MEAL Expert – Summative Evaluation Consultancy

Terms of Reference

-MEAL Expert-

Water Establishments’ Support Summative Evaluation

Background

The Lebanese public Water Establishments’ (WEs) vision is to build a solid trust relationship with subscribers in Lebanon by ensuring that they get their right to clean water around the clock, by adopting transparency and professionalism, and by developing and modernizing the entity and ensuring continuous service from the inside out. However, public water establishments face capacity, technical, and financial constraints that limit their ability to meet demand. Since 2013, Oxfam in Lebanon has been supporting public WEs in the Bekaa, the North and Beirut and Mount Lebanon governorates, with technical and financial resources. This includes systems’ rehabilitation, capacity strengthening, secondment of a technical Renewable Energy Advisor, as well as financial assistance, and the introduction of innovative water management solutions.

Oxfam in Lebanon is a key actor at the national and sub-national WASH and renewable energy working groups/task forces contributing to the planning and achievements of the WaSH sector under the Lebanon Response Plan (LRP). Various local and international humanitarian organizations provide support to public water establishments in hopes of serving the highest number of vulnerable populations.

Objective of the consultancy

Oxfam in Lebanon (OiL) is looking for a qualified consultant to conduct a summative evaluation. This evaluation will assess the previous WEs technical and financial support and its overall effectiveness, impact, and sustainability.

The objective of this consultancy is to:

A) Evaluate the impact sustainability of the support to WEs;

measure the impact and sustainability of the support provided to WEs in Lebanon. By analyzing the outcomes of these technical and financial interventions, the case study will provide evidence-based insights to inform Oxfam in Lebanon’s future programming and to enhance the alignment of humanitarian efforts with sustainable development goals.

B) Analyse the impact of the ongoing war on Lebanon on WEs and related sector:

Equally important, this case study will tackle the impact of the ongoing war on Lebanon since 23 September 2024 and the damages caused to Lebanon’s environment- and climate-centered sectors, mainly agriculture, water and energy. This includes the damages of the public water establishments and their systems (water stations, water networks and solar plants).

The case study naturally relies on primary data collection, mainly interviews from relevant stakeholders in various sectors including WASH. This includes Governmental institutions, International UN and issue-specific organizations, and local and academic organizations and institutions working on relevant issues.

Expected Deliverables

The consultant is expected to:

• Review any reliable sources of a similar topics in the Lebanese context.
• Perform the data collection, of both objectives.
• Provide cleaned database (qualitative and quantitative if needed).
• Write an analysis report of the findings (final report).
• Create a presentation of the major findings.

The consultant is expected to respond to two rounds of feedback by Oxfam on the analysis report.

Timeline and expected number of days

The consultant is expected to provide the deliverables within a period spanning January 24th and, at most, April 14^th, 2025. Please provide the suggested timeline using the below table:

Task

Expected Num. of working Days

Inception meeting

1

Suggest a methodology, with Oxfam’s support

1

Desk Review

3

Perform Data Collection

7

Analysis Report (1^st draft)

5

Final Analysis Report

3

Consultant qualifications

This consultancy should be led by a person (or persons/company) with:

• Extensive experience working on summative evaluations in Lebanon;
• Prior experience in qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis;
• Excellent communications skills in English and Arabic;
• Ability to finalize assignment within provided timeframe;
• Availability to start the soonest;

Payment and instructions for interested consultants

Payment details will be agreed upon during the contract negotiation phase.

Note that payment will be made based on the budget in the offer (not based on actual expenses incurred by the consultant). No receipts will be requested from the consultant towards the end of the contract.

Registration and official government documents are needed if applicable, noting that 8.5% will be deducted from the total amount if not registered for non-residential tax.

Codes of Behaviour  

The process will be directed by Oxfam’s guidelines for the ethical conduct of evaluations and research, guiding the team of consultants through careful consideration of the key ethical implications at every stage of the harvest. These guidelines are available at this link:  https://policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/undertaking-research-with-et...

Disclosure  

Although free to discuss with the authorities on anything relevant to the assignment, under the terms of reference, the consultant is not authorized to make any commitments on behalf of Oxfam. All data collected as part of this consultancy belongs to Oxfam and public dissemination of the data and findings and recommendations can only be done with the written consent of the Oxfam. Data should be destroyed after a maximum of six months following the closure of the consultancy.

Scoring Criteria

Bids from interested consultants will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

1. Technical:

a.   Meeting Required Specifications

b.   Value for money

c.   Reliability of supply

d.   Availability and delivery

e.   Supplier Performance

2. Financial offer.

Expression of Interest (EoI)

Oxfam invites EOI from individuals, with the experience and skills described above. The EOI must include:

1. A CV for the consultant/company;

2. A maximum 2-page document outlining the proposed methodology and workplan.

3. A sample of previous summative evaluations or similar reports performed by the consultant.

4. A one-page budget of the offer, covering all major anticipated costs (including number of working days based on the section above, as well as costs related to the data collection);

Please submit the EOI and other documents by February 17^th, 2025 at the latest, to  Lebanonprocurement@oxfam.org.uk with “MEAL Expert – Summative Evaluation” in the subject line.

All questions or clarifications of a technical nature are to be sent to  Lebanonprocurement@oxfam.org.uk