Provision of Consultancy Services – Evaluation for ‘Promoting inclusive communities where children with disabilities, persons with specific needs

1.INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is an international humanitarian organization that has global presence in countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Central America. The global headquarters of LWF is in Geneva, Switzerland. The LWF Kenya Somalia Programme is headquartered in Nairobi Kenya to serve both the Kenya and Somalia country programs.

The Lutheran World Federation provides quality humanitarian assistance to displaced and affected communities and focuses on three priority programmatic areas; Quality services: covering the areas of education and WASH – with primary focus on education; LWF provides other life-saving humanitarian assistance occasioned by natural disasters (drought, floods, etc.) through quick impact projects in its areas of operations. Protection and social cohesion: protection services to support vulnerable and at risk persons with major focus on child protection, persons with specific needs (PWDs, older persons), child mothers, and women at risk, and also supporting community social cohesion/peace building activities and Sustainable livelihoods: climate friendly livelihood interventions in crop and animal production, vocational skills training and development, enterprise development, micro-finance and business development skills training. More information about the LWF Kenya-Somalia program can be obtained. https://kenyasomalia.lutheranworld.org/

Somalia’s national Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP) 2022–2026 highlights that climate disasters and political instability have significantly impacted the country’s education sector, leaving 67% of school-age children out of school. Children with disabilities and girls face even worse challenges in terms of enrollment, retention, and transition due to systemic inequalities. Since the collapse of Somalia’s central government in 1991, school infrastructure has deteriorated, with existing facilities in poor condition and lacking essential resources like safe classrooms, desks, WASH facilities, and teaching materials. Access is even more limited for children with disabilities due to the absence of disability-friendly infrastructure. The quality of education is low, with most teachers untrained and dependent on humanitarian organizations for incentives, leading to frequent disruptions in learning.

At the community level, low literacy rates, especially among women, result in limited interest in education, with parents prioritizing youth employment, exposing children to hazardous labor. Children with disabilities face heightened risks, including malnutrition, discrimination, and gender-based violence, with limited access to rehabilitative services and inclusive education.

Through funding from Australian Lutheran World Service (ALWS), LWF has been implementing a project since 2018 aimed at closing or reducing gaps in access to inclusive education in Somalia. The project, titled “Promoting Inclusive Communities Where Children with Disabilities and Persons with Specific Needs Realize Their Rights and Have Access to Improved Holistic Well-being” focuses on fostering inclusivity and enhancing overall well-being.

The project takes a holistic approach to addressing challenges related to access to quality inclusive education. It supports incentive programs for teachers, equips them with essential skills through targeted training programs and enhances rehabilitative services for persons with disabilities including children. The project promotes community sensitization and advocacy on disability rights and education while strengthening the capacity of government and civil society to implement inclusive education. These efforts aim to ensure sustainable education access for all children. The intervention targets a total of 7,305 (3,885 female) individuals including 4,950 (2,545 girls) learners.

To achieve this overarching goal, LWF have designed interventions aimed at realizing the following four key outcome objectives:

• Outcome 1: Increased access to quality inclusive Primary education for children with disabilities in Jubbaland and Southwest states of Somalia.
• Outcome 2: Enhanced well-being of persons with specific protection concerns[1].
• Outcome 3: Sustainable livelihoods options enhanced and diversified for targeted parents/caregivers of children with disability.
• Outcome 4: Improved gender equality, disability and Social Inclusion to reduce discrimination against women and girls through advocacy forums and Institutional capacity in Somalia.

2. OVERALL, PURPOSE OF THE CONSULTANCY

The primary objective of this Request for Proposals is to identify potential bidder(s) for the execution of an evaluation. The evaluation aims to comprehensively assess the extent to which the project has achieved the intended and/or unintended outcomes, provide in-depth analysis and understanding of why certain intended or unintended outcomes have or have not occurred, analyse the challenges encountered and document lessons for improving future projects implementation.

3. OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The assignment has the following objectives;

1. To provide an independent assessment on the projects performance, specifically, to determine if the project achieved its target objectives, outcomes
2. Assess the project progress towards achieving relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability with special emphasis on the evaluation’s Key questions.
3. Document lessons learned, best practices, challenges encountered, and put forth practical recommendations for future program improvement

The audiences for the evaluation findings are ALWS as the donor, LWF Kenya Somalia program staff, LWF senior staff based in Geneva and the local community in the project area. The findings of the evaluation will be used for accountability and reporting purposes as well as information for future programming. The case studies documented by the evaluation consultant will be used for communications purposes by the Australian Lutheran World Service.

4. SCOPE OF WORK

Period under review; The evaluation is anticipated to encompass the project duration of 3 years from 1st Jan 2022 to 30th December 2024 (Phase 4).

Geographical Coverage: The evaluation will cover the following specific areas:

State; Southwest

Region; Bay

District; Baidoa

State; Jubaland

Region; Lower Juba

District; Kismayo

Thematic Priorities: The evaluation will focus on specific interventions under the three identified thematic areas; Education, Livelihood, and Protection.

Target Beneficiary Category and Stakeholders: All target beneficiary categories and relevant stakeholders outlined in the project documents. This includes a thorough evaluation of the impact on and engagement with these groups throughout the project implementation.

5. APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY

The consultant(s)/firm is expected to recommend empirical approaches and methodologies that incorporate both qualitative and quantitative methods that are in line with the OECD DAC criteria. The consultant(s)/firm will use a gender-responsive and inclusive methodology to ensure the perspectives of women, youth, and other marginalized groups are adequately captured. The consultant(s)/firm is encouraged to expand on these criteria using key evaluation questions to assess various aspects comprehensively.

The recommended approaches and methodologies MUST prioritize inclusivity, active participation and adhere to ethical considerations. As LWF is a CHS-certified organization, the nine Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS) commitments will guide and complement the OECD DAC criteria during the evaluation. For more information, refer to the Core Humanitarian Standard.

6. DELIVERABLES

The consultant will be responsible for preparing and submitting the following deliverables;

• Inception report including an evaluation design, agreed key evaluation questions, a description of methods for data gathering and data analysis, an evaluation plan, an outline of steps to be taken to ensure the ethical conduct of the evaluation according to the principle of ‘do no harm’ (including getting informed consent from participants before doing interviews and FGDs) to be approved by representatives from LWF and ALWS.
• Presentation of initial findings to LWF and ALWS, and if possible, to other stakeholder’s/evaluation participants.
• Draft report prepared according to report template provided, also including case studies prepared for communication purposes, for feedback from ALWS and LWF.
• A final report written in English (soft copy), maximum 50 pages including findings, best practices, lessons learned, recommendations. The structure and format of the final report will be agreed upon by LWF and the consultant.

7. SUBMISSION CRITERIA

PART A: TECHNICAL PROPOSAL

• The Technical Proposal shall be straightforward and concise, describing how the consultant intends to carry out and deliver on the above mentioned task. No cost or pricing information is to be included in the technical proposal.
• Technical proposals are limited to 15 pages in total. Organizational Information, CVs of proposed personnel, and examples of previous relevant work are to be included in an Annex. The page limitation does not include key personnel resumes, dividers, and past performance report forms. Bidders are encouraged to provide an Annex, or “portfolio,” of samples demonstrating experience performing similar activities. The Annex can include copies of photographs, other visual representations, and media/social media clippings. The Annex should not exceed ten pages.

  The technical proposal shall be formatted using the following sections:

Technical Approach– Narrative not to exceed five (5) pages.

• The bidder shall demonstrate his/her understanding, ability, and overall approach to perform the requirements described in the Scope of Work/Tasks/Activities. S/he shall clearly explain how they propose to structure, design, manage, and execute the work required that meets LWF objectives.
• The Technical Approach must include a timeline or Gantt chart of the deliverables required to execute this project.

Capability Statement – Narrative – not to exceed two (2) pages.

• The bidder shall demonstrate his/her specialized competence about the requirements of the tasks/activities. S/he shall demonstrate they have the necessary personnel to successfully comply with the contract requirements and accomplish the deliverables.

Past Performance – Narrative not to exceed five (3) pages.

• The Bidder shall provide at least three (3) examples of past performance of implementing similar projects. The past performance examples must be within the last three (3) years and similar in scale and relevance. S/he must provide references for each example, including the reference’s name, title, phone number, and email address.
• The firm’s technical lead person/ individual consultant must have at least a master’s degree or PhD education, protection, Livelihood, research and Monitoring and evaluation, or related qualifications, with extensive expertise and experience in evaluating development programs. The firm technical lead person should have at least 10 years of experience working with international organizations and donors on monitoring, and evaluations or Education, protection & Livelihood programs, with particular experience in the context of Somalia.

Personnel/Staffing – A narrative not to exceed two (2) pages.

• A summary describing the proposed staff for the project, including up to three team members. The summary shall include names, relevant qualifications of similar experience, and the proposed role for each individual. A Project Manager must be identified with a minimum of five years’ experience in related project management.
• The bidder must also include the CVs of the key staff members involved in the Project, including the Project Managers and up to 3 Team members. Each CV should not exceed three (3) pages.

PART B: Financial PROPOSAL

• The bidder shall propose a realistic and reasonable cost for this work.
• The cost should be in dollar and include all applicable local taxation. The financial proposal shall list all costs associated with the assignment.
• Items described in the technical proposal but not priced shall be assumed to be included in the prices of other items or at the consultant’s own cost.

8. EVALUATION CRITERIA

• This solicitation is open to individuals or local firms/companies registered in Kenya or Somalia specializing in research.
• The selected Consultant will be responsible for designing and executing all activities outlined in this Request for Proposal in coordination with LWF.
• Proposals will be evaluated using the quality and cost-based selection, with a total score calculated out of 100% of which 80% is the weight of the technical proposal and 20% is the weight of the financial proposal.

Proposals meeting the mandatory requirements will be evaluated for technical merit based on the criteria in the below chart. Those proposals scoring 65 points or higher (out of 80 points) will be considered for cost-effectiveness

Technical Approach

Proposed structure, design, and approach to conducting the survey. (25 points)

Timeline or Gantt chart of the activities required for execution. (10 points)

Green and sustainable practices – Annex SER 09 Checklist for Green and Sustainable Procurement.

Maximum Points 40

Capability Statement

Demonstrate the necessary organizational systems and personnel to successfully comply with the contract requirements and accomplish the expected results. (15 points)

Maximum Points 15

Past Performance

• Inclusion of at least relevant past performance examples of similar projects. (5 points)
• References provided by past clients for these examples and their evaluation of the bidder’s ability to deliver on time and within quality and budget expectations. (5 points)

Maximum Points10

Personnel/Staffing

Qualifications and past relevant experience of the lead consultant and up to 3 team members proposed to perform the requirements of this scope of work. (15 points)

Maximum Points15

**Technical Evaluation Threshold (**Only offers that receive a technical evaluation score

of 65 and above points (out of 80) will be considered for oral and cost evaluation.)

Cost Evaluation

The financial proposal will be evaluated using the following formula:

FS=20*lowest price/F, where FS is the financial score, and F is the proposal’s price under consideration.

Maximum Points 20

Total Points; Maximum Points 100

9. MANAGEMENT OF THE CONSULTANT

The program manager of LWF will have overall responsibility for contract management. The consultant will work directly and closely with the Somalia Team lead, PMER & Project Coordinator who will provide the consultant with necessary documents (progress reports, approved proposals), Advice on sample and list of evaluation participants – names, designations, contact details, and facilitate access to project sites and stakeholders, including local partners and community representatives.

The consultant(s) will be responsible for:

• Developing the detailed evaluation methodology and tools.
• Collecting and analyzing data, ensuring ethical principles and safeguarding measures are in place.
• Preparing the inception report, draft evaluation report, and final evaluation report.
• Presenting the evaluation findings to LWF staffs and partners.
• Arrange personal insurance coverage.
• Arrange for their own travel and accommodation.

[1] Older persons, Adults living with disability etc.