Mid-term Evaluation Consultant for the Strength Through Tolerance Project (STT) in Somalia

The European Institute of Peace (EIP) is looking for exceptional individuals and companies who share our vision for a world where people live in safety and peace because conflicts and grievances are resolved through inclusive dialogue and lasting political agreements.

We provide practical experience, technical expertise, and policy advice on conflict resolution. We use a variety of tools to help us do this, including analysis, mapping and design of peace processes and agreements, facilitating policy discussions, and proposing practical engagement, for example through inclusive dialogue and mediation support.

Based in Brussels and active in over a dozen countries, the European Institute of Peace is an independent organisation working collaboratively with European decision-makers, the parties to the conflict, and those who represent people suffering from insecurity or at risk of violence, as well as the conflict prevention, resolution and mediation community.

Our innovative approach to peace enables us to be agile, creative, and effective in everything we do, and these are key qualities we look for in our team members. See www.eip.org for more information

We are looking for a Mid-term Evaluation Consultant for the Strength Trough Tolerance Project (STT) in Somalia to support the PPI unit.

Terms of References

Background/Introduction

The Strength Trough Tolerance project is a four years EU-funded project for Somalia implemented by a consortium of partners: the European Institute of Peace, Elman Peace Centre (EPC), and Africa's Voices Foundation (AVF).

The overall objective of the action is "to contribute to an enhanced partnership and a joint approach between the government and communities to address factors causing violent extremism." The project's specific objective is "to achieve evidence-based improvements in policy, institutional and social environment to enable the development of a nationally owned, transparent, accountable and integrated approach to P/CVE. That will allow the country to effectively and efficiently prevent violent extremism while operating within a framework of good governance, a culture of dialogue and tolerance, and respect for human rights."

Objective of the Assignment

The evaluation is expected to assess the results achieved to date (December 2020 until November 2022) and the project's potential to achieve planned results (until November 2024). In addition, the evaluation should assess the management processes in the project concerning the achievement of goals. More specifically, the evaluation should inform the project partners and implementers on:

1. The overall direction of the project and its progress thus far;
2. Lessons learned (examples of promising practices and aspects of the project that need improvement);
3. Functioning of Project management and how the project is rigged to optimize collaboration and support ownership within the consortium and with partners. Provide recommendations on how the partnership modality can be strengthened;
4. Strength Through tolerance added value in supporting partners’ organizational development to implement their P/CVE agenda with a gender and human right lens;
5. The adjustments needed for the project to accelerate its implementation and achieve its objectives during the project's second phase;
6. The potential to upscale the Project activities over a more extended period, going beyond the Project period in 2024.

Scope of Work

This consultancy's focus is to evaluate key Project objectives and results and provide recommendations for further strengthening the Project and the Consortium.

The Project Progress and Achievement of Objectives:

• Collecting relevant data to analyze the extent to which the Project objectives are reachable and how far the results align with these objectives.
• Provide an independent assessment of the mid-term Project achievements and strengths, as well as identify the challenges and constraints encountered throughout the implementation of the project.
• Analyze the implementation process from the perspective of participation of the project beneficiaries and the partner organizations and analyze the changes within the targeted communities.
• Assess to what degree the project is proceeding to review relevant national policies, laws, and strategies with rights-holders' participation in the P/CVE policy-making process.
• Assess to what degree the Project approach and strategies successfully promote P/CVE approaches in peacebuilding dialogues.
• Identify important lessons to be learned and make recommendations for improvements.
• Evaluate if and how the consortium partners, through the project, have contributed to building the capacity of the project beneficiaries.

Project Coordination and Capacity Building of Partners:

• Review the workflow of the project – analyze the management and implementation processes from the perspective of the consortium of organizations.
• Analyze the relevance and capacities of the implementing organizations regarding the project’s objectives.

Consultant’s Specific Tasks

• The Consultant (s) will collaborate closely with the project team: Project officers and program assistant.
• The Consultant (s) will develop an evaluation methodology, including questions for key informants and focus groups and a detailed action plan.

*All materials from the conducted reviews and evaluations shall be annexed to the Final Report.

The Consultant will undertake the following tasks to achieve the objectives of the assignment:

Project Management Level

• Conduct interviews with key informants at project team members.
• Analyze the organigram of the project and relevant steering documents.
• Assess the role and responsibilities of each consortium organization and how it is geared toward achieving the Project objectives.

Project Implementation Level

• Desk review of all Project relevant Project documents and studies, Project reports, and partner organization strategies.
• Desk review of Project Result Framework to assess the degree of achievement and adequacy of the indicators and methods of measurement.
• Review any other relevant materials of reference.
• Conduct interviews with right-holders.
• Document lessons learned, experiences, and best practices.
• Develop a draft evaluation report structure.
• Develop and provide the project team’s inception report and draft report for comments.
• Develop a session for questions and answers (Q&A) with a PowerPoint presentation (PPT) to present the final report findings for the project team.

Concrete Conclusions and Recommendations:

• Identify important lessons to be learned and make a list of recommendations for improvement of:

1. An overview of the main achievements/successes and main challenges and constraints.
2. The future implementation of the project to achieve the planned results and objectives.
3. The organizational management and steering of the project.
4. Capacity building needed for partner organizations to further benefit from the project.

Criteria for the evaluation of the Project

The evaluation should adhere to the primary evaluation criteria listed below when assessing the progress of the project and in the development of evaluation-specific questions and questionnaires;

• Relevance (The extent to which the project is suited to the priorities of the target group and the beneficiaries.)
• Coherence (The compatibility of the intervention with other interventions in the PCVE sector in Somalia and compatibility of the project with the partner organizations' strategies.)
• Effectiveness (to what extent is the project achieving its objectives and potential).
• Efficiency (how well are the resources being used).
• Sustainability (how sustainable are the Project results and is ownership within the implementing organizations).
• Impact (what potential does the project have to make an impact)?

Deliverables, Coordination & Reporting

The Consultant will directly report to the program assistant, who will be responsible for monitoring the assignment progress.

Expected Deliverables:

1. Evaluation Methodology, including evaluation methods, questions for critical informants and focus groups, and timetable for implementation of the assignment.
2. An Inception Report (10-15 pages) will form the foundations for the evaluation process by providing an overview of the methods for data collection and analysis, details of the evaluation design, and an outline for the structure of the final report. The inception report will assess evaluability issues, evaluation questions, interpretations, and the approach/methodology. The methodology and methods highlighted will also cover any limitations and any subsequent implications that may arise. If the timelines of the expected deliverables are changed, all adjustments will also be reflected in the inception report.
3. A Draft Report (maximum 20-30 pages excluding Annexes) generating key findings and recommendations for concrete action, underpinned by clear evidence (for review by the project team for factual comments), and an Executive Summary of max three pages that weave together the evaluation findings and recommendations into a crisp, clear, compelling storyline.
4. A Final Report (maximum 20-30 pages excluding Annexes) that incorporates final comments from the project team on the draft report. The final evaluation report should include an abstract, executive summary; background of the local context and the program/projects/activities being evaluated; the evaluation purpose and main evaluation questions; the methodology; the limitations to the evaluation, findings, conclusions, and recommendations. All results, conclusions, and recommendations will consistently reflect gender equality and rights-based approaches and cover all cross-cutting thematic focuses of the program. The recommendations will be leveraged to directly guide the project in strengthening programming and making necessary adjustments (as needed) and, therefore, will need to be specifically tailored to consortium partners. The Annexes to the report shall include, but are not limited to:

• This Evaluation ToR,
• All data collection and analysis tools used in the evaluation, such as questionnaires, checklists, and discussion guides.
• All sources of information are correctly identified and listed.

The exact due dates for all deliverables will be finalized by the Consultant, in collaboration with the assignment supervisor, so long as the dates continue to fall within the broad start and finish dates of the consultancy.

• At least a Master's degree or equivalent post-graduate degree in a field of relevance for the assignment (e.g., conflict resolution, M&E of international development, human rights, political sciences, or public administration and social science fields)
• At least five years of experience as an external evaluator of programs/projects on preventing and countering violent extremism, conflict prevention, and the rule of law or justice.
• The Consultant must have in-depth knowledge of Counterterrorism and violent extremism (ideally focusing on prevention) at national and sub-national levels, preferably in "in-conflict" and post-conflict environments.
• Possess in-depth understanding and knowledge of the Somali context.
• Experience in evaluating complex Projects implemented by a Consortium of organizations.
• Experience in in-depth interviews, focus group discussion, and participatory information collection techniques.
• Oral and written fluency in English.
• Ability and willingness to undertake the assignment with tight deadlines.

The Institute offers

• Service contract from: ASAP to 30/12/2022.

The total number of days for the entire assignment will not exceed 60 days during the contracted period.

Please submit in English:

• Cover letter describing how you would best match the tasks listed and the requirements and skills.
• CV of the Consultant or the team of consultants performing the assignment.
• Technical and Financial Offer.

Submit to: [email protected]. Subject of the email: “surname_name_consultancy_STT_somalia”

The deadline is 25/10/2022, COB. The successful candidate will be selected based on the most competitive offer, including technical and financial proposal

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NAGUSOO BIIR ---  SOMALI JOBS

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