Consultancy For Rapid Project Evaluation

“Promoting Women and Girls’ Wellbeing through Empowerment Initiatives and Improved Access to Reproductive Health Services in Lebanon”   Consultancy for Rapid Project Evaluation   Consultancy for Individuals    Background and Rational   To date the Syrian crisis has entered in its seven year. The number of registered Syrian refugees amounts a total of 1,011,366 individuals currently registered with UNHCR in Lebanon, considered being the largest proportion of refugees in the world if compared to the size of its population and the largest number in the region reaching and estimated 1.5 million of which about 78% are women and children[1].   After six years of conflict and protracted displacement, poor living conditions coupled with lack of privacy in overcrowded settlements triggered serious protection concerns, including Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in general and early marriage/domestic violence in particular.  Access to Reproductive Health (RH) services and information among Syrians and poor Lebanese also constitutes a major concern addressed by UNFPA through its programmes with implementing partners.   Since early 2017, UNFPA initiated in close collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs (hereafter MOSA) a short-term pilot project aiming at promoting women and girls’ wellbeing through empowerment initiatives and improved access to reproductive health services across Lebanon. This community-based project is currently being implemented through 4 local partners(NGOs) working in partnership with 13 MOSA Social and Development Centers (SDCs) in 4 regions and will end in December 2017. The interventions are contributing to reinforce the awareness, knowledge and capacity of local structures (such as Municipalities, community networks, local leaders) on Gender, GBV and RH to become agents of positive change in their communities through engaging them in community based needs assessment and different types of capacity development initiatives. The implementation of the project is governed through the diligent monitoring from UNFPA and partners including regular review of workplans, field visits, review of resources/messages/material, etc.   Interventions that aim at promoting access to RH and preventing/responding to GBV are receiving increased attention from governments, civil society, donors and the UN system in development as well as humanitarian related contexts. This is an encouraging indication that this universal human rights violation is increasingly receiving the concern and support it merits. UNFPA is committed to maintain the highest standard in implementation and systematically monitor the impact, including through beneficiaries’ participative approaches.   Based on the above, UNFPA is seeking to undertake a rapid evaluation on the process and output/outcome of this project, retrieve lessons learned, highlight best practices as well as challenges and constraints. The findings of this rapid assessment will allow UNFPA, MOSA and partners to assess possibility for expanding and scaling up these interventions based on the effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and relevance of the approaches.     Purpose and Objectives   This rapid evaluation will serve three main purposes: (a) demonstrate accountability to stakeholders on achieving results; (b) support evidence-based decision making for tailoring/scaling up/expanding interventions; and (c) contribute key lessons learned to the existing knowledge base on how to promote wellbeing of women and girls through empowerment initiatives, access to RH and prevention/response to GBV.     The evaluation will address the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coverage, coherence and connectedness.     The specific objectives of the consultancy are:  To assess the relevance and coherence of the project;  To assess the effectiveness of the processes and stages of preparations and implementation;  To assess the project’s key results among a selected number of both Lebanese and Syrian male and female beneficiaries in terms of empowerment, increased knowledge, improved access to information and services, etc;  To assess the project’s results among a selected number of stakeholders and service providers trained in terms of increased awareness and capacity; To identify challenges and constraints, retrieve lessons learned and come up with key recommendations; and To highlight 1-2 good practices.     Methodology and Tools   The following methodology is proposed to guide the rapid evaluation: Conduct desk review including relevant proposal, reports, training material, SDC workplans, focus group discussion guides, etc. Design an evaluation methodology (including data collection tools, evaluation questions, and evaluation matrix with associated assumptions to be assessed) using mostly qualitative data Conduct key informant interviews/Focus Group Discussion (FGD) suggested as follows: o  6 key informant interviews with central stakeholders (1 with each of the four implementing partners, 1 with MOSA, 1 with UNFPA); o   6-8 interviews with SDC Directors/Social Workers; o 14-16 interviews with trained SDC service providers (ensuring a mix of gender, and specialties  i.e. doctors/midwives/nurses; o   8-10 FGD with community members participants in the project for the different categories namely women, youth, male peer educators (ensuring a mix of Lebanese and Syrians) and community leaders         Tasks   Under the guidance of UNFPA office, a consultant will be contracted to carry out the following tasks:    Develop a detailed timeline for the consultancy, including field visits and meetings, in collaboration and as agreed with UNFPA and MOSA;  Inception meeting with UNFPA to ensure clear understanding of the TORs, expected results and deliverables  Desk literature review;  Development of a set of instruments and tools for data collection namely semi structured interview guide + FGD guide  Conduct FGD and interviews as indicated under the section on methodology and tools;  Prepare and ensure timely delivery of the first draft of the report, in English, to be reviewed by UNFPA;  Consolidate the input/feedback into a final report which includes a set of recommendations.  Translate and submit report into Arabic     Expected Outcome The consultant shall deliver a detailed assessment report in English and Arabic based on the objectives and requirements set forth in the Terms of Reference. The report will constitute the final outcome of this consultancy and is suggested to consist mainly of the following sections (final structure to be discussed with UNFPA)    Overview and background for the assessment;  Methodological approach;  Findings and discussion including challenges and lessons learned;  Evaluation matrix summarizing the findings in terms of relevance, coverage, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and connectedness;  Highlighting 1-2 good practices;  Conclusion and recommendations;  List of annexes (including the tools developed); and  References.   Support to be provided by UNFPA   The assignment will be carried out under the guidance of UNFPA, who shall provide the following support to the consultancy: Provide relevant documents, material, reports, etc Provide list, contacts and map of UNFPA implementing partners and other stakeholders Engage partners to facilitate the focus group discussions in the field Review and provide technical comment/inputs on tools developed and final report.     Duration of Assignment   The assessment should be concluded within 10 weeks from the signing of the contract.   Qualifications    Advanced University degree in social/development sciences or other related areas with  At least 5 years experience in research and evaluation including considerable knowledge and skills in survey design, data collection and analysis;  Strong background in social development with focus on GBV/RH;  Good knowledge in humanitarian contexts and familiarity with humanitarian related resources and material;  Excellent analytical and drafting skills;  Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to establish effective and working relations with other stakeholders;  Excellent written and spoken communication skills in Arabic and English.   How to apply   Interested candidates who meet the above qualifications should apply on line by submitting the following:    Updated P11 reflecting their work experience relevant to the consultancy requirements indicated in the TORs.  Cover Letter detailing relevant background, skills and motivation. The above documents/information should be submitted to the following email address:  info-lebanon@unfpa.org no laterthan October 10, 2017.   UNFPA will only be responsible to respond to those applicants submitting the above required documents and in which there is further interest.   ONLY individual consultants, not companies, are eligible to apply. [1] http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/country.php?id=122