Evaluation of Humanitarian Response at Christian Aid

Rationale and Objectives of the Evaluation

Christian Aid is committed to assessing and improving the quality and accountability of its humanitarian programme in line with its quality standards which are aligned with the core humanitarian standards (CHS). Therefore, to be able to make evidence-based decisions, following years of contribution to the humanitarian interventions in conflict-affected regions of Nigeria, Christian Aid is seeking to conduct an evaluation of its humanitarian response in Nigeria. This study will aim to provide an overall assessment of the performance of its humanitarian interventions from 2015 to date, with a view to highlighting successes, opportunities, challenges and lessons learnt. This evaluation will seek to assess CAID's humanitarian workstream against the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) criteria for evaluation across its intervention sectors, donor sphere and partnerships. Therefore, the specific objectives of the evaluation include,

• to assess CAID humanitarian programming from 2015 to 2022 based on the DAC evaluation criteria (Relevance, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Coherence, Impact and Sustainability),
• to assess different CAID partnerships in its humanitarian interventions and their impact on programme outcomes,
• to highlight areas of strength in CAID humanitarian programming from 2014 to 2022 and
• to provide key recommendations and areas of expansion for improved CAID humanitarian programming

Evaluation Scope

This evaluation is to cover locations of Christian Aid humanitarian response across Northeast Nigeria from the years 2015 to 202This includes all CAID humanitarian interventions spanning across LGAs within Borno, Adamawa and Gombe states.

Evaluation methodology

This evaluation will employ an innovative method that will use a mix of systematic desk reviews and interviews with key stakeholders who have engaged with CAID humanitarian programming to meet study objectives. Desk reviews will encompass CAID humanitarian project documents, previous evaluation reports, strategy documents, humanitarian publications, donor reports and other relevant files. While stakeholders and locations to be covered by the key interviews will be selected through a systematic sampling technique that can generate information from minimal samples.

Key Deliverables for the Consultancy

The following are the deliverables that are expected to be fulfilled by the successful consultant.

• Inception debriefing session with CAID MEAL and management team which will detail evaluation questions, evaluation matrix, data collection tools and work plan.
• Engagement, facilitation and carrying out evaluation activities according to technical proposal and agreements from inception debriefing.
• Evaluation report (draft and final, following reviews) that follows standard reporting formats and contains all necessary sections (Cover page, table of contents, executive summary, background information, methodology, limitations and challenges, findings, conclusion and recommendations).
• Final presentation of key findings and recommendations from the evaluation.

Key Deliverables for Christian Aid

The following are the deliverables expected to be provided by CAID to ensure smooth completion of the evaluation.

• Provision of funding for smooth activities according to the final agreed budget
• Provision of access to all documents and files that will be included in the systematic desk review.
• Provision of contacts and identities of locations to be mapped and sampled for interviews.
• Provide project management support to ensure compliance with policies and procedures

Expected Outputs from the Consultancy

• Final copy of the evaluation report that is consistent with data obtained through valid and verifiable processes. The report must also be in standard format outlined and agreed upon.
• Presentation of summary of findings and recommendations at a close-out meeting.
• 2-3 page summary of key findings, lessons and recommendations as obtained in the full report.

Quality assurance

The Consultant is responsible for data quality, validity, consistency, and accuracy and to submit a well-structured report written in English language. If these standards are not met, the consultant will, at his/her own expense, make the necessary amendments to bring the reports to the required standards. The Consultant is expected to maintain the confidentiality of the data collected through the study. The project team will be the sole owner of the data and the study outputs and the consultant should get written permission from the project team for using the study result or data for any other purposes.

Ethical considerations

• In engagement with primary data collection and also handling CA information, the following must be observed.
• Adequate level of confidentiality should be ensured
• Study participants should not be subjected to harm in ways whatsoever
• Respect for the dignity of research participants should be prioritised
• Full consent should be obtained from the participants prior to the study
• The protection of privacy of the study participant must be ensured

Lines of Reporting

The Consultant will work closely with the project leads and report to the project team through the Senior Programme Coordinator, MEAL. The Consultant MUST get approval for the work plan, evaluation methodology and tools from the Senior MEAL Coordinator before initiating the fieldwork. The Consultant shall organise weekly progress review meetings over skype or in person with the Project MEAL and Programme representative to update the progress of the work, for feedback, and to discuss and address any challenges arising.