CONSULTANCY TO CARRY OUT BASELINE SURVEY FOR THE GEAP PROGRAM At Micro Enterprises Support Programme Trust

1. 1. Background Information about MESPT

Micro-Enterprises Support Programme Trust (MESPT) is a Kenyan development organization established in 2002. MESPT’s overall objective is to promote economic growth, employment creation and poverty alleviation through enterprise development. This is achieved predominantly through support to the development of agricultural value chains whilst embracing and promoting the green growth and climate change agenda. Through its vision of building a more Prosperous Society, MESPT facilitates increased commercialization, decent employment, and green transformation through targeted interventions in the selected value chains. The Trust is a multi-donor entity jointly founded by the Government of Kenya and the European Union who later relinquished their position to the Royal Danish Embassy in Kenya, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark (DANIDA). To learn more about MESPT, please visit www.mespt.org.

1. 2. Project Description or Context and Background:

The Green Employment in Agriculture Programme (GEAP); is a DANIDA funded programme whose outputs ride on key workstreams of the GGEP programme 2016 – 2020 and AGRIFI programme; 2018 – 2023. The programme is aligned to and fits the mandate of MESPT, Kenya Vision 2030 as well as the Danish Strategy for Development Cooperation and humanitarian action “The World 2030”. Through implementation of GEAP, MESPT envisions to facilitate increased commercialization, decent employment, and green transformation through targeted interventions in selected value chains.

The programme is partitioned into four output areas: i.) market access and MSME development, ii) improved access to finance/credit, iii) improved food safety and increased productivity and iv) green transformation. Under these output areas, MESPT activities will contribute towards i.) increased farmer and MSME capacity for aggregation, storage, value addition and market Linkages ii.) increased awareness and access for financial services for the value chain actors iii.) enhanced knowledge & competences on food safety and good agricultural practices (GAP) and iv.) increased awareness and commercialization of identified innovative green technologies. To accelerate outreach and impact, the trust intends to achieve the following targets:

3,000 jobs created in the value chains.

40,000 farmers linked to market.

KES 6 billion (DKK 381 million) additional sales turnover of value chains aggregated by the targeted SMEs.

MESPT capital base increased to KES 4 billion (DKK 255 million).

Value chain stakeholders have accessed loans worth KES 4 billion.

20,000 farmers have accessed financial services.

This engagement will ultimately contribute to accelerated decent employment creation in MSMEs and improved competitiveness of the selected value chains in agriculture consequently, transforming the economy towards greener and more inclusive growth.

3. 3. The overall objective of the baseline evaluation

The aim of the baseline evaluation will be to determine quantitatively and qualitatively the current situation in relation to the programme’s objectives/ results and related indicators. At the end of the baseline survey, data/ information gathered will be used to progressively measure project performance against the set targets during and at the end project implementation. In addition, the baseline information will form the basis upon which the programme will promote accountability, organizational learning, stocktaking of achievements, performance, impacts, good practices, and lessons learnt during programme implementation process.

Lastly it will aid in making practical and realistic recommendations that need to be considered/ addressed during the implementation phase and where applicable lead to improvement of the Project design, implementation strategies indicators and/or set targets.

Develop/ review of data collection tools

Survey

Participants + tools

MESPT & Staff

Farmers Households

Farmer Organisation (Leadership)

SMEs

County Government Officials

Donor & Other key stakeholders

Baseline

2, 4

1,3

2

2

2

2

Codes for tools: –

1 = Focus Group Discussion

2= Interview

3= Questionnaire

4= Document review

Resources required (Internal)

• Tablets
• TAs
• Vehicles & drivers
• Programme staff

Training of the Enumerators for data collection

The consultant shall develop all the necessary tools shall be developed, and relevant approvals/consent acquired from all parties involved before the enumerators are trained. The training of the enumerators will not only focus on the tool but also cover the Dos and Don’ts and ethics in data collection.

1. Data Analysis and Presentation

Once data collection process is finalized, quantitative data will be analysed mainly using statistical packages e.g. SPSS, R, STATA or even MS Excel and content analysis will be done for qualitative data. The analysed data will be presented inform of graphs, tables, and descriptive text.

2. Expected Deliverables

The Evaluator will provide the following deliverables:

i) Inception Report:

An inception report outlining the approach and work plan to be used in the evaluation. This report will be 10 to 15 pages in length and will propose the methods, sources and procedures to be used for data collection. It will also include a proposed timeline of activities and submission of deliverables. The desk study report will propose initial lines of inquiry about the joint programme this report will be used as an initial point of agreement and understanding between the Evaluator and the evaluation manager.

ii) Draft Final Report

The draft final report will follow the same format as the final report (described in the next paragraph) and will be 40 pages in length.

iii) Final Evaluation Report

The final report should be produced according to the DANIDA/MESPT evaluation guidelines and reflecting the key evaluation questions.

The maximum length of the final report should be 30-40 pages in length. It will also contain an executive summary of no more than five pages that includes a brief description of the joint programme, its context and current situation, the purpose of the evaluation, its methodology and its major findings, conclusions, and recommendations. The final report will be signed off by the programme management team i.e. MEAL Manager, programme Manager and Head of programmes.

The evaluator is required to append the following items: – Terms of Reference, Data collection instruments, List of meetings/consultations attended, List of persons or organisations interviewed, List of documents/publications reviewed and cited, Updated result framework.

iv) Datasets/ data analysis framework/ field reports

I. REQUIRED COMPETENCIES

The consultants from the firm to be engaged should possess the following competencies.

The lead consultant should have at least the following qualifications:

• Master’s degree in public policy management, Economics (or Micro-Economics), Employment and Labour Economics, Strategic Planning, or related social science graduate qualifications.
• A minimum of 10 years of professional experience specifically in evaluating programmes in Market Systems Development, value chain development, integrated Food Security and Sustainable Agricultural for international development initiatives preferably in Africa.
• Demonstrated expertise and capability in assessment of small and medium scale enterprise development, regional private sector development, employment creation, related national policies and knowledge of government operational framework,
• Demonstrated experience in evaluation of green technology projects-climate smart
• Demonstrated experience in measuring projects promoting access to micro credit among the MSMEs
• Proven experience with logical framework approaches and other strategic planning approaches, M&E methods, and approaches (including quantitative, qualitative, and participatory), information analysis and report writing.
• Knowledge and experience of the DANIDA System will be an added advantage
• Excellent communication and interview skills.
• Excellent English report writing skills.
• A fluent speaker of English and Swahili
• Demonstrated ability to deliver quality results within strict deadlines.

Associate consultant(s) should have the following qualifications**:**

• University degree Public Policy Management, Employment and Labour Economics, Economics, Strategic Planning or related social science graduate qualifications
• A minimum of 5 years of professional experience, specifically in the area of monitoring and evaluation of international development initiatives and development organizations.
• A minimum of 5 years of professional experience specifically in evaluating development projects/programmes in the employment area, small-medium scale enterprise development or related areas of work, preferably in Africa.
• A track record of conducting various types of evaluations, including process, outcome and impact evaluations in Kenya.
• Demonstrated experience/engagement in agriculture Value Chain development projects working with farmer groups
• Demonstrated experience in evaluation of green technology projects-climate smart
• Demonstrated experience in measuring projects promoting access to micro credit among the MSMEs
• Knowledge and experience of the Danida System
• Understanding of the DAC/OECD standards
• Excellent communication, interview and report writing skills.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver quality results within strict deadlines.

II. INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENT

The consultant will report to MEAL Manager and will work closely with M&E staff and Programme Manager. The evaluation will be carried out with logistical support and services of the Programme/ MESPT The assignment is expected to be carried out in 45 days.

III. PAYMENT PLAN

The Firm are requested to quote a fee that will cover all their costs including transport, accommodation where applicable and other incidentals.

The payment plan to the Firm will be as follows: –

a) 30% upon submission of an inception report

b) 30% upon facilitation and presentation of an acceptable draft Report

c) 40% upon presenting and acceptance of the final Report

IV. APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Interested applicants should send the following documents:

a) CV(s) of the lead consultant and team members of the firms applying.

b) Provide detailed company profile.

c) Provide a copy of certificate of registration.

d) CR12 Certificate

e) Must provide a copy of valid KRA Tax compliance Certificate.

f) Provide detailed proposal with a detailed Work plan demonstrating the number of man-days to be employed and budget for this work.

g) List of previous relevant assignments should accompany the tender, with a covering letter explaining how their experience addresses the requirements of the TOR.

h) Copy of reference letters or testimonials issued to the applying firm in the last five years.