NRC Evaluation Terms of Reference
External Evaluation of WASH Programme in Dadaab Refugee Camps, Kenya
Country: Kenya
Duration: 5 weeks
Reporting to: The Evaluation Steering Committee
1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION
1.1 Background on the conflict/context
Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya was established in the year 1991 to settle refugees who were displaced following the inter-clan conflicts that broke out in Somalia. In 2011, a devastating famine caused by prolonged drought in the Horn of Africa region resulted to displacements and influxes of more than 160,000 refugees from Somalia into the Dadaab camps. Consequently, the displaced population increased over the years from the initial total of 90,000 refugees to 343,884[1] refugees, residing in the five Dadaab camps; Hagadera, Dagahaley, Ifo, Kambioos and Ifo 2.
1.2 Background on the thematic area in this context (e.g. not NRC intervention specific but for example the WASH situation in the country)
NRC is currently the lead WASH partner for UNHCR providing Water, Sanitation and Hygiene promotion to the refugees living in Hagadera and Kambioos camps. In Hagadera camp, NRC started implementing WASH programme in April 2012 after handover by CARE and water supply component in January 2013 after handover by Oxfam in Kambioos. Meanwhile, implementation of Sanitation and Hygiene promotion activities in Kambioos camp commenced in June 2014. The old and dilapidated water reticulation system required constant repair and maintenance in order to maintain the minimum SPHERE and UNHCR standards on water supply. Currently; NRC operates 9 boreholes of which 7 are now operating on solar-diesel hybrid water pumping systems, 10 elevated storage tanks where 8 are 100m3 capacity each, 1 is 150m3 and another is 250m3, and other ground storage tanks, and the entire water reticulation systems in both camps. The average water per capita was maintained at 23.1l as at end of May 2016.
The sanitation standards among the target population still remain a challenge despite significant improvements over the years. Latrine census conducted in July 2015 by NRC indicated that 8 persons shared 1 latrine (1:8) which is below the locally recommended standards of 1:5. 48% of the total households did not have a latrine, while 13% of the existing latrines were filled up and not functional. Access to latrines in the schools within the camps has been a challenge, with low latrine coverage due the high school enrolment. Crude method of solid waste disposal within the refugee camps is another major challenge that poses a great risk to Public health. The outbreak of a Cholera epidemic in the Dadaab camps in November 2015 following the long rains has resulted to increased and critical WASH needs, requiring robust response to address them, especially the Sanitation and hygiene situations. By 25thMay 2016, a total of 1,793 patients have been line-listed for Cholera treatment at the Hospitals in Dadaab. A total of 14 deaths have been reported from all the 5 Dadaab refugee camps.
1.3 NRC’s Presence and Activities in the Country
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has been in operation in Dadaab since 2007 under the NRC Horn of Africa, Uganda, South Sudan and Yemen mission which currently covers 8 countries. NRC has been implementing different projects in all the 5 Dadaab camps under its 5 core competencies: Shelter; Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH); Education; Food Security; and Information Counselling and Legal Assistance (Voluntary Repatriation services). Following the scale up of the WASH programme in Hagadera and Kambioos camps from 2012, NRC is the lead agency responsible for the provision of WASH services in the two camps, reaching a total population of 124,666 persons (UNHCR data, April 2016). The WASH projects have been funded by the UNHCR, ECHO, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA), BPRM, SIDA and UNICEF.
Over the years, NRC has been working closely and in coordination with UNHCR and other humanitarian agencies in providing basic and life-saving services to the refugees and host community. Since the onset of the cholera outbreak on 18th November 2015, NRC has responded extensively to the crisis with the effort to contain the outbreak in Dadaab, specifically focusing on Hagadera and Kambioos camps, in close coordination and collaboration with UNHCR, UNICEF, Department for Refugees Affairs (DRA), IRC and other WASH actors, government line Ministries, and the affected populations.
Outside of Dadaab (Garissa County), NRC runs similar projects in the Kakuma (XX County) targeting refugees mainly from South Sudan and in Mandera (YYY County) targeting mainly internally displaced persons (IDPs). The Dadaab operation remains the biggest of NRC’s operations in Kenya.
1.4 NRC’s Intervention (related to the core competency to be evaluated)
NRC has been implementing a full package of water supply, sanitation (including solid waste management), and hygiene promotion activities in the two camps – Hagadera and Kambioos, while working as the implementing partner of UNHCR. The overall objective of the WASH programme is to ensure that people affected by displacement, including vulnerable persons have improved public health status and living conditions, by ensuring that supply of potable water to the refugees is increased and maintained, and that the refugees live in satisfactory conditions of sanitation and hygiene. These are the specific objectives agreed on by UNHCR and WASH actors in Dadaab.
1.5 The specific project to be evaluated
In 2016, NRC has planned to carry out an evaluation of the Dadaab WASH programme in order to assess the progress towards achieving the overall objective, which is in line with the NRC Kenya WASH strategy. NRC has been conducting baseline and technical assessments, and knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) surveys over the years, and has internal monitoring mechanisms such as the KAP surveys, Post Distribution Monitoring (PDM), weekly monitoring of field activities, and regular meetings, including technical review meetings. Therefore, the planned evaluation will build upon existing internal M&E information.
The table below summarizes NRC’s specific interventions with reference to the evaluation:
Activity
Period
Water supply expansion (pipe networks, tap stands, storage tanks, etc.)
April 2012 to June 2016
Water supply operation and maintenance (boreholes, pipe networks, etc.)
April 2012 to June 2016
Emergency water supply
April 2012 to June 2016
Water treatment and water quality monitoring
April 2012 to June 2016
Latrine construction
April 2012 to June 2016
Solid waste management
April 2012 to June 2016
Hygiene promotion
April 2012 to June 2016
Cholera preparedness and response
September 2015 to June 2016
Renewable energy and other innovations
March 2014 to June 2016
Partnerships with other humanitarian actors, commercial and government agencies
April 2012 to June 2016
2. PURPOSE OF EVALUATION AND INTENDED USE
The planned WASH programme evaluation is part of the NRC’s strategic plan for improving programme quality and effectiveness.
The main purposes of the evaluation exercise are to:
1) Determine the level of progress towards achieving the overall goal of the WASH programme, as per the NRC Kenya WASH Strategy.
2) Address the following key questions;
a) Has NRC been able to reach the right people through the WASH programme?
b) Were the interventions relevant to the achievement of the overall WASH goal? Was NRC able to address the basic and life-saving needs of the target group, in line with agreed strategies and as per the internationally recognized and recommended standards?
c) If any, how has the WASH programme contributed to durable solutions for the refugees in Dadaab camps?
d) How well were the interventions coordinated?
e) Were there constraints, if any, encountered towards achieving better effectiveness within the programme and how well were they mitigated?
f) What evidence is there (if any) that learning (M&E) from previous WASH projects were incorporated into the implementation strategies?
3) Determine and document the level of preparedness and the extent to which NRC responded to cholera outbreaks in Dadaab camps, including the most recent the ongoing cholera outbreak. How were NRC’s interventions coordinated with other actors? What key lessons learnt that could be utilized to help improve NRC’s preparedness and response towards similar crisis in the future?
4) Identify and document innovations, best practices and areas of learning opportunities.
The evaluator shall compile the findings and recommendations or options that could be utilized by NRC for purpose of upscaling and improving the quality of the WASH programme and potential future projects in related fields, through addressing questions such as:
· What are the positive aspects and how can we can build on these in the future?
· What are the negative aspects we should avoid or improve on?
· What could be the solutions to those problems?
Furthermore, the evaluator will be expected to provide constructive and detailed propositions for innovative approaches in response to the findings of the evaluation. The consultant will provide a 1 to 2 pager infographic (facts, what’s good, what’s not so good & recommendations) each for Hagadera and Kambioos camps to be shared along with the final report. This will serve as a visual summary of the evaluation report. The evaluation findings and recommendations shall be utilized by NRC for improving the quality of its ongoing WASH programme in Dadaab.
3. SCOPE OF WORK AND LINES OF INQUIRY
3.1 Evaluation Scope:
The evaluation work shall be carried out in Hagadera and Kambioos refugee camps, covering the period between April 2012 and June 2016. The process shall be based mainly on review of available documents, interviews with relevant stakeholders and field visits.
The evaluator will be expected to perform the following main tasks:
1) Design the evaluation methodology and relevant tools to be used.
2) Develop the evaluation matrix
3) Conduct a desk review of available documents e.g. project proposals, project reports, M&E matrices, logical frameworks, budgets, work plans, any relevant documentation, and the current WASH situation in the whole of Dadaab refugee camps.
4) Carry out consultations with the WASH actors in Dadaab and key stakeholders (UN agencies, NGOs and the Government).
5) Document specific innovations, best practices and lessons learnt during the years.
6) Conduct training of enumerators.
7) Conduct visits to the project sites.
8) Compile draft report and submit to the evaluation committee for review
9) Prepare final report (using the NRC’s evaluation reporting format to be provided by the start date) and submit to NRC.
3.2 Lines of inquiry:
The consultant shall ensure that all key stakeholders are involved in the evaluation process:
· NRC
· Project beneficiaries – individuals/households/families i.e. persons of concern in Hagadera and Kambioos camps; ensure that related gender issues are considered with participation from women, men, girls, boys, youth, elderly persons and those with special needs, key informants, camp leaders, WASH committees, community workers e.g. hygiene promoters.
· UNHCR, UNICEF and Government line ministries.
· Other organizations operating in Dadaab
4. METHODOLOGY
The evaluation methodology and tools to be designed by the evaluator are expected to:
- Clearly indicate how data shall be collected and analyzed, and should be able to answer the key evaluation questions.
- Deepen the understanding of the quantitative results from the baseline and other surveys.
- Capture qualitative information not covered in the surveys.
- Investigate how the beneficiaries’ new knowledge and strengthened capacities gained through the project are being applied in practice.
- Highlights advocacy issues encountered during the project implementation and how it could be improved.
- Address innovation or added value to NRC and entire Dadaab refugee operation.
The external consultant is expected to focus more on the outcomes of the WASH programmes and not necessarily the outputs, as NRC has processes in place to record them. Output data shall be made available to the consultant for review.
All NRC evaluations are required to respond to two additional ‘Evidence Case Study’ which address a strategically important questions for NRC.
5. EVALUATION FOLLOW UP AND LEARNING
NRC’s programme staff, Monitoring and Evaluation team, and the senior management team do follow up on the findings and recommendations from evaluations conducted under any specific programme. The similar arrangement will be made, whereby learning from the exercise will be shared with the WASH programme staff and programme management teams at field and Country office, the NRC’s Advocacy department, as well as with the line Technical Advisors at the Head office. These will inform design and follow up on the ongoing and future WASH interventions, helping to improve the WASH programme quality and effectiveness. Key learning documented will be disseminated to other NRC country programmes, and relevant stakeholders such as UNHCR, UNICEF, other WASH actors, and Donors.
This evaluation, including the case studies will contribute to an annual learning review which feeds into annual strategic planning processes.
6. EVALUATION PRINCIPLES
· The views expressed in the report shall be the independent and candid professional opinion of the evaluator. The evaluation will be guided by the following ethical considerations:
· Openness - of information given, to the highest possible degree to all involved parties
· Public access - to the results when there are not special considerations against this
· Broad participation - the interested parties should be involved where relevant and possible
· Reliability and independence - the evaluation should be conducted so that findings and conclusions are correct and trustworthy
7. COORDINATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE EVALUATION
An evaluation steering committee has been established with the following NRC staff members:
- Mohamed Bundu – Area Manager Dadaab, Kenya (Chairperson)
- Neil turner – Country Director Kenya
- Catherine Nyokabi – Grants Coordinator Kenya
- Mohamed Biely – Regional M&E Manager
- Under recruitment - Regional WASH Advisor
- Richard Bauer – Global WASH Advisor
- Lian Bradley – Global M&E Advisor
The Committee is led by the Chairperson, responsible for overseeing the entire evaluation process, while facilitating access to information, documentations, travels, and field logistics. The Evaluation committee will oversee the administration and overall coordination, including monitoring the progress. The main functions of the Steering committee will be:
· To establish and approve the Terms of Reference of the evaluation;
· Select the external evaluator/consultant;
· Review and approve the proposed evaluation methodology/strategy and relevant tools to be developed by the evaluator;
· Monitor the evaluation process
· Review and comment on the draft evaluation report;
· Approve the final report
· Establish the dissemination and utilization strategy.
The following documents shall be made available for review by the evaluator (all are in
English):
- Project proposals, including narrative, work plans, logical frameworks and budgets.
- KAP surveys reports and relevant assessments.
- Final reports for the WASH projects funded by the different donors.
- M&E matrices
- WASH Strategy for NRC Kenya.
- Security briefing and situational updates.
In addition, NRC shall:
- Make available, counterpart staff for necessary support in the field
- Make prior contact with relevant stakeholders
- Provide transportation and accommodation needed during the evaluation. Meanwhile, the evaluator is expected to arrange for own meals and other necessary upkeeps for the period of the assignment.
8. DELIVERABLES AND REPORTING DEADLINES
All NRC evaluations should include the following:
· An inception report (see separate guidelines)
· A presentation of findings and recommendations which are discussed and validated and key learnings documented.
· Draft Report
· Final Report
All material collected in the undertaking of the evaluation process should be lodged with the Chair of the NRC Evaluation Steering Committee prior to the termination of the contract.
9. TIMEFRAME
The evaluation work shall take a maximum of 5 weeks, starting by 27th June 2016. Field work in Dadaab is expected to take about 3 weeks. During the last 2 weeks of the period, the consultant will be expected to draft the report, share with NRC evaluation committee for review and then submit the final report to NRC by 29th July 2016.
The consultant shall work under the supervision of the Area Manager (SC Chairperson) or his deputy, with some guidance from the M&E Team and technical support from the line Technical Advisors based at the Country and Head Office.
Deliverable
Timeline
Detailed work plan
3 days after the signing of the contract
Desk study – review of project documents, good practice M&E approaches, etc.
1 week after the signing of the contract
Data collection tools e.g. methodology, interview guides, stakeholder questionnaires, observation checklists
1 week after the signing of the contract
Evaluation matrix
1 week after the signing of the contract
Training of enumerators
1st week from the evaluation start date
Meeting of relevant stakeholders, interviews, field visits/work.
2nd & 3rd week from the evaluation start date
Draft report and findings presented to the evaluation committee
4th week from the evaluation start date
Final report
5th week from the evaluation start date
10. EVALUATION CONSULTANT TEAM
NRC seeks expressions of interest from people with the following skills/qualifications
Desired background and experience:
- Demonstrated 5 years’ experience in planning, formulation and implementation of WASH projects
- Previous experience conducting similar tasks in camps or conflict-affected contexts such as Dadaab
- Excellent report writing skills
- Excellent communication skills; experience facilitating trainings/workshops will be an advantage
- Knowledge of the international humanitarian standards such as Sphere and WHO, related to WASH sector.
- Previous experience working with international humanitarian organizations or UN agencies.
- Master or Bachelor’s Degree in WASH/Public Health or related fields.
HOW TO APPLY:
APPLICATION PROCESS AND REQUIREMENTS
Application Deadline: Monday 13th June 2016
Interested Firm/Consultant should submit a maximum 6 page EOI indicating:
- Interest letter; outlining methodology and tools for data collection, management and analysis to be used, and the approach briefing note.
- CV (as annex) or outline of relevant skills and experience possessed by the consultant who will be carrying out the tasks and any other personnel who will work on the project.
- Examples of relevant work, with contacts of at least three organizations, preferably in the last 5 years that have contracted the consultant/firm to carry out WASH Programme evaluation or WASH combined with other sectors e.g. Health/Nutrition, Education.
- Detailed financial proposal, including consultancy fee.
- Be able to complete the assignment within the proposed timeframe (no later than 29th July 2016)
Interview dates:
Bids must include the following:
- Proposal including, outline of evaluation framework and methods, including comments on the TOR, proposed timeframe and work plan (bids over 6 pages will be automatically excluded).
- Proposed evaluation budget
- CVs and evidence of past evaluations for each team member
Submit completed bids to the NRC’s Evaluation Committee. Application must be completed online only atwww.nrc.no by 13th June 2016.
