U.S. Embassy Jobs - The U. S. Embassy in Yaoundé is seeking Request for Proposals for Independent External Evaluation & Audit of the Food for Progress

Job & Business Opportunities

Request for Proposals for Independent External Evaluation and Audit of the Food for Progress Program FY 2004 in Cameroon

Draft Terms of Reference (ToR) for an Independent External Evaluation and Audit of the Food for Progress 2004 Program in Cameroon

1. Background information

In line with the Food for Progress (FFP) Act of 1985 and Convention No 1281/MINEPAT/SG/DCET/AA/AA2 and No OGSM: FGR-631-2004/167-00, between the Government of the United States of America (USG) and the Government of Cameroon (GoC) represented by Cameroon’s Ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Development (MINEPAT), CARE International in Cameroon was contracted as the main Recipient Agency (RA) for the Food for Progress 2004 (FFP04) Program. This was formalised through Agreement No 1281/MINEPAT/SG/DCET/AA/AA2 between CARE and MINEPAT on September 28, 2004 aimed at financing community development that will integrate agriculture and nutrition to enhance household livelihood security in vulnerable communities in the Adamawa and East Regions of Cameroon. In order to ensure efficient program implementation, further provisions were made for CARE to sub-contract part of the agricultural production component of the FFP04 program to IITA while the micro-finance component was sub-contracted to Credit du Sahel (CDS). This program ended with the exit of CARE as the RA and the coming in of CANADEL. At the end of the program implementation, the executing team was made up of CANADEL and IITA, with Credit du Sahel and APLHA FUND as the micro-credit institutions.

The implementation of this $3.66 million USDA / GoC funded program began on January 1st 2005 and extended beyond the initial completion date with an extension period that got the program implementation to a close on January 31, 2009. CARE received the global amount of $3.66 million and disbursed approved funds to the different sub-implementing organizations for project oversight, agricultural production for income generation, community development and nutrition to enhance household livelihood security in vulnerable communities in the Adamawa and East Regions of Cameroon and sub-granting to partner organizations for other technical aspects. IITA as a sub-implementing organization received from CARE part of the funds and was involved in the program implementation from the beginning to the close of the program implementation.

The implementation of the micro-credit component of this program began in 2006 with Credit du Sahel (CDS) while ALPHA Fund joined the program in 2007. The offices of both financial institutions were created in the program regions to provide lending at an accessible rate to farmer groups for agricultural production and marketing.

The supervisory body of this program was the FFP04 Review Committee chaired by the Permanent Secretary of MINEPAT. This was made up of representatives of the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural development (MINADER), the Ministry of Health (MINSANTE), the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Development (MINEPAT), the main RA, CARE and the U.S. Embassy. The sub-implementing organization IITA also attended the Steering Committee which never sat during the extension phase of the program, with CANADEL.

The project formally came to an end in December, 2007. The Food for Progress FY2004 review committee approved a six months no-cost extension of the program. CARE closed its activities on December 2007 and handed over the program coordination and implementation to CANADEL and IITA from July 15, 2008 to January 31, 2009. The available unspent funds and all the equipment and materials bought with Program funds were transferred from CARE to CANADEL and IITA on that date. The extension phase was under the general guidance of the Food for Progress review committee. In order to officially close out this program, an independent external evaluation and audit has to be carried out in the Adamawa and East Regions by July 06th 2011.

2. Evaluation objectives

• Assess the individual management of the FFP04 funds by CARE, IITA, Credit du Sahel, Alpha Fund, CANADEL, and Canal de Développement and evaluate:
  i. If the detailed objectives in the agreements were obtained.
  ii. If the funds were rightly spent according to the terms of the agreements.
  iii. The institutional capacity and sustainability of the program activities.
  iv. The amount and location of any unspent funds and procured assets.
  v. The strengths and weaknesses of the different program components.
• Assess the poverty reduction mechanisms put in place in order to empower farmers.
• Assess the program’s impact towards increased agricultural productivity through improved methodologies for financing the rural development project that will integrate agriculture and nutrition to enhance household livelihood security in vulnerable communities of the Adamawa and East Provinces of Cameroon.
• Identify program achievements worth strengthening.
• Assess if the methodology used was transparent and adapted to the context.

3. Required Background of the Evaluator

- Team must be bilingual (English and French).
- Tracked experience in carrying out external evaluation of development programs / projects.
- Tracked experience in carrying out external audit of development programs / projects.
- Strong development, agricultural and financial management skills.
- Versed with internationally recognised ethical values.
- Has not been involved in the implementation or assessment of any of the FFP activities in Cameroon during the program implementation.
- Has an international reputation.
- Have two attainable references.

4. Expected Evaluation Results

The individual(s) or team(s) is (are) expected to produce a report in English featuring:
 an executive summary of not more than 2 pages
 detail findings

The evaluation / audit report should assess:
- The program implementation.
- The impact of the activities on the beneficiaries in the project regions.
- The sustainability of the program activities.
- Identified issue(s) on cost / expenses and value for money if any.

The selected auditor / evaluator should:

• Prepare and submit a draft report in English on the findings for comments to MINEPAT and the U.S. Embassy in Yaoundé.
• Prepare a narrative report in English clearly indicating if the program objectives detailed in the agreement between the USG and the GoC were reached. This report should be submitted to the Embassy and MINEPAT in eight hard copies and two soft copies.
• A financial audit report in English assessing the financial systems used, any issues identified and the amount spent, the amount unspent and their location. This should be submitted to the Embassy and MINEPAT in eight hard copies and two soft copies.
• Provide a list of all the identified items procured using the FFP04 funds, indicating the state of the equipment / vehicles and where they are located.

Proposals are expected from interested candidates or parties that meet the requirements in point 3 above by 12:00 noon, on Friday July 01, 2011 latest. The application file submitted in English should include:

i. A letter of interest including at least two references.
ii. The methodology to be used.
iii. The detail plan indicating the required time to carry out the evaluation, audit and submit the final report on or before July 22, 2011.
iv. The Curriculum Vitae of the individual or members in the evaluation team.
v. The cost of the evaluation and audit exercise.

Applications should be addressed to:

The Food for Progress Program,
Political and Economic Section,
U.S. Embassy Yaoundé,
6050 Avenue Rosa Parks,
B.P. 817 Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Email: AkomCA @state.gov