We Effect

Deadline: 26 May 2021

Introduction

We Effect is an International Non-Governmental Organisation (INGO) which was established by the cooperative movement in Sweden in 1958. We Effect works in 25 countries in Asia, Europe, Latin America, Southern and Eastern Africa.

During the programme period 2018-2021, We Effect has been operating within the framework of its Global Strategy for Development Cooperation 2017-2022 which outlined its vision of “a sustainable and just world free from poverty” and mission “to strengthen the capacity of member-based, democratic organisations to enable women and men in poverty to improve their living conditions, defend their rights, and contribute to a just society. The strategy has a strong gender equality focus and also aims to contribute to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Regional Office for Southern Africa also developed a strategy linked to the 2017-2021 global strategy.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, We Effect developed an interim strategy for 2021-22 in response to challenges due to COVID- 19. The interim strategy focuses on the right to food with three central principles namely gender transformation, climate justice and rights- based approach.

Programme background

The GREEN Enterprise and Business Development Programme (GREEN EBDP) is an Embassy of Sweden financed programme in Zimbabwe. It is managed by We Effect and implemented in partnership with three local partners namely Self-Help Development Foundation (SHDF), Zimbabwe Women’s Bureau (ZWB) and Jekesa Pfungwa (JPV). The programme is being implemented in nine districts across four provinces of Zimbabwe as follows: JPV- Chimanimani, Umzingwane and Zaka; SHDF- Buhera, Gwanda and Seke; ZWB- Goromonzi, Gweru and Mutare Rural.

The GREEN EBDP was developed as a successor programme to the Enterprise and Business Development Programme (EBDP) 2014 – 2017 after a very positive evaluation which noted that the programme had successfully mobilised and trained almost 60 000 adult male and female, youth female and male entrepreneurs to start their own enterprises. The project was then recommended to double the incomes of project participants. It commenced implementation on 01 April 2018 and was expected to end on 31 December 2020. However due to COVID-19 pandemic, activities were delayed and postponed during the period. A twelve (12) months no-cost and a cost-extension for 2021 was approved to implement the delayed and postponed activities.

The programme seeks to build on findings, lessons learned, and recommendations from the EBDP evaluation. It also aims to contribute to the implementation of the Strategy for Sweden’s development cooperation with Zimbabwe, We Effect’s Global and Regional strategy as well as the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals.

The overall objective of the GREEN EBDP is to ensure “Improved sustainable livelihoods and food security for rural women and young people”. It is expected that the programme will result in doubling of the household income for 67 500 rights holders. The expected outcomes are as follows: Outcome 1 - Productive and decent work for rural women and youth through on and off farm green enterprise development resulting in entrepreneurs individually or in groups / cooperatives starting up or improving their businesses in the areas of agriculture (livestock, horticulture, grain, oilseeds, tubers, apiculture, aquaculture, and forestry), renewable energy, rural housing, general trading, and services; Outcome 2 - Farm entrepreneurs applying environmentally sustainable climate smart techniques and practices including conservation farming, agroforestry, forestry, and domestic water harvesting; Outcome 3 - We Effect’s Partner Organisations (POs) effectively representing rural entrepreneurs, providing demand-driven services, and applying Human Rights Based Approaches (HRBA) in their work.

Evaluation purpose

We Effect intends to carry out an evaluation of the GREEN EBDP. The purpose of the evaluation is to assess: The relevance of the GREEN EBDP to the local context, relevant Sida strategies, We Effect’s global strategy, and strategies of partner organisations; The results achieved against programme objectives and changes that have taken place at entrepreneur level as a result of the GREEN EBDP; The effectiveness, cost efficiency, relevance, impact, quality, accuracy and sustainability of the GREEN EBDP implementation including the financial and technical support provided to the partner organisations and the internal operational and financial management control systems; The risks and challenges and how they were managed; Overall performance of major project components e.g. Trainings, Green Investment fund, market linkages, M&E; How the programme has worked with gender equality issues and the rights- based approach; The extent of environment, climate change and resilience building activities in the programme; Organisational structure, the relevance and dimensioning of this structure in relation to functions and duties. The internal communication mechanisms through the whole cooperation chain shall also be assessed; PO capacity as a result of programme efforts as reflected by technical and financial capacity to deliver their mandate and their sustainability.

Consultant is expected to document lessons learned, best practices and make recommendations on direction in terms of the strategic areas a new programme can address and expected outcome results building on the current programme: Type of partners to be selected for effective implementation within the recommended strategic areas; Programme management and implementation mechanisms including funding modalities of partner organisations; We Effect value addition areas, Synergies with other programmes,

The primary intended users of the evaluation findings are: The project management team and staff at We Effect; We Effect partners; The Embassy of Sweden in Harare; Other donors.

Methodology

It is expected that the evaluator describes and justifies an appropriate methodology and methods for data collection in the tender. The evaluation design, methodology and methods for data collection and analysis are expected to be fully presented in the inception report.

The approach to evaluation is utilization-focused which means the evaluator should facilitate the entire evaluation process with careful consideration of how everything that is done will affect the use of the evaluation. It is therefore expected that the evaluators, in their tender, present: How the intended users are to participate in and contribute to the evaluation process; The methodology and methods for data collection that create space for reflection, discussion and learning between the intended users of the evaluation findings.

Deliverables

Inception Report – The inception report shall include; timeline, full budget, and detailed methodology as well as a brief justification of the methods and techniques to be used. The inception report should be submitted and presented to We Effect and its partner organisations to facilitate feedback; Draft Evaluation Report will be submitted and presented to We Effect and partners highlighting main preliminary findings, conclusions, and recommendations at a validation meeting; Final Evaluation Report including an executive summary and annexures (data collection tools and consent forms); The report shall be written in English, Font Georgia 11 and should be a maximum of 40 pages excluding annexes; Cleaned data set including full transcription and translated FGDs and KIIs in English; The Final evaluation report shall be submitted in PDF and Word electronic copies and two (2) bound hard copies.

Duration and Timing

The duration of the assignment will be for 30 days. The Consultant will be required to commence work by 31st May 2021 and complete the evaluation by 9th July 2021. It is expected that a work plan is presented in the tender and further detailed in the inception report. The timing of any field visits, surveys and interviews need to be settled by the evaluator in dialogue with the main stakeholders during the inception phase.

Financial Proposal

The Consultant should provide a full budget for all costs of the assignment (inclusive of travel costs and subsistence allowances) in the proposal to undertake the assignment. The Consultant will work from their premises, using their own equipment. The evaluator will be required to arrange own logistics as regards accommodation, field visits and transport.

Application Procedures

Applications consisting of: A cover letter summarising suitability and qualifications for this assignment; List of relevant similar assignments or actual outputs from these assignments; CVs of the team members; Technical and financial proposal with indicative work plan showing consultant’s planned approach to the assignment; Company profile and compliance to the Laws of the Republic of Zimbabwe, if registered as a company; current tax certificate; Any other support documents.

Selection Criteria

The criteria for selecting the consultant are: Qualifications; At least eight years’ experience in social research and evaluation of development programmes; Experience in Non Governmental Organisation work, rural development, agriculture, gender, organisational development, Financial services and business development; Experience in the evaluation/implementation of Enterprise development programming will be an added advantage; The evaluators must be independent from the evaluation object and evaluated activities and should have no stake in the outcome of the evaluation; Good understanding of the local context in the programme country.

Profile of the consultant/s

The evaluation team shall include the following competencies: A post-graduate degree or equivalent in monitoring and evaluation or social sciences; At least 8 years proven experience in conducting programme/project evaluations in a similar field; Experience in managing and conducting big research projects; training and program management; Excellent interpersonal, communication and analytical skills; A sound reputation for independence and fairness; as well as compliance with ethical standards for evaluators; It is important that the competencies of the individual team members are complimentary.