Mid-Term Evaluation of the Public Policy Information, Monitoring and Advocacy (PPIMA) Phase IV – Norwegian People’s Aid

Terms of Reference for the Mid-Term Evaluation of the Public Policy Information, Monitoring and Advocacy (PPIMA) Phase IV

1. Overview and rationale

The Public Policy Information, Monitoring and Advocacy (PPIMA) project implemented by Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) in Rwanda is a programme funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC). PPIMA is a civil society support project aimed at strengthening Rwandan CSOs and citizens to participate and influence the formulation and implementation of national and local policymaking, planning and governance. PPIMA started in 2009 and has been implemented through three phases which cumulatively span more than a decade. **

1. PPIMA summary and outcomes

The programme’s intended goal is to ensure that Rwandan citizens live in a democratic society with equitable social justice and that all citizens of Rwanda, including the vulnerable and marginalized, have equal access to their economic, political, and social rights. The 2020-2024 PPIMA Programme (PPIMA) Phase 4 is being implemented in collaboration with 19 local CSO partners across 19 Districts and continues to focus its efforts on strengthening Partner internal governance systems, their ability to advocate, influence and conduct research and form policy while promoting citizen participation and priorities through a Community Scorecard (CSC) model. The programme also aims to promote accountability among decision makers and specifically encouraging them to consult their constituents to inform decisions, be responsive to citizens’ concerns, including a gender perspective in planning and budgeting and address the specific needs of vulnerable and marginalized groups.

The following outcomes are anticipated during Phase IV:

· Outcome 1: Partners are more effective in their public policy and advocacy work to influence and mobilize in recognition that an empowered civil society is a fundamental pillar of sustainable democracy.

· Outcome 2: Supporting citizens’ engagement in decision-making processes, knowledge of their rights, and access to justice and conflict prevention and management mechanisms.

· Outcome 3: Local and national government have formulated policies and plans that reflect the concerns raised by citizens and gender equality considerations.

1. Objectives and scope of the assignment

The Key objectives of the mid-term evaluation which will be conducted in line with DAC Principles for the Evaluation of Development Assistance will be:

· To assess and confirm progress made towards achieving the overall PPIMA outcomes.

· To assess the sustainability of the PPIMA outcomes and progress towards achieving impact.

· Assess Value for money (VfM) performance compared to the original VfM proposition.

· To provide a set of concrete and actionable recommendations for improvement of the programme during the remaining implementation period.

1. Methodology

It is expected that the evaluation team will propose an overall research design/plan to address the evaluation questions and a plan for collecting and analyzing data. The evaluation design shall be based on qualitative techniques to address the evaluation questions. Key informant interviews, focus group interviews, in-depth review of PPIMA documentation and reports, discussions with PPIMA staff and feedback from partners and beneficiaries are among the techniques that the evaluation team shall consider when addressing the evaluation questions.

1. Timelines and deliverables

The execution of assignment will be done from mid-June to early July 2022, and the final MTR report should be submitted by 15^th July 2022. The Service Provider must include the work plan and time schedule for delivering the two assignments in the technical proposal.

1. Evaluation Team Qualifications

The Service Provider (firm) will provide a team of experts comprised at a minimum two Key positions among others: (i) a Team Leader and ii) a specialist in Governance, Civic Participation and Capacity Building. All team members are expected to have strong understanding of working on empowerment and accountability processes involving citizens, civil society organisations, governments, and development partners (DPs) in sub-Saharan Africa. Prior experience in Rwanda and knowledge of the context is desirable. They will also be required to provide a signed statement attesting to a lack of conflict of interest or describing any existing conflict of interest.

The Team Leader (TL) will be expected to be physically present in Rwanda throughout the consultancy period and will be ultimately responsible for the following:

• Overall management of the evaluation team.

• Coordinating the implementation of the evaluation.

• Assigning evaluation responsibilities and tasks.

• Authoring the final evaluation report in conformity with these ToRs.

• The TL must be an experienced evaluation expert with a documented/evidence track record of 5 years of experience in similar consultancies and evaluations.

• Experience and understanding of network approaches to international development, civic participation and advocacy work; ideally including field experience and demonstrating a sound understanding of gender and other social inclusion issues.

• S/he should have a strong background in the governance and capacity building field.

• S/he should be fluent in English.

• S/he should have at least an advanced degree in Social Sciences, Development Studies, Economics, Statistics, Political Science, or Public Administration.

The Governance and Civic Participation expert will be tasked to:

• Support the TL in the overall management of the evaluation team and the final products in conformity with this Statement of Work.

• S/he should be familiar with the administration and Institutional Capacity.

• S/he must possess excellent writing and interpersonal skills and be familiar with experience in governance and civil society programmes as well as Sida, SDC and Norad programs, objectives, and reporting requirements.

• S/he should have experience in designing and implementing FGDs. A Master’s or Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences, Political Science, Public Administration, or a related field is required to ensure that all areas of technical expertise required for the evaluation are effectively covered.

More specific and/or detailed information on the evaluation can be shared with interested parties on request. Please contact Hortence Baho (Programme Manager) – [email protected] or Grant Pritchard (Country Director) – [email protected].

NPA Rwanda

22 April 2022