Development of a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for the Enabling Income Generation for the Poor (EnInGeP) Project At CARE

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Development of a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for the Enabling Income Generation for the Poor (EnInGeP) Project – Care Balkans (care-balkan.org)

ABOUT CARE INTERNATIONAL BALKANS

CARE’s work in the Balkans started in 1993, when it provided humanitarian support to people affected by war. In the late 90-ties, CARE shifted its focus in the region from humanitarian post-war assistance and rehabilitation to socio-economic development, engaging in interventions directed at conflict prevention and peace-building, sustainable livelihoods, gender equality and the prevention of gender-based violence.

CARE International in the Balkans places the quality of its program at the centre of its mission and has developed a regional strategy that encompasses two main program directions: Gender Equality and Social and Economic Inclusion. CARE’s Gender Equality Program aims to empower women vulnerable to violence, discrimination and poverty, to reach better life opportunities and social justice and to work on prevention of peer violence and building of tolerance among young men in the Western Balkans. The goal of the Social and Economic Inclusion Program is to strengthen capacity and create opportunities for the marginalized, socially excluded and poor to integrate into society and access rights. CARE’s engagement and contribution lies in strengthening sustainability of key regional, national and/ or local civil society organizations and networks promoting equality and diversity, in the context of social inclusion and non-violence.

PROJECT BACKGROUND

While Kosovo is grappling to achieve, inclusive, and sustainable development, an array of structural market constraints across a range of developmental domains continue to perpetuate exclusionary practices. The poor business environment, inadequate access to finance, low Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) inflows, inequitable gender norms, etc., are just some of the structural hindrances that undermine Kosovo’s competitiveness.

Access to finance prevails as a critical market constraint for the expansion of companies in Kosovo. It is challenging to secure funds required for business development and growth. There is a lack of publicly available information on MSMEs’ financials, making it more likely for banks to avoid vulnerable micro and small companies. Women in Kosovo continue to face difficulties in securing access to bank financing, due to owning barely any property. Difficulties relating to access to finance stem also from the high levels of financial illiteracy in Kosovo. The attempts of the Central Bank of Kosovo (CBK) and other actors to enhance financial literacy, have largely stagnated. On the other hand, the Kosovo Credit Guarantee Fund (KCGF) has contributed substantially toward facilitating the access to finance for Kosovo MSMEs. This mechanism was established with the support of donors including ADA providing the credit guarantees for MSMEs, resulting in supporting local production and creating new jobs.

One of the sectors with the highest potential for spurring more inclusive growth through the export of services is the ICT sector. The severe skill shortage in the ICT sector in Europe is expected to translate into amplified demand for ICT outsourcing. Based on Kosovo IT Barometer, 91.18% of IT companies export their services, whereas only 5.8% of companies work in the domestic market.

Expanding women’s access to ICT jobs is regarded as not only advancing economic opportunities for women and their communities, but also addressing the mismatch between the supply and demand for jobs in emerging countries. In addition, the more sections of society (women as well as other marginalised groups) are involved in the design and development of ICT products and services, the more these will speak to a larger consumer base. Women’s participation in the ICT sector therefore not only triggers economic and social empowerment for women which benefits their families and communities, but it enables sectoral growth and the related and potentially significant financial rewards. Leveraging the ingenuity of the entire population could trigger economic growth by increasing productivity across sectors. In Kosovo, the participation rate of women in ICT is 25% holding varying positions, from junior level to key leadership. A larger women’s participation, is hindered by an array of factors, including:

• norms discouraging girls and women from pursuing the education and training required to join the ICT workforce.

The Business Development Service (BDS) industry in Kosovo, despite noticeable improvements, continues to suffer from the lack of specialized consultants and standardization. Consulting in Kosovo is accompanied by prejudices, which, to some extent, can be linked to difficulties in the evaluation of consulting services, and the fact that the profession of the consultant is not regulated. Based on the research conducted within ACCESS project the use and availability of BDS is shown to be significantly higher in urban as compared to rural areas, and much more present among members of the Albanian community, as opposed to those with an ethnic minority background. As far as gender differences in BDS use are concerned, a survey among BDS providers conducted during ACCESS, showed that women entrepreneurs use BDS to a similar extent as men.

PROJECT IMPACT

To contribute to a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive private sector development that enables inclusive job creation and income generation for the poor and vulnerable.

SCOPE OF ASSINGMENT

The Consultant will be expected to work closely with CARE and ECIKS focal points in developing the MEAL plan for this project, to create a MEAL Plan that captures the most relevant and important project metrics and envisages its practical application throughout the implementation, by the project team. The consultant is expected to carry out and deliver on the following tasks:

1. here. Please note that “recommended” gender points from the DCED Standard – i.e. points 1.5, 2.6, 3.5, 6.2 on pages 6 and 7 – are mandatory for this project.

DELIVERABLES

1. Develop Theory of Change (ToC) in close collaboration with project team, outlining how different elements of the project come together to produce the project results and objectives?
2. MEAL Matrix outlining impact/output/outcome indicators, data sources, data collection scheduling, MEAL tools and other necessary elements – all or most categories of information contained in the CARE MEAL guidelines (see Annex A)
3. A clear and consensual definition of direct and indirect participants (“beneficiaries”) of the project.
4. Inputs on data collection for the MSCA
5. A completed baseline logframe, drawing data from the MSCA
6. Training on general M&E, MEAL principles and the project MEAL system usage for entire project team.
7. Short end of Assignment report in English, 2-3 pages.

Entire communication and all deliverables will be realised in English language. The project requires the highest level of written English in all its documents, which includes all Assignment outputs.

TIMEFRAME

The Assignment should be carried out within a limited number of working days from the date of the signing of the contract between CARE and the Consultant and 30 July, 2023. It is expected of the interested Consultant to propose, within their bid, the number of days envisaged as required for this Assignment, determined in a justifiable manner. The final number of consultancy days will be determined between CARE Project Manager and the Consultant within the consultancy planning communication and prior to the contract signing.