Community Action Program III Evaluation Consultant Iraq

Scope of Work

Program evaluation

Iraq

November-January 2011

1) Program to be evaluated: Community Action program in South Iraq (CAPIII)

Mercy Corps Iraq

October 2008 – September 2012

Funded by USAID

Target Timeframe: 6 weeks, including 3 weeks field work in Iraq late November/early December 2011 (detail in section 8 below)

2) Purpose of the Evaluation

The purpose of this evaluation is to assess how successful Mercy Corps’ Community Action Program has been in establishing effective partnerships between Community Action Groups (CAGs) and local elected leaders – partnerships that can be characterized as participatory, inclusive, transparent, and responsive to the needs and aspirations of targeted communities. This is a critical analysis of the program to assess what worked, what did not work, what lessons we learned from implementing governance programming in conflict/post conflict environments. Findings of this assessment will be used by Mercy Corps to stimulate broader discussions on effective governance programming in Iraq and other country programs, and to draw lessons from the program and apply these lessons and learning to inform donor strategies and work.

3) Background:

In October 2008 Mercy Corps signed a cooperative agreement with USAID to implement the Community Action program in South Iraq (CAPIII). The CAP III project was based on the premise that local community needs are best met by ensuring the active partnership of all community groups, citizens, local government, and social leaders, in identifying priorities and designing interventions. CAP III focuses on furthering the evolution of community-centered development by building the capacity of local government to take on its proper governance role as the locus of community needs assessment, prioritization, project design, funding and implementation. By providing high-quality technical assistance, facilitated training, and targeted funding with both CAGs and local government, CAP III will help the nascent Iraqi democracy move to the next level of organizational development and bring much needed local development to Iraq’s citizenry

CAP III’s goal is “to increase the local government’s ability to identify, articulate and better meet the needs of its constituency.” Mercy Corps implements programming under three objectives in order to achieve this goal:

• Communities better articulate their needs and mobilize resources within and outside the community to solve common problems
• Local executive and representative Government in CAP communities better meet the articulated needs of the community
• Civilian Victims of Conflict Assisted*

It is also important to note that program goal and objectives were predetermined by USAID as part of its overall transition strategy in Iraq

The program was originally planned for a period of 26 months (October 2008 – November 2011). In August 2010, USAID requested for program modification and subsequently granted Mercy Corps a cost extension of 22 additional months (December 2011 – September 2012)

CAPIII is implemented by four International partners, with each partner operating in designated Area of Responsibility (AoR). Partners: (1) CHF International; (2) IRD; (3) ACDI/VOCA, and (4) Mercy Corps

In November 2008 Mercy Corps submitted its implementation plan to USAID outlining implementation strategy, activities/outputs, targets, and implementation timeline. Below is a summary of activities undertaken by Mercy Corps to achieve the program objectives:

• Formation of Community Action Groups (CAGs)
  • Training program for CAGs and local government officials at districts and sub districts levels
  • Joint action planning sessions between CAGs and local government officials to map out community priorities, design interventions, prepare budgets, and seek funding for those interventions
  • Public outreach through quarterly joint community – local council meetings. During these meetings, council members will meet with community representatives to discuss joint project planning, address community concerns, share feedback from council members on achievements to date on the current plan, and allow community members to provide input into future activities. These quarterly planning meetings will model community engagement skills that will ultimately increase the responsiveness of local government and improve relationships with their constituencies
  • Joint community – local government Implementation of community projects, during which CAGs and local government officials at districts and sub districts work together to identify, prioritize, design, seek community contributions and implement prioritized projects

The program has so far worked with 51 districts/sub districts councils and 160 CAGs in four governorates in south Iraq (Basra, Maysan, ThiQar, and Muthanna).

By March 31, 2011, Mercy Corps has achieved the following results:

• Formed and trained 160 CAGs in areas of needs assessment, project identification, project design and budgeting, and effective engagement with local government
• Completed training program for local council members on participatory planning, project design and budgeting, principles of good governance, and civic engagement through joint planning
• Implemented 572 community projects where CAGs and local councils worked together through all stages of project identification, planning, design, and implementation
• Facilitated 123 public outreach meetings between local councils and community members in 31 sub districts
• Facilitated 54 joint planning sessions between CAGs and local government officials, during which more than 700 projects were identified and designed, and 325 submitted to provincial councils for inclusion in provincial budgets
• Established web portal for sub districts councils to facilitate communication and information sharing between councils and citizens
• Raised more than 10 million USD in cost share from local government and community
• Facilitated more than 1240 informal meetings between CAGs and local districts and sub districts officials
• Provided media coverage for 25% of CAP activities and projects
• Provided assistance to 350 civilian war victims*

4) Existing Sources of Program Information

• Cooperative Agreement document for CAPIII
• Quarterly donor reports
• CAPI final evaluation report (2003 – 2006)
• Community projects database
• Performance Management Plan for CAPIII
• Implementation Plan for CAPIII – year 1 and 2
• Cost share tracking sheet
• Outreach meetings summary reports
• Local government training summary report
• CAGs training summary report
• Weekly Narrative reports
• Individual Project Folders (proposal, progress reports, meeting minutes, CAG information, etc.)

5) Evaluation Questions

The following questions are the focus of the evaluation and will be discussed and refined between the consultant, Mercy Corps’ Iraq program team and head quarters technical support unit (TSU) members as an initial step in the consultancy.

• To what extent has the CAPIII succeeded in building productive relationships between Community Action Groups and elected local government leaders? And how effective are these relationships in terms of building trust between CAGs and local leaders, institutionalizing accountability, and strengthening capacity of both CAGs and local leaders in order to respond effectively to community priority needs. Given current Iraqi context (political, social, economic, etc), what factors that promote strong partnerships and factors that may work against

• Are local authorities/elected leaders actively engaging their communities in decisions and activities that affect their lives (without Mercy Corps involvement)? There are ongoing debates among MC - CAP team as well as other implementing partners on whether current government structure and systems support or allow for citizen to actively participate in decisions affecting their lives at local level.

• How effective and sustainable are current mechanisms that are put in place by MC to promote participatory decision making process at local level (CAG and elected leaders working together to advocate and solve community priority issues). We would like to have set of recommendations of alternative or improved approaches/ mechanisms that are practical and will suit current Iraqi socio – political context. Over the years, CAGs have been promoted as the knot that links decision makers to their constituencies. However, their effectiveness and sustainability beyond CAP involvement have been very disappointing.

• Community projects are intended to serve as a tool to promote good governance by providing common platform for local leaders (at districts and sub districts) and community representatives (CAGs) to work together in assessing and prioritize community needs, design appropriate interventions, mobilize resources from within and outside community to meet those needs, solicit regular community inputs and give feedback on progress to the larger community. So far, CAPIII has implemented over 600 community projects with a total cost of over 25 million USD. How effective are those projects in achieving their intended goal?

6) Evaluation Methods

This is a participatory internal impact evaluation that will be led and facilitated by an external consultant. The evaluation will investigate and document the results of CAP intervention during the period October 2008 – December 2011

The following data collection and analysis methods will be used to address the evaluation questions:

• Key informant interviews with selected local leaders, government officials and CAG members
• Focus Group Discussions with CAGs
• Focus Group Discussion with districts and sub districts elected officials
• Mini survey using structured questionnaire (communities involved with CAP activities)
• Joint CAGs and local government leaders workshop – This will be a facilitated workshop to reflect on past experience, successes and lessons learned
• Site visits to selected community projects sites
• Interviews with Mercy Corps mobilizers to gain insight into CAP processes, challenges, and MC relationships with both CAGs and local government leaders
• Other tools as determined with consultant

7) Team Composition and Participation

An expatriate consultant, preferably Arabic speaker, will lead a team of 6 locally hired researchers. The local research team will be responsible for conducting field interviews, translate gathered data into English and produce summary reports using standard reporting format. Local team members will be trained by the expatriate consultant on how to conduct interviews and summarize results using standard format. The CAP M&E staff and mobilizers will also be available to assist in setting up of interviews, organizing logistics for workshops and coordinating the work of the field research team. The expatriate consultant will be responsible for data analysis, presentation of preliminary findings to CAP management, and compiling the final evaluation report

8) Procedures: Schedule and Logistics

Schedule is subject to adjustment at any time before or during the evaluation with the consent of evaluation team leader.

Timeline/ Deadline	Activity	Responsible Person(s)
Nov 10, 2011	Finalize TOR for lead evaluator	HQ
Nov 15, 2011	Finalize logistics for international travel	HQ
Nov 15, 2011	Finalize local research team	MC-Iraq
Nov 20, 2011	Facilitate meeting with MC – Iraq management and lead consultant to clarify expectations and desired outcomes, review and confirm activity and logistics plan, etc.	Consultant
Nov 22, 2011	Planning and training workshop with local evaluation team	Consultant
Nov 25, 2011	Organize logistics: domestic travel, team composition, drivers, vehicles, security clearance	Basra office
Nov 25, 2011	Test of evaluation instruments	Local research team
Nov 27, 2011	Data collection begins	Local research team
Dec 10, 2011	Initial data analysis and preparation of summary tables/reports	Local research team/Consultant
Dec 15, 2011	Presentation of preliminary findings to MC management in Iraq	Consultant
Jan 1, 2012	Prepare draft evaluation report	Consultant
Jan 10, 2012	Finalize and disseminate report	Consultant/HQ

9) Reporting and Dissemination Requirements

Date for draft report for review January 1, 2012

Date for Final report submission January 10, 2012

Copies of the final evaluation report will be provided to:

• · CAP management
• · MC Iraq Country Director
• · ME Regional Director
• · HQ Governance & Partnerships technical support unit
• · HQ New Initiatives team
• · HQ DM&E team
• · ME program Support team (HQ)
• · USAID Iraq
• · USAID – Washington

Mercy Corps Iraq will also translate the executive summary into Arabic and share with local partners/stakeholders

The final evaluation report shall be structured in accordance with the following guidelines:

• · Cover Page, List of Acronyms
• · Table of Contents
• · Executive Summary
• · Methodology
• · Results
• · Synthesis, Recommendations and Lessons Learned
• · Annexes

10) Cost and Logistics Responsibilities

Mercy Corps will cover all costs associated with the Consultant’s:

• · international air travel
• · Iraq and any transit visas
• · Fees for 30 days
• · Per-diem during in-country travel
• · Local research team
• · Training materials and workshop
• · In-country research, including: transportation, lodging and other expenses incurred by the evaluation team (travel to field offices, lodging, meals, transport, phone cards, etc)

The Consultant is responsible for all personal insurance, including medical evacuation service.

Mercy Corps will manage the logistics for:

• All airport pick-ups and drop-offs
• Travel visas
• All international and internal flights, plus all over-land travel
• Booking accommodations at Mercy Corps guest houses and hotels

Please apply online at:
http://mercycorps.silkroad.com/epostings/submit.cfm?fuseaction=app.dspjo...