Consultant for Participatory Impact Assessment of Emergency Seed Interventions At

Job Title : Consultant for Participatory Impact Assessment of Emergency Seed Interventions
Supervisor : Senior Program Manager for Emergencies
Duration : 36 Days
Department : Programming
Country/Location : Uganda/Kampala

About Catholic Relief Services:
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) supporting relief and development work in over 100 countries around the world. CRS carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. CRS’ Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations, serving people on the basis of need, regardless of creed, ethnicity or nationality. CRS works through local church and non-church partners to implement its programs.
CRS has worked in Uganda since 1965, initially providing emergency assistance to Sudanese refugees living in the north. Over the years, CRS has expanded its programming to also address development needs in western, central and eastern Uganda. CRS’ projects in Uganda currently include agriculture, health, microfinance, peacebuilding and youth. CRS Uganda implements its programs through partnerships with local organizations, including the Catholic Church, other faith-based organizations and community entities for maximum impact and sustainability

Background:
The Feed the Future Global Supporting Seed Systems for Development (S34D) initiative is a five-year Leader with Associates Cooperative Agreement Award, funded by Feed the Future through the Bureau of Resilience and Food Security (RFS) and by USAID through the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA). Catholic Relief Services is leading this consortium with the support of a team of Consortium Partners: the Alliance for Bioversity International and CIAT (ABC), the Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA), Opportunity International (OI), and Agri Experience (AE). The overarching goal of S34D is to improve the functioning of national seed sectors in an inclusive manner in our focus countries. The activity aims to meet its goals by increasing the capacity of seed systems to sustainably offer quality, affordable seeds of a range of crops (Objective 1) and increasing collaboration and coordination among all seed systems actors and actions (Objective 2). The S34D initiative is structured according to three inter-related seed systems: the formal seed system; the informal seed system; and emergency seed provisioning. This integrated approach is further strengthened by cross-cutting intermediate results that seek to improve policies and practices that support pluralistic seed systems, rather than focusing on individual parts of each system.
S34D Activity 1.3.1.1. involves a participatory impact assessment (PIA) of selected emergency seed interventions that have been implemented by members of the global Food Security Cluster (gFSC), specifically CRS and World Vision in Mozambique and Uganda. The overall aim of the PIA is to generate robust evidence that shows the extent to which emergency seed interventions may or may not be realizing their anticipated impacts in relation to enhanced livelihoods and food security. Such an evidence base is necessary to inform and improve humanitarian and development work, and to be able to communicate the effectiveness of different intervention types to donors and the general public.

This activity is coordinated by CRS and will be implemented in parallel to similar participatory impact assessments to be undertaken by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in other countries.
Objective of the Consultancy
Two National Consultants will form part of the field team that will undertake the participatory impact assessment of selected emergency seed interventions in Uganda. They will work alongside the other international and national field team members (see below) to undertake participatory impact assessments of selected emergency seed interventions to: (i) address the question of how these interventions may have impacted the livelihoods of the male and female smallholder farmers and male and female seed suppliers involved; and (ii) collect data to contribute towards understanding the impacts of the interventions on the informal and formal seed systems (including seed markets) in the local area.

Scope of Work:
• Assist in the compilation of secondary data: Secondary data includes documentation relating to the intervention itself as well as any relevant contextual information necessary for the PIA (e.g. on local livelihoods).
• Participate in workshop with Implementing Partner field staff: This workshop is necessary to generate a very detailed understanding of the intervention itself and how it was actually implemented, particularly since the actual implementation may have been slightly different to the planned approach described by the documentation. This initial workshop can be done remotely.
• Review the background report describing the intervention and the local context: This report will be drafted by the international consultants, based on the review of secondary data and the workshop with the Implementing Partner field staff.
• Review the fieldwork design document: This document will describe the various stages within the PIA approach, e.g. defining the geographic and time limits of the intervention, specific data collection methods and sampling, etc.
• Field work: This will be undertaken in collaboration with other team members (see below on team composition) and with logistical support from the relevant NGO partner, as described below. It might be necessary for the National Consultant to undertake follow-up data collection / verification tasks after the debriefing.
• Contributions to the debrief to the Implementing Partner: On completion of the fieldwork, an in-country debriefing will be presented by the Team Leader to key staff from the Implementing Partner, reporting on the fieldwork and preliminary findings. This will provide an opportunity to validate some of the findings and to compile additional data from the Implementing Partner.
• Review the draft assessment report: The main output from each intervention assessed will be a written report, to be drafted by the international consultants with inputs from the National Consultant. The report will contain the results of the PIA as well as the findings relating to the seed systems. Gender considerations will be integrated throughout the document. Key findings and recommendations will be presented using a gender lens.
Deliverables and Milestones:
• Written comments on background report describing the intervention and the local context. This report will include a detailed description of the intervention, as generated by the workshop. It will also present key findings from the review of secondary data, including a description of local livelihoods, the emergency context, and how the emergency would have most likely impacted on local livelihoods. This background report will be used to inform the detailed design of the PIA for each intervention.
• Written comments on the PIA design document (10 pages plus annexes). The draft design document must be completed at least two weeks prior to the start of the fieldwork, revised (where necessary) and agreed
by the implementing NGO partner at least one week prior to the start of the corresponding fieldwork. The S34D Gender Advisor will review the design document for inclusion of gender considerations.
• Inputs to the Fieldwork debriefing, including the preparation of the presentation and contributions to the debriefing discussion. Following the debriefing, it might be necessary for the National Consultant to undertake additional data collection / verification tasks.
• Written comments on the PIA report (20 pages plus annexes). The report must be drafted within four weeks after the end of the fieldwork. The report must be revised and finalized within one week following the receipt of consolidated comments from S34D and the partner NGOs.

NOTE: A workplan for the overall activity, including fieldwork and due dates for deliverables will be agreed with the NGO partners prior to the signing of the Consultancy contract. Given the current Covid pandemic, contingency plans will be necessary in the event that fieldwork is delayed.

Field Team Composition, Roles and Responsibilities:
The field team will be composed of the international S34D Seed Systems Specialist (Team Leader), one International PIA Consultant, two National Consultants, and two Fieldwork Assistants. The field team’s gender and age composition will consider the local gender and youth context in relation to seed systems. It is envisaged that the field team will travel together but will likely sub-divide and work separately at the local level, with one National Consultant and one Fieldwork Assistant working primarily with the PIA Consultant, and the second National Consultant and Fieldwork Assistant working primarily with the Seed Systems Specialist.

In-country staff from the NGOs will be expected to assist the assessment field teams by providing background information about the interventions (both by sharing available data and reports, and by participating in the initial workshop described in Paragraph 3.2 above) and logistical support for the fieldwork (e.g. identifying national consultants, identifying translators (if necessary), fieldwork planning and advance preparations, providing vehicles and drivers, and introductions to key stakeholders and the local communities, also hotel bookings and other logistical support), as well as in reviewing the findings and identifying best practices. Regional or international staff from the implementing partners will play a coordinating role, and will also provide inputs at the design stage, in reviewing the findings, identifying best practices, and in finalizing and disseminating the outputs. S34D Technical Advisors will provide inputs at the design / planning stage, based on the background report and discussions with the Team Leader.

Timeframe and Estimate of Days:
It is hoped that the fieldwork might start in September 2021, but this will depend on the Covid-19 situation and any associated travel restrictions and might be delayed.

A total of up to 36 days has been budgeted for each National Consultant. The number of days is based on the estimated allocations below for each intervention to be assessed.

National Consultant Tasks:

Compile secondary data: CRS Intervention – 2 WVI Intervention – 2
Planning & design: CRS Intervention – 2 WVI Intervention – 2
Field work (incl travel): CRS Intervention – 10 WVI Intervention – 10
Post-fieldwork analysis and de-brief to NGO: CRS Intervention – 2 WVI Intervention – 2
Report comments: CRS Intervention – 2 WVI Intervention – 2
TOTAL for each National Consultant: CRS Intervention – 18 WVI Intervention – 18

Requirements/Qualifications for National Consultants:
• Degree in relevant subject, e.g. Agriculture, Economics, Social Sciences, Rural Development
• Rural livelihoods and emergencies background with more than 10 years’ experience in field research and analysis in crop-based agricultural systems
• Experience with qualitative research methods and participatory data collection tools
• Fluency in English and (preferably) Ateso
• Experience working with NGOs in emergency settings
• Demonstrated knowledge of agricultural development and seed systems
• Working knowledge in applying a vulnerability lens, particularly gender and youth

Application Submission Details:
The consultant is expected to submit the following.
• A technical proposal detailing the response to the TOR (scope of work and the methodology to be used)
• Initial work plan based on the methodology
• A financial proposal detailing the daily rates and the duration of the assignment
• CV and most recent and relevant references to the task

NOTE: DISCLAIMER CLAUSE:
This job description is not an exhaustive list of skills, effort, duties and responsibilities associated with the position.
Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. We welcome as a part of our staff people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need. CRS’ processes and policies reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation