Lutheran World Relief (LWR) Jobs

Consultant - Evaluation in Tanzania

Location: , MD


Employment Type: Full Time

Department: Other

Description

Lutheran World Relief (LWR) is a non-governmental organization founded in 1945 to respond to the needs of communities devastated by World War II. Today LWR works with local implementing partners in Asia, Africa and Latin America to respond to emergencies and seek lasting solutions to rural poverty. LWR works in three core thematic areas of agriculture, climate change and emergency operations. Within agriculture LWR focuses on creating strong local economies and resilient communities through work on the core program areas of agriculture value chain, food security, rural financing, cooperative strengthening, climate smart agriculture, and water.

LWR seeks an evaluator to conduct an ex post evaluation of an agriculture value chain project that ended in 2015. The project's final evaluation focused on its relevance, effectiveness, and efficiency. Now that some time has passed, LWR would like to examine the project's sustainability and impact.

The project: From 2012 to 2015, Lutheran World Relief Tanzania (LWR), in collaboration with four Agricultural Marketing Cooperatives (AMCOS) UWAZAMAM, MAMCOS, UWAZAMAH and GAWAYE, implemented the Grape Value Chain and Food Security project. The project worked with other stakeholders in the grape sector in Dodoma region who included processors such as CETAWICO, Bihawana and ALKO VINTAGES, traders, government extension systems, research institutions and financial institutions. LWR Tanzania ended its relationship with MAMCOS (in Mbabala) in 2012, GAWAYE (in Gawaye) in 2014, and UWAZAMAH (in Hombolo) 2012. This evaluation will therefore primarily look at the work with UWAZAMAM, but some contact with individuals from other partner AMCOs is expected.

The project goal was to strengthen the development of the grape value chain to ensure year-round food security and contribute to increased incomes of smallholder farmers in Dodoma region. In order to reach that goal the following objectives were pursued:

1. By 2015 increase high quality grape production of 2,000 smallholder grape farmers in Dodoma region by 50% through enhanced access to and use of quality agricultural inputs.2. Improve marketing systems, linkages with processors and the capacity of agricultural marketing cooperatives to ensure fair prices of TZS700 to 1,000 per kilo for the sale of grapes for 2,000 smallholder farmers in Dodoma region.

Duties

EVALUATION PURPOSE AND USE

This is the first time LWR will conduct an ex-post evaluation of one of its projects. This is therefore not only an exercise to explore a specific project's results but also to gain institutional experience in conducting ex-post evaluations and interpreting their findings.

Internally, this evaluation will be used to

Make informed decisions about future LWR programming that is related to this project's focus of supporting an agriculture value chain with an internationally-traded commodity with high standards for quality;
Learn more about LWR's sustainability and impact; and
Improve LWR's project design for greater sustainability and impact.Externally, this evaluation will be used to:
Showcase to donors LWR's sustainability and impact with strong evidence;
Provide examples for best practices (and practices to avoid) with peer organizations, especially related to sustainability and impact; and
Explore findings with project participants and implementing partners to reflect on this experience.

EVALUATION SCOPE

The Evaluation Objectivesa. To evaluate the project results' sustainability since the end of the projectb. To evaluate the project results' impact since the end of the project

The Evaluation Questions associated with each objectivea. Sustainability i. Access to resources from financial institutions was an important aspect of the project but had minimal results by the project's end. Were partners able to leverage the project's training and support in this area afterward? Has access to financial institutions improved, decreased, or ended since the end of the project? ii. Access to markets for grapes improved during the project. What value chain relationships endured? Have any new relationships evolved?b. Impacti. What are the key impacts of the project for the targeted organizations and farmers? Did men, women, boys, and girls experience the effects differently?

Some impacts that were mentioned during the final evaluation were the extension services models used, such as Training the Trainer and Farmer Field Schools. Have these models continued or evolved? Have extension services continued on the same trend as during the project?

Household income based from grape sales increased according to the project's final evaluation. Has this trend been maintained or improved since the end of the project?

The percentage of household incomes spent on food generally decreased during the project. Has this trend been maintained?

What other impacts from the project are considered important by the targeted organizations and farmers?ii. What recommendations from the project's final evaluation and subsequent studies were implemented? What were the results? Did men, women, boys, and girls experience the results differently? iii. What are the perspectives of implementing partners on the project's long-term effects? Did men and women experience the effects differently?iv. What are some stories that document shifts in power relationships (between men and women, LWR-Partner, NGO-community members, government-community, buyers-sellers etc.) as a result of project participation?

The total beneficiary population: 2000 smallholder grape farming households4. The beneficiary population's geographical dispersion: Within the Dodoma region, Mbabala, Mpunguzi, Hombolo and Gawaye areas

EVALUATION METHODOLOGY

LWR anticipates using a mixed methodology approach for this evaluation that will include reviewing available project data sources and designing a methodology to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. LWR prefers methods that are rigorous and that allow for some analysis on the part of the people providing the information. Examples of such methods could include, but are not limited to, Most Significant Change, PhotoVoice, or Qualitative Impact Assessment Protocol. While an evaluator may choose to use conventional methods (surveys, key informant interviews, focus group discussions), an ideal methodology will mix those methods with a robust method that invites participatory analysis.

Creative use of data collection, participatory data analysis, and presentation of findings that maximize the usefulness of the evaluation will be very important. The evaluator will work closely with LWR to finalize the methodology, sample size, data collection tools and the work plan before field work. The ex-post evaluator will define the methodology. The evaluator will make selected visits to the sites of his/her choice based on the sample size. The ex-post evaluator may propose other approaches that might more effectively answer the evaluation questions.

The evaluator is welcome to propose other methods that align with the evaluation's purpose and provide a platform to answer the evaluation questions.

LWR prefers that at least one member of the evaluation team be Tanzanian. We may be able to match international evaluators who do not have their own Tanzanian connections with in-country evaluators and welcome proposals that can accommodate that kind of matching.

EVALUATION DELIVERABLES

Expected deliverables include:o Inception Plan (LWR will provide a template)o Draft evaluation report and/or slides explaining high-level findings for reviewo Final evaluation report (in narrative form)o Stand-alone evaluation summary document that clearly identifies main findings and recommendations for actions based on the findings (LWR will provide a template)o One or more Slide Deck(s) that outline: Project context/history/main interventions that help make the findings easier to understand Evaluation methodology Main Findings linked to evaluation questionsRecommendations based on findings, supported with evidence from the evaluation or from peer-reviewed literature

IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS

Planning and coordination ahead of data collection, especially to finalize evaluation methodology, will be managed at LWR HQ by LWR's Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Manager, Wendi Bevins (wbevins@lwr.org) and LWR's Program Quality Director, Garrett Schiche (gschiche@lwr.org), who will participate in data collection and be the main point of contact throughout data analysis/interpretation and finalizing main deliverables. LWR Tanzania's Senior Program Manager Moses Kabogo (mkabogo@lwr.org) will coordinate on-the-ground logistics and participant preparation, with LWR's Africa Regional Program Manager Leah Hoffman (lhoffman@lwr.org) backstopping as necessary. These staff will provide all necessary background documentation, an orientation to LWR and its work in Tanzania, and introductions to relevant AMCO staff and other project stakeholders.

EVALUATION TIMEFRAME

The exact timeframe and activities will be negotiated with the selected evaluator, though the major required deliverables are stated here. June - July

Inception Report
Data Collection
Share slides or outline outlining high-level findings with LWR and partner
Meeting to discuss high-level findings with LWR and partner, via slides/outline
Incorporate feedback and update slides/outline (evaluator), prepare materials for presentation to project participants (LWR Tanzania, partner) August
Meeting with project participants to validate findings (partner, LWR Tanzania, evaluator if possible)
Incorporate feedback from project participants and continue revising report


First draft written report
LWR review and provide feedback on report
Present findings to LWR leadershipSeptember
Final draft written report, executive summary, slide deck(s)
Sept 25-26 Board of Directors meeting presentation
Qualifications:

The required qualifications of consultant(s)

Individuals, teams, firms, or research institutions will be considered
Demonstrated experience in ex-post evaluation or evaluations similar to this assignment
Familiarity with East African agricultural value chains preferred
At least ten years' experience working with grassroots organizations related to rural agricultural development, with at least five years specifically on monitoring and evaluation.
Ability to speak, read, and write in professional level English required; ability to speak and read Swahili advantageous
Ability to present findings and answer questions for LWR leadership and board of directors, in addition to day-to-day collaboration with regional and technical staff, required
LWR prefers that at least one member of the evaluation team be Tanzanian. We may be able to match international evaluators who do not have their own Tanzanian connections with in-country evaluators and welcome proposals that can accommodate that kind of matching.

Applications should include

Expression of interest (up to 3 pages) outlining the summary of relevant previous experience and the proposed approach in undertaking this evaluation, with budget (see next section for details)
Latest curriculum vitae (of main consultant and any supporting team members)
Two-page description of the data collection and analysis process for a similar study that includes whether and how stakeholders' interpretation was integrated into the findings
Contact information of three references for similar services offered
Application procedureComplete applications should be submitted as attachments to an email to Wendi Bevins (wbevins@lwr.org) and Garrett Schiche (gschiche@lwr.org).

The subject line should read: Tanzania Grape Ex Post Evaluation Deadline for the submission of bids is on June 15, 2018 by 5pm Eastern Standard Time (US)Applicants who do not follow application instructions will be rejected. ONLY short listed candidates will be contacted.

BUDGET

The proposed approach in the application should include a proposed budget. Budget should include an estimated level of effort for all consultants involved from design to completion of deliverables. It should also include costs associated with travel to and within Tanzania (flights, hotel, daily expenses) and hiring local enumerators or translators. LWR will cover expenses related to vehicle hire during data collection in Dodoma. LWR will also support logistical arrangements within Dodoma. LWR does not have access to digital means of data collection (except digital cameras), so if the proposed methodology requires smartphones or tablets, the consultant will need to provide them for as many enumerators are necessary for the methodology.

ANNEXESAnnex 1: Final Project Evaluation

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