PLAN INTERNATIONAL - RESA. Terms of References. End of Project Evaluation CSO strengthening Project Region of Eastern and Southern Africa - RESA

Transcription

1 PLAN INTERNATIONAL - RESA Terms of References End of Project Evaluation CSO strengthening Project Region of Eastern and Southern Africa - RESA Plan International - RESA 2018 Terms of reference to conduct an end of Project evaluation for the CSO effectiveness project that was managed by PLAN RESA between 2015 to June 2018.

2 Terms of Reference for end of Project Evaluation CSO Effectiveness Project Region of Eastern and Southern Africa (RESA) Plan RESA and its partners have been running a 3 year program that has successfully brought together multi sectoral actors from the development Effectiveness, Child Rights and the Youth sectors to jointly and collaboratively implement a project that was titled Enhancing CSO Effectiveness in the Region of Eastern and Southern Africa. This has been a 3 year SIDA funded project that seeks to strengthen CSOs in RESA to more effectively contribute to national regional and global decision making spaces related to development effectiveness. Through the project Youth and Child rights networks have been supported to understand, utilize, and hold decision makers accountable in their sectors on commitments made within the development effectiveness architecture, while the CSO networks working on Development Effectiveness have through collaboration infused child rights and youth agendas and priorities in tracking and enhancing the outcomes within the development effectiveness sector and arena. The program objectives were:- (i) (ii) (iii) Children, youth and development effectiveness CSO platforms in Eastern and Southern Africa are coordinated and strengthened in the way they operate and demand mutual accountability from development effectiveness actors and stakeholders Promote meaningful participation of children and youth in the development effectiveness agenda, and; Engage in Joint evidence based advocacy on CSO enabling environment in Eastern and Southern Africa as a principle of development effectiveness. The project partners are Reality of Aid Africa (ROA Based in Nairobi), African youth Trust (AYT Based in Nairobi), Child Rights Network of Southern Africa (CRNSA colocated in Swaziland and South Africa) and The Eastern Africa Child Rights Network (EACRN Nairobi based) Plan International sought to and continues to seek to strengthen its partnership with African based regional and continental CSOs, networks and coalitions. Plan believes that greater collaboration between these 3 subject specific networks will strengthen each other by ensuring that the Development effectiveness Agenda in and from RESA is democratized and carries with it the Youth and Child rights perspective, while the child Rights and Youth networks and platforms benefit from the processes and

3 outcomes of development effectiveness through, collaboration and joint advocacy, mutual learning and capacity development and resource allocation and utilization for the benefit of all. The collaboration aimed to ensure that any gains made within the development effectiveness arena in relation to the youth and child agenda are protected and promoted and are implemented by the duty bearers at the national and regional levels. The principles within the Development effectiveness arena have great potential to benefit youth and children and their CSO formations if well implemented at the national and regional level. This can be achieved through collaboration by actors in the 3 sectors. The project has made tremendous progress in achieving its objectives; there is currently greater collaboration and mutual support within the 3 sectors (Development Effectiveness, Youth and Child rights sectors) through the work of the project partners. Project Approaches: The project has been implemented jointly with regional networks working on Development Effectiveness; Youth Rights and Child Rights sector in the region (Region of Eastern and Southern Africa RESA). The identified CSO networks were provided with grants to strengthen their programmatic work in their respective sectors and cross infuse each other s agenda in order to strengthen the outcome for the benefit of children and youth in the region. Additional support was availed to the partners to strengthen their institutions and networks and to improve their legitimacy and services to their membership and contribute to their sustainability. Coordination and collaboration between and amongst the network partners was targeted to be enhanced and joint advocacy activities were as far as possible encouraged. The collaboration and coordination was meant to serve as a capacity strengthening pathways, with each collaborating partner learning from the expertise available in the other sectors as a way to improve the outcomes in the own sector. Aim of the Evaluation The overall aim of the evaluation is to assess the degree to which Plan RESA and her Partners have achieved their intended overall project goal and objectives. The evaluation will also assess the impact (short or long term), if any; Plan RESA programing approach and management has led to Civil Society Strengthening and improved Plan

4 Partnership approaches and design, and strengthened collaborations and joint action between and within the project cohort for better outcomes. The evaluation will also assess the impact of Joint advocacy planning and execution between and amongst the project partners. The main objectives of the evaluation are:- 1. Assess the outcome of Plan RESA s design of the project (grant making and capacity building approach) was it the best programmatic approach for such a project to achieve the set objectives? 2. Assess impact (short or long term), if any the project may have had. 3. Assess the outcome of Civil Society Strengthening as a programing approach to what extent has Plan RESA s programmatic intervention contributed to Civil Society Strengthening in RESA region and amongst its project partners and sectors including their national level networks. 4. Assess the outcome of Plan RESA s partnership approach. To what extent was the partnership approach optimal? Did this approach allow Plan to add value and to receive value to and from the partners? 5. Assess the achievement of the 3 project objectives by the individual implementers and collectively by the project cohort. (Ascribe contribution and attribution, wherever possible) 6. Identify innovations within the project and recommend how these can be nurtured. 7. Identify if project design and implementation adhered to the Rights Based Approach (RBA) principles of ownership; sustainability; non-discrimination, accountability among others. 8. Value for money. 9. Assess the sustainability of the project interventions. The assessment across the identified evaluation objectives should include the extent to which that what was planned was achieved, what was the intended and or unintended outcome, what worked best, what did not work and recommendations on what could be done better in future programing. Note: This was the first phase of the project, and it is anticipated that there could be follow up phases to the same, hence the need for the evaluation to focus on harvesting lessons learnt and make forward looking recommendations on how follow up phases can be strengthened and made more fit for purpose. It is possible that this being primarily an advocacy project, some gains that may be attributable to the project, may not have materialize by the time of the evaluation but

5 can reasonable be anticipated to materialize, the evaluation should bear this in mind and wherever possible probe for and capture this. Evaluation Criteria The evaluation will be based on and rely on the general criteria adopted by the OECD/DAC. These will include: 1. Effectiveness this criterion focuses on assessing the achievements of the expected outcomes and ultimately the contribution to the realisation of the overarching goal of the intervention. 2. Relevance this criterion focuses on the relevance of the partnership approach and working methods applied in the implementation of the project, as well as the relevance of the support provided for strengthening the role of civil society. 3. Sustainability this criterion focuses on how the results achieved as part of the project has contributed to long term change and sustainable solutions for the benefit of the partners beneficiaries. 4. Efficiency this criterion focuses on the assessment of implementation of the framework from the perspective of cost efficiency. Suggested Methodology The methodology to be applied includes quantitative and qualitative aspects in order to resonate with the aim of the evaluation. It is expected that the final composition of methods will allow for and support a comprehensive assessment of the implementation approaches, strengthening of civil society and results achievement, as well as to ensure triangulation of findings. The methods applied for the evaluation should facilitate learnings and drawing of lessons learnt, including capturing success stories or the most significant change caused by the project. The adopted methodology chosen by the consultant should use processes and methodologies of good technical quality, and systematically use reliable information from multiple sources that support relevant analysis and correspond to the stated goals and objectives of the program and the type of evaluation. Information and data should be collected and processed in a systematic way, disaggregated appropriately. All data and analysis developed must be handed over to Plan at the end of the study.

6 In carrying out the evaluation, the consultant is expected to familiarize him/herself/themselves with all up-to-date secondary data relevant to this project from Plan International, her partners, and other stakeholders. The consultant should include a proposed data analysis matrix in the technical report. The successful consultant (s) would also be requested to present their plan for data analysis by way of dummy tables in the inception report. When deciding on the final composition of methods, complementarity is essential to provide Plan International - RESA with a solid platform for answering the evaluation questions. The overall aim is to ensure generation of interesting and useful learnings to help Plan International improve her partnership approaches and inform future programing design. The successful candidate(s) will be expected to present a detailed methodological approach in an inception report which will be submitted to Plan International for approval. It is instrumental that the methodological approach allows for the inclusion of the diverse set of actors and support provided. The consultant is expected to lead and coordinate this exercise in close collaboration with Plan International staff and partners involved in the implementation of the project. Deliverables i. An acceptable inception report and evaluation work plan. ii. An acceptable draft report after the analysis of data for staff and stakeholders feedback. iii. A final acceptable report in English of no more than 40 pages (excluding references and annexes) utilizing the format below: Front page with title of the evaluation, date and authors of the report A table of basic document information. Executive summary that presents the key points of the different sections. Objectives and the intended use of the evaluation Methodology and Limitations of the evaluation Description of the project or programme Findings Conclusions Relevant annexes, which as minimum must include:

7 i. Summary Assessment format on Plan standard question ii. List of people/organizations interviewed or consulted iii. All full versions of data collection tools iv. Bibliography of the documents reviewed v. Evaluation work plan vi. These Terms of Reference for the evaluation iv. A summary of the findings (in Ms PowerPoint) to be used for subsequent dissemination. v. The final cleaned dataset used for analysis and production of final report in an accessible electronic format. All raw data (quantitative data files, transcripts of FGDs etc.) should also be submitted to Plan for reference and future use. Consultants/bidders are asked to provide: 1. A detailed technical proposal clearly outlining the proposed methods for the evaluation and examples of tools to be used 2. Curriculum Vitae(s) of proposed staff outlining relevant education expertise and experience. 3. A table clearly stating the level of effort of each proposed team member 4. A financial proposal with a detailed breakdown of costs for planning and carrying out the evaluation study 5. A proposed timeframe detailing activities and a schedule/work plan, in line with the timeframe provided in this TOR and with consideration for the time it will take for Plan to review documents (inception and evaluation report, etc.) before finalization. 6. A Consulting Firm Profile. The detailed technical proposal should: Show a thorough understanding of these terms of reference Include a description of the preferred data gathering and sampling methods Demonstrate previous experience in conducting quantitative and qualitative study approaches Demonstrate approaches that will be used to ensure child protection and ethics and principles will be applied throughout the design and data collection phases of the project, and how marginalized or vulnerable people will be included. The financial proposal should contain:

8 Itemized consultancy fees/costs Itemized administrative expenses Validity period of quotations The consulting team profile should contain: The full names of all participating consultants and their roles, including technical expertise Physical address of the firm Telephone number(s) of the firm (if applicable) and participating consultants Full name and contact information of the contact person within the consulting team Timeframe The consultant will be expected to suggest a reasonable time frame to undertake this work that should not be more than 30 working days and which may be subject to discussion with Plan International. In any case, not later than end of August Ownership All documents, project designs, completed survey instruments, drawings, technical data and other information including FGD transcripts shall remain the property of Plan International and shall be treated as confidential by the consultant(s) at all times. Plan reserves the right to access these documents at any point during the consultancy period. They shall not be made available to any third party whatsoever, in any form, without the prior approval of a properly authorised employee of Plan. The utilisation of all proposals, plans and reports and other information provided by the consultant(s) is the property of Plan International and the use thereof is solely at the discretion of Plan International. All documents and other papers, whether in soft or hard copy and whether containing data or other information, provided by Plan International shall be returned complete to Plan International upon completion of the assignment. Child Protection Policy The consultant and associates must sign and demonstrate commitment to strictly adhere to Plan s Child Protection Policy. It is also the responsibility of the Consultant

9 to ensure that all persons hired, used or otherwise consulted by him/her are made familiar with the Policy and agree to abide by it during the execution of this work. Consultant(s) Qualifications The consultancy should have an integrated team of experts in Evaluation, CSO strengthening, policy, governance and advocacy work The Consultants must have the following competencies: The lead consultant must have a background in public policy, political science, social science or economic development or related field and have particular expertise in devolution and public governance Have at least five years experience in the area of governance, policy and advocacy and or any other relevant area Experience in the formulation, monitoring and evaluation of governance/advocacy project Demonstrate evidence of undertaking similar work in RESA High level of professionalism and an ability to work independently and in highpressure situations under tight deadlines. Strong interpersonal and communication skills Evidenced experience in conducting participatory qualitative and quantitative studies Evidenced report writing (English language) and documentation skills Demonstrates meeting all legal requirements. SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS The Technical and Financial proposals should be prepared in conformance to the guidelines and template provided in these terms of reference as minimum standard. All applications received by the submission date will be reviewed by a selection committee based on pre-determined objective criteria. Upon selection, the consultant(s)/ consulting firm would be invited for a discussion and requested to submit a detailed inception report and work plan prior to starting any data collection exercise. Completed prequalification documents in plain sealed envelope clearly marked with the category reference number and title should be addressed to:

10 The Secretary, Central Tender Committee, Plan International Kenya, Methodist Center Ministries, PO Box Nairobi. and delivered to the Tender Box at the reception of the below Plan International Kenya office on or before 10:00am on Monday 25 th June Plan International Nairobi (Methodist Center Ministries, 2 nd Floor)

11 ANNEXES ANNEX 1: TECHNICAL PROPOSAL REPORT FORMAT 1. Introduction: Description of the firm (Full names, post office box number, telephone number(s), address, physical address and contact person(s) of the consultant(s), the firm s qualifications and statutory compliance. 2. Understanding of the requirements for services/ consultant s interpretation of the terms of reference 3. Proposed methodology 4. Firm s experience in undertaking assignments of similar nature in rural areas for other major clients. 5. Proposed team composition (including their CVs which relates their experience and skills, etc to this assignment) 6. References (Names, physical and addresses and telephone numbers of three references for the consultancy organization which must relate to similar work done within the last three years, and the contact details (names, addresses and and telephone numbers) of the persons who were ultimately responsible and accountable for contracting the consultants for that work). 7. Clear and detailed work plan including a Gantt chart ANNEX 2: PROPOSED TEAM COMPOSITION TEMPLATE Name of Team Member Roles under this assignment Highest Level of Qualification Years of Experience related to the task