|
Tenders are invited for Mid-Term Review (MTR) for the Resilient Approaches in Natural Rangeland Ecosystems (RANGE) Programme. Closing Date: 29 May 2026 The Resilient Approaches in Natural Rangeland Ecosystems (RANGE) Programme is a five-year resilience and livelihoods initiative implemented by Mercy Corps in northern Kenya, with programming in Marsabit (Maikona, Laisamis, Sagante/Jaldesa, and Golbo Wards), Isiolo (Burat, Chari, Kinna, and Ngaremara Wards), and Samburu (Baawa, Lodokejek, Waso, and Wamba West Wards). The programme is funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN) and operates in arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) characterized by high climate variability, recurrent drought, natural resource-based conflict, fragile governance systems, and underdeveloped livestock market systems. Pastoralist and agro-pastoralist livelihoods in these counties are highly dependent on rangeland ecosystems and livestock production, making communities particularly vulnerable to climate shocks, environmental degradation, insecurity, and weak service delivery. Degraded rangelands, limited access to water and animal health services, constrained market opportunities, and weak coordination among communities, government institutions, and private sector actors have historically undermined resilience and sustainable development across these landscapes. RANGE was designed to respond to these interconnected challenges through a systems-oriented and landscape-based approach that recognizes the interdependence between ecosystem health, livelihoods, governance, markets, and evidence-based decision-making. Rather than focusing solely on direct service delivery, the programme emphasizes strengthening institutions, improving market systems, enhancing coordination among market actors, and catalyzing sustainable practices that can endure beyond the life of the project. Through this approach, RANGE seeks to strengthen household and systems resilience, improve the productivity and sustainability of rangeland-based livelihoods, support more effective and inclusive governance of natural resources, and contribute to more resilient market systems in northern Kenya. 1.1 Programme Goal and Outcomes The overall goal of the RANGE Programme is to strengthen the resilience of ASAL communities, contributing to sustainable economic and social development within a well-managed landscape. To achieve this goal, RANGE is structured around four interrelated outcomes: Outcome 1: Improved rangeland management repairs ecosystem health and increases food, nutrition, and water security. This outcome focuses on strengthening formal and informal rangeland governance systems, promoting inclusive and sustainable rangeland management, scaling integrated water resource management interventions, and expanding access to green technologies that support livestock systems and climate adaptation. Outcome 2: Sustainable livestock and alternative livelihood production and competitiveness of markets are strengthened within an improved policy environment. This outcome seeks to enhance livestock productivity and herd management, expand access to animal health services and inputs, support alternative livelihoods and financial inclusion, and strengthen market systems through engagement with private sector actors and facilitation of domestic and international market linkages. Outcome 3: Improved linkages among and between communities and government structures support collaboration on economic, environmental, and social issues that promote stability and sustained development. This outcome emphasizes participatory governance, peacebuilding and conflict prevention, inter-county and cross-border coordination, publicprivate partnerships, and the use of community-generated evidence to influence policies, legislation, and public investment decisions. Outcome 4: Strengthened research and evidence-based programming contribute to impactful implementation, effective coordination, early warning and early action, innovation, and learning for resilient ASAL communities. This outcome focuses on building robust research and learning systems, improving awareness and use of geospatial and planning tools, implementing longitudinal data collection protocols, and strengthening the capacity of government, research institutions, and local partners to generate, use, and disseminate evidence. 1.2 Implementation Approach RANGE applies an integrated implementation approach that combines Integrated Participatory Land and Rangeland Management (IPLRM), Market Systems Development (MSD) principles, participatory governance, and adaptive management. Programme activities are implemented through collaboration with county governments, community institutions, local implementing partners, private sector actors, and research institutions. Cross-cutting themes, including gender equity, youth inclusion, conflict sensitivity, climate resilience, and safeguarding, are embedded across programme outcomes and activities to ensure that implementation is inclusive, context-responsive, and sustainable. 1.3 Rationale for a Mid-Term Review The RANGE Programme commenced on 1 January 2024 and is scheduled to conclude on 31 December 2028. At this midpoint, the programme has moved beyond start-up and systems establishment into a more mature phase of implementation, creating an important opportunity to assess progress, examine how well programme strategies and assumptions are holding in practice, and identify adjustments needed for the remaining implementation period. The Mid-Term Review will provide an independent and structured assessment of the programmes relevance, coherence, progress, effectiveness, and emerging results, while also examining the continued suitability of the results framework, implementation approaches, and partnership arrangements. As both a learning and accountability milestone, the review will help Mercy Corps, partners, county stakeholders, and EKN identify what is working, what requires adjustment, and where programme efforts and resources should be prioritized to strengthen performance, adaptive management, and sustainability during the remainder of the programme period. 2. Purpose of the MTR The purpose of the Mid-Term Review (MTR) is to assess the progress, relevance, strategic performance, and emerging results of the Resilient Approaches in Natural Rangeland Ecosystems (RANGE) Programme at the midpoint of implementation, and to generate actionable evidence and learning to strengthen programme implementation, effectiveness, coherence, and contribution during the remaining implementation period. Consistent with Mercy Corps and donor evaluation standards, the exercise will serve both learning and accountability functions, with primary emphasis on formative learning, adaptive management, and strategic decision-making rather than summative judgement or full attribution of long-term impact. The review is not intended to function as a MEL audit. Rather, it will provide an independent and structured assessment of how the programme is evolving, how well its strategies and assumptions are holding in practice, what early results and signals of change are emerging, and what adjustments are needed to strengthen performance during the remaining implementation period. Specifically, the MTR will: assess the extent to which RANGEs strategies, approaches, and Theory of Change assumptions remain valid and appropriate in a dynamic ASAL context characterized by climate shocks, conflict, market volatility, and changing governance conditions; assess the maturity, trajectory, and strategic relevance of interventions, recognizing that some programme components may still be in early or intermediate stages of implementation; identify and analyse early signs of change and emerging outcome patterns at community, market system, institutional, and governance levels; explore how external shocks and crises encountered during implementation, including climate events, conflict dynamics, and policy shifts, have influenced programme delivery, sequencing, performance, and emerging results; draw on existing monitoring data, programme documentation, and stakeholder perspectives to identify what is working, where performance is uneven, and which knowledge gaps require further inquiry; assess the extent to which Mercy Corps, implementing partners, and relevant local institutions have the technical, operational, and MEL-related capacities required to support quality implementation, adaptive management, and sustainability of programme interventions; make recommendations on capacity needed to deliver the programme scope. generate practical recommendations to refine programme design, implementation modalities, partnerships, sequencing, targeting, and measurement approaches for the remainder of the programme period; and provide evidence to inform FY4 work planning, budgeting, donor engagement, and future endline preparation. Given the programmes stage of implementation, the MTR will not attempt to assess final impact or make definitive causal claims about long-term behaviour change. Instead, it will focus on plausible contribution pathways, early outcome signals, and enabling conditions that indicate whether the programme is on track to achieve its intended outcomes over time. 2.1. Intended Audience: Who wants the information? The primary intended users of the Mid-Term Review (MTR) findings are: The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN), as the programme donor, for accountability, strategic oversight, and ongoing engagement on programme performance and adaptation; Mercy Corps Kenya Country Leadership and RANGE senior management, for strategic decision-making, FY4 planning and budgeting, implementation adaptation, and resource prioritization; Mercy Corps regional and global technical, resilience, and MEL teams, for technical support, quality assurance, Tender Link : https://reliefweb.int/job/4213022/mid-term-review-mtr-resilient-approaches-natural-rangeland-ecosystems-range-programme
|
