PARTNERSHIP REVIEW AND IMPACT DOCUMENTATION FOR THE ACTING NOW PROGRAM IN KENYA & ETHIOPIA Full Time NEW

A. Introduction

Solidaridad is an international solution-oriented civil society organization working through regional expertise centers to transform markets to make them more sustainable and inclusive. Our network consists of seven regional expertise centers: Asia, East and Central Africa, West Africa, Southern Africa, Europe, Latin America, and North America. In East and Central Africa, Solidaridad is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya with country offices and programmes in Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda. We bring together supply chain players and engage them with innovative solutions to improve production, ensuring the transition to a sustainable and inclusive economy that maximizes the benefit for all. We facilitate the strengthening of local capacity in developing countries, support the creation of enabling environments for economies to thrive, and improve market access.

B. Program Summary

Solidaridad, with funding from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is implementing a food security program in Kenya and Ethiopia titled ACTING NOW FOR FOOD SECURITY AND RESILIENT FOOD SYSTEMS (ACTING NOW PROGRAM). The program has been running since 2023 and will end in 2025. In Kenya, the program intended to reach 70,000 smallholder farmers (of which 60% are women) from Kwale, Makueni, and Taita Taveta Counties. The program also intended to support 15 cooperatives and producer hubs that can deliver production and marketing services in the mentioned counties. In Ethiopia, the aim is to improve the resilience of 20,000 smallholder farmers (of which 60% are women) from Butajira in the Central Ethiopia Region, and 13 cooperatives and 2 farmer unions are supported to deliver production and marketing services.

The program has been working with county governments, local administrations, input service providers, farmer federations, and smallholder farmers, among others, to ensure seeds, alternative fertilizers, planting material, agri-inputs, and advisory services are readily available to boost food production.

1. The Methodology
2. Scope of Work: Partner analysis

Partner analysis ensures that project interventions consider all partners in the project’s target area and increase the chance that projects will ‘do no harm’ and hopefully create positive change with regard to food security. The partner analysis should aim to answer the following key questions:

1. Partner relevance: Did the program make the right choices of partners?
   1. Partnership efficiencies: Did we work in tandem, close communication, value for money, among others.
      1. Partner contribution: In terms of additionality to the program’s objectives, what have partners contributed?
         1. Program impact: Relooking into the achievements from 2023 to date. How did the partners contribute to sustainable impact and local knowledge?
         2. The program aimed to (1) boost food production and volumes so as to boost food availability, and to (2) address the main bottlenecks or structural weaknesses that stand in the way of sustaining higher volumes of safe food. Taking into account the above, have the partnerships created solutions to the current vulnerable food systems?
2. Scope of Work: Visual Storytelling Assignment – Videography & Photography

Objective:

To tell powerful, human-centered stories that capture the transformative impact of the Acting Now program on small-scale farmers in Kenya and Ethiopia. Through compelling visual storytelling, the assignment will illustrate how project-promoted practices and technologies are improving lives, serving as a key advocacy tool to inspire strategic actions among key actors as well as mobilize investment in the program’s high-impact interventions. The final content will be used across various platforms, including:

• Website
• Social media (YouTube, LinkedIn)
• Promotional emails
• Impact and other donor reports

Deliverables:

1. Storytelling Photography

• Capture authentic, high-quality images (portrait, medium, and wide) of the selected farmers, focusing on their daily lives, challenges, and impact.
• Include portraits, work-in-action shots, and scenes that reflect personality, emotion, and transformation.
• Highlight different stages/aspects of the project promoted practices.
• Include playful, engaging moments (e.g. laughter, interaction, product pride) to bring stories to life.

1. Storytelling Videos

• Produce five short documentary-style videos (~4 minutes each) that narrate the journeys of selected farmers.
• Videos should follow a clear storytelling arc—introducing the farmer, their challenges, their adoption of project solutions, their impact, and their outlook for the future.
• Integrate footage of farmers and practices in action and other value chain activities, as applicable.
• Deliver each video in four formats:
  • Landscape with English subtitles
  • Landscape without subtitles
  • Social media format (1080×1350) with subtitles
  • Social media format (1080×1350) without subtitles
• All videos must include the provided logos, in line with provided branding guidelines.

Consent:
Always obtain consent before filming or photographing individuals. Verbal consent is sufficient for general images, but written consent will be required for interviews or close-up portrayals.

Collaboration:
The final story concepts will be co-developed by Solidaridad and the selected visual storyteller to ensure alignment with program goals and messaging.

1. Responsibilities of Consultants

The composition of the survey team is left up to the consultant/organization based on their internal system, ideas, and logic. However, Solidaridad recommends that the team comprise one Team Leader (TL) to coordinate/conduct the overall study and storytelling in close collaboration with Solidaridad. To collect information from the field using an adequate number of Field Enumerators (FEs). Supervision of the fieldwork and the quality (reliability and validity) of the data/information collected from the field is the primary responsibility of the TL. The TL will work closely with the Solidaridad Project, M&E, Gender, Communications, and Country leads. In each step and process, consultation with the Solidaridad team is vital.

In Kenya the survey and storytelling assignments will be conducted in; Makueni, Taita Taveta and Kwale Counties, and in Ethiopia the survey shall be carried out in Butajira in the Central Ethiopia region.

1. Deliverables

The consultant should deliver the following:

1. An Expression of interest (EOI), outlining

• A detailed methodology for implementation
• Draft data collection tools
• A detailed work plan
  1. Final Deliverables: A partner analysis report including one impact story (narrative) for each key project solutions, and professional photos, and videos (5)

F. Expert/Consultant’s Profile:

Consultancy firms/companies with relevant experience and capacity that fulfill the following requirements are encouraged to submit an expression of interest.

• The consulting firm should have teams in both countries
• Demonstrated experience related to this ToR
• The consulting firm should have a better understanding of food security issues.

Tagged as: Kenya, Solidaridad East & Central Africa