Request for Proposals for Project Evaluation Consultant

Background: For 100 years, the Near East Foundation (NEF) has worked to build more sustainable, prosperous, and inclusive communities in the Middle East, Caucasus, and Africa through education, governance, and economic development initiatives. Working through a network of country offices and local partners, NEF currently has approximately 250 staff members – almost all nationals – and programs in ten countries: Armenia, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Mali, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan, South Sudan, and Syria. Its programs are organized around three themes: Stabilization and Peacebuilding, Climate-resilient Development, and Inclusive Economic Development. 

Project Overview:  The Reducing the Vulnerability of Syrian Refugees and Lebanese in Lebanon V project, implemented from September 2021 to September 2022 in 5 areas (Tripoli, Halba, Bekaa, Saida and Beirut /Mount Lebanon) aims to reduce household economic vulnerability and reliance on harmful coping strategies by increasing access & knowledge to livelihoods and protection information and providing business skills on how to start and manage income generating activities. 

Assignment:  NEF Lebanon office is seeking a consultant to evaluate its US BPRM funded project. The assignment is expected to be completed within a minimum of 20 working days over a period of 4 months, starting the  third week of September 2022. The primary objective of this evaluation is to gauge the performance and results of the project on partners, target communities and beneficiaries, and to provide clear evidence of the project’s relevancy, efficiency, efficacy, impact, and sustainability to enable NEF to compile lessons learned, trends and recommendations.

Expected Outputs/Deliverables of the Consultancy: Under the supervision of the Country Representative, and with support from the Senior Project Coordinator and M&E Coordinator, the Consultant will be required to deliver the following outputs: 

• The consultant shall prepare a brief workplan. The workplan should set out the consultant’s approach for conducting evaluation activities for conducting the assessment. The period of consultancy should be completed within a minimum of 20 working days over a period of 4 months, starting with the day the agreement is signed.
• A solid inception report including (a) preliminary analysis following key project documentation review; (b) the methodology proposed, including a sampling strategy and the data collection tools; and (c) a detailed workplan. The draft of inception report is expected by October 14, 2022 for review by NEF Lebanon before finalization by the consultant.
• A solid draft report in English detailing the methodology, analysis, key findings (qualitative and quantitative) by performance indicator, evaluation criteria and evaluative questions, lessons learned, and in-depth recommendations that will inform the new phase of the project (2022-2023) and future programming. The draft report should be submitted for review and comments to NEF by December 16, 2022 with the possibility of up to 3 rounds of reviews. Collected quantitative and qualitative data and analysis should be annexed.  
• A presentation/debriefing on the report, highlighting key results, lessons learned and recommendations to key NEF staff.
• A final version of the evaluation report by December 30, 2022. The report will be written in English and submitted electronically in a MS Word document. The consultant is responsible for proofreading the final report, which should consist of: 
• Table of contents, list of acronyms, abbreviations and list of tables and charts; 
• Executive summary of key findings, lessons learned and recommendations; 
• Project background information and context analysis presented per key evaluation criterion with a brief description; 
• Evaluation methodology with clear explanation of data collection approach, sampling and limitations, participants’ selection and data analysis approach; 
• Evaluation findings, analysis, with associated data presented, where appropriate, in clear graphs or charts. One to two pages of key infographics highly recommended. The findings can include subsections for each evaluation criterion; 
• Conclusion, including recommendations for current and future project implementation. The recommendations should be framed according to each evaluation criteria (impact, relevancy, efficacy, efficiency, and sustainability). 
• Report submissions should also include the soft and hard copies such as handwritten and electronic transcripts of data collected, hard copies of survey questionnaires, lists of participants, etc. 

Estimated Deadlines:

• Contractual Starting Date: September 15, 2022
• Consultant Final Inception Report: October 14, 2022
• Deadline for data collection phase: November 30, 2022
• Deadline for the draft report: December 16, 2022
• Deadline for the final deliverables: December 30, 2022

Consultant’s Responsibilities:  

• Provide drafts of expected deliverables to NEF for review before finalization by the consultant.
• Review relevant project materials such as: proposal, SoPs, available databases (including Vulnerability Assessments, Business Development Trainings, Vocational Trainings, Capacity Building, Coaching and Networking), workflow charts, training materials and curriculums, and quarterly reports;
• Conduct one-on-one meetings/surveys with NEF project staff; 
• Engage NEF’s implementing partners and other identified stakeholders in field sites; 
• Conduct Focus Group Discussions (and collect any other primary data) in field sites with project stakeholders and beneficiaries. 
• The consultant is expected to use their own laptop and phone.

NEF’s Responsibilities: 

• Provision of project documents for contextual background; proposal, available databases (including Vulnerability Assessments, Business Development Trainings, Vocational Trainings, Capacity Building, Coaching and Networking), workflow charts, training materials and curriculums, and quarterly reports.
• Provision of documents to introduce systems and standard operating procedures. 
• Provision of curriculum and materials including PPTs, handouts, booklets etc. 
• Logistics and transportation for field site visits (including the FGDs) when applicable.
• Review and approval of deliverables submitted by the consultant.

Payment Method:

The payment will be made as follows: 40% upon contract signature, 60% on approval of the final report. NEF will not be responsible for any further expenses incurred by the consultant during the consultancy visits nor for any loss and/or damage incurred.

Skills, experience, and qualifications required: 

• University degree in relevant field; 
• Proven capability and experience in conducting project/program evaluations (preferably for similar, US funded projects); 
• Should have a clear vision for how to approach the project subjects and be able to build a trust and rapport with the subjects and communities being profiled; 
• Experience in the livelihoods and protection sectors in Lebanon, and in evaluating related programs in these sectors; 
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in conducting participative evaluations and impact assessments; 
• Experience in qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques including conducting focus group discussions;  
• Familiarity with the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan, particularly as it pertains to Livelihoods, and Protection sectors;  
• Familiarity with the socio-cultural context of Middle East and the social, cultural, political, and religious sensitivities relevant to the Syria crisis; 
• Native Arabic speaker; 
• Excellent writing and communication skills in Arabic and English; 
• Availability and willingness to travel to various areas in Lebanon during weekdays; and, 
• Ability to work under strict and demanding timelines.