The Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA), in partnership with SEND Ghana, and the Ghana Credit Unions Association (CUA), is seeking a qualified evaluation consultant or firm to evaluate the midterm accomplishments of a five year project entitled ?Food Security Through Co-operatives in Northern Ghana (FOSTERING)? in the eastern corridor of Northern Ghana (2013-2018).

The project is funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD, formerly CIDA). The project targets 8 districts, including? Nanumba South, Tatale-Sanguli, Chereponi, Zabzugu and Krachi Nchumuru (new distrcts) Kpandai, East Gonja and Nanumba North (old districts). The project started into operation early enough in the old districts (Kpandai, East Gonja and Nanumba North). However, it ?just started expanding to the new distrcts during its third year (2015). Hence, to avoid variances of finding, information from for the old and the new districts should be treated separately (independently).

Objectives of the Evaluation:

This is a midterm evaluation of FOSTERING which is in its third year of implementation.? The objectives of the midterm are:

1. To assess the progress of the project according to its stated outputs and outcomes (as per the PMF).
2. To assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the project activities and resources in achieving those outcomes.
3. To make recommendations for adjustments or changes to be made in project strategy or implementation.
4. To learn lessons and gather best practices to guide the next phase of the project.

Key Evaluation Questions:

The midterm evaluation will answer the following key questions:

1. What is the progress made towards the achievement of project outputs, immediate outcomes and intermediate outcomes? (look at each project component/WBS)
2. Have the resources of the project be used efficiently to achieve the project outputs, immediate outcomes and intermediate outcomes as per the PMF?
3. What has been the change in average income for women and men members of co-operatives and credit unions?
4. To what extent are SEND and CUA implementing the project?s gender and environmental strategy?
5. Are the various training methodologies and resources used in the project in effective way? ?(Training of Trainers (ToT) methodology for volunteers and direct training methodology by staff). Do the volunteers (ToT)/ staff (Direct) have the knowledge and capacity to train co-op members? And are co-op members applying trainings? What is has been the result?? Specifically look at:

1. Agric (ToT trainings – extension, marketing, Direct training – off season activities)
2. Nutrition (ToT training – food safety & hygiene, Soya utilization and de-worming)
   1. How does the nutrition level and prevalence of worms of co-op families compare to others (non-co-op members) in the Communities?
3. Gender (Direct training ? Gender Model Families)
   1. Do trained families report improved family relations?
4. Peace Building (Direct training ? Peace Animators)
   1. How many conflicts were identified and intervened in non-violent ways?
5. Co-operative Development (Direct training for Zone Co-operatives, family based farmer co-operatives, and Credit Unions)
   1. Has training for boards and committees of Credit Unions helped to improve their financial performance?
   2. Do Zone Co-operative leaders have the capacity and knowledge to manage the co-operatives effectively?
6. Advocacy (Direct training for District Community Monitoring Committees (DCMCs) and Zone Co-ops)
   1. Are DCMC/Zones empowered to be able to engage effectively with District Assemblies?
   2. Is FOSTERING represented in District Assembly medium term plans?

6. Credit Unions
   1. How effective is the loan fund process? (in terms of application, disbursement, monitoring and repayment)
   2. What is the extent to which the loan products have increased income levels of credit union members?
   3. To what extent has CUA?s capacity increased in terms of supervision and auditing Credit Unions in the Eastern Corridor?
   4. To what extent have project interventions (training and financial assistance) helped to revive distressed Credit Unions?
7. What are adjustments or changes to be made with regard to the implementation of project activities in order to achieve the project?s outcomes and address the problem the project seeks to address?

Activities and Deliverables:

The evaluator will take the following steps:

• Provide an inception report which includes methodology, sampling strategy, timeline, tools for answering all the key evaluation questions.
• Review project documentation (Proposal, baseline, Performance Measurement Framework, annual and semi-annual reports, gender strategy and project assessments)
• Review current food security trends in the program areas (WFP Food Security review)
• Develop appropriate data collection tools for all field work including surveys, key informant interviews, focus group discussions and other participatory methodologies.
• Carry out field work which includes:

• Carry out an income survey
• An assessment of the extent to which CUA and SEND are integrating the project?s gender strategy and environment strategy in to work plans and project implementation.
• Level of coordination between SEND and CUA
• A review the various training methodologies of the project, and assess to what extent the training results in an increase in capacity/ application of the knowledge to achieve project objectives.

• Determine recommendations for the project to achieve its stated outcomes.
• Prepare a draft report for discussions and presentation on the findings (Ottawa and Tamale based staff)
• Incorporate comments from program team and prepare a final report including an executive summary, a list of key findings, recommendations and lessons learned.

Time frame:

The evaluation is planned to take place between y to March 2016 at an estimated 27 days, with field work in January/February 2016.

• 4 days of preparations for review of documents, methodology and tool development, field test, training of enumerators.
• 10 days of data collection for field based collection (in Kpandai, East Gonja and Nanumba North, Nanumba South, Tatale-Sanguli, Chereponi, Zabzugu and Krachi Nchumuru)
• 10 days of analysis, and report writing
• 3 days revision and preparation of final report

The draft report is to be Submitted to SEND, CUA and CCA no later than MARCH 15, 2016 and the final report will be no later than APRIL 1, 2016.

Consultant?s Expertise and Qualifications:

• Master degree in Microfinance, agricultural economics, social sciences, gender studies, or a related subject.
• Proven professional experience conducting evaluations of development projects (food security projects is an asset), with experience using a variety of participatory methodologies in the field
• Demonstrated experience applying a gender-sensitive approach to research
• Experience and knowledge of co-operatives and credit union principles, preferably in a developing context, is an asset
• Excellent capacity to analyze, develop recommendations and capture lessons learned
• Knowledge of the country and local languages is an advantage
• Ability to work autonomously, flexible and analytical
• Ability to travel

Compensation:

Compensation will be commensurate with experience.? Travel and related expenses must be pre-approved and will be reimbursed in accordance with SEND Ghana guidelines specified in the contract.

Submissions:

Please send a current CV and cover letter outlining key qualifications, previous experience and indication of daily rate to:

Please also submit a brief comment on the proposed methodology and timeline outlined in the ToR.

The FOSTERING Team thanks all applicants for your interest; however, only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

Application Procedure:

• Applications should only include a cover letter and CV with testimonials.
• Address your applications to [email protected] mentioning FOSTERING midterm evaluator on the subject line.
• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: ?15^th November 2015