Final Evaluation

Terms of reference: Project fINAL EVALUATION

• Background information:

DanChurch Aid’s and Norwegian Church Aid’s (DCA/NCA) Joint Country Program for Palestine (JCP) is implemented in a context of protracted crisis and long-term Israeli occupation that caused serious violations of human rights against Palestinians. Rights violations in the West Bank include physical and psychological abuse, restrictions on movement, limitations on access to water and electricity, confiscation of land, home demolitions, and destruction of agricultural fields among many others. In Gaza, there is a sharp deterioration in the humanitarian, human rights, security, and political situation caused by the siege and several rounds of military operations in the Gaza strip. The West Bank and the Gaza strip have been politically divided since 2007 and no elections have taken place for 16 years. This affects the livelihood opportunities and the Palestinian publics’ ability to participate in the decision-making processes that affects their lives.

In 2016, DCA and NCA merged their respective long-standing programs in Palestine into a Joint Country Program (JCP) guided by the vision that: “Palestinians should enjoy equality, self-determination, democracy, as well as access to justice and accountability in accordance with International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law”. The JCP’s aim is to contribute towards this vision through four themes of work: Active Citizenship, Economic Empowerment, Humanitarian Assistance, and International Advocacy.

For more information about DCA, please refer to our homepage http://www.danchurchaid.org

Project title: Enhancing Transition to Green and Sustainable Economic Growth in Palestine

Project funding sources: Danida Green Business Partnerships (DGBP).

Implementing partner: MA’AN Development Centre and Ethical Trade Denmark.

Key commercial partners: Salling group and GSOL Energy Global.

Project duration: 01 April 2023 – 31 December 2024.

The overall objective of the project: To contribute to sustainable, inclusive green economic growth and decent jobs in Palestine

Specific objectives:

• Qualify local date production by Palestinian farmers so it can be exported to international markets.
• Ensuring the process meets greening, quality, and social requirements and is based on a climate-smart, inclusive and economically viable business model.

Project Outcomes:

• Outcome 1: Greening and more climate-smart practices within the date value chain are enhanced.
• Outcome 2: Quality of production and production capacity of dates farmers are enhanced.
• Outcome 3: Promoting an enabling environment for RBC and greening within the dates value chain in Palestine/Jordan Valley and amongst national and international stakeholders including retailers in Denmark.

Project Outputs:

Output 1: Climate risks and related technologies within dates value chain are assessed/identified. Quality, productivity, Human Rights challenges/risks and best farming practices are identified.

Output 2: Linkages between value chain actors are facilitated and established.

Output 3: Local producers are capacitated in greening technologies, best farming practices and international Standards.

Output 4: A sample of locally produced dates is exported to Denmark and quality test against Salling requirements is conducted.

Output 5: Relevant national and international finance institutions for the agriculture sector are mapped out, identified and introduced to farmers – including Microfinance Institutions (MFI’s), crowd lending/funding platforms.

Output 6: RBC awareness raising and multistakeholder dialogues are conducted (at national and international levels) to support policy change/development to promote adherence to RBC principles and practices within the date sector in Palestine.

Project Description:

• This multistakeholder partnership project will work to mature an ethical export-based business model that promotes climate-smart and commercially viable solutions in the dates value chain in Palestine, increasing Responsible Business Conduct, and carrying out strategic advocacy.
• The project will facilitate linkages between Palestinian producers and Danish retailers and build the capacity of farmers to live up to international market quality standards.
• The project includes introducing green practices to cope with energy and water scarcity focusing on the upstream part of the value chain.

Target group: Small Scale Farmers in Jordan Valley.

• contract purpose and Expected results

The purpose of the final evaluation report is:

1. To assess the project’s effectiveness and impact: The contract aims to evaluate how effectively the project has met its objectives, particularly in qualifying local date production for international markets and promoting climate-smart, inclusive, and economically viable business models.
2. To provide insights and recommendations: The evaluation will highlight key strengths, challenges, and areas for improvement, with a focus on enhancing sustainability and the greening aspects of the value chain.

The evaluation report will be shared with staff at DCA Palestine and DCA global offices, specifically the Private Sector Engagement (PSE) Unit. It is anticipated that by reading the report, noth of the DCA and the consortium partners will improve similar project design, implementation, and resilience programming at large, with a focus on the Market Systems Development (MSD) approach.

Results to be achieved by the Contractor:

1. The contractor will assess how well the project integrates climate-smart, environmentally sustainable, and socially inclusive practices. This includes evaluating the project’s relevance to the needs of Palestinian farmers and its alignment with international market standards and greening requirements.
2. The contractor will evaluate the project’s progress in achieving its objectives—improving local date production for export and fostering linkages between farmers and international buyers. This will involve measuring the extent to which the project has contributed to sustainable economic growth and decent jobs, while adhering to green business practices.
3. The contractor will assess both the positive and negative impacts of the project on farmers and other value chain actors, with a focus on the sustainability of climate-smart practices, local ownership, and the long-term viability of export initiatives.

Stakeholder Participation:

The Consultant/consultancy firm must ensure that a wide range of stakeholders participate in the survey as respondents. These will include:

• Farmers that fit the target profile of the project.
• Staff and board members from the implementing partner organization, as well as relevant DCA/NCA staff and DCA HQ staff.
• Representatives from both commercial and non-commercial partners involved in the project.
• Stakeholders with expertise in Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) and International Humanitarian Law (IHL).
• Scope of the Services

The final evaluation will take place in November and December 2024 and will include the following steps:

1. Document review: The consultant will review the document package, including business progress updates, event records, presentations, meeting notes, and additional documentation relating to the business case, such as retailer awareness activities in Denmark. The material shall be analysed in relevance to the project’s core goals and review progress reports to ensure alignment with expected outcomes and objectives.
2. Evaluation focus: The evaluation will specifically assess the maturation of the business case, looking beyond the logframe to evaluate feasibility, scalability, and the integration of Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) principles and climate-smart practices. These factors are critical to understanding the overall effectiveness of the project and its impact on sustainable economic growth.
3. Data collection: This will involve conducting interviews with all consortium partners and the targeted farmers reviewing the online tool and its data and analysing the collected information to evaluate the project’s effectiveness.
4. Debriefing session: The consultant will lead a session with DCA/NCA staff, consortium partners, and stakeholders to present the findings and discuss recommendations for future improvements.

The final evaluation will be carried out by the consultant/firm supported by the implementing partner staff, and DCA/NCA per the division of roles and responsibilities below:

• Roles and responsibilities of the consultant/firm:

1. Create the methodology, tools, and a timeline for the final evaluation, including clear steps on how data will be collected, analyzed, and reported. The methodology should specify how the evaluation will address key evaluation criteria (Effectiveness, Efficiency, Relevance, Impact, and Sustainability).
2. Share the proposed methodology and data collection tools with DCA/NCA-and the consortium for feedback and approval before implementation.
3. Implement the evaluation plan, which includes conducting interviews with key stakeholders involved in the project.
4. Analyze the collected data using appropriate statistical and qualitative methods to assess the overall effectiveness of the project in meeting its objectives.
5. Present preliminary findings to DCA/NCA-and the consortium partners to allow for feedback and validation before finalizing the report.
6. Prepare the evaluation report detailing key findings, conclusions, and recommendations.
7. Provide DCA/NCA-and the implementing partner with copies of all raw data, analysis, and documentation related to the evaluation.
8. The evaluator must include DCA/NCA in all correspondence with the implementing partner to ensure transparency and coordination.

• Roles and responsibilities of the implementation partner:

1. To link the consultant/firm with pertinent stakeholders and beneficiaries, as farmers.
2. To review the report of the consultant/firm and provide feedback.

• Roles and responsibilities of DCA/NCA:

1. To provide the consultant with the documentation pack: project document, logical framework, progress reports, DCA’s rights-based approaches, etc.
2. To review the evaluation tools and methodology.
3. To ensure that the report meets the required quality standards.
4. To provide feedback on the report and to approve.
5. To provide the evaluator with contact information of partners and stakeholders (the evaluator is responsible to arrange directly with them).

• timing, logistics and facilities

The timeframe allocated to the final evaluation process and finalizing of the report is a maximum of 12 working days. The final evaluation process should be accomplished on the 22 of December 2024. Technical and financial proposals should be submitted no later than 2:00 pm Jerusalem time on 20th of November 2024, at the following email: [email protected].

Important notes:

• This opportunity is open locally.
• The consultant/firm will work in the field and remotely conduct interviews and meetings.

reporting

• Submit methodology, tools, and a timeline for the final evaluation, according to the timeframe above, after getting the approval on the offer. Signing the contract may come at a later stage.
• The report shall include an introduction, background, methodology, key findings, analysis, conclusions, and recommendations. It may also contain lessons learned, next steps, and annexes for supporting data or documents.
• The final report will be submitted to the DCA, and commercial and non-commercial partners. The report will not be considered final until approved by DCA.
• The report should consist of 18 to 22 pages maximum.
• All reports and communications will be in English.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

Required qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in in social science or a related field, with a strong understanding of statistical methods and their application in evaluating agricultural or environmental projects.
• Proven expertise in conducting evaluations, particularly for agricultural projects or those focused on sustainable practices, including knowledge of Rights-Based Approaches.

Preferred qualifications:

• Proven evaluation skills such as indicator development, sampling, participatory evaluation methodology, appreciative enquiry methods, focus group interviews, etc.
• Experience with faith-based organisations in general and DCA in particular is an asset.
• Proven team leading and report writing skills.