Aga Khan Foundation
Terms of Reference for AGECS Learning partner
1. Background
The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) is an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network
(AKDN), a group of private not-for profit, non-denominational international development
agencies, institutions and programmes that work primarily in the poorest parts of Africa and
Asia to improve the quality of life of communities in remote and resource poor areas. In East
Africa, AKF works with partners to improve the quality of life by promoting and developing
innovative solutions to challenges of development in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Reflecting the complex and multi-faceted nature of development, AKF programmes in the
region encompass Education, Health and Nutrition, Early Childhood Development,
Agriculture and Food Security, Climate Resilience, Economic Inclusion and Civil Society.
2. About the AGECS project.
Advancing Gender Equality through Civil Society (AGECS) is a 30-month (2022-
2025***)*** project implemented by the Aga Khan Foundation, with support from Global Affairs
Canada (GAC), involving civil society partners in five countries in Africa -Uganda, Kenya,
Tanzania, Mozambique, and Madagascar. In Uganda, AKF partners with the Forum for
Women in Democracy (FOWODE) in Mityana and Luweero districts, Public Health
Ambassadors Uganda (PHAU) in Makindye division and Mukono district, and Community
Empowerment for Rural Development (CEFORD) in Arua district to implement innovative
gender targeted and transformative initiatives to address barriers to gender equality in terms
of community participation, decision-making opportunities, and access to resources and
services for women, girls, boys, and men in the specific project geographies.
AGECS promotes gender equality by providing capacity strengthening for CSOs working on
gender equality and women’s empowerment, including targeted support to women’s
organizations through:
• Increasing equitable access to resources and services of women and girls, adolescents,
men, and boys at household and community levels.
• Enhancing the ability of local community structures, institutions and leaders to
identify and respond to gender and social barriers, and to foster inclusive governance.
• Enhancing knowledge among female and male community members on equitable
development practices and benefits.
It is upon this cause that Aga Khan Foundation is seeking a qualified consultant(s) to lead
evidence-based Collaboration, Learning and Adaptation for the AGECS project activities in
Uganda.
13. Scope of services and tasks will include but may not be limited to the
following.
The learning partner will be working with AKF AGECS staff and 3 CSO partners
implementation the project including Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE),
Public Health Ambassadors Uganda (PHAU) and Community Empowerment for Rural
Development (CEFORD). The assignment will be across the 5 districts of project
implementation (Kampala, Mukono, Luwero, Mityana and Arua).
4. Duration
This assignment will be conducted between July 2024 to January 2025.
5. Purpose
The overall objective of this assignment is to oversee the documentation of learning for the
AGECS Uganda project, to provide insight about what activities / implementation models
implemented are working in the different geographies highlighting what works, what doesn’t
work and recommendations.
6. Objectives of the assignment.
• To strengthen documentation of quality reports from specific AGECS project activities
for evidence-based decision making.
• To promote learning and evidence-based decision making through gathered lessons
learned and best practices, success stories- and learning fora as well as mentorship
and coaching.
• To promote effective program design through documentation of the models used by
the AGECS partners and the documentation of Human Centred Design.
7. Specific tasks and activities.
• Document existing barriers towards Adolescent Girls and Young Women’s access to
and utilisation of resources in their communities.
• Collecting and documenting lessons learned to determine proof of concept of the CSO
model in Uganda.
• Conduct training, mentorships, and coaching sessions for AGECS project staff and
CSO partners on how to use the project data across all the geographies. Create, case
studies on male engagement, civic participation, and effectiveness of start-up kits for
skilled Adolescent Girls and Young Women.
• Conduct field visits to Document best practices, lessons learned, and innovative
solutions developed throughout the project.
8. Methodology
The consultant hired will be expected to work closely with AKF Uganda through a
collaborative close working arrangement, he/she will be responsible for the Coordination,
23
Learning and Adaptation on the AGECS project. The consultant will be responsible for
designing the methodology in close collaboration with the AKF team.
9. Deliverables
• Inception report
• Training AKF and partner staff on documentation of success stories and lessons learnt.
• Training program and modules to be delivered to AKF staff and partner staff.
• Lesson learnt, case studies and success stories booklet.
• Lesson learnt, case studies and success stories videos.
• Provide raw data collected and transcribed.
• Field activity reports.
• Final Learning report.
• PowerPoint presentations for the learning findings.
• Dissemination of the learning findings.
Deliverable
Date/deadline
1. Inception report
July 2024
2. Field activity reports
October 2024
3. Provide raw data collected and
transcribed.
November 2024
4. Training program and modules on
documenting lessons learnt and
success stories.
November 2024
5. lesson learnt and success stories
booklet.
December 2024
6. Lessons learnt and success stories
videos.
December 2024
7. PowerPoint presentation for the
learning findings.
January 2025
8. Final learning report
January 2025
9. Dissemination of learning findings.
February 2025
10.
Ethical Standards and Safeguarding
The Learning Partner must fully abide by AKF’s Safeguarding policy, and all members (if
any) of the Consultancy must sign AKF’s Safeguarding Statement of Commitment upon
contracting. The design and implementation of the consultancy work must be in line with
the research ethical standards including protection of participants from potential
research-related harms, confidentiality, informed consent, beneficence, and safeguarding
principles to protect respondents from potential harms such as sexual exploitation and
abuse, sexual harassment, and bullying. 11. Eligibility criteria
The consultancy can include different team members.
• Team lead should possess at least a Master’s degree in Gender Studies, Public health,
demography/ population studies, Statistics and with essential training in Monitoring
and Evaluation. Any training in public policy is an added advantage.
• Sample reports/copies of contracts of similar work conducted in the past.
• The lead should have experience of working with Gender programs for at least 8 years.(Include CV’s of key personnel for the assignment)
• Strong experience using participatory data collection approaches including
quantitative and qualitative, particularly focusing on Gender and related thematic
areas.
• Experience evaluating gender programming initiatives in large-scale projects.
• Ability to facilitate and relate to stakeholders at multiple levels and in diverse contexts.
• Ability to facilitate training workshops on data collection, analysis and report writing
and outcome harvesting.
• Country knowledge and experience in conducting research in Gender, SRH and AGYW
programs and studies in Uganda.
• The body of the proposal should be no longer than 8 pages.
• All materials for submission must be merged into one pdf file.
12.Application Criteria
Consultants meeting the above criteria are invited to submit a Full proposal (Both Technical and Financial Proposal) with a clear work plan by email to:
[email protected] with the subject line: “AGECS Uganda in-country Learning
Partner”. Proposals should be received not later than the 14th June 2024.
13.Reporting channel and submission
The learning partner will work under close supervision of the AGECS M&E Officer with
support from the AGECS Project Co-ordinator.
Any clarification regarding the consultancy can be directed to: [email protected]
How to apply
12.Application Criteria
Consultants meeting the above criteria are invited to submit a Full proposal (Both Technical and Financial Proposal) with a clear work plan by email to:
[email protected] with the subject line: “AGECS Uganda in-country Learning Partner”. Proposals should be received not later than the 14th June 2024.
Deadline: 14 Jun 2024