1. Concern’s Programme in Nyunzu, Kabalo, and Kitshanga
The province of Tanganyika and the Masisi Territory have seen continued conflict and displacements since 2012 and remain amongst the provinces with the highest number of IDPs in the country, with a total of 1,9M registered by UNOCHA in Maisisi in 2021 and 331,000 displaced people in Tanganyika.
This program builds on successes and lessons learned from previous Concern projects with OFDA and other donors over the past years. It mainly focused on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), shelter and economic recovery and market systems (ERMS) sectors. Lessons learned from these past programs, while crucial and lifesaving, have demonstrated that people easily fall back into a situation of high vulnerability as activities have provided little in the way of early recovery and building resilience for households and communities. Concern recognizes that in this protracted crisis setting, re-establishing economic structures is essential to increase communities’ resilience to shocks from ongoing conflict and improve the overall dignity of the population. This project therefore focused on critical lifesaving activities as well as activities to support local communities’ early recovery following displacement emergency situations.
2. Scope of Work
Purpose of the evaluation:
The purpose of the external evaluation is to assess to what degree the program and approach were successful in achieving planned results and objectives as laid out in the program proposal. Second, the evaluation should identify future program interventions and make recommendations for sustainable assistance to IDPs and returnees. This information will be used to establish best practices and assist Concern Worldwide in designing new interventions in Tanganyika and Masisi Territory. Lessons learned including successes and areas for improvement will be directly applied to the implementation of the next BHA emergency program in Kitshanga, Masisi, Kabalo, Nyunzu and Manono.
Specific evaluation tasks to be undertaken:
- Assess progress made towards the achievement of objectives, indicators and targets.
- Assess the appropriateness of the targeting strategy for beneficiary selection.
- Compare Concern Worldwide targeting approaches with other agencies and to what extent there is coherence across the sector in approaches
- Support the organization’s commitments to accountability to donors, government, public, and beneficiaries through publication of the evaluation report to inform the decisions and actions resulting from findings.
- Using the extended DAC criteria for evaluating humanitarian action, assess the relevance, connectedness, coherence, efficiency, effectiveness, and impact of the project.
- Assess mainstreaming and integration of protection and gender into program activities, evaluating gaps, areas of improvement, and provide recommendations for next OFDA program.
- Identify lessons learned and provide practical and innovative program options for assisting IDPs/returnees in a sustainable manner based on integration and/or relocation.
The Evaluation will address the following Key Evaluation questions:
Relevance/Appropriateness
- Is the program in line with the needs and priorities of the target groups including IDPs, returnees, and vulnerable host households?
- Were there agreed structures and respected timeframes in place to investigate and resolve complaints? How effectively were complaints received and dealt with?
Connectedness
- How were longer-term problems given consideration during implementation of emergency activities?
Coherence
- Was the intervention informed by and aligned with the fundamental humanitarian principles? Was the Red Cross Code of Conduct respected?
Coverage
- Is there evidence that our interventions reached the most vulnerable?
Efficiency
- How did the budget utilization compared to the planned budget?
- What factors affected the cost-efficiency of the programme?
Effectiveness
- To what extent were the objectives of the program, as reflected in the program proposal and log frame, achieved?
Impact
- Has the program helped to decrease the number diarrheal related cases among the IDPs and host communities?
Mainstreaming issues
- Was due consideration given to gender equality and ethnic groups so that program intervention did not increase target groups vulnerability and tension among different ethnic groups?
M&E and Project management
- What were the strengths, weakness and challenges of the M&E activities of the program particularly in terms of the quality of the data and recommend possible changes for future learning?
Evaluation methodology:
Evaluation methodology will be finalized with the consultant in advance. The planned multi–faceted methodology which will include:
Desk- Research / Literature Review the consultant will be expected to conduct a complete review of program proposal, progress reports and other supporting documentation provided. In addition, documents published by organizations working with IDPs/Returnees will be reviewed to situate the USAID-OFDA/Concern project within the wider context of humanitarian assistance provision in Eastern DRC. This will include the analysis of endline data, collected by the Concern M&E team.
In the field: the consultant (with the support of Concern field staff as required) will facilitate interviews and discussions with a sample of program participants and non-participants, and staff through household interviews and focus group discussions. Key informant interviews with other key stakeholders, including market traders, UN and NGO actors and local government figures, will also provide an insight as to program implementation, and alternative options for more durable solutions for IDPs and returnees, taking in to account an analysis of the protection risks. The consultant will be encouraged to use a variety of techniques including participatory approaches in the field to verify Concern’s own findings on results and indicators through reviewing internal program monitoring documentation and end line survey results. Qualitative information on beneficiaries’ own experience of the program (involvement in design, targeting, delivery of assistance, follow-up, complaints response mechanism) should be collected to complement quantitative output and outcome data. Sanitary data might also be collected towards ITs to evaluate the impact of WASH activities on disease rates, in the different areas of intervention. Program and support staff will also be useful sources of information regarding processes employed during the initiative and will provide insight in relation to some of the successes and challenges faced. The consultant will interview other main actors working on IDP/returnee programs as well as the relevant cluster leads to compare strategies/approaches and developments within the sector, given the nature of the protracted response to the conflict in the DRC, regional specificities and international humanitarian priorities.
Given the inherent and immediate logistical challenges of movement within the country, if direct travel by the consultant is unfeasible, data collection will be conducted by the Concern M&E team, under the strict guidance of the consultant, including the provision of data collection tools and clear instructions on data collection approaches.
Post- field analysis: the consultant will analyse and review data collected, draft and finalize the final report considering feedback from Concern and other peer reviews.
Activities:
The consultant will be fully responsible, in consultation with Concern staff, for the following:
- Conduct literature review of relevant project documents
- Develop qualitative and quantitative data collection design incorporating participatory methods
- Prepare checklists and questionnaire for data collection
- Develop or prepare data tallying or compilation sheet
- Based on indicators, tabulate, analyze and interpret data collected
- Compare final evaluation data with other available data and analyze trends to draw impact
- Provide recommendations for improving the methodology of future programming for maximum impact.
- Provide recommendations for integrating protection, gender, DRR elements in future programming as well as ensuring program objectives and indicators are gender / protection sensitive
- The consultant will be requested to provide a list of organisations, people or groups interviewed, list of sites visited, abbreviations, maps, charts or graphs that may have been used for this evaluation.
Outputs/deliverables:
The consultant should provide an evaluation report in English (max 25 pages) with a 2 page executive summary. The evaluation report will include an appraisal of how well the programme has fared against each of the DAC criteria using the following grading scale, where:
- 5 – Outstanding/Exceptional Performance
- 4 – Very good overall performance (above expectation)
- 3 – Good overall performance s (as expected)
- 2 – Acceptable performance but with some shortcomings
- 1 – Barely acceptable performance with some major shortcomings
- 0 – Totally unacceptable performance or insufficient data to make an assessment
The report will also include targeted recommendations for improving future programming.
3. Lines of Communication
The Consultant will report to the Programme Director of Concern Worldwide DRC and liaise with the Program Coordinator, Area Coordinator, Programme Manager, Programme Development and Quality Coordinator and Desk Officer. Their main point of contact for field level logistics and organisation will be through the Programme Development and Quality Coordinator.
4. Provisional Timeframe
5 weeks starting March 1st 2022 (including preparation and travel). The report might be written and shared by April 15, 2020.
5. Profile
Essential
- Relevant academic background in international development/humanitarian studies
- Strong qualitative and quantitative analytical skills
- Experience in conducting literature reviews and programme evaluations, including use of participatory methods (PLA, PRA)
- Solid experience in implementing humanitarian programmes in fragile contexts.
- Excellent communication and report-writing skills in English.
- Ability to communicate clearly in French.
- Willingness and ability to work long hours in a difficult environment.
Desirable
- Experience in DRC
- Experience of working in remote and security sensitive locations.
- Knowledge of Swahili
How to apply
Please submit an Expression of Interest by February 6, 2022 to [email protected] outlining exact availability in line with the approximate timeline. The expression of interest should contain: (a) a technical offer and (b) a financial offer, comprising:
A. Technical offer:
- Up to date CV of the consultant(s) explaining how the consultant(s) meets the skills and experience required.
- Technical proposition detailing proposed methodology and resources needed (max 3 pages)
- At least one example report from similar work which demonstrates evidence of the skills and experience required.
B. Financia offer:
- A list of all expenses expected to be incurred by the consultant including a daily rate.
- Costs of transport in-country and accommodation will be covered directly by Concern and should not be included.
Safeguarding at Concern: Code of Conduct and its Associated Policies
Concern has an organisational Code of Conduct (CCoC) with three Associated Policies; the Programme Participant Protection Policy (P4), the Child Safeguarding Policy and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Policy. These have been developed to ensure the maximum protection of programme participants from exploitation, and to clarify the responsibilities of Concern staff, consultants, visitors to the programme and partner organisation, and the standards of behaviour expected of them. In this context, staff have a responsibility to the organisation to strive for, and maintain, the highest standards in the day-to-day conduct in their workplace in accordance with Concern’s core values and mission. Any candidate offered a consultancy opportunity with Concern Worldwide will be expected to sign the Concern Code of Conduct and Associated Policies as an appendix to their consultancy contract. By signing the Concern Code of Conduct, candidates acknowledge that they have understood the content of both the Concern Code of Conduct and the Associated Policies and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these policies. Additionally, Concern is committed to the safeguarding and protection of vulnerable adults and children in our work. We will do everything possible to ensure that only those who are suitable to work or volunteer with vulnerable adults and children are recruited by us for such roles. Subsequently, being engaged as a consultant with Concern is subject to a range of vetting checks, including criminal background checking.
More Information
- Job City Democratic Republic of the Congo
