Deadline: 4-Jun-22
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has launched the Agriculture and Food systems Development Activity (AFDA).
The purpose of the AFDA Activity is to advance peace and reduce interethnic tensions by creating bonds of mutual self-interest and urban-rural linkages along production and market value chains with marginalized ethnic groups in conflict-affected areas. To accomplish this, the Activity is mitigating interethnic tensions by addressing some of the economic drivers of conflict. AFDA increases the productivity, inclusiveness, and competitiveness of key market segments, thereby facilitating broader market systems participation and sustainable transformation of agriculture and food-systems across ethnicities in the Zone of Influence (ZOI).
Objectives
The objective of the AFDA midterm evaluation is to assess whether or not the Activity is on track in terms of achieving the stated outcomes. The evaluation will also allow AFDA to examine and refine the validity of the logical pathway of the Results framework of the Activity and associated assumptions developed during the Activity design. Both qualitative and quantitative information from the evaluation will provide an in-depth understanding of the results achieved, insights on what is working or not working, and inform Activity design and target adjustments. This midterm evaluation must:
- Collect and analyze data for key midterm indicators (A-WEAI & Social Capital Index).
- Answer AFDA midterm learning questions through quantitative and qualitative methods.
- Identify key adaptive strategies that AFDA should [continue to] pursue considering the current situation. What should the focus be over the next 2 years?
- Conduct an outcome harvest, which communicates the scale and sustainability of positive, negative, and unexpected outcomes as well as lessons learned.
- Assess the system level influences of the current portfolio of AFDA partners in regard to the AFDA market systems map with key leverage areas.
Outcomes
- Increased economic interdependence among market actors of different ethnic backgrounds.
- Increased access to agricultural support services.
- Increased availability of improved inputs.
- Smallholder supply-chains expand domestic and international market access.
Geographic Focus
- The AFDA Activity is focused on delivering impact in the following regions, considered the Zone of Influence (ZOI): Shan, Kachin, Mandalay, Sagaing, and Magway. Development follows a hub and spoke model, leveraging the private sector in secondary cities to expand and improve the delivery of services and inputs to, and supply of crop from, rural farmers. Mandalay is the largest city in this ZOI, and its agribusinesses are currently sourcing raw goods from the identified zone.
- Beyond Mandalay, investment, and development of other regional cities will be considered, to improve production efficiency and create off-farm economic opportunities for rural residents. AFDA may also work with Yangon-based firms that are looking to expand service/input delivery into or source their supplies from the identified Zone of Influence. As the situation in Myanmar continues to be fluid and complex, consideration of expanding and contracting the ZOI boundaries, and monitoring active conflicts within the zone will be necessary, and activities planned in these areas will be adjusted on an ongoing basis.
Roles
The contracted firm shall:
- Male and female enumerators will be recruited to match situations where respondents prefer to be interviewed by enumerators of the same sex.
- Be responsible for hiring, training, and supervising the data collection team.
- Develop and submit a data quality assurance plan to AFDA.
- The consultant will develop the inception report, survey instruments, pre-test the instruments prior to roll out in the field. AFDA will review and approve every deliverable.
- Ensure safety of data collectors i.e., from COVID-19, political environment in Myanmar.
- Ensure confidentiality of responses from the midterm evaluation participants.
- Clean, analyze, compile, and submit report.
- For quantitative data submit raw and final cleaned data sets to AFDA. For qualitative data submit recordings, word for word transcriptions and translations to English will be required; as well as code sheets.
For more information, visit https://www.themimu.info/sites/themimu.info/files/call-for-proposals/AFDA_MIDTERM_SOW_May_2022.pdf
