1. Background and context of the RAJO project

CARE International in collaboration with DBG is currently implementing the “Re-Accelerated Action for Jobs and Opportunities-(RAJO) Project in Guriceel district, Galmugud state” which started on 1^st July 2018 and will end on May-31- 2020. The project’s goal is to increase stability in the Galmudug state of Somalia through increased opportunities for social and economic development, while its objective is to improve access to relevant and sustainable livelihood opportunities for young women and men at risk of violent extremism and mal-adaptive practices in Guri-el district.

The project results areas are as follows

i) Result 1: Increased equitable access to private sector-led skills development for youth to enhance sustainable and durable livelihood opportunities;

ii) Result 2: Improved access to financial services (savings, loans and insurances) and diversified employment opportunities for vulnerable households in the community of the district;

iii) Result 3: Improved community infrastructure through cash for work and increased resilience to the impact of drought for communities, the outputs are achieved through the implementation outputs.

As part of the support to develop youth skills for the Guriceel local economy, the project supported skills training for 100 youth beneficiaries at the Guriceel Vocational Training College (GVTC) as part the efforts to improve economic growth and reduce poverty in the region. This part of the project “youth and livelihood” aimed to enhance inclusive economic growth and reduce poverty in the region through the development of high-quality skills both for gainful employment and in sustainable local economic development. In this regard, Daryeel Bulsho GUUD (DBG) and CARE Somalia provided the first set of start-up kits for students who graduated from the GVTC as part of support to enable them to establish viable businesses in the respective areas of their trade. A review of the kits provided and recommendation for additional start-up kits will be undertaken by this established committee. The project by design aimed at enhancing the employability of the students’ beneficiaries through established linkages with the private sector players with the aim of providing apprenticeship/internship or direct employment.

The project also supported the Identification and capacity building of Village Development Committees (VDC) and Local Administration (LA). The Village Development Committees (VDC) and Local Administration (LA) developed village/district level comprehensive and conflict-sensitive Community Action Plans (CAPs) that contributed to the overall development activities in the target village/District. The CAPs had a broader scope that served as the development menu for all interested development stakeholders. The CAP detailed the priority community needs, their solutions and resources required to address them. The plan has helped communities address the prioritized problems, a positive step towards achieving the goals and a common vision set y the village/district.

Another important component of the project was the formation of the Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA) groups, The VSLAs were trained on VSLA methodologies, entrepreneurship skills (business management, bookkeeping, financial literacy, marketing), basics of reading and writing skills and development of a business plan for the selected business. This included the establishment of financial systems and revolving schemes where members could save and access loans. The VSLA approach was aimed at providing households with sustainable availability of funds and aimed to i) supports the communities in becoming increasingly resilient to economic shocks; ii) enables investment opportunities and iii) empowers groups of people who are often excluded from socio-economic and political life. Self-reliance is known for having remarkable psychological effects, as it contributes to a sense of self-respect. The VSLA model has helped build solidarity among groups especially among disadvantaged women, youth, IDPs and marginalized clans through the provision of platforms for developing business enterprises, and link to education and training women, especially where their access is limited. Further, it would enable the established VSLA groups to link with key financial institutions for purposes of formalizing and mainstreaming their VSLA group’s activities into the formal financial sector to generate growth at the local level.

Purpose of the actions

The actions namely the TVET skills training for youth, the establishment of Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), the establishment of Village Development Committees who inturn developed Community Action Plans (CAPs), and the construction of a meat and vegetable market, and the development of the Community Action Plan (CAP) are some of the critical change areas/agents for the RAJO program in Guriceel. The design and the implementation process has yielded opportunities, challenges and successes that can inform future programming for impact at scale. Therefore, continuous learning and reflection is an integral part of the design and implementation process that allows timely decision-making and refinements of program intervention and implementation techniques. The documentation of lessons learned, best practices and success stories, including a brief video documentarywill enhance institutional learning leading to the improved impact of the interventions, and it will further inform the wider socio-economic development in the region. Further, the lessons learnt will provide insights to other players in the economic development sector at the local level on what works and what doesn’t work.

2. Scope and Methodology of the assignment

The assignment will focus on key project change agents (village savings and loan associations, village development committees, enterprise-based vocational development, and community investment through market construction, as detailed in the above paragraphs). This assignment will first aim to document the project outcomes/achievements, lessons learnt, and best practices including a brief video documentary. This part will adopt qualitative approach involving desk reviews, field-level in-depth interviews, focus group discussion and observation. Secondly, it will aim to disseminate project outcomes/achievements, lessons learnt, and best practices through a validation/consultative learning event that will to inform and establish a common foundational understanding on youth and economic development programming that promotes collaborative learning, and collective impact.

The assignment will also involve production of a short video documentary will also be made available as part of the learning process. Film footage will be captured to be used in the production of a high-quality documentary running for 3-5 minutes. The documentary will be disseminated to various stakeholders including the project donor. The film will take a personal angle interviews and will be portrayed as a story with soft background music. Screen shots, interviewers walking and talking and shots in wide screen. Interview will be conducted at the project site including places of work, government building, TVET center, and open air spaces. The consultant shall include 20 action orientated Photographs to complement the documentary.

3. Specific objectives of the assignment

a) To document the project successes, lessons, and best practices for learning and sharing with the entire program stakeholder, beneficiaries, including donors.

b) To review the existing success stories and case studies for improvement and consolidation with the new documentation.

c) To review completed assessments/researches/studies and develop them into learning briefs aligned to key result areas of the project.

d) To facilitate a 2-day Learning Event in Guriceel district, Galmudug state. This will include event-planning, presentation of the preliminary findings, moderation of discussions and note taking.

e) To capture key footage and interviews on thematic topics, relating to the project and showcasing the key project success stories and produce a short documentary film 3-5 minutes on the programs implemented

Additionally:

o The footage should capture wide, medium, and close-up shots of all activities so the editor can properly cut scenes together.

o General scenic b-roll of the country, region, and village to set the scene and introduce region and landscape. Include scenery, crowd shots, city shots, and rural settings as is possible. Time lapses are always encouraged. Also capturing scene-setter footage with room for adding graphics later is encouraged.

o Interviews with project participants, and other stakeholders. Al Interviewees need thorough identification in the accompanying log for lower thirds, including name spelled correctly and applicable professional title. Interview footage must be accompanied by model release forms and/or the person should give permission on camera for CARE to utilize the footage of them.

o Action-oriented b-roll of interviewees engaging in everyday project activities, including SLA, TVET, meetings, training etc.

o Shots of CARE staff wearing logo-ed clothing interacting with project participants and working on program

o Organize and catalogue the raw footage, and provide translated transcripts with referenced time codes, including detailed notes of key selections, so that it can be used efficiently for the video editing and production

o In addition to the documentary, capture at least 50 high quality pictures.

4. Deliverables

a) Four (4) evidence-based learning briefs detailing lessons learned, and best practices on the selected project components (village savings and loan associations, village development committees, enterprise-based vocational development, and community investment through market construction)

b) Develop a three-page brief for RAJO Project that highlights major achievement/successes.

c) Four (3) success stories from the selected project component activities (village savings and loan associations, village development committees, enterprise-based vocational development, and community investment through market construction, as detailed in the above paragraphs)

d) Three (3) case studies from the existing pool that have been reviewed and aligned to the project components.

e) Facilitate learning event sessions for sharing with the entire project stakeholder, beneficiaries, including donors. The consultant will be required to submit a Learning event report.

f) A gallery of high-resolution and compelling photos as part evidence to the selected project -components (Minimum 50 pieces, 5 per component)

g) Produce a high quality documentary running for 3-5 minutes

5. Timelines and activities

Activities

Days

Stage 1: Documentation

Inception

· Inception meeting with CARE International/DBG field teams

· Desk review of project documents

· Submission of the inception report, including tools, and learning event program

6 days

Preparatory work and planning

· Meet to finalize the inception report and tools

· Finalize the activity schedule and timelines

1-day

Field work

· Conduct field visit to project sites

· interviews with communities

· Site observation/ photography sessions

6 days

Data analysis and reporting

· Analyze and consolidate all the information collected from the beneficiaries.

· Draft and deliver draft reports

6 days

Hold a meeting to review the draft documents

Incorporate recommendations arising from the meeting

1 day

Submit the final report, brief video documentary and annexes

3 days

Stage 2: Learning event

Preparing stage

· Pre-event planning

· Event management

· Event reporting **

7 days

6. Terms and conditions

Logistics: The consultant’s travel (including airport tax), food, and accommodation costs during the assignment will be covered by CARE Somalia.

7. Consultant profile

The consultant should have the following essential skills and knowledge:

· Minimum of 10 years’ professional experience in developing countries, including previous experience working in Somalia. Advanced university degree in any of the social sciences, development studies or a related field.

· Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of socio-economic development, learning and knowledge management, resilience building, private sector partnerships building, institutional capacity development and other relevant subjects.

· Demonstrated experience in learning and knowledge management, methodology and tool development and learning event facilitation skills.

· Demonstrated experience saving and loan groups, cash-based programming, enterprise-based TVET skill development, and VSLA initiatives in Somalia is a plus.

· Have an understanding of operating conditions in an insecure environment.

· Be willing to travel to Galmudug region, and especially Guriceel District

· Fluent in English and Somali (both reading and writing).

· Strong analytical and writing skills and the ability to clearly present findings and drawing practical conclusions and recommendations.

· Ability to facilitate production of a short video documentary on topical development issues

Note: The lead consultant should also submit the profile of Video documentary consultant as co consultant with minimum three years of expertise with video links of previous assignments.

3. Application procedures

Expressions of interest are invited from suitably qualified and experienced consultants with the capacity to undertake the above activities. The Consultant should submit a brief proposal with the following components:

· Cover letter (maximum 1 page) and updated CV’s of consultant and team members if applicable.

· A brief technical proposal and financial proposal:

· Similar assignment completed recently

Technical proposal

· Profile of the Consultant/firm to be involved in undertaking the assignment, a brief technical capacity of the consultant/firm to undertake the assignment with particular emphasis on previous experience in this kind of work.

· Maximum of two pages outlining the Consultants’ understanding of the TOR and the proposed methodology to conduct the assignment, including techniques and tools to be used. A proposed activities schedule/work plan with a timeframe.

· Copies of the CV for the consultant and the proposed team

Financial proposal

· Itemized consultant’s fees and costs – consultant should indicate professional rates and time input for each team member if applicable

· The validity period of quotation/proposal

· Please note: field travel, accommodation and transport cost; stationeries and supplies needed, will be taken care of directly by CARE International.

· Interested and capable candidates should send their application documents to- SOM.consultants@care.org The email subject line should read “documentation of lessons learned, best Practices and Facilitation of RAJO project learning event in, Galmudug state” only relevant professional credentials should be attached with the application.

Annex 1: Learning event report format

The learning event report should include the following information:

i) Executive Summary of the Event.

ii) Introduction/Background.

iii) Location and Venue.

iv) Attendees.

v) Event program and themes presented.

vi) Group work and resolutions reached

vii) Conclusion and Recommendations.

Annexes

i) List of participants

ii) Presentations/Handouts

iii) Activity photo gallery

NOTE THIS IS A LOCAL CONSULTANT