Project Evaluator At Finn Church Aid

FCA / the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers is looking for a consultant to undertake an overall project evaluation as part of the European Union-funded project “AHA Awareness with Human Action” during the months of March through April 2022 in Thailand, with project activities in South Asia.

The 21-month project began in July 2020 and is being implemented in consortium with Finn Church Aid (FCA), World Faiths Development Dialogue (WFDD), the Center for Peace and Justice – Brac University (CPJ), Center for Communication and Development of Bangladesh (CCD), Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW), Youth Development Foundation (YDF) and Sarvodaya.

The AHA project seeks to contribute to the response efforts of the COVID-19 pandemic by preventing conflict and building social cohesion in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and broader South Asia. The specific objective is to increase outreach for initiatives that promote awareness of COVID-19 and constructive narratives that reduce discrimination, hate speech, and stigmatization against specific communities, primarily targeting religious leaders, and women and youth leaders as community influencers. The key activities of the project include the production and promotion of communication materials, the selection and delivery of 50 small grants, the organization of knowledge exchange and capacity building events, and the production of research materials.

Rationale, purpose and priority objectives of the evaluation

The evaluation has the following specific objectives:

Assess the implementation of project activities and initiatives in relation to the inputs, outputs and core deliverables as outlined in the project Description of Action, Timeframe of Action, and Log frame – considering the current context on an on-going basis.

• Assess the coordination and management of project staff roles and responsibilities.
• Assess the efficient use of funds by the project staff in relation to the Description of Action.
• Assess the expected and unexpected outcomes achieved in terms of needs, relevance and appropriateness, and the contribution the consortium has made towards reducing discrimination, hate speech, and stigmatization against specific communities in South Asia.
• Provide concrete proposals based on evaluation, including recommendations from project partners and perspectives of those outside project staff, to enhance the relevance, outcome, and impact of the project’s strategy.
• Make justified and well-founded recommendations on the possible continuation/renewal of the project and the necessary refinements to ensure maximum impact.

A final report will be prepared including recommendations for follow up activities as well as suggestions to improve project management structures and possible future interventions. This report will be used by all consortium partner organizations as well as the European Union (EU). **

The need for, and benefit of, a participatory evaluation was reflected upon and viewed as a valuable tool for reviewing and reassessing the AHA project management, to enhance future project implementations, and is expected to inform the Network, the EU, and the project partners of progress made and lessons learned to date. The evaluation will look at the Network and project partner organizations and will pay attention to each project activity in lieu of its objectives and context. The evaluator will complement the project’s monitoring & evaluation methodology, which focuses on results-based performance measures, by bringing a holistic and adaptive approach to examining project activities and evaluating results.

The approach of the evaluation should be to benefit the Network and partner organizations in the on-going and future design and implementation of their work. Consequently, the assessment will determine if current activities carried out by the project staff are appropriate in meeting the needs of the consortium organizations and project stakeholders, examine and assess if project outputs and initiatives are achieved at the end of the project, and analyze the activities to determine if they are inclusive, participatory, engaging, and consultative. Additionally, the assessment will determine to what degree funds were used efficiently in relation to the Description of Action, the coordination of roles and responsibilities in managing activities by project staff, and if the expected and unexpected outcomes were achieved and effective in terms both of needs, relevance, effectiveness, and appropriateness. The assessment will determine what, if any, contribution the consortium has made towards the broader goal of preventing conflict and enhancing social cohesion and more specifically, towards reducing discrimination, hate speech, and stigmatization against specific communities, targeting religious leaders, and women and youth leaders.

The evaluation process shall both review the implementation of the consortium as well as engage directly with stakeholders, including the Network partners and the EU, as well as those who have worked with, and/or participated in consortium activities, such as small grant recipients.

Evaluation process

The evaluation is to be carried out between March 2022 and April 2022. The development of a detailed proposal and subsequent actions will be carried out under the approval and supervision of the AHA Project Coordinator. For all activities outlined, the evaluator is not expected to play a role beyond that of evaluator.

Proposed Evaluation Phases:

Phase I (Feb/March 2022):

• Appoint one evaluator and provide evaluator with the project Description and Timeframe of Action, Narrative and Financial Reports, and Logframe
• The appointed evaluator will develop and submit a more detailed proposal based on project documents and initial interviews with the consortium, describing the course of action for carrying out the evaluation
• Convene a “kick-off” meeting with evaluator in Bangkok or via Zoom/Skype to clarify any queries and discuss the phases as well as upcoming activities the evaluator will take part in
• Review, assess and analyze relevant project documentation, including project interim report
• Formulate detailed evaluation questions in collaboration with project staff

Phase II (March 2022):

• Conduct interviews (in-person with Bangkok-based staff, telephone consultations or via email correspondence with internationally based staff) with (1) relevant representatives of the consortium partners, (2) beneficiaries such as the AHA grantees or associates; and (3) with at least 2 participants in project initiatives such as the capacity building events or the small grants mechanism.
• Participate in existing planned activities during the evaluation period (see List of Activities below), which will provide for an opportunity of interacting with project beneficiaries, in order to address evaluation questions outlined in detailed proposal.

Phase III (March-April 2022):

• Prepare a maximum five (5) page first draft evaluation report covering the areas outlined in section two
• Send by email the preliminary report to Project Coordinator, who will circulate to representatives of the Network and receive comments by April 10, 2022.
• Finalize the report and provide verbal briefings to the Network and EU to discuss key findings and recommendations by April 20, 2022.