End-Term Evaluation of the Project, Development, and Inclusive Peace for All in Kenya (DIPAK) – Finn Church Aid (FCA)

Finn Church Aid (FCA) is Finland’s biggest development cooperation organization and the second biggest organization in Finland working in humanitarian aid. FCA is a member of the ACT Alliance (ACT), an alliance of faith-based development and humanitarian aid organizations forming one of the world’s largest aid organizations. FCA established presence in Kenya in 2010, working in three thematic areas: Right to Quality Education, Right to Livelihoods, and Right to Peace.

The specific objective of DIPAK is improved community resilience to natural resource-based conflicts in Northwestern Kenya through enhanced social cohesion by 2025, to be achieved through the formation, strengthening, and training of informal community-led peace structures covering West Pokot, Baringo, Elgeyo Marakwet, and Turkana counties.

Objective and Purpose of the evaluation

Since January 2022, FCA has been implementing a comprehensive project titled Development and Inclusive Peace for All in Kenya (DIPAK) in northwestern Kenya, covering West Pokot, Baringo, Elgeyo Marakwet, and Turkana counties where competition over access to and control over natural resources compounded by the effects of climate change, the proliferation of small arms and general insecurity, exacerbates inter-communal conflict manifested in violent cattle raids or cattle rustling. However, the traditional tools and mechanisms for conflict resolution and prevention are dominated and controlled by community elders (men). Cultural values and structural barriers effectively hinder women’s leadership and voice in community-level decision-making. This is despite the fact that women are disproportionately affected by inter-communal conflicts, and their agency and diverse roles both as drivers of violence and as peacebuilders continue to be overlooked.

The objective of this evaluation is to assess the effectiveness of FCA’s peacebuilding approaches in Kerio Valley and their contribution to lasting change and impact. The evaluation will assess the relevance of the action and the progress made towards achieving the planned outcomes by measuring the progress towards the project indicators. The evaluation findings will also be used for learning to inform programming and provide FCA and the donor with useful feedback on the project’s performance and impact. Further, the findings will be utilized for decision-making on whether or not to adapt the strategies as well as inform the development of exit strategies for FCA’s interventions. The results will be disseminated to the right-holders (including beneficiaries) as well as the government officials – accordingly, the language used should reflect the expected audience KECO will utilize the evaluation findings to both improve the quality of work and specifically compliance with the Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS) and other standards.

The specific objectives of the end-term evaluation are as follows:

• To evaluate the relevance of the project to the context and stakeholders.
• Measure the efficiency of the project in relation to the resources.
• Assess the overall contribution of the action to improved Development and Inclusive peace for all in northwestern Kenya covering West Pokot, Baringo, and Elgeyo Marakwet counties.
• Document challenges, programmatic lessons learned, and key recommendations for program improvement.
• Analyse the change brought by the project implementation through comparison with the baseline report.

Skills and qualifications required

• At least 6 years of experience in designing and implementing impact evaluations (essential)
• 5 years’ experience and knowledge of facilitating participatory evaluation processes as a team leader (essential)
• Experience in evaluating peacebuilding or conflict resolution projects and programmes (required)
• An advanced degree in development studies, peace and conflict management and field experience is desirable.
• H/She should be familiar with Kenya’s peacebuilding and development strategies.
• Sound knowledge and understanding of community-led peacebuilding structures with a specific focus on understanding women’s role in peacebuilding, as well as understanding of nexus programming linking humanitarian action and development to peacebuilding.
• The consultant should have broader experience working with relevant peace-building approaches, including Do no harm (DNH) and strengthening local capacities for peace.
• The consultant is expected to be able to travel to the project locations.
• The consultant should be able to complete and submit the assignment within one month period.
• Ability to travel to remote and often insecure project areas with support from FCA team.