SayPro Tender document for the evaluation of Islamic Relief’s global hunger prevention and response programme consultancy, August 2022

Islamic Relief Worldwide

Islamic Relief is an international aid and development charity, which aims to alleviate the suffering of the world’s poorest people. It is an independent Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) founded in the UK in 1984.

With an active presence in over 40 countries across the globe, we strive to make the world a better and fairer place for the three billion people still living in poverty. As well as responding to disasters and emergencies, Islamic Relief promotes sustainable economic and social development by working with local communities – regardless of race, religion or gender.

Our vision:

Inspired by our Islamic faith and guided by our values, we envisage a caring world where communities are empowered, social obligations are fulfilled, and people respond as one to the suffering of others.

Our mission:

Exemplifying our Islamic values, we will mobilise resources, build partnerships, and develop local capacity, as we work to:

• Enable communities to mitigate the effect of disasters, prepare for their occurrence and respond by providing relief, protection and recovery.
• Promote integrated development and environmental custodianship with a focus on sustainable livelihoods.
• Support the marginalised and vulnerable to voice their needs and address root causes of poverty.

At the international level, Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) has consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council and is a signatory to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Code of Conduct. IRW is committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) through raising awareness of the issues that affect poor communities and through its work on the ground. Islamic Relief are one of only 13 charities that have fulfilled the criteria and have become members of the Disasters Emergency Committee (www.dec.org.uk), and is certified by CHS.

IRW endeavours to work closely with local communities, focussing on capacity-building and empowerment to help them achieve development without dependency.

Please see our website for more information

Background and context

On 22nd June 2021, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned that up to 41 million people in 43 countries are at imminent risk of famine, with nearly 600,000 people in 4 countries already experiencing famine-like conditions. Famine-like conditions are present in Ethiopia, Madagascar, South Sudan and Yemen, as well as pockets within Nigeria and Burkina Faso.

The number of people facing acute food insecurity and requiring urgent food, nutrition and livelihoods assistance is rising rapidly. Conflict, climate change and economic shocks, aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic, are the main drivers of the increase in hunger globally, whilst soaring prices for basic items are compounding existing pressures on food security. About 9 percent of the world’s population, equivalent to nearly 690 million people, are going hungry every day.

• 142 million people are projected to be in Crisis or Worse (IPC Phase 3 or above) in 41 countries for which forecasts are available.
• In Northern Ethiopia, 353,000 people are already suffering from catastrophic levels of hunger in IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe). This is the highest number of people classified in IPC Phase 5 in a single country in the last decade. Much funding and resources are being taken away from other parts of the country though in IPC 3 and 4 resulting – taking away from the hungry to feed the starving.
• A further 183,000 people are projected to face starvation and death in IPC Phase 5 in Yemen, South Sudan and Madagascar.
• Whilst conflict will remain the main driver of food crises in 2021, the economic repercussions of Covid-19 will exacerbate acute food insecurity in fragile economies.

In order to ensure that Islamic Relief could quickly and effectively respond to the deteriorating food insecurity situation globally, the launch of a global appeal valued at £10 million was recommended.

Country rationale

To ensure that the funding was to be best utilised taking into consideration capacity, programmes and needs on the ground, a process was initiated to invite eligible countries to develop concepts which outlined how much funding they required and what how it would be utilised. A review panel consisting of experts in disaster risk management, emergency food security and livelihoods and overall programmes assessed the applications and determined the funding and allocations per country. The eligible countries were as per the WFP and FAO analysis highlighted in the August to November 2021 Outlook:

In line with analysis by the WFP and FAO, the countries selected by the review panel to be considered as part of this application to IRUSA are as follows:

East Africa: Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan

West Africa: Mali, Niger

Non-IR country: Madagascar

No countries from the Middle East and North Africa region applied to be part of this funding.

Country programme overviews

The following provides a summary of each of the country programmes to be included in this evaluation:

Country 1: Ethiopia

Country

Ethiopia

Project Name

Emergency Livelihood Support for drought affected communities Afder Zone

Locations

Somali Regional State, Afder zone, Chereti, Bare and Hargele Woredas.

Duration

9 months.

Project Summary

The project Entitled “Emergency Livelihood Support for drought affected communities Afder Zone” is a nine year that will be implemented in Hararghe and Chereti, Afder, Somali Regional State. The Overall goal of the project is to Contribute towards improved resilience of drought affected community members and two outcomes that will directly contribute to this overall goal are: Reduced morbidity and Mortality among affected community members and Improved livelihood protection. The project will reach a total of 23,300. The major activities are multipurpose cash transfer, nutrition support and emergency animal health. The project will be implanted by IRE in collaboration with key stakeholder from the government and community representatives.

Beneficiaries

Gender

Male

Female

Disability

With

Without

With

Without

Direct

164

9,700

146

13,290

Indirect

Project Impact: Contribute towards improved resilience of drought affected community members.

Project Outcomes:

1. Improved utilization of diversified food.
2. Improved livelihood protection.

Project Outputs:

1. 1.1 – Affected community members reduced using negative copping strategies.
2. 2.1 – Improved access to animal health service.

Country 2: Kenya

Country

Kenya

Project Name

Drought and Famine Response Project (DRaF-RP

Locations

Kilifi and Tana River Counties

Duration

12 Months

Project Summary

IRK proposes emergency drought response to support 5,000 Households directly through WASH intervention, protection of vital assets ie livestock) families and provision of farm inputs in Tana North sub-county, Tana River County, who have been severely affected by the drought, though:

• Unconditional cash transfer where each family will receive KES 6000 (USD 60) per Household. Each household would be spending approximately USD 2 a day for a family of 4 members for 30 days which is equivalent to 60 USD.
• Provision of fast-moving spare parts (essential water pump components that easily break due to overuse and stress) and rehabilitation of 8 strategic water points to support water facilities cope with high demand as well as construction of at least 4 underground water tanks to water tracking centres/location.
• Provision of water purification supplies
• Support to livestock diseases surveillance and vaccination (provision of vaccines).
• Provision of farm inputs ie assorted drought tolerant seeds

The identified intervention sectors Cash transfer and provision of fast-moving spare parts and rehabilitation of strategic water points are in line with the overall County drought response plan/strategy developed by the multiagency.

Beneficiaries

Gender

Male

Female

Disability

With

Without

With

Without

Direct

200,

2,000,

2350,

2,450

Indirect

800,

8,000,

1,400,

9,800

Project Impact: Improved household food security, access to clean &safe water, and protection of the vital assets of the communities affected by the drought and famine.

Project Outcomes:

1. Increased household food security through Unconditional Cash transfer.
2. Increased access to clean and safe water.
3. Reduced impacts of drought shocks amongst the affected communities.

Project Outputs:

1. 1.1 – 2500 households have access to food during the drought period.
2. 2.1 – 1500 households have access to clean and safe water for domestic and animal use.
3. 3.1 – 1500 households have increased protection of their livelihoods.

Country 3: Mali

Country

Mali

Project Name

Addressing food insecurity through resilience-based approaches in circles of Gourma-Rharous and Douentza

Locations

Region of Timbuktu, circle of Gourma Rharous and Region of Douentza, Circle of Douentza. The communes will be determined following the needs assessment.

Duration

12 months

Project Summary

The project aims to increase food security and resilience of the most vulnerable households in the Circles of Gourma Rharous and Douentza facing prolonged crisis. It will address immediate food needs of the most vulnerable households, restoring livelihoods, protecting assets and preventing negative coping behaviours that contribute to food insecurity. The combination of activities aim to build resilience of the communities and break the cycle of food insecurity and increased vulnerabilities to climate change, environmental degradation and conflict risk.

Beneficiaries

Gender

Male

Female

Disability

With

Without

With

Without

Direct

7,

4228,

38,

6317

Indirect

Project Impact: Contribute to sustained well-being and community resilience in the Circles of Gourma Rharous and Douentza.

Project Outcomes:

1. Improved food and nutrition security of vulnerable communities in 10 villages in Circles of Gourma Rharous and Douentza.
2. Improved livelihood opportunities and strategies that contribute to food security of the target communities.

Project Outputs:

1. 1.1 – Increased access to life-saving food for 8400 people living in communes under IPC Phase 3.
2. 1.2 – Improved capacities of 200 women to prevent, identify and refer malnutrition cases in the commune of Hamzacoma, Banikane, Rharous, Douentza, KoubewelKoundia, Haire and Hombori.
3. 2.1 – Improved access to diversified and resilient livelihood systems for 690 HHs.
4. 2.2 – Strengthened capacities of target communities and DRR actors on disaster preparedness and response.

Country 4: Niger

Country

Niger

Project Name

Food and Nutrition Security Improvement in the Regions of Tillabery and Dosso (FNSI)

Locations

Tillabery Region (Ouallam and Tillabery Districts) and Dosso Region (Dogondoutchi District)

Duration

12 months

Project Summary

Through this 12-Month project, IR will build the capacity of 10 communities to prevent food insecurity and its root causes. The project will reach 1000 food insecure HHs in the regions of Dosso and Tillabery. The intervention is structured around 3 main outcomes namely:

• Outcome 1: Improved food and nutritional security for households living in area in IPC 3 of Dosso and Tillaberi Region;
• Outcome 2: Enhanced adaptive capacity of vulnerable households to natural disaster-prone Region of Dosso and Tillaberi under IPC3
• Outcome 3: Improved access to protection services for vulnerable people of Dosso and Tillaberi Region

The project will address immediate food needs for 1000 HHs. In addition, the intervention will support the communities to build their resilience against climate change effects. This will include developing mechanisms for effective prevention against food insecurity, malnutrition, as well as increasing community awareness on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) as a priority sector. Furthermore, the project will establish the community structures that will address gender-based violence (GBV), tension, and disputes.

Beneficiaries

Gender

Male

Female

Disability

With

Without

With

Without

Direct

195,

2527,

195,

4083

Indirect

N/A,

N/A,

N/A,

N/A

Project Impact: To contribute to the communities resilience against Climate Change effects leading to nutritional food security in the region of Tillabery in Niger.

Project Outcomes:

1. Improved food and nutritional security for households living in area in IPC 3 of Dosso and Tillaberi Region.
2. Enhanced adaptive capacity of vulnerable households to natural disaster-prone in Dosso and Tillaberi Region IPC 3 area.
3. Improved access to protection services for vulnerable people of Dosso and Tillaberi Region.

Project Outputs:

1. 1.1 – Improved access to food to 1000 households in IPC 3 villages.
2. 1.2 – Improved the knowledge, attitude and practices of 1,000 HHs in Nutrition Good practices.
3. 2.1 – Strengthen local capacities in the development and implementation of Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction plans.
4. 2.2 – Improved HHs access to resilient production systems for 10 IPC3 Communities.
5. 3.1 – Increased knowledge and protection practices on addressing GBV and Child abuse in the targeted communities.

Country 5: Somalia

Country

Somalia

Project Name

Preventing Famine and Building Community Resilience to shocks (PFBR)

Locations

Awdal and Sahil regions of Somaliland

Duration

12 months

Project Summary

The project aims Improved Food Security and Resilience of the drought affected communities through access to food and income in Bulahar and Lughaya districts in Sahil and Awdal regions of Somaliland. The integrated project will address the immediate needs, and lay foundation for recovery and resilience of the target community. The project interventions will directly benefit 16,330 beneficiaries (or 2,722 households). It will provide cash assistance and inject vibrancy into local market functions to build key infrastructure and heighten income for the most vulnerable population. It will improve capital assets including the productive assets such as livestock and crop production while at the same time building the capacity of smallholder producers through skill development and income opportunities through innovative technologies and strengthening the capacity of cooperatives. The project will also link ground the interventions with participatory research on prosopis juliflora, an invasive plant that is causing damage, to reduce its impacts on food security. The research will be conducted with Amoud University who have done similar analysis before.

Beneficiaries

Gender

Male

Female

Disability

With

Without

With

Without

Direct,

473,

5,199,

746,

9,912

Indirect

710

7,798

1,119

14,868

Project Impact: Improved Food Security and Resilience of the drought affected communities through access to food and income.

Project Outcomes:

1. Increased food security status of vulnerable individuals through immediate sustainable livelihood interventions.
2. Communities have improved access to productive and physical assets and enhanced knowledge and skills.
3. Improved evidence-based innovation and adoption of new technologies through action research.

Project Outputs:

1. 1.1 – Improve access to food to food of 1000 HHs through conditional cash transfers and cash for work (CFW).
2. 2.1 – Improve livestock and crop production through provision of quality seeds, fodder and farm tools.
3. 2.2 – Promote capacity of pastoralists and agro-pastoralists through skill development and entrepreneurship.
4. 2.3 – Enhance access to permanent and clean water sources through rehabilitation of existing water schemes
5. 3.1 – Introduction of new technology on prosopis management and control Management and use.
6. 3.2 – Research paper published and used for new project design.

Country 6: South Sudan

Country

South Sudan

Project Name

Central Equatoria Emergency and Resilience project(CEER)

Locations

Central Equatorial(Yei and Kajo Keji)

Duration

12 Months

Project Summary

The 2021 South Sudan Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) identified 8.3 million people, including refugees, in need of humanitarian assistance across the country. This is an 800,000-person increase in absolute numbers from the 7.5 million people in need in 2020. Informed by a rigorous inter-sectoral prioritization process, the 2021 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) will target 6.6 million people1 across in counties where the humanitarian needs are extreme, and five counties with severe humanitarian needs. Yei was amongst the 34 counties across South Sudan that were classified in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) acute food insecurity. There are severe acute food insecurity conditions in Yei as chronic vulnerabilities have been exacerbated by a combination of shocks, including floods, insecurity incidents, the macro-economic crisis, and the effects of COVID-19 measures.

The humanitarian crises in South Sudan are multifaceted related to the lack of human development and human security services. The crises and its impact have demanded more food aid, health care, shelter construction and water and sanitation activities. While INGOs in the FSL cluster have been implementing interventions in Yei, these have been geared towards the community and less towards the holistic interventions of refugee and IDP communities in the camps

This Central Equatoria Emergency and Resilience project(CEER) is, therefore, proposing to improve the IDP community’s socio-economic resilience in Yei and will focus on strengthening community resilience, reduce suffering, and increase human dignity among the conflict affected IDPs, and host communities through Water Sanitation and Hygiene(WASH), Emergency and Resilience Food Security and Livelihoods and Shelter NFIs. IRSS will ensure that all interventions are gender mainstreamed at all levels of engagements and that the project design will reduce the burden on women, men, girls, and boys of longer distance to access water sources, health and nutrition services amongst other interventions.

Beneficiaries

Gender

Male

Female

Disability

With

Without

With

Without

Direct

800

2,850

900

2,650

Indirect

500

1300

500

1300

Project Impact: Reduce suffering among the vulnerable IDP population in Yei from the immediate impact of displacement, reduce starvation from hunger and improve general living conditions to reduce incidences of disease outbreak, restore live and enhance copping mechanism to build resilience.

Project Outcomes:

1. Increased access to safe and appropriate emergency food assistance for 1,200 households by the end of the project.
2. Improved access to quality lifesaving WASH assistance to 1,100 most vulnerable households by end of the project.
3. Improved access to safe and appropriate temporary shelter necessities for 1,100 most vulnerable households in Yei.
4. Improved knowledge of protection risks among 7,200 IDPs in Yei.

Project Outputs:

1. 1.1 – 1,200 acutely food insecure IDP and host community households have increased access to lifesaving emergency food assistance for one cycle.
2. 1.2 – 1,200 targeted IDPs and host communities households in Yei improve their agricultural production.
3. 2.1 – 1,100 IDP and host communities households have access to clean and safe water sources.
4. 2.2 – IDP and host community members have improved Hygiene and Sanitation facilities.
5. 3.1 – 1,100 most vulnerable IDPs households have access to Shelter NFI.
6. 4.1 – 6,000 Community members are aware of social cohesion, GBV and protection in the target areas within IDP and host communities of Yei.

Country 7: Sudan

Country

Sudan

Project Name

Combating Famine Devastation in El-Nuhud and Ghubaish Localities of West Kurdufan States, Sudan

Locations

El Nuhud and Ghebbaish localities in West Kordofan state.

Duration

12 months

Project Summary

The proposed project will follow community-based approach that ensures inclusion, involvement and participation of each community member to ensure building their resilience. Summary of activities are as follows:

1. Conduct cash disbursement during the first 3 months
2. Distribute improved seeds and tools for the coming agricultural season to produce own food and cash crops.
3. Distribute winter season vegetable seeds for vegetable production.
4. Distribute shoat restocking for vulnerable households.
5. Conduct agricultural extension training for farmers
6. Conduct animal husbandry training for livestock owners including the training of Community Animal Health Workers (CAHWs)
7. Conduct vocational training for the youth (both boys and girls)
8. Conduct orientation and awareness sessions to farmers and community leaders.

Beneficiaries

Gender

Male

Female

Disability

With

Without

With

Without

Direct

5

3425

4

3566

Indirect

Project Impact: Resilience and self-reliance for 1400 insecure HHs in El Nuhud and Ghebbaish localities of West Kordofan have been enhanced, empowered and famine impact mitigated through delivering sustainable FSL activities.

Project Outcomes:

1. Improved living conditions, increased access to agricultural and livestock assets and poverty impact mitigated among the food insecure HHs in El Nuhud and Ghebbaish localities, Sudan.

Project Outputs:

1. 1.1 – 7000 individuals have improved their access to agricultural assets and increased their production methods for crops and livestock and have mitigated the impact of climate change through sustainable FSL activities delivered for the food insecure HHs in Nuhud and Ghebbaish localities, Sudan.

Objectives of the evaluation

This evaluation has been commissioned by Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW), in line with our commitment to learning and accountability to communities and partners. The purpose of this evaluation of the Global Hunger Prevention & Response Programme (GHPR) is to assess overall performance with reference to the outcomes and outputs as well as draw lessons for future programme, both at an individual project level as well as at an aggregate programmatic level where possible. This evaluation should take into consideration the OECD/DAC Evaluation Criteria to assess the performance of the projects, as well as use the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) to evaluate the quality of the interventions and the aspects of accountability. The focus of the evaluation will be on the achievement of the project and programme results with the OECD/DAC evaluation criteria helping to frame the evaluation to assess whether the interventions were relevant, effective, efficient and have coherence and whether the approach followed (either due to the design used or implementation considerations) is likely to result in sustainable results and longer term impact. This evaluation should also pay particular attention to the use of cash programming in order to ascertain its appropriateness and effectiveness.

The specific objectives of this assignment are to:

1. Evaluate the appropriateness of the project interventions, approaches, and methodology.
2. Assess the effectiveness and relevance of the project interventions.
3. Evaluate the efficiency, effectiveness & impact of the projects in light of the overall project goal, specific objective, and results.
4. Assess the socio-economic changes/effects in the lives of targeted households as a result of project interventions and change and implementation of government policies.
5. Evaluate the potential for sustainability of project results, impact, and approach at different levels (household level, community level, and organization level).
6. Examine the effectiveness and impact of mainstreaming issues, including gender, disability, child rights and protection.
7. Examine the effectiveness and impact of the cash modalities used.
8. Identify lessons learned and good practices of the project to inform both IRW and the country teams’ future response and the wider sector.

The scope of the evaluation

This evaluation will assess and evidence the degree of timeliness, relevance, effectiveness, coherence, efficiency, impact and sustainability of each of the country projects within the GHPR Programme as well as the level of adherence to indicated CHS Commitments, based on a qualitative review of the projects listed above. The evaluation will also provide an assessment of the capacity of each of the country team’s MEAL systems and other operational systems and functions to assure the quality, accountability and integrity of project delivery and reported output and outcome data.

There will also be an in-person lessons learned workshop to be held with representatives from all country teams to discuss the findings of the evaluation and identify lessons learned and good practices across all of the projects to inform our future programming.

The evaluation findings and recommendations should be on a per project basis, aggregated where possible at an overall programme level, with illustrative triangulated examples in the findings from the reviewed projects.

Evaluation criteria and questions

The evaluation should respond to the following evaluation questions and any others deemed appropriate by the evaluation team, supported by evidence, triangulated data and views of rightsholders, key project team members and relevant wider stakeholders in relation to the outcome areas outlined above.

Relevance:

• Was the design of the intervention relevant to the wider context?
• Is the intervention in line with the needs and highest priorities of the most vulnerable groups (men and women, boys and girls)?
• Was the design and implementation of interventions age, gender and disability-sensitive?
• Is the intervention design and objectives aligned with the overall sector and cluster strategy?
• Did the design and implementation of the intervention consider and build on available local capacities?

Coherence:

• To what extent were context factors (political stability/instability, population movements, etc.) considered in the design and delivery of the intervention?
• To what extent was IRW’s intervention coherent with policies and programmes of other stakeholders and service provider operating within the same context?
• To what extent was the intervention design and delivery in line with humanitarian principles?
• What have been the synergies between the intervention and other IRW interventions?

Effectiveness:

• Were relevant technical and quality standards for interventions in a humanitarian context followed and met?
• Was there adequate MEAL systems and processes to assure and verify reported outputs and outcomes?
• Were planned outcomes achieved or are they likely to be achieved?
• What major factors influenced the achievement or non-achievement of the outcomes?
• Were there any unintended (positive or negative) outcomes arising from the intervention for participants and non-participants?
• Is the achievement of outcomes leading to/likely to lead to achievement of the project’s overall objective?
• What major factors influenced, supported or hindered this?
• Were results delivered equitably for men, and women, boys and girls, person with disability and from different age groups?

Efficiency

• What were the alternative options and was the intervention and key components of the project implemented efficiently compared to alternatives?
• Did the targeting of the intervention result in an equitable allocation of resources?
• Were interventions implemented in a timely way?

Impact:

• What were/are the long lasting or transformational effects of the intervention on participants’ lives (intended and unintended)?
• Did a specific part of the intervention achieve greater impact than another?
• Were there any age, disability or gender-specific impacts?
• Did the intervention influence the gender context?
• Are there any positive or negative long-lasting impacts at the institutional or wider systems level?
• Have or should any components of the project be replicated or scaled-up by others?
• Did/will the intervention contribute to long-term intended results?
• What was the effect of the cash transfer people’s access to food and on their livelihoods? What multiplier effects may have occurred due to the cash or vouchers?

Sustainability:

• To what extent did the intervention implementation consider sustainability, such as capacity building of national and local government institutions, communities and other partners?
• To what extent will the interventions be sustainable, providing on going benefit to individuals and communities?
• How long will these benefits realistically continue for without additional support?
• Is there any consideration of the effects of projected climate change on the continuation of activities in the future?

In addition, IRW is a certified CHS agency and therefore uses the CHS standards as the foundational approach to undertake evaluations, which ensures that we focus on communities. We believe this can be integrated with the DAC criteria in the following way to enable us to incorporate the CHS into this review at an overall commitment rather than indicator level:

Relevance

• CHS Commitment 1: Humanitarian response is appropriate and relevant.
• CHS Commitment 4: Humanitarian response is based upon communication, participation, and feedback

Effectiveness

• CHS Commitment 2: Humanitarian response is effective and timely.
• CHS Commitment 3: Humanitarian response strengthens local capacities and avoids negative effects.
• CHS Commitment 5: Complaints are welcomed and addressed.
• CHS Commitment 8: Staff is supported to do their job effectively and are treated fairly and equitably.

Efficiency

• CHS Commitment 6: Humanitarian responses are coordinated and complementary.
• CHS Commitment 7: Humanitarian actors continuously learn and improve.
• CHS Commitment 9: Resources are managed and used responsibly for their intended purpose.

The evaluation should provide an assessment of how the intervention performed against each of the nine CHS commitments as above.

Cash Programming Questions

• Appropriateness: Did recipients prefer cash or vouchers over other types of assistance? Was targeting perceived as fair?
• Effectiveness: Were distributions timely and efficient? What did people spend the cash on or exchange the vouchers with? How did households decide on how to use the cash or vouchers and were there tensions between men and women or between different generations?
• Efficiency: How efficient and appropriate were the delivery systems used for disbursements? Did the agency have sufficient skills to manage the project effectively?
• Basic needs or sector-specific objectives: Did cash or vouchers help address multiple basic needs? Did cash or voucher assistance meet specific objectives such as food, shelter, livelihoods recovery, WASH or protection? How did the cash transfers or vouchers interact with other forms of assistance?
• Impact: What was the effect of the cash transfer people’s access to food and on their livelihoods? What multiplier effects may have occurred due to the cash or vouchers?
• Sustainability: How have the projects incorporated efforts to institutionalize CVA and capacity building as part of its approach? How could this be improved to ensure IR is better prepared for scalable immediate cash based programming?

Methodology and approach

We would like the evaluators to outline their proposed methodology and requirements for this consultancy and welcome any alternative proposed methodologies which may be deemed more suitable and efficient.The consultant should consider appropriate qualitative methods, in the design of their evaluation methodology. The evaluation should also assess the extent of rightsholders (beneficiary) involvement throughout the project cycle.

We are looking for an evaluation team/consultant to meet the above objectives and scope through a robust qualitative approach, including but not limited to:

• Desk review of secondary data and IRW project documentation:

  • Project Proposal & Annexes
  • Project Budget versus actual (request from regional finance)
  • Project Interim Reports & Annexes (including financial)
  • Theory of Change
  • Results Chain / Log frame
  • Rightsholder Targeting Criteria
  • Rightsholder Selection Verification Process
  • Rightsholder Selection Data (List)
  • Baseline Report
  • MEAL Plan
  • Indicator Tracking Table (or equivalent) – most recent
  • Complaints & Feedback Mechanism Plan
  • Market Analysis Report (where relevant)
  • Detailed Implementation Plan (DIP) – most recent
  • Monitoring Reports (process & results)
  • Field Visit Reports
  • Project Review Meeting Notes
  • Project Lessons Learned Log
  • PDM / Feedback Survey Reports
  • Midterm Survey (where relevant)
  • Endline Survey (where relevant)
  • Exit / Sustainability Plan
  • Project Risk register

• Focus group discussions with communities and rightsholders – with proportionate sampling. It is anticipated that in-person FGDs are carried out with rightsholders in 2 of the 7 countries (countries to be agreed with the consultant) with the remaining countries being done via remote discussions where this is possible (country teams to advise). It is anticipated that there will be approximately 10 focus group discussions per country required.

• Focus group discussions with project team within each country.

• Key informant interviews with IR staff, community leaders, peer agencies, public and private service providers and technical agencies, UN and relevant authorities (local and national) – approximately 10 per country.

• Review of Programme and MEAL data and other assurance mechanisms.

• Facilitate an in-person lessons learned workshop with country project staff.

Whilst the evaluation findings and recommendations should be on the overall programme where possible, as each project is being reviewed, the consultant should set out and propose an appropriate sampling frame for the FGDs and KIIs related to each sample project to be reviewed.

Required competences

The successful person or the team will have the following competencies:

• Demonstrate evidence of extensive experience in evaluating humanitarian action.
• Possess sectoral experience and knowledge in evaluating previous disaster response, WASH, food security and livelihood interventions.
• Possess deep knowledge and practical experience of using quality standards such as CHS and Sphere.
• Possess strong qualitative and quantitative research skills.
• Have excellent written skills in English.
• Be able to fluently communicate in English and can or shall have a team member/s who speaks French for the Mali & Niger projects. For the in-person country visits, the countries will be selected in partnership with the country team, Head of Region and evaluation consultant to ensure that local language is used when communicating with communities.
• The evaluation team composition should be reviewed to ensure maximum value for money, with preference for the lead evaluator to be also responsible for conducting some, and if not all, FGDs and KIIs.

The chosen evaluation team will be supported by IRW Programme Quality (PQ) team, the IRW Regional team and the individual country’s senior management, programmes and MEAL teams.

Project outputs

The consultant is expected to produce:

1. A detailed work plan and inception report developed with and approved by IRW and IR country teams, setting out the detailed methodology, relevant technical standards to be used as reference for the evaluation, sampling strategy and deliverables prior to commencing the desk review.

2. The work plan, inception report, draft report, final report, presentation, etc., and communication language must be in English.

3. A full report with the following sections:

4. Title of Report: Evaluation of Islamic Relief’s Global Hunger Prevention & Response Programme

5. Consultancy organisation and any partner names.

6. Name of person who compiled the report including summary of role/contribution of others in the team.

7. Period during which the review was undertaken.

8. Acknowledgements.

9. Abbreviations.

10. Table of contents.

11. Executive summary.

12. Main report – max 40 pages – (the consultant is invited to propose a suitable report structure layout with the inception report).

13. Annexes

    1. 1. Terms of reference for the review.
14. 1. 1. Profile of the review team members.
       2. Review schedule.
       3. Documents consulted during the desk review.
       4. Persons participating in the review.
       5. Field data used during the review.
       6. Additional key overview tables, graphs or charts etc. created and used to support analysis and inform findings.
       7. Bibliography.

15. Anonymised copies of all data collected in Excel or appropriate format which would enable cross-checking and any additional analysis.

16. A presentation of draft findings will be made by the consultant remotely to IRW Programme Quality team, Regional Desk and country teams. Please allow 1.5 hours for this session.

17. Subsequent to final report, the consultant will present key findings and recommendations with IRW (programme quality, MEAL team, head of region, desk coordinators/officers, technical advisors) and relevant country staff. Please allow for a maximum of 1.5 hours for this session.

18. A further presentation would need to be made to IRUSA (project donor) on the overall findings and key recommendations. Please allow for a maximum of 1.5 minutes for this session.

19. Facilitate an in person lessons learned workshop w/c 17th October 2022 (date tbc) with country team representatives – to be held in Nairobi. The initial findings of the evaluation will be presented at this workshop. There should also be workshop sessions to discuss and capture lessons learned and recommendations for future programming. The lessons learned and recommendations from this workshop should be incorporated into the final evaluation report. Please allow 3 days for this workshop.

Timetable and reporting information

The evaluation is expected to run for a maximum of 30 working days, starting mid September 2022 and ending before the 11th November 2022.

Date

Description

Responsibility

22nd Aug 2022

Tender live date

IRW

11th Sept 2022

Final date for submission of bid proposal

Consultant

12th – 14th Sept 2022

Proposals considered, short-listing and follow up enquiries completed

IRW

15th – 21st Sept 2022

Consultant interviews and final selection (+ signing contracts)

IRW

22nd – 23rd September 2022

Meeting with the consultant and agree on an evaluation methodology, sampling, plan of action, working schedule

IRW

30th Sept 2022

Submission of Inception Report (at least 7 days before commencing the evaluation)

Consultant

3rd Oct – 14th Oct 2022

Evaluation/Desk Review

Consultant

w/c 17th Oct 2022

In Person Lessons Learned Workshop (3 days)

Consultant

21st Oct 2022

Analysis of evaluation data, and submission of the first draft to IR country teams & IRW for comments

Consultant

28th Oct 2022

Initial Presentation of Findings

Consultant

28th Oct 2022

IR country teams & IRW responses to draft report

IR country teams & IRW

4th Nov 2022

Final report submitted to IR country teams & IRW

Consultant

7th Nov – 11th Nov 2022

Final Presentation with IR key stakeholders (x 3)

Consultant

Reporting information:

Contract duration: Duration to be specified by the consultant

Direct report: MEAL Coordinator (IRW)

Job Title: Consultant: An evaluation of Islamic Relief’s Global Hunger Prevention & Response Programme

The consultant will communicate in the first instance with and will forward deliverables to the IRW Programme Quality team.

Proposal to tender and costing

A consultant interested in carrying out this work must submit the following items as part of their proposal/bid and this should including the following.

1. Detailed cover letter/proposal outlining a methodology and approach briefing note
2. Résumé/or CV or outline of relevant skills and experience possessed by the consultant who will be carrying out the tasks and any other personnel who will work on the project
3. Example(s) of relevant work
4. The consultancy daily rate (fill in appendix 1)
5. Expenses policy of the tendering consultant. Incurred expenses will not be included but will need to be agreed in advance prior to contract award. (fill in appendix 1)
6. Be able to complete the project within the timeframe stated above
7. Be able to demonstrate experience of outcome reviews, mapping and impact assessment/evaluation approaches for similar work

Terms and conditions

Payment will be made in accordance with the deliverables and deadlines for this project so are as follows:

• • 40% of the total amount – First upfront payment – 30% of the total amount – submission of the first draft of the evaluation report – 30% of the total amount – submission of the final report including all outputs and attachments mentioned above

We can be flexible with payment terms, invoices are normally paid on net payment terms of 30 days.

Additional information and conditions of contract

The following additional information will be expected from the consultant and be pursuant to the conditions printed beneath as well as the terms and conditions in the consultancy contract.

1. The ToR document is between the consultant and Islamic Relief Worldwide
2. Islamic Relief Worldwide is a legally registered charity under the laws of the United Kingdom charity registration number 328158
3. This document covers the research project identified and described in this document and related correspondence and may not be expended for any other purposes without the prior written approval of Islamic Relief Worldwide, Head of Program Quality.
4. The project will be carried out under the auspices of the Islamic Relief Worldwide, Program Quality team. The lead researcher will be working in the capacity of a freelance consultant or an organisation.
5. Collected data, information, reports and reference documents should be submitted, along with any audio files and transcripts collected.
6. Intellectual Property Rights to all research, and data, conducted and collected and the final report belongs solely to Islamic Relief Worldwide.
7. In case of contraventions or breach of any of the terms of the agreement, any outstanding payments to the Lead Researcher or the organisation will be withheld.

During the consultancy period,

IRW will only cover:

Consultancy fees

Any travel costs to visit IRW or any of our country offices if required

IRW will not cover:

Tax obligations as required by the country in which he/she will file income tax

Any pre/post assignment medical costs. These should be covered by the consultant

Medical and travel insurance arrangements and costs. These should be covered by the consultant.

To access or to download the original tender documents please click on the link below;

https://islamic-relief.org/tenders/tender-for-the-evaluation-of-islamic-reliefs-global-hunger-prevention-and-response-programme-august-2022/

How to apply

Consultancy contract

This will be for an initial period that is to be specified by the consultant commencing from September 2022 (exact date to be mutually agreed). The selected candidate is expected to work from their home/office and be reporting into the Head of Programme Quality Department of IRW.

The terms upon which the consultant will be engaged are as per the consultancy agreement. The invoice is to be submitted at the end of the assignment and will be paid on net payment terms 28 days though we can be flexible.

All potential applicants must fill in the table beneath in Appendix 1 to help collate key data pertaining to this tender. The applicant must be clear about other expenses being claimed in relation to this consultancy and these must be specified clearly.

For this consultancy all applicants are required to submit a covering letter and CV’s of all potential consultants including the project lead.

A proposal including, planned activities, methodology, deliverables, timeline, and cost proposal (including expenses) are expected.

Other relevant supporting documents should be included as the consultants sees fit.

All applicants must have a valid visa or a permit to work in the UK (if travel is required to the UK). A valid visa/work permit is also required for those areas required to be visited as part of this consultancy.

TENDER DATES AND CONTACT DETAILS

All proposals are required to be submitted by Monday 5th September 2022 at 1.00pm UK time pursuant to the attached guidelines for submitting a quotation and these be returned to; tendering@irworldwide.org

For any issues relating to the tender or its contents please email directly to; tendering@irworldwide.org

Following submission, IRW may engage in further discussion with applicants concerning tenders in order to ensure mutual understanding and an optimal agreement.

Quotations must include the following information for assessment purposes.

1. Timescales
2. Full break down of costs including taxes, expenses and any VAT
3. References (two are preferred)
4. Technical competency for this role
5. Demonstrable experience of developing a similar piece of work including a methodology

Note: The criteria are subject to change.

Appendix 1

Please fill in the table below. It is essential all sections be completed and where relevant additional expenses be specified in detail. In case of questions about how to complete the table below, please contact; tendering@irworldwide.org

Cost evaluation of consultancy for for the evaluation of Islamic Relief’s global hunger prevention and response programme, August 2022

Full name of all consultants working on this project

Full company trading name

No of proposed hours per week

No. of proposed days

Preferred days

Non preferred days

Earliest available start date

Expected project finish date

Day rate (required for invoicing purposes) £

Total cost for consultancy in GBP (less taxes and expenses) £

Expenses (flights) £

Expenses (accommodation) £

Expenses (transfers) £

Expenses (in country travel) £

Expenses (visa) £

Expenses (security) £

Expenses (food) £

Expenses (print/stationary) £

Expenses other (please specify) £

Total expenses £

Total VAT or taxes £

Total cost for consultancy in GBP (inclusive of taxes and expenses) £

Note

The applicant is expected to take responsibility for paying full taxes and social charges in his/her country of residence.

To access or to download the original tender documents please click on the link below;

https://islamic-relief.org/tenders/tender-for-the-evaluation-of-islamic-reliefs-global-hunger-prevention-and-response-programme-august-2022/