Consultancy - Sample Assignments

Date	Client	Title/Description of Assignment
2008 – 2011	UK Department for International Development (DFID)	Lead Consultant – Implementation of the Research into Use Programme The Research Into Use Programme (RIU) is intended to increase demand for the natural resource research findings that were produced under the DFID's Renewable Natural Resources Research Strategy (RNRRS), by promoting innovative strategies to facilitate the flow of technology and information between individuals, organisations and institutions. EDI is responsible for design and implementation of all funds management systems including application, selection, disbursement, liquidation, monitoring and reporting.
2008-2010	Swiss Agency for Cooperation and Development (SDC)	Implementing Agency for the Traditional Knowledge for Health (TKH) Fund Project The TKH project aims to contribute to the promotion and regulation of traditional health knowledge and practices, and improve the collaboration between the traditional and the formal Tanzanian health sector. EDI has been contracted to act as the implementing agency for TKH fund in Tanzania and is responsible for all aspects of the management and monitoring of the Traditional Knowledge for Health project in Tanzania. Including: · Development of all organisational systems and processes including Funds management, monitoring and evaluation and reporting; · Technical assistance to partners in proposal and budget development; · Provision of Organisational Development support to partner organisations; · Proposal and budget review and approval; · Contracting and managing invoices, disbursement of funds and supervising their use; · Review and processing of progress reports and conducting monitoring site visits; · Communication with grantees; · Annual financial audits.
June-August 2007	President's Office – Public Service Management (PO-PSM)	Review of the Rules, Regulations and Procedures Governing the Promotion of Diversity and the Prevention of Discrimination in the Tanzanian Public Service Undertook a review of the rules, regulations and procedures governing the promotion of diversity and the prevention of discrimination in Public Service employment practices. Included: · Review of the Acts, Regulations, Policies and other legal and administrative instruments governing diversity in the Public Service in order to identify redundancies, inconsistencies and duplications. Culminating in recommendations for revisions to the legal and administrative framework to increase the effectiveness of diversity initiatives in the Public Service. · Review of how issues of diversity are incorporated in all stages of four HR Management Procedures (recruitment, promotion, performance appraisal and staff development). Resulted in recommendations for reengineering to each procedure to ensure that diversity if fully mainstreamed into all decision making processes and proposals for affirmative action interventions. · Comparison of the Diversity of the Public Service Workforce with Tanzanian Labour Force Characteristics. · Review of Human Capital Management Information System (HCMIS) and development of strategies for utilising centralised employee data to more effectively monitor diversity initiatives. · Recommendations for updating Public Service Commission's HR Compliance Inspection routine to incorporate issues of discrimination in its inspections.
February - May 2007	Foundation for Civil Society (FCS)	Evaluation of the Civil Society Projects Funded by the Foundation for Civil Society including Impact Assessment, Financial and Activity Audits and Procedural Compliance Inspection. The Foundation for Civil Society is Tanzania's largest Civil Society funding organisation with an annual grants’ budget in excess of US$4 million. The Foundation is supported by DfID, Royal Netherlands Embassy and CIDA. Following on from EDI's previous evaluations (2003 & 2005) of FCS funded projects consultants undertook evaluations of projects implemented by 93 Civil Society Organisations across Tanzania. Impact Assessments of 70 CSOs included an evaluation of each grantees' capacity, legitimacy, effectiveness, continuity and achievement of project outputs/outcomes. The assessments involved a review of the grantees records, interviews with CSO management and Focus Group Discussions with project beneficiaries. Financial and Activity Audit included assessment of the compliance of 58 CSOs with contractual terms of the funding agreements, assessment of activities undertaken, financial accounts and performance analysis. The adequacy and robustness of the CSOs Financial Management Systems were also evaluated. Procedural Compliance Inspections included assessment of the compliance to FCS processes for application, approval, disbursement, monitoring and evaluation, reporting and grant closure for 58 funded projects. FCS and Grantee records were reviewed with a view to identifying areas on non compliance on the part of either the Foundation or the CSO and to identify potential areas for for business process reengineering.
March - April 2007	Swiss Agency for Cooperation and Development	Second External Review of the Rapid Funding Envelope for HIV/AIDS The Rapid Funding Envelope was established in 2002 by TACAIDS and a group of bilateral donors (including CIDA, DANIDA, DCI, SDC, DfID and USAID) as a funding mechanism to to support innovative interventions by CSOs responding to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. In 2007, EDI consultants undertook a thorough review of the RFE's performance, relevance and institutional arrangements. The Performance in terms of both effectiveness and efficiency of the RFE's present management structure, grants management systems, monitoring and evaluatio, communication, dissemination of information and programme coverage were assessed. With particular focus on whether the programme is well managed, rapid, transparent, user-friendly and responsive to the needs of CSOs. Relevance in the present HIV/AIDS financing context and changing aid environment. Relationships with other funding mechanisms (CARF, GFATM, etc) were reviewed together with an assessment of the current areas of support, national coverage and funding mechanisms. The Institutional Arrangements for the RFE were reviewed against the current context of support to the HIV/AIDS programmes in Tanzania. Detailed recommendations were prepared for the medium to long term institutional arrangements for the RFE. The review involved the maximum participation of all RFE stakeholders including donors, RFE Managing Agents, Goverment of Tanzania, Tanzanian and International HIV/AIDS organisations, Bi- and Multi-lateral Donors, RFE and Non-RFE supported CSOs, Beneficiaries and Non-Beneficiaries through desk based review, one on one interviews and Focus Group Discussions.
October - November 2006	President's Office – Public Service Commission	Compliance to Public Service HR Regulations In 2006/07 the Public Service Commission began scaling up the HR Compliance Inspection System (developed by EDI Ltd) to include a further 40 Public Service Organisations (20 Ministries, 10 Regional Secretariats and 10 Local Government Authorities). An Awareness Raising Workshop was facilitated by EDI to introduce HR Managers of all organisations to be assessed in the second round to the HRCI system. The workshop introduced participants to the rationale, methodologies and outputs of the Compliance Inspection System.
August 2006 - Ongoing	HIVOS - Netherlands	Evaluation of Microfinance Programmes Detailed review of HIVOS funded Microfinance Programmes operating in Central and Northwest Tanzania. The review included an evaluation of the programmes' financial management systems and reporting standards and assessed the accuracy of the data provided in progress reports.
September - October 2006	President's Office – Public Service Management	Evaluation of the Public Service's Performance Improvement Fund (PIF). Evaluation of a $6 million (USD) Public Service grants fund including a review of the grants application process, grants management systems and monitoring and evaluation systems in order to identify strategies for improving the effective disbursement of funds and maximising the benefits of the programme.
June - September 2006	President's Office – Public Service Management	Public Service HR Business Process Reengineering Task Force Building on EDI's previous assignments on behalf of the President's Office an EDI consultant facilitated a inter-ministerial task force in the reengineering of Human Resource legislation, policies, procedures and supporting systems. The outputs of the assignment included a paper recommending changes to Public Service HR legislation (including the Public Service Act No 8 of 2002, Standing Orders of 1994 and Public Service Regulations of 2003). In addition, a series of administrative changes to the individual HR Procedures (Discipline, Recruitment, Leave etc) were proposed. The proposal highlighted the weaknesses and constraints associated with the current HR procedures and recommended reengineered processes. Each reengineered procedure was presented in a clear step by step format highlighting the the roles and responsibilities of all actors, suggested timeframes for each step, redesigned tools (forms, formats and letters) and integrating each procedure with the Public Service Human Capital Management Information System (HCMIS). The proposed procedures have now been ratified by the key central government Ministries and will be piloted in early 2007.
January – August 2006	President's Office – Public Service Commission	Design and Implementation of a Human Resource Compliance Inspection System for the Public Service Tanzanian Public Service organisations (including Ministries, Independent Departments, Executive Agencies, Public Institutions, Regional Secretariats and Local Government Authorities) employ over 325,000 people. It is a core function of the President's Office - Public Service Commission to monitor of the employment practices of these organisations to ensure that the service is efficiently and effectively managed and that employees are treated fairly. In 2006, EDI consultants developed Tanzania's first national HR Compliance Inspection system to be used as the Commission's main tool for monitoring public sector employment practices. The Assignment involved 6 key activities: Design of an inspection routine, tools and supporting manuals, including the development of a Bespoke database to capture and analyse compliance data. Training of Public Service Commission inspectors to carry out and report on compliance inspections. Including capacity building of the Commission administration in the planning, administration and implementation of compliance inspections. Raising Awareness with Public Service Employers through workshops and information packs introducing the purpose, methodology and outputs of HR compliance inspections. Facilitation of the Inspectorates first round of compliance inspections providing back stopping support to the inspection teams, data entry and inspectorate administration. Analysis of inspection data and preparation of a comparative study of compliance across the public service for presentation to the President of the United Republic of Tanzania. Formulation of recommendations for the future development the Inspectorate and the compliance inspection system.
Ongoing (September 2005 to date)	HIVOS, Netherlands	Evaluation of DFE-Dodoma Microfinance – Achievement of Targets and Compliance with Contractual obligations –– HIVOS Ongoing performance assessment of DFE-Dodoma and its member Savings and Credit Associations (SACCOS). Activities include: Assessment of the achievement of internal financial and operational targets and of compliance to contractual obligations. Recommendations for improved procedures and design of new audit inspection routine for SACCOS.
September – December 2005	President's Office – Public Service Management	Business process Re-engineering of Public Service HR Procedures and Their Computerisation As a part of the Public Service Reform Programme EDI consultants conducted a detailed review of all processes used in the HR management of the Public Service. The review included: A detailed desk study of Tanzanian regulations, acts, policies, standing orders and other statutory documents relating to Human Resource management. Field visits to Ministries, Regions and Local Government Authorities to evaluate the current levels of implementation of these procedures and to identify constraints faced by the organisations responsible for implementation. Identification of areas of redundancy, duplication and non-alignment of paper and computer instruments with subsequent recommendations for change in administrative processes, computerised processes, papers, forms, letters etc. Formulation of recommendations for the improvement of current procedures, policies, rules and regulations relating to HR management of the Public Service.
May 2005 – January 2006	EuropeAid	Evaluation of European Community Support to the United Republic of Tanzania in conjunction with Eureval-C3E. Assessment of all funding support and Technical Assistance provided by European Commission and its subsidiary agencies (such as the European Investment Bank) to Tanzania from 2000 to 2005. The Evaluation included: A Desk based study of all EC supported interventions Detailed analysis of individual EC funded projects including field visits, focus groups, interviews of EC Delegation, Government Officials and Non State Actors. Impact Assessment of the EC's support to Education, Transport, Agriculture, Trade and Regional Integration, Macro-economics, incl. PRBS, Governance and cross-cutting themes such as gender, HIV/AIDS, environment. The evaluation culminated in a final report which provided an overall independent judgment of the extent to which ECs strategy, programs and projects have contributed to progress towards the Tanzanian PRSP objectives and highlighting success factors
February - April 2005	The Foundation for Civil Society	Evaluation of the Civil Society Projects Funded by the Foundation for Civil Society including Impact Assessment, Financial and Activity Audits and Procedural Compliance Inspection. The Foundation for Civil Society is Tanzania's largest Civil Society funding organisation with an annual grants’ budget in excess of US$4 million. The Foundation is supported by DfID, Royal Netherlands Embassy and CIDA. Following on from EDI's previous evaluation in 2003 consultants undertook evaluations of projects implemented by over 60 Civil Society Organisations across Tanzania. Impact Assessments of 30 CSOs included an evaluation of each grantees' capacity, legitimacy, effectiveness, continuity and achievement of project outputs/outcomes. The assessments involved a review of the grantees records, interviews with CSO management and Focus Group Discussions with project beneficiaries. Financial and Activity Audit included assessment of the compliance of 53 CSOs with contractual terms of the funding agreements, assessment of activities undertaken, financial accounts and performance analysis. The adequacy and robustness of the CSOs Financial Management Systems were also evaluated. Procedural Compliance Inspections included assessment of the compliance to FCS processes for application, approval, disbursement, monitoring and evaluation, reporting and grant closure for 53 funded projects. FCS and Grantee records were reviewed with a view to identifying areas on non compliance on the part of either the Foundation or the CSO and to identify potential areas for for business process reengineering. Business Process Reengineering included the review and reengineering of the Foundation for Civil Society's policies and grants management systems to improve service delivery to, and reduce administrative burden on Grantee organisations
September - December 2004	President's Office – Public Service Management	Annual Impact Assessment for Public Service Reform Programme – Compliance Study Compliance to HR and administrative policies and procedures and provision to the GOT of a generic monitoring and evaluation system and tools, for future and continued use throughout all ministries, departments and agencies. Activities included the development of an HR Compliance inspection system including assessment and data analysis tools. Compliance inspections were undertaken in five central Government Ministries. Culminating in a report analysing compliance inspection data.
November 2003 - May 2004	Royal Netherlands Embassy – District Rural Development Programme	Financial Department Procedural Evaluation and Redesign - Financial Administration of Seven Local Government Authorities Detailed procedural and governance audit were undertaken in 7 Local Government Authorities in Northern Tanzania– (Muleba, Karagwe, Biharamulo, Kahama, Bukombe, Karatu and Meatu). Audit activities included: Compliance assessment to Government policies, regulations, procedures and sound ‘governance' practices; Review of current procedures to determine the causes of inadequacies/inefficiencies in existing management systems, planning, controls and practices, identifying and analysing human resource capabilities. Provision of strategic recommendations and re-engineering of processes required for the improvement of the district councils' management systems to improve its eligibility to meet the criteria for increased fiscal decentralization.
November - December 2003	MAYAWA (Funded by HIVOS, Netherlands)	Business Process Re-engineering from Donor Funded Program to Private Sector Organizational assessment, activity and performance analysis for MAYAWA which including an analysis of organizational capacity and redesign of future business model including required future business process and legal framework changes.
March - July 2003	Civil Society Foundation (DFID, Netherlands Embassy, SIDA, Ireland Aid, Norwegian Embassy)	Policy and Procedure Compliance Culminating in Process Re-engineering of Grants Management Procedures and Activity Audit for 67 NGOs funded by the Civil Society Foundation Activities included: Compliance inspections of 67 NGOs/CBOS with contractual terms of the funding agreements in terms of financial performance. Activity and performance analysis, and subsequent re-engineering of the grants management procedures on behalf of the Foundation for Civil Society. Audit of project and accounts activity for all grantees funded under the prior Civil Society Program funded by multinational donors. Assessment of activities undertaken, financial accounts and performance analysis.
November - December 2002	MALI Juice (Funded by IVA Farmers Association, Belgium)	Internal Financial Capacity & Production Assessments, Participatory Marketing and Promotional Planning, MALI Juice Internal capacity assessments of the financial, production, management and marketing departments of Mali Juice to highlight areas for intervention particularly within their financial management, monitoring and evaluation systems. Participatory market research into new markets and the development of marketing and promotional plans for entrance into new markets and the development of existing markets.
June - October 2002	Royal Netherlands Embassy – District Rural Development Programme – Karagwe	Assessment of Agricultural Market Potential for Karagwe District's Products in Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda In-depth market research and analysis into the available markets in Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda for the sale of non value-added agricultural products, bananas, beans, maize and Irish potatoes. Culminated in the provision of significant policy and intervention advice with regards to improving trade efficiency in the region.