RESET Plus Innovation Fund Terminal Evaluation Terms of Reference

Introduction

Cordaid is an internationally operating value-based emergency relief and development organization, working in and on fragility for more than a century. We stand with those who are hit hardest by poverty and conflict. We support them in their struggle to move beyond survival and to fully participate in equitable and resilient societies. We believe a world where everyone can live life in dignity is possible. Where people can break through barriers of poverty and exclusion, and influence decisions that affect them. A world with an economy not driven by greed and growth, but by inclusivity, social justice, and gender equality. That world is our goal. We work towards it in everything we do.

We operate in fragile settings. Where communities and governments alike struggle to absorb and mitigate economic, political, and environmental shocks and risks. And where citizens do not have access to even basic services or food security. This can be due to poverty, armed conflict, power imbalances, or, as is often the case, a combination of root causes.

Cordaid was established in 2000 when several Dutch aid organizations joined forces. But our history goes back more than a century. We are present in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and our head office is based in the Netherlands.

Cordaid started operating in Ethiopia in 2006, focusing on community-managed disaster risk reduction. Cordaid has since expanded its intervention and expertise to community-based disaster risk reduction, health system strengthening, employment and entrepreneurship, inclusive peace and reconciliation, localization, financial mechanisms, food systems and livelihoods, and innovative technologies which are being implemented in Addis Ababa, Afar, Amhara, Oromia, Sidama, Somali, SNNPR, and Tigray regions of Ethiopia.

Background of the project

Cordaid in cooperation with Fair and Sustainable has been implementing the RESET Plus Innovation Fund initiative funded by the European Union. RESET Plus Innovation is a  four-year (2019 – 2022) initiative beginning with one year as an inception phase and then extending up to December 2023.  It covers 22 woredas in five regions of Ethiopia: Amhara, Oromia, Afar, SNNPR, and Somali. It has 13 innovation projects implemented by 12 consortiums and one sole implementer. The 12 consortium-based projects are led by 12 implementing prime partners and 17 co-implementer partner organizations. The lead implementing partners are Action Against Hunger, Caritas Switzerland, CIFA, COOPI, CST/ Trocaire, HEKS, HELVETAS, ICRISAT, Oromia Coffee Farmers Union, Oxfam, SOS Sahel, TDA, and VSF Suisse.

The 13 innovative projects are focused on: technology transfer, climate-smart agriculture and social transformation, sustainable production, value addition and marketing of main food crops; livestock insurance; conservation through compensation for eco-system services; sustainable clean energy access; etc.

The overall objective of the project is to contribute towards improved sustainable livelihoods and strengthened resilience of vulnerable communities through innovative actions that have the potential to influence existing systems. The innovation fund helps social entrepreneurs in realizing innovations that improve the livelihoods and resilience of 20,000 vulnerable people (50% women). The projects’ actions are expected to influence existing systems by introducing and adopting new and appropriate methodologies, approaches, technologies, and practices, in partnership with public and private stakeholders.

The importance of innovation for development is widely recognized in both the developed and developing countries all over the world. Innovation has always been the key driver of development processes in economic and social spheres. With the need for humanitarian aid growing rapidly, and finance in short supply, innovation is also required in the humanitarian sector in order to make the delivery of aid more efficient and effective. 

The Growth and Transformation Plan 2015/16-2019/20 (GTPII) of the Ethiopian government requires innovation across a range of social, economic, and technical spheres. Innovation is integral to all the GTPII’s pillars: modernizing the economy; finance and infrastructure; channeling the rapid rate of urbanization into a force for sustained, rapid growth and structural transformation of the economy; investments in the capacity of people, and women and youth.

The Innovation Fund is also desired to foster social innovation that enhances resilience-building in Ethiopia. The Innovations are expected to influence existing systems by introducing and adopting new and appropriate methodologies, approaches, technologies and practices. The RESET program seeks for sustainable changes that improve the performance and impact of private and public sector systems with special focus on building resilience capacity of vulnerable people and communities in drought prone areas. To make such changes, RESET recognizes the important role of innovation that must be driven from within those system.

The research component of the program has five themes which are conducted by four universities: Addis Ababa University, Wolayita Sodo university, Wello University and Hawassa university. The research themes are:

1. Best Practices on Adoption of new technologies and Systems by Beneficiary Communities and Local Stakeholders, by Addis Ababa University.
2. Approaches to the Enhancement of Ownership of Community Assets to Reduce Inefficiencies in the Use of Assets, by Hawasssa University.
3. Promotion of inclusive practices and the benefits of doing so, for building resilient and sustainable market systems, by Wolayita Sodo University.
4. Women and Youth Empowerment Initiatives and their contribution to resilience-building, by Hawassa University.
5. The benefits of using value addition innovations for household income improvement and its contribution to livelihoods upstream the value chain, by Wello University.

The universities conduct research to prove the tested innovations work. The research will support decision on the scale up of sound innovation practices for resilience building.

Objectives of the Project

Overall Objective

Contributing towards improved sustainable livelihoods and strengthened resilience of vulnerable communities through innovative actions that have the potential to influence existing systems.

Specific Objective

Promote social innovation in the resilience-building sector in Ethiopia through the Innovation Fund.

Project Location and Implementing Partners

Purpose of the Evaluation

The main purpose of the evaluation is to assess the extent to which the program meets the intended results effectively and efficiently. The evaluation will help to prove the implemented innovations and practices are sound to promote scale for the sustained resilience building of vulnerable communities. The evaluation will provide an evidence-based innovative practice for system improvement to bring sustained change in the country.  It helps to capture learnings during the process of deepening the knowledge, practice, assumptions, options, good practices and limitations of the innovations. The evaluation product will support evidence-based communication for the dissemination of the innovations for wider communities and policymakers.

Evaluation Focus/ Question

The evaluation needs to focus on the innovation practices that have been implemented by the 13 projects in five regions. It needs to measure the program proposed result indicators. The evaluation needs to focus on measuring and assessing the program based on the standard evaluation criteria. The evaluation needs to assess or answer the following, but not limited to, questions/ issues:

• How important is the innovation practices for the target groups (youth, women, men, and children)
• To what extent the objectives of the interventions be achieved   
• What are the success factors for the innovation practices?
• Are the tested innovations being workable in the country to improve resilience building and what are their contributions in the long-term resilience building?
• What is the extent of innovation adoption?
• What is the impact of the innovation practices on resilience building?
•  What is the extent of the feasibility of the innovation to promote in the country?
• What are the complementarity effects of the program?
• Number of changes incorporated in the policies and practices of the federal, regional and local governments as a consequence of the innovations introduced by the project.
•  Number of innovations supported by the Innovation Fund that are scaled up by private and/or public stakeholders by the end of the project.
•  Number of innovations supported by the Innovation Fund that are adopted or replicated by private and/or public stakeholders by the end of the project.
•  Number of links between social innovators and potential “supporters” (governments, microfinance institutions and investors, among others)
• Number of social innovations introduced and tested by social innovators with the support of the project.
• Number of social innovations that have proven to be successful during the implementation of the project. 

Users of the Evaluation       

The evaluation document will be shared and used by primarily for the RESET Plus Innovation Program implementing organizations, EU, government, other NGOs, and bi- and multi-lateral organizations to scale up the practices in the country. In addition, the evaluation will be used by private sectors and individuals to practice the innovative in their areas where it was not known and to scale up in the existing areas. In addition, researchers and policy makers will be used as a reference of evidence-based findings to take action accordingly.

Research Methodology

Due considering the geographic locations and the nature of the program and projects, the evaluation will deploy interactive methodologies to answer the evaluation questions and indicators. As a program, it has no baseline survey.

Sampling and data collection

The evaluation shall use different sampling and data collection methods so as to have sound research results. It is good to use both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. The researcher should suggest data collection methods to track the change and answer the evaluation questions.

Data Analysis

Like sampling and data collection systems, different research may use different data analysis systems. It is, therefore, the evaluator to suggest the proper data analysis system for this specified program evaluation.

Ethics and principle

The evaluation needs to respect the local community culture and follow the research principles that suit the interviewees’ perspective.

Human Resource

The evaluation team needs to have a valid professional composite so as to conduct a sound program evaluation. The expertise required professional evaluation skills and thematic expertise on Resilience, DRM, WASH, livelihood/ food security, innovation, gender, agriculture, and similar fields.

Requirements of the consultant firm:

• Legally registered consulting firm with renewed license.
• Relevant academic background, at least MSC level qualification, and enough experience in Resilience, DRR, WASH, Livestock, Livelihood/ Food Security, IGA, Agriculture, Rural Innovation, Gender, Climate Change Adaptation, Agronomy, Ecosystem Management/NRM, Economics, Data science, and related disciplines.
• Minimum of 5+ years of demonstrable quantitative and qualitative research experience and skills, statistical data collection and analysis systems, and especially project evaluation and surveys.
• Extensive experience in conducting evaluations along OECD-DAC evaluation criteria, ideally leading an evaluation team, and experience in designing evaluation methodology/tools, data analysis, etc.
• Previous relevant experiences with EU-funded resilience-building program/ projects.
• CVs of team members (only those to engage in the study) with summarized experts of their role in the study should separately be included in the technical proposal.

Key Deliverables

The deliverables of the research produce needs to be, but not limited to are:

• Inception report including an updated timeline, and detailed methodology.
• Draft evaluation report
• Final evaluation report in hard and soft copies. Cordaid will share the draft report for all implementing partners to collect their feedback, suggestions, and comments.
• Final data collection tools
• Cleaned data (including data files (e.g., Excel, SPSS), transcripts of qualitative data syntax/ code books, etc.) in soft copy.
• Case stories of the respective innovative practices
• Filled log frame.
• Facilitation of one workshop to validate evaluation findings and collect suggestions, and recommendations to incorporate on the draft report accordingly.
• The consultant needs to facilitate the evaluation validation workshop which will be organized by Cordaid in which 32 implementing partners, donors, government ministries, research institutions, and universities will participate. The consultant will collect the feedback, suggestions, and allied inputs of the workshop and revise the report accordingly.
• The consultant will present the final research findings in one learning/experience-sharing event workshop as deemed. In case Cordaid, needs the workshop, the workshop will be managed by Cordaid, and the place will be determined by Cordaid as well.

Timeline

The proposed evaluation will be completed within a maximum period of one month after signing the agreement and the researcher needs to present the detailed research schedule accordingly.

Budget

The researcher needs to show the detailed budget in the financial proposal.

Contact

Interested consultants can reach via the below email for any clarification request: [email protected]

Applications

The technical proposal should include, but not limited to:

• Response to the TOR
• Experience with the consultancy firm
• Proposed methodology
• Ethics, risk management,  
• Proposed timelines
• Timetable
• CVs
• Example of previous similar work.

Application procedure

The applicant should submit the technical and financial proposal in separate sealed envelopes in person to the Cordaid Ethiopia Logistics office before or on the 3^rd of November 2023 @ 10:00 a.m.

Cordaid Ethiopia Country Office address: 

• Millennium Hall, Adjacent to Avanti Restaurant or Behind the Ambassador Hotel.