Final evaluation of the project “Support for Independent Burmese Media Outlets And Journalists in Exile or in the Country” (Naye Thit) At CFI

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https://cfi.fr/en/calls-for-application/call-proposals-final-evaluation-project-support-independent-burmese-media
This Request for Proposals aims to identify one or more service provider(s) capable of carrying out the final evaluation of the project “Support for independent Burmese media outlets and journalists in exile or in the country”. This Request for Proposals does not constitute, for any applicant company, a promise of award of the future contract.

The contract concluded between CFI and the selected service provider(s) will be a service contract subject to the provisions of the Public Procurement Code.Expected Services of the Contract

The services

The services entrusted to the service provider will be to conduct the final evaluation of the project “Support for independent Burmese media outlets and journalists in exile or in the country”. This final evaluation will cover the four components of the project throughout the entire implementation period (30 months, from June 13, 2023, to December 13, 2025).

Thus, the final evaluation should enable:

  1. To provide a critical and objective analysis of the project design, its objectives, the planned and implemented activities, as well as its implementation over the entire execution period;
  2. To evaluate the project according to the OECD DAC criteria of relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, results, impact, and sustainability, addressing the evaluation questions presented in Annex 1;
  3. To measure the level of achievement of the general and specific objectives initially set for the project, as well as its contribution to the targeted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);
  4. To assess the short- and medium-term results of the project on direct beneficiaries;
  5. To contribute to learning and capitalization by identifying the factors that enabled the achievement of these results and/or those that created obstacles to their achievement;
  6. To assess the needs of media outlets that applied to the call for applications but were not selected, in order to understand their motivations;
  7. To draw lessons and propose to CFI, IMS and the donor, the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, strategic and operational recommendations (notably regarding objectives, operating methods, and fields of intervention) with a view to capitalizing on best practices and improving future projects supporting independent Burmese media outlets and journalists in exile.
  8. To assess the integration of gender issues across all dimensions of the Project (selection of experts and direct beneficiaries, implementation of activities, themes addressed in the outputs, etc.).

Methodology of the Services

To carry out the final evaluation, the service provider will rely notably on the project documentation (see list in Annex 3) as well as on documentation collected independently.

In addition to this documentary study, the service provider will apply the evaluation methodology presented in their proposal and accepted by CFI and the steering committee; thus, they may deploy the various survey tools they have designed, either remotely or in person, if the firm has a consultant in Myanmar and/or Thailand. These survey tools could take the form of individual or group interviews, focus groups, online surveys via questionnaires, and polls, aimed at identifying the most significant changes and/or gathering the effects from the various project stakeholders, namely representatives of the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, the French Embassy in Yangon, the implementing partners (CFI and IMS), project coordinators, implementation service providers, trainers, engaged experts, as well as direct beneficiaries of the project.

Note: The survey tools should be deployed in Burmese language for direct beneficiaries, if possible, otherwise in English for direct beneficiaries, as well as for the local coordination teams, service providers, trainers, and Burmese experts. The tools used to interview other stakeholders should be conducted in English for the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, the French Embassy in Yangon, IMS, and CFI.

Final Evaluation Organization

A steering committee will be established for the evaluation. It will be composed of at least one representative from the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, one representative from the French Embassy in Yangon, one representative from IMS, and three from CFI: the Deputy Director for the Mediterranean-Asia region, the Project Manager, and the Quality Evaluation Officer.

The Steering Committee will meet remotely with the service provider (with the possibility of a hybrid format: in-person in Paris and remote for other participants) for the kickoff meeting, to review various deliverables, and to provide feedback, particularly during the scoping of the service, at the end of each phase of the contract, and during the presentation of the evaluation results by the service provider.

The Quality Evaluation Officer and the Project Manager at CFI will be the main contacts for the service provider. They will organize the Steering Committee meetings, receive the deliverables listed below, and ensure their distribution to the committee members.

All meetings with stakeholders will be organized by the service provider, individually or in groups, remotely or in person if the service provider has staff on site in Myanmar and/or Thailand, according to the methodology detailed in their proposal and accepted by CFI (or the steering committee). All survey tools will be designed, drafted, and administered by the service provider in accordance with the methodologies outlined in their proposal and will require validation by the Steering Committee.

All exchanges (meetings, emails, etc.) with the Steering Committee members will be conducted in English. Survey tools will be deployed in English and, if possible, in Burmese depending on the recipients (see below).

The evaluation will take place in four phases:

Phase 1 –Scoping:

This phase will begin with a remote scoping meeting with the Steering Committee organized by CFI, during which the service provider will present their proposal (PowerPoint format). The meeting will facilitate an exchange between the service provider and the Steering Committee to clarify:

  • The Steering Committee’s expectations,
  • The planned methodology, including evaluation questions, judgment criteria, indicators, and data collection and analysis methods, as well as the evaluation matrix,
  • The materials provided to the service provider on this occasion (documentation, contact list),
  • The general organization of the evaluation,
  • The provisional implementation schedule,
  • The expected deliverables.

To prepare the scoping note and further understand the expectations of the contracting parties, the service provider will conduct initial interviews, remotely or in person, with CFI and IMS project teams, the local coordination team for CFI and IMS, a representative from the French Embassy in Yangon, and a representative from the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs.

After the scoping meeting and review of the main documents, the service provider will submit the scoping note (eight (8) to ten (10) pages, excluding annexes) to the Quality Evaluation Officer and the Project Manager at CFI.

The scoping note will be presented by the service provider in a PowerPoint document during a meeting with the Steering Committee, which will validate it and provide feedback. If modifications are requested by the Steering Committee, the service provider will have five (5) calendar days to submit a revised version of the scoping note.

Phase 2 – Documentary review, interviews with key stakeholders, and design of survey tools (in two languages: English and Burmese if possible, depending on the recipients):

The service provider will review the documents provided by the Steering Committee during Phase 1, as well as any additional documents received during the Phase 2 interviews. They may analyze and consolidate narrative and financial reports, activity reports, and evaluation questionnaires from the project’s direct beneficiaries. Interviews, whether conducted remotely or in person, if a consultant is based in Myanmar and/or Thailand, will continue based on the contact list provided upon contract notification and the list of service stakeholders (see Annex 2).

The survey tools including various types of questionnaires for online surveys, individual or group interviews, focus groups, etc. will be designed by the service provider and must be validated by the Steering Committee no later than ten (10) days before the start of Phase 3.

Note: The survey tools must be deployed in two languages as follows:

  • In English for interviews with representatives of CFI, IMS, the French Embassy in Yangon, and the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs;
  • In Burmese or English for local partners, experts, and direct beneficiaries.

At CFI’s initiative, a debriefing meeting between the service provider and the Steering Committee will be organized to validate Phase 2 and confirm the start date of Phase 3.

Phase 3 – Field Survey:

During this phase, the service provider will conduct interviews either remotely or in person, if they have a consultant based in Myanmar and/or Thailand with other project stakeholders, including the direct beneficiaries, as specified in Annex 2.

The service provider will collect information using the survey tools they have developed, which will be tailored to each group of stakeholders according to their involvement in the project, and to their spoken languages, English and Burmese. The provider will analyze the results and effects of the project on direct beneficiaries and will collect the most significant changes and – if possible – the “successful stories”.

For benchmarking purposes, the service provider will also endeavor, as far as possible, to interview other actors involved in supporting Burmese media and journalists in exile, to identify their areas of intervention and the complementarity with the project.

At the end of the field survey and prior to drafting the evaluation report (Phase 4), a debriefing meeting will be held between the service provider and the Steering Committee, during which the provider will present their initial findings in PowerPoint format.

Phase 4 – Drafting of Evaluation Reports:

This phase will be broken down into two steps: drafting the provisional evaluation report and finalizing it.

The provisional report will be written in English and presented to the Steering Committee via a PowerPoint presentation highlighting the key points and conclusions of the evaluation. The Steering Committee will provide comments, which the service provider must consider when drafting the final report for validation.

The final report will also be written in English and presented to the Steering Committee and potentially to CFI’s Management Committee via a PowerPoint presentation summarizing the key findings and conclusions, incorporating feedback from the provisional report. This report will also include an executive summary of the evaluation.

Once validated by the Steering Committee, the summary of the final report must be translated into French by the service provider.

Provisional Schedule:

Phase 1: Evaluation Scoping

  • No later than seven (7) calendar days after signing the contract for the final evaluation: scoping meeting between the steering committee and the service provider, and delivery of documentary materials.
  • No later than seven (7) calendar days after the scoping meeting: submission of the scoping note by the service provider.
  • No later than seven (7) calendar days after receipt of the scoping note: validation of the scoping note by the Steering Committee.

Phase 2: Documentary Review, Interviews with Key Stakeholders, and Design of Survey Tools (in two languages: Burmese and English depending on recipients)

  • No later than ten (10) calendar days after validation of the scoping note: submission of methodological tool matrices in English to CFI.
  • No later than seven (7) days after validation of the English versions: submission to CFI of the survey tools translated into Burmese by the service provider for validation.
  • No later than seven (7) calendar days after the date of validation of the survey questionnaire matrices in both languages by CFI and the Steering Committee: debriefing meeting for Phase 2 and launch of Phase 3.

Phase 3: Field Survey

  • No later than twenty (20) calendar days after the Phase 2 debriefing meeting: debriefing meeting for Phase 3.

Phase 4: Drafting the Evaluation Report

  • No later than fifteen (15) calendar days after the Phase 3 debriefing meeting: submission of the provisional report (in English).
  • No later than seven (7) calendar days after submission of the provisional report: presentation meeting of the provisional report to the Steering Committee (via PowerPoint presentation).
  • No later than seven (7) calendar days after receipt of comments on the provisional report: submission of the final report and the executive summary (in English).
  • No later than seven (7) days after submission of the final report: presentation of the final report in English to the Steering Committee, via PowerPoint presentation.
  • No later than ten (10) days after validation of the final report in English: delivery of the executive summary both in English and French.

Deliverables and Tentative Deadlines

The deliverables must be drafted in Burmese, English and French in accordance with the indications provided below.

The language of communication for this service will be English with CFI and the Steering Committee, and Burmese and/or English when conducting field surveys with local stakeholders (see details above). Notice: the final executive summary should be available in French.

Any deliverable not drafted in the specified languages will be rejected by CFI. The service provider will be required to make the necessary modifications to comply with the required language within a timeframe communicated by CFI, without any additional remuneration or compensation of any kind.

The duration of the Contract will be four (4) months starting from the date of signature by the last of the two parties.

The services will be performed from the service provider’s usual place of work, remotely, and in person (with a possible hybrid format) whenever feasible.

Work and exchange meetings may be organized at CFI’s headquarters (Issy-les-Moulineaux) and/or via videoconference.

Field surveys may be conducted remotely and/or in person in Myanmar[2] or Thailand, if the service provider has consultants on site.

5.1. Amount and Pricing Method

The maximum budget allocated for the performance of the services under the contract is twenty-five thousand euros excluding VAT (€25,000 excluding VAT).

The contract services will be paid by a global fixed price set out in the estimated quote dated and signed by the candidate company, including all possible mission and subcontracting expenses.

Pricing in Case of Subcontracting

In case of subcontracting, the contract prices are deemed to cover the costs of coordination and control by the service provider over its subcontractors, as well as the consequences of any potential failures on their part.

[1] Pursuant to Article L. 1111-4 of the French Public Procurement Code.

[2] Note: Many the project’s direct beneficiaries are no longer based in Myanmar.

How to apply

https://cfi.fr/en/calls-for-application/call-proposals-final-evaluation-project-support-independent-burmese-media

Content of proposals :

Any incomplete proposal will be rejected by CFI without the candidate company having the possibility to complete it.
Each candidate company must submit a complete proposal in English including all the documents and information listed below, under penalty of elimination by CFI:

  1. A technical proposal, maximum twenty (20) pages A4 single-sided (excluding annexes), describing the proposed methodology to carry out the services, particularly in relation to the candidate team’s own experience (detailed experience related to the contract, such as evaluations of media support projects and/or development projects with a media component, support to media and journalists in exile, experience in Myanmar or in politically unstable zones or countries, etc.).
    The candidate company will explain its understanding of the expected evaluation, as well as the stakes of the project for CFI, IMS, the donor, and its partners (see selection criteria in section 7.2). It will propose an evaluation matrix responding to this request for proposals and the evaluation questions presented in annex 1, and provide useful information on the proposed methodologies (types of surveys, data collection and analysis methods, stakeholders interviewed, information sought, deployed methodological tools, judgment criteria, indicators, etc.).
    The candidate company will present a provisional schedule of the evaluation and specify its availability over the period covering the evaluation until the final report submission. The allocation of expert-days per phase of the evaluation will be indicated. The names of the experts and their specific roles in this evaluation will be specified. A summary table will list the names of the experts, the main tasks to be carried out, and the corresponding number of expert-days. The total number of expert-days planned will also be taken into account.
  2. The CV of each team member within the candidate company (in PDF format).
    The team must have a cumulative experience of at least 5 years and complementary expertise in project evaluation in Myanmar, Thailand or at least in Southeast Asia region, as well as strong experience in development interventions in the media sector.
    The professional skills of each person must be detailed, especially in terms of expertise in development project evaluation, media expertise, specific expertise in conflict zones, and gender expertise. Language skills in Burmese and English are essential.
    References of each team member must be detailed for each competence. Female candidates are encouraged to apply.
  3. A quote indicating the global lump sum price excluding taxes (EUR).In its quote, the candidate company indicates the total lump sum amount it proposes for its offer. This amount has contractual value.
    All these documents, technical proposal, evaluation team CVs, and quote must be written in English by the candidate company, under penalty of elimination as inadmissible by CFI.Submission Conditions

The candidate company must submit its proposal to the email addresses indicated on the cover page of this Request for Proposals. Complete proposals must be received at these email addresses before the deadline specified on the cover page of this Request for Proposals.

To avoid any issues with the transmission or receipt of offers ending up in the “spam” folder, the candidate company is advised to take appropriate measures for sending large files (e.g., use of file-sharing services) and to ensure the successful receipt of transmitted documents (by requesting an acknowledgment of receipt and/or read confirmation) prior to the deadline indicated on the cover page of this Request for Proposals.

Only proposals received by the specified deadline date and time indicated on the cover page will be reviewed. Proposals received or submitted after this date and time will be considered inadmissible and will not be analyzed.

Once selected, the service provider must provide CFI with additional documents[1] within a maximum of seven (7) days following receipt of the award letter.

Validity Period of Proposals

The validity period of the proposals is set at sixty (60) calendar days from the deadline for submission of offers.

By responding to this Request for Proposals, the candidate company unreservedly accepts the conditions. Its application and offer commit it for the entire duration specified in this article.

The candidate company cannot withdraw before the expiration of this period.

Qualifications and Competencies Expected of the Project Team

The team within the candidate company responsible for carrying out the services must have a minimum of five (5) years of experience in development project evaluations, preferably related to the media, journalism, and issues linked to audiovisual content production. Prior experience in Southeast Asia, ideally in Myanmar and/or Thailand, is highly desirable as well as experience working with exiled media and journalists. The team must demonstrate all relevant skills and knowledge in the technical proposal.

Since some project stakeholders are Burmese-speaking and others English-speaking, the Contractor must ensure a bilingual Burmese-English team and develop survey tools in both Burmese and English, adapted to the target respondents.