Consultancy: End Of Project Evaluation Consultant at mothers2mothers (m2m)

1.Backgroundon the project to be evaluated

m2m is an Africa-based, global non-governmental organisation (NGO) that unlocks the potential of mothers and their families through scalable, high-impact interventions because a healthy generation starts with mothers. Spanning the time a pregnant woman learns of her HIV infection (about four months of pregnancy) through her family’s lifecycle (infants, children, adolescents, and her partner), m2m’s Mentor Mother Model empowers mothers living with HIV, through education and employment, as role models to help other women and her family access essential services and medical care. Working alongside doctors and nurses in understaffed health centres as members of the healthcare team, Mentor Mothers provide essential health education and psychosocial support for the prevention of maternal-to-child transmission. Mentor Mothers are trained and paid, which benefits not only their respective families but also the community as a whole and reduces stigma associated with HIV. Since its founding, m2m has reached nearly 1.5 million mothers in nine countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

In March 2011, m2m Kenya was awarded a 2-year cooperative agreement with USAID to provide technical assistance to the MOH and Implementing Partner organizations to develop, deliver and scale up a harmonized PMTCT peer education and psychosocial support programme. As part of the project, m2m Kenya adopted a three-pronged approach consisting of Technical Assistance to the government through the National AIDS & STI Control Program (NASCOP), which led to the development of National guidelines, curriculum for training Mentor Mothers and a set of monitoring and evaluation tools for Mentor Mothers, Capacity Building which entailed a 3 part workshop to take Implementing Partners and their MOH counterparts through training in preparation for implementation of the KMMP. The last approach is Direct Service Delivery at 20 HIV high burden health facilities in Nairobi and Western region as model sites to showcase the program for Partners and MOH staff. In November 2012, following months of deliberations with stakeholders, the MOH launched the National Guidelines on PMTCT Peer Education and Psychosocial Support, also known as The Kenya Mentor Mother Programme (KMMP).

The goal of the KMMP is to eliminate mother to child transmission of HIV/AIDS and to keep mothers alive. Mentor Mothers therefore form a critical component in the forces driving the goal of elimination of mother to child transmission (eMTCT). The KMMP objectives include;

1) Quality peer support services are available for women and their infants

2) Mother-baby pairs seek timely maternal and child health services

3) Mother-baby pairs are retained in care and adherent to available services

It is against this background that Comic Relief granted m2m Kenya a 3 year grant to support implementation of m2m direct services at 10 high burden sites in Western region of Kenya and also support the KMMP M&E system assessment at national level through building capacity of Implementing Partners and their MoH counterparts.

2.Description of Comic Relief funded Project

In July 2014 Comic Relief granted mothers2mothers (m2m) Kenya a 3 year grant to support implementation of; “Empowering Women in Kenya to Access Peer Education and Psychosocial Support for Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV (eMTCT)”, a project known as the Kenya Mentor Mother Program (KMMP). The grant supported m2m Kenya direct service delivery at 10 high volume KMMP model sites in Western region, m2m capacity building of Implementing Partners and Ministry of Health (MOH) staff to implement the KMMP and building of national evidence base for KMMP M&E design, system improvement and sustainability. The following were project expected outcomes;

1. Better Access to Good Quality HIV Services
2. Improved health behaviours among 11,250 HIV-positive pregnant women and new mothers and 13,750 HIV-negative pregnant women in Nyanza province
3. Women living with HIV are empowered and barriers to access including gender inequality, stigma and discrimination are successfully challenged
4. Evidence-based improvements for national KMMP planning, policy and sustainability are documented for government.
5. MOH (facility, district, county) and partner organizations capacity is built to implement and oversee all aspects of the KMMP M&E system

The Comic Relief grant ends on 30th June 2017. An end of project evaluation is scheduled within the last month of June.

3.Purpose of the End of Project Evaluation

The purpose of the proposed evaluation is to enable m2m, its funder and other key stakeholders learn from the project. It should reveal what difference project has made and how it has made that difference, i.e. understanding the key success factors for achieving long term change for particular groups in different contexts. The findings of the evaluation will lay the basis for reflection and learning, celebrating success, challenging assumptions and ways of working, and exploring areas that were difficult.

4.Evaluation Approach

For each of the expected five project outcomes, the evaluation will focus on the following generic questions:

What difference has the project made to people’s lives (what, who, where, when)?

• To what degree have project outcomes been achieved? Were there any unexpected outcomes?
• Who has benefited (women, men, girls and boys) and in what ways?
• Are those changes (outcomes) relevant to people’s needs?
• Are they likely to be sustainable in the long term?
• Have there been changes to policies, practice and attitudes of decision and policy makers to benefit the project’s target groups?
• To what extent has the project contributed to the achievement of broader national and international policies, conventions, targets etc in the country where the project is working?
• To what extent has the achievement of the changes/ outcomes been influenced by external context and other factors?

How has the project made this difference?

*Approaches used by the project and implementing organisations:*

• What was the overall theory of change for this project? Has it been effective in bringing about lasting change? Were there any gaps?
• What have been the most effective methodologies and approaches the organisation used to bring about changes to people’s lives? What has worked and what has not? What lessons have been learned? Who have they been shared with?
• How has both m2m Kenya and m2m UK (grant is awarded to m2m Kenya through m2m UK) helped or hindered the delivery of lasting change?
• How have relationships between partners throughout the relationship chain (looking at UK organisation-local partner(s)-target groups) helped or hindered the delivery of change /outcomes?
• How effective have the project’s management, monitoring, learning and financial systems been? How have they helped or hindered the delivery of lasting change?
• Has the project been cost effective?

Approaches used by Comic Relief:

• How have Comic Relief’s grant making policies and processes (e.g. how Comic Relief defines its programme strategies and outcomes, how it assesses grant applications) helped or hindered the delivery of lasting change?
• How has Comic Relief’s approach to grant management (e.g. individual work with grantholders, and learning activities with other funded organisations) helped or hindered the delivery of lasting change?
• How has the way Comic Relief used its organisational assets helped or hindered the delivery of change (e.g. use of the media, access to decision makers)?
• Are there any other ways in which Comic Relief has helped or hindered the delivery of change?

The Evaluation Methodology

We require a participatory methodology, whereby the work engages all key stakeholders including Comic Relief grants staff who should be provided with an opportunity to provide input and comment to the evaluation team.

The Evaluation Report

The report should be clear and simply written, free of jargon. The main body of the report should not exceed 30 pages and should include an executive summary and recommendations. Technical details should be confined to appendices, which should also include a list of informants and the evaluation team’s work schedule. Background information should only be included when it is directly relevant to the report’s analysis and conclusions.

The report’s authors should support their analysis of a project’s achievements with relevant data and state how this has been sourced. Recommendations should also include details as to how they might be implemented.

The report should include guidance on the process by which findings will be shared and discussed with all stakeholders including those who are benefiting from the project and how any resulting changes in the report will be included.

The report should be accompanied by an analysis of up to 2 pages in length giving the views of the m2m UK and m2m Kenya on the quality/depth of the evaluation, the relevance and usefulness of the recommendations, and what actions they propose to take in response.

m2m will provide the following before commencement;

· Briefing sessions between consultant and m2m Kenya as required initially and throughout the process of conducting the evaluation.

· Provide all available program documents including studies undertaken during the project period.

The Consultant will;

· Review and synthesize all relevant project documents

· Lead the collection of additional qualitative data and analysis, as required

· Develop a draft report for review and input

· Develop a final report and PowerPoint presentation

· Submit all expected deliverables by agreed timelines

Logistical support: m2m will provide logistical support needed for successful execution of the work.

Timeline

· May 2017-June 2017

· Based in Nairobi at m2m Kenya office with travel to the project sites/region.

Expected Deliverables & Fees:

A daily rate will be paid, up to a maximum of 20 days in total. Days can be moved across deliverables but must not exceed the total outlined below.

Consultant payments will be made at the end of the assignment as follows;.

1. Development of evaluation work plan detailing milestones (1st payment)
2. Additional data collection, transcription and analysis and upon submission of a draft report for review by m2m Kenya (2nd payment)
3. Report writing and submission of final report and PowerPoint presentation (3rd payment).

Additional expenses

1. All travel arrangements will be co-ordinated by m2m in accordance with m2m’s Travel Policy that will be shared with the Contractor as and when necessary.
2. Any travel required for this contract will be paid for, as agreed upon and approved in advance by the m2m Liaison Officer.

Required competencies and experiences

· Doctoral degree in social sciences or a related field (or Master’s degree with commensurate experience)

· Experience of leading an evaluation team either as a facilitator supporting critical self-analysis, or an “expert” able to make informed assessment of progress.

· Must be independent (individuals who have not been in m2m as an employee for at least two years and are not involved with the governance or related to a member of staff),

· Previous experience of carrying out end of project evaluations with relevant technical knowledge (RMNCH/HIV/PMTCT). Provide evidence of such evaluations conducted.

· Qualitative research experience in the Kenyan health sector/social services context, preferably in RMNCH/HIV/PMTCT.

· Strong in desk research – document reviews, synthesis and analysis of information,

· Excellent writing skills

· Expert ability to conduct in-depth analysis of qualitative and quantitative data.

· Fluency in English.

· Evidence of excellent writing skills – able to organize material logically, limit word use, write to an audience, capture the key essence of key themes, and produce a high quality final written product.