FACSCA- End of Project Evaluation at Fairtrade International

PROJECT CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND

• FACSCA is a 28-month project which was launched in September 2021 and is due to close in December 2023.
• The programme is supported by The Co-op (a major UK retailer) and is implemented by FTA in partnership with FTF and with Fairtrade-certified producer organizations in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Rwanda.
• The FACSCA programme has been designed to contribute to realisation of the right to sustainable livelihoods for coffee, tea and flower producers’ households experiencing the effects of climate change in small scale producers (SPOs) and Hired Labour Organizations (HLOs) across East Africa. Specifically, project objectives and outcome areas aimed to:
• FACSCA activities have supported series of interventions with tea, coffee, and flower Producer Organisations (POs) in Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia since September 2021 with the objective of enabling POs to adapt to a changing climate and maintain adequate productivity levels that guarantee supply chain stability and return on investment. FACSCA sits within Co-op’s Fairtrade Africa 2021-2025 strategy which seeks to strengthen sustainable farming systems and climate resilience, with FACSCA providing a specific focus on Co-op and Fairtrade supported Pos.
• This end of project evaluation will provide FTA and FTF and the Co-op with a deepened understanding of what,how effective, and how FACSCA programmatic interventions have been in contributing to farmers and workers having heighted resilience to climate change. Efforts should be made by the evaluator to provide a reflection on who FACSCA activities have supported, and what dis/enabling environments and assumptions have supported and/or hindered efforts to increase the resilience of households in participating POs.

EVALUATION PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES

• A baseline study was undertaken in 2023 to benchmark project indicators that supported the ongoing monitoring of FACSCA activities. Findings from the baseline and close interaction with both FTF and FTA should guide the development of FACSCA evaluation questions through a 4-week inception phase. The development of evaluation questions will be led by the consultants, with input from the FTA and FTF teams, where appropriate. Example evaluation questions have been detailed below to provide a starting point for applicants to this ToR, with evaluation questions to be further shaped throughout the inception phase.
• To what extent have FACSCA interventions, including trainings on good agricultural practices and the use of Sustainable Agricultural Land Management demo plots, supported increased resilience amongst PO members and worker communities to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change?
• How effective has the train the trainer model been for cascading farmer-relevant and contextually appropriate climate-awareness and GAP practices?
• To what extent have tree nursery sites, income diversification initiatives implemented at PO level, and received seed capital for implementation of climate change-based enterprises supported resilience at household and PO levels?
• In answering these evaluation questions, which the consultant(s) are expected to refine and elaborate on their proposals, the selected consultant(s) will make an assessment as to how far FACSCA has contributed to increased sustainable productivity and livelihoods among farmers and workers included within the programme.

EVALUATION APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY

• This end of project evaluation is envisaged to be a qualitative study that provides participatory and reflexive assessments of FACSCA’s contributions to outcomes by farmers and workers. The data collection tools will be developed in collaboration with Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Managers from FTA and FTF and confirmed in the Inception Report. Data from the baseline study and ongoing output-level monitoring should be used to inform the consultants evaluation approach, tools used and sampling strategy, as well as provide quantitative evidence on the impact of the FACSCA programme.

EVALUATION SCOPE

• The Evaluation assignment will cover the entire period of project implementation since its inception in September 2021 up to the end of project in December 2023.The evaluation will be conducted in 12 Producer organizations across three countries of implementation namely; Ethiopia (1), Kenya (8), and Rwanda (3). The producer organizations are further disaggregated by products as follows;4 coffee,4 Tea and 4 flowers. The total number of direct beneficiaries reach as per the assignment is 25688 famers/workers (males, females and youths).

OUTPUTS AND DELIVERABLES
Fairtrade Africa and the Fairtrade Foundation require the following deliverables for the FACSCA Programme evaluation consultant(s):

• Inception Report (due 28th October 2023): A short summary report outlining the consultant(s) study plan, including an agreed-upon methodology, data collection tools and timeline for data collection.
• Where possible, data collection strategies should be designed to inform the FACSCA logframe, with the understanding that collected qualitative data will not be able to inform the entire logframe.
• Draft Project Evaluation Report (due 23rd November 2023: A detailed report outlining the key findings from the data collection. This will be shared with FTA and FTF for feedback ahead of a final draft.
• Validation and Learning Meeting (due 14th December 2023): A sharing and learning session with FTA and FTF to share key results from the study and any learnings or recommendations for future assessments within the FACSCA programme.
• Final Project Evaluation Report (due 26th January 2024: A final report with key findings,
• Cleaned data files and other relevant study materials: A complete cleaned set of all interview data, provided electronically to FTA in suitable file formats (Excel, .csv, etc.). In addition, any photos and relevant materials generated during the project evaluation period shall also be shared.

CONSULTANT(S) EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE

• The proposed evaluator(s) should have a strong background in reflexive and outcome-orientated MEL approaches, social sciences and in-depth experience conducting interviews, focus groups and participatory research with producers, ideally in coffee, flower and/or tea supply chains. The specific qualifications are:
• An advanced degree in any of the following or related disciplines: Social Sciences, Monitoring and Evaluation, Agricultural economics.
• Demonstrated experience conducting participatory research or reflexive MEL with farmers in East Africa.
• Excellent report writing and presentation skills.
• Experience/ understanding of coffee, flower, and tea supply chains, as well as Fairtrade principles and standards, will be considered an asset.

EVALUATION CRITERIA
Proposals for this consultancy will be considered by a panel of Project Managers, Technical Advisors, and Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Managers at FTA and FTF. All proposals will be assessed using the following criteria:

• Criteria Weighting
• Organizational and team experience 40%
• Methodology, tools, and timelines 40%
• Cost of proposal and value for money 20%

Recommended Proposal Structure:

• We request applicants use the following structure to express their interest and outline their approach with a budget breakdown in annex.
• Overview of proposal
• Relevant organizational experience
• Proposed approach and methodology
• Workplan and timelines
• Team experience.
• Budget (in annex)