Evaluator At Rehabilitation, Education and Community Health

1. Background of the assignment

Rehabilitation, Education and Community Health (REACH) is a non-governmental, non-profit, impartial, and independent Iraqi organization, which was founded in 1995. REACH provides humanitarian aid to IDPs, refugees, returnees and vulnerable host communities, by assisting and supporting efforts to make a difference in the lives of the community members we serve. The organizational headquarters is in Sulaymaniya, with operational offices in Kirkuk, Duhok, Erbil and Mosul. REACH has been implementing numerous Relief and Recovery projects targeting Iraqi IDPs in: Food Security, Cash assistance, Psychosocial Support and awareness, Vocational trainings, Income generating activities, Asset replacement, Water, Hygiene and Sanitation projects and others.

Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe (DKH) is a humanitarian aid agency. It is DKH’s approach to implement Relief, Rehabilitation and Disaster Risk Reduction projects mainly through local Partner Organizations, taking the Localization approach, in empowering the local society and involving them in the decision-making process, as they are the ones suffering and in the frontline of the crisis. The DKH team provides technical and other backstopping to all partner organizations within its area of responsibility. It also continuously aims at increasing and further strengthening relations with local partners on the ground and building their capacities.

Project background

The intended impact of the project is to contribute to a successful integration respectively re-integration of Syrian refugees, IDPs, returnees and to contribute to the strengthening of host communities by supporting them to increase their life-skills, their psychosocial wellbeing and their community empowerment.

The outcomes of the project are:

• Syrian refugees, Iraqi IDPs, returnees and vulnerable host community families have strengthened their life-skills, which increased their access to the job market (adults and youth) and improved their school graded (youth and children).
• Adults and children have improved their psychosocial wellbeing and use creative and adaptive coping strategies.
• Community Action Groups (CAGs) (with an emphasis on female participants) have empowered Syrian refugees, Iraqi IDPs, returnees and vulnerable host community families.

The project has been implemented in Kurdistan Region Iraq from August 2019 until July 2023 and in Mosul from June 2020 until July 2023.

2. Purpose and specific objectives of the assignment

The purpose of the assignment is to provide an independent final review and assessment of the Psycho-Social Support project and to contribute to the learning of REACH Iraq and DKH. The specific objectives of the assignment are:

• To conduct a final review (relevance & coverage, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, sustainability) of the current project, taking into account the specific socio-political and institutional context of Iraq
• To identify lessons learned, best practices and recommendations, especially focusing on possible follow-up projects

The assignment is intended for the use of REACH Iraq and DKH.

3. Questions

The assignment will specifically focus on the following questions:

Relevance & Coverage

• What are the main social and cultural related risk factors of the communities who were receiving PSS interventions and to what extent is the project suited to the particular needs and priorities of the communities and the (most vulnerable) beneficiaries as well as the priorities of the implementing organization?
• Was the response timely in the context of conflict and displacement? Was the targeting appropriate for the context and (changing) needs (e.g. decreasing IDP numbers in the area in recent years)?
• Who typically accessed PSS services (host communities, refugees, IDPs)? To whom were the services not accessible or available? Why (include recommendations to overcome these reasons, including how to engage in community-level networks/ structures)?
• Have the activities reached the key groups who are most vulnerable?
• What linkages have been made to address protection needs and to refer cases to others?

Effectiveness

• To what extent did the project achieve its objectives?
• What are major factors that influenced the achievement/ non-achievement of objectives?
• How effective were the various approaches, especially the PSS methodology?

Efficiency

• Did the implementing organization have enough human and material resources as well as context-related expertise in order to achieve the objectives of the projects?
• Were there appropriate systems of beneficiary accountability that beneficiaries were aware of?
• Which added value did the support of DKH provide to the partner organization?

Sustainability

• To what extent did the results of the project continue/ are likely to continue after the project?
• Are there any risks to the beneficiaries/ community by continuing this programming?
• To what extent did the applied approach/methodology ensure sustainability and lasting impact?

Impact

• What is the evidence of the impact that the project has had to date on beneficiaries?
• Are there any positive or negative unintended changes that have stemmed from the project activities?
• Were risks analysis carried out before/ during projects to identify risks and mitigation measures.

4. Design, methodology and deliverables

The evaluation is to be conducted in line with the OECD/DAC standards. The evaluators are expected to use a diverse set of methodologies, including, but not limited to:

• Preparation: This includes a kick-off online meeting, a desk review of key project documents and literature/ reference frameworks, explorative interviews and the development of data collection tools in the inception report.
• Field visit: The field phase includes visits to project sites in Iraq (most likely: Sulaymaniyah, Erbil, and Mosul governorates) with interviews and focus group discussions with REACH project staff, beneficiaries and context actors. The support of the field visit will be facilitated by REACH and DKH.
• Synthesis: The synthesis phase includes a workshop session at the end of the field visit to share findings, prior to writing the field mission report.
• Reporting: The final evaluation report should be logically structured, containing evidence-based findings, conclusions, lessons and recommendations, and should be free of information that is not relevant to the overall analysis. The report should be presented in a way that makes the information accessible and comprehensible.

5. Process

• The relationship between the evaluator and the commissioner(s) of an evaluation must, from the outset, be characterized by mutual respect and trust.
• Evaluations should be conducted in a professional and ethical manner.

The anticipated time period for the assignment is:

• Preparation and inception report (5 pages) 30/04/2023 to 04/05/2023 (5 days)
• Field mission in Iraq 06 -15 May 2023 (10 days including travel days)
• Evaluation report (20 pages) Early June 2023 (4 days)
• Total number of consultant days: up to 20 days

The time schedule is partially flexible and can be adapted according to current travel restrictions (security, and/or COVID-19).

6. Profile of the selected consultant

The selected evaluator/ team of evaluators shall have the following profile:

• Experience with conducting similar kind of project evaluations;
• Professional experience in humanitarian aid, with a special emphasis on the Protection and PSS;
• Knowledge and professional working experience in Iraq;
• Ability to travel to project sides in Iraq; suggested locations for the field phase are Kurdistan Region Iraq and Mosul;
• Familiarity with and clear comprehension of SPHERE standards and CHS;
• Fluency in English, both written and spoken; fluency in Arabic both written and spoken. Also Kurdish is an asset and will be weighted.