Terms of reference for the evaluation of the project co-financed by Secours Catholique Caritas France and implemented by its local partner: Promote cultural awareness in Egypt I. Introduction Secours Catholique Caritas France (SCCF) supported a project to promote cultural awareness in Egypt with a local partner. The implementation of the action began in 2014, October and ended in 2016, December (3 months extension). According to the contract of the project, a final external evaluation will be conducted. This evaluation will have two main goals: To look back on the 27 months implementation (results evaluation, impact, effectiveness ) To issue recommendations for future II. Presentation of Secours Catholique Caritas France Founded in 1946, Secours Catholique-Caritas France is a service of the Catholic Church, member of the Caritas Internationalis Confederation. It fights against poverty and exclusion in France but also at the international level (198 countries and territories of intervention). It considers that the men, women and children living in poverty are the first actors of their development. To carry out its activities, the association relies on a staff of 62,000 volunteers. Its actions are always developed closely with the local partners and at their demand. They are the one in direct contact with emergency situations, political or social crises and poverty. III. Description of the project 1. Description of the area of intervention The action takes place in Cairo and six other governorates in Upper Egypt ( in two different districts in Mynia, in two different districts in Assiut, and once in Sohag, Qena, Luxor, and Nuba) where local communities do not have access to culture, specially independent cinema, nor opportunity to get artistic training as long as most of the other opportunities to learn filmmaking are very expensive. 2. Beneficiaries In Cairo the direct beneficiaries are 30 young film makers, who don t have access to learn cinema in the highly expensive schools, from Cairo and other governorates (gender equality and religious diversity are taken in consideration during the selection process). In Upper Egypt the direct beneficiaries are 120 young artists who want to express their selves through films and with no access to learn and make films.) In addition 800 audiences attended and discussed screenings in their local communities, (in the center of the governorate and in villages ) from diverse backgrounds and different ages. And at least 8000 readers who read the film magazine, which publishes every three months in Arabic the most recent debates of cinema critics in Egypt and the world. 3. Project Summary The overall objective of the project is to encourage cultural awareness through artistic training of youth and film screenings. The specific objectives are:
1. to offer high quality training to young Egyptian students and encourage artistic creation 2. to promote cultural awareness among inhabitants with underprivileged socio economic background through cinematographic works and popular cultural activities The expected results are the following: SO 1, expected result 1: 30 young film students are equipped with knowledge and technical skills in a structure offering quality training in Cairo SO1, expected result 2: 2 to 6 professional films are produced freely out of the market SO2, expected result 1: film screening and training of young film students in 8 governorates in Egypt break the geographical centralization of cinema SO2, expected result 2: A film magazine circulating across Egypt provides an open space for debates on film making in Egypt as film critics from the world in Arabic The main activities are: SO1,ER1, A1:selecting students(open the call for Appling for one year study in Cinema School, holding interviews and a workshop for final selection). SO1,ER1, A2: designing the outlines of the curriculum SO1,ER1, A3- holding 600 training hours (600 each year) on film making different methods, tools, and creative thinking. SO1,ER2, A1: monitoring and assisting the cinema school students to produce final graduation films SO2, ER1,A1: open a call for filmmakers to share with their films in the Jesuit Film Festival SO2, ER1,A2: holding committees to select the films that will be screened in each government (4 governorate in Upper Egypt in addition to Cairo and Alexandria) SO2, ER1,A3: holding a week of screenings in each governorate followed by discussions attended by the audiences. SO2, ER1,A4 : contacting the local partners with whom we will held the workshops (10 days workshop in each Upper Egypt governorate, 4 governorates every year) SO2, ER1,A5: open a call for participating in the workshops. SO2, ER1,A6 : selecting the trainees SO2, ER1,A7: holding ten days workshop introductory to film making. SO3, ER1, A1: building the general guide line for the component of each issue (4 issues every year) of film magazine SO3, ER1, A2 : editing the magazine issue and printing it. SO3, ER1, A3 : distributing the magazine Duration of the project: 2 years initially from October 2014 to September 2016, extended till December 2016 Cost, funding modalities: The total cost of the action is 165077 euros. The donors are SCCF for 159 385 euros of the 165 077 euros (96%), and the local partner for 5692. IV. Evolution of the context, in the political, social and/or economics fields IV. Brief historic of the project to date The local partner started its activities in Cinema in 1998, with implementing a touring cinema screening and a festival for cinema. In the year 2005 it became clear that young artists cannot find a handy place to learn and make cinema in Egypt (only extremely expensive courses were valid). So the local partner began the first year of Cinema School in the year 2005. SCCF supported different cultural activities of the partner in the years 2013, 2014. After this, SSCF supported the partner s project to Promote Cultural Awareness in Egypt. TOR Final Assessment Promote cultural awareness in Egypt SCCF 2 / 6
The current project, which SCCF and its local partner intends to evaluate, started in 2014, October and ended in 2016, December 2016. This project was implemented in Cairo and six other governorates (in cooperation with other local partners - (in two different districts in Mynia, in two different districts in Assiut, and once in Sohag, Qena, Luxor, and Nuba). The project included three main components: First: two academic years (two batches) of Cinema School in Cairo which acts as a one year long workshop (600 hours of study for each batch) to give 30 young filmmaker the opportunity to learn and produce low budged films. Second: Two rounds of a Film Festival with its workshops in four governorates every year. Third: 8 issues of the film magazine witch aimed at introducing the latest debates for cinema into Arabic to be valid for the Arabic reader. V. Objectives of the external evaluation Considering the context mentioned above, the results achieved according to the SCCF follow up visits, the objective of the final evaluation is to make a balance sheet of the actions led and to assess and highlight the impact of the project, through an analysis grid on relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of the project. Some strong and operational recommendations are also expected to help the partner to assure a suite to the action related to artistic training of youth and cultural awareness. More precisely, the evaluator will: analyze the degree of realization of the project (effectiveness) evaluate the impact of the activities implemented since the beginning of the project establish strong recommendations to reinforce the effectiveness of the activities implemented establish recommendations to reinforce the partner in its future action towards access to culture and artistic training of youth Specific objectives of the evaluation: For this evaluation, based on description of activities in the proposal, all financial and operational reports, and all other relevant source of information, will be evaluated/analyzed: 1/ Relevance of the project: relevance of the project for the local context relevance of the strategy in view of identified needs, available resources and context of intervention: appreciate the adequacy between the area of intervention and the main resources 2/Quality of the project design and implementation Was the design based on a needs assessment and a context analysis? Was the design the most appropriate to meet the needs identified? are the project expected results fulfilled? Are the objectives reached? for example, what is the effect of training provided during the project on the knowledge of the trainees and if applicable- the change in their performance, and how this reflects the influence of the trainings attended by the students? Is the film magazine well distributed in Egypt? Are direct and indirect beneficiaries overall satisfied with the services provided? To what extent has the project achieved the initial objectives and outcomes? How were the obstacles encountered overcome / circumvented? Appreciate the effectiveness of the team; what skills lacked during the project? Were the resources and inputs converted to outputs in a timely and cost-effective manner? To what extent does the tracking of expenditures enable the implementation of activities at lower cost? Is the budget used for the activities in line with the initial budget? Is the partner s team able to provide narrative and financial reports Does the partner s current "steering" system (management, human resources, financial monitoring) ensure adequate support for the local cinema unites What is the quality of communication between the different local unite? Are human resources in line with expectations in terms of quantity and quality? Is training for human resources tailored to the needs 4) Partnership & Cooperation The extent to which partnerships have been sought and established, and synergies been created? TOR Final Assessment Promote cultural awareness in Egypt SCCF 3 / 6
The extent to which there was effective coordination among partners. The extent to which partnerships responsibilities were fully and effectively discharged. The extent to which partnerships inputs were of quality and provided in a timely manner 5) Impact of the project The impact of the implemented project done by the partner on direct target group: What real difference does it make for the target population? What are the effects of the target group on the different components of the project? What changes (due to project activities) have occurred in the living conditions of the target group? What progress has been made for them? Is there a system to measure the potential impact of the project? 6) Sustainability of the partner, after the project has finished. Indicate if some elements are already visible Can one define a referential for financial sustainability? Is there any fundraising strategy? How do beneficiaries participate in the project? What is the degree of ownership, responsibility in the project s design and implementation? How can one reinforce beneficiaries involvement and responsibility in the project? Beyond classical evaluation criteria, the evaluator shall also pay attention and give specific recommendations on the following items: - Organizational component: did the partner build a long term vision and future strategy in youth empowering through cinema activities and access to culture? Are all procedures (HR, finances) effectively implemented? Regarding HR, is the stability of the team effective? What could be the recommendations to reinforce it? - Capacity reinforcement component: what are the skills and knowledge to be reinforced? VI. Methodology The proposed methodology will allow a quantitative and qualitative analysis and take account of the following main steps: 1- A preparatory phase (3 working days) for defining the scope of the evaluation and for studying the documentation. 2- Field visits (7 working days) and detailed discussions with partner s management team, partner s project team, a sample of beneficiaries (students, audience), a sample of previous graduated film makers. The visits will be used for data collection, this includes traveling to Upper Egypt governorates 3- Results Analysis (3working days): Study of the quantitative and qualitative results achieved by gathering data, interviews, workshops and observations. 4- Output of the evaluation (3 days): Production of a final report on the impact of the whole project and how it reached its desired objectives compared to desired ones. The approach will be participative with collective and individual consultations and interviews with the beneficiaries and other relevant interlocutors in the area, a reflexion approach with the partner and a consultation of the documents of SCCF and the partner. IV. Assessment Requirements 1. Contracting Authority Secours Catholique Caritas France is the sponsor of this evaluation. It signs the contract needed for the realization of the evaluation with the assessor. 2. Requested profile The evaluator must fulfill the following requirements: Significant experience in evaluating cultural justice project Ability to use theory of change for evaluation Experience in coordination, design, implementation and monitoring of project. Knowledge in culture production in Middle East Sociological skills TOR Final Assessment Promote cultural awareness in Egypt SCCF 4 / 6
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills Ability to write clear and relevant reports Understanding of the donors requirements Ability to work with short deadlines Impartial and independent of the parties Flexibility and adaptability Proficiency in English and Arabic (understanding Egyptian dialect) 3. Financial Means International travel expenses will be reimbursed on the actual costs by Secours Catholique Caritas France at the scale established and which will be transmitted to the chosen candidate. Regarding local expenses, the consultant will be paid on lump sum basis including local travel, fees and living allowance. 4. Expected Deliverables A scoping meeting with project implementation managers Presentation of the immediate results at the end of the mission in order to provide focus for reflection for the field teams and local stakeholders, outlooks for the area development and also to stimulate a debate which could feed the writing of the final report. Submission of an interim report. Submission of a final report. This final report will include: The main report (40 pages maximum) including the detailed results of the assessment related to the fixed objectives, the outlooks and the recommendations made by the assessor. An annex with the tables, charts and factual data needed for a better understanding of the report. A factsheet with a general presentation and the key conclusions and recommendations. All the documents should be delivered both on paper and in an electronic version. V. Provisional Timetable of the Assessment Deadline for receipt of tenders: 15 th February 2017 Announcement of the chosen candidate: 15 th March 2017 Beginning of the work, documentations and scoping meetings: 27th March 2017 Field mission: from 19 th Aprilto25 th April 2017 Submission of the interim report:8 th May 2017 Feedbacks from Secours Catholique Caritas France and the partner on the interim report: 15 th May 2017 Submission of the final report:22 nd May 2017 VI. Criteria for the assessor selection: The candidate is invited, knowing the present terms of reference, to make technical and financial propositions for the assessment realization (See Framework in Annex 1). He/ she should enrich the ToR with additional questions and comments. The selection will be based on the following criteria: The presentation of the issue and understanding of the subject The methodological approach proposed Qualifications, experiences and skills of the candidate Experiences in the region and regarding the project s specific issues Details of prices and costs of the different services (Quote to be submitted) Timetable for the implementation of all services. 5- How to Apply: The methodological, technical and financial propositions (answering to the present Terms of Refe rence), limited to 7 pages, should be sent, with the candidate s CV, to Secours Catholique Caritas France, before 15 h February 2017by email at:missioncourteduree@secours-catholique.org Code de champ modifié TOR Final Assessment Promote cultural awareness in Egypt SCCF 5 / 6
Annex 1 : Framework for Application The answer to the Terms of Reference should be organized as following: Understanding of the TOR This section will describe the understanding of the candidate regarding: About the presented Terms of Reference About the Project Background About the Project itself Methodology This section will describe, among others: The proposed methodology to fulfill the assessment objectives (documented and reasoned presentation) Any other information useful to well understand the proposed method. 3. Assessor Profile This section will describe, among others: The profile of the candidate The strengths of the candidate Annexes The candidate s CV References The quote of the service including the wage/fees. TOR Final Assessment Promote cultural awareness in Egypt SCCF 6 / 6