External Evaluation of a 4 year EU funded project

Terms of Reference – External Final Evaluation of the Project “Securing the abolition of the death penalty in Africa and in countries at risk” of 48 months in Niger, Uganda, Philippines, Taiwan

1) Presentation of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty

The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, an alliance of more than 160 NGOs, bar associations, local authorities and unions, was create in Rome on 13 May 2002. The aim of the World Coalition is to strengthen the international dimension of the fight against the death penalty. Its ultimate objective is to obtain universal abolition of the death penalty. To achieve its goal, the World Coalition advocates for a definitive end to death sentences and executions in those countries where the death penalty is in force. In some countries, it is seeking to obtain a reduction in the use of capital punishment as a first step towards abolition.

By encouraging networking amongst its members as well as an exchange of experiences, the World Coalition is able to propose common international or regional strategies for the abolition of the death penalty, support abolitionists throughout the world and to provide them with information, awareness-raising and mobilization tools.

2) Background

The overall objective (OO) of the project is to secure the abolition of the death penalty in Africa and in countries at risk based on the experience of four target countries (Niger, Uganda, Philippines and Taiwan) and 3 regions of the world (East Africa, West Africa and South East Asia). In particular, the project aims to coordinate and strengthen civil society actions to promote the abolition of the death penalty in Africa (SO1) and to coordinate and strengthen civil society actions in two countries at risk to prevent the resurgence of the death penalty (SO2). The project is implemented by 8 project partners: 3 NGOs representing national networks: FHRI, Uganda; REPRODEVH-Niger; TAEDP, Taiwan, 1 NHRI: the Commission for Human Rights of the Philippines, 2 NGOs with regional impact: FIACAT in Africa and Reprieve Australia in Asia and 2 international NGOs: TAHR and the World Coalition; and their member organizations (12 organizations in the Coalition in Niger (CONICOPEM), 10 organisations and 100 individual members and partners for the Taiwan Alliance (TAEDP), 9 in the East African Coalition, Philippines’ Task Force, International Federation of ACATs (FIACAT: 30 members including 16 in Sub-Saharan Africa) and the 154 members of the World Coalition.

The estimated results were the following:

SO1, Result 1 (R1): The number of abolitionist countries in Africa increases

SO2, R2: The abolitionist movement adopts a concerted strategy to respond to crisis situations in other countries and to prevent the resurgence of the death penalty at a global scale.

OO, R3: From the good practices revealed in the four target countries of this project, the World Coalition’s member organisations and networks feel empowered to react when the risks of resurgence of the death penalty are felt.

R4: Civil society feels more legitimate and stronger to address their public authorities in the 4 target countries and gains in visibility.

R5: International and regional intergovernmental organizations (OHCHR, ACHPR, AICHR) and abolitionist diplomats are aware of the risks of resurgence of capital punishment and are able to collaborate more with NGOs.

R6: The media convey the message of civil society for World Day against the Death Penalty and when the opinion surveys are published.

R7: The number of people sentenced to death in the four target countries decreases during the project

3) Objectives of the external evaluation

An independent external evaluator will carry out a final external evaluation before the end of the project. This report will allow participants and external evaluators to evaluate the results achieved and to identify partners’ good practices, involvement and ownership.

The evaluators will follow the principles proposed by the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC): impartiality and independence, credibility, utility, participation and coordination.

The evaluation will be carried out on the basis of the five criteria defined by the DAC: relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability, focusing on relevance, effectiveness and coherence in relation to the objectives that the project initially set itself (choice and achievement of objectives).

In particular, the criteria of effectiveness and impact will be taken into account to measure the changes to which the project has contributed and the effects produced in terms of impact and partnership best practices, involvement and ownership.

• Evaluation questions

Axis 1: Relevance and effectiveness of intervention strategies: did the activities carried out lead to the expected results and specific objectives of the project?

Axis 2: Effects produced in terms of partnership: How was the support to partners and direct beneficiaries of the project perceived and how could it be improved?

In their service offer, consultants are asked to reformulate and organize these questions to address these lines of thought, based on their understanding of the project, the issues and the objectives of the evaluation that they will have outlined.

• Deliverable

The evaluator will prepare an evaluation report describing the evaluation process and presenting conclusions and recommendations for the project. This project is cofounded by the European Union. Where possible, a report will be prepared in English and a summary will be prepared in French for distribution to all partners.

A verbal presentation and explanation of findings will be made by the evaluator to the World Coalition working groups at a virtual debriefing workshop in 2024.

• Scope of the Evaluation

The evaluator will review and analyze existing project documents provided by the project coordinator.

The evaluation process will include interviews with representatives of partner organizations and donors, NGOs, and the government sector.

The evaluation will focus not only on the immediate impact of the projects (effectiveness), but also on their management component (efficiency).

4) Methodology

The evaluation will be conducted using a participatory approach, which solicits the opinions and assessments of all parties. The evaluation will use the results of the previous internal and external evaluations of this project.

5) Candidates’ Profile

• Graduate degree (Master’s or equivalent) in project management or law, political science with significant experience in project management;
• Proven professional experience in ex-post evaluation of at least 5 years in project design, implementation and evaluation;
• Previous experience in a human rights project evaluation would be highly valued;
• Previous experience in the evaluation of projects funded by the European Union and/or the AFD would be highly valued;
• A good competence in report writing;
• Fluency in English and French;
• Members of the evaluation team should not have been directly involved in the design and/or implementation of the project.

The financial proposals of the experts, for this evaluation, will have to be under a maximum ceiling of 25,000 € Taxes included (twenty five thousand euros) and will distinguish the fixed expenses (fees) from the expenses to be justified (expenses related to the mission).

All other unforeseen costs – whatever their nature – will remain at their charge.

6) Timeline

8 January 2023: Deadline for receipt of bids

8-15 January 2024: Analysis of offers and selection of evaluator

15-30 January 2024: Framing and documentation phase

February 2024: Consultation phase through remote interviews

30 March 2024: Deadline for submission of a preliminary summary

30 April 2024: Deadline for the final report in English and the summary in French