Ethiopia: Consultancy Service for the final evaluation of the project. Bale, Ethiopia

Consultancy Service for the final evaluation of the project

“Strengthening of the Network and Improvement of the Quality of Reproductive Health Services in Bale Zone (Oromia, Ethiopia)”

Contract Title

Consultancy Service for the final evaluation of the project “Strengthening of the Network and Improvement of the Quality of Reproductive Health Services in Bale Zone (Oromia, Ethiopia)”

Reference

AID010135/CCM/ETH

1 Background information

CCM, Comitato Collaborazione Medica, is a non for profit nongovernmental organisation founded in 1968 in Turin, by a group of medical doctors from Piedmont Region in Italy.

Our key mission is to promote the right to health and ensure access to essential health care.

· We are a lay and independent organisation, guided by the values of solidarity, equity, non-discrimination and cultural respect

· We works through long term development projects, believing that health can be really promoted only with stable and durable interventions

· In case of natural disasters or epidemics in the areas where we work, we implements emergency interventions

In regards to Ethiopia, CCM is registered in the country since 1998. CCM projects in Ethiopia aims at contributing to the promotion of a good health and quality of life for the poor and vulnerable people in the most remote areas of the country.

CCM is currently implementing the project “Strengthening of the Network and Improvement of the Quality of Reproductive Health Services in Bale Zone (Oromia, Ethiopia)” started the 1^st May 2014 and planned to be concluded the 31^st August 2017.

The project is funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation – AICS of Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, CCM own funds and other donors.

The project aims at fostering and continuing the provision of technical, managerial and financial support to the Health Authorities of Bale Zone in the Oromia Region of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, with the goal of contributing to increase the access, utilization and quality of health care for mothers and new-borns.

The general objective is to contribute to the improvement of maternal health in the Bale Zone.

The specific objective is to increase the access to preventive and curative maternal services through the involvement of networks of women and Health Extension Workers and through the provision of quality primary services.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned objectives by making women active in their search for preventive and curative services at health facilities, the project seeks to:

· strengthen the prevention and care system at primary level, improving the quality of services in the health facilities and in the community;

· increasewomen’s trust in the health system and in the health workers, involving women’s groups (WDA) in the promotion of maternal health;

· identify sustainable strategies to increase the access to services, by creating community health networks formed by women and health workers;

· reinforce the capacities of local health authorities by increasing their participation to the supervision of primary services and to the community coordination.

The specific objective is meant to be achieved through four Expected Results (ER):

· ER 1) Health Workers trained and able to provide maternal health services at Health Facility and household level

· ER 2) Supporting Regional and Zonal Health authorities in fostering cultural change of attitude towards maternal health fostered among women and within communities

· ER 3) Community networks of health workers and women able to promote an on-going interaction among health actors and to identify actions leading to an increased access to the health care services

· ER 4) Authorities and health workers trained and able to ensure the provision of quality services, coordinate the activities of community networks and promote the sharing of outcomes and best practices

The expected results and the project objectives are planned to be achieved through several activities, including a preliminary needs assessment to ensure a proper planning of project activities; the training of health workers in maternal and child health and in the management of complicated pregnancies deliveries; the purchase of drugs and equipment; the creation of community networks involving Health Extension Workers, Women Development Army and supervisors; the implementation of awareness raising campaigns on MCH and the continuous capacity development of local stakeholders to ensure proper ownership of the project. The proposal, designed and developed in close collaboration with the local health authorities, is based on the results achieved during a previous project implemented in the same area, completed in August 2013, also financed by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

2 Suggested methodology

It is suggested that qualitative and quantitative techniques and internationally accepted scientific tools based on verifiable data and information collection are utilized. Through these data/information shall be both provided by the contracting authority upon his/her request and directly collected during the evaluation thanks to the collaboration with any responsible bureaus. The reliability of these sources can be subject to verification with any concerned entity, including the donor, local authorities, target health facilities, other stakeholders and service provider agencies. Also data from the existing HMIS adopted by the MOH, despite the shortcomings of the system, may give also an overview of the health services status in the area as baseline based on the logical frame work of the project document.

The evaluation techniques may include structured interviews, open-ended questionnaires, direct field observations, analysis and review of reference material and documents supplied by CCM in Bale, Addis Ababa and Torino (Italy). Secondary data sources may also be consulted when appropriate in the interest of final evaluation.

Other methodologies might be employed if considered necessary. Nevertheless, the final methodology designed by consultant should be discussed and agreed with CCM and, if needed, with the donor, before commencement of the evaluation.

In any case, the methodology should at least include:

· In-depth review of the project documents; progress technical, financial and activity reports including monitoring reports by the NGO, the Italian Development Cooperation etc.

· Field visits (direct observations) to project sites including focus group discussions and participatory assessment with the targeted beneficiaries, project staff, stakeholders, bureaus and local authorities, and collection of additional material through semi-structured interviews

· Briefing/debriefing meetings with all project stakeholders (the implementing NGO country office/the project team, local government partners at regional and district -“woreda”- levels, leaders of the respective beneficiary communities, other actors including NGOs, implementing similar actions in the intervention area)

3 Scope of the service

The service required is meant at producing the final evaluation of the project “Strengthening of the Network and Improvement of the Quality of Reproductive Health Services in Bale Zone (Oromia, Ethiopia)”.

The objective of the evaluation is to fully review and assess the results achieved by the project during the period of implementation, as well as its impact and sustainability.

The external evaluation aims at getting a critical analysis on the project life cycle. It will therefore analyze and elaborate deeply on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, constraints and lessons learnt from the project, in order to:

• Evaluate the relevance of the action, compared to the project objective and to the assessed needs,

• Evaluate the efficiency in the utilization of the resources availed by the donor,

• Evaluate the effectiveness of the action carried out,

• Evaluate the impact of the project in the catchment area,

• Evaluate the sustainability of the project

Previous evaluation may be utilized subject to prior arrangement with CCM.

Your final evaluation should meet the following criteria:

Relevance and quality of design

Level of relevance of the project

Are the project overall and specific objectives consistent with, and supportive of Partner Government policies?

How appropriate were the project objectives?

Have the project activities been the best way to achieve the objectives?

If not, which were the alternative options?

Does the project still respond to the needs of the target groups?

Have key stakeholders been involved in the design process?

Efficiency of implementation

Availability/usage of means/inputs managed

How were the resources and budget used?

To what degree were inputs provided / available on time to implement activities from all parties involved?

Were project resources managed in a transparent and accountable manner?

Parties’ capacities in the project implementation

Have the parties been able to perform the responsibilities entrusted to it?

Details required: - How? Where? When? Which Strategies adopted? Interventions? Supervision? Monitoring & evaluation?

Effectiveness

Project planned results achievement

Have the expected results been achieved?

What is the quality of the results/services available?

Have all planned target groups access to / using project results available?

To what extent has the project adapted to changing external conditions (risks and assumptions) in order to ensure benefits for the target groups?

If any unplanned negative effects on target groups occurred to what extent did the project management take appropriate measures?

Were the activities carried out timely and effectively?

Were the activities practiced on good principles and ethically?

Impact

Direct impact prospects of the project at Overall Objectives level

What was the overall impact of activities undertaken to target specific objectives highlighting the major contributory factors for positive and negative aspects?

What evidence is there that the project has had an impact and in which output(s)?

What indicators have been used and evidence gathered by the project team or other stakeholders to reach these conclusions (both quantitative and qualitative)?

What were the threats? How have these been addressed? Could these have been addressed in a different way?

Project’ s indirect positive and/or negative impacts

Have there been any unplanned positive impacts on the planned target groups or other non-targeted communities arising from the project? How did this affect the impact?

Do donor coherence, complementarity and coordination existed and had any indirect impact on the project?

What is the progress of the project interventions towards its intended outputs in the project logical framework?

Sustainability

Target groups’ level of ownership of the project

Prospective of continuity after the end of external support

How far the project is embedded in local structures?

What is the likelihood that target groups will continue to make use of relevant results?

Level of policy support provided Degree of interaction between project and policy level

What is the perception of health counterparts in charge of phasing out of this project? What is their realistic opinion?

What will happen to project activities when the project phases out?

Are there any obstacles hindering project sustainability?

Project’s contribution to institutional and management capacity

How far is the project embedded in institutional structures that are likely to survive beyond the life of the project?

Are project partners being properly developed (technically, financially and managerially) for continuing to deliver the project’s benefits/services?

Will adequate levels of suitable qualified HR be available to continue to deliver the project’s stream of benefits?

Are there good relations with new or existing institutions and are there plans to continue with some or all of the project’s activities?

Financial / economic viability

If the services/results have to be supported institutionally, are funds likely to be made available? If so, by whom?

Are the services/results affordable for the target groups at the completion of project?

4 Expected Outputs

· Final consistent high quality evaluation report along with copy of tools used and an executive summary

· Soft copy of raw data

· Short report on the study approach, sampling technique, size and location and organization of field work

· All documents must be provided in soft copy

5 Users of the evaluation report

Main users of the evaluation will be:

· CCM and his counterparts

· Italian Agency for Development Cooperation – AICS

6 Timeframe

The evaluation shall be conducted and finalized before the 15^th of August 2017 and the report must be submitted before 31^st of August 2017.

The consultant has to planned to visit the project’s areas between 1^st August and 15^th August 2017, for minimum 8 full days to be able to fulfill the activities planned.

7 Proposal submission

In response to these terms of reference, potential consultants are requested to submit a detailed technical and financial proposal outlining how they propose to address the evaluation objectives to the commissioning manager at CCM. The proposal should outline the following:

· Detailed evaluation methodology and approach

· Report outline and suggested content i.e. key section and areas under that sections that you envisage should be addressed by this evaluation

· Detailed Work plan

· The total budget for undertaking the work. Note that the budget must include all the logistic and support expenses (including possible per-diem). Please, note that the total amount on a budget for the consultant service is 6.000 €.

o On top of the 6.000€ for the consultant service, CCM will provide:

§ the transfer from Addis Abeba to Bale Zone by project vehicle

§ the transport in Bale Zone by project vehicle

§ accommodation in Bale Zone compounds

§ flight, insurance and visa

Please, note CCM will provide the above facilitation for ONLY ONE consultant

o Consultants/firm should arrange their accommodation and local transports in Addis Abeba directly.

· CVs of evaluators, detailing qualifications and experience appropriate to the objectives above

· References of previous employers for similar work

· Portfolio of previous evaluations, preferable similar to the project presented

8 Required Qualifications/Expertise

The individual or team should have the following specific experiences and qualification

· In depth understanding of health system in developing countries, with a focus on maternal and neonatal issues

· At least 3-5 years of experience in development sector

· Consistent experience in conducting project evaluation for development and humanitarian projects (minimum 5 evaluations of NGOs projects, in Sub-Saharan countries)

· Experience in conducting qualitative and quantitative research

· Advanced degree in social sciences or MPH

· Excellent reporting and communication skills

· Capability to liaise among different relevant stakeholders at national and local level

· English mandatory (written and oral). Italian and Amharic will be considered as preferable requirement

· Working experience in Ethiopia and specifically Oromia Region is as preferable requirement

9 Evaluation criteria

The consultant proposal shall be evaluated against the following criteria

a)Technical proposal

· Adequacy and technical quality of the proposal for meeting TOR proposed scope and focus

· Background and experience of the consultant firm and/or individuals

b) Financial proposal

· The total financial requirement of the consultant to carry out the task

· Breakdown of the cost proposed activities as set forth in the TOR and the technical proposal of the consultant

10 Terms of payment

The consultants will receive remuneration under the following terms of payment, which will be based on the output of the work and not on the duration that it might take.

· 50 % of the total shall be paid upon signing of the contractual agreement

· 20% of total payment shall be paid upon submission of first draft report

· The remaining 30% shall be paid after CCM approval of the final report

11 Management structure

The Contracting Authority shall be represented by CCM project coordinator, also responsible for the provision of general technical support.

12 Information

Interested candidates should submit the all documents of point 7 to Mrs. Federica Morra, CCM HR Officer, e-mail: federica.morra@ccm-italia.org

no later than Tuesday 11^th July 2017 at 15.00 (CEST time zone).

Request for clarification can be submitted writing to the email address mentioned above.