Posted on: Sat 14-01-2017

The purpose of this independent midterm evaluation is to assess the relevance, efficiency and effectiveness of programme activities to date, the extent to which the programme has met its interim objectives, and formulate clear, context-sensitive and actionable recommendations for improving the programme delivery in the 3 selected States Lagos, Kaduna and Gombe during the remainder of its lifecycle.

The evaluation should include a thorough assessment against the evaluation criteria, analysing the relevance/appropriateness, connectedness, coherence, coverage, efficiency, effectiveness (an impact assessment seems premature at the mid-term stage especially if the baseline study does not lend itself to a robust impact assessment. The sample size required would be quite large as well and hiring enumerators would be required) of the Health Worker Capacity Building Project.

The evaluation should assess the programme’s gender-sensitiveness, as well as the extent to which is promotes equitable access to health care in the target areas. It should also shed lights on the key drivers and success factors for increasing the motivation, competencies and retention of health workers in the three states.

 

EVALUATION OBJECTIVES

The evaluation should effectively address the following criteria:

• Effectiveness: Are the interventions broadly on course to achieve their purpose?  Which activities are the most effective or least effective and why? What are the biggest obstacles to the achievement of the purpose of the intervention? What, if any, changes could we make to the programme to make it more effective? To what extent have the programme activities been implemented to a high standard of quality and followed international best practice?
• Impact: What has happened as a result of the project since inception to date? What real difference has the project made to the beneficiaries? Which parts of the intervention have been the most appropriate and why?  What, if any, changes do we need to make to the programme to make it more appropriate and relevant?
• Coherence: To what extent has our intervention been coordinated with the efforts of the government? What internal coordination problems have we faced and how have they been addressed? What have been the biggest successes in coordination? What were the biggest gaps? What, if any, changes could we make to improve coordination of the overall response?
• Efficiency:  

1. How efficient was the project in achieving the desired project outcomes.
2. Were project objectives and activities achieved on time in the HCB project?
3. Have the most efficient approach/(es) been used to achieve project Outcomes and Outputs (as compared to alternatives approaches)?

 

METHODOLOGY

Target population of beneficiaries

 The “universe” of beneficiaries is the total number of health workers trained as part of HCB in the last 17 months.

Methodology

The lead consultant will develop the evaluation methodology in collaboration with the MNH Advisors for Lagos & Kaduna and Gombe State the MEAL Advisor, program manager  and MNH and M and E advisors from SCUK. The lead evaluator or team will be expected to write an inception report following review of existing literature and gaps where they explicitly propose an evaluation methodology. Such a methodology should define an appropriate sample size and specify mechanisms that will be adopted to avoid selection bias. The evaluation should meet the principles of participation of involving children and adults and making sure that men and women are representative in the data collection. As a minimum, the evaluation process will include the following key steps:

1. Secondary data review: Review of relevant literature related to the HCB Project, this includes; the baseline health facility assessment report, project annual reports, project inception report and , Referral Study,

Draft inception report with summary of literature review and detailed evaluation study design including application of appropriate data collection tools (e.g. questionnaire, checklist etc) for Interviews and discussions with stakeholders including Save the Children staff. Field Data Collection by using - Quantitative and Qualitative methods will be used (Including FGDs and KIIs) with appropriate groups/individuals including beneficiaries, health workers, policy makers and government officials at LGA and State level.

 Health Facility Assessment using similar research methodology as baseline assessment including observation of service provision in health facilities, assessments of equipment, commodities and infrastructure.

1.  To review the current status of MNCH,HRH related policies and strategies as outlined in the project logframe, as compared to their status at the inception of the project e.g. Child Health Policy and the IMNCH strategy.
2.  To ensure that all outcome indicators in the project log frame are assessed.

The evaluation team is expected to proposed a mixed-method evaluation methodology, using an appropriate combination of quantitative and qualitative data collection methods, drawing on a combination of primary and secondary sources of data, and using robust triangulation techniques with a view to formulating clear findings, lessons learnt and recommendations.

 

Output and Deliverables

The following specific outputs are expected –

(i)  An Inception report

 (ii) A draft evaluation report

(iii) A Final draft evaluation report including country case studies and recommendations to Save the Children for future use of the same or alternative solutions to achieve the objectives.

(iv)  Data sets (SPSS, Excel) – for all collected data (quantitative and qualitative). Qualitative data should be transcribed for future use by Save the Children Country Program. The data sets should be in an appropriate format (SPSS, Excel, and Word) and will be submitted together with the final evaluation report

(v) PowerPoint presentation, summarizing the key findings from the evaluation submitted together with the final evaluation report

 

PERSON SPECIFICATION:

Essential

• A lead expert in the field of maternal and newborn health, and research in Nigeria.
• Demonstrate competency in maternal and newborn health programming.
• A minimum of10 years’ experience in administering surveys, conducting qualitative and quantitative analysis, collecting data and producing quality baseline and end line reports preferably for international non-profit organizations.

Ability to conduct meetings with senior persons at government, UN and NGO level

• Minimum education: Higher degrees in social sciences, public health, statistics or epidemiology.
• Knowledge of mixed methods design.
• Strong qualitative data analysis expertise required.
• Demonstrated analytical, communication and report-writing skills.

Desirable

• Knowledge of the Northern and southern Nigerian context
• Experience of successfully working with Save the Children or in Child Rights Programming

All Interested consultants/firms will be expected to fill the attached Expression of Interest form.

Click HERE to Apply

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