National consultancy to conduct final evaluation of the project "Promoting Kyrgyzstan`s youth cohesion and interaction towards Uzbekistan" (2019-2020)

Consultant Monitoring & Evaluation Programme & Policy

Contract

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RATIONALE, OBJECTIVE and USE OF THE EVALUATION

Conducting a summative evaluation of the project is one of key requirements under the Monitoring and Evaluation provision of the project that was planned to be conducted at the end of the project implementation.

The main objective of this summative evaluation is to assess whether the project has met its objectives, whether its objectives were relevant to the context. The evaluation would assess the circumstances influencing the project's achievements and the challenges that hindered it and to generate findings, lessons learned and recommendations regarding the relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability of the project results. It is essential that the evaluation measures the result of the project in terms of outcome and outputs it has delivered for target groups and beneficiaries.

Primary intended users of the evaluation results are the decision-makers from government, implementing partners, the implementing agencies UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, and the Peacebuilding Fund.

Secondary intended users are local self-government staff in project communities and project beneficiaries. Evaluation results will inform the Government's, Peacebuilding Fund's and Implementing UN Agencies' future programs and provide evidence for further implementation or scale up of joint action plans between the bordering countries. The evaluation report and management response will be made public.

EVALUATION SCOPE

The evaluation will cover all project activities during the period from January 1, 2019 to November 15, 2020.

Geographically, the evaluation will cover remotely at least four out of nine target municipalities in Osh (Kara-Suu, Kashkar-Kyshtak, Tepe-Korgon), Jalalabad (Kerben, Kashka-Suu, Kok-Serek) and Batken (Aidarken, Birlik, Suu-Bashy) provinces. Target municipalities will be identified at the Inception phase.

Since all project activities took place in Kyrgyzstan, all evaluation activities will take place on the Kyrgyz side of the border as well. If some key informants from the Uzbek authorities or youth will be identified as crucial in the Inception Phase or in the course of the evaluation, their inclusion will be considered.

Due to the epidemiological situation and social distancing requirements related to Covid-19, remote data collection methods will be employed. Remote data collection might entail limitations and challenges such as lack of direct interaction and different group dynamics during online focus groups, limited access to the Internet or mobile phone by target respondents, low bandwidth for some participants, etc. Also due to the Covid-19 situation, there might be delays in response and cancellations due to respondents' health or care responsibilities of their family members. In order to address some of the limitations implementing partners will provide support by providing space and access to the Internet from their premises for target respondents with limited access to the Internet or mobile phones. Fieldwork timeline was also extended from initial two weeks to three weeks in order to allow the evaluation team to reach as many respondents as possible. This and other issues with regards to data collection logistics and arrangements will be discussed and agreed during the inception phase.

This summative evaluation intends to answer the questions as per all the OECD-DAC criteria for evaluation but with a specific attention to relevance, coherence, efficiency and effectiveness

METHODOLOGY.

It is a summative, utilisation-focused, context specific, and equity-oriented evaluation using a theory-based design. The evaluation team is expected to assess the project theory of change (TOC) and make it useful to the evaluation and propose an appropriate design. The evaluation team is also welcome to develop an appropriate conceptual framework to guide the evaluation methodology, explain results and contextualize the recommendations.

It is expected that most of the desk-review analysis can be done based on the (i) existing programme documentation (programme document; results framework; annual and quarterly reports and monitoring results (gender, age disaggregation) (ii) data from the baseline survey report (November, 2019, disaggregated by gender, age, ethnicity, location); (iii) UN Peacebuilding Priority Plans 2013-2016 and 2016-2020; (iv)additional knowledge products covering the respective geographical areas; V) relevant thematic literature on the subject matter, i.e. theoretical conceptual frameworks, etc.

In addition to the secondary data sources, it is expected that qualitative and quantitative data collection methods and instruments will be used capturing the perspectives of the stakeholders‚ and beneficiaries involved in the project including most vulnerable groups of the affected population i.e. youth and women living in the border areas with Uzbekistan. Given the current development of epidemiological situation where numbers of Covid-19 infections and death toll from Covid-19 are on the rise and the second wave is projected to start in September, it is too risky to undertake field work using traditional face-to-face methods. "Do no harm" is one of UNICEF's key principles when undertaking any kind of evaluation or research. Therefore, any proposed inception report should be based on this assumption and suggest a remote data collection plan.

The evaluation team is welcome to use any innovations (as applicable) throughout the evaluation with regard to the design (any innovative designs or a mix of them), data collection (using Big Data, if possible), analysis (using machine analysis and algorithm, etc.) and writing up and dissemination stages. A kick-off meeting will be conducted at the start of the assignment with UNICEF to identify the most appropriate course of action.

The Inception phase will be used as an evaluability stage where available evidence will be collected and assessed for scope, quality and reliability. In doing so, the team will make use of PBF Guideline on Assessing Readiness for Remote Evaluation.

During the Inception phase the team will explore different options on how to optimally use available data collection approaches and tools to engage all relevant project stakeholders and beneficiaries, especially the most vulnerable and hard to reach ones. The detailed remote data collection methodology will be developed by the evaluation team as part of the Inception Report and in close consultation with UNICEF as per below Workplan.

The Inception Report will outline detailed scope, evaluation framework; methodology; sampling, data collection methods (considering the risks related to COVID-19, timeline for activities and submission of deliverables, materials for Ethics Review, etc. and meet the criteria outlined in the UNICEF Quality Review and Ethics Review Checklists.

The evaluation will follow the UNEG Norms and standards[2] throughout its all stages.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

The evaluation will be guided by UNEG Ethical Guidelines[3] and UNICEF Procedure for Ethical Standards[4]. Â Due to planned involvement of young people below 18 in the fieldwork, ethical clearance from UNICEF external Ethical Review Facility will be required. The common guiding principles will be used to ensure ethical safety during the evaluation process:

• preventing direct harm, and ensuring benefits, to individual participants, their families and wider community groups
• ensuring informed consent by all participants
• ensuring the privacy and confidentiality of subjects
• identifying and addressing actual or potential conflict of interest by UNICEF staff and/or evaluation team, including funding considerations.

Informed consent must be sought from all participants. The evaluation team will explain to the participants the purpose and use of the evaluation; they will also make it explicitly clear to the participants that their participation is voluntary, and they can withdraw at any moment. The nature of the informed consent must be noted in the ethics section of the proposal and any final report.

Throughout the process, the evaluation team should be sensitive to beliefs, manners and customs and act with integrity and honesty in their relationships with all stakeholders and do no harm.

The evaluation team should clearly identify any potential ethical issues and approaches and oversight of the evaluation process in the inception report. Materials required for the Ethics Review will be developed as part of the inception report.

STRUCTURE OF THE REPORTS

The inception and evaluation reports to be produced must be compliant with the UNICEF Evaluation Reports Standards[5]‚ and the GEROS Quality Assessment System[6].

The final evaluation report should be written in English and should not exceed 50 pages (excluding annexes). The report should be structured according to the following rubrics:

Title page and opening pages

• Executive summary
• Background including brief conflict analysis
• Purpose of the evaluation; scope and objectives
• Description of methodology (TOC and conceptual framework and any modifications of TOC made practical for the evaluation)
• Ethical issues
• Evaluation findings,
• Conclusions and lessons learned
• Recommendations (by stakeholders)

• Annexes (including an evaluation matrix with evaluation questions, sources of data, judgment criteria, etc.)

  Wherever possible, the report shall contain photos, graphs and charts to illustrate key facts and/or findings.

DELIVERABLES AND PAYMENT SCHEDULE

The expected result of the assignment is the final evaluation report presenting the results of evaluation as well as lessons learned and recommendations regarding relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability of the project activities. See below table for deliverables and payment schedule:

Deliverables

Timeline*

Payment

1. Approved Inception report
2. Presentation of the inception report to ERG

By October 26, 2020

30%

1. At least three human interest stories
2. Presentation of the draft evaluation report
3. Draft evaluation report

By December 24, 2020

50%

1. Max. 50-page final evaluation report  (excluding annexes) which meets UNICEF Quality Assurance standards
2. Presentation of the final report to ERG
3. Evaluation results summary with policy recommendations

By March 15, 2021

20%

*Timeline for deliverables may be adjusted depending on the recruitment of the team and epidemiological situation in the country.

MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION

The evaluation will be managed by UNICEF Country Office in Kyrgyzstan. The National Consultant and the Team Leader  will work under direct supervision of UNICEF Child Rights Monitoring Specialist. The support will be sought from the UNICEF Europe and Central Asia Regional Office and external review body as per existing arrangements. The Reference Group will be involved throughout the review process and will contribute to the design, interviews, discussions and finalization of the evaluation report.

The national consultant will conduct the evaluation by fulfilling the contractual arrangements in line with the ToR, UNEG/UNICEF norms and standards and ethical guidelines. This includes preparing an inception report, conducting desk review, undertaking field work, drafting/finalizing report.

UNICEF national consultant will follow the Guidance on External Academic Publishing (January 2017) when engaging in external academic publishing, whether in print or digital form.

Quality assurance of inception report and final draft report is mandatory. UNICEF has external quality assurance mechanism provided through Long-Term Agreements. Consultants will be provided with Quality Assurance requirements in advance.

The UNICEF premises will be available, if needed. UNICEF will provide support in organizing meetings for the purposes of data collection and interviews. It is expected that the consultant will use his/her own laptop.

As part of the selection process, the office, in consultation with the International Consultant, will select a national consultant that quotes the lowest fee from the list of prospective consultants who are deemed suitable for achieving all the tasks on time and as per the criteria and deliverables stipulated in the Terms of Reference. National consultant is to submit two samples of writing in English and Russian as part of application documents. The writing samples will be evaluated by selection committee along with qualifications, work experience and financial proposal.

The consultant's fee may be reduced if the assignments/deliverables are not fulfilled to the required standard. In a case of serious dissatisfaction with the consultant's performance the contract may be terminated in line with UNICEF procedure in such matters and as spelled out in the contract.

Duty station and official travel involved

Due to Covid-19 situation no travel is foreseen under this assignment for international and national consultant.

The evaluation team will consist of one international consultant (Team Leader) and one national consultant. It is expected that national consultant will work for 55 days.

The evaluation team Leader will be in charge of leading the entire process through working with the team member and the Evaluation manager. The Team leader will be responsible for timely and quality deliverables of the entire process as well as of the evaluation outputs.

A national consultant (team member) will have the following minimum qualifications and experience:

• An advanced university degree (Master's degree or higher) in political science, sociology or any other related field;
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in evaluation of programmes and projects involving youth, vulnerable categories and grass-root organizations;
• Experience in using participatory techniques in data collection, including in particular gender-sensitive and child-friendly participatory techniques is essential;
• Knowledge of the political, social, peacebuilding contexts of Kyrgyzstan;
• Technical knowledge and expertise in peacebuilding, conflict resolution and cross cutting issues such as gender is an asset;
• Very strong written and spoken communication and facilitation skills;
• Fluency in oral and written English, Russian is required. Knowledge of Kyrgyz and/or Uzbek is an asset;

• Experience collaborating with UNICEF or other UN agencies;

  Expected deliverables of a national consultant:

• Undertake systemic desk review of program related documentation and available program data in Russian language or as per internal division with international consultant;

• Contribute to the development of the Inception and Final Reports;
• Contribute to development and translation of the survey;
• Compile e-mail addresses for the survey;
• Undertake the field work (interviews, group meetings, survey) where Russian language is required or as per division of labour with the international consultant;
• Present preliminary key findings from desk review and field work to ERG;
• Provide at least three human interest stories;
• Develop evaluation results summary with policy recommendations.

This is not a full text of the proposal due to space limitation. Please, download full text of the proposal here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bqAPW5usb5z54u_aldT0jAjI1-wRSv7N/view?usp=sharing

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[1] https://mail.kz/ru/news/world-news/glava-kyrgyzstana-podpisal-zakon-ob-uregulirovanii-granicy-s-uzbekistanom

[2] http://www.uneval.org/normsandstandards/index.jsp?doc_cat_source_id=4.

[3] http://www.unevaluation.org/document/detail/102

[4] UNICEF PROCEDURE FOR ETHICAL STANDARDS IN RESEARCH, EVALUATION, DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS, April 2015

[5] https://www.unicef.org/evaldatabase/files/UNICEF_adapated_reporting_standards_updated_June_2017_FINAL(1).pdf

[6] https://www.unicef.org/evaldatabase/files/GEROS_Handbook_FINAL_full_document.pdf

For every Child, you demonstrate:

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

View our competency framework at http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

The candidate is to submit two samples of writing in English and Russian as part of application documents. The writing samples will be evaluated by selection committee along with qualifications, work experience and financial proposal (Annex II that can be found at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bqAPW5usb5z54u_aldT0jAjI1-wRSv7N/view?usp=sharing).

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered "staff members" under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF's policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

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Added 3 years ago - Updated 2 years ago - Source: unicef.org