External Baseline Evaluation Consultancy for Water and Education for Marginalised Communities Advancement (WEMA) Project.

Terms of Reference
External Baseline Evaluation Consultancy
‘Water and Education for Marginalised Communities Advancement (WEMA) Project’

**IRK/WEMA/CONSUL/001/10/2026**

**ISSUED ON**: Thursday, 15th October 2026

**CLOSING DATE**: Wednesday, 21ST October 2026 at 11:00 AM

**October, 2026**

**Project:** Water and Education for Marginalised Communities Advancement (WEMA) Project
**Activity:** External Base line evaluation for Water and Education for Marginalised Communities Advancement (WEMA) Project
**Location:** Garissa County
**Duration:** 35 days

**1.0 BACKGROUND**
IR Kenya started operations in Kenya in 1993 through a local CBO in Mandera District, Northern Kenya. It opened its fully-fledged office in March in 2006 at the height of drought in the Horn of Africa. Since then, it has been providing humanitarian and development assistance to vulnerable communities. Over these years IRK has remarkably changed the lives of the vulnerable and disadvantaged communities. In January 2010 and October 2011, IRK extended its operation to Wajir county and Garissa County; to serve both the local community and Refugee at Dadaab Camp. Islamic Relief Kenya is currently implementing programmes in the following sectors: Health and Nutrition; WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene); Sustainable Livelihoods and Disaster Risk reduction (DRR); Child Welfare/Protection & Education; and Emergency Response. Over the years, IR Kenya has implemented various development and relief activities which have remarkably changed the lives of vulnerable and disadvantaged communities in Garissa, Wajir, Mandera, Kilifi, Marsabit and Kajiado Counties.
IR Kenya has a commitment to standards which ascribe to program quality and improved programming. This obliges us to conduct a baseline study for the WEMA project in the specific areas of the project interventions. The baseline study will provide the much-needed platform for the project implementation process and re-alignment of interventions to improve project relevance and effectiveness.
**2.0 PROJECT SUMMARY**
The Water and Education for Marginalized Communities Advancement (WEMA) Project is a 12-month integrated development initiative designed to strengthen access to quality education, reliable water services, and climate resilience among vulnerable communities in Garissa County. The project responds to interconnected challenges including recurrent drought, chronic water insecurity, inadequate education and WASH infrastructure, environmental degradation, and limited community and institutional capacity to sustainably manage essential services.
Recognizing that infrastructure investments alone are insufficient to achieve sustainable development outcomes, the project applies the WEMA Integrated Systems Framework (WISF), which links education, water security, community governance, and environmental resilience. Through this approach, schools will serve as community service hubs around which climate-resilient education facilities, water infrastructure, community management structures, and environmental interventions are integrated.
Over the implementation period, the project will establish two WEMA Intervention Villages, each anchored around a strategically selected public primary school. Key interventions will include the construction of climate-resilient classrooms and provision of learner furniture; gender-responsive sanitation facilities; development of solar-powered boreholes; installation of elevated steel water storage tanks and gravity-fed distribution networks; establishment of community water kiosks and livestock watering troughs; provision of piped water connections to schools; and construction of masonry rainwater harvesting systems.
To strengthen sustainability and local ownership, WEMA will build the capacity of School Boards of Management (BOMs), Water Users Associations (WUAs), and School Environmental Clubs to manage, maintain, and safeguard project investments. The project will also promote ecosystem restoration and environmental stewardship, thereby strengthening community resilience to drought, climate variability, and pressure on natural resources.
The project is expected to directly benefit approximately 6,000 people, representing about 1,500 households, and provide improved water access for an estimated 100,000 livestock through two integrated community water systems. Expected broader outcomes include improved school attendance and retention, enhanced access to safe and reliable water, improved public health and sanitation, strengthened pastoral livelihoods, improved environmental stewardship, stronger local governance, and increased community resilience to climate-related shocks.
A robust Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) framework will guide performance monitoring, learning, accountability, and adaptive management. An independent baseline evaluation will establish the project's pre-intervention conditions and benchmark values for relevant indicators, providing a credible basis for subsequent measurement of changes and comparison with the end-line evaluation. Findings will also contribute to organizational learning and inform the potential replication and scaling of integrated education, water, and climate-resilience programming in arid and semi-arid areas.
The project will be implemented in collaboration with relevant Garissa County Government departments, particularly Water, Education, and Climate Change, as well as participating schools and community institutions. It is aligned with relevant national and county development and climate priorities and contributes particularly to SDG 4: Quality Education, SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, and SDG 13: Climate Action.
Project goal/impact: Strengthened climate-resilient human capital and improved quality of life for marginalized communities in Garissa County through sustainable access to quality education, reliable water services, effective local governance, and environmental stewardship.
**Project outcomes:**
**Outcome 1:** Enhanced access to quality, inclusive, and climate-resilient education services in target schools.
**Outcome 2:** Reliable and sustainable water services for schools, households, and livestock.
**Outcome 3:** Strengthened local governance, environmental stewardship, and community resilience to climate variability and drought.
**Project outputs:**
**Output 1.1:** Two WEMA Intervention Village schools equipped with climate-resilient, inclusive, and gender-responsive education infrastructure.
**Output 1.2**: Reliable and sustainable school water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services established in two WEMA Intervention Village schools.
**Output 2.1:** Two integrated solar-powered community water supply systems established and operational.
**Output 2.2:** Community water governance and management systems strengthened for sustainable water service delivery.
**Output 3.1:** Ecosystem restoration and climate adaptation measures implemented within the two WEMA Intervention Villages.
**Output 3.2:** Community governance and institutional management structures strengthened to sustainably manage WEMA investments.
**3.0 Purpose and Scope of the Endline Evaluation**

**The Baseline Evaluation Purpose and Objectives**
The overall objective of the baseline evaluation is to establish the pre-intervention status, challenges, capacities, and opportunities within the WEMA Project target communities in Garissa County, guided by the project goal, outcomes, outputs, and performance indicators. The baseline will establish credible benchmark values against which project progress and results can be measured throughout implementation and at end-line.
The assessment will provide a comprehensive understanding of the existing education, WASH and water security, climate resilience, environmental, institutional, and socio-economic conditions within the two WEMA Intervention Villages. It will also examine cross-cutting factors, including gender, disability, social inclusion, community participation, accountability, sustainability, and socio-cultural practices that may enable or constrain achievement of the intended project results.
**Specifically, the baseline assessment has the following objectives:**
1\. Establish baseline values for key project indicators across education, WASH/water security, climate resilience, and community-level outcomes to enable measurement of progress and results.
2\. Assess existing access to and quality of education and water/WASH services, including school infrastructure, enrolment, attendance and retention, water availability, reliability, functionality, affordability, and barriers affecting equitable access.
3\. Assess community and institutional capacities for sustainable service delivery and climate resilience, including the functionality and capacity of School Boards of Management (BOMs), Water Users Associations (WUAs), School Environmental Clubs, and existing practices for managing drought, environmental degradation, and natural resources.
4\. Examine cross-cutting factors influencing project outcomes, including gender, disability, age, socio-cultural practices, vulnerability, community participation, accountability, safeguarding, and inclusion in access to services and decision-making.
5\. Generate evidence and actionable recommendations to strengthen project implementation and MEAL, including validation or adjustment of indicator targets, identification of key risks and assumptions, sustainability considerations, and priority learning areas for adaptive management and future programming.
**4.0 Scope and Methodology**
The baseline evaluation will employ an appropriate mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative methods to provide a comprehensive understanding of the pre-intervention situation and ensure meaningful participation of different stakeholder groups.
The consultant will propose a robust methodology, including the sampling design, sample size determination, data collection methods, analytical framework and tools appropriate for each stakeholder group. All methods and tools should adhere to established ethical standards, including informed consent, confidentiality, safeguarding, and responsible data management.
Data should, where applicable, be disaggregated by location, sex, age and disability (SADD) and other relevant vulnerability characteristics to enable analysis of differences in access to services, participation, needs and project outcomes. The project is expected to reach approximately 6,000 direct and 9,000 indirect rightsholders.
**The methodology should, at a minimum, include the following:**
**1. Desk Review:** Review relevant project documents, policies, secondary data, assessments and existing evidence relating to education, WASH and water security, climate resilience, environmental conditions, gender and social inclusion, and community governance within the target areas.
**2. Quantitative Household and School-Level Assessment:** Conduct representative surveys and relevant facility/infrastructure assessments to establish baseline values for key project indicators, including access to and reliability of water services, education access and participation, WASH conditions, climate-related vulnerabilities, and household/community resilience.
**3. Qualitative Assessment and Stakeholder Engagement:** Conduct Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), and other participatory methods with relevant stakeholders, including community members, women, men, youth, persons with disabilities, school management, Water Users Associations (WUAs), community leaders, and relevant Garissa County Government departments.
**4**. **Direct Observation and Infrastructure Assessment:** Undertake structured observations of targeted schools, existing water systems, sanitation facilities, environmental conditions, and community water infrastructure to triangulate reported information and establish the status and functionality of existing services prior to project intervention.
**5.** **Data Analysis, Triangulation and Reporting:** Analyse and triangulate quantitative, qualitative and secondary data to establish credible baseline values, identify key gaps, risks, opportunities and inequalities, and provide practical recommendations for project implementation, target validation, MEAL, sustainability and adaptive management.
The consultant may propose additional or innovative participatory approaches where these enhance the quality, inclusiveness and reliability of the baseline. All findings should be supported by verifiable quantitative and/or qualitative evidence and clearly linked to the project's results framework and baseline indicators.
**5.0 Expected Outputs Deliverables**
**The expected key outputs and deliverables are:**
1\. Inception report (detailing consultant’s understanding of the assignment and methodology to be used and workplan to undertake the activity)
2\. Cleaned dataset (for quantitative and qualitative data)
3\. FGD score sheets/ reports/recordings and key informant interview forms/reports.
4\. Related codebooks, and data analysis files (SPSS syntax files)
5\. The inception and final reports shall be submitted in 3 hard copies and soft.
6\. A PowerPoint presentation on the activity findings, conclusions, and recommendations.
7\. An updated results framework with baseline data for project goal, outcomes, and outputs.
8\. All field notes which should guarantee anonymity for the interviewees.
**Reporting and dissemination plan of the Baseline study Report**
The consultant must submit three bound copies and a soft copy of the final study report which is expected to be within 30 pages (without annexes) and with the following components:
• Preliminary Pages (Title page, Table of Contents including a list of annexes, Acknowledgement, Executive Summary, List of Acronyms and Abbreviations, Definition of Terms and Concepts)
• Introduction describing the programme background and context.
• A description of the project, including the results framework and theory of change
• Purpose and Objectives of the baseline study
• Key study questions or objectives and a statement of the scope of the study, with information on limitations and delimitations
• An overview of the study approach, methodology and data sources
• Study findings.
• Conclusion based on study findings.
• Recommendations based on survey findings.
• Appendices
**6.0 Roles and Responsibilities**
**Role/responsibilities of the Consultant**
• Develop an inception report, detailing the study design, methodology, indicators, data- gathering tools, work plan schedule and budget to carry out the assignment agreed in consultation with MEAL coordinator.
• Conduct desk‐review of relevant project documents
• Develop quantitative and qualitative data gathering tools in consultation.
• Conduct training for the data collection teams including pre‐testing of data collection tools.
• Plan and coordinate quantitative and qualitative data collection.
• Work with IR Kenya project team planning Study logistics
• Data quality assurance
• Review, clean and analyze data collected.
• Present preliminary findings to project stakeholders for validation
• Incorporate input from project stakeholders and submit final report.
• Produce Baseline study report.
**Role of IRK**
• Recruit external consultant for the baseline study.
• Review and provide input on the consultant’s deliverables.
• Guide on the engagement with consultant
• Provide the consultant with background documents, reports and available secondary data for review.
• Provide oversight during data collection.
• Ensure smooth flow of consultancy engagement processes including contractual obligations.
Reporting
Lead Consultant Will plan and coordinate data collection, review data, analyze it and prepare a high- quality report.
The consultant will report to the MEAL Coordinator and works closely with Field Coordinator/Manager. MEAL and Project Officers will support in coordination of data collection process.
**7.0 Duration of the Assignment and logistics**
The consultant should describe the evaluation’s overall schedule (i.e., duration, phasing, timing) as well as work hours, required preparation work, conditions that might affect data collection, meeting-arranging procedures, and needed and available office space (e.g., interviewers). However, below are some suggested timelines owed to the urgency of this assignment.

**ITEM # of days to complete Suggested dates**
Selection of the consultant - \_
Inception meeting between IR Kenya and the consultant to discuss the understanding of the assignment **1**
Review of project documents and submission of inception report
including data collection tools **3**
Finalize inception report and data collection tools based on feedback received **5**
Planning & actualization of consultancy logistics **2**
Conduct training for enumerators including pre-testing, and prepare for fieldwork **2**
Conduct data collection **8**
Data cleaning, analysis and submission of data tables and syntax files **2**
Drafting and submission of preliminary report **4**
Validation workshop with IR Kenya
**1**
Drafting and submission of draft final report after incorporating input on preliminary report and from the validation workshop **4**
Incorporation of final report review comments and submission of final report to IR **2**
**TOTAL 35**

**8.0 Consultants Qualifications, Skills, and Experience**
The Consultant/s will possess the following minimum skills;
• A minimum master’s degree in social sciences or relevant field
• At least 6 years’ experience undertaking development projects evaluations and/or assessment for Food security, livelihoods, and integrated projects.
• Must have led at least two to three similar/assignments in the past 4 years.
• Proven skills in research, monitoring, and evaluation.
• Proven experience in conducting qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods evaluation studies.
• Computer proficiency with good knowledge of MS office (Word, Excel,
• PowerPoint) and SPSS desirable
• Experienced in undertaking development projects evaluations in Kenya.
• Excellent analytical and report writing skills.
• Excellent written and spoken English.
• Excellent time management skills
• Ability to work well both independently and in a team.
• Excellent conflict sensitive approaches and able to work in highly sensitive environments.

**9.0 Evaluation Criteria**
The evaluation committee shall evaluate the bids based on their responsiveness to the Terms of Reference, through the following stages:
• Preliminary/mandatory evaluation
• Technical evaluation
**Preliminary evaluation**
The following shall form the basis for the preliminary evaluation. Interested bidders MUST attach the following.
• Certificate of registration (applicable to consultancy firms – CR12) and ID of proprietor or ID for individual consultant.
• Copy of VAT/PIN certificate from KRA.
• Valid Tax compliance certificate
• Should be a firm/individual consultant with office/operational establishments within Kenya (attach business permit).
A proposal shall be rejected at this stage if it does not have all the valid preliminary/mandatory documentation.
**Technical evaluation.**
The evaluation committee shall evaluate the proposals based on their responsiveness to the Terms of Reference, with keen interest in the following:
1\. Experience in conducting similar services within the last five years. Attach contracts, LPOs, or recommendations, etc. - **20 points.**
Demonstrable consultancy experience working in similar assessments with NGOs focused on livelihoods, WASH and Education development sectors. - **10 points**
**Maximum points 30**
2\.