
Caritas France - Secours Catholique
Context
Founded in 2019, Voices of Children Charitable Fund (VoC) had been operating de facto since 2015, when the founder began providing spontaneous, volunteer humanitarian aid to people in the Donbass region.
The organization focuses on providing psychological and psychosocial support to children who have suffered hostilities and traumatic events, first in eastern Ukraine, then throughout the country. This includes individual and group psychological sessions, art therapy courses, and the work of mobile psychologists. It collaborates with companies, public organizations and caring individuals in Ukraine and abroad, to provide direct support to those in need.
Since November 2023, the situation in Ukraine, particularly in the Chernihiv region in the north-east of the country, has been worrying due to frequent bombardments resulting in massive destruction. Many children and their parents are suffering from stress, emotional distress and aggression, particularly as a result of the period of Russian occupation between February and April 2022. Many caregivers are at the front. This has a direct impact on teachers’ work. Electricity and heating cuts caused by the Russian attacks add a further threat to the well-being of the population.
The project is the second that the Secours Catholique – Caritas France (SCCF) supports with VoC, in the Chernihiv Oblast. The previous collaboration has been fruitful, and field visits have shown the quality of the work.
The overall aim of the initial 9-month project (November 2023 – July 2024), extended for a further 6 months until January 31, 2025, is to improve the well-being of children and their caregivers in the Chernihiv region. A child-friendly center has been opened, staffed with a mobile team of psychologists.
The specific objectives are:
- 1: The mental health of children, their caregivers and teachers is improved through psychological and psychosocial support, as well as specific coaching and an information campaign to help them cope with a stressful environment.
- 2: The well-being of families with children is improved through the distribution of winterizing items (blankets, pillows, etc.).
The populations supported by the project are:
- 1400 children from Chernihiv and neighboring communities can overcome the traumas of war thanks to psychosocial support.
- 600 caregivers in Chernihiv and neighboring communities can cope with a stressful environment and have a better understanding of children’s needs during wartime.
- 300 teachers and school staff from Chernihiv and neighboring communities improve their ability to work in wartime conditions and deepen their knowledge of child protection.
- 200 households are better prepared for winter after receiving winter essentials (blankets, pillows, power packs, kettles (not powered by electricity) and portable gas stoves).
VoC’s methodology and intervention logic revolve around a complex MHPSS intervention (including, but not limited to, individual and group consultations for children and caregivers, educational programs for teachers, mental health information campaigns, etc.). In addition, VoC includes winterization actions (distribution of NFI kits) as general and mental well-being is impossible to achieve if basic needs are not covered (adequate access to hot food, online education and minimum comfort).
A real-time external evaluation is scheduled for August, to assess the period from November 2023 to July 2024. The expected results are based on 2 main components:
- The results of the project itself in the implementation of humanitarian aid
- In-house project management :
- Administrative aspects,
- Work and coordination between different collaborators
Evaluation objectives
- General objective
For Voices of Children: obtain operational recommendations to improve the quality of their programs and their management capabilities.
For SCCF: identify areas for improvement in programming and VoC management, with a view to developing the partnership with new objectives.
- Specific objectives
- Evaluate VoC’s internal project management
- analyze VoC’s approach and measure the quality of activity implementation
The guiding criteria for this evaluation should be the OECD DAC :
Effectiveness
- Analyze internal coordination mechanisms between the various departments and staff involved in the project
- Analyze compliance and consistency of VoC’s internal procedures (procurement in particular)
- Are the activities implemented compatible with the program’s objectives?
- Do program objectives meet beneficiaries’ expectations?
- Are the program’s activities and results obtained until now compatible with the expected outcomes?
- Are the program’s objectives on track?
Efficiency
- Analyze whether the human and financial resources allocated to the project are sufficient and appropriate*;*
- Do the selection criteria correspond to the predefined strategy?
Sustainability :
- What changes does the project really bring to the lives of beneficiaries?
- Will the program’s results have a chance to continue after Secours Catholiques funding ceases?
- What are the main factors influencing the achievement or non-achievement of program sustainability?
Evaluation methodology:
- Documentary review: The documentary review will involve a thorough examination of all relevant documents related to the humanitarian project. The purpose of this review is to understand the project’s background, its objectives, its implementation process, and its outcomes. This will form the basis for further evaluations and help in identifying areas that require deeper investigation during the fieldwork and consultations.
- Consultations: Collective and individual with stakeholders, brainstorming with VoC teams, interviews with beneficiaries (parents, teachers, children) and KII in the field (government, school officials), and consultation of existing documents.
- Approach: The evaluation is seen as an opportunity for dialogue between stakeholders and a moment to reinforce the momentum around the project.
- Recommendations: Should be as operational as possible, with the aim of learning and capacity building.
- Support: The consultant will have to raise the awareness of the partners in the appropriation of the recommendations, with a pedagogical posture to ensure understanding of the evaluation process. A preliminary findings workshop should be organized with VoC, in order to obtain an initial set of recommendations.
Activities to conduct
- An analysis of existing statistical data: quantitative and qualitative approach to gathering information and interviews and focus groups with program targets; analysis of MEAL data already collected;
- An analysis of perceptions, target groups and partners
- Visits to key institutions: gathering information from government institutions, partners and non-state actors through interviews and field visits.
- Identification of the main lessons learned
Evaluation schedule (estimated)
The assessment will be carried out over 20 to 30 days, between Kyiv and Chernihiv oblast:
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5-7 days will be devoted to :
- Desk review: review of project documentation: project proposal, project logical framework, project budget; code of ethics and safeguards; latest final evaluation report; partners’ social media activities; latest SCCF monitoring reports, partner monitoring data.
- Preparing of an inception report and tools
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10 to 20 days in :
- Field work: focus groups, KII meetings,
- Online interviews/written surveys with project managers, coordinators and other staff to assess project coordination and management, and collect best practices and lessons learned.
- Meeting with VoC managers, and Caritas France (online or offline) during a preliminary findings workshops, to discuss preliminary evaluation results, lessons learned and best practices.
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5 to 7 days in :
- Preparation of a draft report in English, to be sent to VoC and Caritas France managers
- Comments from the heads of VoC and Caritas France
- Workshop with presentation of final report for VoC and SCCF teams
List of required deliverables:
- Inception report
- Preliminary findings workshop
- Final report
- final workshop
The final version of the report in English and Ukrainian is sent to Voc and Caritas France a week after the final workshop.
Evaluator profile
- University degree in Social Sciences, Population and Development or other related sciences
- Proven experience in program evaluations (diagnostic, mid-term/final evaluation), using quantitative, qualitative and participatory evaluation methodologies
- Experience working on protection and MHPSS projects
- Experience in stakeholder analysis and partnerships
- At least 3 similar evaluations (indicate referees) to his credit
- Ability to write a concise, accurate report within a short timeframe
- Domiciliation in Ukraine, preferably in Kyiv
- Officially registered if independent, or employed by an audit firm
- Excellent command of Ukrainian, English and Russian
How to apply
- Application form
The application must include:
- A technical and financial proposal:
- The technical proposal gives an understanding of the terms of reference, the intervention methodology and a timetable for completion.
- The financial proposal must specify, on one hand, the fees excluding and including taxes, and on the other hand, the expenses: travel, visa, hotel, meals, etc. These expenses will be reimbursed based on actual cost receipts. The financial proposal must be in euros.
- A letter of motivation highlighting the keys points of the proposal
- A CV outlining the candidate’s experience
- List of reference persons
- Submitting your application
Applications must be sent in English and in electronic format only to the following addresses: [email protected]
The deadline for submission of bids is August 10th 2024. No application submitted after the above-mentioned date will be considered. Only electronic files will be accepted. Only successful applicants will be contacted.