End of Year 1 Outcome Evaluation for Women Economic Strengthening for Resilience Project (WESRP)

Terms of Reference (ToRs) for End of Year 1 Outcome Evaluation for Women Economic Strengthening for Resilience Project (WESRP)

INTRODUCTION

Christian Aid Zimbabwe is seeking the services of a consultant to undertake an End of Year 1 Outcome Evaluation for the Women Economic Strengthening for Resilience Project (WESRP) in Mudzi, Mutoko, Murehwa and Goromonzi districts.

Christian Aid Zimbabwe and the Netherlands Embassy are jointly funding the Women Economic Strengthening for Resilience Project (WESRP), a multi-year initiative aimed at supporting smallholder women farmers and youth in the Mashonaland East production corridor, particularly in Mudzi, Mutoko, Murehwa, and Goromonzi districts. The project is being implemented by Nyahunure Community Organisation(NCO) over 18 months under the Netherlands Embassy component (1 April 2025 – 30 September 2026) and over three years under Christian Aid co-funding (1 October 2024 – 30 September 2027). WESRP seeks to strengthen the economic resilience of women and youth-led households by enhancing their participation in high-value agricultural value chains, including garlic, beans, peas, paprika, onions, and honey. The project contributes to improved livelihoods by increasing income levels and enhancing access to financial services for small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises.

The project delivers targeted capacity strengthening interventions in business development, financial literacy, group cohesion, and market engagement to support sustainable enterprise growth and financial independence. WESRP is expected to contribute to improved household economic wellbeing and reduced vulnerability to poverty among 3,000 households across the targeted districts by 2027.

The outcome monitoring exercise under the Netherlands-funded component will assess progress against the project’s goal and two primary outcomes:

• Increased income levels among participating women and youth-led households
• Improved access to and utilization of financial services and markets

The monitoring will involve systematic data collection to measure changes over time, comparing baseline and follow-up data to assess project contributions to observed outcomes. Findings will be used to support accountability, adaptive management, and learning for continuous improvement of programme implementation. The outcome evaluation is intended to provide detailed learning that will be used to inform the design of the anticipated next phase.

Project Goal: To improve the income security of 3000 women and youth headed households in Mutoko, Mudzi, Murewa and Goromonzi participating in lucrative value chains through skills trainings and enhanced access to finance and markets.

Outcome 1: Business skills, knowledge and organisational capacity to 1000 households in lucrative value chains are enhanced

Outcome 2: 1000 women and youths households accessed micro-loans and financial services for agricultural value chains

Outcome 3: 1000 smallholder farmers have enhanced export market potential in lucrative value chains, ensuring they meet national and international market standards.

OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT

1. To gather accurate and reliable data on the project's indicators and outcomes. This process will involve measuring specific metrics related to each outcome/output against baseline values. By identifying gaps and lessons learned, the data collection will provide a comprehensive assessment of overall project progress, helping to pinpoint areas that require further attention or adjustment.
2. To assess needs that still exist probing on gaps, new ideas and opportunities for upscaling from stakeholders (farmers, producer associations, government line ministries, and community leaders). The assessment should identify emerging priorities, innovation opportunities, and intervention gaps to inform Phase 2 design of WESRP. The goal is to facilitate ongoing improvements and adaptations to the project design, ensuring it remains aligned with the needs of the community and effectively contributes to women's economic empowerment and resilience as the project moves into its second year.
3. To gather evidence on the export readiness of smallholder farmers engaged in lucrative value chains. This process will involve identifying strengths, gaps, and lessons learned to provide a comprehensive assessment of farmers’ preparedness for enhanced national and export market penetration. The findings will inform areas for upscaling WESRP, and strategic adjustments aimed at strengthening access to both national and international markets.
4. To develop proposed intervention design that includes best combinations of interventions and delivery approaches to attain sustainable impact for Phase 2 of WESRP, through a short Concept Note, informed by evidence gathered during the assignment, outlining:
5. Existing gaps and strategic priorities
6. Potential value chain expansion and diversification
7. Market (including export) opportunities
8. Capacity strengthening pathways
9. Alignment with the Netherlands Embassy priorities

SCOPE OF WORK FOR OUTCOME EVALUATION

The purpose of this assessment is to evaluate the progress of WESRP at the end of the Netherlands Embassy first year of implementation (guided by the Result Framework and Detailed Implementation Plan and baseline), specifically focusing on the stated outcomes, outputs, and indicators. This will involve a comprehensive analysis of data collected, comparing current figures against baseline metrics established at the project's inception. The analysis will include What went well? What could be improved and done differently?

The key areas of focus will include:

Outcome 1: Business skills, knowledge and organisational capacity to 1000 households in lucrative value chains are enhanced

i. Assessment on enhanced business skills and knowledge in value chains

• Evaluate the percentage of women and youth having acquired business skills and knowledge in lucrative value chains
• Analyse the percentage of women and youth engaged in value chain development
• Assess the extent of household income increase as a result of value chain participation

ii. Strengthening producer groups

• Evaluate the number of value chain groups that were registered and strengthened with governance trainings
• Assess the percentage of women and youths capacitated in organizational development and governance in managing lucrative value chain

Outcome 2: 1000 women and youths households accessed micro-loans and financial services for agricultural value chains

• Analyse the number of loan grants that were issued to groups that are participating in agricultural value chains.
• Assess the number of women and youths who accessed financial services for agricultural value chains
• Evaluate how production increased for groups that accessed loans to upscale value chains

Outcome 3: 1000 smallholder farmers have enhanced export market potential in lucrative value chains, ensuring they meet national and international market standards.

• Analyse the percentage increase in the number of smallholder farmers accessing national and international export markets in targeted lucrative value chains, in compliance with required market standards.
• Evaluate number of smallholder women and youth farmers with increased access to markets and engaging in value addition activities for onion, garlic, beans, paprika and honey
• Analyse percentage increase in sales volume and income from beans, onion, garlic, and other targeted value chains among smallholder farmers

The consultant will consolidate a CN proposing upscaling intervention areas through:

1. Identify farmers’ evolving needs, constraints, and aspirations in value chain development
2. Explore new ideas for strengthening resilience and value chain diversification by identifying opportunities for strengthening market linkages (including export) and value addition
3. Assess gaps in current interventions, especially in business, production, and market access including establishment of Village Business Units (VBU)
4. Exploring potential partnerships, including with Dutch stakeholders

TARGET GROUPS

The assessment will be done in Mutoko and Mudzi districts targeting the following:

Primary target groups (women and youth): Individual female and youth project participants central to the initiative's core objectives of economic empowerment, capacity building, financial inclusion, and value-chain market integration.

Commodity groups and leadership committees: producer groups, and apex district marketing associations committees responsible for managing local value chains, aggregated volumes, and commercial buyer relations, this include groups participating in the peas & onion value chains.

Private sector partners: Agro-input suppliers, contract farming firms, crop aggregators, and commercial off-takers providing market linkages, supply-chain logistics, and trade agreements, including ZADT, Kuminda and ZIMTRADE.

Community leadership structures: Local traditional leaders, village headmen, and ward councillors engaged to evaluate project implementation alignment with broader community development priorities.

Government support agencies: Representatives from line ministries and state departments (including Ministry of Lands, RDCs, Women Affairs &SMEs) providing direct technical field backing to assess broader impacts on agriculture, gender equity and regional economic development.

PROPOSED METHODOLOGY FOR THE ASSESSMENT

In consultation with CA, the consultant is expected to refine the evaluation questions proposed above based on review of project documents such as the proposal, annual progress reports, baseline report, export market feasibility study, stakeholder mapping, etc. including other learning materials in the selected crop value chains for export market.

The assessment is expected to employ a mixed-methods approach, integrating both quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques to provide a comprehensive evaluation of WESRP’s impact. The survey will be administered to collect quantitative data while Focus Group Discussions and Key Informant Interviews will be used to collect qualitative data. Qualitative data will include collection of case stories that relates to participants feedback and personal insights into the interventions while the quantitative data will be done according to the pre-determined sample size.

The methodology will consist of the following key components:

i. Surveys:

Structured questionnaires will be administered to a representative sample of women and youth participating in the project across the selected wards. The surveys will focus on key indicators such as access to both national and export markets, access to financial services and access to capacity building. Random sampling will ensure a diverse cross-section of the target groups, enhancing the reliability of the findings.

ii. Focus Group Discussions (FGDs):

FGDs will be conducted with different demographic groups, including women, men, and youths. These discussions will facilitate a deeper exploration of experiences, perceptions, and challenges related to value chains meeting national and international market standards

iii. Key Informant Interviews:

Interviews with community leaders, project stakeholders, and representatives from local organizations will provide qualitative insights into the project's broader impact and sustainability.

These interviews will focus on understanding community perceptions of the project's success and areas for improvement. These findings will be complemented by a comparative analysis against historical data from the baseline to assess trends and changes over time which will inform the design of future interventions.

DATA ANALYSIS AND REPORTING:

Analysing the collected data and providing insights and recommendations to inform project improvement and future design. Data will be cleaned, analysed and structured. Reporting will be done according to outcome areas and any additional anecdotes that adds value to the outcome assessment report. Provide preliminary findings and insights from the data analysis, and a final report summarizing the findings, insights, and recommendations.

TIMELINE

Assignment should be completed withing 10-15 working days (can be negotiated)

DELIVERABLES

8.1. Data sets: Cleaned and formatted data sets for analysis.

8.2. Preliminary findings: Preliminary findings and insights from the data analysis.

8.3. Final report: A final report summarizing the context, objectives, findings, insights, lessons learned, and recommendations.

8.4. A concept note highlighting the new ideas and innovations for upscaling WESRP

Consultant qualification/experience

• Proven experience leading end-of-year (or similar) outcome evaluations using log frames/results frameworks, baseline-to-endline comparisons, indicator-based reporting and project proposal development.
• Strong skills in quantitative data collection/analysis (surveys, sampling, indicator measurement) and qualitative methods (FGDs, KIIs, case stories), producing usable learning for adaptive management.
• Demonstrated experience evaluating Christian Aid and/or Netherlands Embassy-funded projects will be an advantage, including compliance with donor expectations, evaluation quality standards, and learning documentation.
• Background in assessing smallholder/export readiness, market standards compliance, quality/traceability requirements, buyer needs, aggregation and logistics constraints, and practical pathways for national and export market penetration.
• Familiarity with the Mashonaland East production corridor and the operating context of Mudzi, Mutoko, Murehwa, Goromonzi districts (value-chain constraints, livelihoods, gender/youth realities, and market access issues).
• Understanding of the Netherlands Embassy's Trade & Development priorities and approach, especially market systems, private sector engagement / crowding-in, inclusiveness, and sustainability/scale considerations.

Role and Responsibilities

1. Independent Consutlant:

   i) Responsible for conducting data collection, ensuring data quality, analysing date, report and concept note writing.

   ii) Leading a combined outcome monitoring and participatory needs assessment, actively probing stakeholders to identify emerging needs, innovations, and opportunities for WESRSP Phase 2.

   iii) Developing a Phase 2 Concept Note outlining innovative approaches, scaling strategies, and future programming interventions.

2. Nyahunure Community Organisation:

   i) Providing support and keep project documents to the consultant during data collection process.

   ii) Coordinating field-level logistics, including mobilisation of participants, access to project sites, stakeholders.

   iii) Facilitating stakeholder engagement and introductions, including community leaders and local authorities.

3. Christian Aid Zimbabwe

   i) Providing overall technical guidance, key project documents and oversight to ensure alignment with project goals, donor expectations, and global best practices

   ii) Reviewing and providing feedback on draft deliverables, including the outcome report and Phase 2 concept note

How to apply

Interest applicants should submit their applications via email to zimbabwerecruit@christian-aid.org with the Subject line clearly marked Evaluation for Women Economic Strengthening for Resilience Project (WESRP) by 28th June 2026.

The application document required are as follows:

• A technical proposal outlining approach and methodology(max 2pages).
• A financial proposal indicating phase-based costing.
• A CV of the individual consultant (max 3 pages focusing on related work only)
• At least 2 samples of recent relevant consultancy done in Zimbabwe
• Names and contact information of at least three references who can be contacted regarding relevant experience.