Terms of Reference
Final Evaluation
Muzaffargarh Food Security Project Province Punjab Pakistan
September 2015
1. Background
Concern Worldwide is an international, non-governmental, humanitarian organisation dedicated to the
reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s
poorest countries. Concern has been working in Pakistan since 2001, when it initiated an emergency
response project to address the Afghan refugee crisis in Baluchistan. Concern later moved into
emergency, early recovery, and long-term development programming being implemented though local
NGO partners in Baluchistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Punjab, and Sindh provinces.
Muzaffargarh has the 2nd highest incidence of severe poverty amongst Punjab’s 35 districts 1. 48.6%
of Pakistan’s population is food insecure and in Punjab, food insecurity has more than doubled since
2003; one third of the population are unable to meet their recommended caloric intake/day and
households spend 53% of income on food, highlighting their acute poverty, food insecurity and
vulnerability to shocks2. In Punjab, poverty is strongly correlated with land ownership and the strong
feudal system, with a poverty incidence of more than one quarter amongst landless households 3.
Largely dependent on rain-fed subsistence agriculture, target areas face high vulnerability to the
impacts of climate change; rainfall is increasingly erratic and the incidence of severe frost and
sandstorms has increased, which, coupled with soil degradation, results in poor crop yields 4. Poor
livestock breeds, diseases, distance from markets, and poor access to extension services, due to
isolation and lack of Government capacities/resources, further reduce the return from livestock.
Pakistan is currently off-track for MDG3 and in Punjab, only 7% of women are in wage nonagricultural employment, far from the MDG target (14%), which Government of Punjab (GoPb)
attributes to pervasive cultural norms regarding women’s roles/responsibilities, low mobility and low
educational attainment.
Concern’s aim is to help people living in extreme poverty achieve major improvements in their lives
which last and spread without on-going support from Concern. To achieve this aim Concern engages
in long term development work and seeks to address the root causes of extreme poverty. Concern
understands extreme poverty based on three dimensions;
a. Lack of and/or Low Return to Basic Assets (unique to extreme poverty),
b. Inequality (causes, maintainers and obstacles),
c. Risk and Vulnerability (causes, maintainers and obstacles).
Among the three dimensions of extreme poverty Concern places ‘lack of and/or low return to basic
assets’ as a central element. Concern consider “inequality” and “risk and vulnerability” as the causes,
maintainers and obstacles that prevent people escaping poverty, but the lack of or low return to
assets is what primarily distinguishes extremely poor people from other disadvantaged and
marginalized groups. Concern believes that extreme poverty cannot be solved by simply providing
basic assets: though important, it is not necessarily sustainable or sufficient. In order to combat
extreme poverty, the causes, maintainers and obstacles that prevent people from escaping extreme
poverty need to be also considered as extreme poor are often not recognised as equals in society and
experience discrimination, stigmatisation and exclusion. As a result, the extreme poor lack
representation, power and status which prevent them claiming their rights and deny them
opportunities and resources which would enable them to improve their lives.
Muzaffargarh Food Security Project was designed based on a detailed analysis focusing on above
mentioned three dimensions of poverty; assets/return from assets, inequalities and risk and
vulnerability. The project aimed at target groups in district Muzaffargarh, (Punjab, Pakistan) are better
1
Naveed and Ali (2012) Clustered Deprivation: District Profile of Poverty in Pakistan. Sustainable Development Policy Institute
2
Government of Pakistan and UNDP (2011) Punjab Millennium Development Goals Report.
3
Ibid
4
Provincial Disaster Management Authority (2008) Disaster Risk Management Plan
organised and empowered to obtain rights and access basic services provided by the Government,
helping to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, by 2015 by focusing on following key outputs.
Output 1: Target groups are provided with improved agricultural, livestock and agro-forestry inputs
and are trained on agriculture and livestock management practices
Output 2: Target groups are provided with vocational/skill development trainings and are supported in
enterprise development
Output 3: Target groups are organized and trained to demand their rights and have improved
resilience to cope with a multitude of hazards
As per the grant contract and in line with Concern’s own policy to promote accountability for
performance, a final evaluation has been planned to evaluate the project and extract the key lessons
to improve the quality of future programming.
2. Purpose and Objectives of the Evaluation
The overall purpose of the evaluation is to assess the degree to which the ‘Project’ met the objectives
as outlined in the project proposal/log frame, with particular emphasis on relevance, , efficiency,
effectiveness, impact, sustainability and replicability of the interventions carried out as well as
mainstreaming/ cross cutting issues. In addition, the evaluation aims to extract the lessons learned
from the project and provide recommendations to enhance the quality of on-going and future
programming by Concern and our Partners.
The following are the major questions of the evaluation related to the DAC criteria, replicability,
mainstreaming of cross cutting issues as well as learning in this project:
Relevance:
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How well did the project address: the specific needs of extremely poor populations in the rural
context of Pakistan; Pakistan’s food security improvement plans/priorities; Concern’s Pakistan
Strategic Plan (2011-2015), and Concern’s Worldwide Strategic Plan.
 Were the most vulnerable and poorest targeted appropriately? Was the targeting criteria
communicated and understood by all members within the community?
 To what extent were target communities (men and women) and stakeholders (including
government) involved in the needs assessment, design, and implementation of the response?
 Was the methodology used for the beneficiary selection relevant and were men and women in
the target communities involved in the process?
Efficiency:
 How far has funding, staff, time and other resources contributed to or hindered the
achievement of the results?
 Was ‘Value for Money’ achieved?
 Has the project enhanced the capacity of the local NGO partners and grassroots community
organisations? If so, how has this been achieved?
 Were the risks properly identified and well managed?
Effectiveness:
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How effective and appropriate was the project approach? In hindsight, how could the local
NGO Partner and Concern have changed it?
 What were the major factors influencing the achievement or non-achievement of the
objective?
 Did the monitoring system used capture the correct information at the appropriate times
throughout the project? Was the project adapted based on information gained from
monitoring?
Impact:
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What was the project’s overall impact and how did this compare with what was expected?
To what extent were the intended outputs and outcome results achieved in relation to targets
set in the project proposal/logical framework?
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Who were the direct and indirect/wider beneficiaries of the project? (provide gender
disaggregated data);
What difference has been made to the lives of those involved in the project? Compare the
impact on men and women and specific vulnerable groups;
Which of the Millennium Development Goals (MGDs) did the project contribute to?
How did the project engage with extreme poor and marginalised groups and support their
empowerment most effectively? What are the positive or negative impacts on these groups?
Were there unintended outcomes and/or wider impacts felt?
Sustainability:
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What are the prospects for the benefits of the project being sustained after the funding stops
and after Concern withdraws support? Did this match the intentions?
How was the exit strategy defined, and how was this managed at the end of the funding
period?
Mainstreaming/Integration of Cross Cutting Issues:
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How well did the project mainstream/integrate equality, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), HIV
& AIDS, and environment?
To what extent was ‘accountability to beneficiaries’ promoted and the progress made against
the achievement of HAP (Humanitarian Accountability Partnership) principles/benchmarks?
To what extent were complaints addressed?
Lessons learned, information sharing and dissemination:
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Were there any significant changes in the project design or the project context? What were
the reasons for these and can any useful lessons be learned from this for application
elsewhere?
For whom could these lessons have relevance?
Have lessons been shared during the life of the project – with whom, and to what effect?
Recommendations:
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Targeted recommendations for improvements based on observations during the evaluation
process (e.g. for sustainability, future project design and management).
3. Methodology
The evaluation process should comprise of mixed model approach to collect both quantitative as well
as qualitative data. The process should include:
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A desk review of project key documents listed in Section 5
Primary data collection through Focus Group Discussion (FGDs) with beneficiaries to assess
the effectiveness and impact of the project activities at household level and community level.
Number of Focus Group Discussion (FGDs) should be set on the basis of number of
beneficiaries of different activities and the process should be participatory to the extent
possible.
Interviews with project staff (Concern and Partner) and stakeholders including government
departments collect information on relevance, impact and sustainability of project
Meetings with the senior management of Local NGO Partners to document their perception
about change in the organisational capacity as a result of this project.
Presentation of draft findings to a) field/partners’ staff and b) Islamabad based staff. These
feedback sessions will help finalize the conclusions for the report
Submission of the draft evaluation report to Concern for feedback. Incorporation of Concern’s
feedback in the draft report. This should have a 3 page executive summary that is designed
as a stand-alone document as well.
Submission of final report following comments received from Concern on the draft report
within the time frame agreed.
4. Deliverables
The evaluator(s) will produce/submit a report in hard and soft form of no more than 35 pages along
with relevant annexes (in Microsoft Word using Arial font 11). The report should include:
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Basic information (1 page)
Executive summary (max. 3 pages)
Introduction/background of the project (1 page)
Evaluation methodology
Major findings against the objectives of the evaluation (i.e. serial number 2 above)
Summary of targeted recommendations/lessons
Annexes: Evaluation ToRs, evaluation schedule, list of persons interviewed and sites visited,
documents consulted, declaration of independence from the project team, data collection tools
and raw data, and the updated project log frame matrix.
Note: Main evaluation report (without annexes) should not exceed 25 pages to keep audience straight
to the main point.
5. Documents to be shared with the evaluators
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The approved project proposals, original, and revised one
The original and revised project log frames, M&E Plan, and monitoring reports
Concern Anti-Fraud policy and P4 Policy
How Concern Understands Extreme Poverty (HCUEP) Policy
Base/ Mid line survey reports
Project reports, including financial information
Case studies (impact of mitigation measures)
Reports/ policies of Government departments and other stakeholders
Concern’s PME guidelines and Strategic Plan and other policies related to Complaint
Response Mechanism and Equality, etc.
6. Duration
The consultant will complete the work over a period of 15 work days beginning from the first week on
October 2015 at the date of signature of the contract and ending with the approval of the final report.
7. Reporting Line
The consultant will report to Concern’s Director of Programmes and will liaise closely with the
Livelihood Specialist, Research and Evaluation Coordinator and Programmer Manager (Punjab).
8. Consultant Expertise
Due to the current volatile security situation in Pakistan and the extensive procedures necessary to
obtain the required NOCs/Visas, Concern Worldwide is seeking an experienced national
consultant(s) with the following expertise:
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Post-graduate degree in Social Sciences/ Development Studies. Knowledge of agriculture,
livestock management, and technical education would be an added advantage.
Proven knowledge of development sector particularly in the agriculture, livestock
management, and technical education
At least 5-8 year experience of conducting evaluations of development projects especially
agriculture and livestock management related projects
Experience in the use of participatory methodologies and developing right based and gender
sensitive evaluation methodologies.
Competency in Equality/Gender issues and partnership approaches.
Familiarity with DAC criteria for evaluating development assistance.
Excellent documentation and reporting skills in English.
Good understanding of the local context, knowledge, culture and languages will be an
advantage.
Ability to work under challenging circumstances
10. How to apply
Interested consultants/ consultancy organizations with relevant experience can submit sealed
proposals containing following documents to Concern Worldwide at House No 8, Street 30, Sector
F-7/1, Islamabad by October 6th 2015.
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Cover letter detailing the consultant’s/institutions suitability for the assignment and current contact
information
A short description of methodology to undertake this assignment and proposed budget inclusive
of travelling, accommodation and food expenses etc.
Profiles of key person(s) to be involved at different steps during this study.
At least one relevant example of previous study of similar nature carried out preferably in
Pakistan with international NGOs (Concern will strictly ensure the confidentiality of the
reports.)