Jobs

1. BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The struggle for natural resources has been a central theme in Somalia’s bloody history. Over the past few decades, Somalia has seen escalating land grabs by warlords and uprooted populations, the emergence of commercial militias that are decimating Somalia’s forests and violent clan competition over an increasingly degraded natural resource base.  Traditional livelihoods are under threat and it is becoming harder every year for ordinary Somalis to survive.  Mercy corps implements a USAID funded peace building program; People-To-People Environmental Peace Building in Somalia (PPEPS) in seven regions of Somalia;Sanaag and Sool in Somaliland; Bari, Karkaar, and Nugaal in Puntland; and Mudug and Galgadud in Central Somalia that was initially designed for one and half years (from 30^th September 2010 to 29^th March 2012) but has now a 3 month No-Cost-Extension (NCE) to 30th June 2012. The goal of PPEPS program is to reduce violence in Somalia by helping local actors resolve disputes over land and natural resources.

PPEPS aims to reduce violence in Somalia through the following objectives, guided by theories of change, and activities:

• Objective 1: Strengthen the ability of influential Somalis to resolve land and natural resource conflicts in a sustainable, comprehensive manner
• Objective 2: Engage Somali communities in natural resource initiatives and livelihoods projects that make negotiated agreements more sustainable
• Objective 3: Expand access to alternative energy and fuel efficient technologies through private sector engagement

The PPEPS program implementation techniques used are people-to-people relationship building approaches, dispute resolution (DR) training and dialogue, partnership, Natural Resource Management (NRM) and livelihood activities implemented as development activities used to enhance the dialogue process results. Further, the program has been implemented through a direct implementation approach by Mercy Corps, as well as through a sub-grant mechanism. Four partners were selected for sub-granting after passing through a scored organizational capacity assessment (OCA). The partners are; SOYDAVO and IHU in Somaliland, DAWO in Puntland and SSWC in Central Somalia. SOYDAVO, DAWO and SSWC are mainly implementing the hardware part of the program comprising of development activities, specifically designed joint natural resource management projects, and environmentally sustainable livelihood projects. IHU implemented program areas focusing on dialogue forums involving community leaders.

The following table shows a summary of the program to be evaluated,

3)   PURPOSE OF THE FINAL EVALUATION

The final evaluation is meant to take stock of PPEPS achievements over the past one and half year’s period of implementation. It is to review activities and analyze the extent to which outputs and outcomes have been achieved. The specific purpose of the final evaluation is to carry out a process evaluation of PPEPS to establish the extent to which the program progressed towards its stated objectives, milestones and targets which were set for the life of the program. The primary audience of this evaluation is Mercy Corps, its partners and the donor. This is a process evaluation to answer the following overarching questions:

• Has the program achieved its set objectives and targets?
• Was the implementation processes employed adequate to achieve the set objectives?
•  What recommendations can be drawn from the PPEPS program implementation by all involved parties?  

Specific evaluation objectives

In terms of specific objectives the evaluation will focus on; -

• Evaluate the extent to which PPEPS has contributed to the strengthening of the ability of influential Somalis to resolve land and natural resources conflicts within the program area
• Evaluate the extent to which PPEPS has contributed to the engagement of Somali communities in natural resource initiatives and livelihoods projects that make negotiated agreements more sustainable
• Evaluate the extent to which PPEPS has contributed to the reduction of pressure on the natural resources by supporting private sector efforts to build market demand for alternative energy and fuel efficient technologies
• Assess the program contribution to the  Somali leaders understanding of land and natural resource conflicts in their districts
• Assess the program contribution in enhancing Somali leaders natural resource management and dispute resolution skills and enhanced relationship through the identification of common interest
• Assess the program contribution to the capacity building of the Somali civil society and local actor groups engaged in resolution of natural resource disputes within the program area
• Assess the program contribution to the empowerment of Somali women and their participation in environmental peace building
• Evaluate the extent to which PPEPS has contributed to urban suppliers market linkages to demonstrated demand in target communities and subsequent creation of rural distributors of alternative energy and fuel efficient technologies in program areas.
• Determine the extent to which PPEPS has contributed to the increased use of alternative energy and fuel efficient technologies in 14 Somali communities in target areas.
• Analyze and document successes, best practices and challenges faced by PPEPS and draw lessons from the experience of the project implementation.

In addition to the above specific objectives, the evaluation will also cover the following aspects of the program;

• Relevance: the extent to which objectives, implementation strategies, activities and methodologies were adapted to the needs of the beneficiaries.
• Effectiveness: the extent to which PPEPS has done what it was intended to do for the beneficiaries
• Efficiency: the results achieved in relation to time, efforts and resources used
• Sustainability: the extent to which results achieved can continue after the end of the program
• Impact: the overall effect PPEPS is having on the beneficiaries and participating communities and on their methods of working in the future.
• Ownership: the level of stakeholder and community participation/involvement and their feeling of who controls and makes what decisions 

4) GENERAL EVALUATION QUESTIONS

1. How many land disputes, natural resource disputes have been resolved through the PPEPS program?
2. Has there been an increase in either the number or complexity of disputes that leaders resolve since program start?
3. How many people have been trained in dispute resolution (DR) and conflict mitigation through the PPEPS program?
4. Is there any increase in a sense of expertise/confidence in dispute resolution skills as a result of Mercy Corps proram.
5. How many significant peace agreements have been made in the target areas? How many of these agreements involved land and natural resource disputes?
6. How many comprehensive peace plans were produced through the PPEPS program? Were the plans produced to support the peace agreements?
7. Can we see any evidence that MC supported peace agreements are more sustainable than agreements that do not have a development component?
8. Are there community groups that have fostered interaction as a result of MC activities? To what extent have their capacity been strengthened by the PPEPS program?
9. How many NR and livelihood projects were implemented in the area? How many of this was implement by MC? Partners? What is their current status?
10. Who are the beneficiaries of the NR and livelihood projects?
11. How many urban and rural businesses have benefitted from the PPEPS program? How many businesses are involved in supply of fuel efficient stoves and fuel?
12. How many women groups benefitted from PPEPS program? How many are still involved in environmental peace building?

5) EVALUATION METHODS

Specific evaluation methods including data collection, data entry and data analysis, should be chosen by the team as they see appropriate to answer the evaluation questions. Proposals should include an overview of methods, tools and sample sizes in the description of methodology. Baseline tools will be provided to the consultant team as a reference; however, MTE tools should focus on progress and process. The process will be participatory and will be led and facilitated by an external consultant. A combination of different methods will be used as outlined below.

• Desk review; conduct a desk review including an analysis of documents, policy papers, national surveys and reports that have been produced in connection with the project thematic area. Review internal Mercy Corps documents related to PPEPS program including data already gathered.
• Semi structured key informant interviews (KII) with respective Government Ministries in all the 3 regions, CSOs, NGOs, in the selected PPEPS program area. KII will also be used to assess government actors’ role and community perception of objectives set by PPEPS and community roles.
• Focus group discussions with various community groups; clan elders, religious leaders, local government officials, women group leaders and local businesses that have been involved in the program.
• Structured individual/household survey interviews with sampled community members
• Comparison of endline data to baseline results.

6) EXISTING SOURCES OF PROGRAM INFORMATION

• PPEPS program document including work plan and performance monitoring plan (PMP)
• The program weekly, monthly and quarterly reports
• Baseline survey report
• Mid-term review report

7) TEAM COMPOSITION AND PARTICIPATION

This is a participatory evaluation that will be led and facilitated by an external evaluation team. The team should work closely with the PPEPS Program Manager (Consultant) and Program Officers to maximize learning during the evaluation process. The evaluation team will consist of a team leader and three zonal experts. Mercy Corps M & E specialists will also provide all necessary assistance. The team leader will be responsible for the overall delivery of the evaluation outputs through team coordination. The zonal experts will support the team leader in data collection and analysis in Hargeisa, Garowe and Galkaiyo.

8)   DURATION OF THE  EVALUATION

Mercy Corps expects that the entire evaluation process will cover a period of 30 days during the months of May and June 2012.

9)   PROCEDURE: SCHEDULE AND LOGISTICS

Proposals should include a schedule starting with the first day of the contract and adequate time for two draft reports to be reviewed by Mercy Corps and comments integrated into subsequent reports. In planning, the evaluation team should note that the weekend in Somalia is on Friday and Saturday. The evaluation should take 30 days and the final evaluation report should be complete on or before July 31, 2012

10) CONSULTANCY OUTPUT

The consultancy firm should produce the following outputs:

• Hard and softcopies of final evaluation report (ready to print/publish) not exceeding 40 pages;
• Hard and softcopies of abridged final evaluation report not exceeding 10 pages (ready to print/publish);
• Softcopy of final evaluation power-point for 20 minute presentation;
• Presentation of final report Mercy Corps.

11)    CONSULTANCY COST

The cost of the consultancy will be based on the number of days and cost of travel. This is however subject to negotiations with Mercy Corps.

12) BUDGET

Consultants should propose terms of payment as they see appropriate, and any other associated costs. Logistical arrangements while in Somalia will be provided by Mercy Corps as well as recruitment of three zonal experts.

Interested applicants should submit their applications on or before 30th APRIL 2012.

The application should contain:

• Not more than 3 pages technical proposal stating suitability and capability, and proposed methodology, and team composition;
• Itemized financial estimates;
• Indicative work plan; and
• not more than 5 pages CV of the lead consultant