Call For Final Evaluation's Proposals For Enfe Ii Program

ENFE II Final Evaluation: Terms of Reference Program background Enhancing Non-Formal Education for Palestinian Youth in the North of Lebanon (ENFE II) is a two years program implemented in the Palestinian camps of Nahr el-Bared and Beddawi and funded by Reach Out to Asia (ROTA). The program started in June 2012 and will end in July 2014. ENFE II is an extension and expansion of ANERA and ROTA’s pilot intervention supporting non-formal education in Nahr El Bared camp since November 2010. The main goal of the program is that Palestinian Youth of Beddawi and Nahr el-Bared have enhanced capabilities and life skills through non-formal education. More specifically, the program aims at: 1) Improving vocational training services and increasing the employability of 200 students, 2) Improving remedial education services and assisting 600 elementary students (6-13 years old) in improving their scholastic performances and enhancing their language acquisition, 3) Improving access to sports activities that promote personal development and healthy lifestyle for 2,000 youth. The program utilizes Sports as a cross cutting program strategy to address the priorities in each of the three chosen sectors. ANERA is implementing this project in partnership with four Vocational Training centers, seven organizations providing remedial education and 22 youth and sports clubs in the camps of Beddawi and Nahr el-Bared. An internal mid-term evaluation has been conducted in Summer 2013. The evaluation report will be shared with the consultant. Evaluation Objectives and Questions: Although project implementation is monitored through regular project progress reports submitted to donors, a more comprehensive and objective evaluation by an external consultant is deemed necessary to validate results reported and to convince current and potential stakeholders of the continued support and possible expansion of the project. ANERA (project-implementer) and its donor (ROTA) agree that the project has been implemented sufficiently to merit a formative evaluation. The various project stakeholders are in agreement that the formative evaluation will have the following objectives: 1. To assess the effectiveness of the project (i.e., the extent to which the project stated objectives are being achieved or can be achieved); 2. To assess sustainability of the project (i.e., the likelihood of the project continuing after donor support); 3. To assess the relevance of the project (i.e. appropriateness of the project in relation to the needs and situation in the refugee camps of North Lebanon); and 4. To determine ways to improve the project design, with special focus on the content and delivery of the peace education curriculum Addressing the 4 evaluation objectives will require that the evaluator provide answers to the following specific questions: Effectiveness To what extent have the project’s three objectives (improving vocational training services, improving remedial education, and improving access to sports activities) have been reached? Are the project activities adequate to realize the objectives? Relevance Are project objectives in keeping with locally defined needs and priorities? Should the direction of the project be changed to better reflect those needs and priorities? Sustainability To what extent does the project established processes and systems that are likely to support the continued implementation of the project? Are the involved parties willing and able to continue the education project’s activities on their own? Project Design Improvement In what ways can the new vocational training model (curriculum and manual) be improved to better meet project objectives? In what ways can the delivery of the vocational training curriculum be improved to ensure that pupils acquire the knowledge, skills and practice (KSP) to improve their employability? In what ways can the remedial education model (teacher training, integrating sports and life skills into the curricula, and class development,) better improve the school performance of targeted children. 10. In what ways, if any, can the sports interventions be improved to reach out to more youth and ensure enhancement of their personal development and adopting a healthy lifestyle. 11. How can the overall design of the project be improved to better achieve the project objectives? Evaluation Methods and Scope of Work The evaluator is expected to undertake the evaluation in as rigorous manner as possible to produce information and make recommendations that are sufficiently valid and reliable based on data and analysis. It is expected that the evaluator will conduct a participatory evaluationthat will involve project implementers and target beneficiaries in all key evaluation tasks. Existing project documents and progress reports will be shared with the evaluator to facilitate completion of the tasks. It is also expected that the evaluator will work with the ANERA concerned team and partners. ANERA team includes the Country Director, the education program manager, the sports program manager, the financial manager, vocational training advisor, Sports consultant, and 2 project coordinators. Partners include the Community-Based rehabilitation Association (CBRA), the National Institute for Social Care and Vocational Training (NISCVT), the Women’s Program Association (WPA), Najdeh Association, Ghassan Kanafani Cultural Foundation, Taddamon, the Children and Youth Center (CYC), and the Palestinian Children and Youth Institution (PCYI), as well as 22 sports clubs. Working closely with ANERA team and partners, the scope of work of the evaluator will include the following: 1. Develop the monitoring and evaluation framework, design and methodology together with the local team. 2. Develop the evaluation implementation work plan 3. Develop the evaluation instruments and conduct validation and field testing of the instruments. 4. Assess the content of the vocational training, remedial educational and life skills sports curricula and propose revisions for improvement 5. Assess the training of teachers to use the curriculum and propose improvements as needed 6. Assess the use of the curriculum by the teachers in actual classroom instructions 7. Assess the initial outcomes of the use and application of the different curricula in terms of teachers’ and pupils’ knowledge, skills and practice (KSP) 8. Prepare the evaluation report and present the findings in a workshop to be organized for the purpose of disseminating results to intended audience in Beddawi and NBC. Timetable and Deliverables Within a 4-week consultancy period, the consultant is expected to complete the above-mentioned scope of work. The deliverables are as follows: 1. Evaluation framework/design and implementation plan agreed with the ANERA team 2. Evaluation instruments developed and validated 3. Data analysis 4. First draft of the evaluation report 5. Presentation of the evaluation report 6. Finalization of the evaluation report The consultancy period will be from July 22 to August 20, 2014, inclusive of 4 days stay in Beirut at the beginning and end of the consultancy for orientation and debriefing. Consultant’s Fees The consultant shall submit a detailed budget proposal not to exceed USD 8,000 inclusive of all costs. Terms of payment The total amount of entitlement directly payable to the consultant to be paid as follows: a) 20% upon signing of contract by July 20 2014. b) 30% upon submission of i) the evaluation framework/design and implementation plan agreed with and endorsed by the ANERA, and ii) the evaluation instruments developed and validated. These deliverables are due by July 26, 2014 c) 30% upon submission of the first draft of the evaluation report by August 15, 2014. d) 20% upon submission of the final evaluation report acceptable to UNICEF by August 20, 2014. Evaluation Team’s Qualifications The proposed evaluation team must one or several experts with the following profiles and qualifications: - A solid and diversified experience in conducting similar project evaluations; - Skills in quantitative and qualitative data analysis; - Knowledge and experience in assessing education programs, and particularly vocational training and learning-support non-formal education interventions; - Knowledge and experience in assessing “sports for development” projects; - Good knowledge of the socio-economical situation of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon; - Fluency in Arabic; - Excellent writing skills in English and Arabic and ability to communicate complex research, statistics and data analysis issued orally into clear and concise written reports. Application Materials Interested consultants should submit a proposal including: - Capability statement and background information on similar tasks performed in the past; - The composition of the evaluation team and their CVs; - Proposed evaluation methodology; - Draft work plan broken down per person per week with deliverables; - Detailed budget proposal. Deadline to submit proposal is 12 July 2014. Please note that proposals will be reviewed as they come and the contract may be signed before the end of the application deadline. All proposals must be submitted via email to Samer Kamakh, Program and Admin Assistant: anera@aneralebanon.org