World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (EOIs)
Joint Evaluation of Food Security Cluster Coordination (FSCC) in Humanitarian Action
Date of the EOI:
Closing Date of the EOI:
Email EOI to:
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11 June 2013
28 June 2013
FSC-Evaluation@fao.org
PURPOSE OF EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
FAO and WFP’s Evaluation Offices (EO) are seeking Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from qualified
individuals and institutions (consultancy firms) for the provision of services to complete an
independent Evaluation of Food Security Cluster Coordination in Humanitarian Action. Further
details on the evaluation are provided in the concept note accompanying this Call for Expression
of Interest. The full TOR will be provided to those shortlisted for the assignment.
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SCOPE OF WORK
WFP and FAO jointly serve as Global Cluster Lead Agency for the Food Security Cluster. While
some FSCC work existed at country level prior to the IASC decision to set up a Global Food Security
Cluster at the end of 2010, more intensive support for this work has been ongoing since 2011 and
over the past three years, WFP and FAO have been investing increasing financial and human
resources in FSC cluster coordination mechanisms both at country and global levels. Recently
efforts have made to put in place a monitoring system for FSCC work – however to date no
evaluation has sought to undertake a systematic, in-depth and independent assessment of the
relevance and performance of food security coordination efforts and the role of the two agencies
in supporting them.
Toward this end, FAO and WFP’s EO will be undertaking a Joint Evaluation of Food Security
Cluster Coordination during the last quarter of 2013 and first quarter 2014. Given the fact that
FSC coordination work has only really been scaled up in the last years, a key objective of the
evaluation is learning -> the evaluation results and recommendations will be focused on improving
the effectiveness of the cluster work and will contribute to global FSC strategy development.
The evaluation aims to generate credible evidence for results achieved or not achieved at country
level by FSCs – and the role and contribution of the global FSC to these results. The evaluation will
contribute the growing body of evaluative work on cluster coordination and to a wider assessment
of the humanitarian reform process and implementation of the Transformative Agenda. Its main
objective will be to assess, as systematically and objectively as possible, the relevance,
effectiveness, efficiency, connectedness, coverage and connectedness of Food Security Cluster
Coordination efforts to date, at all levels.
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DESIRED TEAM PROFILE
The evaluation will be staged in three phases: the Inception Phase (Sept/Oct 2013), the Data
Collection and Analysis Phase (Nov/13-Feb/14), and the Reporting Phase (Mar-June/14). During
the Inception Phase the Team Leader will undertake a desk review and a limited number of
interviews to further refine the Theory of Change, the scope of the evaluation and key issues. S/he
will develop the work plan for the evaluation exercise including roles and responsibilities for the
individuals within the team. The team leader will also be responsible for developing all data
gathering tools that the team will use. In the Data Collection and Analysis Phase, the evaluation
will employ a mixed-method approach entailing triangulation of the most appropriate qualitative
and quantitative methods, so as to derive the best perceptual and documentary evidence
available for measuring FSC coordination performance, including both an informal desk review (for
general background) and a formal desk review (for documentary evidence); interviews and focus
groups; direct observation of key cluster coordination activities, and a benchmarking analysis of
other organisations. In addition to visiting WFP and FAO Headquarters locations, the evaluation
team will visit several regional offices and 6-8 countries, in order to examine how cluster
coordination activities are undertaken at different levels.
It is envisioned that the team will comprise a team leader with experience in leading complex
evaluations as well as 2-3 other team members. FAO and WFP OE are looking for individuals that
have capabilities and experience in the following areas:
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significant experience in the humanitarian system, especially in the area of cluster
coordination and emergency response, in-depth knowledge of the humanitarian reform
process and its Transformative Agenda;
familiarity with food security responses in humanitarian contexts including WFP and FAO’s
emergency operations;
strong skills in using mixed-methods in research and evaluation environments
ability to write well and synthesize evidence;
ability to gather data (review documentation and conduct interviews) in both English and
French (note that the report will be written in English).
The Team Leader will be responsible for undertaking the evaluation from start to finish, and in a
timely and high-quality manner, for the bulk of data collection and analysis, as well as report
drafting. Total team leader days are estimated to be 60-80 when actually employed. The other
team members will begin their preparatory work in October and will be working intensively in
November, January and February undertaking field missions and analysis. Total team member
days are estimated to be 35-45 days depending on the number of field missions undertaken.
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SUBMISSION OF EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (EOI)
EOI are welcome from individuals or groups of individuals. Please note that successful candidates
will be offered individual consultant contracts which will entitle them to an honorarium, daily
subsistence allowance while on mission, insurance while on mission. All travel will be organized by
the commissioning organizations.
EOIs (cover letter and cv) should be sent to FSC-Evaluation@fao.org no later than close of
business Friday 28th June 2013.