Background: Save the Children (SC) is implementing the Delivering Emergency Life-saving Support in Somalia funded by HE Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani to respond urgent needs of the most vulnerable to mitigate the impact of drought and support the delivery of SC’s $104 million humanitarian response strategy. Health and nutrition supplies are provided to health facilities across the country, filling an essential gap, and meeting the severe and increasing malnutrition rates and health indicators for men, women, and children. The provision of cash transfers to the most vulnerable households provides life-saving access to food, increases individual purchasing power, and supports the uptake of health and nutrition services. Targeting will prioritize health sites as a central location to ensure complementarity and linkages to health and nutrition services for pregnant and lactating women (PLW) and children under two, to support health-seeking behaviours.

Cash Transfers: Building on His Excellency Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani’s 2019 investment, a key lesson was the importance of integrating the cash transfer component with health and nutrition, specifically in the primary selection criteria of pregnant and lactating women (PLWs) and children aged 0 – 23 months as cash beneficiaries. In line with SC’s resourcing families for better nutrition common approach, we found this improved child nutrition outcomes. As such the project endline recommended continuing the approach of targeting PLW with children aged 0 – 23 months for cash programming. Provision of cash equips addresses the basic cause of malnutrition by equipping households to afford nutrition for their children. Cash programming is an appropriate modality within the current context, as markets are functioning with adequate availability of food and non-food supplies. Cash programming will improve household purchasing power and food access, while also increasing demand in local markets, in turn stimulating market growth.

SC is providing unconditional multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA) to drought-affected households specifically PLWs with children under 2 (with and without disabilities), to support vulnerable families’ nutritional and food needs for three months. The objective of this cash is to support the consumption of households during the crisis and meet immediate food and non-food needs, ultimately adjusting the target groups purchasing power in the face of the increased current market prices. The Cash is transferred via mobile phones and beneficiaries receive cash in their mobile wallets. Transfer values are based on Somalia Cash and Markets working group recommendations. SC will transfer 100% of the region’s cost of the MPCA transfer value as recommended by the Somalia Cash Working to the beneficiaries for 5 months. The action will only support these households to help them get enough food for children when their children are being treated for severe malnutrition and buy essential items.

1. Purpose

The purpose of third-party monitoring is to assess and provide a detailed analysis of achievements against the anticipated objectives (baseline) and measure the up-to-date performance of the project. The third-party monitoring evaluation is to facilitate a process that will document project outputs and measure progress achieved, and the status of indicators compared to project baseline figures. The project covers sectors in food security and livelihood and health/nutrition facilities and recommends/suggests actions deemed fit for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the project’s activities.

Therefore, to improve the accountability of the program, and the quality of project delivery, an independent consultant will be contracted to monitor the project progress and also to ensure whether the project implementation is in line with SCI accountability strategy.

To complete independent monitoring of Save the Children’s Family Strengthening through Cash Transfer and health and nutrition in Southern States: Bay, Bakool, Hiran, Lower Jubba, Galgaduud, Somalia – project to enhance program quality and accountability to beneficiaries.

1. Specific Objectives

This third-party monitoring survey’s specific goals are to gather, examine, and interpret data and information of the target sites and areas to measure project performance against the target following the project output indicators in the table below( cash transfer outcome extract)

Intervention Logic

Crisis-affected population have access to timely, adequate health, nutrition, WASH, livelihood interventions

Outputs

Outcome 4: Household consumption of diverse, nutritious food improved

Output 4.1: Increased Household access to income for food purchase

Output 4.2: Improved dietary diversity at Household level

2. Scope of work

Program implementation under two broad results:

The third-party monitoring will specifically provide feedback on the following areas of implementation:

1. Beneficiary selection:

• Hold interviews with beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries and other stakeholders to document the beneficiary selection process specifically community participation including women and marginalized groups (age, disability, and gender-disaggregated report) in the selection and verification of beneficiaries.
• Document the process of selecting beneficiaries, and committees and establish the role of the committee members and SCI staff in the selection and verification of project beneficiaries.
• Assess the appropriateness of the targeting criteria, the extent to which it was followed, and the overall fairness of the process.
• Identify if there were any shortcomings in the process of payment or diversion of assistance. Diversion of cash through voluntary or involuntary taxation or forced contribution should be properly scrutinized and reported.
• Determine how the targeted communities (boys and girls, women and men, and persons with disabilities or other marginalized groups) have benefited from the unconditional cash transfers and health and nutrition intervention in their respective communities.

1. Mobile cash transfer system:

• Determine how targeted project beneficiaries (boys and girls, women and men, and persons with disabilities or other marginalized groups) have benefited from the mobile cash transfer system in which they’ve received their unconditional cash transfers.
• How girls and boys including children with disabilities and children from other marginalized groups have been able to participate in nutrition, health, and WASH activities in the target areas.
• Determine how cash transfer improved Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) knowledge and practice among caregivers of children 0-23 months and PLW
• Gather general feedback from project beneficiaries between the advantages and disadvantages of using a mobile cash transfer delivery system.
• Document the beneficiaries’ satisfaction on the quality of the mobile handsets provided.

1. Information sharing:

• Assess the extent in which the beneficiaries, including girls and boys, are informed and aware of key project information such as project objectives, activities, timelines, entitlement, number of cash payments, expected results and targeted beneficiaries, and criteria for selecting beneficiaries.
• Find out if consideration was taken into account the Consider possible differences in the information needs of different groups of beneficiaries: boys, girls, women, men, persons with disabilities, and other marginalized groups.
• Establish whether beneficiaries, including girls and boys, have been informed and are aware of opportunities/activities in which they can participate.
• Establish whether there is information that beneficiaries, including girls and boys, would like to have about the project and its implementation but they are not getting it.

1. Complaint and response mechanisms:

• Establish beneficiaries’, including (boys and girls, women and men, and persons with disabilities or other marginalized groups), awareness of mechanisms through which they can give feedback or make complaints to SCI (how to complain or raise concerns about activities, what they can complain about, who can complain, how and where they can complain and issues of confidentiality).
• Assess the acceptance and level of confidence that beneficiaries have in the existing SCI complaints response mechanisms.
• Generate ideas for improving the existing complaint handling mechanism.
• Assess how SCI has succeeded in responding to the feedback and complaints received.

1. Participation:

• Generate Information about how beneficiaries including girls and boys and the person with disabilities would like to/ are participating in the project implementation.
• Collect feedback from participants and parents whose children participating in the cash transfer, and health and nutrition facilities in the targeted areas.

1. Project results in regard to integration:

• Identify and document evidence of project integration between cash programming, nutrition, health, and WASH..
• Provide information if there is any indication that the project’s results will be reached at the end of the project and recommend any actions to ensure that all results will be achieved.

1. Case studies/success stories

• Collect qualitative data on case studies and success stories to demonstrate change in the lives of children.

Methodology

The consultant should fully understand the nature of the assignment and propose and develop a compatible data collection methodology based on the project objective and result framework. the consultant should also justify their proposed methodology and explain why he/she/they prefers it. The consultant will work with the advice and directions of the Save the Children technical team. The consultant should come up with appropriate and mandatory tools to assess the outcome indicators below:

1. Outcome 1: Improved access and uptake of lifesaving health services across targeted vulnerable communities in Somalia
2. Outcome 2: Improve coverage and quality of lifesaving treatment services for acute malnutrition in drought-affected areas
3. Outcome 3: Children under 5 receive timely and effective services for the prevention of acute malnutrition and relapse
4. Outcome 4: Household consumption of diverse, nutritious food improved
5. Outcome 5: Targeted children and families have improved access to and use safe water and sanitation, and adopt improved hygiene practices.

The consultant will work with the advice and directions of the Save the Children technical team. Girls and boys will be consulted by using child-friendly and gender-sensitive methodologies; special attention needs will be put into ensuring that boys, girls, women, and people with disabilities (both adults and children) will be able to participate. Everybody’s participation will be voluntary, meaningful, safe, and inclusive. Draft findings will be presented to the project team and key partners to validate.

As Save the Children is a child rights organization, the consultant should make sure that girls and boys are being consulted by using child-friendly and gender-sensitive methodologies; special attention will be put into ensuring that boys, girls, women, and people with disabilities (both adults and children) able to participate in a safe manner. Everybody’s participation will be voluntary, meaningful, safe, and inclusive.

Sample SIZE AND TARGET LOCATION:

Althani cash beneficiaries: refer attached ToR

1. Consultant role and expecting deliverables

The consultant is expected to perform through 5 phases – preparation, inception, research, reporting, and follow-up and dissemination. Some key activities during these phases include the development of research tools, document review, data collection, analysis/interpretation, report writing, and presentation to key stakeholders. The key deliverables of the assignment will be as below:

1. Inception report:

The consultant is expected to produce an inception report detailing the following:

• A detailed methodology for the review including the tools to be used in the review
• The consultant is expected to calculate the sample size for different sectors and outcomes to be assessed (both cluster level and individual sample size) Data collection, cleaning, analysis, and reporting.
• The proposed team members and a description of their respective roles
• A complete work plan for the entire review period
• A proposal for the final report layout.

2. Draft report

The consultant is anticipated to generate the first draft report by the end of data collection and analysis after the inception of the assignment. This draft report will be presented and discussed with key stakeholders including the project teams, and technical specialists. Inputs from the discussions will be incorporated into the final report.

3. Final Report

The final report shall be submitted within the timeframe after addressing comments on the draft report. This report will be a detailed report covering items outlined in the scope of the TOR with special attention to main findings and conclusions, possible challenges and mitigations, gaps, and recommendations:

Prepare a PowerPoint presentation, summarizing the key findings from the baseline survey in a design layout, and submitted together with the final report. The consultant will also make a presentation of the key findings through a validation meeting and collect comments from the different stakeholders to justify or address. The consultant should also share photos with GPS coordinates from the assessed location, analysis, and raw data (KII and FGD should be scripted by the consultant for future use).

Two to three case studies Preferably from children/families who have benefitted from both health/Nutrition and cash that demonstrate change in the lives of children. SC’s guidelines on case studies need to be followed.

4. DATA SETS

The evaluation team will be expected to submit complete data sets (in /STATA/SPSS/Access/ Excel) of all the quantitative data as well as the original transcribed qualitative data gathered during the exercise. These data sets should be provided at the time of submission of the final report by 5th November 2022.

5. Save the children role

Save the children will provide the following support to the successful consultancy firm/individuals:

• Project documents including detailed project implementation plan, Log frame, and proposal.
• Provision of target locations and lists of projects supported schools.
• Link the Consultant to the relevant stakeholders.
• Other relevant documents.

6. Management and logistics

• The consultant will be supervised by the area MEAL manager with support of the national MEAL manager.
• The consultant will be responsible for organizing logistical issues with limited facilitation from SCI and as per the consultancy agreement.

7. Reporting

The consultant will maintain daily contact with the SCI team assigned to manage the monitoring activities. The collected data will be analyzed on daily basis by the consultant and given feedback to the teams.

8. Time Frame

The consultancy work will last approximately 10 – 15 days including induction and travel days. The days will start by the date the contract is signed.

​​​​​​​9. Terms and Conditions

Consultancy fee: The consultant will come up with his/her own rate which will be subject to negotiation within the bounds of donor requirements and set standards of SC in Somalia the consultant is expected to estimate all relevant costs for the exercise, including costs for data collectors, vehicle rent, venue, stationary, standardization test and accommodation while undertaking activities related to this assignment.

10. REFERENCE MATERIAL

• Project Proposal and Log frame,
• Baseline report
• IPTT Quantitative report
• MEAL plan

11. Code of conduct

Save the Children’s work is based on deeply held values and principles of child safeguarding, and it is essential that our commitment to children’s rights and humanitarian principles is supported and demonstrated by all members of staff and other people working for and with Save the Children. Save the Children’s Code of Conduct sets out the standards to which all staff members must adhere and the consultant is bound to sign and abide by the Save the Children’s Code of Conduct.

A contract will be signed by the consultant before the commencement of the action. The contract will detail terms and conditions of service, aspects of inputs, and deliverables. The Consultant will be expected to treat as private and confidential any information disclosed to her/him or with which she/he may come into contact during her/his service. The Consultant will not, therefore, disclose the same or any particulars thereof to any third party or publish it in any paper without the prior written consent of Save the Children. Any sensitive information (particularly concerning individual children) should be treated as confidential.

An agreement with a consultant will be rendered void if Save the Children discovers any corrupt activities have taken place either during the sourcing, preparation, and implementation of the consultancy agreement.

12. Ethics And Child Safeguarding

The consultant is obliged to conduct the research in an ethical manner making sure children are safe at all times. The consultant should seek the views of various stakeholders, including children. Efforts should be made to make the research process child-centered and sensitive to gender and inclusion. The consultant must respect the rights and dignity of participants as well as comply with relevant ethical standards and SC’s Child Safeguarding Policy and Code of Conduct. The research must ensure voluntary, safe, and non-discriminatory participation and a process of free and un-coerced consent. Informed consent of each person (including children) participating in data collection should be documented.

A contract will be signed by the consultant before the commencement of the action. The contract will detail terms and conditions of service, aspects of inputs, and deliverables.

13. Property right:

All data that will be collected should be considered as SCI properties and can’t be used for other purposes.

14. Application Procedure And Requirement

Candidates interested in the position are expected to provide the following documentation:

• A technical proposal with a detailed response to the TOR, with a specific focus on the scope of work, methodology, and timelines, and how the participation of children and persons and children with disabilities in the evaluation will be ensured.
• Initial work plan and an indication of availability.
• A financial proposal detailing the daily rate expected including accommodation, transportation, stationery, data collectors, research assistance, and all other cost related to this assignment. (Operational and consultancy fees).
• Company profile or CV including a minimum of 3 references.
• At least two previously conducted similar studies.

Any interested party (individual or a firm) should extracted the expression of interested annex B below and send completed to

Section A. General Information and Questionnaries- Please refer attached ToR.

​​​​​​​Application Submission Address: indicating “Third-Party Monitoring of SOM_Al Thani_ZAKAT_Drought Response_2022” as the subject.

• Annex B: Expression of interest Form (EoIs)
• Description: (third party monitoring)

How to apply

Interested candidates shall submit their applications through: somalia.tenders@savethechildren.org no latter than 16th October, 2022 at 5.00PM (EAT Time)

Please indicating the subject: “Third-Party Monitoring of SOM_Al Thani_ZAKAT_Drought Response_2022”