“Promotion of Inclusive Agricultural Growth to Ensure Improved Living Standards and Resilience of Vulnerable Communities in Area C of the West Bank”

Terms of Reference (ToR)

Project Endline & final evaluation

“Promotion of Inclusive Agricultural Growth to Ensure Improved Living Standards and Resilience of Vulnerable Communities in Area C of the West Bank”

1. Project BACKGROUND

1.1 Project summary

DURATION: 36 months, from February 26, 2019, to February 25, 2022.

COUNTRY: Occupied Palestinian Territory

Donor: European Union (EU)

1.2 Description of the project

This project has been designed in response to the manifold challenges facing farmers, including livestock farmers, in Area C of the West Bank. The overall aim of this project is to contribute to resilient and inclusive agricultural growth that improves the living standards of women and men farmers in Area C of the West Bank. Its specific objective is to increase the income of small-scale women and men farmers and their attachment to their lands in Area C through upgraded capacities, improved land development and water management practices and policies.

The project proposed to support small-scale women and men farmers to maximize the use and protection of land by expanding the area under cultivation and by promoting the better utilization of already cultivated land. The project supports farming and herding communities in land rehabilitation and water management, capitalizing on investments already made by agricultural stakeholders, including the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and agricultural NGOs. The project also, upgrades farmer capacities to sustainably protect and manage grazing and agricultural lands and water resources and to advocate for improved national policies and strengthened international protection and engagement in Area C.

In parallel, the project works on strengthening the capacities of the MoA to promote more inclusive agricultural development in Area C. Additionally, coordinated advocacy work has been undertaken with farmers organizations and key stakeholders in Area C. Moreover, the project supports all ongoing efforts to mobilize and activate national and international stakeholders through ad-hoc influencing actions on land rights to challenge Israeli planning and permit regime in Area C. In addition, the project supports women’s economic empowerment (WEE) initiatives to empower them to enhance their access to agricultural resources and income.

1.3 Results’ Chain & intervention logic

The project’s overall theory of change is borne out of the evidence that when women and men farmers’ access to rehabilitated and irrigated land increases; when their capacities to sustainably manage grazing and agricultural lands and water resources are upgraded; when the market integration of farmer is enhanced, and when they gain greater protection and support from national and international decision-makers, then they will be able to increase income generated from agriculture and improve their livelihoods and strengthen their resilience to stay onto protect and use their land. Accordingly, the project expected results are:

Result 1: Women and men engaged in fruit, vegetable, and livestock farming in targeted locations enhance their access to rehabilitated and irrigated agricultural land.

To achieve this result, the project has implemented integrated land and water development interventions in targeted areas including light rehabilitation of sub-utilized lands combined with interventions to increase water availability for agricultural purposes. These included also, upgrading or complementing existing water facilities and more innovative models based on solar energy and re-use of treated wastewater.

Result 2: Innovative agricultural service delivery and business models will be expanded to benefit women and men farmers engaged in fruit, vegetable, and livestock farming in targeted geographical clusters in Area C.

To achieve this result, the project supported number of framers cooperatives to establish and operate 2 women-led businesses for the pickling and vacuum packaging of grape leaves and snap freezing unit in the Jordan Valley. Additionally, the project supported Public Private Partnership (PPP) model on “elite breed farm” and strengthened and expanded PPP on veterinary services in the targeted livestock growing areas.

Result 3: The capacities of farmers’ organizations and public institutions to protect and promote agricultural development and land and water rights in Area C and to raise national and international stakeholders’ awareness are enhanced

This outcome focuses on enhancing the technical and advocacy capacities of agricultural cooperatives, producer groups and community based organizations (CBOs), including women associations, in targeted locations. To this end, a series of capacity development interventions, including group trainings, workshops, and awareness raising sessions, were organized for the above mentioned groups. As well, coordinated advocacy work on land rights and investment in Area C were conducted, including preparation of policy paper, roundtables, conferences, and campaigning. In parallel, tailored capacity development support was provided to the MoA’s to enhance its legal support function and the Land Department and district-level offices to strengthen their ability to support farmers in land reclamation activities.

1.4. Beneficiaries

The final beneficiaries of this project are small-scale women and men farmers (including livestock and fodder farmers) in Area C of the West Bank. The main groups that have directly benefited from this project is around 3500: 2,000 farmers, including 850 farmers engaged in fruit, vegetable, and livestock farming in targeted areas in Hebron, Bethlehem, Jordan Valley, Tulkarem, and Jenin. An additional 1,150 small-scale farmers benefited from demand driven extension and veterinary service delivery, agricultural business models, and technical and advocacy capacity development initiatives in targeted geographical clusters.

1.5. Partners:

Palestinian Farmers Union (PFU), Economic and Social Development Center of Palestine (ESDC), and Rural Women’s Development Society (RWDS)

1. PURPOSE & Objectives of the assignment

Oxfam is looking for a Consultancy Firm with solid experience in conducting assessments and evaluation to conduct an endline assessment and final evaluation of the project.

2.1. Objectives of the Endline Assessment

A baseline study for the project was conducted during the spring of 2020. The study provided baseline data for the project and documented the pre-intervention levels of the project indicators. The baseline study surveyed a sample size of 217 individuals encompassed 89 farmers, 91 herders and 37 cooperative members. This sample was drawn from each target group to represent the total population. In addition to the above-mentioned surveys, the baseline study conducted several in-depth interviews with key stakeholders.

The first objective of this assignment is to undertake an end-line assessment and carry out comparative analysis of baseline versus end-line. The end-line assessment is planned to be conducted on the same sample to examine the extent to which the project objectives have been achieved. The assessment should include collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data corresponding to the original baseline tools.

In the final report, the consultant should present project achievements against project targets and a comparison of the end line data findings against the baseline data findings. It should highlight significant as well as important and interesting findings that might inform future, similar programs. The end-line findings shall help to establish the achievement level against the planned impact indicators. The study should assess how the project contributed to the impact including key enabling and/or constraining factors that led to project achievements.

2.2. Objectives of the Final Evaluation

The second objective of this assignment is to conduct a final evaluation for the project. The final evaluation aims at assessing the: a) Relevance, b) Coherence, c) Effectiveness, d) Efficiency e) Sustainability and f) Impact of the project. The final evaluation should highlight key learnings, lessons, good practices, and provide recommendations for future similar programming. Economic empowerment of women and youth is a crosscutting issue and should be considered when assessing each of the criteria. Therefore, the consultant should apply a strong gender inclusive analysis throughout the evaluation. The evaluation should identify external environment challenges and opportunities that had impacted the project’s progress. The evaluation should focus on both accountability and learning. It should be noted that a Mid Term Evaluation was conducted in Spring 2021 to assess the progress towards the achievement of project objectives and to draft the needed changes and improvement. A set of actions was taken to address the MTE recommendations.

1. Methodology

As stated above, the purpose of this exercise is to conduct an endline assessment and a final evaluation for the project. Multiple methodologies and techniques for primary and secondary quantitative and qualitative data collection should be used, including surveys, FDGs, interviews and documents review. These should be considered against and designed to meet OXFAM Intervention plans and project MEAL Framework. The evaluation design and methodology will be discussed further and agreed with the project team at the beginning of the consultancy. The final report of the evaluation should include both the results of the endline assessment and the DAC principles evaluation.

The end-line assessment is planned to be conducted on the same sample of the baseline to examine the extent to which the project objectives have been achieved. The assessment should include collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data corresponding to the original baseline tools. The collected data for the endline assessment should be disaggregated by gender, age and location. In addition, the collected data should be streamlined and consistent with program MEAL Framework and intervention strategies. The endline assessment should be comprehensive and set the final values of all log frame indicators at all levels.

For the final evaluation, the consultant is expected to employ mix methods for data collection (both qualitative and quantitative methods) supported by an extensive review of secondary information. The data collected on the ground should also show segregation of beneficiaries by gender and age, and it has to be carried out where the project is implemented. Accordingly, it’s expected by the consultant to use sound sampling strategy to obtain a representative sample out of the 3,500 beneficiaries. The data collection methods should include:

· Focus Group Discussions with targeted beneficiaries.

· Key Informant Interviews with main stakeholders.

· Semi-structured questionnaires

· Secondary data collection, analysis and project relevant documents

Per each data-collection methodology, the consultant must develop specific questionnaire/guidelines that will be made available as annexes in the final report. The information so gathered will be triangulated to obtain a more accurate picture.

Moreover, one of the main objectives of this study is to measure the impact of the program on women and youth. Therefore, it’s expected by the consultant to use gender sensitive tools. In line with Oxfam’s values and organizational ambition, the evaluation should seek to prioritize a focus on gender and inclusion and trying to understand the extent to which the project applied gender-sensitive and inclusive approaches and explicitly aimed for results that improve the rights of all groups and that contribute to gender justice.

Oxfam expects the consultant to engage with Oxfam staff, partners, stakeholders, small-scale producers (SSP) women and men, and business owners to address the evaluation questions stipulated below.

3.1. Key research questions for the final evaluation

To evaluate the relevance of the project, the final evaluation should assess to what extent the project objectives and design respond to beneficiaries’ and partner institution’s needs, priorities and policies, and its adaptability to the change in context and circumstances. Other questions to consider are:

• To what extent are the objectives of the project still valid? Has anything changed to affect its relevance?

• Are the activities and outputs of the project consistent with the overall goal and the attainment of its objectives?

• To what extent are the objectives of the project corresponding to the targeted population’s expectations, and to women’s need in particular?

• Did the program align with the Palestinian Authority’s (PA), donors & implementing partners objectives and plans?

• How has the program adjusted and responded to the MTE recommendations?

To evaluate the coherence, the final evaluation should assess the compatibility of the project with other interventions, sector or institution. Questions to be considered under the coherence are:

• To what extent other interventions support or undermine the project, and vice versa?

• Which synergies and interlinkages between the project and other interventions are carried out by other institutions?

• How consistent is the project with other actors’ interventions in the same context?

• Is this project coherent regarding the local context?

• How consistent is the project with the relevant international norms and standards?

To evaluate the effectiveness, the final evaluation should use the end-line results and assess to what extent did the project achieved its objectives and results, including any differential results across groups. Other questions to be considered are:

• To what extent has the project achieved its objectives and results in both output and outcome levels?

• What have been the achievements and challenges of the project?

• What were the major factors influencing the achievement (or non-achievement) of objectives?

• How did Oxfam and its partners respond to challenges? What did Oxfam and partners learn from the project’s implementation?

• How has the project influenced the appropriate stakeholder community, and what capacities has it built?

• What has been done to address the structural barriers that hinder women enterprises and how effective those addressed have been?

• To what extent were the investments supported in the project feasible and profitable? How much did they directly contribute to creation of sustainable jobs?

• To what extent has the project succeeded to raise national and public institutions awareness on agricultural development, investment, and land & water rights in Area C.

To evaluate the efficiency of the project, the final evaluation should assess to what extent has the project delivered results in an economic and timely way. Questions to be considered under the efficiency are:

• Were activities cost-efficient?

• Were objectives achieved on time?

• Could a different approach have produced better results?

• Has the program been managed efficiently and have management and implementation arrangements been sufficiently flexible to cope with changes, challenges and opportunities as they arose? Have the donors resourced the management of the program appropriately? Have governance mechanisms been appropriate?

• How would you assess the return on the economic investment done by donor across the various project components?

To evaluate the sustainability, the final evaluation should gauge to what extent are the benefits of the program likely to continue after donors funding has been withdrawn. Other questions to be considered are:

• To what extent the benefits of the project will likely continue after donor funding ceased?

• Are there risks to the sustainability of changes? What has the program been able to do to address the challenges and risks to the sustainability of changes?

Finally, to evaluate the impact of the project, the final evaluation should use the endline assessment results to assess whether the project is successful in achieving its targets and results at the outcome and impact level. Also, the final evaluation should gauge what have been the positive and the negative changes produced by the program directly or indirectly, intended or unintended. Questions to consider are:

• To what extent did the increase in farmers’ income enabled them to invest in their families by providing better nutrition, better education, and better health?

• What real difference/changes has the project made to the lives of the targeted group?

• To what extent the advocacy interventions led by the program enhanced national and international stakeholders’ awareness on agricultural development, investment, and land and water rights in Area C

• To what extent the benefits of the project were equally enjoyed by female and youth compared to men.

3.2 INDICATIVE PROCESS AND STEPS

The consultant is expected to perform the following tasks in order to execute the assignment:

1- Preparatory Phase: Desk review of the project’s key documents including project proposal, Baseline report, results chain, MEAL framework, Mid-term evaluation, and project progress reports.

2- Carry out preliminary interviews with the relevant staff from Oxfam to ensure common understanding of the ToR and the expected results of the assignment.

3- Develop a workplan and inception report that includes strategies to collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data. The inception report also, should include the protocols for the enumerators & supervisors, and data entry & analysis plan. As well, the report should include the developed data collection tools and methods. Above all, the inception report should include the detailed evaluation methodology, and sampling strategy ensuring strong gender analysis for each indicator in the project.

4- Field phase: Upon approval of the inception report and the data collection tools, the consultant shall commence the field work. The field work will tack place in Area “C” of the West Bank.

5- Reporting Phase: the consultant should analyze the collected data and produce a final report that presents all data and highlights significant, important or interesting findings that could inform/ help future programing. The descriptive data presented in the report should be disaggregated by gender, age and location. In addition, the presented data should be streamlined and consistent with program MEAL Framework requirements.

6- The consultant shall render a first draft report to Oxfam and partners for comments. followed by a PPT presentation of findings on a prior agreed date.

7- Oxfam will feedback on draft report and the consultant then have to finalize the report based on this within less than a week of receiving comments

3.3 INDICATIVE TIMETABLE

The period for the assignment is 2 months starting from the date of signing the contract until the submission of final report**.**

Publication of Term of Reference**

January 25, 2022

Deadline for submission of the proposal: **

February 5^th, 2022

Notification of award:**

February 8th, 2022

Contract signature **

February 9^th, 2022

Evaluation Implementation:**

February 10, 2022 – March 15^th, 2022

Render a first draft report to Oxfam for comments

April 10, 2022

PPT presentation of findings

April 17, 2022

Conclusion of Evaluation and final delivery**

April 23, 2022

1. Deliverables

The consultant is liable for the following deliverables:

1. An inception report, including details such as methodology, work plan, tools, and questionnaires, FGDs guidelines and KIIs checklist and a field survey plan. (These need to be agreed with Oxfam prior to the start of field survey).
2. Final evaluation report with executive summary, learning section, and recommendation section. The formats are MS word and PDF.
3. PPT presentation of findings.
4. Survey data on MS Excel including codebook
5. Transcript of qualitative data and recording

All deliverables will be submitted in English with the exception of the data collection tools that should be provided in Arabic and English. Recording of qualitative data collection activities as part of the deliverables if the participants agree to the use of recording. The period for the assignment is 3 months starting from the date of signing the contract until the submission of final report.

5. Responsibilities of the consultant

The consultant is required to:

A. Take the responsibility for the Evaluation and appoint a person as the contact point with Oxfam for all the liaison and coordination.

B. Compose the Evaluation team that is capable to deliver the output of required quality in time and mention the team composition in his / her proposal.

C. With the support from Oxfam, make necessary appointments for the key informant interviews, mobilize participants, including direct beneficiaries for focus group discussions and visit the partners for data collection. The project staff in the country would support and participate in FGDs except for those intended for the project beneficiaries. Oxfam will provide necessary authorizations through letters to use the organization names by the consultant. All communication and coordination in the country for collecting data should be the consultant’s responsibility.

D. Manage all the logistics of field survey in coordination with Oxfam.

E. Train an adequate number of enumerators that will be recruited in cooperation with the Oxfam country team for the field survey and supervise their work (both progress and the quality).

F. Ensure that all the Consultant’s personnel are following the Code of Conduct and the policies of Oxfam and a declaration to this effect is signed by them.

G. Submit the deliverables (mentioned under item 4 above) on time, and,

H. Maintain the confidentiality of all information gathered. (Prior to undertaking, the consultant will have to declare that the information gathered would not be used for a purpose other than for those stipulated in the ToR).

6. Responsibilities of Oxfam

As the organization commissioning the Evaluation, Oxfam will:

A. Provide all the relevant documentation and project reports for the Evaluation’s purpose

B. Hold the responsibility for the provision of feedback / comments for inception report, tools, questionnaires, draft report, and presentations as per the agreed time frame. Consultant can suggest the time frame.

C. Provide the templates for reporting and financial settlements.

D. Keep the relevant stakeholders (who are to be interviewed by the consultant) informed about the evaluation.

E. Make necessary arrangements for meetings and presentation whenever required.

F. Review the timeline of evaluation and make necessary amendments in consultation with the consultant, and

G. Provide payments to the consultant as per the agreed schedule upon completion of minimum requirements.

7. DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS, SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE and expertise

The consultant should possess extensive experience (minimum 7 years) in undertaking evaluations of complex agricultural development programs (special attention will be given to the experience in assessing initiatives with focus on gender, entrepreneurship, and private sector support as well as in assessing European donors’ funded projects) and in-depth knowledge on relevant sectors and conducting evaluations, surveys research etc. The proposed team shall comprise personnel with extensive experience (at least seven years) in the related field.

The consultant should also have:

· Excellent knowledge of EU practices and procedures for project implementation and evaluation.

· Proven record in the development and implementation of final evaluations and endline assessments in the international development sector for economic justice programming, in particular in agricultural sector or resilience approaches.

· Expertise in project cycle management, gender, and extensive knowledge of Monitoring Evaluation Accountability and Learning systems and data collection methods.

· Deep knowledge of the Palestinian agricultural sector and land development.

· Previous experience in working with INGOs’ and familiarity with procedures, approaches and operations.

· Acknowledged similar consultancies with recognized organizations.

· Demonstrated analytical and writing skills.

· Excellent knowledge of English and Arabic.

· Computer skills (advanced user of Microsoft Excel or similar software; statistical software is an asset).

· Proven experience in qualitative and quantitative methods to monitoring and evaluation.

· Experience in conducting field research with Palestinian communities.

· Relevant geographical experience in Area C

8. Evaluation of proposals and selection process

Potential and interested firms / individuals are required to submit a comprehensive proposal describing / articulating the work requirements outlined in this ToR. Professional and language proficiency of the proposed personnel, including the field enumerators, are important to indicate in the proposal. All proposals will be evaluated based on internally agreed criteria as follows:

(Weight for each criterion given in percentages)

1. Specific and extensive expertise in evaluation of agricultural sector and land development programs (at least the Team Leader) (15%).
2. Proposed team / personnel which includes composition of the team and their educational qualification and experiences as articulated in the desired qualifications section above. (25%).
3. Methodology and work plan which includes approach / evaluation design, sampling methodology, data collection methodology, data analysis, work plan etc. (30%).
4. Quality of presentation of proposal (10%).
5. Financial proposal (20%).

80% of weight will be given to technical proposal and 20% of weight will be given to financial proposal. The applicant should score minimum of 50% in the technical evaluation to be eligible for financial evaluation.

9. Terms and conditions

Payment will be on submission of Tax-exempt Invoice on delivery against milestones. All incidentals, equipment and materials, accommodation and travel required for the assignment are the responsibility of the consultant and need to be included in the financial proposal. The consultant should follow the Oxfam’s Branding policies and ensure Oxfam and donor logos are presented as per the guidelines. The consultant and his / her team in the assignment must abide by Oxfam child protection policy, code of conduct, sexual harassment policy and Oxfam’s other relevant policies. All requirements in respect of insurance including professional indemnity, worker’s compensation, public liability, superannuation and taxation, where applicable will remain, at all times, the responsibility of the consultant.

The financial offer should be in EUR excluding VAT tax. The tendered should be able to issue an official vat exemption invoice and valid deduction at source certificate. The financial offer prices should be valid for 120 days.

Bill of Quantities and prices

Project End-line & Final evaluation

( Table # 1)

#

Item

Unit

Quantity

Price per unit

Total Price

Comments

1

End Line

Report

1

2

Final Evaluation

Report

1

Total Price in Euro( in numbers)

Total Price in Euro ( in words)

Service Provider Signature and stamp on the prices list

Focal Point:**

Official Name:**

Email Address:**

Service Provider Address:**

Mobile #:**

Telephone#

How to apply:

10. SUBMISSION PROCESS

Interested consultants should submit letter of interest, technical proposal, and financial offer no later than the February 5^th , 2022, to the attention of OPT–Jerusalem Procurement Procurement.jerusalem@oxfam.org

The proposal should include the following:

a) Objectives -understanding of the scope of the assignment.

b) Technical offer including a preliminary causal approach, design, methodology, and timeline.

c) CV of the consultant(s) including list of similar works with a cover letter.

d) Detailed budget on a separate sheet with a the breakdown on the major deliverables(1- end line 2- final evaluation) as indicated in Table #1.

All docs are requested in English.