ToR for Baseline Assessment of Initiative for Marketable Practices in Agribusiness, Circular Economy, and Technology (IMPACT) Project

Title of Consultancy

ToR for Baseline Assessment of Initiative for Marketable Practices in Agribusiness, Circular Economy, and Technology (IMPACT) Project.

SCI Contracting Office

Save the Children Somalia Country Office

Period of Consultancy

The assignment will be done in one month, inclusive of travel.

Consultant type required

Consultancy Firm / Individual

Responsibility for Logistics arrangements and Costs

Save the Children will pay the fees for the baseline in instalments and will not reimburse any additional costs incurred during the assignment. The consultant will cover their Logistical arrangements and costs in the country (Baidoa, Mogadishu, Kismayu, Guriel, Balcad, Barawe, Garowe, Bosaso, Badhan, Las’anod, Galkacyo, Galdogob, Burtinle, Eyl, Hargeisa, Burao, Berbera, Borama and Gebiley) to coordinate and implement the basleine data collection. 

Taxation Provisions

The consultant/firm shall be responsible for all Taxes arising from the consultancy in line with the local Tax regulations applicable at the SCI contracting office named above.

Travel requirements

The consultancy firm/individual will cover their travel costs (tickets) and arrange local travel to field sites if needed

Security requirements

The Consultancy firm/Individual will comply with standards of Save the Children Security procedures, including the completion of SCI online security training prior to travel to Somalia.

INTRODUCTION:

Save the Children has worked in Somalia for over 70 years and is a national and international leader in humanitarian and development programming. Our long operational history and broad geographical coverage, has afforded us positive working relationships with key stakeholders, including the federal government, state and local authorities, donors, international and local NGOs, as well as the trust and acceptance of the communities themselves. Save the Children has operational presence in 17 regions in the country, with over 640 national and international staff across 14 field offices.

Save the Children implements a wide range of multi-sectoral humanitarian and development projects in Somalia. Our programming is guided by our Country Strategic Plan 2022-24 which follows a child life cycle model to make sure our programs consider a child and their needs holistically and respond with thematically integrated and age-appropriate interventions. Our active portfolio in 2023 covers programs in Food Security and Livelihoods, Social Protection, Youth Economic Empowerment, Education, Health, Nutrition, WASH, Child Protection, Child Rights Governance and Advocacy while mainstreaming climate change adaptation across our portfolio. In addition, gender equality and disability inclusion are mainstreamed in all our programs.

BACKGROUND:

The IMPACT project therefore addresses these constraints by creating pathways for skill development in emerging green sectors (renewable energy, circular economy, and agri-business). The project ensures that Somali youth and adults have the necessary competencies to engage in sustainable livelihoods. The initiative is aligned with Somalia/land’s National Development Plan (NDP-9) and Somaliland’s NDP3, which emphasizes the importance of renewable energy, climate resilience, and inclusive economic development. It also contributes to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 4 (Quality Education), 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and 13 (Climate Action).

The Initiative for Marketable Practices in Agri-business, Circular Economy, and Technology (IMPACT) is a project implemented by Save the Children in collaboration with consortium partners ADRA, Windle International, and Shaqodoon. The project aims to boost green skills in Somalia/Somaliland, focusing on renewable energy, the circular economy, and sustainable agribusiness. This gender transformative initiative seeks to enhance Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) centers, strengthen public-private coordination, and build a skilled workforce to promote green growth, equitable jobs, and climate resilience.

Overall Objective of the Project

To increase access to renewable energy, accelerate transition to the circular economy, and expand sustainable agri-food value chains in Somalia/Somaliland

The project has 3 interconnected outputs.

•              Output 1: Somali female and male youth obtain marketable climate resilient green skills in renewable energy, circular economy, and sustainable agribusinesses

•              Output 2: Enhanced institutional capacity of TVET centres and professional technical secondary schools in Somalia/Somaliland to effectively deliver training in marketable green skills in renewable energy, circular economy, and sustainable agribusiness

•              Output 3: Strengthened capacity of public institutions to effectively manage, monitor, and coordinate green skills initiatives in renewable energy, circular economy, and sustainable agribusiness.

Through targeted interventions, IMPACT seeks to bridge the gap between market demands and available skills, fostering economic opportunities while supporting Somalia/Somaliland’s gender responsive transition to a greener and more sustainable economy.

Project Indicators

The baseline study will collect data on the following indicators specifically mainly the outcome and impact level, ensuring direct alignment with project impact measurement as defined in the Logical Framework:

•              Percentage of target population with access to renewable energy sources (disaggregated by location, gender, age, disability, and income level).

•              Percentage of target population actively participating in certified sustainable agri-food systems in Somalia/Somaliland (disaggregated by location, gender, age, disability, and income level).

•              Number of female, male youth and adults employed or actively applying their skills in renewable energy, circular economy and agri-food sectors (disaggregated by gender, age, and disability)

•              Proportion of female, male youth and adults in employment in green sector 6 months after completing secondary and TVET institutions green skills programs (disaggregated by gender, age, and disability)

•              Proportion of TVET Center with functioning mechanism for reporting staff misconduct and abuse including PSEA.

•              Number of TVET and professional technical schools reporting improved support and guidance from MoECHE and MoLSA due to enhanced coordination mechanisms.

Objectives of this Assignment:

The primary objective of this baseline assessment is to establish a reference point for measuring project impact by collecting baseline data on key project indicators Assessment will provide insights into the current status of green skills training, employment opportunities in the renewable energy and circular economy sectors, institutional capacity of TVET centers, and public sector coordination mechanisms.

Specific Objectives of this Assignment:

The specific objective of this assignment is to:

·         Determine baseline employment levels in renewable energy, circular economy, and sustainable agribusiness sectors including number of adults and youth in self-employment or wage, and their gendered characteristics/dynamics.

·         Evaluate the institutional capacity of TVET centers and professional technical secondary schools to deliver gender sensitive green skills. These include availability green skills curricula, capacity of existing instructors in implementing the curricula as well as existence of resources/tools including equipment and learners’ materials so that they are inclusive and accessible to young women and persons with disabilities also.

·         Identify public-private sector collaboration mechanisms in green skills and policy gaps that impact green skills development. Identify strength/weaknesses in these partnerships and propose partnership strengthening solutions. PPPs will help scale innovative green technologies and solutions that address environmental challenges and create economic opportunities. The partnerships will co-design and implement projects focusing on energy access, waste management, and sustainable farming, ensuring solutions are market-driven and aligned with local needs. Key companies in the private sector including those dealing with renewable energy and agri-business, the chamber of commerce, MOLSA/MESAF, MoEWR, MOECHE and UNDP will be interviewed during the baseline to garner their insights about inclusive PPP.

·         Gather data on the enrollment rate of youth and adults in green skills (etc. percentage of youth enrolled in marketable renewable energy, circular economy and agribusiness both through institute-based learning and internships/apprenticeships, disaggregated by gender, disability and migratory status)

·         Gather data on business ownership pertaining to green skills including percentage of youth and adults disaggregated by gender owning green businesses before project implementation.

·         Gather data on the existence of competency frameworks, including qualification standards, for climate resilient green skills by target public institutions. Assess existing skills of TVET directorate, the coordination and inspection mechanisms between TVETs and target ministries/authorizes.

·         Gather data and identify how vulnerable women and persons with disability is included in the green skills landscape including access barriers and identify proposed interventions.

·         Establish baseline values for project indicators as outlined in the logical framework.

·         Use of Washington Group Questions for disability inclusion to ensure data accuracy and representation of persons with disabilities in green skills training.

SCOPE OF WORK:

The baseline assessment will cover project target locations, including (Baidoa, Mogadishu, Kismayu, Guriel, Balcad, Barawe, Garowe, Bosaso, Badhan, Las’anod, Galkacyo, Galdogob, Burtinle & Eyl, Hargeisa, Burao, Berbera, Borama and Gebiley).

The baseline assessment for the project will specifically target these populations to gather data that will inform program design and implementation. It will focus on youth aged 15-35 years, especially those in rural or underserved areas who are unemployed or underemployed and seeking to gain skills for the green economy. The assessment will also include adults looking to transition into green industries like renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and circular ecomomy. Marginalized groups, such as women, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable individuals, will be included to ensure the project addresses barriers they face in accessing education and employment. TVET institutions, particularly instructors and managers, will be assessed to understand the current state of green skills training. Furthermore, the baseline will include public sector institutions, such as government ministries (MoECHE and MoLSA), MoEWR, GIZ, UNDP, IMPACT project partners (Save the Children, ADRA, Windle International and Shaqodoon), and local authorities, as well as private sector stakeholders like employers, entrepreneurs, and community-based organizations, to assess the broader environment for green skills development and employment opportunities. This comprehensive baseline will provide critical insights into the existing gaps, challenges, and opportunities within these key target populations.

METHODOLOGY:

The assessment will heavily focus on desk study including harvesting information and data from existing labor market studies and assessments focusing on the 3 green skills (renewable energy, agribusiness and circular economy). Where necessary, the assessment will cap the desk study with primary data collections to obtain sufficient information for the baseline The detail of the methodology is explained below.

·         Desk Review: A comprehensive review of project documents, government policies, sectoral reports, and past assessments on TVET including labor market surveys, renewable energy, agribusiness and circular economy development. This will provide an understanding of existing literature, gaps, and policy frameworks relevant to the green skills training in Somalia/Somaliland. It is important to note that the consultant will heavily spend time on literature review and harvesting information from existing resource and less on primary data collection except few sectors that present limited desk information including circular economy which require primary data collection.

·         Key Informant Interviews (KIIs): Engagement with key stakeholders, including government officials (MOLSA, MoECHE and MESAF, MoERW), other UN and INGOs such as UNDP and GIZ, also TVET institutions, private sector representatives including energy and agri-business firms, government chamber of commerce, industry association, community leaders, and women including those representing women CBOs and youth groups. These interviews will provide expert insights on challenges, opportunities, and the current state of green skills training and employment. Existence of frameworks, curricula, coordination mechanisms and the level of skills and knowledge to coordinate the sector will be explored when interviewing public institutions to benchmark institutional capacity development indicators. The KIIs and FGDs will include tailored questions to deepen gender and power analysis by gathering insights from youth, teachers, and other stakeholders.

·         Focus Group Discussions (FGDs): Conducted with TVET students including youth and adults with or without disabilities and women instructors, private sector engaged in these sectors, community members to gather qualitative insights on barriers to training, employment opportunities, and perceptions of green skills programs including those derived by social norms or gender attributions. Discussions will be gender-inclusive and focus on diverse participant groups, including youth, women, and persons with disabilities. The facilitator to spell out the concept of green skills and explain comprehensively the 3 set of green skills under this project and their characteristics. This will elicit an understanding of green skills among respondents so that they sufficiently include their perspectives and insights.

·         Surveys: A structured questionnaire will be administered to households and project beneficiaries to establish key demographic and employment-related indicators in the green sector. The survey will assess access to training opportunities, employment trends (disaggregated by gender, age, urban/rural, and disability using Washington group questions and migratory status), and the perceived value of green skills in the labor market.

·         Observations: Direct site visits to selected TVET centers and professional technical secondary schools and enterprises offering trainings to assess infrastructure, training resources, and learning environments. This will help determine gaps in facilities, equipment, and the overall capacity of institutions to deliver climate-resilient training.

·         Stakeholder Consultations and Validation Meetings: Engagement with relevant ministries, private sector actors, local partners and training institutions to validate findings and ensure alignment with national development priorities. Validation meetings will ensure stakeholder buy-in and promote shared understanding of project objectives and anticipated outcomes.

·         Triangulation of Data: The study will ensure the reliability and validity of findings through data triangulation, comparing insights from multiple sources, including quantitative and qualitative analyses. Gender and power analysis will be integrated across multiple data sources, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of barriers and proposed solutions.

Sampling Strategy

The assessment will employ a combination of probability and non-probability sampling techniques to ensure a representative and inclusive sample.

·         Stratified random sampling will be used for surveys to ensure that key demographic groups, including youth, women, IDP, urban/rural, and persons with disabilities, are adequately represented across the target locations.

·         Random Sampling Within Strata: After dividing the population into strata, a list of all individuals in each subgroup is created. Random selection is then applied using either Simple Random Sampling (SRS, a random number generator, or Excel’s RAND () function, or Systematic Sampling, where every K-th individual is chosen from a random starting point. The sampling interval K is determined by dividing the total individuals in a stratum by the required sample size. This process ensures a representative and randomized final sample.

·         Purposive sampling will be applied to Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) to engage individuals with relevant expertise, such as TVET institutions and private sectors (employer) women, youth, and community leaders.

·         The final sample size will be determined based on population estimates and resource availability, ensuring sufficient statistical power for data analysis.

Baseline Evaluation Criteria

The baseline study is recommended to also effectively answer the following evaluation criteria to systematically be comparable and align this baseline study with the future project evaluation.

 Relevance

·         To what extent are the objectives and design of the project aligned with needs and priorities of target groups, private market as well as the training institutions?

·         Are the activities and outputs of the programme consistent with the overall goal and the attainment of its objectives?

·         Are the activities and outputs are expected to contribute the anticipated impact and effectiveness of the programme?

·         Are there alternative approaches which may have been more appropriate or gaps in intervention strategies?

Effectiveness

·         What could be the key likely barriers and boosters in the implementation of the project, based on the current/baseline conditions?

·         To what extent has the project is expected to contribute the anticipated level of change in renewable energy, accelerate transition to the circular economy, and expand sustainable agri-food value chains in Somalia/Somaliland, based on the current/baseline conditions?

·         What could be the major anticipated key factors (internal and external) that can influence the achievement or non-achievement of the results during the project implementation period?

·         How best the project learning can be captured and what mechanisms exist to capture and share learning?

Efficiency

·         Based on the project plan, has the project choice appropriate value for money within the context of Somalia/Somaliland compared to the anticipated impact?

·         Identify and recommend potential cost factors that can be avoided during the project implementation period.

Impact Potential

·          Identify and indicate the expected measurable long-term effects and experiments for the future evaluations.   

Coordination and Coherence?

·         How can the project activities be coordinated within different stakeholders to achieve the overall project objective?

·         How the current consortium governance structure can help to deliver the project results.

·         Are there alternative ways to improve the planned project delivery mechanisms as a consortium? ·

Sustainable

·         Assess whether interventions will likely have a lasting impact based on the current/baseline conditions.

·         What are the major factors that can likely contribute or hinder the sustainability.

·         Identify how the project can increase the accountability and capacity of duty bearers. Document ownership and involvement of government at different levels, and other key stake holders that can positively contribute to the project outcome.

·         Recommend how best the results can potentially last within the target communities, private sector, TVET institutions, government entities and well as the overall market systems.

DELIVERABLES:

The potential consultant will be expected to complete the assignment in one Month (including development of study protocol and implementation plan/timeline, literature review, inception report, development and pre-testing of data collection tools/instruments, training of assessment team, data collection, analysis, validation and final report writing).

·         Inception report detailing workplan, proposed approach and methodologies.

·         Interim Progress Reports providing updates on data collection, analysis, and stakeholder engagement.

·         Presentation of findings to Save the Children, including opportunities for feedback and discussion.

·         Final evaluation report with appropriate findings and recommendations

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS:

The consultant or firm should have the following qualifications and expertise

·          Proven experience conducting baseline assessments in the skills development for employment, gender responsive livelihoods or economic empowerment programmes.

·         Expertise in TVET programming, including agribusiness, renewable energy, and circular economy development and/or other relevant marketable sectors

·         Strong qualitative and quantitative research skills. Proven track record of using different statistical and software packages to analyze and synthesize and present qualitative and quantitative information in a succinct and compelling manner.

·         Experience working in Somalia and Somaliland.

·         Fluency in English; proficiency in Somali is an asset.

CODE OF CONDUCT:

Because Save the Children’s work is based on deeply held values and principles, it is essential that our commitment to children’s rights and humanitarian principles is supported and demonstrated by all members of staff. Save the Children’s Code of Conduct sets out the standards which all staff members must adhere to.

PROPERTY RIGHTS:

All data that will be collected should be considered as SCI properties and may not be used for other purposes.

Qualification and Experience

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS:

The following attributes are requirements for selecting the consultancy firm/individual.

·         Proven experience conducting baseline assessments in the skills development for employment, gender responsive livelihoods, or economic empowerment programmes.

·         Expertise in TVET programming, including agribusiness, renewable energy, and circular economy development and/or other relevant marketable sectors

·         Strong qualitative and quantitative research skills. Proven track record of using different statistical and software packages to analyze, synthesize, and present qualitative and quantitative information in a succinct and compelling manner.

·         Experience working in Somalia and Somaliland.

·         Fluency in English; proficiency in Somali is an asset.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE AND REQUIREMENT

Candidates interested in the position are expected to provide the following documentation:

·         A technical proposal with a detailed response to the TOR, with specific focus on the scope of work, methodology and timelines.

·         Initial work plan and indication of availability. 

·         A financial proposal detailing the daily rate expected including accommodation, transportation, stationery, data collectors, research assistance and all other costs related to this assignment. (Operational and consultancy fees).

·         Company profile or CVs for team composition

Qualified Consultancy Firms consultants are requested to submit their technical and financial proposals and Lead consultant and associated personnel CVs and other relevant documentation to 

somalia.sstenderbox3@savethechildren.org 

The deadline for submission is 8th April 2025

Application Procedure

Firms interested in this evaluation are expected to provide the following documentation:

·         A technical proposal with a detailed response to the TOR, with specific focus on the scope of work, methodology, and timelines.

·         Initial work plan and indication of availability.

·         A financial proposal detailing the daily rate expected, including accommodation, transportation, stationery, data collectors, research assistance and all other costs related to this assignment. (operational and consultancy fees).

·         Company profile or CV, including a minimum of 3 references.

·         At least two copies of previously conducted similar studies.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE AND REQUIREMENT

Candidates interested in the position are expected to provide the following documentation:

·         A technical proposal with a detailed response to the TOR, with specific focus on the scope of work, methodology and timelines.

·         Initial work plan and indication of availability. 

·         A financial proposal detailing the daily rate expected including accommodation, transportation, stationery, data collectors, research assistance and all other costs related to this assignment. (Operational and consultancy fees).

·         Company profile or CVs for team composition

Qualified Consultancy Firms consultants are requested to submit their technical and financial proposals and Lead consultant and associated personnel CVs and other relevant documentation to 

somalia.sstenderbox3@savethechildren.org 

The deadline for submission is 8th April 2025

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