Intervention-Level Midterm Evaluation for the VOICES Project

Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

Assignment: Intervention-Level Midterm Evaluation
Project: Vitalizing Opportunities in Circular Economy and Sustainable Solutions in Lake Tanganyika (VOICES)
Organization: Catholic Relief Services (CRS)
Project Locations: Kigoma Region, Tanzania and Mpulungu District, Zambia
Project Duration: 1 September 2024 – 31 August 2028
Evaluation Period: Project inception to 30 June 2026
Assignment Duration: Up to 2 Months
Final Report Due: September 2026
Submission Deadline: 31 July 2026, 17:00 (Dar es Salaam Time)

---

About Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Established in 1943, CRS currently operates in more than 90 countries worldwide, supporting vulnerable communities through humanitarian assistance and sustainable development initiatives.

CRS Tanzania

CRS has operated in Tanzania since 1962, focusing on:

• Health and nutrition
• Early childhood development
• Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)
• Agriculture and livelihoods
• Youth empowerment
• Systems strengthening
• Gender and social inclusion

CRS Zambia

CRS has been active in Zambia since 2000 and works in:

• Livelihoods and markets
• Climate-smart agriculture
• Health and nutrition
• Micro-savings initiatives
• Emergency response
• WASH programs
• Child protection and development

---

About the VOICES Project

VOICES (Vitalizing Opportunities in Circular Economy and Sustainable Solutions in Lake Tanganyika) is implemented by CRS in partnership with:

• Caritas Kigoma (Tanzania)
• Caritas Kasama (Zambia)

Approximately:

• 80% of implementation occurs in Tanzania.
• 20% occurs in Zambia.

Project Goal

To improve water quality in the Lake Tanganyika Basin through sustainable and inclusive circular economy practices.

Key Objectives

• Increase awareness of circular economy approaches.
• Promote waste reduction and resource recovery.
• Strengthen municipal waste management systems.
• Support entrepreneurship and livelihood creation.
• Facilitate cross-border learning between Tanzania and Zambia.
• Build scalable and profitable circular economy businesses.

---

Evaluation Purpose

The midterm evaluation will assess:

• Relevance of the project design.
• Effectiveness and efficiency of implementation.
• Stakeholder engagement and ownership.
• Progress toward outputs and outcomes.
• Gender equality and youth inclusion.
• Disability inclusion.
• Environmental sustainability and climate resilience.
• Alignment with donor and government priorities.

---

Geographic Coverage

Tanzania

• Kigoma Ujiji Municipal Council
• Kigoma District Council
• Uvinza District Council

Zambia

• Mpulungu District
• Mpulungu Town Council

---

Key Evaluation Objectives

The evaluation will:

• Measure progress against LogFrame indicators.
• Identify achievements, delays and implementation gaps.
• Assess coordination, monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) systems.
• Review project relevance and sustainability.
• Examine participation of women, youth and persons with disabilities.
• Assess readiness and effectiveness of the Circular Economy Challenge Fund (CECF).
• Generate practical recommendations for the remaining project period.

---

Key Evaluation Questions

1. Progress and Implementation Effectiveness

The evaluation will determine:

• Which outputs and outcomes are on track.
• Factors supporting or hindering progress.
• Effectiveness of project coordination and learning systems.
• Government contributions and ownership.

2. Relevance, Functionality and Inclusion

The evaluation will assess:

• Relevance of circular economy awareness activities.
• Effectiveness of waste-management interventions.
• Local governance mechanisms.
• Inclusion of women, youth and persons with disabilities.

3. Circular Economy Challenge Fund (CECF)

The evaluation will examine:

• Accessibility of the fund.
• Selection and support mechanisms.
• Business viability and scalability.
• Contribution to project objectives.

---

Methodology

The evaluation will adopt a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative techniques.

Quantitative Methods

• Seven-day household waste assessments.
• Household surveys.
• Stakeholder and institutional assessments.
• Monitoring-data analysis.
• Comparison of baseline, midterm and target indicators.

Qualitative Methods

• Key Informant Interviews (KIIs).
• Focus Group Discussions (FGDs).
• Field observations.
• Document reviews.

---

Evaluation Timeline

1. Inception Phase

Duration: 2 Weeks

Activities:

• Literature review.
• Stakeholder analysis.
• Methodology design.
• Development of data-collection tools.
• Inception meeting.

2. Field Phase

Duration: 3 Weeks

Activities:

• Enumerator training.
• Tool testing.
• Data collection.
• Data quality checks.
• Preliminary findings presentation.

3. Synthesis Phase

Duration: 2 Weeks

Activities:

• Data analysis.
• Report writing.
• Development of recommendations.

4. Dissemination Phase

Duration: 1 Week

Activities:

• Webinar presentation.
• Submission of final reports.
• Stakeholder dissemination.

---

Required Deliverables

Inception Report

(Maximum 20 pages excluding annexes)

Must include:

• Evaluation framework.
• Methodology.
• Sampling strategy.
• Evaluation matrix.
• Stakeholder mapping.
• Work plan and Gantt chart.

Preliminary Findings Presentation

(Maximum 30 slides)

Draft Evaluation Report

(Maximum 40 pages excluding annexes)

Final Evaluation Report

(Maximum 40 pages excluding annexes)

Final Presentation

(Maximum 25 slides)

Additional Deliverables

• Data collection tools.
• Cleaned datasets.
• Codebook/data dictionary.
• Ethical approvals (where required).
• Survey implementation report.
• Evaluation evidence log.
• Webinar and dissemination materials.

---

Required Team Composition

Senior Evaluators

• Minimum one senior evaluator.
• At least 10 years of evaluation experience.
• Minimum 60 working days including 20 field days.

Circular Economy Expert

• At least 5 years of sector experience.

Field Data Collection Specialist

• Minimum 5 years of experience managing surveys and enumerator training.

Additional Requirements

• Strong gender balance encouraged.
• English fluency required.
• Swahili fluency required for Tanzania-based fieldwork.
• Bemba fluency required for Zambia-based fieldwork.

---

Administrative Requirements

Applicants must submit:

• Business License.
• TIN Certificate.
• EFD Receipt.
• Proposed payment terms.

---

Technical Proposal Requirements

The proposal should include:

• Understanding of the assignment.
• Proposed methodology.
• Gender and inclusion approach.
• Risk analysis and mitigation plan.
• Team structure and competencies.
• Task allocation.
• CVs of proposed experts (maximum five pages each).
• Gantt chart.

Maximum length: 15 pages (excluding annexes)

---

Financial Proposal Requirements

The budget should clearly itemize:

• Professional fees.
• Travel costs.
• Fieldwork expenses.
• Data collection costs.
• Translation (Swahili and Bemba).
• Taxes.
• Any additional costs necessary to complete the assignment.

---

Evaluation of Proposals

CRS will apply:

• Technical Proposal: 80%
• Financial Proposal: 20%

Technical Evaluation Criteria

Criteria	Points
Understanding of ToR	10
Methodology & Quality Control	25
Organizational Capacity	5
Work Plan & Timeline	10
Team Expertise	50
Total	100

Minimum Technical Score: 75/100

---

Submission Information

Clarification Questions

Submit by:

30 July 2026, 17:00 (EAT)

Email: Joshua.charles@crs.org

Proposal Submission Deadline

31 July 2026, 17:00 (EAT)

Submission Email

tz_quotations@crs.org

Required Email Subject

CRS_TZ_VOICES-MTE 2026 OFFER SUBMISSION

---

DOWNLOAD THE FULL TENDER NOTICE HERE