Consultant

Terms of Reference

Johanniter seeks a consultant for the Final Evaluation of Bringing Back Regular Life: A Project for Psychosocial Support and Safe Space for Earthquake Affected Women and Children in Karthali, Marming and Petku VDCs of Sindhupalchok, Nepal

1. Background and rationale

The devastating earthquakes which struck Nepal in April and May of 2015 are estimated by the Ministry of Home Affairs to have directly affected nine million people, a third of the country’s population, and to have destroyed over 750,000 houses while moderately damaging 2.6 million. More than 8,700 people are known to have died and many more – at least 24,000 – were injured as a result. Sindhupalchok, the epicentre of the second earthquake, was one of the worst hit areas in Nepal. In this district, 99.7% of houses were damaged, leaving many villages entirely uninhabitable. Families saw their livelihoods destroyed or badly impacted by the devastation. Numerous water sources dried up as a result of geological shifts, while farms and villages became exposed to new risks from unstable hillsides. Long after the quakes, landslides blocked roads across Sindhupalchok and many areas could not be reached.

In the immediate aftermath of the earthquakes, Johanniter in collaboration with its local partner, Rural Women Creative Forum (Gramin Mahila Srijanshil Pariwar - GMSP) implemented a short-term emergency relief project, Emergency Aid for Earthquake Victims in Sindhupalchok District. Activities focussed on distribution of relief materials to needy earthquake victims in three village development committees (VDC): Petku, Marming, and Karthali. While distributing emergency aid, GMSP staff came into contact with beneficiaries in need of longer term mental health and psychosocial care, as well as a large number of women facing difficulties in restarting their livelihoods and income generating activities after the earthquakes. Many community members were visibly traumatized and unable to engage in everyday activities. Moreover there was a significant risk of longer term psychological trauma affecting people in these areas.

For women and children living in remote areas of Sindhupalchok District, the situation was desperate. Given the massive physical devastation caused by the twin earthquakes, relief and recovery programmes tended to focus on restoring physical infrastructure in more populated areas of the country. There were few organizations specifically targeting traumatized women and children, particularly those located in rural, highly remote areas. Another reason these needy beneficiaries factor contributing to not prioritising these needy beneficiaries is the broad lack of awareness on mental health and psychosocial illness, coupled with the stigmatization of persons with mental health issues. In consequence, many people suffering from trauma face both social exclusion and exclusion from livelihood opportunities – a fact that increases their risk of falling into or being trapped in poverty.

To meet this challenging situation, Johanniter and GMSP proposed a new series of activities to assist the population of the three VDCs in coping with the situation caused by the earthquakes. These activities focused on restoring livelihoods, encouraging economic empowerment of women, and providing psychosocial care particularly to children and female community members in these three affected areas.

The specific objective of the project was: to contribute to improved psychosocial wellbeing and coping mechanisms among earthquake affected populations.

The planned result of the action were as follows: the community particularly earthquake affected women and children in Karthali, Marming and Petku VDCs suffers less from post-traumatic syndrome and resume normal livelihood activities.

The expected outcomes of the project include:

• Improved mental well-being of women through stress releasing activities, trainings and orientation in Female Friendly Spaces
• Children from targeted VDCs have access to Child Friendly Spaces
• 1000 women who lost their income generating activities are able to rebuild their livelihoods
• Community is strengthened through radio based awareness programming, theatre performances, and stress releasing cultural activities
• GMSP is equipped with a temporary building space to run its programmes

In order to achieve the aforementioned results and outcomes, the following key activities were planned and implemented:

• counselling sessions for women and children
• psychosocial screening and mental health referrals
• establishment and operation of FFS
• establishment and operation of CFS
• creation of self-help groups (“consumer committees”)
• cash grants and other support for livelihood activities
• theatre performances to support normalisation
• radio broadcasts to support normalisation
• cultural activities to support normalisation
• creation of temporary building structure for GMSP

The project was launched in October 2015 and slated to run for 12 months with funding from Aktion Deutschland Hilft (ADH). Subsequently, the implementing partners and donor agreed to extend activities an additional three months until 31 December 2016.

2. Purpose and objectives of the evaluation

This evaluation was planned at the design stage of the project and is part of the contractual agreement with the donor. It represents a vital learning opportunity for GMSP and Johanniter to allow us to understand which elements of the project have functioned well and which have not, thus informing both strategic thinking and planning in this field. It further presents a vital opportunity for GMSP to continue strengthening itself organizationally by capitalizing on its programmatic successes and further developing its functional capacities and direction.

More specifically, the purpose of the evaluation is:

• to assess the performance of GMSP both as an organization and regarding the achievement of programme objectives;
• to understand any challenges to inclusion of the targeted beneficiaries
• to analyse any lasting changes in behaviour among beneficiaries of the project, thus providing insight into longer term impact and sustainability;
• to identify lessons learned and provide recommendations for strategic priority setting as well as the planning of follow-up programmes by GMSP and Johanniter.

3. Scope of work

The evaluation will cover the entire project period from October 2015 until December 2016, assessing project and partner performance in terms of the criteria of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability (financial and organizational), outcome and potential for impact.

Central questions that the evaluation should elaborate on include (but are not limited to):

• To what extent were the project objectives and results achieved? Which factors influenced the achievement or non-achievement of objectives and the sustainability of achievements?
• - What has been the impact of implementing directly through a partner as opposed to working in collaboration with GMSP?
• To what extent have the planned outcomes/results, outputs, objectives and performance indicators been achieved with in the allotted time frame? What is the quality and quantity of the outputs?
• Were the project activities, strategies and methods appropriate and relevant to the local needs and context?
• Did the activities and outputs contribute to achieving the planned outcomes and effects?
• How have the cash grants contributed to reviving and sustaining the livelihoods of recipients? To what extent has participation in the project improved their businesses / micro-enterprises?
• In the context of the defined target group, identify any barriers and facilitators for different members of the target group in accessing the project activities: What prevented or supported members of the target group in accessing the project activities. Do project staff, beneficiaries and communities have the feeling that everyone from the target group had equal access or was it more difficult for specific groups such as children or women with disabilities, elderly women etc. to participate in the different activities? If so, why? Which aspects and measures supported members of the target group in participating in the activities?
• How sustainable are these results? What are the major factors that can influence (positively or negatively) the achievement of project sustainability - at the institutional level and the level of the individual participant?
• What real difference has the activity made to the beneficiaries?
• To what extent did the benefits of the project continue after donor funding ceased?

4. Methodology and Evaluation Approach

The evaluator is expected to gain valuable insight and knowledge about the project through a constructive dialogue with all actors involved, ensuring inclusive and participatory methodologies and a meaningful engagement of stakeholders including staff, partners and beneficiaries. The methodology is expected to involve at least the following:

• Review of project documents (project proposal, quarterly and monthly reports, activity documentation, analytical tools used during project implementation, baseline surveys, etc.);
• Field visits to project areas (Marming, Karthali and Petku) and GMSP office in Sindhupalchok
• Interviews with key staff from Johanniter, GMSP and local officials involved in the implementation and monitoring of the project, as well as other relevant stakeholders
• Focal group discussions and individual interviews with participants and beneficiaries
• Inception workshop to present the inception report and to clarify outstanding questions of all stakeholders and finalise the ToR (incl. evaluation questions, timeframe, methods) with Johanniter and GMSP
• Development of an evaluation matrix based on the briefing to bring refinements and specificity to the terms of reference
• Development of schedule for field visits in mutual coordination with Johanniter and partner GMSP, which will assist the evaluator with a list of potential interviewees and planning of their availability
• Submission of draft evaluation report / lessons learnt for review by Johanniter and GMSP. The evaluator will provide information on the desired interview format (FGD, etc.)
• Submission of final evaluation report and learning paper after receiving comments on the draft text
• Organise and conduct a Validation Workshop for stakeholder consultation and validation of findings.

5. Outputs and deliverables

The evaluator is expected to provide the following documents in English:

• An inception report outlining the key questions and indicators of the evaluation, data collection methods and sources of information for each of the questions, and a work schedule;
• Final evaluation report of approx. 25 pages, including an executive summary of maximum 2 pages, and specific recommendations with regard to a potential follow-up of the project with reasoning; the final report shall address in detail all questions defined under the scope of work.
• Lessons learnt: A learning paper for dissemination (a 5-6 page document) on lessons learnt and best practices, including bullet points plus a minimum of 3 evidence based case studies;

The evaluator is expected to provide a presentation in English on the initial findings with Johanniter staff and selective audience in Kathmandu.

6. Expected profile of the evaluator

The evaluation should be carried out by an individual consultant with the following qualifications:

• Master’s degree or higher academic degree related to Social Sciences, International Relations, International Development, or Economic and Social Development;
• Proven experience of successfully undertaken evaluations in Nepal;
• Fluency in English is essential; fluency in Nepali is a strong asset;
• Demonstrated knowledge of qualitative analysis and participatory evaluation methods;
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills for participatory evaluation.

7. Tentative timetable

• Starting date: March 6, 2017
• Literature review, field work, consolidation and analysis of data to be completed by March 19, 2017.
• The draft report and learning paper to be submitted by March 25, 2017, at the latest.
• The final report and learning paper to be completed by March 31, 2017, at the latest.

8. Management of the Evaluation

The role of the Johanniter Country Office is to contract the consultant, oversee the implementation of the agreed schedule of consultation activities, ensure wide stakeholder consultation and verification of all facts in the report and oversee the production of the final report and follow-up actions. The Country Director will direct and co-ordinate the evaluation in close cooperation with the responsible desk officer and technical advisors at HQ. He will have overall responsibility of the evaluation, provide guidance for the consultant throughout all phases of execution of the evaluation, local support during the field mission (transport, interpretation if needed, support in the arrangement of FGDs and interviews etc.), co-ordination of the review process and approval of the deliverables.

9. Quantity structure

The evaluation will be undertaken in a 25 day period, including the following components:

• Briefings and review of relevant documents: 2 days
• Travel days – total: 4 days
• Field work / data collection: 8 days
• Analysis of data and report writing: 7 days
• Inception Workshop and Validation Workshop (half day each): 1 day
• Incorporation of feedback and finalisation of report: 3 days

10. Budget for the evaluation

In addition to consultancy fees, Johanniter will cover the following costs:

• Daily subsistence allowance in line with Johanniter’s standard rates (nb. Johanniter will not pay allowance for the days the consultant works at his/her home base);
• In-country travel outside Kathmandu (Sindhupalchok District) for field visit 

How to apply:

Proposals should be sent to Johanniter Nepal at: sudha.shakya@thejohanniter.org 

Applications must include:

1. A technical and financial offer in English (max. 3 pages), outlining the evaluator’s understanding of the present terms of reference, the proposed methodology and time schedule, as well as a breakdown of consultancy fees.

2. Curriculum vitae of the proposed evaluator(s).

3. An example of previous similar work/report if available

Deadline for submission of applications: March 1, 2017