OBJECTIVE

The objective of this requisition is to recruit a short-term consultant to prepare and conduct a rigorous impact evaluation (IE) of the Cash for Work (CfW) approach implemented under the Labour Intensive Works Program (LIWP) of the Social Fund for Development (SFD) in Yemen.

The LIWP’s objective is to increase the resilience of chronically or transitory poor households and reduce the negative effects of shocks and crises by creating short-term employment in construction of community infrastructure as well as to increase the community assets.

The IE will examine the effectiveness of the LIWP at targeting the poorest households and will assess the effects/impacts on resilience of participating households and communities both through the additional income generation as well as through enhanced access to basic infrastructure applying a counterfactual scenario. The results of the IE shall provide lessons learnt for future CfW-programming in Yemen and similar contexts and contribute to filling existing evidence gaps.

To evaluate the impact of the LIWP on both household and community resilience, the study shall analyze the effect of the LIWP on their resources and capacities to adapt, transform and absorb including their preparation and coping strategies. Therefore, the evaluation shall causally identify impacts of the LIWP on relevant constituents of household resilience including income, food security, (productive) assets, debt, employment and employability, skills from participation in the CfW activities, as well as confidence/despair/aspirations. It shall further analyze impacts on the community level. The evaluation shall differentiate short/medium term from longer term impacts. The terms of reference requests an evaluation to accomplish a variety of different goals. Among the goals listed, we can distinguish between six main types in terms of the types of analysis they imply:

(1) causally identify impacts of the LIWP on a range of household outcomes,

(2) analyse impacts on the community level

(3) differentiate short/ medium/ and long-term impacts,

(4) evaluate the targeting strategy,

(5) measure spill-over impacts

(6) compare the impacts of the program with cash transfers.

The specific focus of the evaluation and key evaluation questions shall be discussed and agreed upon with all project partners in a kick-off workshop at the beginning of the inception phase.

SCOPE OF WORK

The total duration of the IE is of 36 months, indicatively starting in May 2023 and finishing in May 2026. The main step consists of:

1. Inception phase

• • Research and analysis of relevant data/studies about community development interventions, especially in conflict-areas, cash for work and resilience strengthening programs
  • Development of a Theory of Change
  • Definition of the key evaluation questions and methodologies
  • Inception workshop with all LIWP partners and donors representatives

2. Data collection

• • Obtaining ethical visa from a review board for data collection
  • Preparation of data collection including drafting questionnaires, training enumerators, questionnaires pre-testing
  • Two rounds of data collection are expected

3. Data procession and analysis

• • Analyzing the data according to international research standards

4. Reporting and dissemination of results

• • Presentation of preliminary findings after each data collection round
  • Final IE report and dissemination workshop

DELIVERABLES

1. Inception report including scope and design of the study
2. Tools for data collection and validation
3. Policy briefs summarizing preliminary findings after each survey round
4. Final evaluation report including lessons learnt and conclusions
5. Regular virtual consultation meetings with SFD and project partners
6. Up to 4 in person workshops for 2-3 days at key stages

• • kick-off workshop, inception workshop, workshop on the basis of pre-liminary results, workshop to discuss final results, potential additional workshop in the region for dissemination of results to broader audience,
  • including presentation of key results, written record of main outcomes of the discussion and agreements

SKILLS REQUIRED

Research and evaluation skills and experience

1. Extensive experiences in preparing and implementing quantitative impact evaluations according to international research standards including ethics and quality,
2. advanced survey design,
3. advanced statistical skills,
4. advanced experience with a mix of methods, including qualitative approaches to evaluation.
5. Regional/local knowledge and experience
6. good knowledge of the local context in Yemen, preferable including the SFD,
7. several years of experience in the region including command of Arabic language,
8. strong capacities to work in a conflict sensitive manner according to the “do no harm” principle, strong cultural sensitivity in the Yemeni context,
9. experience in managing the security environment in Yemen in particular concerning the data collection.

Sectoral knowledge and experience

1. good understanding of the concepts included in the LIWP e.g. resilience, social protection, cash based approaches in development cooperation,
2. good understanding of the variety of sectors included in the LIWP e.g. nutrition, WASH, agriculture, transport/roads etc.,
3. advanced knowledge of relevant cross-cutting issues in development cooperation including gender.
4. Remote management skills and experience
5. advanced experience with remote management,
6. advanced experience with digital data collection tools, database and mapping and related IT capacities.

General skills

1. strong analytical and presentations skills,
2. proficiency in English,
3. excellent reporting skills,
4. excellent financial controlling skills, diversity in the team concerning gender, age and origin would be an asset.

The evaluation team shall be headed by a team leader with proven experience in leading an evaluation team for a similar assignment. The team leader should have at least 5 years of experience in similar positions.