Response to Emergencies and Transitions to Recovery in Volatile Environments (RETREIVE) (2016/17)

1. CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND TO THE PROJECT 

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) has been providing relief and development services in the Horn of Africa since 1997. Using a human rights framework, DRC’s Horn and Africa and Yemen (HOAY) operation focuses mainly on Somalis who are affected by displacement, but also oversees programmes for internally displaced persons in Kenya, Yemen and Ethiopia. 

 

DRC’s presence in Somalia dates back to 1997. Current programming covers Somaliland, Puntland and South-Central Somalia. The program is managed through DRC’s offices in Galkayo, Dollow, Hargeisa, Bosaso, Garowe, Beletwyene, Baidoa and Mogadishu, in addition nine support offices linked to these main offices. In response to the protracted humanitarian crisis in Somalia, DRC has responded to immediate needs of IDPs, returns and vulnerable host communities with an aim of saving lives. DRC’s core programs in humanitarian action in Somalia fall in the protection, NFI/Shelter, Protection, Food Security & Livelihoods and WASH sectors, with a sharp focus on emergency response, recovery transitions and resilience building of disaster affected communities. Over the last few years, DRC has been at the forefront in responding to all major natural and man-made disasters in Somalia. Thousands of Somalis have been assisted with critical life-saving services, in the process. 

 

Response to Emergencies and Transitions to Recovery in Volatile Environments (RETREIVE) (2016/17) is a 12 month project whose overall goal is to improve access to food and basic services, protect livelihoods, build resilience of poor households and provide protective environment to vulnerable persons in Somalia.  The overall approach of the project focused on: provision of agricultural inputs, strengthening of early warning systems to communities through dissemination of early warning messaging via mass media, provision of temporary employment through cash transfers, provision of community basic WASH services, building of productive assets for recovery and resilience and improving protective environment for vulnerable populations (particularly those at risk of GBV). By covering the emergency gaps in these sectors and increasing the communities’ capacity to respond to risks and threats, the most vulnerable populations will be assured lifesaving access, increasing their self-protection.  

 

The project is being implemented in various districts of South Central Somalia, Somaliland and Puntland targeting IDPs and host communities. The project activities in the different sectors include: 

 

A. Agriculture, Food security and Livelihoods: 

The objective in this sector was to improve access to short and medium term agricultural livelihoods support and build resilience to shocks for disaster affected households. Specifically, DRC’s interventions were focussed on the below sub-sector: 

 

i. Improving Agricultural Production/Food Security:  

DRC’s support in this sector included provision of agricultural inputs, training on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) to enhance their productive agricultural capacity in a sustainable manner. DRC targeted agro-pastoralists who depend on agriculture and riverine farmers depending on agriculture as their main income source.   A total of 1,190 households were targeted in Gebiley, Lughaya, Beletwyene and Dollow districts 

 

B. Economic Recovery and market system (ERMS) 

The objective in this sector was to protect and support primary livelihood mechanisms in Somalia with a focus on the following sub-sectors: 

 

i. New livelihoods development:  

To harness the potential investment in viable livelihoods, DRC supported identified youth with a vocational training package that included the cost of the training (including, transport where applicable and lunch), a start-up package of essential tools/equipment and basic business management skills training. 

 

ii. Livelihoods Restoration:  

DRC supported targeted vulnerable communities in expanding small and medium enterprises to enable individuals invest in and work together to build small business enterprises that provide sustainable livelihoods. This will help families to remain in their communities, recover from shocks brought on by climate change and conflict and empower them to move beyond a culture of dependence. DRC’s assistance was in the form of a livelihoods restoration package that included a business start-up grant and basic business management training. 

 

iii. Temporary Employment:  

This involved provision of cash-for-work activities aimed at rehabilitating communal assets identified jointly by the communities and local authorities. DRC’s response aimed at increasing households’ purchasing power while improving the state of identified communal resources. A subset of vulnerable community members who could not participate in the CFW activities were supported with unconditional cash transfers.  

 

C. Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) 

DRC’s objective in this sector was to improve access to safe water, sanitation facilities and improved hygiene practices among disaster affected households in Somalia. DRC’s activities were aligned in three sub-sectors: 

 

i. Water Supply Infrastructure:  

DRC supported the prioritization, selection and rehabilitation of strategic water points including shallow wells, berkeds and water supply schemes extensions. 

 

ii. Sanitation Infrastructure:  

DRC supported the construction of family shared latrines in the target locations and provided the families with sanitation kits to keep the latrines clean. 

 

iii. Hygiene Promotion:  

DRC targeted the most vulnerable and disaster-affected women, girls, boys and men and ensured that they have sustained hygiene promotion through dissemination of hygiene promotion messages at the household level. DRC also facilitated the formation of community based water management committees and trained them on the operation and maintenance of the rehabilitated water sources, including good hygiene practices. 

 

D. Protection 

The objective in this sector was to strengthen GBV prevention, response and coordination through engagement and provision of support to relevant government Ministries and local NGOs with a focus on the below sector:  

 

i. Prevention and Response to Gender Based Violence:  

DRC adopted the case management approach to implement the planned activities in this sub-sector. DRC worked through a local NGO by supporting caseworkers who acted as channels of information for GBV survivors and referred them to appropriate medical, psycho-social and legal services 

 

E. Risk Management Policy and Practice 

The objective was to strengthen access of lifesaving humanitarian information by Somali communities. DRC’s activities were within the below sub-sector: 

 

i. Building community awareness/mobilization:  

DRC worked through Radio Ergo which has a strategic comparative advantage over other communication channels in targeting mass audiences in Somalia, since most local FM radios only reach localized areas. Communities living in rural areas and many parts of the south not served by FM access their information by shortwave. The activities were designed to produce and broadcast high quality Somali programming relevant to men, women and youth with life-saving information shaped to empower listeners for better decision-making on key issues affecting their lives and livelihoods 

 

2. OBJECTIVES OF THE EVALUATION 

The main objective of the evaluation will be to determine the extent to which programme interventions met the specified objectives by assessing the extent to which needs assessment, response analysis, interventions, strategies, accountability, monitoring and evaluation contributed to achievement of the project objectives. 

The final evaluation of the project will provide an opportunity to determine whether interventions provided a viable and effective means of addressing the needs in the target communities, lessons learnt and best practices that can be adopted in future projects.  

The end of project evaluation will also help to assess the impact of the RETRIEVE project amongst the target communities.   

In order to adequately address this objective, the evaluator should focus on key specific evaluation objectives which are to;- 

O1. Assess the extent to which the project addressed the food security, livelihoods, protection and WASH gaps/needs  

O2. Assess the impact of the project, make recommendations on current and future project design and implementation strategies taking into account the volatile Somalia context and other related factors that directly or indirectly impact on programming.   

 

In addressing the evaluation specific objectives, the evaluator should answer the following evaluation questions; 

 

Q1. How well did the project address different gaps/needs for the affected in different areas of intervention? 

Q2. What were the major positive/negative changes attributable to the RETRIEVE project? Considering the context in which the project was implemented, are there any key distinguished changes required on the design of future projects to contribute to increased impact?  

 

3. METHODOLOGY 

The final project evaluation will be conducted by an external consultant. The consultant will provide an inception report including a detailed methodology for this assignment subject to discussion with DRC before commencement of data collection.  

The methodology must clearly show how both participatory and non-participatory approaches will be intertwined to provide significant evidence and accuracy on the evaluation findings and how recommendation will be drawn from the evaluation findings. The method used should clearly define the process for organising and triangulating information gathered for the evaluation survey.  The consultant is expected to provide a detailed description of the evaluation methodology in responding to the terms of reference. The methodology description will constitute a critical part of the assessment of the suitability of the consultants. In order to provide a comprehensive analysis of the project it is expected that the consultant will use a balanced range of qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. 

4. EVALUATION CRITERIA:  

In line with DRC’s Evaluation policy, the evaluation will adopt the OECD DAC evaluation criteria, focusing specifically on six criteria namely: Relevance, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Impact and Sustainability.  Based on this framework, the evaluation will be guided by the following key questions:    

 

i. Relevance 

• To what extent did the project interventions conform to the needs and priorities of the target groups and DRC and USAID/OFDA?  

• Were the interventions appropriately designed to contribute to local ownership, promote accountability and cost effectiveness?  

• How did the interventions promote or hinder participation of different groups of people .  

 

ii. Effectiveness:  

• To extent project intervention address the needs of the targeted communities? 

• To what extent did case management approach contribute to addressing the protection concerns of the target beneficiaries? 

 

iii. Efficiency:  

• To what extent did the program support systems (management, financial, supply chain, human resources) facilitate cost-efficient and timely implementation of program activities? Were the systems adequately adapted to the local implementation contexts? 

• To what extent did the program support systems (management, financial, supply chain, human resources) facilitate cost-efficient and timely implementation of program activities? Were the systems adequately adapted to the local implementation contexts? 

 

iv. Impact  

• What changes (positive or negative) have occurred with regard to improved access to livelihoods, services and resilience of target communities that can be directly or indirectly attributable to the project?   

• What do people do differently as a result of the project? 

 

v. Sustainability:  

• Were there any deliberate efforts for the project to maintain its operations, services and benefits? What measures or deliberate efforts did the project employ for continuity of the project? 

• Were the targeted communities consulted before and during the implementation of the project? 

• What were the major factors which influenced the achievement or non-achievement of sustainability of the project? 

 

In view of the evaluation criteria, herewith noted, the evaluator should draw key lessons learned and identify best practices. 

 

6. SCOPE OF THE EVALUATION 

The evaluation will be done in all project sites, however due to fragility of the some of the intervention areas accessibility might be limited only to secure areas.  

 

7. EVALUATION DELIVERABLES 

The anticipated deliverables under this consultancy are as follows:  

• A detailed inception report delineating a clear methodology, types of data collection tools to be used and a feasible and work plan for the evaluation. 

• Debriefing meeting between DRC and the selected consultants to discuss and agree on the final data collection work plans 

• A brief field report outlining data collection activities undertaken and challenges encountered if any. 

• Presentation of the draft report to DRC Somalia Country Office (Preferably through a power point presentation) for feedback and comments. 

Final Report aligned to DRC Evaluation report format with the following annexes: 

• List of respondents interviewed  

• Summary notes of the interviews 

• Summary of the lessons learned and best practices meeting with the respondents. 

 

8. INTENDED USE OF THE EVALUATION FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 

The report should be reviewed at country level, where appropriate adjustments will be done reflecting to the situation on the ground, further-more to align the findings to outlined requirements of the terms of reference. Key recommendations drawn from the study will be made use of by the country level to inform the design of similar future programmes. Key lessons learnt, identified and best practices will be identified at and shared with the region for either replication or employing different strategies/approaches on the identified lessons for learning purposes. 

 

These key lessons will be shared globally as part of promoting learning process within the organisation, where, DRC country operations might therefore support changes as backed by evaluation especially by improving quality of impact in implementing such interventions. In line with this, the consultant must provide a clear, section within the report which provides well defined lessons learnt, identified and best practices which will be shared with various stakeholders especially at clusters and beneficiaries levels.  

 

9. RECOMMENDED DOCUMENTATION 

The following documents is the minimum set of documents to be reviewed:  

• Program Proposals including the updated Logframe 

• Program Reports  

• Program activity reports  

• Baseline, PDM reports other MEL reports. 

• DRC Somalia Policies (Supply Chain, Finance and Human resources)  

• Evaluation/Impact Assessment reports of the previous projects 

• Beneficiary listing for sampling purposes 

 

10. PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EVALUATION 

Consultant’s Roles and Responsibilities 

• Review relevant programme documents (i.e. programme proposal, LFA, quarterly reports, baselines, DRC/DDG process data, third party monitoring reports etc.). 

• Prepare and submit the inception report with clear illustration of the understanding of methodology (including suggested counterfactuals) to be used, including work plan and schedule for both quantitative and qualitative aspects of the assignment for review and feedback by DRC/DDG Somalia. 

• Design, develop, and refine (based on the review by DRC/DDG) data collection tools  

• Hire and train  the field coordinators 

• Train the enumerators through the co-ordinators 

• Monitor the data collection in collaboration with DRC offices in Somalia 

• Develop the data entry template and monitor data entry that will be done in the DRC project sites 

• Interview selected respondents during the review. 

• Prepare and submit all evaluation deliverables as required in  7 above 

 

11. DRC/DDG RESPONSIBILITIES 

• Provide the consultant with all necessary documents and reports  

• Pay the required consultancy fee as indicated in the signed contract. 

• Where necessary, facilitate the making of appointments with all relevant stakeholders (government, partners, communities etc.) 

• Provide necessary support in training of enumerators 

• Provide the logistics support to the enumerators, coordinators and enumerators 

• Provide staff and equipment for data entry at the field level 

• Work closely with the consultants to monitor entry of qualitative and quantitative data  

• The terms and conditions of service will follow DRC/DDG terms of consultancies. Payment will be done according to the finance procedures of DRC/DDG 

 

12. REPORTING ARRANGEMENTS 

The consultant will be reporting directly to the DRC MEL manager and to the field staff in the study areas will provide necessary support to the team, as needed. The consultant will also report to the Area manager in respective areas of the study particularly to get the required logistics and administrative in support of study undertaken. Updates on the progress of the study will be provided upon request from the DRC MEL manager/area managers. 

 

13. EXPECTED PROFILE OF CONSULTANT 

• Advanced degree in development studies, social sciences or other relevant field. 

• Significant experience in leading reviews of humanitarian programmes especially Food security, livelihoods, WASH and protection with knowledge on Core humanitarian Standards (CHS). 

• Knowledge of strategic and operational management of humanitarian programmes, and proven ability to provide strategic recommendations to key stakeholders.  

• Strong analytical skills and ability to clearly synthesize and present findings, draw practical conclusions, make recommendations and prepare well-written reports in a timely manner. 

• Demonstrated experience in both quantitative and qualitative data collection and data analysis techniques, especially in emergency scenarios, addressing food security, resilience, WASH and protection needs   

• Experience, knowledge and clear understanding of Somalia’s humanitarian context; 

• Good interpersonal skills and understanding of cultural sensitivities. 

• Readiness to travel to Somalia and conduct direct standard assessment activities. 

• Documented experience in participatory project assessments /review.  

 

14. TERMS & CONDITIONS 

The consultant should be willing to work in the target areas of South Central Somalia, Somaliland and Puntland where security allows. The consultant may have his/her own team to work with and then they will entirely be under the jurisdiction of the consultant and at no time will DRC/DDG be held responsible for them.  

 

15. GENERAL 

DRC/DDG has a Humanitarian Accountability Framework, outlining its global accountability commitments. All staff are required to contribute to the achievement of this framework  

(http://www.DRC/DDG.dk/HAF.4265.0.html). 

 

16. APPLICATION PROCESS 

Interested applicants who meet the required profile and methodology are invited to submit an expression of interest including: 

• A suitability statement including CV of participating consultants with details of qualifications and experience. 

• Technical proposal that summarizes understanding of the TOR, methodology and tools to be used. 

• Work-plan clearly indicating the activity schedule. 

• Financial proposal providing cost estimates and consultancy fees. 

• Contacts of three organizations that have recently contracted you to carry out similar assignment.  

 

Interested parties should forward the expression of interest, in English on this link: http://www.drc.dk under vacancies Final Evaluation of the “Response to Emergencies and Transitions to Recovery in Volatile Environments (RETREIVE) (2016/17)’ no later than 15th August, 2017.  

 

If you have questions or are facing problems with the online application process, please contact job@drc.dk