TERMS OF REFERENCE-End Evaluation of SSLI-5 and Proposal Development for Next Phase of SSLI Project

TERMS OF REFERENCE (ToR)

End Evaluation of SSLI-5 and Proposal Development for Next Phase of SSLI Project

Shangri-La Development Association (SDA)

1.     Background

Shangri-La Development Association (SDA) is a non-government, non-profit, youth-led organization established in 2014 with the aim of promoting inclusive community development. SDA has implemented multiple integrated development initiatives including the Shangri-La Sustainable Local Initiative (SSLI 1–5), reconstruction projects, COVID response initiatives and various one-time support projects. SSLI is the multi-sector project that integrates education, health, agriculture and support for vulnerable groups.

The SSLI-5 project (April 2023-March 2026) is implemented in Kailash Rural Municipality (wards 3, 4 and 7) of Makwanpur District, and in Karnali Secondary School, Anamnagar, Jumla, targeting approximately 1800 Chepang individuals in Makwanpur and 40 deaf children in Jumla.

SDA seeks to hire a qualified consultant or consulting firm to:

Conduct the End Evaluation of SSLI-5, which will also generate baseline values for the next project phase.

Develop a comprehensive proposal for the next phase of SSLI based on evidence from the evaluation and community needs.

2.     Purpose of the Assignment

Overall Objective

To conduct an evidence-based end evaluation of SSLI-5 and use the findings to develop a high-quality proposal for a new phase of the SSLI project.

Specific Objectives

• Assess the performance, achievements, challenges and changes brought by SSLI-5 at household, community, institutional and local government levels.
• Generate baseline values for the next phase using SSLI-5 end evaluation and SSLI-4 endline data as reference.
• Identify the most relevant needs and priorities of the communities and stakeholders in SDA working areas.
• Recommend whether project working areas should be expanded, or continued as is, based on evidence.
• Recommend which activities in the new project should be:
  • Dropped,
  • Downsized,
  • Handed over to local government,
  • Strengthened or increased,
  • Introduced as new interventions, based on community needs and feasibility.
• Analyze hardware vs. software components and provide appropriate guidance for future programming.
• Provide detailed analysis of project relevance in line with local plans, provincial and federal policies, the SDGs, and community needs.
• Prepare a high-quality proposal for the next phase of SSLI, fully aligned with findings and recommendations of the end evaluation.

3.     Scope of the End Evaluation

The end evaluation shall be conducted in Kailash Rural Municipality.

The evaluation must include:

3.1. Literature and Document Review

• SSLI-5 project proposal
• Annual and quarterly reports
• SSLI-4 end evaluation report
• Relevant national, provincial and local government plans
• Community-level data and prior assessments

3.5. Data Collection & Analysis

The consultant shall propose a mixed-methods approach, including:

3.2.1 Quantitative Methods: Household surveys, School and health facility assessments, MIS and government records review

3.2.2 Qualitative Methods: Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with: mothers’ groups, child clubs, farmers’ groups, FCHVs, teachers, health facility staff, SMCs, youth groups, local representatives

3.2.3 Field observations

The consultant must ensure proper sampling strategy (consultant’s responsibility), enumerator orientation and field pre-testing, data validation, cleaning and analysis, and compliance with data protection and ethical standards

3.5. Indicators

The consultant must measure all required indicators against: SSLI-4 endline baseline values, indicators required for proposal development, and any additional indicators provided by SDA

Consultant must generate baseline values for the new project.

3.5. Thematic Evaluation Areas

The evaluation shall analyze SSLI-5 performance based on criteria: Relevance, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Impact, and Sustainability

Additional thematic areas:

• Hardware & software component performance
• Technology adoption (agriculture, energy, WASH)
• Local government coordination and ownership
• Youth engagement and empowerment
• Support to children with disabilities (especially deaf children)
• Exit strategy and sustainability mechanisms
• Capacity of community-based institutions

3.5. Recommendations Required

The evaluation must provide actionable recommendations on:

• Whether the working area should be expanded based on population, need, feasibility, and resources.
• Activities categorization
  • Activities to drop
  • Activities to downsize
  • Activities to handover to local government
  • Activities to scale up
  • Activities needing redesign
  • New activities to introduce
• Hardware vs. Software
  • Value for money
  • Sustainability
  • Community ownership
  • Institutional readiness
• Government alignment
  • Alignment with local government plans, sectoral plans, federal policies, SDGs, disability inclusion frameworks, agriculture and WASH standards.

4.     Proposal Development Scope

The consultant will develop a comprehensive proposal for the next phase of SSLI, based on the end evaluation findings, community needs, local government priorities and policies, donor priorities (SA/GA), and SDA’s strategic direction.

The proposal must include: Context and problem analysis, clear goal, objectives, outcomes, outputs, detailed activities, theory of change and logical framework (Log frame), monitoring and evaluation (M&E) plan, budget summary, sustainability strategy, risk analysis and mitigation plan, stakeholder and partnership strategy, GESI and disability inclusion strategy, environmental and climate considerations.

The proposal and evaluation report must be aligned.

5. Deliverables

5.1     End Evaluation Deliverables

• Inception Report
• Final methodology and data collection tools
• Cleaned dataset and analysis sheets
• Draft End Evaluation Report
• Final End Evaluation Report
• Baseline values for next project
• Photographs and documentation

5.2.    Proposal Development Deliverables

• Draft proposal for next phase of SSLI
• Revised proposal incorporating feedback
• Final proposal

6.     Timeline

The tentative project timeline for this assignment is from 20th December to 15th February. The milestone timeline setting should be done by consultant in coordination with SDA.  

7.     Payment Modality

• 30% upon submission of draft evaluation report
• 30% upon acceptance of final evaluation report and submission of work plan for proposal development
• 40% after final proposal submission and acceptance

8.     Required Documents from Consultant 

For All Applicants

• Technical proposal
• Financial proposal (consultant fees, enumerator costs, travel, accommodation, data collection, administrative costs)
• CVs of key personnel
• Experience letters
• Samples of similar work
• Copies of legal documents
  • If Firm: Firm Registration Certificate, VAT Registration Certificate, Tax Clearance Certificate
  • If Individual: VAT Registration, Copy of Citizenship

9.     Required Qualifications

• Lead expert/individual consultant should have master’s degree in Development Studies, Social Sciences, Public Health, Agriculture, or relevant field.
• Lead expert/individual consultant should have minimum 5 years of proven experience in baseline/endline surveys, impact evaluations and proposal writing.
• Should have experience with mixed-method research and participatory evaluations.
• Demonstrated track record in multi-sector development projects.
• Experience working with marginalized groups, including indigenous communities and persons with disabilities.
• Strong analytical and report writing skills.

10.     Ethical Standards, Safeguarding and Data Protection

• Informed consent must be ensured for all participants. 
• Confidentiality and anonymity must be maintained. 
• Raw data must be password-protected and deleted after completion unless SDA requests otherwise. 
• Disclosure of project information to third parties is prohibited.
• The consultant must adhere to SDA safeguarding policies.
• All information and outputs remain the property of SDA.
• Use of evaluation materials for external purposes requires written authorization.
• Obligations of non-disclosure remain after the assignment

11.     Application Procedure

Applicants must submit the technical and financial proposals along with all required documents (Section 8):

• Either in a sealed envelope delivered to SDA Head Office, Talchikhel, Lalitpur
• OR via email with a password-protected ZIP file to: hr@sda.org

Password to be shared only after the submission deadline, upon request during the quotation opening meeting

For clarification regarding the ToR, contact: Email: hr@sda.org; Phone: 015230003 (Before 21st December)

Closing date for application: 21st December, 4 PM

Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.