Sign of Hope
Organisation
Hoffnungszeichen | Sign of Hope e.V.
www.hoffnungszeichen.de, www.sign-of-hope.org
Position Final Evaluation Consultant
Type of Contract Short-term consultancy
Location Home-based with field mission travel to Nabilatuk district (lorengedwat & Lolachat sub counties) & Amudat district (Loroo & Amudat sub counties), Karamoja sub region, Uganda
Relevant Languages English, Kiswahili and ngakarimojong
Application Deadline 5th January, 2024
Starting Date 15th January,2024
Project Title improving access to water, sanitation facilities and hygiene practices in disadvantaged rural communities of Karamoja
Total Project Budget 888,572
Hoffnungszeichen | Sign of Hope e.V. (SoH) is announcing an open tender procedure for consultancy services for a final evaluation in Uganda
Background and Rationale
Hoffnungszeichen | Sign of Hope e.V. (SoH) is a Christian motivated organisation for Human Rights, Humanitarian Assistance and Development Cooperation. From its base in Constance, Germany, SoH is committed to helping those in distress and exploited people worldwide.
This final evaluation is commissioned under the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) budget for development projects run by private organisations.
SoH is the private German executing agency and the contracting party, with Caritas Moroto Diocese being the local implementing partner.
- WaSH[1] Project is implemented by Caritas Moroto Diocese with funding from Germany Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Co-funded by Sign of Hope (SOH), the project is titled “improving access to water, sanitation facilities and hygiene practices in disadvantaged rural communities of Karamoja. The intended goal is to “Contribution to improvement of health and living conditions in disadvantaged rural communities of Karamoja” with the expected outcome being “having the target population use the newly constructed sanitation facilities, hand washing facilities, water points and new knowledge to improve their health”.
The project operates in forty (40) villages and four (4) sub counties in Amudat and Nabilatuk districts. The project started on 1st December, 2020 and will end on 31st March, 2024. It is designed to achieve three (3) outputs of; gained equitable access to safe, diversified and sustainable water sources for multiple use (including domestic consumption & hygiene), secondly, improved access to hygiene measures and adequate sanitary facilities in forty (40) target communities (villages and clusters of ‘Manyattas’[2] and finally, achieve strengthened administrative capacities of the local authorities and water management structures.
The project is planned to reach out to 55,200 (28,366 females and 26,834 males) direct beneficiaries from 12,000 households of vulnerable rural households in the targeted villages of the four (4) Sub-counties of; Loroo & Amudat in Amudat district and Lorengedwat & Lolachat in Nabilatuk district, with anticipation to ‘spill over’ and its ‘multiplicity’[3] of the positive effects of this action to reach out to additional 44,160 indirect beneficiaries mainly from the thirty two (32) villages surrounding the project implementation area. The project has both hardware (water & sanitation infrastructure) and software (trainings, sensitisation and building of capacities of community structures); the approaches used in implementation of this WASH project are Home Improvement Campaign and CLTS.
Purpose, Objectives and Use
The purpose of the evaluation is to provide SoH and Caritas Moroto Diocese with a comprehensive assessment of the project, conducted systematically and impartially, as well as analyse the final implementation and results of the project, propose actions to ensure sustainability of the results, identify lessons learned and information for potential future projects.. The study will provide concrete, credible and practical recommendations that will assist with the timely incorporation of the findings into the decision-making process and contribute to the organisational learning of both implementing organisations.
The study will support the project quality assurance measures implemented by SoH and meet the donor requirements towards the development projects implemented by German private organisations.
The evaluation will address evaluation questions based on the standard OECD/DAC evaluation criteria of relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, and impact (please see https://www.oecd.org/dac/evaluation/revised-evaluation-criteria-dec-2019.pdf). The objectives of the evaluations are to:
- Assess the extent to which the project has sustainably achieved its objectives and results (see annexe 1), including the extent to which the lives of the project beneficiaries have been improved,
- Identify the strengths and weaknesses in terms of planning, management, implementation and monitoring of the project,
- Evaluate sustainability measures,
- Identify cross-cutting issues addressed through the project, including gender equality, human rights, marginalised groups, inclusion, and other issues,
- Determine the effects of Covid-19 on the project, its activities and implementing organisation,
- Document lessons learned that could contribute to the improvement of the design of future projects
- Determine the actual population covered basing on the available information from M&E team of the local partner, Government structures at the parishes and villages.
Additional evaluation questions can be inserted here.
Duties and Responsibilities
The Evaluation Consultant will work in close cooperation with the responsible SoH Officer and the local implementing partner.
The duties and responsibilities of the Evaluation Consultant will include:
- Develop a work plan outlining the proposed research methodology, geographical coverage and schedule to conduct the study,
- Conduct a desk review of relevant documents,
- Carry out a project site visit to a project location to conduct research, collect data and establish contact with the local implementing partner, project beneficiaries and relevant project stakeholders,
- Review and evaluate available data and existing sources of information, including the project proposal, annual reports, conducted studies and other documents,
- Examine institutional, technical, staffing and financial capacities of the implementing partner as well as its relationship with the target group and other relevant stakeholders.
Expected Deliverables
The study will produce the following deliverables:
- an inception report, including the proposed research methodology and data collection tools, a table of content and timeline of research activities prior to the site visit to the project location,
- a comprehensive report of a maximum of 30 pages with practical recommendations and relevant annexes (including raw data and documented records).
A template will be provided to serve as a guide and may be used to structure the final report.
Study Quality and Ethical Standards
The study team will take all reasonable steps to ensure that the study is designed and conducted to respect and protect the rights and welfare of the people and communities involved. Furthermore, the study should be aligned to the following standards and applicable practices:
- Utility: the study must be useful and used.
- Feasibility: the study must be realistic, diplomatic and managed in a sensible, cost-effective manner.
- Ethics and Legality: the study must be conducted in an ethical and legal manner, with particular regard for the welfare of those involved in and affected by the Study.
- Impartiality and Independence: the study should be impartial, providing a comprehensive and unbiased assessment that takes into account the views of all stakeholders.
- Transparency: the study activities should reflect an attitude of openness and transparency.
- Accuracy: the study should be technically accurate and credible, providing sufficient information about the data collection, analysis, and interpretation methods so that its worth or merit can be determined.
- Participation: the Stakeholders should be consulted and meaningfully involved in the study process when feasible and appropriate.
- Collaboration: Collaboration between key operating partners in the study process improves the legitimacy and utility of the study.
The study must be in line with the SoH guiding principles and Code of Conduct.
Process/Timeframe
The total duration of the assignment is up to 21 working days within the period from 15th January, 2024 to 12th February, 2024.
Planning meeting with SoH (remotely), handover of relevant documents 1 day
Initial document review and inception report preparation 3 days
Sharing inception report with SoH and Caritas Moroto Diocese 1 day
Finalisation of inception report 1 day
Data collection site visit to a project location 5-10 days
Data analysis, draft report with annexes 4- 8 days
Incorporating received feedback and report finalisation 3-5 days
Qualifications and Experience
Essential:
- Minimum of 5 years of project evaluation and/or implementation experience in the result-based management framework
- Proven experience of conducting feasibility studies, evaluations and other research projects
- Technical and methodological knowledge to conduct research projects and formulate conclusions based on a solid methodology, assessing projects for relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability of projects
- Experience working with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and partnered projects
- Fluency in written and spoken English
Desirable:
- Experience in the relevant field/sector
- Professional familiarity with the project country/region
- Practical experience of working for and/or evaluating BMZ-funded projects
- Fluency in written and spoken ngakarimojong and pokot
Academic Background
An advanced level university degree (Masters’ degree or equivalent) in social sciences, public administration, international development studies, law and/or WaSH related studies.. A first-level university degree in combination with additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted.
The Evaluation Consultant is to be independent and impartial with no liabilities to any other organisation or government entity regarding this evaluation.
[1] I-WaSH means improving access to Water, Sanitation facilities and Hygiene practices
[2] Manyatta means rural homesteads
[3] Multiplicity in the report means “extent to various areas”
How to apply
Please submit the following documents as PDF files with the subject line “Final Evaluation (DC-UGA21.01) in Amudat & Nabilatuk districts, Uganda” to [email protected] no later than 5th January, 2024:
- A resumé indicating all relevant experience (max. 2 pages),
- contacts of at least two professional referees,
- a cover letter, including a brief description of the proposed research methodology (technical proposal max. 1 page) and a comprehensive breakdown of costs (financial proposal), including professional fees and all other relevant costs, including travel expenses,
- a writing sample of the document of similar research value (e.g. a feasibility study, an evaluation report).
Companies as well as independent consultants are invited for this tender. Female and differently abled candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
Please note that due to a large number of applications we may limit establishing contact to shortlisted applicants.
Bids received after deadline will not be considered. If offers are incomplete, bidders may be able to hand in missing documents within a deadline upon request by SoH.
The selection of the consultant will be conducted jointly by Caritas Moroto Diocese and SoH. Interviews with shortlisted candidates will be held online in the week of .10th January, 2024:
The consultancy agreement will be set up by SoH and Caritas Moroto Diocese. Consultancy agreements set up by auditors won’t be accepted.
Criteria and weighting for the evaluation of the submitted proposals:
- Essential and desirable competencies, proposed methodology: 30 %
- Financial proposal (fee): 30 %
- Performance during interview: 20 %
- Writing samples: 10 %
- Minimum amount of years of relevant experience: 5 %
- Language skills: 5 %
Annexe 1: Impact Matrix
Annexe 2: Evaluation Report Template
Note: The annexes should be included or referenced via links