International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) is an intergovernmental organisation headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya and funded by various governmental aid agencies, UN organisations and private foundations to carry out research and training in sustainable management of insects (arthropods) for improving comprehensive health and agricultural productivity in the tropics.
With research and capacity building programmes located at various sites in eastern Africa, particularly Kenya and Ethiopia, and collaborating with partners globally, icipe is known and respected for its endeavour to provide better health for people and livestock, better crop yields and its immense contribution towards a better environment for sustainability of ecosystems and livelihoods in Africa.
icipe wishes to recruit a competent CONSULTANT TO ASSESS THE ACHIEVEMENTS and impact OF THE BIOVISION FARMER COMMUNICATION PROGRAMME (FCP) in order to strengthen accountability to stakeholders and foster learning that will improve the effectiveness of the programme in ecological and sustainable agriculture development programmes.
FCP envisions food secure and healthy farming communities in eastern Africa with adequate nutrition and incomes for sustained livelihoods.
Its mission is to enable small-scale farmers to access and utilise information on ecologically sustainable agriculture through integrated communication channels.
Having been in existence since 2011, FCP’s overall goal is to promote access to and use of information on ecologically sustainable agriculture by farmers in East Africa to improve agricultural production, nutrition and income.
This is through four (4) integrated communication channels: The Infonet-Biovision web-based knowledge platform, The Organic Farmer (TOF) magazine, The Organic Farmer Radio (TOF Radio) programme, and the Farmer Communication Outreach.
The position is tenable in Nairobi, Kenya at the icipe Duduville Campus. A competitive compensation package will be offered to the most suitable Consultant.
2. Consultancy Description
i. Overall purpose and objectives of the impact assessment
The planned evaluation has two purposes:
(1) to assess the achievements and impacts of the programme and strengthen accountability to stakeholders, and
(2) to foster learning that will improve the effectiveness of the programme in ecological and sustainable agriculture development programs.
Results of the evaluation will be incorporated into the programming cycle from 2016 to improve the design and management of FCP interventions in ecological and sustainable agriculture.
Objectives of the Evaluation
To determine the relevance, usefulness and appropriateness of the products of the FCP communication pathways to users’ needs and preferences.
To determine the number of people reached by each of the four FCP information and communication pathways – (TOF magazine, TOF Radio radio, Farmer Communication Outreach, Infonet-Biovision and other FCP web-based platforms).
To assess effectiveness of FCP projects in influencing farmers’ knowledge, attitudes and uptake of practices and/or technologies in sustainable agriculture in the 4-H areas, and the mechanisms by which this occurred.
To assess the efficacy of each FCP information and communication pathway towards contributing to key programme outcomes including increased agricultural production, productivity, food security, income and farmer welfare.
To draw key lessons learnt from the programme implementation in partnership with various actors (farmers, extensionists, researchers, policymakers, partners, etc) based on their opinion of what has worked and what has not worked well to inform recommendations for addressing the weaknesses and challenges, future programming, implementation, monitoring and evaluation on a sustained basis.
ii. Scope of the Consultancy: The Consultant is expected to review and understand the FCP programme intervention strategy (theory of change) with the aim of developing an appropriate evaluation design, collect and analyze relevant data to answer the key evaluation questions and generate reports detailing the results of the exercise.
Specifically, the Consultant is expected to:
a) Undertake desktop research to review relevant programme documents, reports (both narrative and financial) submitted to donors from 2011-2014 including communication materials produced, and literature.
b) Assess the overall FCP coordination and cooperation among the programme coordinator, managers, staff in various processes and mechanisms relating to FCP since the programme started and recommend how it can be improved.
c) Develop checklists and tools for data collection. The tools will be reviewed by the FCP staff.
d) Collect and analyse data, and prepare a draft report of the findings.
e) Present preliminary evaluation results to FCP staff, partners and other stakeholders.
f) Integrate stakeholders’ feedback and prepare and submit the final Impact Assessment Report that is a maximum of 30 pages (excluding annexes) and includes recommendations.
3. The Evaluation Methodology / Approach
The Consultant is expected to develop an appropriate evaluation approach/methodology to address the evaluation objectives.
The evaluation strategy adopted should demonstrate a close link between the data collected for an evaluation and the methodology that will be employed to ensure the impact estimate is unbiased.
The consultant(s), together with the project team and experts, will develop a detailed and appropriate approach/evaluation methodology.
The evaluation methodology proposed by the consultant will need to be agreed upon by Biovision Farmer Communication Programme team and the Consultant(s) but will include and not limited to:
a) Review of relevant documents on FCP such as bi-annual and annual progress reports, monitoring reports, field visit reports, publications, etc.;
b) Data collection approaches and tools, focusing on structured interviews with farmers and partners who are familiar with the programme;
c) Data analysis techniques, capturing the effectiveness, efficacy and impact of the FCP pathways.
4. Reference Materials
Various materials will be useful to this study including but not limited to:
Biovision FCP Strategic Planning Workshop Report
Bi-annual and Annual Project Reports
Report of the Appraisal of Infonet and other FCP Products/Tools to Develop Guidelines for Future Outlook and Integration
Existing household data from national surveys if available
Spurk et al. 2013: “Good information is in short supply”
Farm Radio International 2011: “The new age of radio: How ICTs are changing rural radio in Africa.
5. Key Deliverables
The Evaluator is expected to produce the following outputs:
a) An inception report: Elaborating the Evaluation Approach and Methodology, sampling and data collection procedures, a detailed schedule of activities to be undertaken (work plan). The data collection tools will be annexed to this report.
b) A draft impact evaluation report: Indicating the preliminary results of the exercise. This will be presented to and discussed among the relevant stakeholders for comments.
c) Final impact evaluation report: Including the Executive summary, Intervention description, Evaluation purpose, Evaluation methodology, Findings, Conclusions, Recommendations and Annexes (list of people interviewed, key documents consulted, data collection instruments).
6. Reporting
The Consultant will work under the overall guidance of the FCP Coordinator and in collaboration with the Biovision Head Office.
7. Minimum Qualifications
We seek competent organization or individual with the following qualifications:
A master’s degree or equivalent in agriculture, sociology, development studies, economics or related social sciences. A Bachelor’s degree with proven longer-term work experience may be considered.
At least 5 years of relevant experience of conducting impact assessments in agricultural development programmes and projects. Experience in knowledge management will be an advantage.
Demonstrated ability to assess complex situations in order to analyze critical issues succinctly and clearly and draw forward-looking conclusions and recommendations.
Knowledge and experience in communication research.
Substantive knowledge of participatory M&E processes is essential, and experience with CBOs/community development processes, and country experience in Kenya are added advantage.
Excellent English writing and communication skills.
The consultant(s) should not have been engaged in the activities to be evaluated, or responsible in decision-making roles for the design, implementation or supervision of the project.
The exercise requires impartiality and a comprehensive and balanced appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of the project and activities being evaluated.
The selected consultant(s) will be expected to adhere to a code of conduct (Statement on Ethics), and conduct self/ themselves according to the expected ethical standards.
Applications will be accepted up to 23rd April 2015.
Only applications of shortlisted candidates will be acknowledged.
How to apply:
Please send your Technical and Financial Proposals indicating your understanding of the assignment, methodology for conducting the assignment, projected cost of the exercise, and at least one similar evaluation report conducted in the recent part.
Indicate your availability, detailed curriculum vitae of the consultant(s) to be involved in the assignment, with university certificates and relevant supporting documents.
Please include names/addresses of three referees (with daytime telephone numbers, and email and fax numbers), and a one-page write-up on how you consider yourself suitable for the consultancy.
Electronic copies should be sent to consultancybiovisionFCP@icipe.org with the subject heading: Consultancy for Impact Evaluation of the Biovision Farmer Communication Programme.