Terms of Reference for Final Evaluation of Protecting and Empowering Adolescent Girls and Boys Project (2019-2021)

1.  Project Background 

Funded by Postcode Lottery Fund, Plan Lebanon is implementing in Tripoli a 2-years project in partnership with René Moawad Foundation. The project will conclude in December 2019.

This project aims to protect at-risk adolescents, especially girls between 11 and 18 years old (Syrian, Lebanese and/or other nationalities), from (gender based) violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation, and empower them to raise their voice to claim their right and tackle gender inequality. To achieve this goal, the program is designed as an integrated multi-sectoral approach through which Plan and René Moawad Foundation (RMF) work to:

(1) Increase at-risk adolescent girls’ and boys’ awareness of their rights to protection, and know where and how to identify risks and prevent and respond to child protection concerns including gender-based violence (GBV) – through life skills sessions.

(2) Empower adolescent boys and girls to raise their voice and participate actively in promoting gender equality and a protective environment – through peer groups.

(3) Increase parents/caregivers and community members’ awareness of child protection risks and support them to take appropriate actions to prevent and respond to gender inequality and child protection violations including child marriage and child labour – through parenting circles and community-based sensitization.

(4) Increase access of at-risk adolescent girls and boys, including survivors of (gender-based) violence, to multi-sectoral services including CP, education and economic alternatives – through quality case management services and referrals.

2. Purpose of Final Evaluation

The objective of this final evaluation is to capture the change brought about by the project in empowering adolescent girls and boys to tackle gender inequality and to prevent and respond to protection risks of abuse, violence and neglect.

The evaluation will have three specific objectives:

1. Evaluate the performance of the project through an assessment of the results of the Action’s expected result taking into account the context, the proposal and the monitoring and evaluation framework of the project
2. Analyze the performance of the project through the following OECD and DAC evaluation criteria designed for humanitarian programs: effectiveness, relevance, efficiency, sustainability, and impact.
3. Extract lessons learned and recommendations from this experience to inform future similar programming in Lebanon.

3. Users of the Final Evaluation:

The primary users and audience of the Final Evaluation study will be Plan International and René Moawad Foundation. The secondary audience of the Evaluation will be the donor, Postcode Lottery Fund, who will use the findings to strengthen their programmes; and potentially the local and international community at large.

4.  Methodology & Scope

The study should use mixed method approach and benefit from the quantitative and qualitative approaches. Further to that, below are the 4 main principles that the study should be built on:

1. Inclusiveness—the methodology should include a wide range of viewpoints, specifically gender and age-sensitivity when applicable.
2. Mixed-method approaches—both qualitative and quantitative methods need to be present in the methodology.
3. Rigor of evidence—gathered information needs to be reliable and transparent
4. Ethics—the methodology needs to consider research ethics, and the vulnerability of the target population in order to insure that the evaluation is fully objective.

The study will draw on the following sources:

• Desk study review: It is important to review project documents, logical framework and other relevant online sources of data to complete the assessment.
• Key informant interviews: Interviews will be conducted to gather in depth information on key questions.
• Focus group discussions: To gather in depth information regarding the key purposes mentioned above.
• Community Surveys: Surveys should be distributed to members of the community as per the suggested methodology of the consultant, to collect numerical information related to the study’s main purposes.

The data collection is the responsibility of the consultant, however the project partners will help in facilitating the communication between them and project stakeholders.

5.  Ethical and Child Safeguarding Statements

RMF is committed to ensuring that the rights of those participating in data collection or analysis are respected and protected, in accordance with the Framework for Ethical MERL and our Global Policy on Safeguarding Children and Young People. All applicants should include details in their proposal on how they will ensure ethics and child safeguarding in the data collection process. Specifically, the consultant or film shall explain how appropriate, safe, non-discriminatory participation of all stakeholders will be ensured and how special attention will be paid to the needs of children and other vulnerable groups. The consultant or firm shall also explain how confidentiality and anonymity of participants will be guaranteed.

Additionally, all parties involved in the data collection will receive an induction on Child Safeguarding policy, referral pathways and Non-Staff Code of Conduct.

6.  Key Deliverables 

1. Within Ten days from signing the contract, the consultant should submit an Inception Report, which clearly defines the evaluation methodology, such as clear outlines for the focus group discussions, KII questions, survey questionnaires and research timeline with specific deadlines for each deliverable. The inception report should also clearly explain the sampling methodology and sample size for the quantitative survey and a clear and logical number for the FGDs and KIIs. The inception report including the data collection tools need formal approval from Plan before initiating the data collection phase.
2. A draft Final Evaluation report to be submitted within 10 days of the completion of the data collection phase for review and comments from Plan country team in Lebanon. The review and feedback of the report could be more than one round depending on the quality of the report and the extent to which the comments and suggestions from first round have been incorporated.
3. A final evaluation report to be submitted after incorporating the comments of Plan International. The report should be written in English, 15-20 pages excluding annexes, consisting of (each section should be disaggregated per country)

• Cover page, Plan will provide sample cover sheet for reference
• Table of contents, list of acronyms, abbreviations and list of tables and charts.
• Executive summary of key findings and recommendations – 3-4 pages.
• Background information and context analysis presented per key criteria with a brief description
• Evaluation methodology with clear explanation of sampling and limitations, KIIs, participants’ selection and data analysis approach.
• Research findings, analysis, with associated data presented, where appropriate in clear graphs or charts. The findings can include subsections for each research criteria.
• Conclusion and Recommendations.
• The recommendations should be framed according to each section of project.
• Appendices should include raw and clean collected data, detailed description of the methodology with research instruments, list of interviewees and consent forms, tools, list of key documents.

The report should be submitted electronically in a MS – Word document. The consultant is responsible for English editing and proofreading of the final report which should be well formatted. The report will be credited to the evaluator and potentially placed in the public domain at the decision of Plan International.

All handwritten and electronic transcripts of interviews and KIIs, hard copies of survey questionnaires, photographs taken during the assessment and any equipment received from Plan for the purpose of the study should be submitted to Plan. Furthermore, all information generated during the evaluation study will be the sole property of Plan and is subject to submission to Plan, along with the final report, prior to the end of the contract.

7. Timeline

• Recruitment process deadline: October 10, 2019
• Deadline for finalising the inception report and tools: October 21, 2019
• Deadline for finalising data collection: November 1, 2019
• Deadline for the draft report: November 15, 2019
• Deadline for Plan to provide feedback on the report: November 21, 2019
• Deadline for the final deliverables: November 29, 2019

8.  Budget

The consultant should submit the total budget in the proposal with detail breakdown including applicable government taxes.

The total budget for this evaluation should not exceed 5000$.

9.  Expected Qualifications

The Consultant/Consulting firm should have the following competencies and qualifications:

• Experience working in Lebanon, preferably in the project’s target areas
• Demonstrated expertise in carrying out Final Evaluation studies
• Demonstrated experience of facilitating research with participatory methods and tools, particularly with children and young people
• Competency in managing, organizing and interpreting quantitative and qualitative data and information
• Capabilities to work in Arabic and English languages

• Experience working with vulnerable groups, including refugees and children
• Master’s Degree in social studies, International Development or any other related field
• Minimum 5 years’ experiences in undertaking evaluation studies in the Lebanese context.
• Relevant experiences in the response to humanitarian crisis, preferably in the areas of education, protection, and livelihoods.
• 5 years’ experience in field level data collection and qualitative research in similar type of studies.
• Solid experience in the development of tools for evaluation studies involving vulnerable populations.
• Good data analysis and analytical report writing skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in Arabic and English.
• Ability to communicate effectively to a range of different stakeholders
• Availability to travel to the project areas for the duration of the data collection.

Note, and if needed, the consultant / consulting firm are required to identify, recruit, contract and train enumerators and data collectors. No support can be provided on this matter by Plan.

11. contact

Should you need further information, please contact: htanios@rmf.org.lb                                

Interested applicants should provide a proposal covering the following aspects:

• A detailed response to the TOR
• Proposed methodology
• Ethics and child safeguarding approaches, including any identified risks and associated mitigation strategies
• Proposed timelines
• CVs
• Example of previous work
• Detailed budget, including daily fee rates, expenses, etc.