Trócaire is an Irish organisation that works in partnership with communities in over 20 countries to

· Defend human rights,

· Achieve climate and environmental justice,

· women’s girls’ protection, voice and influence,

· Save lives and protect human dignity and

· Mobilize the public to achieve global justice

Since 1992, Trócaire Somalia has been providing comprehensive, safe and inclusive humanitarian and development programme in the Gedo region of the Southern Somalia by integrating health, nutrition, WASH, protection, resilience and basic education to address needs among the most marginalised and vulnerable people during emergencies and building resilience of communities to prepare for and mitigate future emergencies.

Trócaire’s work is best understood as taking a long-term developmental approach in a complex emergency, creating the conditions for recovery, by linking relief and development. In Somalia and particularly in the Gedo region, Trócaire’s continues to implement quality, sustainable and harmonised health, nutrition, WASH, education and food security programmes to address acute livelihood and humanitarian needs.

1.1 Overview of the Project

This project, aimed to improve uptake of agricultural courses in a TVET centre, and to build a team of young people with agricultural expertise, to serve as technical focal points in production of food and provide direction to individuals and groups engaged in agricultural production and marketing.

The project interventions were envisioned to increase uptake of agriculture as a viable activity and agri-business as a sustainable source of income. In the short term, the project aimed to encourage uptake of nutritious foods by members of households, while in the long run it aimed to nurture a culture of sustainable exploitation of agricultural resources such as land, skills and water to increase local food production, local food consumption and local agricultural trade in the community.

The key activities of the project included:

§ The recruitment and training of teenagers in the Luuq ATC;

§ Knowledge and awareness raising on agricultural skills in school-going children, focusing on children as agents of change;

§ Placement of trained teenagers to women- led farming groups to encourage practical learning by the students and to provide technical expertise learned in class to farming groups;

§ Collaboration with the community and the local government in promoting agriculture in Luuq.

Project beneficiaries included:

· Out of school teenagers, both male and female, aged between 14-19 years

· School going children, both girls and boys, graduating from primary school and unable to access secondary school

· Secondary school children aged between 16-19 years

Working in partnership with the CeRID and the local authorities in Luuq District, the project planned to revive training activities in the existing Luuq Agricultural Training Centre (ATC). With renewed support, the Luuq ATC was envisioned to deliver quality technical and relevant agri-business training, and other vocational education training to children and teenagers thereby increasing their employability and eventually enabling them to use these skills to earn an income.

Overall Project Goal

To contribute to increased employability for school dropout teenagers in Luuq District.

Project Specific Objectives

i. To increase access to employment and business opportunities for the Luuq ATC graduates

ii. To increase the participation of teenagers in food production, and introduce formal training to teenagers and school going children in Luuq ATC

iii. To increase the capacity of CeRID as a local partner in providing high quality and localized development and humanitarian services and goods to vulnerable children in Gedo

1.2 The Rationale for the Evaluation

As the project comes to a close, a final evaluation is being commissioned to assess the project progress toward achieving its objectives.

The evaluation will be required to track and ascertain progress against the outcomes of the project towards achievement of the overall goal of the project, identify lessons learnt, good practices and provide concrete recommendations for future similar interventions, in order to enhance adaptive programming.

1.4 Main Stakeholders of the Evaluation

The evaluation will involve participation of various stakeholders at different levels to draw lessons, gather data on impact of the interventions, identify challenges and successes and triangulate all information gathered. Stakeholders that will be involved include Trocaire and CeRID staff, target beneficiaries and their households, community members, local authorities from specific district departments, Luuq Agricultural Training Centre (ATC) teachers and students and CECs (Community Education Committees).

2. EVALUATION OBJECTIVES

Evaluation Objectives:

The objective of the evaluation will be to:

i) Assess the extent to which the project has achieved its purpose based on intended outputs and results

ii) Draw lessons learnt and good practices

iii) Make recommendations to inform similar future programming

The evaluation will be guided by the project’s specific objectives and commitments in the proposal document and log-frame.

Expected Results:

It was envisioned that by the end of the project period:

· 180 teenagers and children would have graduated from the project and have new knowledge and skills in agribusiness, computer skills and life skills for their future wellbeing

· There would be an increase in number of youths with employable skills and capacity to sustain themselves and offer skilled services to the population in Luuq

· All field-based staff from CeRID would have received trainings on safeguarding, on accountability requirements and an organizational safeguarding focal point selected

· CeRID would have in place a resource mobilization plan for consequent years, that addressed the needs of poor children and teenagers from the area

· Trocaire, working in partnership with CeRID, would have revived Luuq ATC, making it operational to offer teenagers further education on agri-business skills and entrepreneurial skills

· Effective management of the Luuq ATC by CeRID would be achieved in collaboration with the local stakeholders at all levels within the region and the country (MoE officials and all other stakeholders) with the aim of sustaining it’s operations

An overview of project activities is given below:

1. Selection of beneficiaries
2. Setting up of demonstration plots
3. Development/acquisition of school curriculum and training manuals for courses offered
4. Regular training sessions held within the Luuq Agricultural Training Centre
5. Training of teenagers on basic business financial literacy (five hours in a week)
6. Purchase of teaching aides and materials
7. Create awareness for TVET (agriculture and business for teenagers)
8. Organize field days for primary and secondary school students
9. Formation of farming clubs at schools
10. Linking up teenage students with IDP women farming groups
11. Capacity strengthening for CeRID on safeguarding, accountability and quality project delivery

3. KEY EVALUATION QUESTIONS

Area

Specific Questions

Relevance

· Were the interventions of the project responsive to the needs of the beneficiaries?

· Did engagements with and feedback from beneficiaries shape the project design and implementation?

Effectiveness

· To what extent were the planned outputs and results achieved?

· Do the project outputs significantly contribute to the achievement of the outcomes?

· To what extent were activities done within the set timelines?

· To what extent were services and items delivered in a timely and quality manner?

Efficiency

· How well were the inputs (funds, people, materials, time) used to undertake activities?

· Has the scale of benefits been consistent with the cost?

Sustainability

· To what extent has the programme built on existing resources and capacities of communities?

· To what extent have the beneficiaries been involved in the project cycle?

· To what extent did the project work with or support linkages with local and regional authority?

· Was learning captured and acted upon during the life of the project?

Impact

· What changes has the project brought about in the lives of the beneficiaries?

· What changes has the project brought to the wider community?

· To what extent did the project outputs and outcomes contribute to the overall goal of the project?

Accountability

· Were appropriate systems of downwards accountability put in place and used by the project beneficiaries?

· Were the available and functional complaint and feedback mechanisms in place?

· Were beneficiaries aware of and utilizing the available complaint and feedback mechanisms?

Organizational Capacity

· Was there an appropriate system of management and communication in place to support the project staff – both Trocaire and CeRID?

· Were there robust MEAL and financial systems in place?

4. METHODOLOGY

The evaluation will be conducted in Gedo region, Somalia in Luuq District. The evaluation will employ both qualitative and quantitative methodologies including in-depth interviews with student beneficiaries and their families, document review, focus group discussions, key informant interviews and observations for triangulation, gathering information from beneficiaries, the community and relevant stakeholders.

A sample of beneficiaries and their communities will be drawn for a quantitative participatory survey. The sample size will be determined by sampling proportionate to size, with a 95% confidence interval and 5% margin of error.

Key stakeholders will be sampled from the community for qualitative discussions in FGDs and KIIs.

The evaluation respondents will include, but not limited to student beneficiaries and their families, community members, Trocaire and CERID staff, local and regional authorities from specific departments, ATC teachers and students, CECs (Community Education Committees).

The data will be analyzed and reported in line with the logical framework and commitments in the project proposal.

5. SCOPE OF WORK

The consultant will be responsible for:

ü Development of a brief inception report including a comprehensive evaluation protocol.

ü Desk Review of existing program documents (including but not limited to proposal, monthly activity progress reports, baseline and midline evaluation reports, secondary sources of information).

ü Development of evaluation tools and upload to Kobo.

ü Data collection, analysis and management.

ü Development of draft and final report.

ü General oversight of the assessment process.

ü Presentation on the evaluation including feedback of findings, to Trocaire management and programme team.

Expected tasks and outputs will include:

1) Inception meeting with project staff, review of key relevant documents

2) Develop and submit inception report/ protocol which will include an interpretation of the tasks and study design & methodologies, sampling procedures and detailed work plan

3) Develop appropriate tools and instruments for gathering information and present to Trocaire team for approval

4) Conduct survey interviews in the field

5) Undertake KIIs and FGDs with key stakeholders in the field

6) General oversight and coordination of the evaluation process including logistical arrangements for data collection in collaboration with the Project Coordinator and MEAL Coordinator.

7) Process and analyze the data, and develop a draft report. Revise the report and based on internal Trocaire technical feedback, submit a final report to the Project Coordinator and MEAL Coordinator.

8) The final report will follow report framework below:

· Executive Summary

· Background and Context

· Introduction

· Description of Methodology

· Main findings

· Conclusions

· Recommendations

9) Develop actionable recommendations context based which include specific recommendations based on evidence from the evaluation findings.

10) PowerPoint presentation on the evaluation to Trocaire management and programme team.

6. REQUIRED COMPETENCIES

1. Minimum 5 years’ experience in livelihoods, humanitarian work, evaluation and/or related fields (Experience in Somalia context is desirable).
2. Demonstrated experience in conducting assessments of humanitarian programmes preferably agriculture/livelihoods (experience of a similar assignment in Somalia will be an advantage).
3. Demonstrated experience with TVET-related learning.
4. Proven strong skills and experience in qualitative and participatory approaches is mandatory.
5. Solid analytical skills with ability to correlate different data sets to actionable conclusions.
6. Result based planning, report writing, communication and diplomacy skills.
7. English language skills (report should be written in English). Ability to make clear presentations and disseminate findings to both technical and non-technical audience.

7. CONSULTANT’S PROPOSAL

Proposals being submitted should include:

· Consultants’ understanding of the scope of work and requirements.

· Proposed design and methodology of evaluation.

· A financial proposal.

· Attachment of previous similar work done and referees.

NB: The consultant is required to undertake all costs pertaining to the evaluation including travel and hiring of enumerators (the consultant shall hire form a pool of Trocaire-trained enumerators). Trocaire shall only cover cost of accommodation and meals while in the field.

8. TENTATIVE WORK SCHEDULE

Activity

Timeline

Desk review

2 days

Travel to and from the field

2 days

Training and organizing research assistants/ enumerators

1 day

Data collection

5 days

Data analysis

3 days

First Draft Report

5 days

Final Report

3 days

Total **

21 days

9. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

The evaluators should:

· Take all reasonable steps to ensure that the evaluation is designed and conducted to respect and protect the rights and welfare of the people and communities involved.

· Ensure that the evaluation is accurate and reliable, is conducted in a transparent and impartial manner and contributes to organizational learning and accountability.

· Commit to adhering to Trócaire’s Safeguarding Programme Participant Policy and Code of Conduct.

All products arising from this evaluation will be owned by Trocaire. The evaluators will not be allowed without prior authorization in writing to present any of the analytical results as his or her own or to make use of the evaluation results for private publication purposes.

10. HOW TO APPLY

Applications for interested candidates should present an application as follows:

1. A Technical proposal detailing: The consultant/s profile, understanding of the tasks as stipulated in the TOR, proposed evaluation design and methodology and proposed plan of evaluation execution, sample of similar work.
2. A financial proposal with a detailed budget considering the details in this ToR and timelines provided.