Project Evaluator

RIDS-Nepal

Details / requirements:

RIDS-Nepal

The Statement of Work for Final Evaluation of Holistic Community Development Project in three villages of Jumla, Nepal

BACKGROUND:

Rural Integrated Development Services, Nepal (RIDS-Nepal), is a not for profit NGO established in 2002 and registered with the Nepal government in 2005. RIDS-Nepal is also formally registered with the District Administration Office Lalitpur and the Social Welfare Council Nepal. It works with high-altitude, impoverished mountain communities in the Jumla and Humla Districts, to improve their overall quality of life through RIDS-Nepal’s developed, and long-term Holistic Community Development (HCD) programs. 

Based on RIDS-Nepal’s practical experience since 1996 of working with remote, impoverished people groups, the Holistic Community Development (HCD) concepts of the “Family of 4” and “Family of 4 PLUS” have been developed. They include projects and programs addressing the most urgent and often identified needs by the local communities. A central aspect of the HCD concepts is to maximize the use and capacity of the local available resources in its people, environment and cultural context.

The HCD concepts of the “Family of 4” and “Family of 4 PLUS” programs are implemented through RIDS-Nepal’s 3-Tier Working Concept:

  1. Baseline- and Follow-up Surveys for need- , evaluation- and project impact- assessments. Skill- and maintenance-training for the local end users and the RIDS-Nepal staff.
  2. “Family of 4” and “Family of 4 PLUS” HCD Project Design and Implementation.
  3. Project Follow-Up, Evaluation, and Research & Development of new, context-related technologies, infrastructures, educational programs, teaching and training materials, and project management.

PROJECT BRIEF FACTS/FIGURES:

Full Name of Implementing Organisation: RIDS-Nepal (Rural Integrated Development Services, Nepal; www.rids-nepal.org)

Project Title: Holistic Community Development Program in three villages of Jumla, Nepal

Location: Chaudabise Valley, North-East Jumla District, Huri Chhuma and Gadhigaun villages

Project Duration: 13th August 2013 to 16th July 2017

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Charitable Foundation SYMPHASIS issued a funding commitment letter on the 19th July 2013 to RIDS-Switzerland/RIDS-Nepal for its project entitled “Holistic Community Development Program in Jumla, Nepal”. The duration of the project is 4 years, from the 13th August 2013 to the 16th July 2017 including the approval of a no additional cost extension for six months approved in January 2016. The three project partnering villages of Huri, Chhuma and Gadhigaun are located in the north-eastern part of the Jumla district, (in the two Village Development Committees (VDCs) called Chhumchaur (Huri and Chhuma) and Patrasi (Gadhigaun),) at an altitude between 2,730 – 2,868 meters above sea level. 

The overall goal is to improve the living conditions and wellbeing of 443 (originally included in the proposal were 390) households with a total of 2,759 people (based on the latest data verification conducted in December 2016) in the 3 project villages of Chhuma, Huri and Gadhigaun, through a long-term Holistic Community Development (HCD) project.

Project Period (short-term) goals (2013 – 2017):

  • Pit Latrines (PL) built and in proper use in all 443 households.
  • Smokeless Metal Stoves (SMS) installed and in proper use in all 443 households.
  • Access to clean drinking water in the villages from tap stands near the homes of all 443 households.
  • 12 people trained in Drinking Water System (DWS) repair and maintenance.
  • A Slow Sand Water Filter (SSWF) for safe and clean drinking water installed in all 443 households.
  • 200 Greenhouses constructed and functional.
  • 100 Solar Driers installed and functional.
  • 15 Solar Cookers installed and in use.
  • 10 scholarships provided for young women and men from the three project partnering villages for vocational education (2 ½ years apprenticeship) at the Karnali Technical School (KTS) in Jumla.
  • 5 people trained and equipped to install, maintain and repair electrical house wiring.
  • 130 Malnourished children <5 years of age have received nutrition support.
  • 130 mothers have received training on nutrition and immunization.
  • Support provided to 6 improved water flour mills in three villages.
  • Triveni Micro-Hydro Power (MHP) Plant water overflow pipe-line built and functional, so that the 45 kW micro-hydro power plant, providing electricity for indoor lighting to five villages (610 households) can run uninterrupted if needed. 

Long-term goals (from 2017 onwards, monitoring and following-up beyond the proposed project period):

  • Improved, overall living conditions for all 443 families. Measurably better health and hygienic conditions for the families and in the villages.
  • Increased food security for 200 families through increased access to locally grown vegetables
  • in the high-altitude greenhouses, resulting in improved access to locally grown food from the previously for 4-5 months to 9-10 months per year.
  • Measurable reduction in health related incidents through access to clean drinking water, in all of the 443 households. 
  • All three Village Drinking Water systems are repaired, updated (extended due to population growth), and functional with the help of local people trained to run and maintain them.
  • 443 households have a Slow Sand Water Filter (SSWF) installed for safe and clean drinking water.
  • Measurably reduced cases of diarrhea, intestinal infections/worms/amoebae, skin diseases and respiratory diseases among all gender/ages, through the proper use of the SMS, PL and access to clean and sufficient drinking water.
  • Measurably reduced drudgery and time spent per week by women collecting firewood and fetching and carrying drinking water which is now available from a water tap stand near each home.
  • Decrease in firewood consumption by up to 40% through the proper use of the SMS (smokeless metal stove) and the few model parabolic solar cookers, installed for testing, awareness raising for alternative cooking methods and propagation purposes.
  • 10 skilled professionals from the three project partnering villages having graduated from KTS with a 2 ½ years professional apprenticeship education.
  • Increased awareness of >50% of the people from the 3 villages for the need of Holistic Community Development (HCD) programs.
  • Increased access to energy services for 80% of the people in the three partnering villages
  • through electricity for basic indoor lighting and some appliances such e.g. mobile phone and torch battery charging (through a micro-hydro power plant NOT built by RIDS-Nepal), the SMS for cooking, room heating and hot water from the stainless steel water tank attached to the SMS for drinking and personal hygiene, solar cooker, more food grown in high-altitude greenhouses and dried in the solar drier to store for the winter months.
  • Increased income generation from selling fresh or dried vegetables grown in the high-altitude greenhouse on the local market.

The Evaluation's SoW (Scope of Work):

This Scope of Work (SoW) is developed to conduct the final evaluation of the HCD projects implemented in the three project partnering villages of Jumla. The SoW details are as following:

1. Final Project Evaluation Objectives 
The objectives of the project evaluation are to:

  • explore the level of progress/changes made by the project and analyze the extent to which the achievements have supported the program goals and their objectives,
  • evaluate the project effectiveness -- longitudinal effect and continuity of the project activities/services as well as the scope and extent of the institutionalization of the project,
  • explore the cost effectiveness of the project activities,
  • identify the target and level of achievements as specified in the project agreement,
  • explore the coordination between the concerned line agencies in the project districts,
  • identify and describe the important lessons learned in order to be replicated in future projects. 

Based on the above said evaluation objectives, the evaluation will concentrate on the assessment of the following issues:

  • Community/social/public auditing practices in the program/project areas.
  • Project’s coordination mechanism with local bodies and other line agencies.
  • Level of public/community participation
  • The extent of social inclusion in the project implementation.
  • Impact of the project in the community
  • Changes brought by the project/programmes in the community.
  • Effectiveness of the RIDS-Nepal - village communities’ project partnership in the implementation of the project.
  • Village communities’ voluntary project participation and contributions and the impact on project ownership.
  • Degree of to-date completion of the project activities against the project proposal.
  • Degree of sustainability reached to date of the implemented projects/programs .
  • Degree of the project’s targets and achievements, as per the project agreement achieved.
  • Case studies of successful and unsuccessful projects/programs, as lesson to be learnt.
  • Socio-ethical issues governing the project implementation.

2. The Evaluator must undertake the following activities:

  • Prepare a strategy, time plan and budget for the evaluation team and present it to the RIDS-Nepal leadership for feedback and approval.
  • Review all the relevant documents/agreements, project documents, planning framework, progress reports, and baseline study reports.
  • Visit the project sites and conduct survey, focus group discussions and interviews with the end users and all relevant stakeholders
  • Propose future works and programs in order to increase project long-term sustainability.
  • Share the draft report with the RIDS-Nepal leadership team for comments and feedback.
  • Submit the final evaluation report to RIDS-Nepal after incorporating any suggestions.

3. Scope and Focus
The evaluation will cover all project aspects and activities of the implemented programs. It will specifically focus on the following levels (if applicable).

Strategic level

  • Evaluation of the project’s relevance for the local needs, context and culture
  • Planning and documentation
  • Partnership and networking

Implementation level

  • Sufficiency and quality of resources used
  • Reporting, monitoring and evaluation system
  • Compliance with project agreement

Organizational level

  • Effectiveness of organizational management system
  • Effectiveness of program implementation and management system

4. Methodology of Final Evaluation
The Evaluator will adopt the following methodologies for evaluation:

  • Review of related project documents/agreements/progress reports, website information, etc.Discussions in the offices of RIDS-Nepal before departure to project sites.
  • Survey and Focus group discussions with the user groups and individuals.
  • Personal inspections of the project sites.
  • Interviews with RIDS-Nepal field and KTM office staff before and after the field visits.
  • Discussions with the project end user, PIC (project implementation committee) groups, contact officers related line agency officials (e.g. local Jumla government officers, VDC chairperson Ward chair)
  • Instruments:

             Focus Group discussions,

             End user interviews,

             Structured and non-structured questionnaires,

             Observation checklists,

             Evaluation forms.

In addition to the study methodology mentioned above, the Evaluator may add and apply other methods, as it seems necessary to achieve the objectives of the evaluation.

5. Composition of the Evaluation Team
The evaluation team will comprise of 3 Members as mentioned below:

  1. Program Expert (Outside) - Team Leader
  2. RIDS-Nepal Jumla Program Coordinator - Member
  3. RIDS-Nepal Support Staff - Member

6. Roles and responsibilities of the team leader/members
The project evaluation team leader will be responsible to conduct all the activities agreed as part of the evaluating mission. The members will perform their works as specified by the team leader.

a. Team Leader

  1. coordinate and lead the evaluation team
  2. prepare a suitable strategy for the team
  3. allocate the responsibilities for the team members
  4. gather and analyze all relevant information
  5. provide the framework for all the activities for the team to be accomplished before the fieldwork starts
  6. adopt the appropriate evaluation methodology to fulfill the evaluation objectives
  7. receive feedback and suggestions from team members
  8. write a comprehensive evaluation report
  9. present the draft and final evaluation report to RIDS-Nepal for initial feedback and final approval respectively.

b. Team Member

  1. participate actively in each step of the evaluation function as instructed by the team leader
  2. Provide analytical written/ inputs/ suggestion/feedback to the team leader.
  3. accomplish the responsibilities as per the direction of the team leader
  4. assist the team leader in accomplishing the evaluation objectives

7. The remuneration and other logistic arrangement

The evaluator's total fixed remuneration is NRs.160,000 including tax).

The logistic arrangements for the field visit, including accommodation (lodging & fooding) and travel and transportation cost will be covered by RIDS-Nepal.

8. Evaluation Report
The evaluation will result in the drawing-up of a report written in straightforward manner in English, including a tightly drafted, to the point, and free standing Executive Summary that appears at the beginning of the report. It should focus on the key issues of evaluation, the main outcomes of the analysis, and has to clearly indicate conclusions, lessons learnt, and specific recommendations. The report format as presented in the Annex 1 could be helpful for team leader. The final evaluation report should be submitted on hard and soft copy to the RIDS-Nepal leadership team. The draft report should be submitted to the RIDS-Nepal leadership team for its review and remarks. Opinions of the RIDS-Nepal will be incorporated in the final report.

9. Evaluation Schedule
The evaluation schedule will be decided with the mutual understanding between the evaluator and RIDS-Nepal.

10. Evaluation Period
This agreement starts on April 13, 2017 and ends on May 13, 2017. The key dates and tasks of this evaluation are as follows:

Days        Tasks

5 days      Pre-field works such as documents review, evaluation design etc

10 Days     Field Work in Jumla

5 Days      Post field works such report writing, presentation etc.

The agreement may be amended as per mutual agreement of both parties.

11. Payment Procedures

RIDS-Nepal provides 40% of agreed amount to the evaluator at the assignment of the evaluation work and remaining 60% will be paid after the successful completion of the assignment. The standard tax rate as per the prevailing rules and regulations will be applied.

12. Liability
RIDS-Nepal will accept no liabilities for any kind of losses and damages that may occur during the execution of the assignment. We under signed both parties (RIDS-Nepal and the Evaluator) read understood and commit to carryout above said clauses and statements accordingly.

Interested and eligible individual consultants/ firm should submit letter of Interest (Cover Letter) and updated Curriculum Vitae of lead consultant and other team member/s by March 25, 2017 via email to rids-nepal@rids-nepal.org. Only short-listed candidates will be called for further screening process.

Telephone enquiries will not be entertained.

Annex 1

General Structure of the Evaluation Report

Outline and Executive Summary Part

Title page
Acknowledgement
Table of Contents
List of Tables
List of Figures/Diagrams
List of Annexure
List of Appendices
List of Abbreviations

Executive Summary (concise summary of the evaluation report with an attempt to give information pertaining to WHY?, WHO?, WHAT?, HOW? and WHERE? The Executive Summary has to include the lessons learnt as well as the most severe problems which demand immediate correction by the concerned agencies. The purpose of this section is to give the reader a representative summary and detailed findings of the evaluation report. It should not exceed 3 pages in length.)

Main Body

SECTION I

INTRODUCTION

1.1: Project Background
1.2: Project Objectives
1.3: Intended Outcomes of the Project
1.4: Intended Beneficiaries of the Project
1.5: Objectives of the Evaluation
1.6: Scope of the Evaluation
1.7: Evaluation Research Questions
1.8: Organization of the Study Report

SECTION II

METHODOLOGY OF EVALUATION

2.1: Study Approach
2.2: Study Designs
2.3: Selection of the Participants
2.4: Study Instruments/Tools of Data Collection
2.5: Mechanism for Fieldworks
2.6: Data Presentation and Analysis Techniques
2.7: Work Schedules of the Study
2.8: Limitations of the Study.

SECTION III

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

Format and structure should be based on the identified scope-objectives–research questions set in  Section I. Representative case studies, and narratives should be placed to verify the qualitative and quantitative nature of the information from the perspectives of the user groups/beneficiaries. The final and neatly composed summary of findings aims to answer all research questions.

SECTION IV

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

4.1: Summary

Give a quick overview of the overall task, its structure, objectives, purpose, methodology, and instrumentation Provide a clear picture of the key findings reflecting the project status, uses/misuses, rationalities, etc., followed by lessons learnt.

4.2: Conclusions

Based on the overall evaluation study and report, highlight 2-3 points which the evaluation team considers central to the evaluation report and its analysis.

4.3: Recommendations

Provide final, to-the-point, action-oriented recommendations for any corrective or improving measures to be undertaken in order for the project to continue to provide the achieved benefits for the end users beyond the defined project period. Identity through whom and within which time frames these measures should be applied.

Supplementary Part

REFERENCES

Reference on project agreement, evaluation reports etc. can be included in this section of the evaluation report

ANNEXXES

All the data collection tools/instruments, pictures taken during the field evaluation process to be placed in page-by-page order.

APPENDICES

All necessary financial analysis and statistical facts related to the project components should be placed in page-by-page order. These should be referred to in the main body of the text.

Overview

Category Development and Project
Openings One
Experience 5+ years
Education Post Graduate / Masters in related field.
Posted Date 20 Mar, 2017
Apply Before 25 Mar, 2017
City