Request for Proposal for External Impact Evaluation (Ref: 13-59 EIE/DFID)
The International Potato Center (CIP) is seeking an External Impact Evaluation Team that will be an independent partner organization that is internationally recognized as a leader and innovator in this field of research with proven expertise in both agriculture and nutrition.
The Center: CIP is a not-for-profit international agricultural research-for-development organization with a focus on potato, sweetpotato, and Andean roots and tubers. Its vision is of roots and tubers improving the lives of the poor. CIP is dedicated to achieving food security, improved well-being, and gender equity for poor people in root and tuber farming and food systems of the developing world. CIP works with partners to contribute high quality science, technology, and capacity strengthening for sustainable science-based solutions. CIP is headquartered in Lima, Peru, with staff and activities in over 30 locations across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. CIP is a member of the CGIAR Consortium. CGIAR is a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future. Its science is carried out by the 15 research centers who are members of the CGIAR Consortium in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations.
The Scaling Up Sweetpotato Through Agriculture and Nutrition (SUSTAIN) is a new 5-year regional project led by the International Potato Center (CIP) with support by DFID, to enhance nutritional security of women and young children in East and Southern Africa through integrated agriculture-nutrition interventions utilizing orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP). The project will scale up successful OFSP technologies and delivery mechanisms developed by the International Potato Center and its partners to reach 1.2 million farming households, as well as 400,000 urban and rural consumers, in Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, and Rwanda.
The Position: In delivering these services, the Evaluator will coordinate closely with but work independently from the Project Team and CIP’s impact assessment economists in the Global Program on Social and Health Sciences, and with Project level monitoring staff.
Scope of the work: Specifically, the External Impact Evaluation Team will be expected to perform the following tasks:
- Develop and facilitate implementation of a rigorous gender-sensitive learning and evaluation framework for the Project.
- Design and implement an independent Impact Evaluation Plan for the Project’s main components
- Review the design of Project implementation plans to ensure compliance with the learning and evaluation framework and external evaluation requirements
- Contribute to publications and regional technical conferences on results and methodologies of Impact Evaluation of agriculture-nutrition interventions
- Contribute to regular project reporting, communications, and review meetings as and when required
Selection Criteria:
- Excellent track record of high-visibility Impact Evaluation and evaluation support services in the context of large research and development projects, preferably encompassing both agriculture and nutrition.
- Leading scientific and technical publications on current methodologies and approaches in impact evaluation in agricultural research and food security context.
- Strong and direct expertise in experimental design and quasi experimental design and in implementing evaluations based on such design.
- An excellent track record of integrating gender and socio-economic analysis into impact evaluation.
- Strong senior research staff capacity available to the Project with excellent skills in both quantitative and qualitative methodologies and with direct experience of surveys and in-depth evaluations.
- Strong capabilities for facilitating development of learning and evaluation frameworks for complex sets of partners.
- Strong collaborative experience working with public, private sector and NGO partners at country and regional levels.
- Successful track record of providing similar services to other CGIAR programs is a definite advantage.
- Track record of work in sub-Saharan Africa both at field and policy level, and requisite language proficiencies (Portuguese, French).
Timeframe and compensation: The consultancy is expected to run for the duration of the project until mid-2018, subject to satisfactory performance. Proposals from interested parties should be submitted by 15 January 2014, and should not exceed 15 pages. The proposals will be evaluated on the technical and cost proposal separately. Only proposals that meet the minimum requirements on the technical basis will have their cost proposals evaluated. Then cost proposals not exceeding $1.2 million USD (753,000 GBP) will be evaluated during the second stage of the evaluation process with the greater consideration given to the lowest cost proposal. Each cost proposal will be evaluated on determination of cost realism, completeness, and reasonableness. Cost realism is defined as the offeror’s ability to project costs which are realistic for the work to be performed; reflect a clear understanding of the requirements, and are consistent with the offeror’s technical capacity. The winning proposal will offer the International Potato Center the Best Value. The Best Value is defined as the offer that results in the most advantageous solution for the International Potato Center, in consideration of the technical, cost, and other factors.
The evaluation team should be able to commence work in March 2014 at the latest. Please send any questions and final Technical and Cost Proposals separately to CIP-GnCOffice@cgiar.org. The project logframe is available on request.
For additional information, including a detailed description of requirements, please click here.
For additional information, including a detailed description of requirements, please click here.
To learn more about CIP please visit http://www.cipotato.org/
