Consultancy for Country Programme Evaluation at WaterAid

Terms of Reference

Country Programme Evaluation: WaterAid Nigeria

1. Background

WaterAid Nigeria’s Country Programme Strategy covers the period from April 2016 to March 2022. This evaluation considers the period of April 2016 to March 2021.

The Country Programme Strategy focuses on the following Strategic Objectives (SOs):

• SO1: To strengthen systems to reduce WASH sector blockages
• SO2: To empower citizens to demand their rights and participate in WASH decision making
• SO3: To strengthen partnerships to influence the WASH sector and increase access to sustainable WASH services

The Country Programme Strategy has been implemented primarily at the state level which was defined as the primary sphere of intervention and influence to catalyse change in the WASH sector. It was also implemented at the national with a focus on policy and institutional support and engagements across different multi coordination mechanisms and platforms.

At the state and local government areas (LGAs) level, implementation occurred in; Bauchi state (Kirfi, Bauchi central), Enugu (Ezeagwu, Isi Uzo, Nsukka, Uzo Uwani, Umuabor, Enugu central) as the focal states and Plateau, Benue, Ekiti, Kaduna, Oyo, Lagos, Adamawa, Yobe, Borno, Kebbi, Kano, Nasarawa, Edo, FCT and Cross River states for the non-focal states

At the national level, the country programme strategy aligned with supporting the federal government National Action Plan (NAP) to revitalize the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene sector. Dedicated technical support has been to the National Coordination Office (NCO) of the NAP to support the delivery of the WASH action plan. WaterAid Nigeria is also a member of the Development Partner Group (DPG), national technical committee for water quality, National Task Group on Sanitation (NTGS), inter-ministerial committee on WASH, among others

A mid-term review of the strategy was conducted in 2019. The actions and recommendations from the mid-term review process findings and the adaptive implementation within the strategic period will also be assessed during the country programme evaluation.

The learning captured through the evaluation will provide a key input into the design of the next Country Programme Strategy.

As the Country Programme Strategy is coming to an end, WaterAid is hiring a consultant to conduct an evaluation of the implementation of the Country Programme Strategy in close collaboration with WaterAid staff.

1. Purpose

The purpose of the Country Programme evaluation is to:

• Assess the contextual relevance of the current Country Programme Strategy against the backdrop of changes that have occurred in the external environment.
• Assess the effectiveness against the Country Strategic Objectives.
• Assess the added value and synergy[1] of WaterAid’s programmes with regards to the WASH sector in Nigeria.
• Capture the lessons learnt from the implementation of the Country Programme Strategy and reflect on the implications for the development of the next Country Programme Strategy.

1. Audience and use of findings

The Country Programme Evaluation will generate insights on what has worked, what did not work well, where WaterAid’s niche has developed, and challenges faced. These findings will inform the development of the next Country Programme Strategy.

The primary audience of the Country Programme Evaluation report is internal, for use by staff leading the development of the next Country Programme Strategy.  A summary report for external audience will also be produced (by WaterAid) to meet local accountability needs and support wider learning.

1. Evaluation questions

The CP’s strategic objectives (defined in section 1) have been identified as the benchmark against which the strategy should be evaluated

The questions below have been developed to address the purpose of the evaluation:

• Assess the contextual relevance of the current Country Strategy against the backdrop of changes that have occurred in the external environment.
• Assess the effectiveness against the Country Strategic Objectives.
• Assess the added value and synergy of WaterAid’s programmes with regard to the WASH sector in country.
• Assess effectiveness of WaterAid Nigeria as a priority country in against expectations articulated for priority country formation
• Assess effectiveness of the funding mechanism, the current funding landscape and its impact on current strategy Capture the lessons learnt from the implementation of the Country Programme Strategy and reflect on the implications for the development of the next Country Programme Strategy.

Contextual relevance

The following questions should be answered looking at the Strategic Objectives collectively:

• To what extent have the Strategic Objectives been relevant to the key WASH issues in the country?
• To what extent have the Strategic Objectives been aligned with national and local priorities?
• Does the programme logic in the strategy allow us to achieve the Country Programme Strategic objectives?
• How has the context changed over the strategic period and how has the Country Programme adapted?
• What are the main lessons learnt?
• What are the implications for the next Country Strategy?

Effectiveness

The following questions should be answered with respect to each Strategic Objective

Looking back:

• To what extent has this Strategic Objective been a focus during the strategy period (in relation to the other strategic objectives)?
• What are the main projects that have contributed to the Strategic Objective?

The following questions should be considered at the community, sub-national and national levels:

• What has been the main results of WaterAid’s work against the Strategic Objective>
• To what extent has the Strategic Objective focused on and benefitted the most marginalised?
• To what extent has the Country Strategy addressed gender inequalities?
• To what extent are the results likely to be sustained?
• What have been the contributing factors? Consider programmatic approaches, context-related issues, funding, partnerships, WaterAid capacity, etc.
• What have been the main challenges? Apart from programme strategy and context-related issues, also consider issues such as funding, partnerships, capacity (staff, partners), adequate resources (people, facilities & finance), etc.
• How, and to what extent are the Programmes funded to deliver on the expected outcomes?

Looking forward:

• What are the main lessons learnt?
• What are the main innovation and potentials for scaling up?
• What are the implications for the next Country Strategy?

WaterAid’s added value and synergy:

The following questions should be answered looking at the strategic period as a whole:

What difference has the Country Programme Strategy implementation made to the WASH sector in Nigeria?

• How effectively (or not) has WaterAid’s work complemented the work of other actors in the WASH sector?
• What are the main lessons learnt?
• What opportunities exist to enhance WaterAid’s value added?
• What are the implications for the next Country Strategy?

1. Suggested process and methodology

The evaluation will commence with a joint inception phase between WaterAid and the consultant to review the evaluation questions, develop the methodology, identify key documents for review and key informants for interview.  Orientation on key processes- GDPR, safeguarding, COVID prevention guidelines and Quality programme standards. Following the inception phase, the consultant will submit a short inception report for review. 

The evaluation will use a mix of qualitative methodologies, with emphasis on the analysis of the existing body of evidence (internal and external documents). The gathering of primary data will be limited to interviews with key internal and external stakeholders (local and national government, local and national NGOs, UN agencies, academia, research institutions and communities, media, etc.)

The preliminary findings will be consolidated and validated during a reflection and validation workshop with WaterAid staff.

The following diagram outlines the proposed process:

1. Ethics and risks

The national consultant is expected to comply with WaterAid’s Global Evaluation Policy (in particular ‘4.2 Standards’) and safeguarding standards, policies and procedures at all times. These two documents will be provided as separate documents for which the consultant will sign an attestation to comply with the policy.

The consultant is also expected to adhere to government regulations and WaterAid local security protocols.

1. Outputs and timeline

The following outputs are required as part of the evaluation:

• Inception Report: A template for completion will be shared with the selected consultant.
• Reflection and Validation Workshop: The consultant is expected to prepare for and facilitate a one or two-day reflection and validation workshop as a key activity for answering the evaluation questions.
• Synthesis Report: Prepare and share a synthesis report of the evaluation that captures the key processes and outcomes of the evaluation that can be shared externally (approx. 5pages)
• Final Report: A template for completion of a short report (approx. 20 pages) will be shared with the selected consultant. The report will be structured around the Evaluation criteria.  The stated outputs will need to be delivered by the deadlines below. The exact deadlines can be finalised as part of the inception phase:

 

Output	Deadline
Inception Phase	10th May 2021
Inception report submitted by consultant	14th May 2021
WA inception report feedback submitted	21st May 2021
Revised inception report submitted	28th May 2021
Key Informant Interviews	11th Jun 2021
Reflection and validation workshop	18th Jun 2021
Synthesis Report	2nd Jul 2021
Draft review/evaluation report	2nd Jul 2021
WA report feedback and management response submitted	9th Jul 2021
Final review/evaluation report	16th Jul 2021

1. Roles and responsibilities

The role of the national consultant is to:

• Using the evaluation questions defined by the Country Programme as a starting point, refine the evaluation questions in consultation with the CP;
• Building on the guidelines, develop a detailed methodology for conducting the evaluation of the Country Programme Strategy. The detailed methodology will include the supporting tools such as the analytical framework for document review, topic guides for conducting Key Informant Interviews, etc.;
• Adhere to WaterAid guidelines and code of conduct.
• Submission of an inception report, to be revised based on CP feedback;
• Analysis and synthesis of internal documentation;
• Identification and analysis of relevant external documents;
• Interviews with WaterAid staff, government officials, INGOs, UN agencies, partners and CSOs
• Preparation of preliminary findings.
• Facilitation of reflection and validation workshop.
• Compilation of the final report using the template provided by WaterAid.

The role of WaterAid is to:

• Coordinate the Country Programme Evaluation.
• Refine and approve the final set of evaluation questions in consultation with the consultant.
• Conduct orientation to the consultant on WaterAid processes and guidelines
• Agree with the consultant the methodology and tools to be used for the Country Strategy evaluation.
• Compile the internal background documentation for review by the consultant.
• Facilitate contact between the consultant and relevant WaterAid staff.
• Facilitate contact between the consultant and relevant government departments, partner organisations and other external stakeholders.
• Identify and convene relevant participants for the reflection and validation workshop.
• Coordinate and consolidate feedback from relevant staff and stakeholders on the inception and draft report.
• Sign off the final report.
• Provide overall quality assurance of the evaluation process.
• Prepare a management response that shows which and how the findings and lessons learnt will be considered during the development of the next Country Strategy.

1. Profile

WaterAid is looking for a national consultant who meets the following requirements:

• Experience in conducting evaluations of strategic plans and/or large, multi-facetted programmes;
• Strong analytical skills of qualitative information;
• In depth knowledge of the WASH sector in country (but not necessarily a WASH expert).
• Experience in policy analysis;
• Experience in conducting interviews with different types of Key Informants including government officials, INGOs, NGOs, CSOs, etc.;
• Experience in facilitating participatory workshops;
• Good writing and presentation skills;
• Good communication skills.

1. Budget

It is anticipated that the consultancy will take between 15 and 20 days. Please submit a budget separating consultancy fees and reimbursable expenses.

 

 

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[1] Described in the Evaluation Policy as “WaterAid added value and synergy assesses what WaterAid contributes to the work that is unique to WaterAid; its role and capacity; and the extent to which our interventions complement interventions from other actors.”