Call for Consultancy Proposals
CALL FOR CONSULTANCY PROPOSALS
VSF Suisse, Olekejuado Road , P. O. Box 25656, 00603 Nairobi, Kenya
E mail: recruitment@vsfsuisse.org
TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR EVALUALTION OF EARLY RECOVERY-SOMALI LIVELIHOOD AND FOOD ASSISTANCE (ER-SOLAFA) PROJECT IN PUNTLAND STATE OF SOMALIA
Grant Agreement No: ECHO/-HF/BUD/2012/91004
1 BACKGROUND
VSF-Suisse is an International NGO, supporting livelihoods and improved food security for vulnerable pastoral and agro-pastoral communities through livestock related service development in the Horn of Africa (HoA) region since 1995. In the recent past VSF-Suisse has implemented a number of projects in Puntland such as fishing sector development, animal health service delivery support, milk/meat hygiene improvement as well as capacity building of women groups involved in milk and/or meat business.
Having experienced one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, Somalia is characterized by continuous conflict, protracted drought and reduced livelihoods opportunities. As a result the country has one of the largest displaced populations in the world which is estimated at over 1.5 million. Puntland state of Somalia, an autonomous state situated in the North-Eastern region of Somalia, has over the years faced recurrent drought, moderate insecurity and an influx of internally displaced persons (IDPs). In Gardho and Bosaso alone there are at least 50,600 IDPs.
Humanitarian Gaps Analysis in Bosaso IDP camps 2012 states that 67% of these IDPs purchase food for consumption and 57% do not have any form of assistance. According to a baseline survey carried out by VSF-Suisse at the beginning of the project, the IDPs are food insufficient. The survey showed that with an average daily food basket value of $2.4, the IDPs cannot afford to buy milk and meat due to the high prices of these commodities. Despite intervention from agencies providing food rations, milk & meat commodities, which are usually part of the regular diet of the Somali people is not provided. According to FSNAU (Feb 2013) food security and nutrition report, in Bari, Nugaal and Sanag alone, a total of 146,000 people in rural areas are stressed while 9000 are in crisis. Pastoral populations mainly depend on their livestock to meet their nutritional requirement. Frequent droughts and limited access to veterinary services have often hampered livestock production leading to malnutrition particularly among the poor households.
VSF-Suisse has been providing food assistance and livelihood support project in Puntland region of Somalia funded by European Commission for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The project has been assisting IDPs in
Bosaso and Gardho with milk and meat through voucher system and pastoralists in rural areas of Puntland with animal health service provision.
2 INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT
ER-SOLAFA is a 12 months project co-funded by ECHO and SDC. The areas of implementation include urban centres of Bosaso and Gardho and Rural areas of Bari, Mudug, Nugal and Sanag. The project had two major components as follows:
i. Food assistance for the urban vulnerable groups
ii. Animal health service delivery for the rural population to protect livelihood asset
SOLAFA’s specific objective was: “to safeguard the availability of food, to stabilize nutritional status and access to food for vulnerable Somali populations, mainly IDPs, affected by, conflict, acute nutritional vulnerability and elevated food prices in Somalia”.
Expected results were as follows:
i. Complementing minimum food basket to support most vulnerable and displaced urban IDPs
ii. Ensured access to and availability of livestock services to restore livelihoods and protect livelihood assets
In order to measure the achievements and impact of the intervention, VSF Suisse plans to carry out a final evaluation of the project in the implementation areas of Bari, Mudug, Sanag and Nugal regions of Puntland state of Somalia. The evaluation will assess the impact of the project on different categories of beneficiaries; baseline survey findings and other available reports will be used to determine the impact on the beneficiaries. Assessment of the delivery methods will be carried out to determine their effectiveness and shortcomings in order to improve on them for future interventions. Sustainability of the project and its relevance to the needs of the beneficiaries will also be determined.
3 OBJECTIVE OF THE CONSULTANCY
The aims of the evaluation are to:
Determine whether project objectives, key results and activities as set out in the proposal have been achieved as planned
Assess the challenges encountered in implementing the project and document the lessons learnt in the process
Assess the perception of the beneficiaries regarding the project; has the project been helpful in addressing their needs?
Assess the effectiveness of the implementation method for both animal health service delivery and food assistance (voucher system).
Assess the relevance, impact and sustainability of the project; how relevant is the project to the needs of the beneficiaries? measure impact against the baseline findings
Assess whether crosscutting issues of particular concern to VSF-Suisse, such as participation, capacity building, gender, have been adequately addressed in the project.
Give recommendations on improvements for scale up and/or replication.
The consultant will carry out an in-depth analysis of the following issues:
3.1 Analyze baseline survey and other available reports
Analyze baseline survey report in detail in order to use the findings to determine the impact of the project on the livelihoods of the beneficiaries.
Analyze other reports; disease outbreak reports from the ministry of livestock & animal husbandry and private animal health service providers as well as livestock treatment reports by veterinary teams.
Analyze livestock treatment forms, milk/meat vouchers and monitoring reports
3.2 Verify at specific Objective level:
That 5% of the population of target area were assisted with supplementary food and livelihood support services; what proportion of the population in the area was assisted by this project?
3.3 Verify at Result 1 level:
Complementing minimum food basket to support most vulnerable and displaced urban groups (IDPs)
That 10% of the most vulnerable population in target areas improved their Food Basket Value by 10 %; determine the value of vouchers received by the beneficiaries and contribution of the vouchers to daily food basket value of the households.
3.3.1 Beneficiary Selection process
Assess the involvement of the community members in the selection of the beneficiaries: who were involved in the process and at what level?
Outline the challenges faced in the process and how they were tackled as well as the recommendations for future undertakings.
Investigate whether the targeted groups were effectively reached through the selection process. Was gender as a crosscutting issue addressed in the selection?
The consultant should interview the local authorities, IDPs, IDP committees and women groups (milk/meat vendors) for the assessment of beneficiary selection process.
3.3.2 Milk/Meat distribution in Gardho and Bosaso
Establish the number of beneficiaries who benefited from food assistance (milk or meat) support in Bosaso and Gardho. Determine the number of weeks the beneficiaries received milk/meat vouchers and the value of vouchers received per week.
Investigate beneficiaries’ perception of benefits (milk and meat distribution at the household level); ask the beneficiaries for comments regarding the voucher distribution process and the products (milk and meat) as well as any other issues that are linked to the project.
Assess for a representative number of beneficiary households the impact of the food assistance based on the baseline findings.
Assess whether the milk/meat vouchers were able to free some cash to be used for other essential food/non-food items.
3.3.3 Women milk/meat traders
Establish the number of milk/meat vendors who benefited from the project.
Investigate the perception of the beneficiaries regarding the project; ask for the comments of the traders regarding the effectiveness of voucher system and the contribution of the project to their business as well as what can be done to improve the process
Assess the impact of the project on their business based on the findings of the baseline survey.
Assess the effect of the project on the milk market; did it destabilize the market prices? Was the market able to deliver the amount of milk/meat required for the project?
Establish the number of traders who received hygiene trainings. Has the training influenced their milk handling practices? What are the challenges in practising hygienic milk handling techniques? Give recommendations on how milk hygiene practises can be improved.
3.4 Verify at Result 2 level:
Ensured access to- and availability of livestock services to restore livelihoods and protect livelihood assets
That 95% of targeted beneficiaries maintained a livestock based livelihoods
Livestock losses of the target population were kept under 10%
3.4.1 Beneficiary Selection process
Assess the involvement of the community members in the selection of the beneficiaries.
Outline the challenges faced in the process and how they were tackled as well as the recommendations for future undertakings.
Investigate whether the targeted groups were effectively reached through the selection process.
The consultant should interview the ministry of Livestock and Animal Husbandry (MoLAH), Puntland Livestock Professional Associations (PULPA) Nomadic Animal Health Auxiliaries (NAHAs) and the pastoralists.
3.4.2 Animal health service delivery
Establish the number of pastoral households which benefited from the project through treatment of their livestock. What is the impact of this exercise on livestock health?
Assess the perception of the beneficiaries regarding the project; has the project effectively addressed their needs?
Assess the effectiveness of animal health service delivery method used. Outline the challenges encountered in animal health service delivery and give recommendations on how to counter those challenges.
Determine the number of Community Animal Health Workers (CAHWs) & veterinarians who benefited from clinical and pharmacology trainings. What is the perception of the trainees regarding the training? What proportion of these CAHWs is in active service?
Determine the number of “Pharmacists” (veterinary drug store owners) who benefited from training on safe handling and procurement of quality drugs. Assess whether this training has influenced the way they handle veterinary drugs.
Interview MoLAH and PULPA regarding their perception of the project including the service delivery methods and coverage. Ask for their comments on the challenges faced in animal health delivery and recommendations on how to counter these challenges
The evaluation is expected to clearly state if objectives and results of the project were achieved and how well deliverables reached the beneficiaries. Specifically the consultant shall establish the achievement of the Project in reference to the indicators defined in the logical framework.
4 METHODOLOGY
The consultants will have access to all project files and information he/she requires for the evaluation. He/she should review the available literature for the project (proposal, reports and other relevant project documents).
Use of participatory methodology for field data collection, analysis and reporting is required.
Interviews with key project staff - e.g. project manager, project officers, local authorities, ministry of livestock, Puntland Livestock Professional Associations and the different categories of project beneficiaries should be carried out.
5 EXPECTED OUTPUTS
Full evaluation report covering collection, analysis and reporting on field data for each component as specified above and should have the following structure:
1. Title page
2. Executive Summary
3. List of Abbreviations/Acronyms
4. Table of Contents
5. Introduction
6. Objectives
7. Methodology
8. Results
a. Achievements
b. Challenges in implementation
c. Key lessons learnt
d. Cross-cutting issues e.g. gender, ownership, participation
9. Recommendable best practice and scaling up
10. Conclusion
11. Annexes
a. TOR
b. CV
6 QUALIFICATIONS
The consultant(s) are expected to have the following qualifications:
An expert with a background and experience in Food Aid, Nutrition and Animal Production expert.
Experience in carrying out similar assignments and a proven track record of delivering excellent results.
Excellent report writing skills.
Working experience in Somalia is desirable.
7 CONTACT INFORMATION
Interested expert(s) and organizations (s) should prepare and submit to VSF Suisse a technical and financial proposal for the assignment by 6th August 2013 to the above postal address or email address. The proposal should indicate qualifications and experience with a detailed execution plan and budget. VSF-Suisse is not obliged to offer the job to the lowest or highest bidder.
VSF Suisse, Olekejuado Road , P. O. Box 25656, 00603 Nairobi, Kenya
E mail: recruitment@vsfsuisse.org
TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR EVALUALTION OF EARLY RECOVERY-SOMALI LIVELIHOOD AND FOOD ASSISTANCE (ER-SOLAFA) PROJECT IN PUNTLAND STATE OF SOMALIA
Grant Agreement No: ECHO/-HF/BUD/2012/91004
1 BACKGROUND
VSF-Suisse is an International NGO, supporting livelihoods and improved food security for vulnerable pastoral and agro-pastoral communities through livestock related service development in the Horn of Africa (HoA) region since 1995. In the recent past VSF-Suisse has implemented a number of projects in Puntland such as fishing sector development, animal health service delivery support, milk/meat hygiene improvement as well as capacity building of women groups involved in milk and/or meat business.
Having experienced one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, Somalia is characterized by continuous conflict, protracted drought and reduced livelihoods opportunities. As a result the country has one of the largest displaced populations in the world which is estimated at over 1.5 million. Puntland state of Somalia, an autonomous state situated in the North-Eastern region of Somalia, has over the years faced recurrent drought, moderate insecurity and an influx of internally displaced persons (IDPs). In Gardho and Bosaso alone there are at least 50,600 IDPs.
Humanitarian Gaps Analysis in Bosaso IDP camps 2012 states that 67% of these IDPs purchase food for consumption and 57% do not have any form of assistance. According to a baseline survey carried out by VSF-Suisse at the beginning of the project, the IDPs are food insufficient. The survey showed that with an average daily food basket value of $2.4, the IDPs cannot afford to buy milk and meat due to the high prices of these commodities. Despite intervention from agencies providing food rations, milk & meat commodities, which are usually part of the regular diet of the Somali people is not provided. According to FSNAU (Feb 2013) food security and nutrition report, in Bari, Nugaal and Sanag alone, a total of 146,000 people in rural areas are stressed while 9000 are in crisis. Pastoral populations mainly depend on their livestock to meet their nutritional requirement. Frequent droughts and limited access to veterinary services have often hampered livestock production leading to malnutrition particularly among the poor households.
VSF-Suisse has been providing food assistance and livelihood support project in Puntland region of Somalia funded by European Commission for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The project has been assisting IDPs in
Bosaso and Gardho with milk and meat through voucher system and pastoralists in rural areas of Puntland with animal health service provision.
2 INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT
ER-SOLAFA is a 12 months project co-funded by ECHO and SDC. The areas of implementation include urban centres of Bosaso and Gardho and Rural areas of Bari, Mudug, Nugal and Sanag. The project had two major components as follows:
i. Food assistance for the urban vulnerable groups
ii. Animal health service delivery for the rural population to protect livelihood asset
SOLAFA’s specific objective was: “to safeguard the availability of food, to stabilize nutritional status and access to food for vulnerable Somali populations, mainly IDPs, affected by, conflict, acute nutritional vulnerability and elevated food prices in Somalia”.
Expected results were as follows:
i. Complementing minimum food basket to support most vulnerable and displaced urban IDPs
ii. Ensured access to and availability of livestock services to restore livelihoods and protect livelihood assets
In order to measure the achievements and impact of the intervention, VSF Suisse plans to carry out a final evaluation of the project in the implementation areas of Bari, Mudug, Sanag and Nugal regions of Puntland state of Somalia. The evaluation will assess the impact of the project on different categories of beneficiaries; baseline survey findings and other available reports will be used to determine the impact on the beneficiaries. Assessment of the delivery methods will be carried out to determine their effectiveness and shortcomings in order to improve on them for future interventions. Sustainability of the project and its relevance to the needs of the beneficiaries will also be determined.
3 OBJECTIVE OF THE CONSULTANCY
The aims of the evaluation are to:
Determine whether project objectives, key results and activities as set out in the proposal have been achieved as planned
Assess the challenges encountered in implementing the project and document the lessons learnt in the process
Assess the perception of the beneficiaries regarding the project; has the project been helpful in addressing their needs?
Assess the effectiveness of the implementation method for both animal health service delivery and food assistance (voucher system).
Assess the relevance, impact and sustainability of the project; how relevant is the project to the needs of the beneficiaries? measure impact against the baseline findings
Assess whether crosscutting issues of particular concern to VSF-Suisse, such as participation, capacity building, gender, have been adequately addressed in the project.
Give recommendations on improvements for scale up and/or replication.
The consultant will carry out an in-depth analysis of the following issues:
3.1 Analyze baseline survey and other available reports
Analyze baseline survey report in detail in order to use the findings to determine the impact of the project on the livelihoods of the beneficiaries.
Analyze other reports; disease outbreak reports from the ministry of livestock & animal husbandry and private animal health service providers as well as livestock treatment reports by veterinary teams.
Analyze livestock treatment forms, milk/meat vouchers and monitoring reports
3.2 Verify at specific Objective level:
That 5% of the population of target area were assisted with supplementary food and livelihood support services; what proportion of the population in the area was assisted by this project?
3.3 Verify at Result 1 level:
Complementing minimum food basket to support most vulnerable and displaced urban groups (IDPs)
That 10% of the most vulnerable population in target areas improved their Food Basket Value by 10 %; determine the value of vouchers received by the beneficiaries and contribution of the vouchers to daily food basket value of the households.
3.3.1 Beneficiary Selection process
Assess the involvement of the community members in the selection of the beneficiaries: who were involved in the process and at what level?
Outline the challenges faced in the process and how they were tackled as well as the recommendations for future undertakings.
Investigate whether the targeted groups were effectively reached through the selection process. Was gender as a crosscutting issue addressed in the selection?
The consultant should interview the local authorities, IDPs, IDP committees and women groups (milk/meat vendors) for the assessment of beneficiary selection process.
3.3.2 Milk/Meat distribution in Gardho and Bosaso
Establish the number of beneficiaries who benefited from food assistance (milk or meat) support in Bosaso and Gardho. Determine the number of weeks the beneficiaries received milk/meat vouchers and the value of vouchers received per week.
Investigate beneficiaries’ perception of benefits (milk and meat distribution at the household level); ask the beneficiaries for comments regarding the voucher distribution process and the products (milk and meat) as well as any other issues that are linked to the project.
Assess for a representative number of beneficiary households the impact of the food assistance based on the baseline findings.
Assess whether the milk/meat vouchers were able to free some cash to be used for other essential food/non-food items.
3.3.3 Women milk/meat traders
Establish the number of milk/meat vendors who benefited from the project.
Investigate the perception of the beneficiaries regarding the project; ask for the comments of the traders regarding the effectiveness of voucher system and the contribution of the project to their business as well as what can be done to improve the process
Assess the impact of the project on their business based on the findings of the baseline survey.
Assess the effect of the project on the milk market; did it destabilize the market prices? Was the market able to deliver the amount of milk/meat required for the project?
Establish the number of traders who received hygiene trainings. Has the training influenced their milk handling practices? What are the challenges in practising hygienic milk handling techniques? Give recommendations on how milk hygiene practises can be improved.
3.4 Verify at Result 2 level:
Ensured access to- and availability of livestock services to restore livelihoods and protect livelihood assets
That 95% of targeted beneficiaries maintained a livestock based livelihoods
Livestock losses of the target population were kept under 10%
3.4.1 Beneficiary Selection process
Assess the involvement of the community members in the selection of the beneficiaries.
Outline the challenges faced in the process and how they were tackled as well as the recommendations for future undertakings.
Investigate whether the targeted groups were effectively reached through the selection process.
The consultant should interview the ministry of Livestock and Animal Husbandry (MoLAH), Puntland Livestock Professional Associations (PULPA) Nomadic Animal Health Auxiliaries (NAHAs) and the pastoralists.
3.4.2 Animal health service delivery
Establish the number of pastoral households which benefited from the project through treatment of their livestock. What is the impact of this exercise on livestock health?
Assess the perception of the beneficiaries regarding the project; has the project effectively addressed their needs?
Assess the effectiveness of animal health service delivery method used. Outline the challenges encountered in animal health service delivery and give recommendations on how to counter those challenges.
Determine the number of Community Animal Health Workers (CAHWs) & veterinarians who benefited from clinical and pharmacology trainings. What is the perception of the trainees regarding the training? What proportion of these CAHWs is in active service?
Determine the number of “Pharmacists” (veterinary drug store owners) who benefited from training on safe handling and procurement of quality drugs. Assess whether this training has influenced the way they handle veterinary drugs.
Interview MoLAH and PULPA regarding their perception of the project including the service delivery methods and coverage. Ask for their comments on the challenges faced in animal health delivery and recommendations on how to counter these challenges
The evaluation is expected to clearly state if objectives and results of the project were achieved and how well deliverables reached the beneficiaries. Specifically the consultant shall establish the achievement of the Project in reference to the indicators defined in the logical framework.
4 METHODOLOGY
The consultants will have access to all project files and information he/she requires for the evaluation. He/she should review the available literature for the project (proposal, reports and other relevant project documents).
Use of participatory methodology for field data collection, analysis and reporting is required.
Interviews with key project staff - e.g. project manager, project officers, local authorities, ministry of livestock, Puntland Livestock Professional Associations and the different categories of project beneficiaries should be carried out.
5 EXPECTED OUTPUTS
Full evaluation report covering collection, analysis and reporting on field data for each component as specified above and should have the following structure:
1. Title page
2. Executive Summary
3. List of Abbreviations/Acronyms
4. Table of Contents
5. Introduction
6. Objectives
7. Methodology
8. Results
a. Achievements
b. Challenges in implementation
c. Key lessons learnt
d. Cross-cutting issues e.g. gender, ownership, participation
9. Recommendable best practice and scaling up
10. Conclusion
11. Annexes
a. TOR
b. CV
6 QUALIFICATIONS
The consultant(s) are expected to have the following qualifications:
An expert with a background and experience in Food Aid, Nutrition and Animal Production expert.
Experience in carrying out similar assignments and a proven track record of delivering excellent results.
Excellent report writing skills.
Working experience in Somalia is desirable.
7 CONTACT INFORMATION
Interested expert(s) and organizations (s) should prepare and submit to VSF Suisse a technical and financial proposal for the assignment by 6th August 2013 to the above postal address or email address. The proposal should indicate qualifications and experience with a detailed execution plan and budget. VSF-Suisse is not obliged to offer the job to the lowest or highest bidder.
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