Consultant: Project Evaluation on the project entitled: ATTAIN Project

TERMS OF REFERENCE (TOR)

Project Evaluation on the project entitled: ATTAIN Project or “Accompanying the Transition, Transformation of conflict, and Advocacy on social cohesion In the Normalisation of Bangsamoro”

I. Introduction

Nonviolence Peaceforce (NP) is a nonpartisan international organization globally recognized for its Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP) strategies in preventing violence, increasing safety and security of civilians, and strengthening local peace infrastructures across its programme locations.  Presently, NP has country programme operations in South Sudan, Sudan, Myanmar, Iraq, Ukraine and the Philippines.

NP has been present in Mindanao, Philippines for 13 years working and living within the conflict-affected areas and being the first international NGO tasked to monitor civilian protection issues under the signed peace agreements of the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) since 2009. With the recent Bangsamoro transition, NP’s current strategy is directed towards supporting and complementing the operations of Joint Normalization Committee (JNC) and other normalization mechanisms on the ground. Last February 2022, the GPH-MILF JNC signed a term of reference (TOR) recognizing the role of NP in the implementation of the Normalization Program.

NP has been granted funding support by the European Union (EU) 2.5 years from November 2020 to May 2023 2022 to realize its ATTAIN Project or Accompanying the Transition, Transformation of conflict, and Advocacy on social cohesion In the Normalisation of Bangsamoro.  ATTAIN Project is NP’s strategic approach to complement the civilian protection component of confidence-building and security measures under the normalization and opportunity to broaden the practice of unarmed strategies in conflict transformation and social cohesion in Mindanao. The Project is being implemented   in 4 regions covering BARMM, Region 9, 10 and 12. A baseline study had been conducted at the beginning of the project to analyze the status of target groups prior to project implementation. Since the project is about to end, NP intends to conduct an independent end line study to determine the changes delivered by the project against the baseline survey indicators.

II. Project Portfolio

The overall goal Peaceful, cohesive, secure, and inclusively developed Mindanao. Under the overall goal there are two (2) specific objectives and six (6) indicators The project/initiative has two expected outcomes outlined in the Annex 1 of this document

To achieve the outcomes, the project implements the following key interventions (Please see logic model in annex for list of activities).

• Package of training (values transformation, culture of peace and nonviolence, and Early Response and Early Warning)
• Provide support to MILF former combatants on psychosocial healing
• Establishment of Early Warning and Early Response (EWER) structures; recognition, accreditation and linkage to local special bodies.
• Support JPST members refresher course training and oriented on civilian protection framework
• Facilitate conflict resolution initiatives or dialogues.
• Provide orientation on the normalization in BARMM
• Facilitate engagement of LGUs and communities in the Normalization mechanisms and processes

III. Objectives

The overall objective of the consultancy is to conduct a project evaluation of the ATTAIN Project using the OECD DAC criteria. This activity includes endline study to assess the outcomes or changes in the lives of the target groups and beneficiaries attributed to or contributed by the project in comparison to the baseline study conducted in 2021.

Specifically, the objectives of the endline impact evaluation are as follows:

Objective 1: To provide an assessment of results (intended and unintended, positive and negative) of the project at the overall goal and outcome levels

Objective 2: Evaluate to what extent the Nonviolent Peaceforce has delivered the effective,       efficient, relevant and timely, quality activities to beneficiaries as set in the project log frame.

Objective 3: To identify key lessons learned and good practices that led to the achievement of results

Objective 4: To identify and assess challenges and draw recommendation for future programming.

IV. Evaluation Themes and Questions

This evaluation will attempt to address the following questions:

1. Project Outcomes

     a. How did the project work on strengthening capacity and influencing policies and programs of the government? Provide evidence.

2. What the project did to reach the outcomes

     a. What activities or combination of activities are effective in improving the capacities (anticipate, absorb, adopt, transform) of men and women participating in the project?

     b. How did the project link with gender and what are its implications for programming?

     c. How appropriate is the project approach to normalization in BARMM?

3. Gender-transformative change

    a. What are the opportunities or entry points for gender-transformative programming (in all areas of agency, structure, and relations)? Has the project utilized/maximized such opportunities (explain gaps, effective strategies)?

   b. What are the mechanisms or strategies that enable (access to (?) and an influential voice of women in formal and informal decision-making spaces?

   c. How did the project ensure meaningful and equal participation of men and women in project processes?

4. Sustainability

   a. Which among the approaches or comprehensive suite of interventions (model) should be sustained or replicated? Why? How?

   b. What are the approaches to ensure that the EWER monitors are effectively and efficiently functioning and sustained beyond the life of the project?

   c. How do we strengthen their roles? How is the project influencing the government to be gender-responsive and risk-informed? How can this be sustained?

This refers to objective 2:

i. Effectiveness:

The end line evaluation should assess the following:

• To what extent have the planned objectives in the log frame of the project, been reached, per indicator, disaggregated by gender and age?
• To what extent have the project activities contributed to the overall goal? Was the project effective in increasing skills of women and men?
• What were the major factors influencing the achievement of the objectives of the project?
• What opportunities for collaboration have been, utilized and how have these contributed to increased effectiveness? or otherwise?

ii. Efficiency

• How efficient was the delivery of project by Nonviolent Peaceforce, not only in terms of expenditure, but also in terms of implementation of activities?
• Was the project activity implementation (modality), considered to have been cost-efficient, while not compromising quality?
• What would have been opportunities within project to reach more beneficiaries with the available budget or to reduce costs while reaching at least the same number of beneficiaries without compromising quality?
• What choices were, made in terms of collaboration and non-collaboration during project design? Why were, these choices made?
• Were, alterations made to the program design in terms of collaboration during the implementation phase based on the reality on the ground?
• What were the outcomes of these choices for effective and efficient project implementation?

iii. Relevance/Impact

• How relevant were the objectives and activities, implemented by the project, in addressing preventing and countering violent extremism?
• How do beneficiaries perceive the relevance of the project and how has the activities implemented improved their lives? Are there any stories of change?
• How has the collaboration between Nonviolent Peaceforce, Local partners, and CSOs contributed to appropriate response of specific needs and priorities of the beneficiaries?

iv. Timeliness

• Were the project design and interventions timely in responding to the needs on the ground?
• Were, the activities timely implemented in comparison to project planning?
• Were funds available in time during implementation of the activities to respond to new developments,
• To what extent did the collaboration between Nonviolent Peaceforce and Local partners and other stakeholders contributed to efficient and timely coordination of logistic activities and processes?

v. Reached

• To what, extent have the project beneficiaries been reached and what mechanisms were in place to improve coverage?
• What are the main reasons that the project provided or failed to provide to its target beneficiaries proportionate to their need?

vi. Quality

• The end line evaluation should assess the overall quality of the implementation. It is important to include beneficiaries’ opinion on the quality of the services received.
• What mechanisms are in place to track project implementation of the Nonviolent Peaceforce project? (i.e. internal monitoring, evaluation, accountability, learning (MEAL) and quality assurance mechanisms)?
• How have they been, utilized to increase quality within the project?

Objective 3: To identify key lessons learned and good practices that led to the achievement of results

The end line evaluation should at least include one lesson learned and recommendation per evaluation category, i.e., effectiveness, efficiency, relevance etc.

• What are the key lessons learned per objective? To what extent has the delivery of response activities contributed to effective, efficient, relevant and timely delivery of the project and enhanced impact for the beneficiaries?

Objective 4: To identify and assess challenges and draw recommendation for future programming.

Sustainability

• Will the changes caused by this project continue beyond the life of the project?
• What, mechanisms have, Nonviolent Peaceforce, and partners put in place to sustain the key project outputs and outcomes?
• How has the project worked with local partners to increase their capacity in a sustainable way?
• What motivations /mechanisms exist for partners to continue playing these roles?
• What are the risks facing sustainability of project outputs and outcomes?

V. Intended Users

The evaluation findings will be shared with and used by relevant stakeholders, including local and international NGOs, local government units, government line agencies, private sector, Nonviolent Peaceforce Members, and the European Union Delegation in the Philippines to inform their current and future similar programming.

VI. Methodology

The methodology will, be developed by the consultant, as well as all relevant tools and presented in the inception report. The data collection should include the use of a number of approaches to gain a deeper understanding of the outcomes of the project, including:

• Desk review of background documents (project document, project monitoring data, progress report, activity reports, etc.).
• End line evaluation survey in project implementation sites
• Key informant interviews (e.g., with Nonviolent Peaceforce project staff members, i.e. Program Development Manager, Project coordinator, team leaders and key community members/beneficiaries, local partner, and CSOs) to gather substantial anecdotal evidence on the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance and timeliness of the project activities implementation and delivery
• Focus group discussions (e.g., with stakeholders, community members, and local government unit representatives, The FGD will serve as input for the narrative anecdotal evidence.
• Evaluation tools, methodology and findings should be reviewed and validated by NP staff, CSO partner and approved by the Head of Program.
• NP will provide the beneficiary survey summary (tabulated) data and Excel database.

He/she is expected to come up and utilize methodologies aligned with the key indicators of the project results framework and as well as considering COVID-19 adaptive strategies.

VII. EXPECTATIONS: Deliverables and Timelines

The consultant’s engagement shall be 60 days for a period of three months (April01-May 30, 2023). The activities with corresponding deliverables or outputs are the following in the Annex 2 of this document

1. The evaluation workplan will include the proposed evaluation approach, framework of analysis, Key Evaluation Questions matrix, sampling approach and methods, data collection tools, validation (data quality assurance), data analysis plan showing how each question will be analyzed from the data collected, roles and responsibilities, timeline with detailed calendar of key activities and milestones and associated levels of effort. The Key Evaluation Questions matrix should identify more detailed areas of focus for each question, aspects to consider within each focus area, and methods for investigation.
2. Draft report following the agreed outline/format plus the PowerPoint presentation material
3. Final report and PowerPoint presentation material, including supporting documentation (interview documentation and photos)
4. The consultant will ensure that the following gender considerations are integrated in conducting the assignment:

• The entire process will take into consideration key gender issues for each area of focus.
• Set gender equality protocols for the data collection, ensure all tools and data collection techniques are sex-disaggregated
• Collect data using good gender equality practices. Note that data sets must be sex-disaggregated and collect information from women and men as separate individuals or groups

The final report must not exceed 50 pages (excluding all annexes) in MS Word and use standard page set-up, margin, fonts, and line spacing.

The report should consist of:

a. Cover Page (include a title that conveys the name of the project, location, implementation period, as well as the main impact or key finding of the report as a sub-title)

b. Table of Contents: List of Acronyms Acknowledgements

c. Executive Summary (no more than pages in length and is formatted so that it can be printed as a standalone document about the evaluation)

d. Introduction (including the following sub-sections: Purpose and Evaluation Objectives, and Evaluation Questions)

e. Methodology and Design Findings (achievement of outcomes) and Analysis (including what the project did to achieve the outcomes)

f. Good Practices (These are highlights of the most effective, relevant, and scalable approaches and tools.)

g. Limitations and Challenges Lessons Learned (These should be short, actionable, and the most important aspects of what the program/analysis found. They need to be relevant and new for people outside of the direct program.)

h. Conclusion Recommendations Annexes

The financial proposal should comprise consultant professional fees. All costs should remain valid up to sixty-days (60) from the day of proposal submission.

VIII. Roles and Responsibilities of the Consultant

In close cooperation with the programme’s unit particularly the Project Coordinator and the M & E Officer, the successful consultants will:

• Design a precise timeline to plan, to capture information, analyze results and complete the Endline Impact Evaluation report;
• Develop and suggest crucial additional and improved indicators to capture project outcomes and outputs;
• Design endline survey chart to present the findings;
• Formulate research questions based on log frame indicators and agreed upon additional indicators;
• Present the planning of the survey through an in-person or virtual workshop for project staff
• Consolidate survey results after the actual survey conducted by NP for data analysis.
• Amend survey chart and research questions as by inputs from the workshop;
• Summarize findings in the survey chart and in an analytical narrative part;
• Present the draft report to the ATTAIN project team;
• Incorporate comments from the ATTAIN project team for the final report.

IX. Copyright and Ownership of the Study

Any and all documents produced under this consultancy shall be the sole property of NP and may be used for any purpose whatsoever without the need to consult with the author.

X. Professional Fee and Mode of Payment

The professional fee will be inclusive of tax and the payment will be done according to the following arrangement: please see Annex 3 of this document

The payments will be made in A/C payee cheques in the name of the consultant/company.

XI. Qualification of the Consultant

The consultant shall have the following qualifications:

• At least 3-5 years of progressively responsible experience in development research, evaluation of developmental programmes, and project management, preferably in areas related to peace and conflict and humanitarian work;
• With demonstrated expertise in monitoring and evaluation of gender-transformative.
• Familiarity with different methodologies for evaluation and review, including quantitative and qualitative data collection and participatory approaches;
• Demonstrated ability to construct and use sex-disaggregated data collection tools and to present data in reports in a consistent and through sex-disaggregated and gender-sensitive manner.
• Proven ability to write quality reports and expertise in carrying out large scale qualitative and quantitative studies;
• Must be result-oriented, a team player, exhibiting high levels of enthusiasm, tact, diplomacy and integrity.

XII. Application Process and Requirements

Qualified and interested parties are asked to submit the following:

• Letter of Interest and submission of the Proposal
• A detailed technical proposal clearly demonstrating a thorough understanding of this TOR and including but not limited to the following:
• Consultant/Company Profile
• Description of the Methodology and Sample Size Determination
• Demonstrated previous experience in similar assignments and qualifications outlined in this TOR (provide 2-3 sample work)
• Proposed data management plan (collection, processing and analysis)
• Study work plan
• Team composition and level of effort of each proposed team member (include CVs of each senior team member)
• A financial proposal with a detailed breakdown of costs for the study quoted in PHP.

How to apply:

• Candidates meeting the above requirements are requested to submit abovementioned requirements. Incomplete applications will not be considered
• The closing date for applications is Friday, 31 March 2023
• As part of the recruitment process, shortlisted candidates may be asked to complete a written assignment and if successful, participate in an interview process.

Special Notice:

Nonviolent Peaceforce is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff at all levels. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position. However, all qualified applicants regardless of their gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, or age, will be considered for this opportunity.

Nonviolent Peaceforce acknowledges the duty of care to safeguard and promote the welfare of employees, contractors, volunteers, interns, beneficiaries and other stakeholders and is committed to ensuring safeguarding practice reflects statutory responsibilities, government guidance and complies with best practice in the Humanitarian and Development sector.

NO FEE

NONVIOLENT PEACEFORCE DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). NONVIOLENT PEACEFORCE DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.