Consultant- External Review

About Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation

Job Summary

The main purpose of this review is to provide well-founded and solid recommendations for the development of future interventions in the Central Highlands (present target areas and/or beyond) in line with SDC’s cooperation strategy (2015-2018) for Afghanistan. It should assess the perspectives, potentials and constraints in the prevalent context with regards to a change in approach, from an implementation towards a facilitation role. The review should in particular assess entry points for bottom-up state building and scaling up potential, women’s economic empowerment and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR).

2.1. Review Questions
While focusing on the above mentioned purpose, the review takes into account the following main parameters:

Strengths and weaknesses of the present ILRC: what worked especially well, what didn’t and why?

Strength and weaknesses of the wider institutional landscape in agriculture (including natural resource management and DRR) in mountainous areas in which HSI is just one actor among others; emerging potentials not to be missed; inherent risks to consider for a long-term technical intervention.

How is sustainable pro-poor farming in mountains considered in national programmes? How can a Swiss intervention contribute meaningfully? How should a Swiss intervention be designed to inform and influence future policy and programme development in sustainable Natural Resource Management (NRM) at national level? (together with other similar Swiss interventions).

Effectiveness: To what extent have the project’s outcomes been achieved and has the project attained its stipulated objective? What have been the fostering and hindering elements?

Efficiency: How efficiently have different inputs (funds, expertise, time, etc.) been converted into outputs (including a cost-effectiveness appraisal)?

Sustainability: How sustainable are achieved outcomes and how is the long-term potential for sustainability? This should include an assessment of the capacities (created / existing) at local (CDC) and subnational levels (district, province).

Outlook: what implementation approaches are best suited for future livelihood interventions in the wider area? Outline the profile an implementing agency requires to achieve sustainable results in inclusive socio-economic development and improved governance in this area, both in technical terms as well as in cooperating and involving the state.
Specifically, the review should give well-defined answers to the following key questions:

What are the prospects for a future intervention in the area? Which lines of intervention have the most potential for success/ the biggest scope and should be scaled up? Which interventions have had limited positive effects?

What are the sustainability prospects of such types of interventions? Which components excel with regards to sustainability and ownership, which components are potentially sustainable and which components are not sustainable and why?

Did the project’s approaches, especially gender sensitivity, conflict sensitivity and good governance, contribute to the outcomes, and if yes, how?

To what extent is the DRR part of ILRC interlinked with rural income, NRM, good governance, etc.? How could the systematic inclusion of DRR aspects be strengthened? Which DRR aspects were successful, which were not (and why), and was something missing (in the sense of an integrated approach to DRR)?

How does the economic environment (closeness, distance of markets, services etc.) influence investment decisions of farming households?

How are the bigger economic plans and interests (e.g. extractive industries like coal) influencing the local economy and people’s perspectives? Can, and if yes, how, a long-term intervention contribute to advocacy for sustainable mining? How should a future intervention be designed to avoid huge losses if grand scale mining starts?

What are the - and where - strong signs for a sound space for development also in the longer-term in the wider area of the Central Highlands? What are the risk factors for space for development? What are predominant longer-term risk factors for development implementers/actors in the area?

Is the LogFrame approach adequate for this type of intervention (especially also with regards to a further shift from implementation to facilitation)? How could the monitoring and steering system be strengthened?

Have the available financial resources been used efficiently and effectively? Point out strong examples and weak examples.

How should a future intervention be designed to contribute to strengthened service delivery of the state?

Duties & Responsibilities

Review the key project documents (see list in annex A); study SDC’s strategic documents such as the Swiss Cooperation Strategy 2015-2018 for Afghanistan, the Strategic Framework of the Global Programme Food Security 2013-2017; consult the internet for relevant research information on Afghanistan, such as the www.areu.org.af ; www.afghanistan-analysts.org.

Consult the national programmes for agriculture of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and assess how these programmes are implemented.

Meeting with the SDC-SCOA (Swiss Cooperation Office Afghanistan of SDC) in Kabul.

Understand the strategic thinking of HSI management and the implementation approach of the HSI teams based in Kabul, Bamyan and district centers.

Collect information on key stakeholders for sustainable agriculture (including NRM and DRR) in Kabul and Bamyan: government, academia, technical agencies, incl. NGOs.

Conduct interviews with beneficiary communities, including Community Development Councils (CDCs) (men and women) and probably District Development Assembly (DDA) members.

Conduct interviews with local authorities on provincial and district levels (among others Provincial Governor’s office Bamyan, line departments of Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and livestock (MAIL), Ministry of Rural Reconstruction and Development (MRRD), Ministry of Economy (MoEc), Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) and some other international organizations and NGOs working in the same target areas.

Conduct interviews with development agencies such as the Aga Khan Foundation and others working in the wider thematic and/or geographic areas and explore to what extent and how national programmes are implemented in the province.

Get an overview of existing formal or informal associations and interest groups, (those with a stake in ILRC and those without), and conduct discussions on their view on the economic perspectives of their environment and their roles and functions in it.

Visit relevant project sites of ILRC according to a detailed mission plan to be elaborated in coordination with HSI.
4. Management arrangements, quality control and reporting

A briefing by SDC-SCOA in Kabul.

Discussion on ILRC with the HSI management in Kabul;

Presentation of draft findings and recommendations at the end of the mission to the SDC-SCOA Management in Kabul before leaving the country (debriefing) by consultants;

Submit a joint report of max. 30 pages (without annexes) to SDC-SCOA Kabul within 2 weeks following departure from the country. Allow 10 days’ time for review and comments by SDC-SCOA, and eventually submit the final report within 10 days after receiving feedbacks and comments;

Project related documentation will be provided by SDC-SCOA;

Return flights from home to Kabul to be booked by consultants;

In-country flights to be booked by SDC-SCOA;

Security briefing and security clearance for movements by SDC-SCOA, for movements within the area of ILRC by HSI. ;

SDC to provide 1Thuraya phone and 2 cell phones;

Accommodation and transport in the area of ILRC to be arranged by HSI;

SDC-SCOA to take care of organization of meetings, accommodation and transport for consultants in Kabul.

Job Requirements

Proven experience in conducting reviews of development projects

Expertise in sustainable agriculture in very underdeveloped mountainous areas

Expertise in enhancing the productive capacities of women in similar societies and with context sensitive project/program management

Expertise in rural/local economic development in least developed contexts. Familiarity with the M4P/Market Systems Development approach.

Knowledge of disaster risk management/DRR issues, especially prevention and preparedness is required.

Familiarity of working in fragile contexts

Readiness to travel to remote areas with restricted comfort and basic accommodations.

6. Timeframe and Itinerary
The review is planned in the time span of mid-August to end September 2015
Preparatory works 3 days
Field work in Kabul, Bamyan and Samangan, including briefings
(of which approx. 8 days in the field) 12 days
International travel 2 days
Reporting and debriefing 6 days
Total 23 days

A detailed itinerary will be developed following agreement on the above timeframe and availability of the consultants.

7. Team Composition
These TORs are for a team of two to three consultants (international and national, female and male) with expertise in Natural Resource Management (NRM) with focus on soil and water management, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and with expertise in relevant (bottom up) state building aspects, ideally in Afghanistan or in a similar context. Translation will be ensured.
-

Submission Guideline

Please send your application latest by 20 June 2015 to:
M. Ismail Qarizada, Senior Program Manager, SDC Kabul, +93 (0)700 23 16 58/ +93 (0)729 880 802

Annex A
List of available key documents for preparing the review:

Swiss Cooperation Strategy 2015 to 2018

Strategic Framework of the Global Programme Food Security 2013-2017

(Other SDC documents related to the thematic priority agriculture/food security)

Credit Proposal ILRC Phase 3 and Project Document

Annual ILRC Reports 2012-2014 (incl. financial reports) and Yearly Plan of Operation 2015

Other reports and assessments done in the frame of ILRC

Governmental National Priority Programmes of Agriculture and Rural development (summaries) and other key documents on governmental strategies and policies regarding agriculture and rural development.

Project document and Credit Proposal CBDRM Phase 2

Functional Area

Consulting

Countries

Submission Email

Kabul@eda.admin.ch

ismail.qarizada@eda.admin.ch

Apply Now