TERMS OF REFERENCE (TOR) FOR MID TERM EVALUATION FOR THE THIRD PHASE OF PROMOTING ELUM AND NETWORKING FOR LIVELIHOOD IMPROVEMENT (PENELI III) PROGRAMME

Back ground

Participatory Ecological Land use Management (PELUM) association is an indigenous African network with over 250 Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) from 12 African Countries namely: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Botswana, South Africa, Malawi, Swaziland and Rwanda. PELUM Association Regional Secretariat is based in Lusaka, Zambia. PELUM Kenya is a national network currently comprises 55 member organizations located in 20 Counties.

The Vision of PELUM Kenya is empowered and prosperous communities deriving their livelihoods from sustainable land use. The mission is to promote participatory ecological land use management practices for improved livelihoods among small holder farmers.

PELUM Kenya is in the process of implementing the PENELI III Programme which started in January 2017 and will end in June 2021. PENELI stands for Promoting Ecological Land Use Management (ELUM) And Networking for Livelihoods Improvement. The issues that are addressed by the PENELI Programme are as a result of PELUM Kenya’s past projects and programmes. It is also addressing issues identified in the strategic plan for the years 2016-2020.

Through the PENELI III Programme, PELUM Kenya focuses on four thematic areas namely:

1. Climate change adaptation;


2. Agro-enterprise/market development; and


3. Sustainable Natural resource management


4. Seed sovereignty

Currently the 55 members of PELUM Kenya are distributed amongst six (6) zones namely: Nairobi and Central, Nyanza, Western, Lower Eastern and Coast, Upper Eastern and Northern Region and Rift Valley zone. The Programme is therefore being implemented in the regions where the 55 members of PELUM  Kenya are in operation, by utilizing both national and zonal programme events. It is however important to note that PELUM Kenya does not work directly with the farmers but through the member organizations.

Programme Goal

PENELI III aims at Improving food sovereignty, nutritional variety, strengthening resilience and sustainable use of natural resources for Small Scale Farmers and Pastoralists.

Programme objectives

1. To Improve resilience of small-scale farmers, and pastoralists (SSF&P) against climate change


2. To enhance household income of Small Scale Farmers and Pastoralists (SSF&P) through agroenterprises


3. To strengthen the Institutional capacity of PELUM Kenya as an advocacy network for Sustainable Natural Resource Management (NRM)


4. To create and support seed secure communities practicing Agroecology

OBJECTIVE OF THE EVALUATION

The main objective of this evaluation is to provide an independent mid-term review of the progress of implementation by looking at the programme performance in comparison to what is in the programme document. The evaluation results are envisaged to identify and describe the lessons learned, through measurements of the changes in the set indicators, summarize the experiences gained, technically and managerially, and recommend the approaches and methodologies in implementation that would best help the programme to realize its intended outcomes.

In addition the evaluation team will assess the following key issues:

• The performance of the PELUM Kenya network including key issues in the structure, communication and overall effectiveness of the network.


• The relevance of the thematic committees mainly in terms of the usefulness to the PELUM Kenya network and any recommendations regarding the thematic committees


• The relevance of the workshops/trainings held by PELUM Kenya to the Member organizations


• Assessment of the performance of the programme in terms of timeliness, quality, quantity and cost effectiveness of the activities undertaken


• Assess the prospects of the sustainability of the project outcomes and benefits and recommend measures for its further improvement.


• Strategies being undertaken in advocacy and lobbying and recommend any appropriate changes if need be to the structures and the strategies in place. This will also include relevance to the Government policies and legislations

The evaluation is being undertaken at the middle of the programme and it is anticipated to provide key lessons and areas for improvement in an effort to meet the goals and objectives of the programme. 

The evaluation is expected to give progress of all the indicators in the programme document

SCOPE OF WORK

Who to be interviewed

1. The methodology of implementing the PENELI III programme includes the following:


2. Disbursements to member organizations to implement agreed upon activities


3. Zonal level activities in which the zonal coordinators involve respective zonal members in their implementation


4. National level activities that are directly implemented by the programme officers such as national workshops and technical committee meetings

The evaluation is anticipated to come up with suitable methods of ensuring that data and information is gathered from the above three levels of implementation. The mid-term evaluation will focus on all the PELUM Kenya zones that PENELI III is being implemented. Sources of primary information will include but not limited to the following persons:

1. PELUM Kenya Board Members including the technical committee within the board


2. Staff from PELUM Kenya‘s Member Organizations who have been directly involved in PENELI III (either through workshops, training, direct project implementation etc.)


3. Farmer groups working with the Member organizations


4. The Members of the three thematic committees (Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting committee, Agro enterprise committee and Advocacy committee members)


5. Implementation team from PELUM Kenya and BiBa Kenya including Programme Manager, program officers and Zonal networking coordinators.

The consultant will work in close collaboration with the PELUM Kenya’s M & E officer.

Specific Tasks for the Consultant

• Literature review on data sources i.e. from key documents to be provided by PELUM Kenya including the programme documents such as proposal document, log frame, activity reports, programme reports sent to funding partners, Programme monitoring Reports etc.


• Preliminary discussion about the focus of the midterm evaluation and PENELI III programme with PELUM Kenya team


• Develop an inception report to be discussed and agreed upon by the consultant and the PELUM Kenya team


• Develop the midterm evaluation time frame and scheduling of the consultation meetings including the date for the feedback


• Collect data both qualitative and quantitative from the targeted community members and /or member organizations through agreed data collection tools


• Analyze the collected data and formulate draft report. The report should be logically structured including the executive summary, intervention description, assessment purpose, assessment methodology, findings, conclusions, lessons and recommendations, and annexes (key officials interviewed, documents consulted, and data collection instruments). The report should also include a set of specific and clear recommendations and their justification and identify the necessary actions to be undertaken to ensure that the project has optimal impact.


• Present draft results of the evaluation findings in a one-day feedback workshop for PELUM Kenya staff and selected partners and stakeholders


• Incorporate comments from the feedback workshop and present final report in soft and hard copy.

Deliverables

The expected key outputs of the evaluation are:

1. An inception report: Elaboration of the external evaluation methodology and tools including a detailed schedule of activities to be undertaken across the six zones.


2. An Aide Memoire (intermediate report with key findings and recommendations). This will be presented to PELUM Kenya staff and other relevant stakeholders


3. The Midterm Evaluation Draft and Final Reports: The report should be logically structured including the executive summary, intervention description, assessment purpose, assessment methodology, findings, conclusions, lessons and recommendations, and annexes (key officials interviewed, documents consulted, and data collection instruments). The report should include a set of specific and clear recommendations and their justification and identify the necessary actions to be undertaken as advice in the “Way Forward”.

METHODOLOGY

The mission will target member organizations and households representative of elum aspects covered by PENELI III. Data will be collected based on the DAC evaluation criteria through primary and secondary sources through primary and secondary sources using the following approaches:

1. Key informant interviews


2. Focus Group Discussions


3. Direct observation

Secondary data will be gathered from factual statements identified from review of relevant documents including the project document, Monthly reports, annual and monitoring reports. The evaluation is expected be keen on ensuring participation of all the relevant stakeholders. Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) will be conducted both jointly as well as separately if need be for men and women. Both qualitative and quantitative data collection method will be applied.

Consultants qualification

To undertake this evaluation, PELUM Kenya is looking for a qualified, competent and experienced professional consultant. Of key consideration include:

• At least a master’s degree or equivalent in agriculture, sociology, development studies, economics or related social sciences. 


• Demonstrated ability to assess complex situations to analyze critical issues clearly and draw conclusions and recommendations.


• Proven in-depth understanding and consulting experiences in conducting similar


• Substantive knowledge of participatory M&E processes and experience with multi stakeholder/community development interventions.


• Have successfully done similar / related work in recent past. Such details should be included in the profile that will be submitted.


• Excellent English and good report writing and communication skills

TIME FRAME

The PENELI III Mid Term Evaluation will take 40 working days commencing on April 2nd 2019 and coming to a close by May 10th 2019 including data entry and analysis.

ACTIVITY PLAN

The consultant is expected to come up with a suitable time frame for the activities implementation and share it with PELUM Kenya for further discussion and agreement

HOW TO APPLY:

Interested candidates should submit the following:

1. Technical proposal indicating their understanding of the assignment, proposed methodology for conducting the assignment and work plan.


2. Financial proposal showing the total cost of conducting the evaluation, breakdown of consultancy costs (including costing of each member the team during the entire exercise, man-days for each team member), travel and other costs associated with this assignment.


3. The terms for payments in terms of percentages in order to carry out the exercise. 


4. At least one report of a similar assignment conducted elsewhere in the past three years specifying the work done, stating the costs of doing the exercises and the client or clients and the duration it took to do the same.


5. Detailed curriculum vitae of the main consultant and the support consultants (if any) to be involved in the assignment, with relevant university certificates and relevant supporting documents and testimonials.


6. Names and contacts of three referees (phone numbers and email)


7. A one-page write-up showing why you think you are most suitable for this consultancy

If you believe you are the right candidate for the above consultancy and can clearly demonstrate your ability to deliver on it and meet the qualifications required, then submit the above-mentioned documents with the subject heading: Consultancy for PENELI III Mid Term Evaluation.

The closing date for applications is 15th March 2019. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted

APPLY ONLINE