Caritas Czech Republic
SUMMARY
Type of assignment
The final external project evaluation of the “Empowering civil society in Northwest Syria” project (contract No. ENI/2022-1/430-233) implemented by the Caritas Czech Republic (CCR) in North West Syria (NWS), local partner Violet Organization between 2022 and 2024.
Timeframe / Level of Effort:
Up to 30 days (preparatory works, 15 days (about two weeks) of data collection in Northwest of Syria in Idleb and Aleppo rural (A’zaz) area provinces, report drafting).
Purpose of the Evaluation
Final external evaluation is requested by the main donor of the project (European Commission).
Project information
Project title
“Empowering civil society in Northwest Syria”
Lead Implementing Organization
Caritas Czech Republic (hereafter: CCR)
Implementing partners
Violet Organization
Donors
European Union,
Project total budget
512.495 EUR
Project Period
February 2022 – February 2024
Project Background
Since the start of the crisis over 10 years ago, Syrian civil society organizations (CSOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) have been a strong stakeholder in the community landscape and have been providing much needed lifesaving assistance. Nevertheless, many CSOs were established as short-term reactionary responses to the context rather than to pursue a sustainable long-term vision. The proposed action is built upon the Theory of Change that IF local civil society organisations in Syria increase their capacities, strengthen links with local communities and receive support to implement effective interventions and IF they then become reliable partners in efficient, sustainable and participative development processes, THEN this will contribute to equitable and sustainable development of Syrian communities.
Overall Objective
To contribute to the sustainable and equitable development of communities in Syria.
Specific Objective
To build the capacity of civil society actors in Northwest Syria as reliable partners in local development processes, capable of proposing innovative ideas and approaches which address community challenges and promote sustainable and positive change in a participative manner.
Target groups
- Violet (implementing partner)
- 30 CSOs working in the Northwest of Syria
- 500 youth or other members of the CSOs
Expected Results
- Increasing the capacity of Implementing Partner (Violet) in nexus programming and youth leadership;
- Empowering local CSOs through skill development to identify community needs and address them through inclusive, participative, and transparently implemented small projects led by youth volunteers;
- NGOS establishing partnerships with local NGOs through an online and in-person network to jointly identify community needs and challenges to be addressed by small community projects.
- Local communities will benefit from small community projects implemented through financial support to third parties targeting vulnerable groups.
Organizational Context
- Caritas Czech Republic (CCR) is a non-governmental organization working in the field of development and humanitarian assistance in developing countries in Asia, Africa, Middle East and Eastern Europe. In response to the armed conflict in Syria, Caritas Czech Republic contributed to alleviating suffering of conflict-affected population through the delivery of several humanitarian interventions in cooperation with local partners NW Syria. CCR decided to focus the efforts on NW Syria and start the registration process of the organization in Turkey to facilitate cross-border operations. CCR’s registration was approved by the Turkish authorities in December 2022. The time bound (2 years) approval gave CCR the right to work in the whole country.
- Violet Organization is Syrian non-profit organization, began its official work in late 2013 in partnership with international organizations, and the first educational project started in the displaced camps in northern Syria to support two schools with a budget of 30 thousand dollars targeting about 462 students. With the beginning of the Syrian movement and later the deterioration of the humanitarian situation at the end of 2011, many ambitious young men and women began working spontaneously and voluntarily to meet the essential needs and try to improve the tragic reality in Syria, which continued to deteriorate at all levels
ASSIGNMENT Information
Deliverables
A selected evaluator will conduct a final external evaluation of the given project and develop an evaluation report in English based on the findings.
The evaluation report shall have 35 -50 standard pages (1,800 characters/page). Its structure shall be as follows:
- Summary
- Context
- Methodology applied.
- Data collection instruments and plans
- Accessible narrative, and where possible graphic representations of key findings
- Findings (as per the structure below)
- Conclusion and recommendations
- Annexes (lists of interviewees and informants, questionnaires, photos etc.)
The evaluation shall focus mainly on the topics and questions below (the list is not exhaustive)
Project relevance
- Relevance of the project objectives and expected results to the needs of the country, target groups and beneficiaries;
- Relevance of the project objectives and expected results to the expectations of the main stakeholders;
- Complementarity of the project to other actions in the field of civil society and youth development in NWS;
- The ability of the project management to adjust the project to the changing context in the given sector.
Efficiency
- Efficiency of the financial resources needed to achieve the existing outputs / results.
- Efficiency of the human resources needed to achieve the existing outputs / results.
Effectiveness
- Progress made towards the achievement of results
- Fulfilment of the project objectives, indicators, and results
- Reasons for delay in achieving project objectives and results (if applicable)
Impact of outcomes
- Project impact on target groups, local partners, local communities, and other stakeholders.
- Strengthened Community Engagement and Skills through the project activities.
- Positive and/or negative results prompted from the project activities.
- Enhanced Organizational Capacities to move beyond emergency response towards longer-term interventions.
Sustainability of outcomes
- Potential of continuation of activities and results after the completion of the project
Project management and organization
- Appropriateness of the division of roles between CCR and other project implementing partner Violet Organization.
- Communication effectiveness between CCR, project partners and other stakeholders
- Landscape of local stakeholders´ (including beneficiaries, government and the local partners) engagement in project implementation
- Visibility of the project and its funding (does it meet respective donors´ requirements, is it sufficient or not)
- Arrangement and transparency of project documents (documents proving implementation of activities, achievement of results and objectives, financial documents)
- Effectiveness of CCR project monitoring mechanisms (partners performance measurement, project events, measurement of trainings’ impact, etc.)
Experience & Skills
Required:
- At least 5 years of experience in evaluating development projects (verifiable list of evaluations conducted in the past);
- Experience in evaluating EU-funded projects;
- Excellent written and spoken English and the ability to edit texts;
- Demonstrated excellent analytical skills (evidence required);
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, and comfortable working across cultures;
- Demonstrated understanding of the development sector in the field of civil society (verifiable information on relevant experience required).
Desirable:
- Expertise in the civil society sector.
- Experience in the Syria context.
Selection of evaluator and selection criteria
The evaluator will be selected based on offers containing:
- Evaluation plan
- Description of experience and expertise
- Contract signed on behalf of the applicant
The plan must contain:
- Description of relevant expertise and experience (copies of documents proving the expertise and experience shall be attached);
- Description of the methodology to be applied;
- Timeframe;
- Budget of the evaluation and total price of the offer (the price cannot exceed the price stated below);
- Proposed structure of the evaluation report.
The evaluation plan will become an annex to the contract that will be concluded between CCR, and the evaluator selected.
The description of experience and expertise must include:
- Contacts to persons (institutions that can provide reference, and/or
- Copies of official documents proving the experience and expertise stated
The selection criteria will be as follows:
- Proven expertise and experience (50%)
- Offered price (25%)
- Quality of the proposed methodology (25%)
Terms of assignment
The selected evaluator will be subcontracted by CCR to produce the deliverables specified above. The contract to be concluded between CCR and the selected evaluator constitutes Annex 1 to this call for tenders.
The evaluation plan and candidate proposal must be submitted by January 6, 2024
The maximum price to be paid for the delivery is 4000 EURO
The agreed-upon price will cover the evaluator´s remuneration, all costs incurred by the evaluator related to the assignment, and all taxes and fees required by law. The price will be final and cannot be increased under any circumstances. CCR will provide the evaluator with all information and documents it has at its disposal needed to conduct the evaluation.
How to apply
Interested candidates should send their CVs and Evaluation Plans in English to the following address [email protected] by 6 January 2024 with a subject line “External Project Evaluation 2023”.
Incomplete offers and offers received after the deadline will not be considered.