Job Description

TERMS OF REFERENCE (TOR) FOR THE FINAL EVALUATION OF THE “SOLAR POWER HUB (P177) PHASE 2” IN KENEMA DISTRICT.

Brief background of Partner

The current initiative is being implemented by highly skilled national NGO Social Enterprise Development (SEND-SL) and international partner EWB-DK, combining experiences in community-based mobilization on Solar Power Hub

Social Enterprise Development – Sierra Leone (SEND-SL)

SEND Sierra Leone is a national non-governmental organization in Sierra Leone liaising with communities, traditional authorities, government institutions, and donor partners to combine resources to develop innovative solutions to alleviate poverty and enhance quality self-reliance. SEND Sierra Leone has adopted the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to guide national development planning and implementation with our strategic approach. The pursuit of economic equality and social equity are mainstreamed in the SDGs. Our commitment to the government is to improve the delivery of social services, strengthen gender and social inclusion, and prioritize the education sector. SEND Sierra Leone is an independent structure and a local NGO registered in Sierra Leone. SEND Sierra Leone works to improve people’s lives by respecting human rights and equal opportunities for women and men in Sierra Leone.

Intervention areas include Bo, Bonthe, Moyamba, Kambia, Kailahun, Kenema, Kono, Port Loko, Pujehun, Falaba and Western Rural districts. Our interventions impact competencies such as promoting women’s leadership, gender transformation, self-reliance approaches, governance, community resource mobilization, community-led initiatives, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, climate change adaptation, WASH, health, livelihood, education, Renewable Energy and advocacy.

Our vision is to see a Sierra Leone where people’s rights and well-being are guaranteed.

Our mission is to promote good governance, voice, accountably essential services and equality for women and men in Sierra Leone.

Engineers without Borders Denmark (EWB-DK):

Engineers without Borders Denmark (EWB-DK): EWB-DK is an international organization focusing on access to Affordable and Clean Energy (UN sustainable development goal #7) within democratic governance is one of EWB-DK’s strategic core areas. Since 2009, EWB-DK has gained substantial experience in implementing local community Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) projects, mostly in the African context and has worked in the poorest and most vulnerable communities in the Kenema district in Sierra Leone for more than ten years. Through the development efforts, EWB-DK seeks to build stronger and more resilient communities to organize and mobilize themselves towards their further development. EWB-DK bases the activities on delivering strategic services and encompasses community development to focus on achieving sustainable changes in targeted groups’ behavior to improve their livelihood permanently. To achieve this, institutional strengthening and capacity enhancement of institutions and governance structures are integrated elements of all interventions.

Project Background

Social Enterprise Development Sierra Leone (SEND-SL), funded by EWB-DK, is implementing the “Improved livelihood through the civil society-driven model for gender-sensitive sustainable income generation and green job creation at the community level, Phase II”. The development objective is to improve livelihood for people in Mendekelema and catchment areas using community solar power as strategic leverage for capacity development and demand driven economic development., with a target population of 498 persons. 

Overall, the strategy is characterized by the combination and complementarity of strategic service delivery (solar business hub), gender sensitive capacity building (cooperative and SEND) and advocacy (dissemination of experience gained from the hub). Throughout the activities there is a strong focus on training and supervising at all levels, including former  adults literacy, business hub management and board, entrepreneurs in productive use of energy and upscaling of agriculture and non-agriculture products, staff of SEND, and building capacity among community members in advocacy. At the same time, all strategic elements directly contribute to securing sustainability of the intervention, and to reaching the overall goal, improving the livelihood of community members in Mendekelema and its catchment areas. We will aim to reach these through the following strategies:  

The Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Manager of Social Enterprise Development Sierra Leone (SEND SL) did the baseline assessment of the project. Hence then, we are looking reliable Consultant to professionally conduct the final evaluation of the phase II of this small-scale pilot project.  

Project Deliverables:

Development Objective:

To improve livelihood for people in Mendekelema and catchment areas using community solar power as strategic leverage for capacity development and demand driven economic development.

Immediate Objectives:

1: Businesses developed through productive use of energy and living conditions of households improved.

 2: Adult education enabled through access to electricity

3: Capacity of SEND to undertake advocacy strengthening

Purpose of the End-Term Evaluation

The main objective of the End-Term evaluation is to:

1. Identify how the project has been effectively implemented in the project communities – measured against the objectives and outputs/outcome set forth in the project.
2. Measure the results/impact against the target indicators presented in the Logical Framework Approach (LFA) in the project document.
3. Conduct a comparative analysis of the project baseline indicators.
4. Understand the impact created among the project beneficiaries at the community level.
5. Document lessons learned, present main results and best practices and provide recommendations for future project/program development.

Communication of the report

The report will be disseminated in diverse ways:

1. With donor partners in the fulfilment of accountability on funds utilized
2. With implementing partners and district stakeholders.
3. With project participating communities, participants, and stakeholders to enable the implementation of learning and recommendations to achieve the developed project’s overall objectives.
4. Publish on the SEND and EWB websites.

Methodology of the Activity:

The evaluation will be based on the following approaches below:

1. The review will be conducted within 4 selected project communities in Guara Chiefdom, Kenema District.
2. Using Key Informant Interviews, Focus Group Discussions, and Questionnaire surveys with the project team, Board Members, private service providers, Kenema Cooperative Credit Union, and project stakeholders at community, chiefdom, and district levels.

Scope of work:

The evaluation will cover selected participants from the project’s operational areas and stakeholders for the reporting period from 1st February 2024 to 31st March 2025. Within this period, the review will comprehensively assess project outcomes at all levels, including Board members, beneficiaries, and stakeholders, to determine the impact and relevance of the project’s intervention. . The evaluation will specifically focus: Within this period, the review will assess project outcomes/impacts at all levels: including all result areas, beneficiaries, and project stakeholders. It will determine the impact and relevance of the project’s intervention on the Solar Power Hub (through mainstreaming of Renewable Energy adaptation), strategic service delivery (to improve livelihood for people in Mendekelema and catchment areas through provision of community solar power). Community solar power hub in operation, providing electricity for productive purposes and to households, businesses developed through productive use of energy and living conditions of households improved. The evaluation will assess the project management and activity implementation to address the results achieved, the partnerships established, and issues of capacity development for SEND. The evaluation will also establish best practices and lessons learned for future engagement while providing recommendations for the rest of the implementation.

Content of the Evaluation

The content of the evaluation will include the following:

Reporting requirements

The lead person will have the following reporting requirements:

The target participants for interviews, meetings etc

Roles and Responsibilities

Responsibilities of SEND-SL:

• Provide reference documents to the evaluator, e.g., Project proposal, log frame, etc.
• Assist in communicating with key stakeholders about the final evaluation.
• Review the assessment tools/instruments for finalization.
• Supervise the training of enumerators, data collection, and verification.
• Review the draft report and feedback comments to the Contractor.
• Disseminate the final evaluation report to relevant stakeholders.

Responsibilities of the Contractor:

• Design inception report and data collection tools and share them with SEND SL as part of the inception report.
• Conduct pretesting of the tools and finalize them.
• Hire and train enumerators.
• Conduct the End-term evaluation in the operational communities in Kenema District.
• Presentation/discussion of preliminary findings, conclusions, and recommendations with SEND staff.
• Submit a draft report to SEND.
• After receiving comments on the draft report, submit the final report to SEND
• Abide by SEND, and EWB-DK policies.
• Complete and submit the final version of the report within 29 days.

The report should include the following chapters:

• An executive summary
• A description of the evaluation methodology
• Background information and chapters on findings,
• Conclusions, limitations, and recommendations for the future.
• The results should be supported and documented with pictures.

The final report will also include annexes, a list of communities and chiefdom, the people and Institutions/organizations interviewed and their contacts, and a list of reviewed documents.

Submission of bids:

Applications should be sent to recruitment@sendsierraleone.com with the subject line “Endline Evaluation for Solar Power Hub Phase II (P177).”

Women with the required expertise are strongly encouraged to apply.

Closing date: 26th March 2025.