Job Description

Terms of Reference (ToR) for End-line evaluation

1.       Introduction:

This document outlines the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the end-line evaluation to capture the impact of the Transformative Impact Fund (TiF) in the Gabiley district. This ToR provides the framework and guidelines for the end-line evaluation process, ensuring service providers are aligned on the project goals, deliverables, and timelines.

2.       Project Background:

 In 2021, the General Assembly set out a vision of "not hundreds, but thousands of communities organizing and connecting with other communities" around shared demands nationally and globally until their collective power to achieve just alternatives becomes unstoppable. It also resolved that ActionAid must transform itself to "deliver on our 2003 vision of becoming a truly people-led organization that effectively shifts resources and power to people living in poverty and vulnerability." It was further agreed that allocations from this "Transformative Impact Fund" should be decided by Global South members and country programs, who are closest to the priorities and realities of rights-holders. The implication of this bold step is that we must up our game organizationally and become more resilient, accountable, rooted, and sustainable. The Transformative Impact Fund (TIF) was therefore established to centralize and channel funds to members and country programs and to complement the support and services provided by the GS. This fund will be resourced initially with International Contributions from AAUK in excess of what is being allocated to the GS for its core functions, and by contributions from other members.

2.1.             Transformative ambition for TiF project.

Expected Impact: Improved income, livelihoods, resilience, and adaptation of communities, especially women and youth, in Somalia/Land to climate change.

Outcome/Overall Objective: To build the resilience of vulnerable communities in Somalia/Land to climate change’s impacts and variability through a transformative women-led community-based adaptation framework focusing on agroecology, agroforestry, disaster risk reduction, and policy integration at local, national, regional, and global levels, inclusive of climate change’s incidental societal impacts.

Outcome 1: Smallholder farmers, particularly women and young people are empowered to understand climate trends and to become change agents who develop and implement CBA plans and lead widespread adoption of agroecology, agroforestry, and gender-responsive DRR

Outcome 2: Community work (through the climate justice movement – Cadaaladda Cimilada Action Groups and through ActionAid’s Women’s Safe Spaces) is integrated with systematic organizing, movement-building and public engagement to link local rights-holders to wider constituencies regionally, nationally, and globally to influence policy and practice in climate justice, agroecology, gender responsive DRR and to address the communities’ needs relating to all impacts of climate change and climate-induced crises

Outcome 3: Women small business owners acquire skills and financial/non-financial business development services and improve income-generating capacity, productivity, and competitiveness

Outcome 1 Activities:

a)       Baseline covering all three output areas above- traditional knowledge, existing practices on CBA, DRR, disaster preparedness, agroecology, policies at local, national, and regional levels on CBA, disaster management and agroecology and resilience

b)      Mapping of common CBA and agroecology practices across the districts including identifying/developing/adapting appropriate training content in CBA and Agroecology

c)       Training women and youth farmers on CBA, agroecology and DRR through building women and youth climate justice champions of adaptation and demystifying climate change and climate related information and data for communities

d)      Stakeholder engagement meetings on regular basis to review progress and challenges associated.

Outcome 2 Activities:

a)       Establishing women and youth led climate justice information hubs in local communities and in schools (Cadaaladda Cimilada Action Groups)

b)      Providing training, mentorship, support, and supervision at district and national on climate justice, gender responsive DRR and agroecology

c)       Communications, Advocacy and Campaigns at local and national levels on climate justice and link these campaigns to regional and global initiatives and raising awareness through theatre, community conversations, mainstream and social media campaign

d)      Development of knowledge products (including audio visual documentation to local and national government relevant institutions

e)       Facilitation of regional learning circles and discussions between LRP Women’s Safe Space representatives

Outcome 3 Activities:

a)       Providing business development skills to women SMEs owners in records management, financial management (basic accounting skills) and linking with them to markets

b)      Linking women small business owners to financial institutions, and

c)       Advocacy on financial inclusion to enhance women’s access to finance and creation of an enabling environment for women participation

3.       Objectives of the Endline Assessment

The primary objective of the end-line assessment is to evaluate and provide reliable, final data on the project's performance against established benchmarks. The assessment will identify the best practices and key lessons in both technical implementation and program management. These insights will facilitate ongoing learning and improvements in resilience-building and climate-smart adaptation for women farmers, general agricultural community. The findings will be shared with the ActionAid Federation, TiF project implementing ActionAid countries, and donors, serving as a resource for future fundraising efforts.

4.       Evaluation Questions

• To what extent has the project achieved each indicator outlined in the Performance Measurement Framework at the outcome level?
• How well does the project align with ActionAid International’s Transformative Criteria, including efficiency, effectiveness, relevance, sustainability, and short-term intended and unintended impacts?
• How relevant has the project been to the economic, social, political, and environmental needs of participants and the local context?
• Did the project provide adequate support to ensure sustainable agricultural agroecological practices for targeted households?
• What impact did the intervention have on women, girls, youth, and people with disabilities who received direct support?
• How did the project contribute to women’s economic empowerment and access to justice in target communities?
• In what ways did the project enhance cash crop production and support women farmers in adapting to climate change and using agro-ecological practices?
• To what extent did the project provide protection and support to vulnerable individuals, particularly survivors of gender-based violence (GBV), and how did this affect their lives?
• What key lessons and best practices emerged from program implementation and contextual factors?
• Was the project cost-effective, considering the four Value for Money (VFM) criteria: Equity, Effectiveness, Economy, and Efficiency?
• How can lessons learned from this intervention inform future program design, implementation, coordination, and flexibility?

5.       Evaluation Criteria The evaluation will align with OECD's recommended criteria, covering relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, and impact. This assessment aims to enhance accountability to donors, stakeholders, and beneficiaries while informing future programming.

Relevance

• Did the project align with Somaliland’s agricultural and climate change policies?
• How effectively did the project address the needs and priorities of target communities, especially marginalized groups?
• How does flexible, multi-year funding compare to annual funding in meeting community needs?

Effectiveness

• To what extent has the project improved farmers’ knowledge, experience, and access to agricultural tools? Were the results satisfactory?
• How has the project influenced climate adaptation practices through knowledge and behavioral change?
• What key drivers and challenges affected project delivery?
• How effectively has the project applied lessons learned to enhance implementation?

Efficiency

• Were resources used efficiently, and could the same results have been achieved at a lower cost?
• Were project activities completed within the planned timeframe and budget?
• What technical, managerial, and policy constraints affected implementation?

Sustainability

• Has the project established sustainable, community-supported structures for climate adaptation?
• Can the community sustain project benefits without external support? If not, what are the key challenges?

Impact

• How has the project improved the quality of life in affected communities?
• Were there unintended positive or negative impacts on the household or community level?
• Has the project influenced climate change policy at the national level?
• How has the policy framework supported smallholder farmers in accessing climate finance and technical assistance?

Equity

• Did the project promote equitable participation and benefits across different demographic groups?
• What efforts were made over the past two years to advance equity, and what were the challenges?

6.      Approach and Methodology This endline study adopts a non-experimental design to conduct a pre-post comparison of results using mixed methods. Data collection will involve:

• A quantitative household survey
• Document reviews
• Key informant interviews and stakeholder discussions The technical team will propose a detailed methodology, including sampling strategies, data analysis, and ethical considerations.

7.       Scope of the Evaluation The assessment will cover Biyo Macaan, Dhalaada, Satiile, Xaaji Daahir, Taysa, Ijaara, Diingoobaale, and Boqor in Gabiley district. Participants include rural and urban community members, government authorities, Activista, and partner agencies.

8.      Responsibilities of ActionAid

• Mobilizing communities, government authorities, and other stakeholders
• Providing funding for consultancy fees, logistics, and materials
• Introducing the consultant to relevant stakeholders
• Reviewing and approving data collection tools
• Supporting and supervising field data collection
• Reviewing and approving the final report

9.      Responsibilities of the Consultant

• Managing logistics and recruiting enumerators
• Developing and obtaining approval for the methodology and data collection tools
• Creating a detailed work plan
• Conducting document reviews and leading field data collection
• Training enumerators
• Conducting interviews and focus group discussions
• Presenting preliminary findings to ActionAid
• Submitting the final evaluation report

10.   Key Deliverables

1. Inception Report detailing methodology, sample size, ethical considerations, and work plan
2. Draft Evaluation Report addressing key evaluation questions, followed by a review process with ActionAid
3. Final Evaluation Report using the following suggested format:

ü  Executive Summary (one page written succinctly to summarize the methodology, key findings, and lessons learned)

ü  **Recommendations**list of key recommendations and learning from the evaluation, with brief explanations

ü  Introduction:

ü  Project Introduction, purpose and objectives

ü  Methodology, Scope, and Sampling

ü  Limitations

ü  Key Findings analyzed on evaluation criteria and in reference to the evaluation question while also providing gender and geographically disaggregated data.

ü  Conclusions

ü  Recommendations for future programming.

ü  List of interviewees including name, organization and role (if applicable)

1. Submission of Dataset(s) including raw and cleaned data, codebooks, and transcriptions

11.   Duration of the Assignment The assignment will last 45 working days from April 10 to May 15, 2025, covering travel, fieldwork, and reporting.

ork, and reporting. The evaluation is expected to take place from 10th April to 15th May 2025.

Experiences and Qualifications

1.       Key guidelines for content gathering

·         Ensure informed consent is obtained by all those photographed, interviewed or videoed using this form. This goes for those fully recognisable in the background of shots, unaware they are being captured. All consent must be provided when delivering content. Consent can be gathered in a voice note or on a video, please talk the individual through the form and explain where their image or story may be seen and what information might be used. Please record them saying their name, location and to repeat the first line of the consent form to have a record of their consent:
 
‘My name is XXX. My location is XXX. I agree that the words spoken by me and photographs and/or video footage taken of myself, and my family may be used by ActionAid to communicate about their work, raise money for their work, or be used in international media to publicize their work for a period of five years.’

·         Please deliver the consent along with the content. We will not be able to use content without a record of informed consent.

·          Anonymity: individuals may not wish to be identified, for legal, safety or other reasons. If that is the case, we can protect their identities by changing names, locations and identifying details, photographing them in a way that conceals identity or doing audio-only interviews.

·         Please capture a variety of landscape and portrait format photographs.

·         When doing interviews please ensure the person’s answers are full as we need to be able to isolate full soundbites of speech.  

·         Please take a variety of photos of the people you interview – portraits with context and photos of them interacting with others  

·         Ensure that people who share their stories are in control of the way they are represented.

·         Nothing should be shot in a pitiful way, and all content should show strengths, not weaknesses - Try to get at least one portrait of everyone using a slightly low angle whilst they make full eye contact with the lens. 

·         ActionAid’s Visual Content Guidelines, including our Child Protection Policy (in English here and Arabic here) must be read and understood BEFORE a trip commences.

2.       Documents to submit:

-       Technical Proposal

o   Cover Letter – Briefly introduce your company/team and express interest in the project.

o   Company/Team Profile – Experience, expertise, and past projects related to documentary production.

o   Technical proposal – Overview of the documentary’s vision, themes, and objectives.

o   Work Plan & Timeline – Clear schedule for pre-production, filming, and post-production.

o   Methodology & Approach – How you plan to research, shoot, and produce the documentary.

o   Team Composition – Key personnel and their roles (e.g., director, cinematographer, editor).

-       Financial Proposal

o   Typically outlines the budget, cost estimates, and financial justifications for the end-line evaluation.

-        Supporting Documents

o   References or Testimonials – From past clients or partners.

o   Portfolio & Samples – Previous endline evaluation and reference.  

Skills Required

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