TERM OF REFERENCE FINAL EVALUATION Plan funded Water and Hygiene Support to the Central dry Zone Project in Nyaung-U, Mandalay Region, Myanmar 1. Introduction Plan is an international humanitarian, child-centered development organization without religious, political or government affiliation. Plan s vision is a world in which all children realize their full potential in societies that respect people s rights and dignity. Plan started operations in Myanmar in 2008 following Cyclone Nargis, carried out activities in emergency relief, DRR, school construction and ECCD centres in cyclone-affected townships of Ayeyarwaddy Region. Plan Myanmar signed its MoU in July 2012 with the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement and primarily implements its programs through partners to reach marginalised children, families and communities, supporting change in six key areas: Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD); Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health with Nutrition (MNCHN); Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH); Child Protection and Advocacy and Disaster Risk Reduction. Working with partnership and alliances is one of Plan strategic directions. The strategic direction was translated into Plan s rights based approach Child Centered Community Development (CCCD) which serves as the solid basis for enriching the work of Plan and its partners. 2. Project Background Taung Hpi Lay Ywar Ma and Zee Za Mhyin villages in Nyaung-U Township are located in a semiarid area of Mandalay. The residents of these villages depend on open ponds and hand dug wells for domestic and drinking water and usually do not treat the water before drinking it. The ponds and wells only supply water from June to October and dried up for the rest of the year. The women and children in those communities have to walk over an hour to a neighboring pond or borehole to get water that they have to pay for. Given the low rain fall and deep water table, viable solutions to the water shortage are limited and tube wells need to be drilled to a depth of about 750 feet. The remoteness of the project locations along with its geo-physical conditions put the villagers in an extremely vulnerable situation, where they practically have no access to safe water supply. Therefore, Plan Myanmar implemented a WASH project in those two villages through providing boreholes construction, water supply systems and hygiene promotion activities in partnership with a local organization called Chan Myae Myittar Cooperative Society (CMMCS). The overall objective of the project is to improve the health status of vulnerable people in the communities of the proposed area, by improving access to adequate safe water, sanitation and promoting hygiene practices. Specific objective of this project are: Improve healthy hygiene practices among the community Sustainable water management & distribution systems in communities through inclusive Village Water Committees. Sufficient safe water and latrines for students in school compounds. Train community volunteers on relevant WASH approach. 3. Evaluation Purpose and Scope The purpose of the study is to evaluate project achievements towards the intermediate and immediate results of the projects as per the logical framework and to reflect and learn from what has worked well and what has not, the reasons why and provide recommendations to inform future projects.
More in specific: i. Assess project relevance The consultant(s) will review whether the project is addressing the key problems as set out in the project proposal. Within this objective, the project activities that were implemented shall be examined to ascertain:- o Relevance of the project interventions in relation to Plan Myanmar s country programme WASH sector goals, Plan s global policy and National strategies/policies; o Relevance of the project with respect to the needs and expectations of the targeted beneficiaries. ii. Assess project efficiency The consultant(s) shall review the extent to which the project has used efficiently used resources to achieve its outcomes. The key areas of focus under this objective are to determine the optimal utilization of resources vis-à-vis the quality of outputs and project delivery, and the extent to which implementation has been planned over the project implementation period. iii. Assess project effectiveness The consultant(s) shall assess and analyze the effectiveness in terms of among other things: o How the project has delivered on set targets as outlined in the project proposal, log frame and project outline; o How the project has adhered to Plan Program principles of child centeredness, learning, gender equity, empowerment/sustainability, environmental sustainability and cooperation and Plan s Child Centred Community Development approach. iv. Assess project outcomes and emerging impact The consultant(s) shall undertake a systematic analysis of changes brought in the lives of the children and the capacity of community groups involved in the project. Specific issues to be examined include: o Changes in the personal hygiene practices, especially hand washing with soap on regular basis. o Comparison of results between girls and boys; men and women, to determine if there are gender gaps in the results achieved, as well as any explanations for the gaps o Changes in the capacity of partner organization and community groups involved in the project o Determine the extent to which these changes can be attributed to project implementation at the level of the target groups, the level of partner organization and at any other levels v. Assess project sustainability The consultant(s) shall assess the extent to which the project has built the capacity that ensures that the project outcomes are sustainable. Specific issues to be examined under this objective are: o How the water supply technology is functioning and what is the ownership consideration of the facilities o What are the operation and maintenance factors taken into consideration and how the project has been able to support and build capacity of the various groups of people participating in the project; WASH Committee members on operation and maintenance of WASH facilities; School WASH committees and communities on hygiene awareness sessions. o How the project has been able to work with existing community and other stakeholder structures in building their capacity to be able to sustain the project.
o Identify the various challenges and solutions that may affect the sustainability of the project. vi. Lessons learnt, conclusions and recommendations The consultant shall review all data/information gathered and: - Outline all key lessons learnt with analysis of what worked well and what didn t work well, how things would have been done differently to make a better impact and if there were any changes were made in the project, if there were then why these were done and how, and how that helped in achieving project objectives. Conclusions and recommendations; Outline any policy organizational (Plan) and operational lessons specifically drawn from the project. 4. Evaluation Utilization The evaluation report will be used to reflect on the overall impact of the project strategies employed in this action. Plan will be the primary user of the report and a summary of the report will be shared with stakeholders, in particular partner organization and beneficiaries of the project. The lessons and recommendations arising from the evaluation will inform and guide future programming of projects of a similar nature, especially with regards to replicating and scaling up the project by Plan or other agencies. 5. Methodology The consultant(s) are to develop their own methodology for the evaluation that they believe will be most effective within the available budget and duration; however, the consultant will provide detail of the methodology and tools they will use for data collection and analysis to produce a high quality reliable report.. The methodology may include the following: Document review/desk study documents such as project proposal, programme design, quarterly and reports, work plans, log frame etc. Focus groups focus groups will be conducted with different beneficiary groups (e.g. Village WASH Committees, School WASH committees) Key Informant Interviews interviews with key partner CMMCS, Community leaders, Plant staff, representatives of other WASH agencies, etc. Site observations the consultants may make observation of project sites with informants. This will help verify evaluation findings and dig findings to further layers through continued interviews after observation. Most significant change stories this is mostly to serve measuring effectiveness and impacts of the projects' interventions. PRA PRA consist of powerful tools that can be used during the study at grass-roots level. The consultants will make use of PRA tools whenever appropriate. Case studies case studies is a highly appropriate method for best practice documentation. 6. Report Format The evaluation report in English will be structured as follows: Title Page Content page List of abbreviations and acronyms Executive Summary Introduction and background Objectives of Evaluation Methodology and Limitations Description of the project or programme
Findings and Analysis Results, including logic model showing baseline and final results of the project Recommendations and Lessons Learned Annexes: These might include: Summary assessment of CCCD All data collection tools; Consent forms Additional methodological information if required Evaluation work plan schedule List of persons/organizations interviewed. List of key documents reviewed Maps, photos or more detailed case studies 7. Duration of Consultancy 2 nd Week to last Week of March 2014 8. Responsibilities i. Responsibility of Consultant(s) Will be responsible for completing all tasks as described in this TOR including: Designing the methodology (qualitative/quantitative) Reviewing related documents Qualitative and quantitative data collection in the field Data analysis and report writing Final Report submission in soft and hard copies The consultant(s) will be responsible for timely delivery of the outputs as outlined in the section 10. ii. Responsibility of Plan staff Preparation for the evaluation and coordinate the field work Recruit consultant and monitor the process. Make sure that the process is participatory and well-coordinated Make sure that the quality of the evaluation is met (Support to finalize the tools, methodologies etc.) iii. Responsibility of Partner Organization: Coordinate the participation of community in the process Be part of the evaluation process 9. Qualifications of the Consultant The consultant should meet the following qualifications and experience: Nationality of Myanmar for easy access to the project villages Available full time during the period of the consultancy In-depth knowledge in Community Based WASH approach Demonstrated understanding of and commitment to children s rights, gender and development issues Track record in developing and conducting various types of evaluation including qualitative and quantitative data collection Experience in data collection and analysis using participatory methodologies, particularly in rural communities in Myanmar. Experience of evaluating WASH projects Ability to write clear, concise reports in English
Understanding of country level policies, framework and strategy on WASH Excellent understanding of Child Protection and ethical issues in research 10. Expected Outputs and Time Frame This is tentative only and will depend on consultant team proposal. # List of Outputs Completed by 1 Draft methodology Preparation of a draft methodology based on the TOR 10 th March 2014 and a review of project background documentation 2 Finalised list of critical questions and finalised methodology agreed with WASH Programme Manager 12 th March 2014 3 1 st Draft report (English) Following completion of the field work, a draft report setting out the activities conducted, the findings, analysis of implications, recommendations 4 Final report (English) Incorporate feedbacks from Plan staff and other external reviewers; compile the final report to submit to Plan. 21 st March 2014 31 st March 2014 11. Budget The fee for consultants will be negotiated and applied following according to Plan Myanmar regulation. Plan Myanmar considered paying 50 % of consultancy fees at the beginning of the evaluation after the agreement of MoU signed. 40 % will be paid upon the submission of draft report and final payment 10 % will be met on submission of final report. 12. Application process We invite interested consultants to submit the following application documents: Expression of interest outlining how the consultant meets the selection criteria and their understanding of the TORs and methodology A proposed activities schedule/work plan with time frame CV of the consultant(s) who will undertake the evaluation One recent example of similar evaluation report written by the applicant Financial proposal detailing consultant(s) itemized fees, data collection and administrative costs Please send your application to Pan Myanmar office addressed to: HR Department, No 7, Pyi Taw Aye Yeik Thar Street, Kaba Aye Pagoda Road, Yankin Township, Yangon, Myanmar or email to Myanmar.CO@plan-international.org The deadline for applying is 3 March, 2014. Reference & background checks will be performed for successful candidates including clearances on child related offences in conformity with Plan s Child Protection Policy. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Plan is an equal opportunity employer.