Mid- Term Evaluation of the Joint Programme” Strengthening Local Resilience for Sustainable Peace in Devolved Kenya” – Interpeace Kenya Programme

A. Interpeace

Interpeace is an international organization for peacebuilding, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Its aim is to strengthen the capacities of societies to manage conflict in non-violent, non-coercive ways by assisting national actors in their efforts to develop social and political cohesion. Interpeace also strives to assist the international community (and in particular the UN) to play a more effective role in supporting peacebuilding efforts around the world through better understanding and response to the challenges of creating local capacities that enhance social and political cohesion. For more information about Interpeace, please visit www.interpeace.org

B. Background

Since January 2016, Interpeace and NCIC, with support from the German Federal Foreign Office, have been working together under the Peacebuilding Programme in Kenya. This engagement commenced in Mandera County, where Interpeace and NCIC have been involved in a number of peacebuilding, mediation and reconciliation processes both within the county and with neighbouring counties and countries.

The programme was expanded in 2019 to include Wajir County as well as five counties in North Rift Valley region. The overall objectives of this programme with an implementation period between January 2019 and December 2021, are to:

• Strengthen the capacity of NCIC and local peace building infrastructures to foster reconciliation, social cohesion and trust in the Kenyan population and critical governance institutions
• Enhance peace and security in the selected fragile counties of Kenya
• Adopt contextually appropriate peacebuilding approaches to prevent violent extremism in Mandera and Wajir Counties

*Theory of Change:* If the capacity of the NCIC and local peacebuilding infrastructures are strengthened, and contextually appropriate peacebuilding approaches adopted then peace and security in the select fragile counties will be enhanced.

Key activities of the programme

• Establish and support regional peacebuilding hubs in North Eastern and North Rift regions
• Establish and strengthen community engagement and dialogue spaces
• Establish regional peace, culture and heritage resource center in Mandera
• Conduct research on the impediment to peace to peace in Wajir and North Rift regions
• Implement activities to respond to identified challenges to peace
• Connect and coordinate peace actors and government entities responsible for peacebuilding

Interpeace’s Kenya programme seeks a consultant to conduct a mid-term evaluation of the programme “Strengthening Local Resilience for sustainable peace in Devolved Kenya” which is a Joint Pilot Programme of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) and Interpeace. The evaluation is expected to concentrate on implementation during the period between January 2019 to June 2020.

C. Service or Assignment Description and Objective(s)

The mid-term evaluation is a routine programme practise by Interpeace to improve its ongoing programmes.

The consultant is expected to measure the outcomes, by analysing the achievements, challenges encountered, measures put in place to mitigate challenges and lessons learned. It is expected that the consultant will provide recommendations that will in return assist in improving implementation in the remaining phase of the programme.

The main objectives of the evaluation are:

• To assess programme progress towards intended outcomes and contribution to changes in how boundary partners choose to behave including performance and results to date
• To identify management, technical and performance challenges and providing recommendations for improvement
• To identify strengths, weaknesses, deviations as well as lessons learned from programme implementation to date
• To provide recommendations for ensuring programme effectiveness and efficiency, adapting to changes in the political context, as well as maximising programme impact

The indicative questions of the evaluation are as follows:

Relevance:

• To what extent is the programme intervention logic/strategy relevant to the context of peace and conflict in the programme regions?
• To what extent is the programme responsive to the defined needs and priorities of the stakeholders in the region?

Effectiveness and Impact

• To what extent has the programme meet its expected outputs?
• To what extent has the programme contributed to changes in the context (peacebuilding), at the local level?
• Is the programme being implemented as designed?

Gender and youth responsiveness

• To what extent has the programme integrate gender into the programme’s strategy?
• How effective are the programme’s efforts to integrate gender into the programme strategy?
• To what extent has the programme integrate the youth into the programme’s strategy?
• How effective arehe programme’s efforts to integrate the youth into the programme strategy?

Sustainability

• To what extent are the programme achievements sustainable beyond the programme period?
• To what extent are the programme’s established processes and systems likely to support the continued implementation of the programme?
• To what extent has the programme increased the capacity of local and national peacebuilding infrastructures?
• Is the programme able to establish relationship with other peace actors? To what extent?
• Has the programme been able to provide complementary support to other peace building initiatives within North Rift, Mandera, Wajir and the cross-border regions?

Coherence

• To what extent is this project consistent with the objectives of NCIC and Interpeace?
• To what extent does the project build upon and align with other programmes undertaken by the NCIC and Interpeace, jointly and separately.

Efficiency

• Are the programme strategies and activities sufficient for meeting the programme’s goal and objectives?
• Do the programme partners have adequate capacity to implement the programme?

Learning

• What challenges emerged during programme implementation?
• How has the project adapted to changes in the context and emerging challenges during programme implementation?
• To what extent does he programme adhere to the principles of Do No Harm and employ conflict sensitivity while implementing and adapting the programme strategies?

Project Design Improvement

• What best practices and lessons learnt from the programme should be incorporated into the final phase of the programme?
• What strategies should the programme employ to be more relevant to the context and be more responsive to the needs and priorities defined by stakeholders?
• What mechanisms should the programme integrate to ensure continued monitoring and relevant adaptation of the programme to changes in the context?
• What should programme partners take into consideration to improve the overall design of the programme?

NCIC/Interpeace anticipates that these key evaluation questions will be further refined with the selected evaluation consultants.

D. Scope of work

The anticipated duration of the evaluation is 30 days with a minimum of 15 days to be spent in the programme areas in the North Rift Regions ( Turkana, West Pokot, Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo and Samburu), and in the North eastern region (Wajir and Mandera). The anticipated start date is October 2020 with submission of the final draft by mid November 2020. The final timeframe will be agreed upon with the selected consultant.

It is expected that the Consultant will use participatory evaluation methodologies which may include but are not limited to, outcome harvesting, contribution mapping/contribution analysis, interviews, focus group discussions, most significant change, etc. These methodologies used should also be gender, youth, and conflict sensitive and respect the principles of Do No Harm. The evaluator is expected to present, agree upon, and apply a conceptual framework of analysis consistent with Interpeace’s peacebuilding and participatory approach. The evaluation will be both an objective and a consultative/participatory exercise.

E. Activities, Deliverables and Timeframe

F. Reporting and feedback

The evaluators will hold a feedback meeting (or meetings) for the NCIC, the Interpeace Nairobi office and invited stakeholders. This will be an opportunity to debrief on the evaluation, and to exchange views on preliminary findings and recommendations.

The evaluation report will include a main text of no more than 30 pages with findings and recommendations. The report will be expected to include:

Executive Summary

1. Introduction and brief background
2. Methodology
3. Major findings: Relevance, Effectiveness and Impact (including major accomplishments to date), Efficiency, Sustainability, Coherence, Cross-cutting issues
4. Overall Assessment
5. Challenges
6. Best Practices and lessons learned
7. Recommendations for improvement

Annexes:

• Terms of Reference
• List of documents assessed
• List of persons interviewed
• Evaluation Matrix
• Presentation of changes identified related to programme outcomes and progress markers
• Proposed revised logical framework

G. Qualifications

The evaluation will be undertaken by a consultant familiar with the Kenya Peacebuilding Programme areas of Mandera, Wajir, Baringo, Turkana, Samburu, Elgeyo Marakwet and West Pokot Counties.

The consultant will be expected to have the following skills and experience at a minimum:

• At least a bachelor’s degree in social sciences, peacebuilding management, evaluation, social research etc

General professional experience

• Strong analytical skills
• Strong knowledge of and experience in conflict resolution, peacebuilding, and reconciliation programmes
• Experience working in the North-rift and North-eastern regions or other conflict or post-conflict environments.
• willingness to travel to the regions
• An ability to work within tight deadlines
• Ability to work effectively and inclusively with people of different culture, race, nationality, gender, religious belief, age, sexual orientation, marital status, disability or political
• Knowledge of local language is an added advantage

Specific professional experience

• Peacebuilding management, evaluation, social research
• Experience conducting evaluations/assessments (or collaboration with a person or group with extensive evaluation experience)