Terms of Reference — Midline Evaluation (Nyokal Local Rights Programme)

TERMS OF REFERENCE — MIDLINE EVALUATION (NYOKAL LOCAL RIGHTS PROGRAMME)

Project/LRP Name: Nyokal Local Rights Programme (LRP) Midline Evaluation

Location(s) of the Project/LRP: Homa Bay County (Ndhiwa Sub-County — Kobama Division: Central Kwabwai, East Kwabwai, North Kwabwai, Rachar, Southwest Kwabwai and West Kwabwai locations)

Duration of Assignment: 6 Weeks

Anticipated Fieldwork Window: 14th -23rd October 2026

Background & Rationale

ActionAid International Kenya (AAIK) is a non-partisan, non-religious development organization that has worked in Kenya since 1972 to challenge poverty and injustice. AAIK's work is anchored in the Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA), which emphasizes empowerment, solidarity, and campaigning, with women, children and young people at the heart of its programming. AAIK established the Nyokal Local Rights Programme (LRP) in Kobama Division, Ndhiwa Sub-County, Homa Bay County, following a desk review and appraisal that identified the area as having development challenges comparable to the former Nyarongi LRP. A baseline survey for Nyokal LRP was commissioned by AAIK with the final report submitted in February 2023. The baseline established that poverty is rife in Ndhiwa Sub-County (ranked 203 out of 210 constituencies, with a poverty prevalence of 73%), with significant rights denials and gaps across education (64% of household heads with little or no formal education; 59% citing long distance to school and 51% citing unaffordability as barriers), water and sanitation (only 26% of households within 1km of potable water; 70% latrine coverage, 26% of which shared), livelihoods and food security (mean adequate food provisioning of 4.6 months; 67% rating food security as bad or worse), health (mean distance of 3.27km to the nearest facility; HIV prevalence of 14% against a national average of 7%), governance (92% unaware of county planning and budgeting processes; only 3% agreeing that devolved funds are used transparently), and gender and disability inclusion (68% reporting wife battering as prevalent; approximately 300 PWDs in Kobama Division facing systemic exclusion). Since the baseline, AAIK has been implementing Nyokal LRP interventions guided by the baseline's programmatic recommendations across education, water and sanitation, livelihoods and food security, health, governance, and gender and women's rights. A Midline Study is now required to measure progress against the baseline indicators and values, assess the effectiveness of interventions implemented to date, capture contextual changes, and generate evidence to inform mid-course programme adjustments ahead of the LRP's end-term evaluation. Purpose & Objectives of the Assignment This Terms of Reference (ToR) is for a Midline Evaluation. The purpose is to assess progress made against the baseline indicators and values established in the February 2023 Nyokal LRP Baseline Survey Report, and to generate credible, rights-based evidence to guide the remaining implementation period, mid-course programme adjustments, and preparation for the end-term evaluation. The specific objectives of the assignment are to: - Measure the level of change against the baseline values and proposed indicators across all thematic areas (education, water and sanitation, livelihoods and food security, health, governance and devolved resources, and gender, women's rights and PWD inclusion) in Kobama Division, Nyokal LRP. - Assess the reach, relevance and effectiveness of Nyokal LRP interventions implemented since February 2023, including school infrastructure and bursary support, water and sanitation projects, livelihoods and farmer group support, health facility strengthening, governance and public participation platforms, and gender/GBV prevention and response mechanisms. - Document contextual changes and emerging issues since the baseline (e.g. changes in poverty levels, HIV and AIDS prevalence, climate and rainfall patterns, land tenure, and devolved funds administration) that may affect the remaining LRP period. - Assess community awareness of, participation in, and satisfaction with LRP interventions to date, disaggregated by gender, age and disability status. - Determine the extent to which target communities have organized themselves and strengthened their capacity to claim their constitutional rights since the baseline. - Provide actionable, evidence-based recommendations to guide programme adjustments for the remaining implementation period and to inform indicator targets for the end-term evaluation.

Scope of Work

The midline study will be conducted in Kobama Division, Ndhiwa Sub-County, Homa Bay County, covering the same six locations sampled at baseline: Central Kwabwai, East Kwabwai, North Kwabwai, Rachar, South West Kwabwai and West Kwabwai. It will cover the following thematic areas, consistent with the baseline survey: - Right to Education - Right to Water and Sanitation - Livelihoods and Food Security - Access to Health Facilities and Affordable Healthcare - Governance, Devolved Resources and Power Relations - Gender, Women's Rights and Persons with Disabilities (PWD) The study will not cover areas outside Kobama Division/Nyokal LRP. The study will engage the following respondent groups, consistent with and building on the baseline sampling approach: - Community members (women, men, youth, girls and boys, village/opinion leaders, elders, and persons with disabilities) - School administrators, Boards of Management (BoM) members, and education officials (including QUASO) - Health facility in-charges and health officials - County and sub-county government officials (e.g. Finance and Budgets, Gender, Assistant County Commissioner, Ward Administrator) - Chiefs, women group leaders, youth group leaders, PWD representatives and local Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) - AAIK Nyokal LRP project staff The consultant is expected to undertake the following key activities:

(a) Inception Report: Prepare an inception report outli