Consultancy At Danish Refugee Council

ORGANISATION BACKGROUND

Operational in former Southern Sudan, now South Sudan, since 2005, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a leading humanitarian agency implementing a range of integrated programming across the Food Security and Livelihoods (FSL), Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM), Water and Sanitation Health (WASH), Protection and Shelter/Non-Food Items (S/NFI) sectors through a mobile and static response modality. Supporting individuals affected by conflict and displacement, DRC supports Sudanese refugees, internally displaced persons (IDP) and host populations with programmes and activities tailored to the needs and gaps in the local context.

DRC has well-established and long-standing programs in South Sudan and neighbouring countries working with displaced populations in addressing vulnerabilities resulting from shocks, both natural and human-made, that impact their mobility, livelihoods and safety. South Sudan has some of the continent’s largest numbers of IDPs and refugees due to high levels of insecurity resulting from the protracted conflict. This, coupled with the effects of flooding and significant food insecurity in the area, continues to cause substantial displacement of large amounts of the population.

DRC’s strategic vision is in emergency and protracted displacement situations, individuals and communities are supported in addressing their basic needs, accessing services, claiming their rights, and having the skills and capacity to develop their informed solutions to achieve self-reliance in a safe, peaceful and dignified manner.

PROJECT SUMMARY

Through funding from the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), DRC has been implementing a multi-sectoral response programme in South Sudan. The programme started in 2018 and is ending this year has the key objective of “Saving and protecting lives, alleviating suffering and promoting the dignity and rights of civilians in crises and initiating recovery through building resilience to and preventing future crises by breaking the cycle between crises and vulnerability.”

In line with this objective, DRC is providing Protection, Shelter/NFI, WASH, CCCM, FSL, Mine Risk Education (MRE) and Armed Violence Reduction (AVR) support under DRC’s three programmatic intervention pillars of Responding to Emergencies, Seeking Durable Solutions and Addressing Root Causes . The response is designed to alleviate suffering and address basic needs while reducing vulnerabilities and conflict-induced displacement for the most conflict-affected communities in Upper Nile and Unity states; and hard-to-reach areas across broader South Sudan.

Furthermore, the programme intends to achieve the following outcomes:

1. Affected populations can enjoy basic rights in a protective environment and risks related to violence, coercion, and deprivation are mitigated.
2. The most vulnerable displacement affected populations are able to access basic needs in a safe and dignified manner.
3. Populations in displacement sites benefit from coordinated, accountable and participatory humanitarian assistance.
4. Refugees and host communities have increased access to justice.
5. Refugee, IDPs or returnees have increased access to sustainable basic goods, services and economic opportunities.
6. Affected populations can enjoy basic rights in a protective environment and risks related to violence, coercion, and deprivation are mitigated.

The programme is being implemented in the following geographical locations:

· Aburoc, Upper Nile, South Sudan

· Ajuong Thok, Unity, South Sudan

· Bentiu, Unity, South Sudan

· Maban, Upper Nile, South Sudan

· Malakal, West Bank, Upper Nile, South Sudan

· Hard to reach areas, Country-wide, South Sudan.

RATIONALE AND PURPOSE

The overall objective of this impact evaluation is to assess the extent to which the programme impacted the lives of the beneficiaries/ target communities and to derive lessons learned and key recommendations for the organization. The evaluation is also expected to assess the extent to which the multi-sectoral approach helped to transform the lives of the target beneficiaries, and the validity of the theory of change. The lessons drawn from the evaluation will be used to inform DRC’s decision making and the design of future programmes. **

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

Specifically, the evaluation should be able to:

• Assess the impact of the Programme since its inception in 2018 and the validity of the theory of change.
• Identify lessons learned, good practices and provide concrete recommendations.
• Assess and identify critical internal and external factors that have contributed, affected, or impeded the programme achievements and how DRC has managed these factors.
• Determine the intended and unintended outcomes of the Programme and to provide recommendations on how the unintended negative outcomes of the Programme can be addressed.
• To assess the extent to which Age, Gender, and Diversity were mainstreamed; how gender equality, social inclusion, and equity issues have been considered while programming implementation.
• To assess the impact of COVID-19 on achievement of the programme goal and outcomes. **

SCOPE OF THE EVALUATION

The evaluation will assess the Programme impact, effectiveness and efficiency by critically analyzing sector specific approaches that were used to achieve the desired change in the lives of the beneficiaries. The evaluation will focus on the following sectors and their approaches:

1. Protection (30%)

Under Protection, the evaluation will assess the programme impact on the targeted community’s perceptions of safety and tangible safety improvements. Specifically, the evaluation will assess the linkage between the work of the Community-Based Protection Networks (CBPNs) and targeted communities’ feelings of security. The following should be taken into consideration when assessing the Protection impact:

• Measure the community’s level of awareness and understanding of the CBPNs and their role in relation to protection activities.
• Evaluate the impact of the presence of the CBPNs and their related actions to the community.
• What are the possible factors that enhance or inhibit sustainability of the networks, including economic/financial, institutional, technical, socio-cultural, and environmental sustainability aspects?
• To what extent would the networks operate independently and continue after donor funding ceased? What should DRC focus on and implement in transition and exit strategy to ensure longer-term positive effects and reducing the risk of dependency?
• Similarly, understand CBPNs understanding and knowledge of the intervention, their role, and their perception of the impact their activities have on the community.

2. FSL (50%)

Under FSL, the evaluation will assess the programme impact on improving targeted households’ income and self-reliance, with a specific lens on Vocational Training Centers (VTCs) in Ajuong Thok and Income Generating Activities in Bentiu. Specifically, the evaluation will:

• Assess the impact of the VTCs on skills development and the relevance of the skillsets in the targeted community. Are the graduates and their households more resilient (in line with the programme results) than before due to capacity building initiatives?
• Assess how effective and efficient the “graduation kits” are in supporting and addressing graduates’ needs. Did the targeted beneficiaries manage to start up their businesses or not? Was the context favorable for the business expansion or not?
• Assess the economic levels of the targeted households/individuals from the inception of the programme to now. Is there an improvement in households’ income, assets and adaptive capacities in target communities? If yes, what factors contributed or were associated with the changes in these indicators?
• Establish the linkage between increased household income and improved food security and self-reliance. Did this help address any Protection or GBV issues?

3. CCCM (10%)

Under the CCCM sector, the evaluation will drill down on the training of humanitarian actors and IDPs on CCCM and protection; and the short-term and medium-term impact the training had on the participants and the targeted communities. The evaluation should answer the following questions:

• To what extent were the expected outcomes of the training achieved? What difference has the training made to the targeted communities, partners, and programme stakeholders as a whole?
• What programme design, implementation and monitoring elements can be added or amended to improve the effectiveness of the training programme?
• What lessons were learned from the training approach and what can be recommended for future programmes?

4. WASH (10%)

Under WASH, the evaluation will focus on the impact of WASH programming through the Mobile Response Team, precisely the effectiveness of the provision of borehole rehabilitation and hygiene promotion through a short-term emergency response.

• How responsive were the hygiene promotion activities to the needs of targeted males and females in the communities (when possible, distinguish between host community and IDPs) given their conditions and priorities?
• How effective were the borehole rehabilitations and how relevant were the response modalities to the identified needs and the environment?
• What were the significant factors influencing the achievement or non-achievement of the provision of borehole rehabilitation and hygiene promotion?
• Analyze the contribution of the interventions to any observed impact and analyze what other actors and factors contributed to the impact. What real difference has the intervention made to the beneficiaries?
• How cost-effective was the provision of borehole rehabilitation intervention? What cost-effective alternatives could have been used?

Scope of consultancy

The consultancy will design an appropriate evaluation methodology based on their understanding of the expectations of the terms of reference. Due to the COVID-19 restriction, only one member (this depends on the feasibility of travel arrangements due to Covid-19) of the consultancy will come to the country to undertake the data collection exercise. Primary data collection will be conducted in Ajuong Thok and Bentiu locations. To sufficiently address the critical dimensions and questions raised above, the consultant will need to propose and adopt methodologies that combine qualitative and quantitative research techniques, including extensive desk review and research. The Consultant is expected to propose his/her methodology for the evaluation that should include but not limited to:

• Draft data collection tools
• Data collection methodology, including sampling.
• Quantitative data analysis plan
• Qualitative data analysis plan
• Secondary data collection and analysis
• Production of an evaluation report
• Participate in the initial sharing of the report to DRC/ stakeholders and incorporate their feedback.

All data collected must be disaggregated by sex, age, and location. The consultant should submit a detailed action plan that includes data collection instruments, clear roles and responsibilities of the Consultant, timeframe and data analysis and report writing.

Key Deliverables/Outputs

The Consultant shall be expected to produce an inception report upon commencement of the evaluation.

1. Inception Report will detail the agreed-upon methodologies to be employed in the evaluation to achieve the objectives outlined above. The Inception Report should also include the finalized activity plan and a structural outline of the final evaluation report. The inception report should be shared and approved by DRC before the data collection and analysis commencement. The Inception report should contain:
2. A detailed methodology for implementation (reflective of AGD approach),
3. A detailed schedule for the programme review.
4. The indicators that fall within the scope of the programme review
5. Draft data collection tools for all indicators and the means to verify them.
6. Draft questionnaires and tools
7. A work plan that sets out the preparatory activities and specific deliverables and timeline related to the programme review and budget for the data collection activities.
8. Evaluation Report: The report should address the above consultancy objectives and contain an executive summary, acknowledgements, introduction including programme summary and purpose of the programme review; a detailed methodology (including limitations); key findings (covering both document review and primary research), lessons learnt, evidence-based recommendations, conclusion and annexes. Annexes should include, at a minimum: the consultant’s expression of interest, the evaluation budget, field sites assessed, and a list of key informants. A soft copy of the report will be shared with the MEAL Manager, and the report should not be more than 35 pages, excluding the cover page and annexes.

Evaluation Brief as an executive (using DRC Format: 4 pages in length that summarizes crucial points, purpose and background, evaluation questions, methods, findings, and conclusions)

Presentation – PowerPoint on crucial evaluation results and recommendations to DRC South Sudan Programming.

The deliverables above will be accompanied by regular communication and feedback with the Programme Team and a validation workshop where the evaluations’ preliminary results will be presented to DRC. After incorporating comments from the validation workshop, the report will be delivered to DRC’s MEAL Manager.

Intended Users

The intended users for the evaluation will be in particular:

• The sector teams, especially Protection, WASH, S/NFIs, CCCM, FSL and Mobile Response Teams.
• All interested parties in DRC, including programme management team, technical and non-technical staff; DRC Senior Management Team, Technical Coordinators, MEAL Department, Head of Programme and the Country Director.
• The humanitarian cluster teams and all humanitarian agencies in South Sudan, working towards the same goals and objectives.
• Representatives of DANIDA as the donor that has funded the multi-sectoral Programme.

Evaluation Key Responsibilities

DRC’s Responsibilities

DRC will:

• DRC will provide logistical and accommodation support to the consultant while in South Sudan and field location. As the impact of COVID-19, the evaluation will be conducted remotely with only one member of the consultancy team coming into the country to facilitate the data collection process.
• Provide ongoing security advice and support if travelling to the field.
• Facilitate engagement with the community and key stakeholders.
• Provide all necessary programme documents and contacts of relevant stakeholders in other NGOs and the community.
• DRC will also review the consultant’s proposal, tools and evaluation report.
• The payments will be in three instalments, 30% after submission of the Inception report, and 30% after the draft report and 40% upon submission of the final acceptable report to DRC. Please note that a partial payment hold-back will be in effect until DRC has approved a final report.

The Consultant:

• The consultant will be responsible for all aspects of the entire evaluation process, including travel and permit applications, evaluation preparation, data collection, and report writing.
• The consultant will be responsible for the payment of any tax or other fees related to this assignment.
• The consultant is responsible for his/her working tools such as computer and data analysis software.
• Submit a proposal with a tentative budget on or before 12 July 2021. The Technical Proposal should contain; a complete description and explanation of the proposed methodology for the assignment, work plan, timeline, staffing, names and qualifications of allocated personnel and any other resources that the consultant will make available to execute the task and achieve the objective including budget. The cost of the Evaluation should be summarized as follows with a detailed breakdown below:

No. Details Unit Rate (US$) # of Units(Quantity) Cost(US$)

**

1 Consultant’s fees (including data enumerators’ costs)

2 Transport cost

3 Subsistence costs (e.g., accommodation, communication, meals, etc.)

4 Any other costs that are critical, but not provided for by DRC

Total

Reporting Arrangements

The consultant will report to the MEAL Manager but with close collaboration with the MEAL Specialist who leads evaluations.

Duration of assignment

The consultancy should not last more than 40 working days, excluding weekends. A minimum of two weeks should be reserved for field research (if conditions allow).

Expected Profile of the Consultant

• A postgraduate qualification in Monitoring and Evaluation, Research, Statistics or any other related field is required. A qualification in Agriculture, Agribusiness, Food Security and Livelihoods, Social Sciences or other related disciplines is also strongly required.
• An additional qualification/ experience in Protection, WASH and Camp Management will be an added advantage.
• Significant experience in carrying out evaluations in South Sudan or EAGL region.
• Strong understanding of the South Sudan contexts, particularly around issues related to conflict, resilience, livelihoods, the humanitarian principles and system, protection risks. Direct field experience in the country is a significant advantage.
• Demonstrate strong capacity to conduct quantitative data research and analysis with additional experience in questionnaire development, interview techniques and managing focus group discussions.
• Strong skills in qualitative and quantitative data analysis.
• Experience in using mobile data collection systems such as KoBoCollect will be an added advantage.
• Willingness and ability to travel to South Sudan or other field locations should the conditions allow for it.
• Excellent organising, facilitating, presentation and communication skills, including good report writing in English.

Terms and Conditions

The consultant must abide by all DRC’s standard procedures, including the Code of Conduct and confidentiality policies. All data and information collected, and any reports, as well as the methodology of the study will be the property of DRC.