Final evaluation of the project “Participatory and responsible governance of the security sector in Mali” At Geneva Center for Security Sector Governance

Invitation to tender

As part of its national project ” Participatory and responsible governance of the security sector in Mali “, funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Federal Republic of Germany, the Sub-Saharan Africa Division of DCAF invites you to submit a tender to the call for tenders described below for the recruitment of a service provider responsible for carrying out the final evaluation of the project.

• Location : At home (with a mission in the country of intervention if the situation allows)
• Contract type : Service provision contract
• Required languages : French
• Expected duration : 20-25 working days ideally during the months of January and/or February 2025 (TBC)

Description of the call for tender

Presentation of DCAF

DCAF – The Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance is dedicated to improving the security of states and their citizens through democratic governance, the rule of law, and respect for human rights. Since its creation in 2000, it has contributed to making peace and development more sustainable by helping partner states, as well as the international actors that support them, to improve the governance of their security sectors through participatory and inclusive reforms. It develops educational materials, promotes standards and good practices, provides legal, policy and technical advice, and supports the capacity development of both state and non-state stakeholders.

DCAF’s programming framework in Mali

Located in the heart of the Sahel, Mali is facing a multidimensional peace and security crisis that is severely impacting local populations, regional stability, and international security. Undermined by decades of poor governance, Malian institutions are struggling to respond to the threats of violent extremism and organized crime, which have grown exponentially in recent years and are no longer contained in the northern or central regions. In the wake of what is widely considered the worst political and security crisis it has faced since independence, Mali faces the challenge of restoring internal peace and stability.

In Mali, DCAF has been supporting the Security Sector Reform and Governance process since 2014 with the aim of contributing to the re-establishment of strong, credible, effective and transparent security institutions and strengthening accountability and democratic control mechanisms. Since August 2021, DCAF has been implementing a project ” Responsible and Participatory Governance of the Security Sector in Mali ” funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Federal Republic of Germany.

• Vision : An accountable and effective Malian security sector, based on the rule of law, ensures human and national security and creates an environment conducive to sustainable peace and development.
• Strategic axes of intervention : DCAF’s action in Mali is structured around three main strategic axes:

1. Supporting the national security sector governance process
2. Strengthening the effectiveness and performance of security institutions
3. Promoting informed public debate on governance and security issues

Content and scope of the assessment

The main objective of this final evaluation mission is to analyse the institutional and operational changes directly generated by the project and those to which the project contributed indirectly in order to promote a people-centred approach to security.

The final evaluation provides an opportunity to assess and analyze the project’s achievements as well as to determine its overall contribution to strengthening human security in Mali , particularly in the area of ​​security sector governance, as well as the promotion of human rights and gender equality.

Obviously, the implementation of the project has been largely impacted by the security, institutional and political developments that have taken place in recent years. The final evaluation will therefore have to place a strong emphasis on the adaptation to the contextual changes of the project . The initial objectives have been revised to reflect these changes, with in particular a more humble ambition consisting of keeping governance and security sector reform on the political agenda and in the public debate.

The evaluation will therefore identify effective approaches and strategies for pursuing objectives that evolve in response to contextual changes. It will also focus on areas where results are more mixed, while seeking to identify success and mitigation factors.

The objectives of the evaluation are therefore as follows:

• Evaluate the results and impact of the project against the expected results.
• Evaluate the impact of the program on institutional culture and the practices and behaviors of partners.
• Measuring the willingness of partners to engage in sustainable structural changes .
• Assess the cross-cutting integration of gender equality throughout the project.
• Identify unplanned results arising from the project (outcomes harvesting).
• Assess the adaptability of the project (and in particular its Theory of Change and its hypotheses) and its implementation in the face of institutional and political developments.
• Assess the level of consideration, monitoring and analysis of risks by the project , as well as its capacity to act proactively in the face of emerging risks.
• Drawing lessons for future programming, particularly regarding sustainability of effects.

More specifically, the final evaluation will have to provide, among others, answers to the indicative questions below. The OECD evaluation criteria will be used as a reference to guide the evaluation, but will not be the only criteria used .

Strategic axis 1: Support the national security sector governance process

1. Operationalization of Security Advisory Committees (SACs)
   • To what extent have the CCSs had an impact on political choices and orientations at different levels (local, regional, central)? In particular, what influence did the participation of young people and women have during the CCSs?
   • How has the participation and influence of youth and women’s civil society organizations evolved in CCSs and in local security sector governance?
2. Strategic support and advice
   • To what extent has the programme contributed to keeping SSR on the political agenda and in public debate?
   • How effectively has the programme adapted to policy and institutional changes to maintain and encourage GRSS?

Strategic axis 2: Strengthening the capacities and performance of security institutions

1. Accountability
   • To what extent have internal and external accountability actors fulfilled their role and adapted their actions to contextual developments?
   • Have the skills and methodological tools transmitted during the implementation of the programme been used by national partners?
2. Professionalization
   • To what extent has the programme impacted the behaviour of the defence and security forces in their daily actions and their institutional culture?
   • Specifically, how has working on gender equality influenced the perception of the concept, institutional culture and daily work?

Strategic axis 3: Promote an informed public debate on governance and security issues

1. Production of knowledge and amplification of messages
   • To what extent and how effectively has the programme adapted to contextual changes to keep GRSS in the public debate?

Methodology

The specific methodology and work plan for the final evaluation of the project will be developed and presented by the consultant and validated by the DCAF/SSAD team . A specific meeting will be organized for this purpose before the launch of the evaluation. The proposed methodology should be based on the conduct of various activities to establish a triangulation of quantitative and qualitative data and have answers to the evaluation questions, in particular from:

• A documentary review using all sources available within DCAF as well as implementing partners (Government, defense and security forces, internal and external control institutions, civil society organizations, technical and financial partners, etc.);
• Collaboration with the monitoring and evaluation officer of the DCAF office in Bamako in order to benefit from the data collected throughout the project;
• Structured or semi-structured interviews and/or focus groups with project implementation managers, the donor, and implementing partners/beneficiaries;
• A field visit to Mali (to be defined according to the political and security context and the deadlines). An alternative and feasible methodology without a field visit must be included in the submission in the event that a presence/representation in Mali is not ensured by the evaluation team.

The consultant will be free to propose any other relevant tool or approach for carrying out this evaluation. He/she will also be free to contact any persons and/or institutions that are likely to contribute to the achievement of his/her mandate. DCAF undertakes to facilitate as best as possible the consultant’s contact with all identified stakeholders.

Deliverables and schedule

The specific products expected from the evaluation team are:

• Output 1 : Inception report that illustrates the evaluators’ understanding of the expected results of the evaluation and how to achieve them. This report is based on the terms of reference, the document review and preliminary meetings with the project team. This report describes in particular the strategies, activities, products and expected results as well as the relationships between these different elements. The inception report should include among other things:
• Evaluation methodology: description of methods for collecting and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data and data sources to be used;
• Evaluation matrix: identification of key evaluation questions and how to answer them using the chosen methods;
• A timeline of the evaluation with defined activities and responsibilities;
• A detailed list of resource requirements associated with the assessment activities and deliverables presented in the work plan.
• Output 2 : Interim evaluation report of no more than 30 pages in French (excluding the executive summary and annexes). It summarizes the main findings and conclusions of the activities carried out with the DCAF/SSAD team as part of the final evaluation, and must present the concrete changes directly or indirectly generated by the project. It will be shared with all stakeholders to obtain their comments and observations.
• Product 3 : PowerPoint presentation in French summarizing the main findings and recommendations based on the preliminary report.
• Output 4 : Collection of good practices, success stories and lessons learned from the implementation of the project, including practical advice for their adaptation and duplication in other projects. The collection must be synthetic and structured to facilitate its practical use in other interventions.
• Output 5 : Final evaluation report including recommendations and comments made on the first version of the interim report. These recommendations should include, in particular, intervention opportunities for DCAF, taking into account the changing context.

The estimated number of days for the completion of this work is 20 days. The service provider will have to make a detailed technical and financial proposal (budget and timetable) which will be evaluated by the project teams.

Calendar

Key activities and products

December 2024 – January 2025

• Selection and recruitment process

Second half of January 2025

• Start of documentary reviews and preparatory meeting by the reference group.
• Finalization of the design of the evaluation methodology;
• Preparation of the initial evaluation report (product 1) ;
• Presentation of the initial report to the sponsors, to the reference group, whose observations must be integrated into the final version of the initial report.

February 2025

• Conducting the evaluation and data collection/analysis.
• Preparation and submission of the report in French – Draft 1 (product 2);
• Share with DCAF/SSAD team for review.

First half of March 2025

• Powerpoint presentation summarizing the main findings and recommendations based on the preliminary report (product 3).
• Preparation and presentation of the collection of good practices and lessons learned from the implementation of the project ( product 4 ).
• Submission of the final report in French (product 5) and integration of any final corrections made by DCAF no later than March 15, 2025.

Profile and skills of the consultant

The evaluation team will be composed of one or more evaluators and will have to work closely with the project teams at headquarters and in the field. He/she will have to demonstrate similar experience in conducting project evaluations as well as knowledge and experience in governance, stabilization and security sector reform processes. It is important that the consultant has a perfect command of French (written and spoken). He/she will be responsible for proposing and implementing the most appropriate solutions for carrying out this evaluation.

General profile of the consultant :

• Demonstrate solid experience in conducting final project evaluations in the field of stabilization and governance;
• Demonstrate rigor in work, great availability, an aptitude for teamwork and a developed spirit of initiative;
• Demonstrate the ability to work without discrimination based on culture, gender, religion, nationality and socio-political sensitivity;

SKILLS :

• Increased analysis and synthesis capabilities;
• Increased writing skills;
• Autonomy, sense of initiative and anticipation;
• Ability to meet tight deadlines;
• Ability to work under pressure and in a difficult security context;
• Perfect mastery of digital data collection and data analysis software in social sciences;
• Master common office software (Microsoft Office) and the Internet.

Education and experience :

• Minimum 7 years’ experience in management and conducting evaluation of projects supporting stabilization, good governance and the public reform process.
• Demonstrated experience in the field of stabilization and security sector governance;
• Demonstrated experience in producing high-level strategic analysis and thinking/guidance;
• Knowledge of the political, social, economic and security environment of the Sahel region in general, and good knowledge of the Malian context in particular, are desirable.