Terms of Reference               
End line Survey and Capitalization of learning of Saline Agriculture Project
Date of issue: 22 November 2021

Introduction

ICCO-Cooperation is an independent non-governmental organization with business features and based in The Netherlands. Main aim is to secure the livelihood and rights of farmers and small businesses in low and middle-income countries. Despite the fall in the number of people living in extreme poverty in the past decades, poverty remains pervasive and inequalities continue to increase. Millions of people are unable to realize their full potential. ICCO envisions a world where people are empowered to build sustainable livelihood within a society that upholds their rights. Mission is to strengthen sustainable agricultural systems and realize resilient communities, with a special focus on women and youth. ICCO has been working in Bangladesh since 1972 through the partnership with different NGOs, private sectors and Government entities. In January 2021, ICCO became part of Cordaid at the end of a merging process, another NGOs based in The Netherlands. 

The project “Saline Agriculture and Halophytes production Project” has two specific objectives: (1) to introduce saline tolerant crops varieties and technology for improving the dietary intake of nutritive values and increase the farmers’ income and (2) to pilot halophytes production and exploring their marketing opportunities.  The overall objective is to promote climate resilient agriculture among the vulnerable smallholder farmers in Cox’s Bazar District to ensure their food security and sustainable production.

This project has been implementing in the salt prone areas of the Naf River basin and of the Bay of Bengal in Cox’s Bazar district with 500 smallholder farmers. The duration of the project is initially 10 months, from March to December 2021. 

Presentation of the project to be evaluated

Objectives of the Survey

The overall objective of the end line survey is to examine the project results in line with the expected outputs and outcomes, as well as to see the suitability of the implementing strategy and approach of the project, and capitalization of project learning. The specific objectives of this survey are to:

• examine the project results in line with the expected outputs and outcomes,
• examine relevance of the project, as well as suitability of the implementing strategy and approach of the project
• gather and document project learning for future uses
• examine project efficiency, effectiveness (relevance of activities and plan) focusing value for money view point.
• recommendation points/ improvements in the case of any future project

Methodology

Methodology for this survey will be both quantitative and qualitative. The project covers different geographical areas in Teknaf upazila. Based on the methodology developed by the evaluation team necessary steps will be taken. Beneficiaries and staff of the projects will be mobilized at different stage of the evaluation. However, some methodological requirements are suggested to be fulfilled.

• Convenient and inclusive tools for the respondents
• Maintain distance during interview and FGD and keep short as much as possible as per COVID-19 protocol.
• Remain observant during field visit to observe the practice
• Integrate different qualitative approach, e.g. FGD, KII, etc.

Working Modalities:

The study will be undertaken by the consultant with the support of the project staff members. The consultant will be responsible for developing the instruments/ tools for the baseline data collection and preparing a comprehensive study report. The project staff will support in selection of beneficiaries in the field for data collection.

5.1 ICCO Responsibilities

• Share relevant documents related to the assignment
• Regularly communicate and coordinate with the consultant
• Provide briefing/ overview of the project to the consultant (online or in person)
• Provide additional information as per consultant requirement 

5.2 Consultant Responsibilities

• Review the project’s documents including baseline report provided by ICCO and the secondary data available
• Receive project briefing from ICCO official
• Develop end line survey instruments/ tools and methods and share them with ICCO
• Organize staff orientation/ training on data collection tools and process before data collection
• Undertake field mission of data collection as per plan and timeline
• Provide the field team with necessary logistics for data collection
• Provide timely feedback on data collection plan, tools, field plan, draft report etc
• Develop activities plan and timeline, and share with ICCO
• Incorporate feedback in the report from project staffs
• Data process, clean and analysis
• Prepare comprehensive report

Ethical measures

As part of each evaluation, ICCO is committed to upholding certain ethical measures. It is imperative that these measures are taken into account in the technical offer:

• Guarantee the safety of participants, partners and teams: the technical offer must specify the risk mitigation measures.
• Ensuring a person/community-centered approach: the technical offer must propose methods adapted to the needs of the target population (e.g. tools adapted for illiterate audiences / sign language / child-friendly materials, etc.).
• Obtain the free and informed consent of the participants: the technical proposal must explain how the evaluator will obtain the free and informed consent and/or assent of the participants.
• Ensure the security of personal and sensitive data throughout the activity: the technical offer must propose measures for the protection of personal data.

Deliverables

• Detail activity and timeline plan/retro plan
• Prepare the inception report and share with ICCO; Inception report of no more than 10 pages refining / specifying the proposed methodology for answering the evaluation questions and an action plan within the first week of the signing the contract. This inception report will have to be validated by the project team and PMEL team.
• Data collection tools/ instruments
• Prepare a draft report and share with ICCO
• Incorporate inputs from ICCO
• Submit a finalized comprehensive end line survey report including learnings (soft and hard copy)
• Prepare a concise PowerPoint presentation and present it in the project learning-sharing workshop.
• Annexes (e.g., references, inception report, questionnaire, and tools etc.)

Report should include (structure)

Cover page, Acknowledgement, Table of Content, List of Acronyms, Executive Summary, Introduction, Objectives and Methodology, Findings and Observations (including tables and figures), Learnings, Recommendations, Conclusion, Annex- Survey tools

Duration of the Study work

The study is expected to complete within 15 calendar days from signing the contract.

Budget

The Candidate/s should provide a detail budget breakdown for his offer, such as cost per day for each evaluator, other cost including accommodation, food, transport, logistics etc with proposals for payment modalities.

Required Expertise and qualifications

• Advanced university degree with experience in conducting quantitative and qualitative research, preferably in similar study for development projects
• Solid experiences on to conduct the baseline and end line survey in regards to the livelihoods and enterprise promotion
• Clear understanding on various research methodologies and experience in using different social research tools and techniques
• Solid understanding of knowledge and experience of sustainable livelihood interventions, business and technical skill development projects, micro enterprise grants/seed capital and/or access, household food and nutrition security.
• Ability to write high quality, clear, concise reports in English

General Terms and Conditions

• All soft and hard copies of the assignment will be treated as ICCO property.
• The data collection and submission timeline and planning of the first draft and the final report can't be altered without ICCO written approval.
• The consultant must maintain standard quality in data collection, processing and reporting
• The consultant shall have the responsibility to rewrite the report, modification of sections until the satisfaction of quality required by ICCO.
• In case of any deviation, ICCO shall have the right to terminate the agreement at any point of the project.
• The consultant shall be bound to pay back the full money given as advance to ICCO in case of any deviation, dissatisfaction of quality and other points mentioned in the agreement.

12.1 Authority

All drafts and final reports, including the raw data should be submitted to ICCO Cooperation in Bangladesh in both hard copy and electronic versions. All the data and the reports including the findings and recommendations will remain ICCO Cooperation property and must not be published or shared with a third party without a written and prior permission of ICCO.

12.2 Contact Person

The contact person for this assignment will be Abul Basher, Project Manager. He will coordinate with the consultant and other stakeholders involved. For any clarification on this TOR, he can be contacted over cell phone, cell # 01911-272657

12.3 Application process

Interested and qualified consultant may submit their applications following the below process:

•  A concise Technical proposal (not more than 5 pages) and Financial Proposal (include VAT and TAX) (one page). ICCO will deduct Tax and VAT as per government legal laws at source
• CV (not more than 3 pages) along with cover letter highlighting consultant profile and experiences relevant to this assignment

Please mention the assignment title ‘Consultancy-End line survey SA Project’ in the email subject line.

Applications should be sent by 29 November 2021 as per one of the below modalities:

• Via email to  procurement.cox@icco-cooperation.org
• Hard copy with sealed envelope to ICCO Cooperation” Sayeman Pink Pearl Flat # B4 (2nd floor), Plot # 71, Block #A, Kolatoli Road, Cox's Bazar no later than 29 November 2021.