Consultant- Dutch-End Line Evaluation At Nonviolent Peaceforce

Promoting Women’s Role in Peace building and Gender-based Violence Prevention in South Sudan

BACKGROUND

Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP), an International NGO founded in 2002, recruits, trains and deploys unarmed civilians to reduce violence and protect vulnerable populations in conflict-affected areas. NP has been operating in South Sudan since 2010, and currently implement over seven projects across the country. In October 2020, Nonviolent Peaceforce South Sudan (NPSS) with financial support from Dutch government through the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has started implementing a two-year project titled: Strengthening women’s leadership in violence prevention, conflict management and peacebuilding in South Sudan.

Project Objectives

Goal: Promote women’s participation in peacebuilding and protection to reduce the prevalence and impact of conflict and SGBV on communities in South Sudan.

Objective 1: Increase the safety and security of women and girls at imminent risk of sexual and gender-based violence.

Objective 2: Improve access to and demand for post-incident support services and justice mechanisms for survivors.

Objective 3: Promote positive social-change through awareness raising and outreach activities

Objective 4: Strengthen and develop sustainable community-based protection mechanisms to promote peace-building, prevent and respond to violence including SGBV

Objective 5: Promote women’s substantive participation in peace and security at the local, state and national levels.

PURPOSE OF THE EVALUATION

Monitoring and evaluation is an integral part of the overall project management cycle to ensure effective oversight of the project. The end-line evaluation is intended to assess the progress made by the project in fulfilling its agreed objectives through the planned activities. The evaluation process will be informed by key criteria outlined in the OECD/DAC revised evaluation criteria for evaluating effectiveness (please see: revised-evaluation-criteria-dec-2019.pdf (oecd.org). These criteria include evaluating the relevance of the project to the implementation areas; assessing the efficiency and effectiveness with which resources have been used to generate results and achieve project objectives, and assessing the coherence of project strategies and approaches to relevant international norms and standards. The end line evaluation findings will also be used as a baseline for the next phase of the project.

Specific Objectives include

• To assess the extent to which the project outputs have been achieved taking into account the indicators given in the project document.
• To evaluate the level of contribution of the outputs towards the achievement of the expected project objectives, goal and impact.
• To show the progress made in achieving the intended outcomes/objectives in relation to the Theory of Change outlined in the project document.
• To assess the relevance, effectiveness, and efficiency of interventions as well as, the sustainability of the results, and the degree of satisfaction of the beneficiaries.
• To evaluate the appropriateness of the strategies and approaches used for implementing the project;
• To assess the coherence of the implementation strategy and approaches used in the project vis-à-vis the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands’ country strategy for South Sudan and other relevant international norms and standards.
• To provide evidence on how the use/adaption of a human rights approach and integration of gender equality principles in the project promoted the participation of vulnerable groups in the implementation of the project.
• To identify major external factors that influenced or impacted on the implementation of the project and evaluate their implication on future interventions.
• To highlight lessons learned from the project and make recommendations for future strategies.

METHODOLOGY

The consultant is expected to propose a detailed end-line evaluation strategy that is compliant with COVID-19 Standard Operation Procedures. A quantitative and qualitative cross-sectional study will be conducted in four of the project implementations sites −Juba Protection of Civilians (PoC) (Central Equatoria), Bentiu PoC (Unity State), Rumbek (Lakes State), and Aburoc (Upper Nile). Thus, evaluation will involve collecting the following data:

Quantitative data:

It will be used to measure indicators of the project expressed in terms of numbers/percentages (quantitative indicators). Information will be collected using questionnaire survey which will be administered to a sample of households. The consultant is expected to determine the sample size which would be representative, and adequate to do basic descriptive statistics. In addition, the consultant should abide and follow proper coordination measures with the different NPSS field sites and their local counterparts to obtain permission and access to needed information and intended participants. Throughout this process, it is expected that the consultant will follow COVID-19 procedures.

Qualitative data:

Cognizant of COVID-19, the consultant is expected to conduct qualitative research methods such as key informant interviews and Focus Group Discussions will be employed most importantly to substantiate (complement) the information collected through quantitative approaches.

Data Sources:

The end-line study should consider participants from the following groups:

– Male and Female (18 years and above) from the community members

– Male and Female community leaders

– Government representative at state, County, or IDPs camp settlement level.

– Male and Female representatives from vulnerable/socially excluded groups.

Proposed study design and methodology including the sample size will be discussed and agreed with NPSS at the beginning of the consultancy.

Secondary documentation:

Review of related documents will also be important to establish key insights relevant to the effective implementation of the project.

Lessons Learned: The lessons learned through the entire end-line shall be documented and share with the Project Manager or team and NP quality department so that they may be taken into consideration for future studies. The documentation of these lessons will be vital for reflection, growth and continued improvement.

SCOPE OF WORK

The individual consultant will be expected to:

• Design methodology for the collection of quantitative and qualitative data for the assessment based on the above evaluation objectives.
• Revise the baseline and midterm survey tools and create any new tools necessary to answer the end line evaluation questions.
• Organize and facilitate training workshop for data collectors (NPSS will hire the data collectors) on evaluation implementation, including the evaluation protocol and tools to be used and pilot testing of the tool.
• Plan and coordinate the necessary logistics to collect the data in accordance with the selected methodology.
• Conduct the evaluation at the project location to measure key output and outcome indicators as defined in the project log frame.
• Collect and analyze available secondary data to establish key insights relevant to the effective implementation of the project.
• Based upon a reading of the program documents, propose any additional topics or issues for analysis in the final evaluation.
• Share key findings and insights from the evaluation with relevant staff through consultations.

EXPECTED DELIVERABLES

• Submit an inception report/proposal which responds to the scope of work by adding any further detail or clarification regarding the evaluation approach, method, or implementation arrangements
• Any suggested improvements to existing evaluation scope, as outlined in this document
• Field work implementation plan (to be submitted before field work begins). This field work plan should be presented to NPSS for comment, and revised as necessary prior to commencing field work
• Overall report that outlines the field work and the data cleaning
• Cleaned data sets in SPSS format with data correctly organized, variables named and labelled.
• Final survey questionnaires and qualitative data collection guides.
• Three success stories and /or case studies with photos, testimonial, and supporting quantitative data;

A comprehensive evaluation report that meets agreed formats (preferably following the IATI guidelines on reporting and publishing results).

All deliverables – NPSS will oversee the process and be responsible for accountability and guidance throughout all phases of execution, and approval of all deliverables.

Additional information: Consultant shall abide by WHO and Government of South Sudan COVID-19. The consultant shall be requiring to abide by NPSS Safeguarding Policy (which includes prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse, and other behavior-related protocols).

TIMEFRAME

The timeframe for the evaluation is estimated between 5-6 weeks. The consultant is expected to start working in September 2nd, 2022 and complete all responsibilities outlined in the Scope of Work and deliverables by October, 2nd 2022.

RESOURCES

NPSS will cover domestic ticket to all field sites. In addition, NPSS will provide accommodation while in country. NPSS will not provide personal computers and the consultant has to use his/her own computer. All necessary logistical arrangements for the assessment will be coordinated through the NPSS logistics department. The chosen individual consultant will coordinate with the Research Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Program Development Personnel, Program Manager and field staff in the planning and implementation of the evaluations.

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

Education:

• Master’s degree in International and Political Affairs, Law, Development Studies, Social Sciences or related field.

Experience

• At least 7 years’ experience in the design and implementation of evaluations, assessments or baseline surveys including qualitative and quantitative data collection.
• Previous experience in the area of human rights, civic engagement, and/or protection of civilians
• Knowledge of international normative standards on women’s rights and gender mainstreaming processes
• Excellent knowledge and understanding of research methodologies and processes.
• Experience in the development of Monitoring and Evaluation frameworks and log-frames.
• Experience in gathering and systematizing large amounts of data
• Experience managing a diverse team and providing capacity building and training support.
• Experience developing protection projects in war and/or emergency settings.
• Proven ability to manage highly confidential and sensitive information through a protection lens.
• Experience managing projects in complex and dangerous environments
• Excellent ability to communicate with stakeholders including process management and facilitation skills