Consultancy – Project End line Evaluation (External) At Terre des hommes

• Background :

Tdh has been working in Iraq since 2014, Tdh has scaled its programming to Anbar, Duhok, Kirkuk, Ninewa, Baghdad, and Salah al-Din governorates, providing assistance in Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM), Child Protection (CP), Access to Justice (A2J), Education, and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH). Considering the humanitarian response, Tdh with support from the Bureau of Population, Refugee and Migration (BPRM) has been implementing a multi-year project from September 2019 to September 2021 targeting 28,020 vulnerable persons. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic slowing down the implementation of activities, the project has delivered almost on all the major activities; case management and MHPSS (Mental Health and Psychosocial Support) services to children and adolescents, access to formal and non-formal education opportunities, tailored multipurpose assistance and COVID-19 response, among others.

• Project Description, Goal :

The project aims at improving the protection, well-being and educational prospects of vulnerable, conflict affected children and adolescents in hard-to-reach districts of Ninewa, Salah al-Din and Kirkuk Governorates, Iraq. The expected objectives and outcome indicators are below.

Objective 1 – To improve the protection, well-being and resilience of vulnerable children and adolescents within their community environments.

Outcome 1.3 : Percentage (60%) of children, adolescents and caregivers expressing an improvement in their subjective well-being by project end.

Outcome 1.5 : Percentage (70%) of Community Based Child Protection Committee (CBCPC) members/Focal Points with improved knowledge of protection principles, rights and risks faced by affected group.

Objective 2 – To enhance access to and quality of formal and nonformal education opportunities for vulnerable children and adolescents.

Outcome 2.2 : Percentage (40%) of assessed formal, informal learning environments that are considered safe for boys and girls of different ages.

Outcome 2.8 : Percentage (70%) of School Personnel/Parent Teacher Associations members with improved knowledge of Education/CP related topics.

Objective 3 – To reduce the deterioration of health outcomes and reduce protection risks among vulnerable returnee households and children affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Outcome 3.1 : Percent (75%) of households reporting satisfaction with support received through direct distribution i.e., kits, vouchers, or cash.

Objective 4 – To contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic among vulnerable returnee households.

Outcome 4.1 : Percentage (80%) of surveyed beneficiaries showing an increased knowledge of COVID -19 prevention, control & hygiene practices.

• Purpose :

The primary objective of the assignment is to conduct a summative evaluation in September 2021 in the targeted project areas. The purpose of the evaluation is to assess the significant and sustained changes in the lives of women, men, girls and boys (impact) that the program has contributed to. The evaluation will also assess effectiveness of Tdh´s implementation strategies and approaches to achieve set goals within the project duration. To give insights into the project’s success and contribution to impact and highlight potential improvements for subsequent projects.

Additionally, the evaluation is intended to strengthen accountability and transparency to Tdh’s donors and partners for future interventions

• Objectives :

· To determine the extent to which project outcome and outputs have been attained both quantitatively and qualitatively through comparison with the baseline.

· To provide concrete evidence of the change the project has been able to achieve, how the project achieved the difference, and determine the extent to which this can be attributed to the funded projects.

· To evaluate the following dimensions of the project; Impact, Relevance, Effectiveness (added value and learning, coverage), and Sustainability.

· To identify key lessons learned and best practices from project design and implementation that can be fed in similar future programs.

· To develop strategic recommendations for future projects.

• Scope and Focus :

The evaluation shall broadly cover the accomplishment of all the expected results as outlined in the project document and detailed in the annual work plans during the entire project period/cycle. It should also assess all the different project activities as in the approved logical framework matrix.

• Guiding Questions :

I. Relevance: To what extent did the intervention objectives and design respond to beneficiaries’ needs belonging to different groups (children, women, IDPs, refugees) and households affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to do so?

-What, if any, changes do Tdh need to make so that its interventions efforts and emergency response are more appropriate and relevant?

II. Effectiveness: To what extent has Tdh’s intervention contributed to increasing the protective environment of children at the community level?

-To what extent has Tdh’s programming effectively contributed to the reduction of vulnerability risk of children during the COVID-19 pandemic?

-What, if any, changes could Tdh make to its response efforts to make them more effective?

III. Impact: To what extent were the protection risks faced by children and adolescents addressed? How has the project contributed to this change? What project intervention has been most effective in this?

-To what extent has the project been responsive to the educational needs of vulnerable children and adolescents? To what extent has the intervention provided educational support to children, especially during COVID-19?

VI. Sustainability:

-What were the lessons learned and best practices from project design and implementation that can be fed into similar future programs?

To what extent local stakeholders were empowered to ensure that the benefits of the activities are likely to continue after the project ends?

• Methodology :

Evaluation Approach: Given the dynamic nature of the context, the evaluation will be kept simple in order not to overwhelm affected populations with stressful data collection needs. The consultant will be asked to submit the methodology of the evaluation. Tdh proposes both (qualitative and quantitative) evaluation methodology but with a bias to more of qualitative data collection for easy triangulation of the Information. The consultant is recommended to use existing quantitative data that is already collected for different monitoring purposes by the Tdh team, and to avoid initiating a heavy primary quantitative data collection processes.

Evaluation design: The consultant is expected to develop the evaluation design describing the methodology, sample size, tools and the analysis plan in consultation with the Tdh team.

Data collection: The consultant will design evaluation data collection tools. . Due to access and security requirements, Tdh will take on the responsibility of data gathering. The consultant will orient and training enumerator on data collection tools. The consultant will regularly check on the quality of data been gathered. The consultant will be primarily responsible for the Desk review (narrative project Proposal, budget, PFU, quarterly reports, sources of verification, databases and any other project documentation produced will be availed to back up data collected from the field). The evaluation will involve all relevant stakeholders, program staff, implementing partners, beneficiaries and others deemed relevant.

Analysis and report writing: The consultant will be responsible for analyzing all primary (quantitative & qualitative) data gathered for the evaluation purpose and the secondary data associated with the project, as per the analysis plan agreed with the Tdh team at the initiation discussions. The consultant is expected to facilitate a learning session with the Tdh team to share and validate the findings and produce the final report as per the template agreed at the inception phase.

The Q&A (Quality & Accountability) Coordinator/ MEAL Manager and Grants Manager will be responsible for in-country briefings with Tdh Iraqi team and regular feedback during the field work, overseeing and managing the evaluation and reviewing and approving all deliverables, with support from the program team.

The information gathered and analysis needs to be well triangulated at the maximum extent possible and disaggregated sex, age, socioeconomic status, female headed households, ethnicity, and ability etc.

• Ethical Considerations :

The evaluator needs to consider ethical and safeguarding considerations in the inception report including duty of care and Do No harm elements (Confidentiality, Informed Consent, Child safety etc.) The evaluation should also incorporate gender and diversity approach.

• Deliverables :

· Inception report including the evaluation design.

· Data collection tools, trainings and the analysis plan.

· First, second, third and final draft project evaluation report.

· Learning workshop.

· Final database and raw data collected used in evaluation.

• Potential Risks and Challenges :

· Eventual security challenges might affect operation schedule.

· Very limited access to services in targeted areas, including accommodation, electricity, running water and phone coverage.

• Workplan :

Phase 1 : Inception, 1 week.

-Desk research to better understand the background and context of the program and the evaluation.

-Virtual inception meeting.

-Inception Report including proposed approach, methodology, data collection tools and final report outline.

Phase 2 : Data collection, 2 weeks.

-Training the Tdh data collection team, desk reviews, interviews with Tdh staff & partners.

Phase 3 : Data Analysis & Management, 1 week.

-Synthesis and analysis of data and information collected. May include follow-up interviews where necessary.

Phase 4 : Report Writing, 1 week.

-Draft report for review, consideration, and feedback

Phase 5 : Learning workshop with Tdh, 1 day.

-The evaluation team will present their findings, conclusions and recommendations to Tdh program and support staff to provide an opportunity for Tdh to review, discuss, and validate the findings.

Phase 6 : Final Report, 2 days.

-Based on the feedback and insight gathered at the Learning Workshop, the Evaluation Team will revise the draft report and submit a final report of the final evaluation.