Consultant For The Final Evaluation Of ”Promoting Working With Men And Boys To End Violence Against Women In The Middle East” Project

Introduction   Under a project funded by the European Union titled ”Promoting working with men and boys to end violence against women in the Middle East”, Oxfam GB is seeking a consultant and/or a team of consultants to conduct a final evaluation of the 36 months project that has been implemented in Jordan, Lebanon, OPTI and North Iraq.   The current phase of the projct builds on Oxfam GB’s work with its partners to promote strategies and approaches of working with men and boys to eliminate violence against women (VAW) since 2009. From the incpeiton of the project, it is focused on building the capacity of women’s right organisations to work with men to end VAW  and to positively influence their attitudes and practices.   The current phase of the project, which was launched in 2011 aimes to contribute to the efforts of civil society organizations in countering gender stereotypes to combat the root causes of VAW through bringing about an improvement in attitudes and practices of men, and the policies of institutions to end VAW in the Middle East.   It was anticipated that the following outcomes will be achived by the end of the project: Enhanced capacity of 16 CSO's to effectively influence men in key institutions to take positive actions to end VAW in Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and oPt;  Enhanced capacity of 4 CSO’s in counselling for male perpetrators in Lebanon, Jordan, oPt and North Iraq; Enhanced capacity of men's forums to lead awareness raising campaigns to end VAW in Lebanon, Jordan, oPt and establish in North Iraq; Improved attitudes and practices of male beneficiaries with reference to VAW as a result of Middle East White Ribbon Campaign in targeted countries; Improved capacity of  two organisations  to act as a resource organizations on working with men and boys to eliminate VAW in their respective countries .    2.      Scope and Scale The evaluation will assess the achievements of the project against its stated outcomes, including an examination of the relevance of the outcomes and of the project design and impact. It will also identify significant factors that have facilitated, challenged or impeded the delivery of outcomes. Whilst a review of the past is in itself very important, the evaluation is expected to lead to recommendations and lessons learned for the future.   The final evaluation will take into consideration the following points Project design Project implementaion Project progress and impact Project challenges Sustainability Recommendations for the future   Evaluation Questions   The evaluation will cover the 3 main areas outlined in Oxfam GB’s evaluation policy (enclosed) as well as several additional areas.  The evaluation questions will be refined in conjunction with the successful consultants.   1.  The project’s outcomes or impact What have been results of the project to date in the four target countries? How far did we achieve what we set out to?  Are there any unexpected outcomes?   Oxfam’s contribution or ‘added value’ What difference did Oxfam make? What would have happened without Oxfam? What value did Oxfam add to coalitions/alliances?  What value-added did the coalitions bring?  2.      The project’s cost-effectiveness How cost effective was the project as a whole/particular elements?    Particular evaluation questions will focus on: Strategy How effective was the Oxfam GB change strategy? Was it the right strategy?   Ways of Working How effective was the interaction between Oxfam/ partners/sub-contractors?   Learning for the future What learning is there about strategy or successful or innovative project tactics? What are the implications/lessons for Oxfam’s work moving forward in the months ahead?   Oxfam has been trialling a number of ways of improving monitoring, evaluation and learning its campaigns at different levels, and so the evaluation will also reflect on progress on this issue and how this can be improved/developed.  3.      Methodology:   Interested parties will be asked to tender a short outline methodology of how they would tackle this evaluation, both on a theoretical and practical basis.    This should include: significant amounts of desk research (plans, monitoring data, internal evaluations…) interviews with key internal stakeholders. (Men’s Forum, Key Institutions, etc) interviews with key external stakeholders including allies and targets Visits to all 4 countries, if possible (Lebanon, Jordan. oPt & North Iraq)   The selected evaluation team would then work collaboratively with Oxfam to refine the methodology and develop a detailed evaluation plan.   The programme will be evaluated in the field in Lebanon, Jordan. oPt & North Iraq.    4.      Evaluation Process and Timeline   The consultancy is expected to begin on January 1st 2014 until February 15th 2014.   Action                    By When                    Who Terms of Reference out to tender   7th November Oxfam Tender bids received by   25th November Oxfam Review applications    Last week Nov. Oxfam Interview consultants (face to face or videocon)   1st week Dec. Oxfam/Consultants Refine methodology, develop evaluation plan and agree contractual details   By mid Dec. Consultants/Oxfam Begin desk research (depending on availability)   December 2013 Consultants Evaluation undertaken   December 2013 Consultants Presentation and discussion of initial findings/first draft with wider Oxfam team   January 2014 Consultants/Oxfam Meeting to review nearly final draft in detail   End Jan. 2014 Consultants/Oxfam Final evaluation submitted   End Jan. 2014 Consultants Write and issue management response   1st Week Feb. Oxfam Evaluation published online + disseminated   February 2014 Oxfam  5.      Outputs   Expected outputs include:   An agreed evaluation plan and methodology A presentation of initial evaluation findings/first draft for face to face discussion with Oxfam   Final evaluation report, not more than 40 pages, of publishable quality, with a stand-alone executive summary of not more than 5 pages 2-3 case study reports, length to be agreed in conversation with evaluator(s) A meeting with interested stakeholders to discuss the findings or methodology (TBC) Oxfam may also wish to communicate the evaluation findings in different forms for different audiences.  This will be discussed at the interview stage   In addition, the final report should contain at least the following annexes: Terms of Reference for final evaluation Itinerary List of meetings attended List of persons interviewed Summary of field visits List of documents reviewed Any other relevant material  6.    Technical evaluation   Criteria for selection will be:   Clear, credible, structured proposed methodology Excellent track record and respect in the evaluation/research/climate change field Demonstrable experience of conducting complex evaluations Experience of advocacy / policy influencing work Ability to manage the totality of the evaluation, including logistics and recruiting and managing other team members where necessary Excellent interpersonal skills and adaptability Time available during the critical Dec-Feb period Value for money   Short-listed candidates will be contacted two weeks after the application submission deadline.   7.  Financial proposal   Prices must be quoted in USD and include all expenses necessary to perform the contract.