Request for Proposal- Final Evaluation of the Resilience Building for Agro-Pastoralist in North Kordofan (RAPID) program – Sudan

1. Overview of RAPID program

North Kordofan State suffers from many challenges, including lack of access to basic health services, water, and livelihoods. The government has not historically invested in developing the region’s infrastructure, including the agricultural and animal production sectors, and most households (HHs) are still reliant on subsistence farming. Moreover, conflict factors in this region have intensified in recent years, such as climate change-driven competition over resources, political and ethnic or traditional conflicts, and the conflict between farmers and pastoralists. These increased conflict factors have led to an additional deterioration of food security especially for agro-pastoralist communities and Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs) in the state.

In response to the crisis in the state caused by conflict, displacement and climate change, Mercy Corps designed a program to deliver a multi-sectoral integrated response program aimed to address immediate needs, strengthen food security and build resilience to future shocks. The Resilience Building for Agro-Pastoralist in North Kordofan (RAPID) program was designed to support a target of 40,000 crisis and conflict-affected agro-pastoral individuals (21,600 women & 18,400 men) in the state. The project adopted a Private Sector Engagement (PSE) approach aimed at strengthening linkages between agro-pastoralists and the private sector to improve access / functioning of local markets. By leveraging the resources, relationships, talents, and embedded role of the private sector, the interventions delivered by the program were meant to be more sustainable to achieve greater scale.

A brief about the program interventions

Water supply

RAPID program aims to improve access to safe potable water for agro-pastoral households (HHs) in the target area, thereby reducing water-borne diseases and other public health risks as well as improving food utilization. The WASH interventions were designed to help improve food security status of target groups by enabling beneficiaries to better absorb nutrients and improve individual health status. RAPID program prioritized WASH interventions through community consultation, knowledge of the target areas, and site assessments. Specific considerations were also given to increased access to water supplies for animals owned by the targeted HHs. According to the Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS), provision of water for livestock in an emergency is also vital to ensuring that livelihoods are kept alive and after a period of time, animal stocks can be rebuilt. The provision of water also provides immediate benefits to crisis affected communities using existing livestock resources, to the extent that keeping stock alive contributes to the immediate household food supply.

Agriculture & Food Security

RAPID program targets agro-pastoralist HHs affected by crises such as conflict / drought / climate to improve food security and agricultural/livestock livelihoods through increased food production, food diversity, and incomes. The program was designed to prioritize women’s participation (at least 60%) by recognizing that women play a leading role in many on and off-farm agriculture activities.

Through partnerships with the private sector, RAPID program aims to support 400 targeted HHs with agro-pastoralist kits to help sustain livelihoods during the food security crisis in North Kordofan. The program also ensures a holistic intervention by offering training on improved agricultural livestock practices with a focus on climate resilient practices, to a portion of the project participants who received agro-pastoralist kits. After the training, each participant will be tasked with cascading the training to at least three (3) other agro-pastoralists in their communities.

To increase access to animal health services, the program plans to facilitate training of community-based animal health workers (CAHWs). This is aimed at ensuring sustained access to animal health services in their communities.

Economic recovery and market systems

RAPID program acknowledges the potential risks of increasing access to liquid and loan capital for beneficiaries, particularly for those who do not typically manage household financial resources (e.g., youth and women). To mitigate these potential risks, the program plans to improve access to microfinance services for agro-pastoralists by linking actors with financial resources/products that are appropriate for their needs. These include linkages to a wide range of formal financial actors, such as Micro-Finance Institutions (MFIs), banks and/or credit unions for appropriate financial resources/products needed.

Disaster risk reduction (DRR) policy and practice

RAPID program aims to increase the resilience of targeted HHs by effectively preparing for, mitigating, and adapting to disaster, drought, and climate change risks. Sudan is prone to natural disasters, which will only intensify as climate change accelerates. Drought is one of the disasters that threatens Sudan. Climate scientists predict that higher temperatures will further intensify cycles of drought by increasing evapotranspiration. North Kordofan is especially at risk due to its soils, which are predominantly sandy and permeable, and are extensively used in rain-fed traditional farming and grazing for nomadic pastoralists.

The program was therefore designed to engage in capacity-building and training activities in order to bolster communities’ knowledge around the implementation of local Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation approaches. The outcome of these sub-sectors combined is to strengthen the ability of local leaders, community groups (with a focus on women), and households to cope with recurrent shocks and stresses that negatively impact their agricultural livelihoods, incomes, and resilience. These interventions will also seek to improve coordination and communication among local government actors, community groups and organizations, and households to ensure community access to resources and support at all stages of DRR.

2. Scope of the Final Evaluation

Main Purpose and Objectives

The main purpose of this assignment is to evaluate program achievements towards meeting the objectives and targets and to assess relevance, effectiveness and efficiency among others, of the program at program end. The evaluation will also generate recommendations for future programming. The information will be used for public presentations and learning, for sharing with government line ministries, local stakeholders, and private sector partners, and for promotion of services in the community, as well as identifying possibilities for project replication. The results from the independent evaluation will also support Mercy Corps’ agency-level learning, by documenting and explaining why planned activities succeeded or failed. The final evaluation is expected to establish plausible links between program inputs and outcomes and results and draw lessons for improvement of future agricultural development or similar future activities. More specifically, the evaluation will be guided by the questions below.

1. Performance targets: Document the extent to which the program’s performance targets were met (i.e., not been met, met or exceeded) for each of the program’s purposes/outcomes.
2. Effectiveness and Efficiency of Interventions and Intervention Implementation: To what extent was the program able to deliver it’s set (grant-prescribed) deliverables in a timely manner.
3. Intended and Unintended outcomes: To what extent has the program improved household coping and adaptive capacities in the course of recurring conflicts and displacements. Include expected and unexpected, positive and negative – what factors facilitated or inhibited these changes?
4. Assess the contribution of specific interventions in improving household food security, livelihood, and resilience: How has the ToT training of agro-pastoralists and community animal health workers improved food security and agricultural/livestock livelihoods through increased food production, food diversity, and incomes of smallholder households. To what extent was Mercy Corps able to meet the diverse range of needs of vulnerable food insecure households through cash transfer? How can each of the program interventions be improved in future?
5. Collaborations: What is the level of satisfaction of key stakeholders including government departments, food security clusters, cash working groups, WASH clusters, community members, and others regarding their inclusion and participation in the RAPID program?
6. Gender equity and diversity: To what extent did the interventions consider the differential vulnerability by gender equity, protection, age, physical and emotional challenges of the participants, and risks to participation in various interventions in project design and implementation?
7. Document if the assumptions and dependencies on which the program is based held and if not, which and why/how this has affected the program’s implementation, outputs, and outcomes.
8. Document any contextual changes that occurred and estimate how this affected program implementation, outputs, and outcomes.
9. Document any unexpected deliverables produced by the program.
10. Document the extent to which Mercy Corps staffing, staffing structure, management, or procurement practices positively or negatively affected program implementation and spending.

It is expected that the above questions will be adjusted in collaboration with the consultant during the inception phase of the assignment.

Key deliverables:

The consultant is expected to provide a means of answering the evaluation questions by mainly using qualitative methodologies. The consultant will also specify in their proposal, means of data-collection and analysis. Key deliverables will include:

• An inception report detailing agreed upon process and methodologies to be employed to answer the evaluation questions. A complete draft includes all annexes that are needed for the review should be submitted. It should be fully edited so that there is almost no grammar/punctuation, (i.e. it is presumed to be final by the consultant/firm and, therefore, highly readable). Below is a suggested outline of the inception report.

Introduction

• Background & Context
• Purpose and scope of the evaluation

Methodology

• Evaluation questions
• Methodology for data collection and analysis
• Data collection tools

Expected limitations and challenges.

Training and Data collection plan

• Data storage
• Roles and Responsibilities of team members during the evaluation process

Workplan

Annexes

• Informed consent
• Data collection tools
• Risk assessment
• Risk mitigation checklist
• Contact list (key Mercy Corps & Consultant’s team)
• Revised SoW (in case revisions were made)
• Design qualitative data framework and tools: Because of the deteriorating security situation in North Kordofan, NO primary data collection will be conducted, except for discussions with the RAPID program Mercy Corps staff and key stakeholders that can be accessed on phone or online. The consultant will therefore be required to develop qualitative tools that will guide discussions with the team and key stakeholders/partners. The consultant will lead the qualitative data collection and complete analysis of the data within the approved timeline.

In addition to interviews with program staff, a comprehensive review of program documents and other documents about the context will be required to respond to the evaluation questions. These include the program proposal, Implementation Plans, Revised Program designs and timelines, Program Implementation Reports, Mercy Corps strategy documents, Post distribution monitoring reports, Assessment reports and any other relevant documents.

• Produce the draft and final evaluation reports: The consultant is expected to carry out the following tasks to produce a comprehensive final evaluation report.
• Conduct a comprehensive desk review of relevant documents.
• Conduct interviews with program staff and key stakeholders
• Analyze and synthesize the data.
• Prepare the draft evaluation report.
• Refine the draft report based on feedback from reviewers.
• Conduct in-country presentation of findings to Mercy Corps.
• Prepare final evaluation report and presentation.
• Prepare a report brief of 4-5 pages summarizing key findings and program achievements.

The Mercy Corps Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) team will be available to work directly with the consultant throughout the duration of the consultancy and to answer any question as they emerge.

Report Structure & Content:

• Cover Page, List of Acronyms
• Table of Contents
• Executive Summary: This section should be a clear and concise stand-alone document that gives readers the essential contents of the evaluation report, including a summary of major findings, lessons learned, and recommendations.
• Methodology: This section should be sufficiently detailed to help the reader judge the accuracy of the report and its findings.
• Limitations: This section should address constraints and limitations of the methodology, and the implications of these limitations for the findings, including whether and why any of the evaluation findings are inconclusive.
• Results: This section should provide a clear assessment of progress with respect to indicators / targets / objectives and/or evaluation questions, production of indicator estimates with tables showing the indicators, BL/EL indicator values.
• Synthesis, Recommendations and Lessons Learned: This is space for the evaluation team to think about the data and results and make concrete recommendations for current or future program improvements, pull out organization lessons learned, and generally comment on data and results. Everything presented in this section should be directly linked back to the information presented in the Results section of the report.
• Conflicts of Interest: Disclose any conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflicts of interest, including the interest of program staff in having a successful program.
• Annexes: These should include a complete file of data collection instruments in English, list of stakeholder groups with number and type of interactions; SOW, qualitative protocols developed and used, any data sets (these can be provided in electronic format), any required photos, participant profiles or other special documentation needed.

3. Reporting Deadlines

The following are the key deadlines for the report:

• First draft report to be submitted by 22nd Feb 2024.
• Mercy Corps will review the draft report and provide feedback no later than 29th Feb 2024.
• Final report, incorporating feedback, will be due on 5th March 2024.

4. Timeframe for the final evaluation:

It is expected that the consultant is available to start on 5th Jan 2024, with an initial meeting with the key team members from Mercy Corps. The consultant will then work until 5th March 2024, during which, the final evaluation report (adjusted according to Mercy Corps’ feedback) is to be shared. It is expected that the consultant will work for an estimated 40 working days (excluding weekends) between 5th Jan 2024 and 5th March, 2024. (Both days inclusive).

The consultant should provide an estimate of the amount of days/level of effort they expect is required. The figures above are estimates.

The invoice for services should be provided to Mercy Corps immediately after the delivery of the final evaluation report (due 5th March 2024).

5. Lines of Communication

• The Consultant will report to: Mercy Corps’ MEL Manager
• The Consultant will work closely with Mercy Corps’ MEL Manager, Program Managers, CASH advisor and Field Team Leader.

6. Required Experience & Skills:

The following are the qualifications and experiences the consultant should possess:

• Strong experience conducting research exercises in support of major humanitarian programs – preferably in food and nutrition security – in challenging operational environments, previous experience in Sudan is desirable.
• A strong approach to assuring quality assurance of data collected.
• A strong ethical approach to data collection – while still being able to meet the objectives of the consultancy.
• Demonstrable experience in leading evaluations of humanitarian programs responding to major disasters, with specific emphasis on food security and protection in emergencies.
• Knowledge of strategic and operational management of humanitarian operations and proven ability to provide strategic recommendations to key stakeholders.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to clearly synthesize and present findings, draw practical conclusions, make recommendations and to prepare well-written reports in a timely manner.
• Demonstrated experience in both quantitative and qualitative data collection and data analysis techniques, especially in emergency operations.
• Data visualization skills are highly desirable.
• Experience with evaluation of USAID-funded projects.
• Experience, knowledge and clear understanding of Sudan humanitarian context.
• Good interpersonal skills and understanding of cultural sensitivities.

7. Application Process and Requirements

Qualified and interested parties are asked to submit the following.

• Letter of interest in submission of the proposal.
• A detailed technical proposal detailing the applicant’s understanding of the assignment, proposed approach/methodologies, timelines, and levels of effort, as well as proposed teams (CVs in the annex) among others.
• Financial proposal breaking down all costs related to the assignment. Please note that the consultant will be responsible for ALL costs related to the assignment, and as such, should include these costs in the financial proposal.

8. Assessment and award of the assignment

Mercy Corps will evaluate technical and financial proposals and award the assignment based on technical and financial feasibility. Mercy Corps reserves the right to accept or reject one or all proposals received without assigning any reason and is not bound to accept the lowest or the highest bidder. Only those shortlisted will be contacted. The submission deadline for the technical and financial proposal is before COB 15th Dec 2023.

Any subcontracting under this evaluation consultancy will not be accepted.

The consultant will be responsible for all costs related to the assignment (for example vehicle hire, gasoline, payment of enumerators etc) and as such, should include these costs in the financial proposal.

For more details, please download the Scope of work linked below.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YZuok3T72jsTG6MosFp9nky-loLewI1J/view?usp=sharing