Consultancy to Undertake an End of Program Evaluation at FIDA

1. About FIDA-Kenya

FIDA-Kenya is a non-governmental organization registered in 1985 with the mission of promoting women’s individual and collective power to claim their rights in all spheres of life. The organization envisions a society that respects and upholds women’s rights. FIDA-Kenya is a membership organization with over 1,100 women lawyers and law students committed to the creation of a society that is free from all forms of discrimination against women in Kenya.

The organization has two main programs; The Access to Justice Program which provides Legal Aid Services, Public Interest Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in the form of Mediation as well as Psychosocial Support. The Women and Governance Program is the advocacy wing and carries out legal and policy advocacy programs that positively impact on structural, institutional, and legal reforms within Kenya to ensure gender sensitivity and responsiveness. The organization also works to combat human rights abuse and practices that perpetuate gender discrimination such as FGM, political discrimination, sexual and gender-based violence.

2. Background

Kenya is the third largest producer of black tea in the world, the tea accounts for 26% of the country’s export earnings (US$ 450 million per year) and 4% of the country’s GDP. Unfortunately, this achievement does not translate to success in the lives of women who comprise 65-75% of the tea farm workers. Women continue to work under uncertain terms of employment that affects their ability to join workers’ unions and participate in decision making that would improve their economic status.

To address this, FIDA-Kenya has been implementing a two-year program titled ‘Protecting Women’s Labour and Economic Rights in the Tea Estates in Kenya’ in the Kericho tea zone. The program’s overall objective has been to safeguard the rights of women in the tea industry towards recognition and full realization of their employment and other economic rights through advocacy, sensitization and empowerment.

The key objectives of this program were:

• Use of evidence based information in highlighting violations of women rights in the Kericho tea zone so as to persuade policy and regulations reforms.

• Increase awareness and empower women tea workers to identify violation of their economic rights, seek redress and participate in decision making.

• Set judicial precedent that would protect women’s employment rights in the informal sector.

3. Scope of Consultancy

• FIDA-Kenya would like to undertake an end of program evaluation whose purpose is to evaluate progress made towards achievement of the key objectives, outcomes and impact on the lives of women tea workers, communities and other stakeholders of the Kericho tea zone. The evaluation will come up with conclusions and recommendations for learning and future intervention.
• The organization would like to contract the services of a suitable firm or individual to undertake the end of program evaluation.

3.1. Overall Objective of the Consultancy

• The overall objective of the program evaluation is to determine progress made towards enhancing women’s labor and economic rights in the Kericho tea zone in Kenya and determine their current level of participation in decision making processes at all levels.

3.2. Specific Objectives of the Consultancy

More specifically, the evaluation will ascertain:

• The relevance of the program in reducing violations of women’s labor and economic rights in the tea zone in Kericho.
• The relevance of the program in increasing the number of women and girls actively advocating for economic participation and rights in the target community.
• The relevance of the program in improving the roles women and girls currently play or have in household decision making processes and in decision making processes at all levels.
• The relevance of the program in increasing the number of members from the public (including policy and decision makers, traditional and religious leaders, celebrities, men, boys, service providers, general public, etc.) engaged in advocacy for girls and women’s economic independence and agency.
• Determine effectiveness of the program as a catalyst for empowerment and change in the socio-economic status of women tea workers.
• The effectiveness and efficiency of the capacity building interventions within the tea estates, farms and community structures.
• The level of sustainability of the program.
• Determine current existing barriers to accessing women’s labor and economic rights in the tea zone in Kericho.

3.3. Methodology

• The consultant will be expected to utilize a multi-method, qualitative and quantitative participatory approach to conduct the evaluation.

3.4. Indicative Time frame

• It is expected that the whole task should be completed within 30 days from the starting date.

3.5. Deliverables/Key Result Areas

The following are the deliverables. The consultant shall prepare and submit:

• Inception report with a detailed evaluation plan.

• Questionnaires, discussion guides and other data collection tools before finalizing the same for data collection.

• First draft report.

• Hard and electronic copies of materials, data collected/analyzed and other evaluation documents together with the first draft report.

• A summary PowerPoint presentation highlighting main findings and recommendations.

• Final narrative report of the evaluation detailing the process and methodology, findings, lessons learnt and key recommendations.

• The consultant will have direct communication with FIDA-Kenya’s Program Officer and Monitoring and Evaluation Officer during the execution of this assignment.

3.6. Reporting and Communication

3.6.1 First Draft Report

• The first draft report of the evaluation will be presented to FIDA-Kenya and other invited stakeholders.

3.6.2 Final Report

• The consultant will incorporate comments from the presentation meeting and submit the final report to the Program Officer and Monitoring and Evaluation Officer in 2 bound hard copies as well as an electronic copy in readable CD format.

3.7. Expected Profiles of the Consultant(s)

• Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences, Law, Research or Gender Studies. (Master’s degree in the above will be an added advantage.)

• A minimum of 10 years’ experience undertaking research in human rights.

• Evidence of undertaking of similar works in the last five years.

• Excellent analytical and report writing skills.

3.8. Requirements

Interested individuals, companies or research firms should submit a detailed expression of interest (technical and financial proposal):

• The technical proposal should include an interpretation of the objectives of the consultancy, detailed methodology and an elaborate work plan. Organization/individual capacity statement, past experience and activities related to the annual survey, CVs of the consulting team and their roles in the achievement of the assignment; names, addresses and telephone numbers of three professional referees.
• The financial proposal should include a detailed budget proposal; a detailed profile of the firm including contact and physical address, telephone numbers and copy of registration certificate, VAT and PIN where applicable.