1. Background to the review
Located in the dry lowlands of Amhara, Wag Himra is characterized by mountainous and hilly terrains. Most of the land is uncultivable due to topography and advanced soil degradation. The lands are rocky and hills are covered with largely deforested vegetation of small bushes and shrubs. Land fertility and crop productivity are low. While a number of regions in Ethiopia experience two rainy seasons in a year, Wag Himra zone experiences only one rainy season, whose failure means going more than 12 months without water. Low water availability coupled with the high population growth put strain on already small landholdings (average 0.25-0.75 ha per household) and reflect negatively on household income capacities and coping mechanisms at the time of climate/economic shocks.
In order to address chronic vulnerabilities of the zone, many programs, including the Productive Safety-Net Program (PSNP) have been implemented in Wag Himra to help people survive the hunger period and avoid depleting productive assets. Since September 2016, a consortium composed of Action Against Hunger (ACF), Save the Children International (SCI) and Danish Church Aid (DCA) has been implementing a project in Wag Himra. The project is titled integrated multi-sectoral approach to improve the resilience of vulnerable communities of Wag Himra Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia (RESET II). The aim is to improve utilization and quality of basic services to prevent undernutrition, to enhance livelihoods, income diversification and employment for vulnerable communities, to improve disaster risk management capacity of the targeted communities and to improve knowledge through research of evidence-based innovations adapted to drought-prone areas.
1. Targets of the Project
All Kebeles in the six target Woredas proposed for this Action are included in the government Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP). The estimated number of indirect beneficiaries of the action is 80% coverage of the population catchment area, accessing health services and the family of the beneficiaries of livelihood activities in the target kebeles: 414,311 individuals or 75,329 households.
2. Objective of the Midterm review
The overall objective of the evaluation will be to assess the progress, achievements & constraints, document the contributions and lessons of the project, and produce sufficient evidence that would help achieve the project overall objective, which is to strengthen economic opportunities & resilience of the most vulnerable communities.
The specific objectives of the evaluation are:
· Analyze and verify the relevance of the interventions and the achievements of the specific objective and intended results as described in the logical framework.
· Evaluate the extent of enhancement in food security in the target areas through supporting sustainable livelihoods development (recovery, diversification, and strengthening).
· Assess the level of strength in the capacity of community and local government to better manage disaster risks through improved DRM knowledge, practices, structures, and service provision
· Assess the contribution of the consortium approach in facilitating effective and result oriented coordination as well as other stakeholders in leading towards the envisioned final outcome, and also the synergies, harmonization, complementarities aspects with other similar interventions by both the government and other actors (INGOs, etc.) operating in the target areas
· Systematically capture the key lessons, challenges and evidences from the project results
1. Scope of the Assignment
Geographic: The evaluation will cover the geographic locations of the project, which are the target woredas in Wag Himra zone. The evaluation can try to extend its geographic scope towards other RESET II consortium, or related resilience projects, to indicate the “without” scenario and analysis, though it is not mandatory.
Thematic: The evaluation should cover all the thematic interventions of the project. They are nutrition, health, water, sanitation, hygiene, care practices, mental health, food security and livelihoods, disaster risk management and research.
2. Main undertakings
The consultant will undertake the following specific tasks:
Ø Review existing project documentation and other secondary data relevant to the project’s interventions and project areas;
Ø Design a participatory methodology and develop both quantitative and qualitative tools for conducting the evaluation;
Ø Conduct field work in the project woredas including interactions with project beneficiaries, implementing partners, other stakeholders and key informants and regular debriefing with the project team;
Ø Conduct the evaluation in line with the terms of reference and approved methodology as contained in the inception report;
Ø Present evaluation findings and draft evaluation report to the consortium and other project stakeholders in a validation session organized by Action Against Hunger.
1. Required Qualifications and Experiences
The evaluation will be carried out by consultant with the following profile:
Ø Knowledge of the region/zone, program area and specific project activities;
Ø Significant field experience in the evaluation of humanitarian, food security/ development projects;
Ø Relevant degree and 15 years’ experience related to the evaluation to be undertaken;
Ø Significant experience in coordination, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programs and projects;
Ø Good communications skills and experience of workshop facilitation;
Ø Ability to write clear and useful reports (may be required to produce examples of previous work);
Ø Fluent in English;
Ø Understanding of donor requirements and having prior experience in the evaluation of EU funded projects/programs;
Ø Ability to manage the available time and resources and to work to tight deadlines;
Ø Experience in quantitative and qualitative research methods
Ø Be able to provide registration and tax certificate
The composition of the team should be balanced to enable complete coverage of the different aspects of the project. The consulting firm should deploy multidisciplinary professionals composed of relevant background covered by the project.
1. Required Documents
Potential consultants are required to submit the following documents together with their technical and financial proposal.
Ø 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 review); (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.
Ø A financial proposal: clarifying the following costs: (1) budget with professional fee per day, excluding logistical costs (vehicle hire, accommodation and living costs; stationeries, and supplies needed for data collection; and other costs related to field mobilization and validation workshop) as these will be provided by Action Against Hunger.
Ø Covering letter which express consultant interest to carry out the work per TOR
Ø Updated CV of the evaluation team members
Ø Copies of similar or related previous works research team member have produced in undertaking relevant studies
Ø A renewed license for the year 2018 and TIN number.