Terms of Reference For End-of-Project Evaluation of EU Funded Project 2023-25

Terms of Reference For End-of-Project Evaluation of EU Funded Project 2023-25 “Strengthening the Operating Environment of CSOs Ability to Participate in Advocacy for Policy Change and Equality of Marginalized Groups”

1. Background
Somaliland Non-State Actors forum SONSAF is a leading civil society platform that aims to engage all Somaliland Non-Stat actors by improving their capacity and position. Since its establishment in 2008, SONSAF’s mission and primary objective are to enhance non-state actor’s voice through better coordination and networking that contributes in helping non-state actors to possess a vibrant space in policy dialogue arena especially, peace-building, security, democratization, development sustainability and have concrete influence in formulating policies that address the needs of all citizens. Overall, civil society and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) can influence individual behavior and the institutions involved in all development sectors.
SONSAF is the lead applicant project entitled: Strengthening the operating environment of CSOs ability to participate in advocacy for policy change and equality of marginalized groups. The three years’ project is funded by the European Union, which have two main objectives.
a) To increase the capacity of CSOs to engage in policy dialogues and decision-making at a national and regional level.
b) To create a conducive operating environment to promote the interests of women and vulnerable groups.
2. Purpose of the Evaluation
The purpose of the end of project evaluation is to assess the overall performance, outcome, impact and results of the project linked to the overall objective and provide relevant findings, lessons learned, best practices, and the findings of the evaluation will be used as a unit of measurement of changes in the
indicators attributable to the program interventions.
3. Specific Objectives of the Evaluation
The evaluation objectives also include the following;
a) Evaluate to what extent the project has fulfilled its objectives to improve the operating
environment of the CSOs and the technical strength of the program.
b) Undertake a comparative assessment on the progress achieved in delivering the program results
and to identify key successes, gaps, and constraints that need to be addressed.
c) Assess Relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, sustainability, coherence and impact criteria used;
and also, the protection component of the intervention
d) Assess the impact of the actions on the targeted civil society organizations and document the
lessons learnt.
e) To determine value for money in achieving the best results we can with money and resource
available.

4. Evaluation Criteria
The evaluation criteria will be based on EU guidelines in terms of relevance, effectiveness, impact, sustainability
and coordination.
- Are the project’s objectives, activities, and design relevant to the needs of CSOs, beneficiaries,
and the overall strategy?
- To what extent has the project achieved its planned objectives, results, and progress on core
indicators?
- What internal and external factors have influenced the achievement or non-achievement of
results?
- Are the activities cost-efficient, offering value for money in both rural and urban contexts?
- What key short- and long-term changes (positive or negative) has the project produced, and what
difference has it made for stakeholders?
- Do project benefits continue after funding ends, and what factors affect sustainability?
- Does the project have adequate human and financial resources, including for monitoring and data
collection?
- How effectively has the project coordinated with stakeholders to achieve its objectives?
- Can the project or its components be scaled up or replicated in other areas?
- Who are the key actors for scaling/replication, and how has the project engaged with them so far?
5. Methodology
The contracted firm will develop the evaluation methodology in collaboration with CSOs consortium and
Senior SONSAF Management. The lead evaluator or team is expected to write an inception report
following review of literature and reference documents using the guidance format provided EU
guidelines.
Such a methodology should define an appropriate sample size and specify mechanisms that will be
adopted to avoid selection bias. The lead evaluator will be expected to utilize various data collection tools
like questionnaires, key informant interviews guides, observation to obtain data from the various
respondents and key stakeholders. As a minimum, the evaluation process will include the following key
steps:
i. Gender balance in respondents or sample size, with a margin of 10% flexibility.
ii. Review of relevant literature related to the project (c.f. list of reference materials) and drafting an
inception report;( proposal, quarterly reports, monitoring reports, budgets among others)

iii. Data collection to apply-appropriate data collection tools (e.g. questionnaire, checklist etc.) for
Interviews and focus group discussion;
iv. Data analysis and Evaluation Report writing; and
v. Presentation of key evaluation findings;
6. Program Indicators to be evaluated
The program intends to assess the following principal indicators from Project; Including:
i. Number of CSOs capacitated to engage vulnerable groups (PWD, minority clans, women, youth)
in their governance and programming activities.
ii. Number of CSOs that are engaged in policy-making processes at grassroots levels.
iii. Number of CSOs with revised/updated processes, procedures as result of capacity building
support
iv. Number of CSOs that have received institutional and technical capacity development support
v. Number of CSOs trained to actively engage in decision making process.
vi. Number of CSOs with strengthened capacities to serve the interest of vulnerable groups.
vii. Improved collaborative relationship between CSOs and policy makers.
viii. No. of engagements by CSOs in the National development plan.
7. Reference Material
- Project Technical Proposal 2022
- Log Frame (Performance indicators) 2022
- Quarterly reports
- Activity Narrative Reports
- Assessments Conducted
- End of year Financial Reports (Expenditure Breakdown)

8. Skills and Qualifications
The evaluation shall be conducted by an external evaluator or evaluation team, selected through competitive proposal submission process. The following are minimum requirements for the Firm/Consultancy to be considered for carrying out the assignment.
- At least a Master degree in Project management, Statistics or any other related fields

 Minimum of 7 years’ relevant professional experience in conducting evaluations for CSOs programs and EU funded projects
- Strong experience in conceptualizing and evaluating EU funded programs preferably in the context of Somaliland
- Excellent communication and report writing skills.
Lead Person/Consultant Specification
a. Skills in qualitative evaluation design and analysis; Quantitative research skills highly desirable.
b. Knowledge of programming, campaign and policy context for CSOs
c. Experience within an NGOs programs.
d. Strong grasp of internal and external funding mechanisms
e. Strong background in programme monitoring and evaluation
f. Desirable: familiarity with SONSAF organizational structure and culture
9. Deliverables
(i) An Inception reports: The report should reflect the team’s review of literature and the gaps that the field work will fill
(ii) A draft evaluation reports: The draft report will be circulated by the designated representatives to key stakeholders for comments. Feedback on the draft report will be shared with the consultant
(iii) A final evaluation report: The evaluation report is an exclusive property for SONSAF and should not be released without prior authorization.
(iv) Data collected for all collected data (quantitative and qualitative) should be transcribed for future use by SONSAF Programmes. The data sets should be in an appropriate format (SPSS, Excel, and Word) and will be submitted together with the final evaluation report
10. Ownership of Research Data/Findings
All data collected and report findings for this study shall remain the property of SONSAF.
11. Reporting
The consultant/firm will directly report to SONSAF Executive Director

12. Duty station
The duty station of this assignment is Hargeisa with travel to main cities including: Burao, Berbera and Borama for data collection. 

13. Submission:
Documents to be included when submitting the proposals:
Interested Firms/Consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their
qualifications:
 Full Proposal, outlining the main methodological approaches, budget and timeline planned for the assignment.
 Firm profile and experience explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the assignment
 Valid License Registration for the Firm To be submitted no later than September 30th,2025 At 4 pm, to Email address: [email protected]