Mid-term evaluation of the project “From Workshops to Workplaces: Carving a Path to Income Generation”

1. Introduction

Warch(ée) is a women-led social enterprise working to empower women in Lebanon to become sustainable construction entrepreneurs and financially independent decision-makers. It was stablished in 2017 from the observation that in a rapidly urbanising world, particularly in the Middle East, women are excluded from certain professions that remain the domain of men, notably the construction, architecture, engineering and urban planning sectors. The social enterprise strives to tackle women’s inclusion and equal access to participate in the labor force and to be remunerated accordingly.

Warch(ée) operates workshops in Beirut and North Lebanon where they engage in wood productions and trainings of women from all ages and backgrounds from different parts of the communities.

Drosos Foundation is a non-profit organisation committed to empowering young people to navigate and address today’s global challenges. Together with partner organisations, it develops and supports projects that have a direct bearing on the effective and sustainable opportunities for young people. Established in 2003 as a private foundation based in Zurich, Switzerland, Drosos seeks long-term impact through its supported projects in Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Switzerland and Eastern Germany. In Lebanon, Drosos has been operational and active since 2005. It is ideologically, politically and religiously independent.

Drosos Foundation is supporting the project “From Workshops to Workplaces: Carving a Path to Income Generation” which is being implemented in Beirut and the North of Lebanon by Warch(ée). The project is implemented as part of Drosos’ thematic focus area of Skills Development.

2. Thematic Area Description

Skills development is one the three thematic focus areas of Drosos’ Strategy 2025-2028. By prioritising skills development, particularly future-oriented competencies like digital literacy, critical thinking, adaptability and creativity, alongside vocational training, we prepare young people to meet the evolving demands of a rapidly changing world and job market. Providing creative spaces for self-discovery and collective action can nurture growth and resilience, enabling youth to adapt to change, innovate in the face of crises and strive to transform challenges into opportunities.

3. Project Description

Warch(ée) initiated a 2.5-year project funded by Drosos Foundation which aims to equip 40 young women from low-income communities in North Lebanon with comprehensive carpentry skills through a tailored training programme, then connect them to further apprenticeships and jobs. This project is coming in a context of skills shortage in the construction industry, as artisans holding good skills are aging and young recruits are difficult to find. This brings opportunities to open up this traditionally male-oriented field to women by adapting the curriculum and workplace safety, revitalizing to attract younger cohorts and aligning the training with the evolving needs of the industry to maximize market integration.

Warch(ée) has developed a comprehensive apprenticeship training curriculum combining carpentry, technical, digital and life skills, with a particular emphasis on challenging gender stereotypes in the sector.

The main objectives of the project are:

1. 1. Empower 40 women from refugee and host communities in North Lebanon by equipping them with carpentry and technical expertise
   2. Refine and validate Warch(ée)'s training curriculum specifically tailored to women and to current industry needs
   3. To increase employability of the trained women through an active job placement programme
   4. Transform gender norms by advocating for carpentry as a viable career path for women

The project is ongoing since June 2024 and will conclude in November 2026.

Warch(ée) and Drosos seek a qualified consultant to conduct a mid-term evaluation to assess the project’s initial results in promoting women empowerment, income generation, and social cohesion/inclusion.

4. Purpose and Objectives of the assignment

The primary purpose of the mid-term evaluation is to:

• Assess early progress against the project’s objectives, outputs, and indicators as outlined in the logical framework.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of training and advocacy activities.
• Capture real-time learnings, best practices, and areas needing adjustment for improved outcomes in the remaining project period.
• Provide evidence-based recommendations to strengthen project design, monitoring, and partnerships.

• Support Warch(ée) in developing a follow-up project document using results-based decision-making, informed by evaluation findings.

5. Topics and questions to be studied by the consultant(s) At the thematic level:

• What are we learning about how to authentically engage young women and build their agency?
• What are we learning about building trusting relationships between young women and the community members?
• What are we learning about how to meaningfully engage young women in a project design process?
• What are we learning about how to support and enhance grantee capacity and resilience?
• What spaces and processes are more conducive to sharing learnings and enhancing impact?
• What good practice can we identify regarding the partner using results data for advocacy, learning, sustainability, etc.?
• Identify areas of success that can be replicated and lessons learned.
• Provide recommendations of potential cross-learning and collaboration within the ecosystem.

• Review the design and assumptions of the project, indicating what has changed since the project started, and highlighting relevance, intended and unintended results, successes and challenges.
• Assess the strategies, methodologies and tools adopted by the project and elaborate on their strength where applicable.
• Assess the awareness and advocacy efforts towards shifting gender norms and to what extent the project has contributed towards early signs of improved self-efficacy, gender equality and social cohesion.
• Analyse gender and social inclusion dimensions in the project design, including barriers to participation and enabling factors.
• Assess the outreach and community engagement. Drawing on the geographical coverage of the project, what is the potential of expanding to neighbouring areas?
• Assess the project’s spaces and their appropriation by the women.

• Assess the extent to which the local community of wood and crafts persons, youth and women have benefited from the projects’ interventions, in particular the extent to which there has been material and non-material improvement for community members/households.
• Examine the extent to which the project is aligned with the needs of the target population and local market demands
• Develop recommendations on the features of financial sustainability of the project.
• Document lessons learned and best practices for making potential adjustments for the remaining project duration, as well as for replication and scaling.
• Provide recommendations on participatory planning processes.
• In consultation with the project team, develop a short concept note or roadmap for a follow-up project, integrating results-based decision-making principles and focusing on scaling impact, sustainability and gender transformative outcomes.

6. Methodology used for the assignment

The evaluation will be participatory, gender-sensitive and equity focused approach, using mixed methods and place emphasis on capturing lessons learned and actionable feedback to strengthen future implementation. Some of the recommended methods include:

• Review key project documents (proposal, logical framework, progress reports, budget, M&E data, beneficiary selection criteria, curricula).
• Conduct Key Informant Interviews and Stakeholder consultations in Beirut, Tripoli and other areas in North Lebanon (Warch(ée) staff, partners, beneficiaries, trainers, community leader/stakeholders)
• Focus Group Discussions (beneficiaries, families, community stakeholders)
• Direct Observation (workshops, training sessions, training delivery and outputs)
• Qualitative Analysis (stories of change, case studies to highlight individual transformation stories)

7. Deliverables

• An inception report that includes a detailed methodology, data collection tools and workplan to conduct the assignment.
• Consultation meetings with Warch(ée) in implementing some of the stakeholder’s meetings/key informant interviews.
• A draft mid-term report in English.

• Facilitate a participatory validation workshop with Warch(ée) and Drosos to review findings, stakeholder feedback and co-create recommendations.
• Final mid-term report in English, report incorporating both the partner and Drosos Foundation feedback (max 30 pages, including executive summary, findings, lessons learned, recommendations).
• Follow-up project concept note (7-10 pages with results framework, key activities, outcomes, and sustainability strategy).

8. Timeline

The assignment is expected to take place between 10 November 2025 and 11 January 2026. The total effort for the evaluation is maximum 20 days.

9. Expected experiences of the consultant

The evaluation may be carried out by an individual consultant or by a team of consultants. The consultant(s) should have the following qualifications and skills:

• A solid demonstrated experience of at least 5 years in conducting evaluations particularly in women empowerment projects.
• Expertise in mixed-methods evaluation design and participatory approaches.
• Experience in gender-sensitive evaluations.
• Based in Lebanon with extensive knowledge of the context and experience in North Lebanon.
• Good interpersonal and communications skills and ability to communicate with various stakeholders.
• Documentation skills spanning process documentation as well as more qualitative types of documentation such as case studies.
• Excellent writing and presentation skills in English and in Arabic. Good command of local Levantine Arabic language is desirable.