Evaluation of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Programme

Background of Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA)

SCA has been operational in Afghanistan since 1982. Currently, SCA operates in 17 out of 34 provinces in Afghanistan. SCA presence in Afghanistan consists of the Kabul Management Office (KMO), five Regional Management Offices and one Liaison Office. SCA receives funds from various international and private donors, mainly from the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida). With more than 6,000 Afghan employees, it is one of the largest organizations in Afghanistan.

The vision of SCA is an Afghanistan free from poverty, violence and discrimination, where human rights are respected and all live in dignity, enjoy equal opportunity and social justice. Our mission is to empower individuals, communities, and local organizations, primarily in rural areas and with particular focus on women, girls, boys and vulnerable groups such as persons with disabilities, so that they may participate fully in society and influence their own development.

SCA utilizes the Rights Based Approach in its humanitarian and development programming in the education, health, rural development, and disability sectors in rural and urban areas. SCA puts more emphasis on capacity development of individuals and organizations, including civil society organizations, with the aim of enhancing their capacity to advocate for their rights and supports empowerment and rights of women throughout its programmes.

SCA’s Rural Development (RD) Programme

SCA is implementing rural development programme in order to improve the well-being and resilience of target groups, including men, women, boys, girls, youth, and persons with disabilities. The RD programme covers livelihoods, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), disaster risk reduction (DRR) and community governance areas. The main objective of WASH programme/component is to prevent the burden of WASH-related diseases and improve the health status of target groups in rural communities. The programme (WASH) aims to ensure sustainable and equitable access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities, as well as promoting good hygiene practices. WASH interventions include water supply schemes, construction and rehabilitation of sanitation facilities, and hygiene promotion in the rural communities. The WASH programme responds to drinking water needs of water-stressed communities through bored wells and piped water schemes. Communities are trained on operation and maintenance of the water supply schemes. These communities are mobilized and encouraged to construct and use latrines and made aware of the health benefits of hygiene practices. The WASH programme covers 75 communities/villages in five provinces (Kunar, Takhar, Balkh, Nangarhar and Samangan) of Afghanistan.

Objectives of the Evaluation

Overall Objectives

The main objective of the evaluation is to assess the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, impact, coverage, and sustainability of WASH programme and drive lessons learned and constructive recommendations for the programme.

Specific Objectives

§ Assess and determine the WASH programme’s accomplishments in terms of its objectives and outcomes

§ Document the evidence that show the impact of WASH projects on the living conditions of our target groups especially health, education, economic and social wellbeing

§ Assess changes in WASH practices and behaviours in target communities as a result of programme interventions

§ Assess the current water governance model in line with the legal and institutional frameworks and develop a sustainable water governance model

§ Identify best practices and lessons learned and make recommendations for the WASH programme

Scope of the Assignment

The consultant will carry out consultations with SCA WASH team at Kabul and Regional Management Offices (namely: Jalalabad Regional Management Office (JRMO), Mazar Regional Management Office (MRMO), Wardak Regional Management Office (WRMO), Ghazni Regional Management Office (GRMO) and the Kunduz Liaison Office), beneficiaries. S/he will also conduct meetings with community development council (CDC) members, water user management committee members, regional representatives of MRRD, district government authorities as well as other relevant stakeholders. Key areas of the evaluation will include:

Approach and Methodology of the Evaluation

Based on the above objectives, the evaluator will define and develop a detailed methodology alongside sampling strategy and work plan to be used during the evaluation. The evaluator is expected to use a variety of methods to collect and analyse data and present results. The evaluation will combine both quantitative and qualitative methods in the study area.

The key methods include but not limited to:

§ Review of existing policies, studies and programme documents

§ Household survey using survey questionnaires

§ Field observation of the target communities/villages

§ Interviews with programme staff, government authorities (national and local), community-based institutions and community development councils (CDCs/user management groups)**

§ Focus group discussions with programme participants/target groups (men, women, boys, and girls)**

§ Physical inspection of some of the existing water supply networks**

Deliverables

§ Inception Report: Following the desk review and prior to beginning field work, the evaluator will produce an inception report. This report will cover a comprehensive literature review of WASH, methodology of the evaluation, report structure and a detailed field work plan/schedule with delivery dates. SCA will review the inception report and provide feedback for improvement. Once approved, the report will become the key management document for the evaluation.

§ Draft evaluation report: The evaluator will prepare and submit a draft evaluation report to SCA within ten days after completing the evaluation task (field work) and deliver a presentation on the tentative findings. The evaluator will receive feedback and suggestions on the draft report within ten days of receiving the draft report.

§ Submit the sustainable water governance model considering the recent changes in the political sphere.

§ Final evaluation report: The evaluator should submit the final report (soft copy and hard copy) no later than seven days after receiving SCA’s feedback on the first draft. In general, the report should include executive summary, main findings, conclusions, lessons learned, and actionable recommendations.

Duration of the Assessment

The evaluation will be for a period of 32 working days spread over two months from April 2022 to May 2022. The evaluator is expected to submit a detailed work plan with a timeline.

Guiding Principles and Core Values

a) Full respect of the Afghan people’s rights to sovereignty, cultural heritage, and religious integrity.

b) Full neutrality and impartiality vis-à-vis people of different religion, gender, and ethnic origin

c) Equal access to all services for the Afghan people, including women’s rights to survival,

protection and development

d) Seek audience with the relevant staff in matters of data collection, taking photos, interacting with women and men staff, children, and communities at large. This includes seeking formal consent or assent as applicable among all respondents.

e) Maintain absolute confidentiality with all sorts of information gathered.

f) Respect and maintain SCA’s levels of good relationship with partners, e.g., local NGOs, INGOs, UN Agencies, security personnel, and SCA staff in general.

g) Report most professionally, areas of concern that might affect the assessment and then make follow-ups to seeking solutions to those concerns.

h) Use language that is acceptable with all persons.

i) Maintain high respect of human rights, neutrality, cultural values and religious values.

j) Avoid discussions on religious matters as they are held very closely to the hearts of Afghans.

Management of the Task

The Rural Development Programme (RDP) in close coordination with the Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Unit (PMERU) shall hold the overall responsibility for managing the evaluation of WASH interventions. The Deputy Head of Rural Development Programme (Construction and WASH) is responsible for field-level coordination and arrangements. The consultant will be assisted by the project team in the project areas for mobilization purpose and arranging target group for the interviews.

A committee consisting of staff members from the PMERU and Programme Department, including Deputy Director/Advisor and the Head of RD Programme, will review and approve the evaluation report.

SCA’s Obligations

§ Provide relevant and necessary programme documents

§ Review the Inception Report and provide comments on the tools, plan, and methodology within the given time limit.

§ Approve/reject the Inception Report or advise otherwise.

§ Provide necessary support and information on security, accommodation and travel to programme areas

§ Coordinate meetings for data collection process

§ Review the draft evaluation report and share comments/views, if any within the given time limit

§ Approve/reject the final evaluation report or advise otherwise

§ Provide transportation and lodging arrangements for the consultant during the field visits

§ Process consultancy fee as per the payment schedule and contract agreement

Consultant’s Responsibility

· Submit technical proposal with detailed methodologies and sample size for this assessment.

· Prepare the inception report.

· Review the related documents of the project.

· Develop assessment tools, questionnaire, interview protocols, checklists and other tools as required during the process.

· Translate the data collection tools into local languages.

· Organize field visits to conduct interviews, collect data both quantitative and qualitative and conduct physical inspection of WASH projects.

· Data compilation and analysis.

· Organize workshop with the project and other relevant personnel of the SCA to validate the field findings and share the information.

· Develop the draft report and share with SCA.

· Modify and revise the report according to the SCA feedback to meet the SCA evaluation standards.

· Share final report to SCA.

· Provide documents including hard and soft copies developed as a result of this assignment.

Professional Qualifications of the Consultant

SCA is seeking to engage a consultant with extensive practical experience in conducting assessments or evaluations. Following are the basic competencies that SCA expects from the applicants:

§ The consultant must have at least Master’s degree from any of the reputable university in a relevant field.

§ The consultant should be able to demonstrate experience in systematic verification, synthesis, and analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data.

§ Excellent knowledge of rural development with specific background and experience in WASH

§ At least two years’ experience in programme/project appraisal and impact evaluation of rural development programmes most preferably WASH

§ At least five years of experience in conducting evaluations or impact studies

§ Proven ability to design and conduct quantitative and qualitative evaluation studies

§ Excellent report writing, communication and presentation skills

§ Adequately proficient in written and spoken English

Intellectual Property

The documents developed as a result of the assignment, including soft and hard copies, shall be considered as the property of SCA.

Payment terms

The consultant shall invoice SCA for the fee in accordance with the deliverables of the work mutually agreed by SCA and the consultant based on the following terms of payment:

Terms

Payment %

Time of Payment

First

20 %

Approval of the inception report

Second

40 %

Submission of the draft report

Third

40%

Approval of the final report