Consultancy, Evaluation of the NGO Safety Program (NSP) in Kenya

urpose and Objectives of Evaluation:

This external evaluation will take place after the first year of implementation of the 2 years’ NSP Strategy. NSP went through important changes during this period, both in terms of program and internal organization.

The purpose of the evaluation will be to enable NSP Steering Committee, NGOs as well as NSP Donors, to:

• evaluate the impact of NSP on the security of NGOs

• evaluate the impact of the changes NSP has gone through in terms of internal reorganization

The key findings will also help NSP senior management to review and update its strategy, for its second year of implementation.

This evaluation is mandatory as part of NSP agreement with ECHO.

Kindly see more information about NSP on www.nspsomalia.org.

Scope of the Evaluation:

The scope of the evaluation includes a detailed feedback by NSP beneficiaries on each of its services, and an attempt to quantify its impact on their security. It is also expected the evaluation will analyze the organizational set-up of NSP.

It would be important to visit some key places in Somalia / Somaliland where NSP is present. The successful consultant will have to propose a plan for the visit.

Contacts with the following stakeholders are expected:

• NGOs: a representative set of at least 20 INGO and LNGO of the NGO working in Somalia and Somaliland, at both Coordination level and field level.

• Members of the NSP Steering Committee

• NSP Donors and more broadly the Donor community

• OCHA and UNDSS, the natural UN counterpart of NSP in the UN

• NSP Staff

• NGO Consortium

• DRC, in its quality of NSP Hosting Agency

• Ideally a comparative approach and set of comparison with other similar program in the world (ANSO, GANZO)

Evaluation Criteria:

The evaluation should effectively answer the following questions under each criteria:

Effectiveness: To what extent were the project objectives achieved at the results level? Did the benefits reach the target group as intended? Were benefits distributed fairly between different types of NGOs?

Efficiency: To what extent are the costs of project intervention justified by its results, taking alternatives into account?

Relevance: To what extent did the project intervention conform to the needs and priorities of target groups ?

Impact: To what extent and at which level (coordination of field) the project intervention has a direct and / or indirect impact on NGO security

Appropriateness: How well did the humanitarian activities respond to the changing demands of the situation; considering the requirements of adaptation, ownership, accountability, and cost-effectiveness?

Coordination: What mechanisms were put in place for coordination with the NGOs, UN, local authorities, donors, and other actors; and how effective were they?

Key Tasks:

The key tasks for this consultancy are:

• Develop an Inception Report detailing among other things; the process and methodologies to be employed to achieve the objective of this consultancy as stated above. It should include the interview schedules, and important time schedules for this exercise, and present to NSP for review and further inputs.

• Undertake desk review of the relevant project documents that include the Proposals, Implementation Plans, Project Implementation Reports, NSP strategy documents and any other relevant documents and should take into consideration ECHO evaluation guidelines and standards.

• Design data collection methodology as appropriate, guided by the international evaluation standards and relevant framework(s).

• Design, develop, critique (with NSP team) and refine data collection tools including translation to the local Somali language, where appropriate.

• Carry out data collection, entry and analysis and write up the Evaluation Report. The format of the report shall include the following:

       Executive Summary:

• Summary Table of key issues and recommendations; after Executive Summary Preliminary pages – Acknowledgment, Acronyms and Table of contents

       Main text, to include: 

• Background Information: Brief on the Project and context; Evaluation – purpose and objectives; evaluation limitations

• Methodology: Design, Sampling technique and Sample size

• Findings: Analysis based on evaluation criteria and interpretation

• Key accomplishments and Summary of project assessment

• Lessons learnt, Best practices and opportunities for improvement

• Recommendations

    Appendices: Evaluation tools, evaluation ToR, sample framework, bibliography, etc.

N/B: The report will be reviewed and approved by NSP before final payment is released.

• Present the draft report to NSP team for review before producing a second draft

• Present a Draft Evaluation Report (2nd draft report) to NSP, NSP Steering Committee and Donors in a workshop to facilitate sharing of evaluation results with a view to incorporate inputs from project stakeholders in the final draft.

• Submit a Final Evaluation Report to NSP as stated in the Consultancy Contract.

Key Deliverables:

• Four (4) bound hard copies of the Report.

• Soft copy of the Report in two (2) CDs.

• The consultant will also be required to submit to NSP all study materials including:

a. Soft copies of all data sets both quantitative and qualitative

b. All filled quantitative data collection tools and qualitative data recording materials.

c. Any other non-consumable documents/items that will be used in the course of the planned consultancy

NSP’s Responsibilities:

The Consultant will be responsible to the NSP Program Manager. NSP staff in the evaluation areas will provide necessary support to the evaluation team, as may be needed.

NSP will provide the following:

• Transport to and from the field.

• Travel insurance to the consultant

• All necessary project documents as requested by the Consultant

• Accommodation to consultant

• Pay consultancy fees at a mutually agreed rate

The terms and conditions of service will follow DRC terms for consultancies. Payment will be done according to the financial procedures of DRC.

Duration of the Consultancy:

NSP envisages that the consultancy will take 20 days, from the time the contract is signed. The Consultant/Consultancy Firm should develop a feasible work plan/activity schedule covering a maximum of 20 days and submit as integral part of the proposal for this consultancy. The successful bidder must commit to accomplish and deliver the consultancy services and deliverables before or on 31 December 2012 by close of business.

Expected Profile of the Consultant:

For this Consultancy, NSP is expecting to contract 1 lead consultant.

The consultant should have the following:

• Advanced degree and experience in development evaluation or social sciences

• In depth experience in security management for NGOs, whether at a country director level or as the main security manager of an NGO.

• Documented experience in participatory project evaluation

• Be familiarized, as a regular user, to NSP products or other similar security programs

• Experience in evaluating other similar security programs is a strong advantage

• Experience of Somalia is a strong advantage

• Good interpersonal relation and understanding cultural sensitivities

• Strong analytical and report writing skills

• Demonstrable capacity to deliver high quality outputs within the proposed timeframe

Evaluation and award of consultancy

NSP will evaluate the proposals and award the assignment based on technical and financial feasibility. NSP reserves the right to accept or reject any proposal received without giving reasons and is not bound to accept the lowest or the highest bidder.

How to apply: 

If you feel you fit the required profile, please send in an Expression of interest (EoI), including:

1. CV (s) with details of qualifications, experience, telephone number and names of three referees,
2. Technical proposal that summarizes your understanding of the TOR, the proposed evaluation approach and tools to be used,
3. Financial proposal providing a clear and detailed cost estimate and
4. The foreseen work plan for the days.

Send your application latest by Friday 23rd November, 2012 via email to emmanuel@nspsomalia.org indicating ‘NSP Consultancy for Evaluation’ in the subject line.