SoCha
Short-term Consultant to Conduct a Learning Review of the USAID / KEA Local Development Organizations (LDO)
Company Profile: SoCha (a portmanteau of Social and Change) is an independent Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) firm that provides bespoke solutions to social challenges.
We are a US-registered, veteran-owned small business and staff support offices in Nairobi, Bangkok, and Mauritius. SoCha currently supports multiple foreign assistance interventions across Asia and Africa.
Background: SoCha is the current contract holder of the USAID/Kenya & East Africa (KEA) Mission Support to Journey to Self-Reliance (J2SR) Pivot Activity.
To support this journey, the J2SR Activity will support the USAID/KEA Mission to understand context, align programs, collect data, understand complexity, and apply learning to program adaptation.
Through the Kaunti Kuimarisha Uendelevu Annual Program Statement (APS), USAID seeks to form LDOs to enable local organizations to be better organized to influence county development and contribute to improved lives of communities.
USAID defines a Local Development Organization (LDO) as an umbrella organization that has legal standing and represents local organizations including civil society and the private sector at the county level.
The Kaunti Kuimarisha Uendelevu APS is a strategic pivot away from the traditional programs towards enabling and structuring local civil society and private sector organizations to assert their collective voice in favor of transparency, accountability, and performance.
The APS invited applications focused on building the capacity of civil society to accelerate their journey to self-reliance with new tools and organizational arrangements.
These organizations have led co-creation activities in the counties that have led to the registration of a total of eight (8) organizations as Trusts.
The eight registered LDOs have Boards of Trustees and are currently working on their strategic plans, developing organizational policies, and recruiting a secretariat.
Co-creation activities have entailed undertaking context and systems analysis, stakeholder mapping and mobilization, developing registration documents, defining the LDO vision and mission, and undertaking outreach activities for the purpose of the LDO.
USAID and its implementing mechanisms Yetu and MODS have been playing facilitative roles in the co-creation processes with the APS organizations making decisions by themselves.
There are several lessons to be learned from these processes.
Scope of Work: The Consultant will support USAID/KEA to review the LDO formation process, by capturing lessons learned, challenges, and recommendations for future programming.
The review will gather critical insights to understand the perceptions of, and approaches to (if desirable) embedding LDO as a transformative approach within the mission as it seeks to effectively partner with local leaders and actors to promote and realize locally-led and locally-owned development.
The following objectives will inform the review:
1. Critique the LDO formation process/road map, and review and document key lessons and successes that will inform future programming.
2. Understand how LDO is fostering locally-led development.
3. Establish how LDO is building partnerships between the local, regional, and central government leaders and institutions.
4. Understand how insights from the LDO engagements can help to inform the Mission’s programmatic approach.
5. Determine the necessary improvements to enrich the approach.
Minimum Qualifications and Experience:
- A minimum of a Master’s Degree or doctoral degree in Development Studies, Strategic Management, Public/ Business Administration, or other related fields.
- Prior experience undertaking strategy evaluations, data collection, analysis, and synthesis is required.
- Professional experience facilitating learning reviews.
- Knowledge of CLA Tools, Approaches, and Practices.
- Knowledge of the Kenyan context: Development policies, County Integrated Development Plans, and USAID/KEA Country Development Cooperation Strategy.
- Prior experience working with consortiums, will be an added advantage
- An understanding of USAID business practices and procedures will also be an added advantage.
Period of Performance: The consultant is expected to start working on June 20, 2022, for a period of approximately 20 days LOE.
How to Apply:
To apply, please CLICK HERE to lodge a CV highlighting your relevant experience.
Applications close June 15, 2022.
Promising candidates may be selected before this deadline.