Background to the Project
The IKEA Foundation funded project; Creating rural opportunities for women and youth through climate resilient entrepreneurship in Kenya, was implemented in four branch offices located in the following counties of Kenya: Embu, Homabay, Busia and Bomet.
HIH EA utilizes an integrated four step approach:
Step 1. Social mobilization and savings: Group formation is a crucial building block, creating mutual support. A total of 43,200 rural poor (of which 80% female; 40% youth) were targeted to be mobilized into groups of 10-20 members jointly trained on group dynamics, leadership and savings mobilization.
Step 2. Enterprise and climate resilient training: Business and financial management training, complemented by needs-based vocational skills training, was availed to members to establish/expand sustainable and resilient enterprises. Modules included the basics of business, bookkeeping, business registration, financial analysis and relevant skills training.
Climate resilient training sensitizes on basic climate change science and scenarios, and promotes environmentally friendly practices at business and household levels, as well as the creation of green businesses. Individuals learnt adaptation and mitigation measures to climate change. Adaptive measures included crop diversification; drought-resistant crops; irrigation and rain harvesting. Mitigation measures included economical use of resources; eco-friendly materials; tree planting to reduce soil erosion; facilitation of organic farming groups and cultivation; and promotion of renewable energy in cooking, lighting and other aspects of household and enterprise development.
Step 3. HiH EA facilitated linkages to government credit funds with formal partnership agreements. 50% of members were targeted to access HiH’s Enterprise Incubation Fund (EIF), which aims to expand members’ access to catalytic business capital. Micro-loan of up to US$100 was availed at an affordable interest rate to eligible members (12-month loan term), after which they transitioned to Micro-Finance Institutions or regular banks
Step 4. Linking of entrepreneurs to markets: HiH EA supported members to improve the value, quality, competitiveness and resilience of products/services. HiH EA aimed to create market linkages and community structures that were to remain beyond exit, such as the formation of associations and cooperatives to aggregate production, increase quality and improve access to investments, technology/inputs, markets and value chains.
Climate Resilient Entrepreneurship Club Component. Separate from the program described above, HiH EA targeted 4,800 primary and secondary school students between the ages of 12-17. Students were to be enrolled in extra-curricular climate resilient entrepreneurship clubs that complemented the Kenyan education curriculum with a forward-thinking, interactive and market-based teaching element. The clubs aimed to i) encourage students to explore new opportunities and consider the potential of rural self-employment, ii) sensitize students on issues of climate change and raise awareness on adaptation practices, and iii) increase leadership skills and self-confidence. Ultimately, the clubs aimed to pave a productive way out of poverty for upcoming youth.
The assignment
Objective and Scope
To carry out an End Term review of the project as described above and outlined in the program logframe to:
Assess achievements against targets
Assess the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Framework
Assess the quality of program implementation
Analyze what went well and not so well
Develop a new theory of change based on the findings, highlighting critical pathways of change.
Lessons learnt
Recommendations for future projects
Methodology
Applicants should outline suggested methodologies for answering the evaluation questions below which incorporate quantitative, qualitative primary and secondary research methodologies. Currently, the program team has a Management Information System which contains relevant data related to some of the program output indicators. We expect the evaluators to validate the data that we have collected to report on our results.
There are outcome and output indicators that will require primary data collection. We expect the evaluators to build on some of our existing data collection tools to carry out this data collection.
Deliverables
An End Term review Inception Plan which outlines in detail what the consultancy team will do. (Template to be agreed with HiH EA and HIHI).
Development/redevelopment of primary data collection tool/s and data collection plan.
A presentation of draft findings to both the HiH EA and HiHI teams for discussion and feedback.
An End Term review report of approximately 40 pages.
An Executive Summary of no more than 4 pages.
Presentation of the End Term Evaluation to HiH EA/HiHI.
End Term Evaluation core areas of enquiry and questions
Outputs and Outcomes
Collect data for output and outcome indicators which regular data collection does not cover. An overview of which outputs and outcomes are not covered by regular data collection are highlighted in Annex 1.
Effectiveness
Did the program meet all outcome and output targets?
What were the key drivers and barriers affecting the delivery of results for the project?
What innovations have been deployed to reach targets?
Has the project been adapted to changes?
Were Midterm recommendations implemented? What has been the results of implementation?
What lessons and learnings can be drawn from the income and productivity longitudinal survey commissioned in June 2019?
Efficiency
To what extent did the project team understand cost drivers and manage these in relation to performance requirements? Did the project implementation team possess the required specific skills for the project?
To what extent did the program deliver results on time and on budget against agreed plans?
Could the program have been implemented in a more cost effective way? What and for whom?
Relevance
Target groups:
To what extent did the project target and reach the intended target groups effectively (women, youth, students)? Could there have been another approach?
Gender: how did the project improve/build on good practices when targeting women?
Youth: how did the project improve/build on good practices when targeting youth?
How did the project actively involve the youth and build their leadership?
How well did the project respond to the stated needs and requirements of the target beneficiary groups?
Was the approach used on school going children beneficial to pupils?
How did the project beneficiaries get involved in the project design, implementation and monitoring?
Relevance of programme activities:
Adoption of climate resilient practices
What sustainable Climate resilient practices have been adopted, and to what extent, by the members;
Agroforestry,
Climate smart Agriculture, (Drought tolerant crops, soil and water conservation,
Renewable Energy (Energy saving cook stoves)
Waste management practices (Waste segregation and recycling)
Water harvesting and storage
Climate change trends per county for the last four years.
Sustainable climate change resilient practices implemented per county
Partnerships established within the project, their level of involvement and areas of enhancing sustainability.
Relevant partners and their contribution in the project implementation.
What good agricultural/irrigation/climate resilient practices have been trained to the SHG members?
How relevant were the School Clubs and have they demonstrated impact amongst the target beneficiaries, that is attributable to the project?
Training
Was the training delivered effectively? (Quality of training)
Who benefited the most from the training provided? Are there indirect beneficiaries of the training and how have they benefitted? (households/family, community)
Were midterm recommendations touching on training implemented and what has been their impact?
Sustainability
To what extent is their available evidence, that the benefits delivered by the project will be sustained beyond the project?
What are some of the measures that Self Help Groups and Clubs have put in place to enhance their functionality and sustainability?
Were midterm recommendations on exit strategies implemented?
Impact
How can we improve our monitoring and learning framework to ensure evidence of the impact of the program is more effectively collected and communicated?
What are some of the unintended consequences (positive or negative) outcomes of the project?
To what extent has our Theory of Change been demonstrated as set out above and in our logframe? Is our theory of change still valid?
What are the key needs in the four project implementation areas, that can inform the design of another phase of the project, for impact maximization?
Gender and Youth
How did the project contribute to reducing gender-based inequality?
To what extent did the project mainstream gender equality in the design and delivery of activities (and or other relevant excluded groups)?
What practical activities did the project team undertake to build on gender and youth mainstreaming?
How has the project contributed towards changed gender dynamics within households?
How many women and youth have increased confidence and leadership skills to actively input into decisions relating to income and climate change?
How has the project contributed to changes in the way adolescent (students below 18) and young women (18-35) are growing in terms of their personal and household decision-making?
Audience
This evaluation will be shared with the IKEA Foundation. It will also be published externally on the HiH EA and HiHI website and shared with key partners. The report will also be used to improve future program implementation.
Submitting Proposals
HiH EA and HiH I are requesting the consultants to submit proposals to respond to this Terms of Reference outlined above. We expect the consultancy firm or consultant to demonstrate the skills and experience outlined below (or equivalent):
The consultant should have a minimum of 8 years’ experience in field research
Should demonstrate evidence of past relevant evaluation assignments in Kenya and be able to provide examples as requested
Proven track record in analytical report writing
Capacities with electronic data collection will be favorably considered
Experience of field work and data collection at household level in Kenya
Operational capacity in Kenya
In-depth knowledge of enterprise development programs, involving the poor, rural entrepreneurs and smallholder farmers
Experience in monitoring and evaluation of projects relating to agriculture, livestock, and climate change resilience
Expertise on women and youth’s economic empowerment programmes and barriers and challenges to participation in the economy and society will be favored
The proposal should include the following:
A short outline of evaluation approach, research design and methods for the ETR including how they propose to answer the research questions outlined above.
A proposed process and timeframe for the ETR setting out the phases, the number of consultants and the number of days.
The anticipated challenges and dependencies affecting the implementation of the ETR and how these should be addressed both by the consultants, by HIH EA and HiH Intl.
A summary of the skills and experience of the proposed lead consultant and the consultant(s) together with her/his CV showing relevant previous assignments and clients.
A detailed fee quote and rationale for the lead consultant and an estimate for the costs of other consultant(s).
