Consultant for End of Project Evaluation

1. Introduction

Promoting and Empowering Afghan Children through Enhanced Education (PEACE), with the support of US State Department, Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) was implemented by Relief International (RI) in three districts– Nowshera, Swabi and Peshawar of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. These localities host major population of Afghan Refugees in the country. The project’s goal and objectives are as under:

Goal: To improve girls’ and boys’ equitable access and enrolment in primary education in Pakistani government schools, with a particular emphasis on girls and marginalized children.

Objective 1: Afghan children have increased access to safe, quality education services in Pakistan. Objective 2:  Afghan children are retained in safe, quality learning environments.

The project started on 12th August 2019 and will be concluded on 11th September 2022. The project aimed to facilitate the existing government schools in selected districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in order to enhance the accessibility for Afghan Refugee (AR) children in public schools. In year 1 project facilitated 45 schools in year 1 and added 35 years for each succeeding year. The project established SRP centers in target government schools and in year 3, working in 70 schools (66% Peshawar, 14% in Nowshera and 20% in Swabi). In each SRP center, average 30 primary-age Afghan students were targeted for enrollment in the SRP centers and eventually the same will be formally enrolled in the respective government schools. Moreover, the project also invested in building the capacity of teaching staff and PTCs, established Afghan Community Forums (ACFs), performed rehabilitation and repair work in target public schools,  initiated pre-school awareness program for identified children’ parents and caregivers, provided transportation stipends to parents of deserving post-primary age Afghan girls enabling them to enroll their children in primary education, rapport building with provincial and district education departments for creating better outcomes and enabling environment for primary and secondary level school’s enrolment and retention of AR children.

2. Objectives of the Assignment

Relief International is seeking the services of an individual consultant with the team of professionals to conduct a summative end-of-project (EoP) evaluation of the PEACE project. In particular, the evaluation seeks to: 

§  Assess the quality and progress  of program delivery against intended outputs and intermediate results;

§  Assess the performance of the project in terms of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, integration of gender mainstreaming and equality.

§  Highlight key lessons learned, including gaps in the program as well as success stories

 In pursuit of these objectives, the evaluation will seek to answer key evaluation questions. Below is an indicative list of lines of inquiry for the evaluation:

• To what extent did the project achieve its goal/objectives? What immediate outcomes (intended and unintended) have been achieved in terms of the project objectives in the target districts?
• To what extent were all agreed outputs delivered as per good quality standards? Have the outputs been achieved effectively and efficiently?
• How and to what extent have the overall project management structure and procedures effectively and efficiently contributed to meeting the project’s stated objectives and donor requirements?
• How effectively were different stakeholders engaged in the project process, especially traditionally marginalized groups (children, youth, women, PWDs)?
• Did the project manage to respond to gendered needs and advance equal access to education for girls and boys?
• Assess the performance of the project in mainstreaming gender along the project cycle
• Assess activities’ implementation from a safe programming perspective: how did the project ensure the safety of participants? 

Proposals are encouraged to articulate their own research questions. Priority will be given to proposals that incorporate one or more questions on safe programming and gender mainstreaming. 

3.    Scope of Work

Qualitative and quantitative instruments should be designed to measure the following areas at a minimum, whether these have improved as a result of project interventions or otherwise.  Key indicators (Impact, outcome,) of the project that need to be covered in the evaluation, are as follows: 

Indicator: % increase in primary-aged Afghan refugees enrolled in school in project areas.

Indicator: % of beneficiaries who report an improved sense of safety and well-being at the end of the program, disaggregated by age and gender

·         Also to assess process and impact of the transportation stipends to post-primary age Afghan girls’ parents

·         The consultant will provide a descriptive analyses of field data collected through FGDs, KIIs, observations and interviews in target areas of the project

4.    Proposed Methodology

The consultant will propose data collection methods, data collection tools (both quantitative and qualitative) along with approaches and methodology. The evaluation will consist of both primary and secondary sources of data collection. Primary sources may include Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), Key Informant Interviews (KII) and field observations & interviews. Secondary sources include project document, Donor reports and program monitoring data. Successful proposals will demonstrate an understanding of child-friendly and context-appropriate methods. Innovative, participative methodologies are welcome and will receive additional points during the scoring and evaluation of proposals.

Deliverables

·         Inception report along with quantitative and qualitative data collection tools

·         A descriptive analysis of field data collected in target areas of the project.

·         Draft End of Project (EoP) Evaluation Report

·         Datasets of both quantitative and qualitative data.

·         Final EoP Evaluation Report with any annexes

5.    Schedule of Delivery

The duration of the EoP Evaluation assignment is approximately 45 days, inclusive of submission of final report. The final payment will be issued after 15 days of receipt of final report and approval of the final report.

Dates of Activities

Signing of contract               - 2nd week of August 2022

Desk Review                         - 3rd week of August

Field Exercise                        - 3 weeks

Submit first draft of the EoP Evaluation report - 3rd week of September

Presentation on the initial findings of the study - 3rd week of September

Feedback and comments on EoP Evaluation draft report  - 4th week of September

Final EoP Evaluation Report    - 4th week of September

Final payment issued              - 15 days after submission/approval of final report

All material prepared and collected during the EoP evaluation will be the sole property of Relief International (RI). The consultant will be required to provide RI with all primary data collected in electronic form. 

6.    Facilities to be provided by the Project (RI)

The Project will support the EoP consultant by providing supervision and advice, documents and facilitating access to relevant information and materials and project sites. The EoP Evaluation consultant will work closely work with project team.

7. Schedule of Payment

Payment will be made on the basis of invoice received for milestones achieved against set deliverables. RI reserves the right to withhold an agreed upon portion of payment until submission of the final deliverable by the consultant.

8. Qualifications

·         University degree holder in Education, business management, social sciences or relevant disciplines;

·         At least 7-10 years’ experience in conducting baseline, mid-line and EoP Evaluations and proven track record of conducting project evaluations

·         Good understanding of Education sector and Education sector issues in the context of Pakistan and particularly Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

·         Excellent analytical, technical writing in English language and presentation skills.

·         Highly creative and participatory in approach.

·         Ability to travel through the selected districts of the project, where required

·         Experience in working with local people and community organizations

·         Ability to deliver quality work on time

·         Availability to start work immediately and in consistency with RI’s safeguarding and protection policies, ensure all people who come into contact with Relief International are as safe as possible.

We are an equal opportunity employer