Terms of Reference (ToR) for Baseline Assessment of the Project: Supporting Reconciliation and Trust Building in Somalia

Terms of Reference (ToR)

Baseline assessment of the Project: Supporting Reconciliation and Trust Building in Somalia

PROJECT TITLE:	SUPPORTING RECONCILIATION AND TRUST-BUILDING IN SOMALIA (SRT-4)
DONOR	NORWEGIAN MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS (NMFA)
LOCATION (S):	SOMALIA
ORGANIZATION:	NORDIC INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOUNDATION – NIS FOUNDATION
DATE	21-03-2022

1. Introduction

As outlined in this Terms of Reference (ToR), the Nordic International Support Foundation (NIS) is seeking proposals from local consulting firms interested in conducting a baseline assessment for the Supporting Reconciliation and Trust-building project in Somalia (SRT-4) funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA). The project will be implemented over a three-year period in partnership with the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS), Federal Member States (FMSs), Banadir Regional Administration (BRA) and key civil society actors. This ToR describes in detail the objectives, methods, deliverables, qualifications, and timelines to establish a baseline for the implementation of the SRT-4 project for the period of 2022-2024.

2. Brief about Somalia NRF

Somalia is a country slowly recovering from more than three decades of protracted conflicts instigated by power struggle, clan rivalry and violent extremism which resulted in the collapse of government institutions, unprecedented physical destruction, poverty, massive migration, and internal displacements. This situation considerably eroded trust, social cohesion, and unity among the Somali people. Somalia has managed to gain a certain degree of stability in recent decades by re-establishing governmental institutions and putting in place key policies and frameworks. The country needs to sustain a strong national reconciliation process and to advance trust building, social cohesion, inclusion, economic recovery, and deep healing.

As the first serious attempt to develop a comprehensive Somali-driven strategy for genuine reconciliation, the FGS initiated in 2017 the development of the current NRF consisting of the following five pillars:

• Pillar I: Developing a shared vision of an interdependent, fair, and secure society
• Pillar II: Acknowledging and dealing with the past
• Pillar III: Restoring and transforming community relationships
• Pillar IV: Building trust in government institutions and structures
• Pillar V: Supporting economic and social recovery activities

Under each pillar, several milestones and priority activities were identified. In the last three years, the federal MoIFAR and its FMSs line ministries and BRA disseminated the NRF/NRP and implemented several NRP priority activities, including the development of regional reconciliation plans (RRP) and consultation workshops with key CSOs and social networks with the purpose of cascading the process to state and community levels.

3. Brief description about the project:

The SRT-4 project is being implemented nationwide in close collaboration with key relevant authorities and civil society organizations (CSOs) and networks, focusing on the following four project components:

• Deepen community healing and political mediations
• Build peace-promoting federal and state institutions and civil society networks
• Strengthen inclusivity and coordination among reconciliation stakeholders
• Build stronger knowledge base for genuine reconciliation process.

NIS Foundation has been a pioneer in contributing to the implementation of the Somalia Reconciliation Process (NRP) since July 2018 by supporting MoIFAR in the implementation of the National Reconciliation Framework (NRF) pillars and milestones in line with the Somalia National Development Plan (NDP-9 2020-2024) which was approved in 2019.

NIS successfully implemented three phases of the SRT programme in partnership with Somali authorities. Throughout this period, NIS also established and maintained a productive cooperation with national reconciliation institutions and key non-state actors. The SRT-4 project builds upon the successes achieved in the last three project phases based on the needs and priorities identified by Somali authorities. Key achievements of the las three phases of the project include significant capacity improvement of mandated institutions and civil society organisations, such as leaders of women networks and community conflict resolutions which resulted in peaceful coexistence (e.g., Herale and Hurshe communities).

The programme’s overall Theory of Change (ToC) states that addressing the low trust and capacity constraints of the Somali authorities is the first necessary step toward stabilisation and reconciliation. The intended impact of the project is to ensure that Somalia progresses towards stability. This is expected to be reflected in the advancement of the implementation of the NRF across the nation by providing support to the implementation plan of the NRF known as the NRP, resulting in a more peaceful society.

The strategic objective of the project is to advance the national trust-building and reconciliation processes in Somalia as a mean to encourage the stabilisation of the country. To achieve this objective the project aims to realise the following project outcomes:

Outcome 1: Mandated government institutions have sufficient capacity and knowledge to advance the NRP Outcome 2: Relevant civil society actors are accounted for in the NRP and are better equipped to manage and resolve conflicts at the local level

Outcome 3: Updated and well-informed measures for conflict resolution at the local and national levels are implemented.

4. Assessment purpose and objectives

The purpose of this assessment is to inform project implementation and establish baseline values for the project indicators which will act as a benchmark for comparison with the endline evaluation to be conducted after the completion of the project implementation. In addition, providing NIS and other stakeholders with an assessment of the project’s relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, and impact, while testing the underlying assumptions and weak links of the programme’s ToC. The baseline assessment of the project is intended to achieve the following objectives:

1. To establish status quo prior to implementation.
2. Establish the project baseline based on the project logical framework to enable monitoring and evaluation of the project impact and progress against the results; and
3. Provide recommendations to NIS on the way forwards and how to keep improving its programming and interventions.

5. Methodology

The consultant should employ a mixed-method approach, combining qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. In the technical proposal, the consultant is expected to specify appropriate technical/ analytical approach. The data collection tools developed by the consultant will be reviewed and approved by NIS MEL unit for matching quality standards for data collection tools.

The following data collection strategies will be applied by the consultant (additional methods may be applied by the consultant, subject to the approval of NIS):

• Carry out a comprehensive desk review of all project documents indicated/provided by NIS), and any other relevant literature prior to tool development.
• Develop quantitative and qualitative data collection tools and guidelines for the baseline to be used for fieldwork.
• Conduct baseline quantitative household surveys using digital data gathering ODK/ONA platform and submit raw data to NIS ONA account that will be provided.
• Maintain gender balance during data collection by hiring and training enumerators.
• Conduct a pilot study prior to the extensive survey to verify that questionnaires are clearly understood.
• Conduct baseline qualitative Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and FGDs to complement the quantitative surveys and contextualize quantitative data, as well as supply a more in-depth and richer evidence base.

6. Deliverables

The required outputs of this assignment will be as follows:

• An inception report illustrating:
  • The consultant’s understanding of the TOR,

• Detailed study methodology, including the sampling method, comprehensive data collection tools, analytical approaches, data quality assurance mechanism,
• Detailed workplan with clear timelines.

• Raw data for each data collection exercise compiled in electronic format, including:
  • Household survey data submitted to NIS’ digital data collection platform (ONA platform).
  • All data from KIIs and FGDs transcribed and translated to English.
• Full set of action photos collected from the site visited including time, date, and location of photos. Where possible the field monitors should provide some more background information on each set of photos

1. Draft baseline report for review
2. Presentation of the key findings and recommendations of the assessment to NIS Somalia country office prior to submitting a draft final assessment report for review, comments, discussion, and final consensus building
3. Final project baseline assessment report to be delivered by the end of this assignment.

Note: All data and reports will be shared exclusively with NIS. All reports will follow NIS’ reporting templates that might be further adapted by the consultant in cooperation with NIS.

7. Timeline

The 5-weeks engagement of the consultant is expected to start by mid-April 2022 and be completed by mid-May 2022.

Phase 1: Design phase (1 week)

• NIS and Consultant meet & establish a common understanding of the approach, scope and purpose of the work
• Consultant submits assessment plan/ inception report, including detailed information about the methodology, to NIS for quality assurance (Deliverable 1)
• NIS assess applicability and relevance of the data collection tools (quality assurance) and give go-ahead for Phase 2.

Phase 2: Data collection phase (2 weeks)

• Consultant conducts desk reviews
• Consultant conducts field visits with NIS to areas where projects are implemented and interviews with beneficiaries and all key stakeholders in the field
• Meetings with key stabilization/reconciliation actors, to identify their approach, theory of change, lesson learning and best practices

• Meetings with key government actors and local authorities as well as private sector

Note: The consulting firm should have access to the government offices for both FGS and FMS/BRA. NIS Foundation is not responsible for any facilitation regarding government offices’ accessibility.

Phase 3: Completion and presentation (2 weeks)

• Consultant submits draft findings report (Deliverable 2) for review and feedback by NIS
• Consultant submits comprehensive baseline assessment report for NIS and donor review and feedback (Deliverable 3)
• Consultant incorporates NIS and donor feedback in consolidated final baseline assessment report and submits to NIS (Deliverable 4)
• Consultant present final findings and recommendations to NIS & key stakeholders of the programme (Deliverable 5)

8. Supervision

The baseline assessment consultant will work under the overall guidance of NIS’ Country Representative and NIS’ MEL Manager and in close collaboration with relevant stakeholders in all programme areas. NIS will provide quality assurance to all data collection tools and reports submitted by the consultant. NIS will be responsible for monitoring output indicators and activities. This information is expected to complement outcome and impact assessments by the consultant.

9. Required skills and experience

The following criteria should be met by the desired consultant or consulting firm:

• Capacity and experience in collaborating with diverse sets of stakeholders, such civil society organizations, government officials, donor representatives and international institutions.
• Master’s degree in International and Political Affairs, Law, Development Studies, Social Sciences, or related field.
• At least 7 years of experience in the design and implementation of evaluations, assessments or baseline surveys including quantitative and qualitative data collection.
• Capacity to carry out baseline evaluations and reporting of stabilization & development interventions.
• Capacity to arrange all the logistical arrangements for field staff and actual field work, also have field monitors who are native Somali speakers, with knowledge of the culture, practices, and security situation in the proposed project target areas.
• Trained and qualified female and male (preferably 50% each) staff available for the baseline assessment and reporting.
• Strong experience in both quantitative and qualitative data analysis and dissemination that could be applied to this program.
• Use of innovative technologies, including mobile data collection.
• Excellent report writing and presentation skills in English.

10. Submission of proposals

The deadline for submitting complete proposals is 11:59pm on 2^nd April 2022. Proposals must be submitted electronically to procurement.somalia@nis-foundation.org, with the subject line “Baseline assessment”

Contact information.

Please forward any query to the following e-mail address: procurement.somalia@nis-foundation.org, and copying:

me1.somalia@nis-foundation.org & recon.somalia@nis-foundation.org

NB: OFFERS WILL BE REJECTED IF ANY ILLEGAL OR CORRUPT PRACTISES HAVE TAKEN PLACE IN CONNECTION WITH THE AWARD.

NB: NIS Foundation promotes gender equality and social inclusion. Consulting firms that represent/are owned by women, male and female youth and/or other marginalized groups are encouraged to apply for this activity.”

 

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