SNV-Niger is seeking a qualified and experienced Evaluator to conduct the mid-term evaluation for its ongoing USAID funded project, the Youth, Advocacy, Women, Work, and Alliances (YAWWA). The midterm evaluation will focus on assessing the project’s effectiveness in reaching its objectives and will analyze its progress to date against established targets. Findings of the mid-term evaluation will inform the planning of the final and third year of the project and will guide the management team in mapping out the way forward, addressing implementation challenges and taking corrective actions as needed. The mid-term evaluation will take place in July 2016 and will be carried over a period of 3 to 4 weeks with up to 20 working days in total. Final evaluation schedule will be determined with the project team after the selection of the consultant.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
The Youth, Advocacy, Women, Work, and Alliances (YAWWA) project financed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is a three-year (October 2014-October 2017), $ 2,263,000 initiative that aims to develop social entrepreneurs and innovators to enhance civic engagement and people to people resilience in the regions of Maradi, Zinder, Diffa, Agadez and Niamey Niger. YAWWA is a Haousa term to show much enthusiasm or excitement, and is generally used as a greeting to mean "great".
The Project activities are designed to meet the following objectives:
Objective 1: To support and to scale-up indigenous knowledge innovation;
Objective 2: Create a platform of social innovators / social entrepreneurs
Within the first objective, YAWWA seeks to build the leadership capacity of local entrepreneurs and “change agents” and establish networks to help innovators improve the quality of life and shared sense of belonging in the five target regions of Niger. The Project builds the capacity of current entrepreneurs and leaders and identifies and develops those with emerging potential through focused leadership trainings and mentorship networks. In collaboration with five (5) local partners, the YAWWA team aims to build the leadership capacity of 4,000 change makers, with special focus on women, including both active and potential social innovators and social entrepreneurs in 5 targeted regions of Niger. Trainees formulate business plans to start or scale up social enterprises, and small grants are awarded to promising social entrepreneurs and youth organizations to help develop skills. Paired with leadership coaching and organizational management training, YAWWA is assisting in developing the social entrepreneurship and innovation network in Niger.
Within the second objective, YAWWA seeks to develop a culture of social enterprise initiatives within the Nigerien business community through the creation of an accessible social enterprise exchange network to allow for sharing of knowledge and best practices in social entrepreneurship, in addition to a focused media campaign highlighting project success stories and societal benefits of local social enterprises and innovators to address and solve societal problems in Niger.
These targeted interventions aim to bring about strengthened institutional knowledge, and capacity for and application of social innovative practices to solve socioeconomic challenges; increased impactful and inclusive political and economic participation of social innovators/entrepreneurs and youth helping to solve socioeconomic challenges in Niger; and increased innovative and entrepreneurial practical employment/livelihood opportunities in multiple sectors.
MIDTERM EVALUATION PURPOSE
The purpose of the Midterm Evaluation (MTE) is to assess whether the project is on its way to achieve the project objectives as detailed above. The MTE will look at progress to date in regards to its achievement, management processes, and challenges and will provide information to determine if course changes are necessary and other actions needed to move toward the project objectives. The MTE will involve SNV management and field staff in Niger, local partners, social entrepreneurs and other stakeholders.
COMPOSITION OF THE MIDTERM EVLAUATION TEAM
Midterm Evaluation will involve the following:
Core Team
The Midterm Evaluation Lead/ Principal Evaluator will oversee, manage and conduct the Midterm Evaluation both in Niamey and in selected regions after consulting with the project team; ensure the evaluation is implemented as per the protocol and proposed methodology; develop evaluations instruments such as the questions for the key informant interviews and focus group discussions; serve as overall quality control and write the final report in line with the approved scope. The Lead
Support Team
- Field Management Team will provide overall administrative and logistical support; make strategic decisions regarding human resources and logistics; and provide contextual input.
- YAWWA project staff - Participate as necessary in evaluation activities.
- Local Partners –Provide input in the process
MIDTERM EVALUATION METHODOLOGY
The evaluation will utilize a mixed methods approach. The Evaluation Lead will work closely with the project staff to coordinate all the evaluation activities, while at the same time maintaining independence in terms of its final product. The MTE Lead will conduct visits to the project areas, facilitate focus group discussions with direct project beneficiaries such as the grantees, the peer educators and the regional focal points; and administer key informant interviews with other stakeholders, including the networking group. The MTE Lead will observe project systems in place and assess how they function.
The MTE Lead will discuss with the YAWWA management team the best approach for soliciting the input of the project stakeholders and will recommend a reliable sample size to include in the evaluation activities. The Lead will also develop appropriate instruments to collect quantitative and qualitative data and will share these instruments with the YAWWA management team for feedback. Instruments will include: questions guide for focus group discussions (FGDs) and semi-structured key informant interview guide.
The sample frame will be randomly selected and disaggregated by regions and gender as appropriate and should include project supported local partners, direct beneficiaries, local government officials, project staff and other key stakeholders as deemed necessary.
AREAS OF FOCUS & ILLUSTRATIVE QUESTIONS
- Measure of Progress: Percent achievement against targets. Is the project on track to achieve the final results by the end of the project? The MTE will use the PMP to guide its evaluation.
- Project Objectives and Strategy Design: Is the project on its way to reaching its objectives? Is the implementation strategy appropriate? How can it be improved if needed? Are project objectives relevant and in line with the real needs of populations? Was the project able to adapt to unexpected developments? How have these changes affected the achievement of results?
- Sustainability: How does the project defines sustainability? Is the project working toward some form of sustainability? What mechanisms and arrangements are in place to ensure the sustainability of project achievements?
- Project Resources: Is the project appropriately staffed? What is the capacity of the staff? Is the current staff capable of managing the project? What skill improvement is needed? In general, were the mobilized resources (human, material and financial) to date correctly estimated compared to the original project planning documents? What were the differences and their causes if any?
- Partnerships: What kind of relationship does the project have with its partners? How do the partners perceive the project? Is there value in the partnership? What is the capacity of the partners? How has training improved how they implement project activities? How have they applied/adopted the training? What is the quality of training provided?
- Stakeholders Management and Coordination: What kind of relationship does the project have with its stakeholders? How do the stakeholders perceive the project? How involved are the stakeholders in the project activities? What is USAID’s and other stakeholder’s level of satisfaction with the project overall strategy and achievements to date? What was the level of coordination among the key stakeholders?
- Targeting: Did the project select beneficiaries fairly and against the known criteria? Was the selection process documented? Who was part of the selection process?
DELIVERABLES
The MTE Lead will provide the following deliverables as evidence of work.
- Protocol for Midterm Evaluation;
- Instruments, methods and/or tools to collect the data needed to answer the evaluation questions;
- Midterm Evaluation quantitative and qualitative data entry forms;
- Draft Midterm Evaluation in line with the approved scope in English and French
- Presentation of evaluation results at a workshop with the project team and local partners
- Final Midterm Evaluation Report in line with the approved scope incorporating comments from the project team in English and French;
- Data tables used for analysis
- Database codebook in English; and
- All photos and any other documentation related to the Midterm Evaluation.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Social Entrepreneurship: The consultant should have proven capacity and evidence of such knowledge in social entrepreneurship
Grants: have the necessary qualifications in management and rural economies to judge the relevance of the actions that have been implemented.
Preference will be given to local qualified consultants. International applicants may be considered depending on the overall evaluation of the technical and cost proposal.
Required:
- University degree in economics, statistics and planning, agronomy, social sciences or rural development;
- Proven experience of at least 5 years in evaluation of programs with similar scope focusing on youth, entrepreneurship, social change…etc.
- Proven record in the use of mixed methods evaluations approaches;
- Have a strong understanding of social entrepreneurship;
- Good understanding of the socio-cultural reality of the Niger;
- Excellent writing and communication skills in English and French;
- Good knowledge of software analysis of survey data (SPSS, SPHINX, EPI INFO, etc.)
Preferred:
- Knowledge of local languages (Haousa, Zarma and/or Tamashek, Kanuri) is preferred. If the Lead Evaluator does not speak any local languages, it is critical that other investigators have strong communication skills in the local language at the project region ;
- Knowledge of the intervention zones (Agadez, Diffa, Maradi, Zinder and Niamey).
HOW TO APPLY:
Closing date is 30 June 2016
Interested consultants must submit a technical and financial proposal explaining clearly the proposed methodology for carrying out the evaluation to accomplish its purpose and address sufficiently all evaluation questions. The proposed plan (in French and English) will include the timetable, the cost, and the methodology for sampling, data collection and data analysis.
Interested applicants should submit the technical and financial proposal, the CVs of all personnel who will participate in the collection of data (investigators, investigative supervisors, etc.), and their own CV and cover letter.
Local applicants should submit a sealed envelope to SNV Niger's Office:
Avenue des Zarmakoye, BP 10110, Niamey Niger
International applicants should submit electronically to dcresume@snvworld.org
