Introduction

1.1. CARE International

CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty and providing lifesaving assistance in emergencies.

CARE works in partnership with the government, international NGOs, civil society, leaders and local authorities in order to bring effective and lasting change to the most vulnerable communities. CARE currently works through three main programs: firstly, the Rural Women Program which supports poor, rural women and girls in addressing long term underlying causes of poverty and vulnerability as well as social, cultural, political and economic obstacles towards positive change. We help women and girls improve their economic status, access education and support them to play a greater role in local leadership and conflict resolution. Secondly, the Urban Youth program focuses on job creation and livelihood opportunities for poor youth through interventions such as secondary education, inclusive governance, vocational training and small business development. Thirdly, the Emergency program provides direct humanitarian relief to victims of drought and conflict in Puntland, Mogadishu, and Lower Juba.

1.2. The BRIDGES Project

CARE Somalia/Somaliland has received funding from the European Union to improve technical skills of the youth in roads and energy service sectors. The TVET and Higher Education for Boosting Road Infrastructure Development and Growth of Energy Services (THE BRIDGES) project aims to support the Government of Somalia/Somaliland plans to enhance inclusive economic growth and reduce poverty. The project will assist in the development of high quality skills both for gainful employment and sustainable economic development. In order to meet labour demands in road infrastructure and energy sectors, the project aims to strengthen TVET and higher education (HE) to make them of high quality and responsive to the changing market situations in the selected priority sectors of the economy.

The specific objectives of the BRIDGES project were formulated as follows:

a) To improve access to markets and social services

b) To improve access to energy services and enhance sustainable use of natural resources through an increased availability of skilled human resources for Somalia/Somaliland’s road and energy sectors.

The specific objective will be achieved through three interrelated results described below. Given the increasingly dynamic employment market, the project supports the introduction of a private sector–led and a high quality competency–based skills development approach facilitated by innovate and integrated internationally bench–marked frameworks, to increase the relevance of the skills training offered and to ensure an optimal absorption of the (new) skilled workforce into the labour market. To attain these objectives, first national and local capacities in the design, management and implementation of skills development and employment promotion programs in TVET and HE linked to the road infrastructure and energy services must be strengthened and training qualifications need to be brought to a higher quality and existing frameworks need to be aligned with standardized norms

Programme Design and Expected Results:

Overall Impact: Promote economic growth through infrastructure development, employment creation and sustainable natural resources management.

Indicators

· Increased labour productivity in the target areas

· Changes in socio-economic livelihoods of graduates in the target locations

Specific objective: to improve access to markets and social services, improve access to energy services and enhance sustainable use of natural resources through an increased availability of skilled human resources for Somalia/Somaliland’s road and energy sectors.

Specific objective indicator

· Availability of certificate, diploma & degree courses in road/energy sectors

· Training institutes offering CBT &; trainers/lecturers trained

· VQF with assessment & certification functions

· Private sector participation in VQA and TVET system

· Employment rate of graduates on completion

· Perception of employers of trainees on links between skills acquired and productivity gains

Result 1: Increased equitable access to private sector-led and competence-based skills development opportunities linked to road infrastructure and energy services for youth:

Indicators

· Number of trades identified using Labour Market Survey

· Number of employers participating in training process (design stage to employment)

· Number of trainees trained in road/energy sectors using CBT approach

· Number of share of trainees trained through “Dual Mode Approach”

· Number of share of trainees assessed & certified based on VQF

Result 2: Strengthened capacities of training providers, lecturers and TVET trainers to deliver market-oriented skills training to meet the immediate and emerging labour market demands within road infrastructure and energy sectors:

Indicators

· Number of CBT packages for road/energy developed

· Number of trainers trained on CBT in road/energy

· Number of lecturers trained

· Number of assessors trained

Result 3: Skills delivery, assessment and certification standardized through further improvement and expansion of scope and coverage of Vocational Qualifications Framework (VQF)

Indicators

· No. of meetings, workshops to consult / explain the VQF

· VQF Implementation Manual developed

· Availability of accreditation manuals

· Availability of assessment & certification guidelines

2. Objectives of the evaluation

The evaluation will be an end-of-project evaluation. The final evaluation is meant to assess the projects project’s relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability: Promote economic growth through infrastructure development, employment creation and sustainable natural resources management, Somalia. It will likely inform future project designs for the area as well as identify some best practices and lessons learnt for CARE in general. A mid-term evaluation has been carried out in October 2018. The report is available.

The project’s final evaluation will be carried out based on EU’s evaluation guidelines. The final evaluation will ascertain the relevance of the project programmatic approaches, outputs, outcomes, and overall impact.

The specific objectives of the evaluation is:

· To assess the extent to which the recommendations of mid-term evaluations been translated into action

· To assess the extent to which the response has been relevant to the needs of the youths and the private sector in Hargeisa, Mogadishu, Kismayu, Galkacyo and Dhusamareb within Somalia

· To assess and report on the performance and results achieved (intended or unintended, positive and negative) of the project against the OECD DAC criteria, in particular explore the overall effectiveness and contribution of the “The BRIDGES) Project Model” to economic growth, employment creation and sustainable natural resources management.

· To identify best practice and lessons learnt, with focus on the modality, skill transfer mechanism, accountability to beneficiaries as well as the social cohesion between host community and the refugee population.

2.1 Scope of Evaluation

The final evaluation will cover the implementation period from 1^st December 2016 to November 31^st, 2019. The geographical scope of the evaluation is Hargeisa (Somaliland), Garowe & Galkacyo (Puntland), Kismayu (Jubaland), Galkacyo south – (Galmudug) and Mogadishu. While the main emphasis should be on measuring outcomes and sustainability, the evaluation should also cover the project concept and design, implementation, results and outputs. Though it is not planned for now to extend the project or set up a follow-up project, the results will be valuable for CARE and the republic of Somalia in the first place to understand if the TVET interventions has been successful and how and where the approach can be transferred to other contexts. Therefore, the evaluation should include key findings including lessons learned and recommendations.

2.2 OECD DAC guiding evaluation criteria:

Furthermore, the consultant shall assess the project achievements against the following criteria (relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability):

RELEVANCE (Are we doing the right thing?)

Areas for analysis will include the extent to which the objectives, targeting, choice of activities, skill transfer modalities including competency based training and dual approaches:

· Were appropriate to the needs of the target population (What are the top needs of the target population and were the TVET trainings aligning with those needs)

· Were coherent with relevant stated national policies, including TVET sector policies and strategies

· Were aligned with the priorities of CARE and implementing partners?

· Were aligned with the priorities of the donor’s (EU) funding programme: “TVET and Higher Education for Road Infrastructure and Energy Services” – action

· how the feedback received through mid-term evaluation has been processed and resulted in adjustments to the project

· level of ownership among beneficiaries (governments, private sector and communities)

EFFECTIVENESS (Are the objectives of the project being achieved?)

· Has the project been effective in achieving the intended outputs, objectives and outcomes which are:

Development goal: Promote economic growth through infrastructure development, employment creation and sustainable natural resources management.

Project objectives:

• To improve access to markets and social services
• To improve access to energy services and enhance sustainable use of natural resources through an increased availability of skilled human resources for Somalia/Somaliland’s road and energy sectors.

· What were the major factors (Both internal and external) influencing the achievement or non – achievement of the outputs, outcomes/objectives of the intervention?

· Assess whether the beneficiaries perceive that the planned benefits have been delivered and received.

· Were the indicators appropriate in including any changes made during the course of project implementation?

· Was the monitoring protocol and data collection & compilation by project staff robust and based on the log frame indicators.

EFFICIENCY (Have the objectives been achieved in an economically viable manner?)

· Has the project been efficient in achieving the intended objectives and outputs?

· Were the activities implemented in the most efficient way compared to alternative modalities or approaches or designs?

· Was the budget and available financial resources realistic for the achievement of the intended objectives and outputs?

· Has there been enough time allowed for the achievement of the intended objectives and outputs?

· Was there enough staff, of appropriate competency, for the achievement of the intended objective and outputs?

· Are there appropriate financial systems in place for disbursements such as scholarship grants?

· Are there appropriate logistics system, monitoring and HR system in place?

· Was the selected service provider (TVET centres) good value for money?

· How effective were the communication plans with the steering committees, TVET centres, beneficiaries and governments (federal and state)?

· Was there an appropriate system of management and communication in place to support staff?

· Was new learning being captured and acted upon during implementation? If yes, how and what? If no, why not?

IMPACT (Did the project contribute to a positive change / avert negative change)

· What evidence is there of the impact that the project has had to date on youths, in particular female youth and the local economy? Which changes are evident and attributable to the project?

· What psychological effects has the response had (e.g. do beneficiaries feel dignified, empowered, trusted and respected due to skill training)?

· Does the review team observe any unintended changes or side effects, positive or negative that have stemmed from the project? (e.g. explore state level tensions), please also explore whether there were unintended results.

· Particularly, are there positive or negative changes in the host community and refugee relations, which are attributable to the project?

· Have any changes occurred or lessons learnt on the collaboration with the service provider?

· Was the skill training sufficient to boost the demand side, an extent that it has had an impact on the economic relations between private sector and TVET graduates?

· Was the skill training sufficient from the beneficiaries’ perspective to cover their specific training needs, also in relation to market demand?

COVERAGE AND STAKEHOLDER PERSPESCTIVES (incl protection concerns)

· Who was supported by the interventions? Which groups were considered and which not?

· Was the project response well-coordinated and aligned to technical guidance of the TVET working group if any?

· Was the project well-coordinated with other NGOs implementing TVET in Somalia and where lessons learnt from previous, similar responses been taken into consideration?

· What do the beneficiaries think of the project? Its relevance, appropriateness and outcomes? What would they like to see differently?

· Do beneficiaries find the selection criteria fair and transparent (do they know why they were selected)? Are any groups missed out in their opinion?

· What is the perspective of other primary and secondary stakeholders (e.g. Service Provider, community leadership, local government officials)? Are the most vulnerable being reached?

· Are there appropriate systems of downwards accountability (participation, information sharing and feedback) that beneficiaries are using? How was the beneficiaries’ feedback taken into consideration?

CONNECTIVENESS/ Sustainability (Are project activities carried out in a context that considers longer-term and interconnected problems?)

· To what extent were the stakeholders consulted and involved in defining the objectives, the selection process for activities and beneficiaries, implementation, monitoring and evaluation?

· What is the degree of commitment of stakeholders in cost sharing, and the measures taken to strengthen their capacity and suggest improvements for the future?

· Which positive changes will have a lasting effect?

· To what extent has there been a multiplier effect of beneficiaries spending funds earned from business set up.

· Has the project had a sustainable impact on the job market?

Focus on Key Lessons Learnt and recommendations

· Could the approach be replicated in other areas, in other contexts in Somalia)?

· What must be in place to ensure that the project results can last over the project running time?

3. Evaluation design/methods

The consultant shall use mixed methods including desk review, key informant interview sample survey, and observation. The sample size must be statistically representative of the population. The analysis will involve statistical and content analysis using appropriate packages as deemed fit by the consultant. The analysis among others should show trends and to the extent possible should be disaggregated by gender. Unless otherwise necessary, the consultant shall use the sampling techniques consistent with the baseline and midterm evaluation for comparability with baseline performance and target.

· Desk review of secondary data (proposals, progress reports, baseline and mid-term evaluation and previous studies)

· Review of finance documents and budget

· Key Informant Interviews with steering committee, CARE Nederland and project officers and consortium partners (TU/E) and Donor.

· Focus Group Discussions with beneficiaries (incl disaggregation by gender)

· Visits to selected project sites

· Key Informant Interviews with other stakeholders (e.g. local authorities and camp management, donors, and other NGOs)

· Sharing of initial findings and learning with regional team and partners in country

4. Expected outputs

The consultants will produce the following specific deliverables after signing the contract:

· Inception report detailing the methodology including the actual tools to be used for all respondents, schedule for field data collection, data analysis and reporting, work plan, list of documentation to reference in the report and outline of final report

· A detailed final report of not more 30 pages ( 2 pages executive summary, 20 pages main body of the report and 8 pages annexes- including photos and quotes from the respondents) outlining among others background characteristics of respondents and evaluation figures for the project indicators.

· Evidence of impact and recommendation based on the results of the evaluation.

· Presentation of findings (design of Power Points of key findings and presentation to CARE) to be shared with key stakeholders during validation workshop to be held in Nairobi

· Field notes and questionnaires. Safe custody and safe return of all documents obtained from CARE

5. Work plan and Time schedule

The total duration of the evaluation is expected to take 21 days including the fieldwork and report writing. The final work plan and time schedule will be agreed upon between CARE and the consultant(s).

Evaluation Activities

Completion dates

Obtaining offers

21 – 31 January 2020

Selecting evaluators

01 – 10 February 2020

Concluding the contract

11 – 15 February 2020

Kick off and clarification meeting

16 – 22 February 2020

Inception report (to discuss the draft report) within seven days after commencement of the exercise

23 – 29 February 2020

Debriefing/Presentation of results

01 – 05 March 2020

Assessment of the final report

06 – 15 March 2020

6. Qualifications required

The evaluator should be an experienced and independent consultant with the following expertise:

· Minimum of 10 years’ professional experience in developing countries, including previous experience working in Somalia/Somaliland;

· University degree in Education, Project Management, or other development/relevant related subject;

· Experience in applying qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods, with a minimum of 10 years of professional experience in programme and project evaluation of relevance to policymaking demonstrating a strong record in designing and conducting/leading evaluations, including in the area of education/TVET

· Be conversant with TVET system and concept

· Have a good understanding of Somalia/Somaliland and its history, and the resulting impact this may have on the working environment.

· Have an understanding of operating conditions in an insecure environment

· Have practical experience in assessments, planning and implementation of interventions using participatory methods such as PRA.

· Familiar with Project Cycle Management and evaluations, especially under EC funded projects.

· Have excellent analytical and writing skills

· Be willing to travel extensively in the working areas of the project.

· Be a team worker who can produce a report and presentation together with other consultants involved in the evaluation.

· Fluent in English (both reading and writing).

· Understanding of the Somali language is an advantage

Verification of these qualifications will be based on the provided curriculum vitae. Moreover, references, web links or electronic copies of two or three examples of recently completed evaluation reports shall be provided together with the technical proposal. Candidates are also encouraged to submit other references such as research papers or articles that demonstrate their familiarity with the subject under review.

7. Guiding Principles and Values

The consultant shall adhere to the “Do No Harm” principle and any other humanitarian principles. The consultant will be required to follow CARE Somalia’s security advice.

Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

· Technical experience and expertise

· Quality of proposal

· Cost-effectiveness of proposal

The consultant shall ensure at all times the confidentiality of data, respect the privacy of all individuals concerned and make all data collected available to CARE in a usable format.

8. Terms and Conditions

Logistics: The consultant’s travel from base to the field and back after the end of the fieldwork (including airport tax), food, and accommodation will be covered by CARE