Terms of Reference for Evaluator -Final Project Evaluation of Building Voices & Creating Choices
1. Project Background and Context
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Project Name
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Addressing Socio-Economic Vulnerabilities of Tea Workers in West Bengal and Assam – Building Voices and Creating Choices
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Project Location
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North Bengal: 3 districts (Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong & Darjeeling)
Assam: 2 districts (Udalgiri & Kokrajhar)
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Project duration
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1st January 2022 to 30th September 2026
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Project budget
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Donors
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Swiss Philanthropy Foundation
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Implementing agency and partners
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Prasari (North Bengal) & Grameen Sahara (Assam)
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India’s tea industry is the second largest employer in the formal sector, supporting over million people, most of them women and is concentrated in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. North Bengal, plays a key role in this sector, contributing to 25% of India’s production. However, climate change, declining tea quality and demand, and persistent socio-economic challenges—such as low wages, poor living conditions, limited healthcare, and lack of social security—have significantly impacted tea worker communities. Tea workers are especially vulnerable, facing low incomes, under employment, limited access to government schemes, and restricted decision-making power for women, often leading to distress migration and unsafe work conditions.
To address these issues, Transform Trade, in partnership with its implementing partner Prasari, has implemented a program across 25 tea gardens in Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, and Kalimpong districts of West Bengal. The initiative focuses on strengthening women and youth groups representing 3,000 households (intensive intervention), 3000 households with non-intensive interventions, improving awareness and access to rights and entitlements, enhancing livelihood opportunities and resilience, promoting climate-adaptive practices, and enabling collective action through civil society engagement. The major objective includes:
- Strengthened community groups of Women and Youth representing 3000 tea worker households from 25 tea estates in West Benga to access rights, schemes and entitlements through improved awareness, leadership and joint action.
- 3000HHs in West Bengal and 500 youths have increased resilience and choices through knowledge of improved practices, new skills, services and information thereby improving their livelihood and income opportunities.
- To establish a mode for improving productivity and mitigating risks of climate change through adoption of climate adaptive practices in two tea select gardens of West Bengal
- Informal Forum of Civil Society Organisations constructively engage for giving greater voice and visibility to the conditions of tea worker community through collective action and advocacy.
Geographical spread:
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District
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Block
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No. of Tea Estate
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New Jalpaiguri
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4
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19
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Darjeeling
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1
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2
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Kalimpong
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1
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4
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In parallel, Transform Trade, in collaboration with Grameen Sahara, is implementing a two-year project in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) of Assam. This project promotes sustainable tea production through agro-ecological practices, targeting 500 small tea growers across up to 1,000 acres. It aims to build producer groups, promote climate resilient agriculture and provide better market access, while building local capacity through community resource persons (Tea Mitras) and encouraging climate-resilient, diversified farming systems. The major objective includes:
- Strengthening Natural Farming initiatives through integration of farmers’- led agroecological practices in Kokrajhar and Udalguri districts of BTR, to enhance quality leaf production and improved access to markets.
- Improving income of 500 small tea growers (250 intensive & 250 non-intensive) covering 1000 acres of land areas by adopting climate-resilient practices in agriculture.
- Promotion of local cadre- community resource persons (CRP)/ Tea Mitra as local level facilitator to facilitate project implementation at field level and to provide advisory support to the STGs.
Geographical Spread:
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District
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Block
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STG
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Kokrajhar
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4
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105
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Udalgiri
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1
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158
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2. Purpose and Objectives of the Evaluation
This is an independent end of project evaluation designed to assess the project against its own stated goals and objectives and to derive learning for Transform Trade and its partners. The specific objectives of the evaluation are to:
- Compare the results and progress of the project against the baseline
- Identify impact and ways it can be sustained.
- Provide an analysis of the extent to which project funds have been used efficiently and effectively.
- Develop recommendations for further developments of the project or the guidance of similar projects in the future.
- Draw key lessons learned to contribute to the organisational learning of Transform Trade , Prasari & Grameen Sahara.
3. Evaluation Issues and Key Questions
There are three fundamental questions that this evaluation should address:
- Did we do what we said we would do in this project? (Validity)
- Did it make any difference? (Impact Assessment)
- What would we do differently? (Strategic relevance and learning)
The broad key questions to be answered by the evaluator against the project log frame are given as under:
3.1 Quality and Relevance of Project Design
Given that the project context, threats, unforeseen situations and opportunities may have changed during the project, please assess the appropriateness and relevance of the project design. Assess what adjustments were made and what others might have been necessary. Specific questions include:
- To what extent did the project design address the priorities, problems, and development challenges identified in the proposal, and were the selected components and approaches appropriate and effective?
- To what extent did the project contribute to the achievement of its intended outputs and outcomes as defined in the logical framework?
- How have the initially identified problems and the broader external context (e.g., policy changes, pandemic, country/state dynamics) evolved, and how effectively did the project adapt to these changes?
- What external factors supported or hindered the project’s implementation and future sustainability?
- What lessons can be drawn from the project design, and what could be done differently if a similar project were to be implemented again?
3.2 Efficiency of Planning and Implementation
It is a key concern of many funders that funding should be deployed efficiently. Assess to what extent resources were used economically to deliver the project. Specific questions include:
- What activities were undertaken to achieve project results, and how efficiently were they implemented in terms of time, cost, expertise, and quality? Were resources allocated strategically, and could similar results have been achieved more economically?
- To what extent were activities implemented as planned and on time? Were there any planned activities that were not carried out, and what were the reasons?
- What roles and responsibilities were assumed by each partner (including Transform Trade), how did these evolve over time, and how effectively were these roles carried out?
- How successful were partners in their project management (including grant management) and implementation roles, and how could these be improved?
- To what extent did the implementing partners contribute to addressing the project’s development challenges, and how did the monitoring framework adopted by partners add value in improving project efficiency?
3.3 Effectiveness
Assess the achievements of the project in relation to its stated objectives and intended outcomes/ results. This should be a systematic assessment of progress against the final version of project log frame as agreed with the lead funder (see Annex 1). Data already provided by the project’s monitoring and reporting systems should provide much of the basic information (Both quantitative and qualitative data should be referred before arriving at a decision)
- To what extent did the project successfully reach its intended geographical areas and target groups?
- What key activities and interventions were undertaken by Transform Trade and its implementing partners to achieve the project objectives?
- What outcomes and results (expected, unintended, and unexpected) have been achieved? Which objectives were most successful, and what were the key factors driving these achievements?
- What is the scope, magnitude, and strategic significance of the changes achieved through the project?
- What has not been achieved, and what were the key challenges, failures, or missed opportunities that explain these gaps?
- What was the nature and extent of participation of disadvantaged groups (e.g., Dalit, Adivasi, women, children), and how were they affected by the project (positively or negatively)?
- To what extent were the original project assumptions realised? What risks were identified, did they materialise, and how effectively were they managed?
- What notable experiences, best practices, case studies, or innovations (e.g., convergence efforts, innovative practices etc.) emerged from the project?
- To what extent were the project indicators achieved, as outlined in the logframe (Annex 1), and how does performance compare against planned targets?
3.4 Impact
- To what extent has the project contributed to its intended goal and generated long-term positive effects on target groups and beneficiaries?
- To what extent can observed changes and impacts be attributed to the project, as opposed to external factors? What might have happened in the absence of the project (counterfactual)?
- How has the project impacted specific groups, particularly women and youth?
- To what extent has the project influenced changes in attitudes and behaviours of key stakeholders?
- Has the project generated any broader impacts beyond the direct target groups (e.g., wider community, youth, or external stakeholders) through spillover, learning, or replication?
- Based on current results, what long-term impacts are likely to be sustained or scaled?
3.5 Potential for sustainability and replication
Assess the key factors affecting the sustainability of the project.
- To what extent are the results and impacts of the project likely to be sustained in social, institutional, and economic terms? What key factors will influence their continuity without further external support?
- To what extent has the project built on and strengthened local potential, stakeholders, institutions, and systems? How committed are participating organisations, communities, and beneficiaries to continue applying the knowledge, skills, and practices introduced?
- What actions and decisions have been taken by project governance bodies and implementing partners to ensure sustainability? Which organisations or mechanisms are likely to ensure continuity of project activities?
- What elements of the project demonstrate potential for replication or scaling? Is there evidence of uptake beyond the project area, and what factors enable or constrain such expansion?
- How could the project have been designed or implemented to enhance sustainability (e.g., deeper engagement with groups, shifts in power structures, behavioural change)? To what extent are these approaches replicable?
Assess and make recommendations on the key strategic options for the future of the project, i.e., exit, scale down, replication, scale-up, continuation, major modifications
- Comment on any existing plans
- Make recommendations in addition
3.6 Findings and Recommendations
- What were the main successes and failures of the project, and why?
- What are the challenges and how can they be addressed?
- Which changes/ actions are needed for appropriate and successful implementation?
3.7 Lessons Learned
Learning from experience to improve future practice is of strategic importance to Transform Trade and its partners and specific learning questions are identified for each project.
Using participatory processes to draw on the experience and knowledge of key project stakeholders, the evaluator should identify any learning derived in relation these specific questions and more generally any learning from the implementation of the project that can be incorporated into future activities.
The specific learning questions for this project are:
- What are the key learnings from project implementation, including progress, programme activities, and approaches tested on the ground with partners?
- What have been the key learnings related to project partnerships, including coordination, roles, and collaboration effectiveness?
Provision of support
Dipankar Sen Gupta (dipankar.sengupta@traidcraft.org) will provide overall strategic guidance to the programme, working in close coordination with the Project Evaluation Group from Transform Trade & implementation partners, and the study team. For day-to-day queries the evaluator will contact Akriti Singh (akriti.singh@traidcraft.org) for any support necessary.
Kallol Ghosh of Transform Trade (kallol.ghosh@traidcraft.org)/, Puja Halder (puja.prasari21@gmail.com) & Raj Kumar Das (raj.prasari@gmail.com) of Prasari & Sikwna Branhma (sikwna@gmail.com) from Grameen Sahara will be the point of contact for informing stakeholders of any interviews or focus groups, for providing the contacts of people to be interviewed, dates of visit and itinerary & logistical support.
For detailed information, please check the complete version of the RFP attached below.