External Evaluation of “Helping Poor Rural Communities Help Themselves,
and Cross Regional Collaboration for Peace” Project
1.Background.
Brief profile of “Women for Development” NGO
NGO “Women for Development” (WFD NGO) is a local non-profit organization, established in 1997 in Gyumri, Armenia. The mission of the organization is to contribute to the implementation of democratic reforms, poverty reduction and development processes ongoing in Armenia by encouraging better education of citizens, who are able to raise and solve their personal and community issues; by promoting their participation in social, educational, health care, conflict management spheres, as well as protection of human rights and establishment of peace in the region.
Main objectives of the NGO:
– Encourage formation of peace culture and non-violent conflict resolution skills in communities, schools and universities through education, consultancy and provision of technical means.
– Encourage/promote peace establishment in the region through becoming a member of peace coalitions, implementing joint projects and activities aimed at peace establishment, as well as through exchanging experience and information.
– Promote rural community development through increased participation and community mobilization.
The Development Goal:
The project contributes to the improvement of living conditions in a number of villages in Northern Armenia and the promotion of peaceful environment in 2 regions. WFD NGO has implemented this through the following two specific objectives:
Objective 1: Active groups in rural communities of Shirak region enhance the quality of life for their communities.
Objective 2: Platform members efficiently implement peace programs in 2 regions.
The duration of the project:
3 years, May 2017 – April 2020.
Expected results:
Objective 1:
– 40 community members have designed and implemented at least 16 social projects with tangible changes in the social life of 8 communities.
– The financial income from at least 4 businesses managed by women has improved living conditions of their coworkers and family members (about 50 people).
Objective 2:
– 5 organizations have successfully transformed the innovative peacebuilding experience of partners in 8 country and cross- border projects.
– About 300 individuals from 5 beneficiary countries have used the acquired skills in analyzing conflicts, resolving inter-personal, inter-community, cross border conflicts.
Beneficiaries:
Objective 1
- 150 schoolchildren and youth /will participate in forum-theatres/
- 20 Women/will gain entrepreneurship skills/
- 16 members from Local governments of at least 8 rural communities
- At least 240 members of 8 rural communities, of whom 40 active members with knowledge and skills in community mobilization, project development, fundraising, project management, promoting volunteerism, etc., while 200 members of 8 rural communities involved in the voluntary implementation of the social projects.
Objective 2
- At least 10 members from 5 Network organizations.
- At least 300 representatives of about 8 communities in Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and Georgia and cross-border regions/ through the small projects/
Main Results as of February 2018
Objective 1:
- At least 160 members of 8 target communities aware of the project goals and objectives and with initial ideas for designing projects targeted at their community development.
- Forum theatre groups with at least 15 members established in 3 communities.
- Women and men active groups with at least 5 members and youth groups with at least 6-7 members were created in 8 communities.
Objective 2:
- 5 NGOs from Armenia, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan willing to share the key ideas and the strategy of the Peace Learning Platform. The first platform meeting convened in December 2017.
- “Peace Education for Peacebuilding” second international conference with 130 participants from 25 countries held in December 2017.
2. Description of the Assignment
Global objective
The global objective of this assignment is to carry out an independent and comprehensive mid-term evaluation of the “Helping Poor Rural Communities Help Themselves, and Cross Regional collaboration For Peace” Project. The Project is funded by the Bread for the World – Protestant Development Service, Germany.
The evaluation will take place in June 2018. The last one took place in May, 2013.
Specific objectives
As this is going to be a midterm evaluation, it will allow us to analyse the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness of the Project, especially in regards to Objective 2-Peace component. It will help us understand if we are doing the right thing in the right way. It will assess whether the Project’s expected outputs have been achieved with respect to Year 1 of the Project (effectiveness), and if this was done in an efficient manner (efficiency). It will also assess the extent to which the Project has contributed to the achievement of the stated specific and overall objectives (outcome and impact, if any) and whether the results of the Project (at al levels) are likely to be sustainable (sustainability). Finally, it will draw conclusions on whether the Project provided the best avenue to address the actual needs and priorities (relevance) and provide concrete recommendations for the improvement of the Project during Year 2 and 3.
The evaluation should also: (i) clarify the scope for capacity development of the NGO staff with respect to its organizational development; (ii) support the NGO in developing/clarifying the main directions of the organization’s strategic development; (iii) provide necessary recommendations for the project approaches, recruitment of local and regional partners, development of rural communities and reaching most sustainable results towards establishing peace in the region; (iv) provide specific recommendations on project’s main directions with respect to both organization’s experience, local and regional developments for the upcoming three years – 2019-2021.
The evaluation will be carried out in 8 rural communities of Shirak province (Lanjik, Arpeni, Tsoghamarg, Torosgyugh, Hogmik, Megrashat, Anushavan, Lernakert) and among the Peace Learning Platform member NGOs: WCC Armenian Round Table Foundation (ART), (IDP IDP Women Association “Consent”, and Fund Sukhumi) from Georgia and (Foundation for Tolerance International-FTI) from Kyrgyzstan via skype.
The results will be used:
– by WFD staff and the main partners to review and redesign the project approaches for achieving sustainable results.
– by WFD staff for the designing of the future plans and main directions of the Organization’s strategy.
Key questions
| – Relevance | – How relevant is the program approach to the needs of the targeted communities and beneficiaries?- How relevant is the program approach to the strategies of the partners and donors?
– To what extent are the overall objectives of the programs valid? |
| – Effectiveness | – What have been the project’s achievements?- To what extent will the project objectives be achieved in the remaining period covered by its current program strategy?
– |
| – Efficiency | – Will the project objectives be achieved in an economically viable manner? |
| – Impact | – To what extent will the project contribute to the achievement of overall development goals?- How have the lives of beneficiaries changed as a result of the project? |
| – Sustainability | – To what extent are the positive impacts or changes brought about by the program likely to continue?- What are the major factors which influence the sustainability of the program?
– What could be done to improve the likelihood of sustainability? |
Evaluation methods
The evaluation methodology should be based on the OECD-DAC standards and should partially include:
- Mixed-methods research design, combining quantitative and qualitative information.
- Site visits, meetings with project beneficiaries.
- Semi-structured interviews with community representatives, local government, project participants, partners, and other respective stakeholders.
3. Process of the evaluation/time frame and the expected products
– The evaluation is envisaged to take place from June 18 – 29, 2018.
– Draft results and recommendations should be presented within 28-29 June during the workshop with the WFD staff.
– The evaluation report in Armenian and English should be completed and submitted to WFD by the end of July, 2018.
4. Available Data
Prior to the field work, the NGO will provide the expert(s) existing background reports, documents relevant to the evaluation, including project agreements, description of action, baseline data, research papers, articles, presentations, training materials, meeting minutes, media materials about the organization’s activities, documentaries, albums, posters, published textbooks and training resources, feedback, recommendations, certificates of staff members’ participation in various training courses, and other documents in electronic versions.
Additional references or resources can also be found on the NGO’s website at www.wfd.am and Facebook page – Women for Development NGO.
5. Expertise Required
The expert(s) should have a professional experience in programme and project evaluation; designing, conducting and leading evaluations, applying qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods. Experience related to institutional evaluation, rural community development projects and peace building. Proven fluency in written and spoken English, knowledge of the Armenian language is preferable.
6. Planning
Prior to the field work, an Inception meeting will be organized with the Project and NGO staff to discuss the work-plan, expectations and logistical requirement of the assignment and ensure coordination during the assignment.
7. Submission Process
To be considered for this contract, please submit the following in English to goharmark@gmail.com by April 15. 2018.
- A résumé or CV (no more than four pages);
- A writing sample (no more than three pages);
- A technical proposal including a Short explanation and justification of the methods to be deployed
- Financial proposal