Consultancy: External evaluation the role of youth in peacebuilding

1.INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT

The project “ASÎTÎ: Promoting the role of internally displaced and refugee youth from the long-lasting conflicts in Syria and the KRI and the youth of the host communities of Jordan and Catalonia in building peace and consolidating democracy and human rights in the Middle East” foresees the realization of a final mixed-participative evaluation, with emphasis on the process of articulation and execution among the organizations involved, as well as on the strategies undertaken for the achievement of results.

ASITI is a 18 month project (extended to 24 months) funded by the ACCD (Catalan Agency for the Cooperation and Development) started at 15/02/2022 and finishing by 14/02/2024. The project main objectives are:

The overall goal is to promote the empowerment and leadership of internally displaced youth (IDPs) and refugees from the protracted conflicts in Syria and Iraqi Kurdistan and the youth of the communities of reception of Jordan and Catalonia in peace buildlding and the consolidation of democracy and human rights in the Middle East.

The specific objective is to promote the effective cross-cutting of the EIGBDH approach and environmental justice in peace-building initiatives and the recovery of the most serious negative impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in Syria and Iraqi Kurdistan through strengthening the role of young Syrians and Kurds as agents of social and political transformation, whether in their countries of origin (Syria, KRI) or host countries (Jordan, Catalonia).

2. GOALS

The mixed evaluation delves into the role of youth in the peace processes of Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Catalonia by specifically analyzing Result 3 of the project.

R3. Promoting the change of public policies. Reinforced the participation and accessibility of young IDPs and refugees from the protracted conflicts in Syria and Iraqi Kurdistan in the formulation of public policies on peacebuilding and to be able to influence: 1. The effective incorporation of the focus on human rights, gender justice and environmental justice in peacebuilding initiatives; 2. The inclusion of the peacebuilding, gender and human rights approach in post-COVID-19 green recovery policies.

It is expected that the evaluator conducts a deep analysis, extracts conclusions and recomendations to enhance the achievement of the result. Moreover, the actions and activities that had or could potentially be connected to youth involvement in peace processes would also be identified and analysed, analysing the impact of nonviolence in a broader peacebuilding horizon.

The main goal would be to answer the following questions starting from more specific to general objectives:

The IDP and refugee and IDP young roles

1. What have been the most effective strategies to involve young people in the project?
2. How has the project contributed to the development of practical and leadership skills in young people?
3. Has there been a diverse representation of young people in terms of gender, origin, disability, socioeconomic context?
4. Has the resilience of young people improved?
5. Has it contributed to youth empowerment, either by increasing the confidence or self-esteem of the participants?

Social cohesion for IDP and refugee youth

1. Have young people participating in the project changed their vision towards attitudes such as tolerance and diversity?
2. Has the social cohesion of young people in situations of displacement or refugees improved in their societies?
3. What tools and practices did the youth engaged in the project acquire and implement directly to influence their communities using a non-violent approach?

Peacebulding and nonviolence horizons for the IDP and refugee youth

1. Do young people consider nonviolence useful as a methodology for social change?
2. What change have the peacebuilding activities in the project produced in the young people?
3. What role can young people have in building peace in their countries?

To answer these questions, it will be important to achieve these objectives:

• Assessment of the design and the execution of the project and its Result 3 according to the agreements signed with the ACCD:
• Analysis of lessons learnt (conclusions) and challenges regarding the achievement of the goals and the results, as well as making recommendations for the future.
• Examine and identify the role of the youth involved in the project through the actions of result 3 and assess the impact on their actions in terms of rights improving and peacebuilding on their communities in Jordan, Iraqi and Syrian Kurdistan and Catalonia while assessing sustainability of the project or proposing new lines of action to achieve further youth involvement.
• Evaluation of the social impact, development of habilities and change of attitudes from the Youth that have participated in every country
• Provision of guidance and proposals for identification of new indicators fostering better monitoring and evaluation youth activities in terms of improving human rights, gender justice and enviromental justice in a peacebuilding horizon.

3. FRAMEWORK

• Timeframe: 3 months starting from the project’s ending at 15/02/2024
• Geographic: Iraq, Iraqi Kurdistan, Syria, Jordan and Catalonia.

4. PHASES

1. Planning of the evaluation and review of key project documents (Deadline 15/02/2024)
2. Inception report
3. Field Visit
4. Realisation of the activities (Deadline 30/04/2024)
5. Writing
6. First devolution of the evaluation (Deadline 15/05/2024)
7. Second devolution of the evaluation to NOVACT and the partners (Deadline 30/05/2024)

5. PROFILE OF THE EVALUATOR

The leader of the assessment team will be formed by an expert, who will be responsible for managing and leading the assessment as well as preparing the different deliverables of this assessment, with the following profiles and qualifications:

• Proven technical capacity and experience of at least 3 years in the performance of previous work like this one, especially in peacebuilding initiatives and youth social and political participation.
• Great knowledge and (demonstrable) handling of social evaluation and research methodologies.
• Familiarity with different evaluation methodologies.
• Knowledge of the context of the project intervention area.
• Analytical skills to identify strengths and areas for improvement, as well as critical aspects of the analyzed reality.
• Knowledge and awareness of gender and rights-based approaches in development projects.

6. BUDGET

The final cost of the evaluation is 15.050€ (all taxes included).