at Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) Levels 3 and 4 because they demonstrate increasing malnutrition, high prevalence of food insecurity, high maternal and child mortality and morbidity rate, water shortages, poor personal and environmental hygiene, protection concerns, and loss of livelihoods. The target population faces multiple challenges that require an integrated approach through multi-sector services for both internally displaced persons (IDPs) and vulnerable host communities. The integrated multi-sectoral approach was developed to promote efficiency in the service delivery and meet diverse household-level needs within this protracted humanitarian crisis, whilst building resilience.

Health, Nutrition, and WASH: SC will respond to the humanitarian health needs by supporting 32 health facilities through fixed, mobile, and integrated community case management (iCCM) services. All the facilities remain the same from the previous project, except for one located in Baware in south Somalia. Primary health services will include general consultations, treatment for common diseases, care for pregnancy and childbirth, and efforts to prevent and mitigate of the spread of COVID-19 throughout the current pandemic. A community health component will complement these services and reduce the burden of patients at health facilities, which includes scheduled outreach and iCCM for childhood illness. SC will provide nutrition services of Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) and Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies (IYCF-E) as part of the integrated public health package in all target locations. There will be joint supportive supervision visits between SC and the Ministry of Health (MOH) at service delivery sites, including for iCCM, to build capacity and improve the quality of health and nutrition services. SC will provide target health and nutrition facilities with access to life-saving water supplies, safe sanitary facilities and hygiene promotion through provision of integrated quality WASH services. WASH will also be provided in drought-affected rural villages, including rehabilitation of one strategic borehole and eight shallow wells. SC will also improve overall hygiene and sanitation of the target communities through 48 communal household latrines and nine institutional gender segregated latrines at health or protection centers. SC will also distribute 1,030 hygiene kits to the most vulnerable households. SC will provide emergency water trucking and rehabilitate water facilities to enhance water security in communities with high malnutrition levels.

ERMS: To support livelihood recovery for drought-affected households (HHs), SC will support Cash-for-Work projects.  These short-term projects will to support economic recovery by allowing 860 HHs to generate short-term income. Community leaders will identify small-scale projects for the Cash-for-Work and SC will provide necessary tools and safety equipment, ultimately transferring funds using a mobile money platform.

Protection: SC will ensure that children are at the center of every intervention, so they are protected from harm, exploitation, violence, and abuse. Protection interventions will be mainstreamed into all sectors through case management, referrals, psychosocial support services, and strengthening child protection community structures.

Disaster Risk Management Policy and Practice: SC will support resilience-building activities by coordinating all activities with the other technical sectors to enhance resilience and sustainability in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction’s four priorities through community-level grants in two districts.

To implement in Baidoa, SC will partner with Gargaar Relief and Development Organization (GREDO), a non-political, non-profit, voluntary organization that has worked to address humanitarian needs in southwest Somalia since 1992.

2. PURPOSE

The purpose of the end line evaluation is to assess the overall performance, outcome and impact of the project with an aim of providing realistic and feasible recommendations for improving similar programs in Somalia/Somaliland context. The findings of the end line evaluation will be used as a post-test measurement of changes in the indicators attributable to the program interventions in comparison with benchmarks that were established during the baseline survey.

2a. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

The evaluation objectives included the following;

• Evaluate to what extent the response has fulfilled its objectives and the technical strength of the program.
• Evaluate the accountability of the response to the affected population.
• Asses Relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, sustainability and impact criteria will be used; and also the, and protection of the intervention
• To document lessons learnt for future programming and impact/case studies
• Recommend improvements for the continuation of the response or recovery.

3. 3. EVALUATION CRITERIA

Following evaluation questions should be at least included in the evaluation criteria. This evaluation criteria is based on OECD DAC.

1. Relevance

1) To what extent are the objectives of the OFDA programme are valid for country programme and target community?

2) Are the activities and outputs of the programme consistent with the overall goal and the attainment of its objectives?

3) Are the activities and outputs of the programme consistent with the intended impacts and effects of its Strategy?

4) Was the design of the project is most appropriate and relevant to promote the its strategy;

1. b) Effectiveness

• To what extent were the project objectives demonstrate progress on Core OFDA indicators?
• To what extent project achieved planned objectives and results?
• What were the major underlying factors (internal and external) influencing the achievement or non-achievement of the results within the one years of project implementation?
• To what extent technical input provided to the project team in leading the implementation of plans and proposed activities of the OFDA Programme? 

1. c) Efficiency

1) Assess the activities are cost-efficient within the programmes supported by project?

2) Does the Project offered better value for money within the rural and urban context in terms of its impact?

3) Identify the cost factors spent to deliver OFDA interventions in the urban and rural community and identify the reasons behind budget underspent

1. d) Impact

1) What are the key short term and long term changes produced by project, positive or negative and what are the key factors behind these changes?

2) What real difference has the OFDA project activities made for the direct, and indirect stakeholders of promoting HEALTH/NUTRITION/WASH/CP/FSL interventions?  

1. e) Sustainability

S1) to what extent did the benefits of the projects continue after the fund support is ceased?

S2) what were the major factors which influenced the achievement or non-achievement of sustainability of the project? 

1. g) Coordination

1) How have the OFDA project activities been coordinated within different stakeholders to achieve overall objective? 

1. h) Scalability/Replicability

1) Is there any likely ability of the project or its components to be scaled or replicated in other programme areas?

2) Who are the main actors in the scale-up/replication of the approach in other urban and rural locations and how has the project engaged with them to date?

4.1 METHODOLOGY

The lead consultant with the other team members will develop the evaluation methodology in collaboration with Health, Nutrition, WASH, FSL, CP Specialist and Project director.

The lead evaluator or team is expected to write an inception report following review of literature and reference documents using the guidance format provided by SC Somalia.

Such a methodology should define an appropriate sample size and specify mechanisms that will be adopted to avoid selection bias.

As a minimum, the evaluation process will include the following key steps:

1. Review of relevant literature related to the OFDA project (c.f. list of reference materials) and drafting an inception report;
2. Application of appropriate data collection tools (e.g. questionnaire, checklist etc) for Interviews and focus group discussion;
3. Data analysis and Evaluation Report writing; and
4. Presentation of key evaluation findings;

5. Program Indicators to be evaluated

The program intends to assess the following principal indicators from OFDA;

1. Percentage of pregnant women who have attended at least two comprehensive antenatal clinics
2. Percentage of newborns that received postnatal care within three days after delivery
3. Percentage of births assisted by a skilled attendant at birth
4. Percentage of pregnant women in their third trimester who received a clean delivery kit
5. Number and percentage of community members who can recall target health education messages
6. Number of people admitted, rates of recovery, default, death, relapse, and average length of stay for people admitted to Management of Acute Malnutrition site
7. Proportion of infants 0-5 months of age who are fed exclusively with breast milk
8. Proportion of children 6-23 months of age who receive foods from 4 or more food groups
9. Average liters/person/day collected from all sources for drinking, cooking, and hygiene
10. Percent of water points developed, repaired, or rehabilitated with free residual chlorine (FRC) > 0.2 mg/L
11. Percent of water points developed, repaired, or rehabilitated with 0 fecal coliforms per 100 ml sample
12. Percent of water user committees created and/or trained by the WASH program that are active at least three (3) months after training
13. Percent of households targeted by latrine construction/promotion program whose latrines are completed and clean
14. Percent of people targeted by the hygiene promotion program who report using a latrine the last time they defecated
15. Percent of people targeted by the hygiene promotion program who know at least three (3) of the five (5) critical times to wash hands
16. Average number of users per functioning toilet
17. Number of months of household food self-sufficiency.
18. Number of hectares under improved agricultural methods.
19. Percentage of beneficiaries reporting net income from their livelihood.
20. Prevalence of households with moderate or severe Household Hunger Scale (HHS) score.
21. Percentage of households with acceptable Food Consumption Score (FCS)
22. Average Reduced Coping Strategy Index.
23. % of people reporting improvements in their feelings of well-being and ability to cope at the end of the program
24. % of people reporting improvements in their feelings of well-being and ability to cope at the end of the program

4.2. REFERENCE MATERIAL

• OFDA Baseline Report 2020
• OFDA Technical Proposal 2019/2020
• Monitoring and Evaluation Plan for year 2020
• Semi-Annual report ( Three reports)
• FSNAU Somalia 2020 update

4.3 EVALUATION TEAM

The evaluation shall be conducted by an external evaluator or evaluation team, selected through competitive proposal submission process. The following are minimum requirements for the team/consultant to be considered for carrying out the assignment

• At least a Master degree in Agriculture Economics, Food Security and Nutrition, Social Sciences, Statistics or related field.
• Minimum of 5 years relevant professional experience in conducting evaluations for food security programs especially cash transfer programs
• Strong experience in conceptualizing and evaluating USAID funded programs preferably in the context of Somalia and/or Somaliland.
• Excellent communication and report writing skills.

5. AWARD CRITERIA

The following award criteria will be used during the evaluation of the proposals:-

5. TIME-FRAMES

Time frame for the activities will be February 2021 – March 2021

5a. Timeframe and activities

The evaluation should be completed over a period of approximately 40 days working days from February 01, 2020 Illustrative activities and timeline are provided below:

5.1. DURATION OF ACTIVITIES

The duration of the evaluation exercise in the field shall be 45 days from a mutually agreed date.

The evaluation will follow the key phases:

Phase I – Desk study: Review of documentation and elaboration of field

Study [5 days]

The lead consultant/evaluation team will review relevant documentation from section 5 above (Reference material). Based on this review, they will produce an inception report which will include an elaborate plan, methodology and sampling strategy of the data collection for evaluation study. The evaluation will only proceed to the next stage upon approval of this inception report. An appropriate inception report format will be provided to the team later on.

Phase II: Field Data Collection [8 days]

This phase of the evaluation will seek to collect primary data on the key evaluation questions explained under evaluation criteria. The consultant is responsible for the preparation of the  team who will collect the evaluation data and will use the agreed plan, methodology and sampling strategy from phase-1 to conduct the field work.

Phase III – Data analysis and production of evaluation report [5 days]

The team will draw out key issues in relation to evaluation questions and produce a comprehensive report. This analysis should draw on the wider issues in the development sector about the realisation of child rights beyond the focus of Strategic Fund.

6.0 OUTPUT AND DELIVERABLES

The following specific outputs are expected –

(i)  An Inception report, produced by no later than 22 February 2021.

(ii) A draft evaluation report produced by no later than 15 March 2021.

(iii) A Final evaluation report including country case studies and recommendations for Country Programme for future use of OFDA Programme design and/or alternative solutions to achieve the same objectives produced by 15 March 2021.

(iv) Data sets (SPSS, Excel) – for all collected data (quantitative and qualitative). Qualitative data should be transcribed for future use by Save the Children Country Programmes. The data sets should be in an appropriate format (SPSS, Excel, and Word) and will be submitted together with the final evaluation report on 13 March 2021.

(v) PowerPoint presentation, summarizing the key findings from the evaluation submitted together with the final evaluation report on 20 March 2021.

6.1 INCEPTION REPORT

The evaluation team is expected to submit an inception report after 5 working days of commencing this evaluation, no later than February 21 2021. The inception report provides the organization and the evaluators with an opportunity to verify that they share the same understanding about the evaluation and clarify any misunderstanding at the outset. The report should reflect the team’s review of literature and the gaps that the field work will fill. Field work will only commence once this report has been reviewed and agreed with the designated representatives of the Stakeholders.

6.2 DRAFT REPORT

The draft evaluation report must be submitted to the OFDA sector’s Advisors, Somalia country programme no later than 11 March , 2021. The report should conform to a reporting format which will be made available to the consultant on signing the contract.

The draft report will be circulated by the designated representatives to key stakeholders for comments. Feedback on the draft report will be shared with the consultant no later than 20 March  2021.

6.3 FINAL REPORT

The final report of the evaluation, after integration of the various comment made, must be submitted by 23 March 2021. The evaluation report is an exclusive property of the Save the Children should not be released without prior authorization. The final report will be available through Save the Children and will also be circulated to the country Programmes:

6.4 DATA SETS

The evaluation team will be expected to submit complete data sets (in /STATA/SPSS/Access/ Excel) of all the quantitative data as well as the original transcribed qualitative data gathered during the exercise. These data sets should be provided at the time of submission of the final report by 20 March 2021

6.5 SUMMARY FINDINGS

On submission of the final report, the team is expected to submit a PowerPoint presentation (maximum 12 slides), summarizing the methodology, challenges faced, key findings under each of the evaluation criteria and main recommendations. This should be submitted together with the final report by 23 March, 2021.

7. SUGGESTED REPORT FORMAT

Detailed guidelines on how to structure the evaluation report will be provided to the evaluation team prior to commencement of the activity. The team should conform to this format

8. Person/Consultant specification

• Skills in qualitative evaluation design and analysis; Quantitative research skills highly desirable.
• Knowledge of programming , campaign and policy context for child survival in developing countries;
• Experience within an international NGO preferably at both country and HQ levels. Strong grasp of internal and external funding mechanisms
• Strong background in programme monitoring and evaluation
• Desirable: familiarity with Save the Children Somalia organizational structure and culture

9. SC Somalia Responsibilities

The SC Somalia will be responsible for the following:

• Ensure effective coordination of the end line process.
• Approve inception report
• Providing input into the tools developed, and evaluation design.
• Provide consultants with literature review materials/necessary documentations.
• Link consultants to relevant stakeholders
• Reviewing analysis of the data collected prior to the documentation of the final report
• Review draft report
• Approve and signoff final report draft

10.      Ownership of Research Data/Findings

All data collected and report findings for this study shall remain the property of the SC Somalia.

ADMINISTRATIVE/ LOGISTICAL SUPPORT

• Budget

The lead evaluator should submit to Save the Children forecast of the budget including their consultancy fees and All other costs for the evaluations – transport, flights and in-country accommodation.

10.2 SCHEDULE OF PAYMENT

The following payments will be made to the consultant using and agreed mode of payment.

• Before Commencement: 40%
• After completion and submission of Final Report: 60%

10.3 LOGISTICS

Please mention about what will Save the Children Country office will cover

• Linking the team with the key organizations/stakeholders and districts that will be consulted during the evaluation.

8.0       Mode of Submission

SC-PR-10-Request-for-Quotation

Save the Children invites technical and financial proposals from qualified consultants. Applications Interested candidates should present an application, as follows:

• A Technical application detailing: – Understanding of the ToRs, methodology, CVs of the Team Leaders and technical reference of previous similar works
• A Financial proposal with a detailed budget taking considering the details in the ToR and timelines therein.
• Application Submission address[somalia.procurement@savethechildren.org] Please quote the reference No. ‘PR/HAR/2021/22837- OFDA final evaluation’ on subject line. Deadline for submission is 14^th February 2021.