External End of Project Evaluation

INTRODUCTION

Danish People’s Aid (DPA or ‘Dansk Folkehjælp’ as it is known in Denmark) was formed in 1907 and is the oldest, still-operating Non-Governmental Organization in Denmark. DPA’s mission is to support marginalised people in Denmark and abroad regardless of their religious, ethnic and political affiliation; provide instant and log-term aid for victims of poverty, disaster and war to mitigate the effects in the best way possible; to cooperate with international, national and local organisations and associations to enhance the effect of the abovementioned actions.

Solidar Suisse has been actively responding to the Syrian Crisis since 2012, assisting displaced Syrian and vulnerable Lebanese families with humanitarian assistance. Initial projects were implemented through its network partner Norwegian People’s Aid and since 2013 Solidar Suisse implements projects through its own team based in Nabatieh, South Lebanon.

The current project phase running from July 2017 to December 2018 is co-funded by Danish People Aid (DPA) through its back donor (CISU) during 12 months (27 July 2017 – 27 July 2018)

Within 9 months, this humanitarian initiative aims to contribute to strengthen the resilience of Syrian refugees and of host communities affected by the Syria crisis in South Lebanon. The intervention strategy has defined two main outcomes strands

1. Protecting individual refugees in precarious situations: The most vulnerable refugee population sustain their basic living conditions by receiving cash assistance and through better access to refugee assistance.
2. Communities particularly affected by the refugee crisis maintain their social stability through capacity building of municipalities, NGO's or CBO's

PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES

The overall purpose of this review is accountability. Beside the evaluation of the DPA project, the strategic and operational recommendations should serve to improve subsequent project phases which shall be oriented towards resilience based programming.

Guiding evaluation questions are:

1. To which extent did the project components achieve its objectives and delivered on intended results?
2. To what extent the project follows the Core Humanitarian Standard with particular focus on commitments 1 – 6?
3. Is the applied CASH approach/modality appropriate and relevant to the current humanitarian situation in the South of Lebanon and the needs of the target group specifically

The consultant will apply the OECD/DAC criteria.

The primary target audience of the evaluation is DPA and CISU. The evaluation report will be shared with DPA’s back donor CISU/DREF.

SCOPE

The proposed evaluation will focus on the ongoing project of Solidar Suisse implemented in the sectors of 1) Basic Assistance including (a) Unconditional Cash Assistance and (b) Communication and Referral System 2) Community Support Projects. The geographical focus will be the South of Lebanon, more specifically Nabatieh. The target group will be Syrian refugees as well as other stakeholders involved in the project components mentioned below.

The following project components are part of the evaluation:

No. Solidar: 4227

Place: South Lebanon

Duration: 01.07.2017 to 31.12.2018

Intervention areas:

1. Unconditional Cash Phase VI
2. Communication and Referral System
3. Shelter Monitoring
4. Emergency Cash
5. Community Support Projects

Budget (excl. PAA): 1‘227‘726 USD thereof 312‘867 USD funded by DPA

Donor: Swiss Solidarity and CISU/DERF (DPA)

Note that the focus lies on the DPA co-funded project components, thus only components in bold are within the scope of the evaluation

The scope of the evaluation encompasses the following components:

1. Action 1: Unconditional Cash Assistance: Monthly cash installments of USD 175 to most vulnerable Syrian beneficiaries
2. Action 2: Communication and Referral System: Enhance accountability towards beneficiaries through improved access to information and the set-up of a referral system
3. Action 3: Community Support Projects: Implementation of small scale projects to strengthen the capacity local organizations to address priority needs identified in the project area

METHODOLOGY AND TIME-FRAME

The consultant in cooperation with DPA will develop the final methodology for the evaluation which will be included in the short methodology report. The methodology will have to combine both quantitative and qualitative tools and be used where possible in a participatory way. Suggested tools are:

• Literature review
• Review and analysis of project monitoring data
• Review of project documentation and procedures
• Observations
• Key informant interviews
• Focus Group Discussions with beneficiaries and other stakeholders
• Discussions and interviews with the project teams

The work will be concluded in a period of 12 days, indicatively broken down as follow:

- Preparation (preparation methodology, work plan, inception report) - 1 days

- Briefings / Debriefings - 2 days

- Field work (ideally 18 - 22 June) - 5 days

- Report writing & data analysis - 4 days

Total: 12 Days

The start of the evaluation is beginning of June 2018. The final report has to be submitted End of July 2018.

RESPONSIBILITY AND REPORTING LINES

The Humanitarian Coordinators in Denmark and Switzerland will be the main focal points for the assignment and direction of the evaluation and will receive directly the evaluation report.

The Country Representative in Lebanon will be the focal point for guiding and facilitating the consultant in Lebanon.

DELIVERABLES/OUTPUTS

1. The Methodology report (max 3 Pages)
2. The consultant will organize a debriefing to validate and discuss the provisional findings with Solidar’s Country Representative and the two Humanitarian coordinators of DPA and Solidar by skype.
3. The evaluation report will be submitted in English. It shall contain no more than 15 pages (excluding annexes). The report shall contain a general summary and sections covering methodology, analysis and findings. Recommendations have to be concrete and applicable within Solidar’s resources, capacity and mandate and have clear responsibilities attached. The report must answer the final evaluation questions that are stated in the methodology report.
4. The draft report must be submitted within 14 days after field work (06 July). The final report must be submitted within 10 days after receipt of management comments on the draft report.
5. Table of content of the evaluation report:
   1. Cover page
   2. Acknowledgement page
   3. Content, map of area and list of acronyms
   4. Executive summary with the main findings
   5. Methodology
   6. General report, including analysis and findings
   7. Recommendations
   8. List of resources/bibliography
   9. Time-table of consultant with references to stakeholders spoken to

PROFILE OF THE CONSULTANT

• Demonstrated experience in evaluating humanitarian projects, preferably in displacement or refugee contexts
• Proven knowledge of the context of the Syrian refugee crisis, and, preferably in Lebanon
• Knowledge of the Humanitarian System and respective coordination structures
• Sound knowledge of Cash Transfer Programming
• Up-to-date knowledge of current (participatory) evaluation tools and methods and proven experience in the use of these tools
• Fluency in English language required, Arabic is a strong asset
• Strong analytical skills
• Ability to work effectively in intercultural settings
• Excellent writing skills in English and the ability to write concise, yet comprehensive reports
• Ability to meet deadlines