Terms of Reference

 

Final Evaluation of Project: “Sustainable WASH assistance to the 2010 flood affected communities in Naushahro Feroze, Sindh”

 

1.     Background

The monsoon floods in 2010 created one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the history of Pakistan. More than 20 million people in 84 districts of the country were affected with heavy rainfall. The massive humanitarian needs as a result of heavy floods exceeded capacities of Government, national and international humanitarian organizations, which posed considerable challenges to immediate and robust response to emergency needs of the flood affected communities. The organization planned to restore decent living conditions of 15,000 flood affected families (105,000 individuals) through WASH interventions integrated with cross-cutting interventions on protection, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Gender Mainstreaming (GM). The project was implemented in rural areas of district Naushehro Feroz, Sindh province. These interventions were implemented together with the local implementing partner organization.

 

2.     Project Description, Goal Hierarchy and Target Groups

 

Overall Objective: The living conditions, health and disaster preparedness of the most vulnerable families in flood affected areas are improved

 

Key objectives: a) 15,000 flood affected families in district Naushahro Feroze, Sindh have dignified access to safe and sustainable WASH facilities and services in accordance with Sphere standards; b) target population has improved capacities to better understand disaster risk management and risk reduction approaches and is better able to cope with future disasters; and c) most vulnerable population (women, girls, minorities, elderly and people with disabilities) in the target areas access WASH services without any intimidation, cultural barrier or abuse and feel empowered with protection of their fundamental rights

 

Target Groups: The project focused on flood affected people living in district Naushehro Feroz, which was among the worst-hit areas by 2010. Rehabilitation assistance in terms of the restoration of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene was provided. The project also included capacity building for the affected communities along government line departments to mitigate the future risk of disaster and reduce vulnerabilities of the local population.

 

3.     Purpose of the Final Evaluation

The purpose of final evaluation is to assess project design and implementation, overall progress with emphasis on results, achievements with a special focus to:

• Provide an understanding of project achievements and challenges including focus towards addressing gender, protection and DRR issues related to water, sanitation and hygiene;
• ·         Assess the quality of community mobilization and feedback mechanism (community / individual) used in the project.
• ·         Assess the level of acceptability, ownership and sustainability of structural (WSS, Sanitation facilities) and non-structural (VDCs, Hygiene promotion, Capacity building) support provided to communities during the project

 

4. Scope of Work

The evaluation team will outline proposed methodology (including tools), produce a work plan and an itinerary for the consultancy and discuss these with the contracting organization to ensure that both parties have the same understanding of the Evaluation’s salient features. If the evaluation questions needs to be refined that is also the opportunity to do so. When conducting the Evaluation, the team should focus on:

Efficiency and effectiveness:

• Assess the initial project design in focussing on the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of implemented activities.
• Assess the project implementation to see if the methods applied worked as intended with regards to efficiency and effectiveness. Were the expected results from the project activities produced, and if not, what were the factors that prevented them from being produced? What were the main challenges of the activities? 
• Assess the efficiency of the project by comparing the allocated resources with results obtained. The evaluation should present a measured opinion on whether the results obtained justified the costs incurred.
• Examine delivery of project’s expected results in terms of quality and quantity. Were they delivered in a timely manner?  To what extent did factors outside the control of the project design and management affect project implementation and attainment of objectives?
• Give a measured opinion on the impact of the project on target communities.  Has the project been able to measure, either directly or indirectly, its achievements during the project’s planed duration?  Alternatively, if impact has not been measured, consider whether it is possible to define a methodology for doing this.
• Asses the project in terms of phase out strategy and institutional sustainability, e.g., community structures and propose how they could expand the activities beyond support from the funding organization.
• Has local implementing partner utilised other available resources and available networks to continue the implementation of the project.
• Suggest measures to improve the work of contracting organization and the implementing partner in a future projects in the light of lessons learnt.

 

Relevance:

• Has local implementing partner taken advantage of the available knowledge and experience within the targeted community groups (men and women, boys and girls); among district stakeholders and structures such as the district networks, representatives of Government Line Agencies (GLAs) including PDMA, and DDMA that can be replicated in other projects?
• Consider the project’s intended and actual expected results and assess whether these have practical relevance to the trend of national and provincial level policies, plans and other services being offered by the Government to address WASH and DRR related issues in Pakistan. The evaluation should specify what this relevance is, and if there is a major relevance, whether and how the scope of the project could and should be expanded in future.
• Analyse how the project approach fits within other work being done on WASH and DRR by other CSOs at the national and provincial levels.

 

Risk Management:

• Give a measured opinion on whether the project has dealt effectively with all matters related to risk management and consider what risks were involved in producing the expected results? 

 

Cross-cutting themes:

• Review the project from a gender perspective and consider whether all aspects of funding organization’s policy relating to gender issues in WASH programme has been adequately handled in the project.
• Conduct gender analysis to identify gender roles, responsibilities and practices related to WASH interventions.
• Collect gender disaggregated data (sex and age) to understand the profile of people who were at-risk to understand: relations between women and men pertaining their access to, and control over resources, benefits and decision-making processes; the potential disparity impact of project interventions on women and men, girls and boys; and social and cultural constraints, opportunities, and entry points for reducing gender inequalities and promoting equal gender relations.
• Consider if the project contributes to good governance at the district level.
• Give an opinion on possible strengths and weaknesses in contracting organizations’ management routines and administrative procedures for implementing the project effectively through the local implementing partner

 

 

Finance:

• Consider whether all matters related to financial management, including procurement procedures for goods and services and possible concerns relating to a zero tolerance to corruption policy of the contracting organization has been adequately observed when the project was implemented.
• Consider all aspects related to the project’s cost effectiveness and evaluate whether alternative implementing methods could have been applied to increase the cost effectiveness.

 

4.     Implementation of the Evaluation:

• Composition of the Consultant Evaluation Team: The contracting organization will hire local consultant (s) having sufficient knowledge/experience in the field of WASH, DRR and humanitarian response work in Pakistan in addition to sufficient experience in finance and administration.
• Terms and Conditions:  The contracting organization will offer a daily consultancy fee commensurate with the background and experience of the consultants. Travel and logistical arrangements will be made by the consultants themselves within the consultancy fee in an economical fashion.
• Sources of information and methodology to be employed: The contracting organization shall provide necessary documentation to the Consultant, while consultant should submit detailed inception report proposing tools, sampling criteria, and sample size and detailed methodology.  
• Division of responsibility between the consultant/team, the contracting organization:  The consultant is expected to recommend scope for improvements at the institutional as well as the programmatic level. The team shall furthermore be encouraged to apply a participatory and inclusive approach throughout their evaluation work. The consultant will arrange the division of labor between themselves, but the team leader will be responsible for the production of the report. The consultants will partly work in Islamabad and partly travel to and visit the field offices and geographic areas of interventions of the local implementing partner. The consultants will be encouraged to arrange for their office facilities and work independently and away from the contracting organization and its local partner’s office.  The consultants will need to make all arrangements for travel, meetings and other practical matters related to logistics and working contacts on their own and with minimal assistance from the contracting organization. The team members will be using their own personal computers and other relevant equipment for the assignment.
• Timetable for preparation, field work and finalization of report:  The assignment including the field work and submission of final report shall be undertaken in 30 work days starting from July ????, 2017   and ending on August ???, 2017.
• Budget:  The detailed budget and terms and conditions for the consultants will be separately spelt out in their respective contracts.

 

5.     Reporting

The consultant shall be responsible for:

• Desk study, field work including meetings with the contracting organization, local implementing partner and beneficiaries.
• Submit draft report simultaneously to the contracting organization for comments on factual issues and for clarifications;
• Consolidate the comments received from the contracting organization and submit final report within the timeframe agreed. The final approved report shall be submitted in hard copy as well as in electronic format by August 29, 2017.
• Debriefing the contracting organization upon completion of work, if required.

 

Description of required report format:

• Table of contents and acronyms
• Executive Summary
• Methodology and constraints
• Clearly identified findings
• Clearly identified conclusions and recommendations- and connection between them.
• Lessons learned
• Sustainability
• Recommendations
• Appropriate Annexes including tools and present TORs
• The report shall be submitted in 2 hard copies and also in electronic form.

 

The report shall be in English with maximum limit of 18 pages, i.e., 2 page executive summary, 16 page report according to the above mentioned format. The annexes should contain references and information about any literature consulted, data collection instruments, project LFA with end of project evaluation value entered, the ToR, and list of interviewees and any additional information required.

 

6.     Budget

The detailed budget and terms and conditions for the consultant will be separately spelt out in the respective contract. The applicant shall make the payments as agreed in the contract with consultant.   Preferably 50% of the payment will be given at signing of the contract, while 25% on completion of field activities and rest of the 25% on approval of the report. The applicant will cover consultancy fees and other related expenses in PKR for the entire evaluation study.

 

Annex 1 (to be included in the contract)

Time frame

Action	Deadline
Advertise consultancy	5 July 2017
Shortlisting and Interveiws	26 July 2017
Recruit consultant and develop contract	31 July 2017
Review of proposed tools and questionnaires	3 August 2017
Consultant to deliver
Data collection - Field Visit (Village meetings, FGDs, Household Survey, KKIs)	7 to 12 August 2017
Data Punching, Analysis & submission of first draft	13 to 17 August 2017
Draft Report	18 August 2017
Revision and submission of  Final report	29 August 2017

 

 

7.     APPLICATION PROCEDURE AND DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION:

Interested applicants are requested to submit the following information as part of the initial bid. All documents should be submitted to [email protected] by July 25^th, 2017 (Only shortlisted firms / candidates will be contacted). While applying please do mention the name of consultancy “Final Evaluation of Sustainable WASH assistance Sindh” in subject line.

1.       Profile of consultancy firm, CVs of lead and team member(s), and only CVs of persons in case of individuals to carry out assignment.

2.       Technical proposal outlining the approach to be followed in designing and conducting the assignment (including key deliverables and tools).

3.       Detailed financial proposal including logistical and accommodation costs. The budget proposed will be evaluated alongside the technical proposal and the organization reserves the right to make alternative suggestions on costing.

4.       Three references (at least two of whom must be familiar with your work).

5.       An example of a recent/relevant assignment report.

8.     Qualification or specialized knowledge / experience required

1.       At least 5 years professional experience preferably in Sindh in conducting assessments, evaluations, survey etc  

2.       Working experience in Sindh region is desirable

3.       Strong analytical skills in Excel, SPSS and other data analysis software

4.       Excellent report writing and inter-personal communication skills;

5.       Demonstrate adequate capacities to organize and complete assignment within the specified time frame

6.       The applying consultant/firm must be tax filer having valid NTN and registration with relevant authorities