Terms of Reference for Endline Evaluation:

“Promoting Stability, Wellbeing, Dignity and Safety of Conflict-affected Population and SGBV Survivors” project

Background:

The Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) is a non-governmental organisation with roots in trade unions and labour movements. NPA supports processes towards democracy and equitable distribution of power through mobilisation, popular participation and collective organisation. The international strategy affirms civil society as a key pillar for nation building; democracy and development, and views human rights as building blocks for development and redistribution.
NPA’s goal is to support human worth and equal rights for all, irrespective of sex, disability, ethnicity, religion, age, sexual preference or social status. The NPA vision is solidarity in practice. The vision demands commitment and action to protect life and health, build democratic societies and strengthen people’s ability to master their own lives. NPA is politically independent but not a politically neutral organisation.

NPA has been working in Iraq since 1995. Its vision is to support processes towards a democratic, safe and stable country where human rights are respected, people can freely participate without discrimination in the social and political processes, free from explosive ordinance, having access and control over the use and redistribution of resources. In this context, NPA, through its Development Humanitarian Cooperation (DHC) programme aims to work on strengthening the capacity of selected civil society actors to better protect and represent the interests of citizens and hold the governing bodies and other power holders accountable.

In 2016, NPA started implementing a project for women and girls who survived and were at risk of SGBV in Duhok and Ninewa governorates of Iraq. The project focused primarily on the needs of Yazidi community who were targeted by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and suffered from genocide, kidnapping and systematic rape and trafficking. In 2018, NPA expanded its women’s protection and empowerment programming to Mosul, Ninewa Governorate for targeted work with women and girls post-ISIL, supporting and empowering those surviving and at risk of SGBV. These included women who were returned to Mosul as well as those who remained and survived harsh and traumatic experiences under ISIL. Consequently, NPA succeeded in extending its services to marginalized women and girls in an area where demand for such essential services far exceeds the supply.

The current NPA December 2019 – September 2023 protection project “Promoting Stability, Wellbeing, Dignity and Safety of Conflict-affected Population and SGBV Survivors” continues to build on the gains NPA and local partners, supported by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have made in the previous years, incorporating lessons learned from the experience of service delivery in the one of the most challenging contexts with some of the most traumatized and vulnerable beneficiary groups. NPA continues enhancing local partners’ efficacy as well as the quality-of-service delivery in the core areas of SGBV case management and referral pathways, psychosocial, trauma counselling and emotional support as well as social integration, confidence-building and recreational activities, and streamlines the work by merging project implementation and bringing it under the management of one local partner.

While MHPSS and SGBV case management remain central to the project, advocacy and leadership training, recreational activities, vocational training, business skills and management and agricultural training aimed to complement and support NPA and partners’ interventions pertaining to the rehabilitation and reintegration of conflict-related SGBV survivors. The business skills and management training, start-up support to small businesses and agricultural training have become new components that were introduced as pilots on the behest of project beneficiaries who pointed out this gap in the previous projects.

During the last two years of its implementation, the project added the stabilisation component in Ninewa to its programming. With the stabilization component NPA works to support community-based stabilisation efforts that contribute to reduced social tensions and increase potential for the return of IDPs. At the same time the activities endeavour to contribute to the return of families who are perceived to be affiliated with ISIL.

In this phase, the project is implemented by four (4) local partners (two in Dohuk and two in Ninewa).

Project locations:

The project is implemented in different operational areas of Dohuk (three locations) and Ninewa governorate (Mosul city and another six locations within the governorate).

Purpose of the evaluation:
The purpose of this evaluation is to help NPA assess how well the outcomes of this project have worked and worked well and less well. This evaluation will look closely at lessons learned and recommendations, in line with NPA guidelines for end of project evaluations and for drawing lessons to improve our practice in design and implementation of similar projects. The evaluation should provide a framework to collect data on immediate, basic changes that lead to longer, more transformative change, and allow for the plausible assessment of the initiative’s contribution to results.

To aid in this purpose, the evaluation will therefore respond to the following objectives:

• To reflect on NPA and partners’ achievements and the change achieved with focus on the successes, challenges, best practices and key lessons learned during the project period.
• To reflect on the effectiveness of the NPA model of working in local partnerships with civil society organisations to achieve project objectives with focus on women and youth mobilisation and how to engage with them is a meaningful and purposeful way.
• Suggest key practical targeted recommendations and learning to be considered by NPA for future projects and programmes, in particular inform with practical recommendations the continuation and further implementation of the current project in 2021 and beyond.
• To contribute to NPA’s overall institutional learning and referring to NPA Development and Humanitarian Cooperation Result Evaluation Plan 2020-2024.

The evaluation results are envisaged to identify and describe the lessons learned, through measurements of the changes in the set milestones (progress markers), summarize the experiences gained, technically and managerially, and recommend ways in which the activities of the project and future project(s) can strengthen the decision-making process in Iraq.

Users of the evaluation:

The evaluation shall provide the donor and NPA with a review of the project performance, relevance, effectiveness and efficiency and to capture outcomes and possible impact and make suggestions for potential adjustments for similar projects in the future.

The primary intended users of the evaluation are:
– NPA Iraq Country Office
– NPA Head Office (MENA team and technical advisors)
– Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Netherlands
– Partner organisations

The Theory of Change of what will be evaluated:

The ultimate outcome of the project is improved stability, wellbeing, social and economic empowerment of conflict affected population and safety of women and girls, focusing on women at risk of and those who have survived sexual and gender-based violence. The project has five intermediate outcomes as listed below:

• Strengthened civil society organisations are actively coordinating, protecting and promoting the rights, empowerment and health of conflict-affected women and girls
• Conflict-affected women and girls who are survivors of SGBV receive quality case management, MHPSS services and reintegration support
• Conflict-affected women and girls 15 and over report improved rights awareness, life skills and confidence
• Conflict affected communities have reduced tensions enabling social reintegration of returnees.
• Conflict affected communities are better able to counter the violent extremist challenges and build more stable communities.

Key evaluation questions:

It is expected that the consultant gives recommendations for further improvements of the programmes based on the key questions. The evaluation is expected to consider evaluation criteria: relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and impact. In addition, the evaluation should focus on partnership and lessons learned. Lessons learned should be documented for informing NPA’s and partners’ decision making processes. The evaluation should identify strengths, challenges and weaknesses in the project design, implementation and monitoring process and recommend possible changes for future learning. Also, document the lessons learned in terms of the design, implementation, and monitoring of the project, that should be applied for future projects, with consideration to the NPA partnership model. Details of lessons learned about how change comes about, what should be done differently in the future and what needs to happen next.
Some of the key questions/issues to be evaluated are:

Key Review Questions:
Relevance and quality of design

• To what extent is the project Theory of Change relevant to the needs, rights and priorities of project beneficiaries (with main focus on women and girls)?
• Has the project design presented an in-depth understanding of the women and girls’ issues in the targeted locations?
• To what extent are the objectives of the project still valid?
• Has the project utilised and supported the organisational capacities of women and youth, both within the existing organisations and through supporting new initiatives and organizational forms?
• Assess the NPA partnership model for working in partnership with local CSOs for project implementation (refer to NPA Partnership Policy document).

Effectiveness of implementation

• To what extent has the project achieved its outcomes?
• Were the inputs and strategies used effectively, realistic, appropriate and adequate to achieve the project results?
• Has the project reached women, girls and other beneficiaries’ potential and assisted with their mobilisation for positive and productive engagement and capacity development?
• How has NPA contributed to partners’ capacity to maintain their work to influence decision-makers?
• Were the strategies partners used effective to maintain their work to influence decision-makers?

Efficiency

• Were the resources used efficiently and in a timely manner to produce the outputs and outcomes? Were they appropriate compared to the planned budget and activities?
• What factors contributed to implementation efficiency?
• What factors hindered the efficiency of project implementation?
• How efficient were the management and accountability structures of the project?

Impact prospect

• Analyse the contribution of the project to the impact (ultimate outcome) as described in the Theory of Change and analyse what other actors and factors contributed to the goal.
• Has there been any unintended (positive and negative) effects of the programme on the target group and partners?
• How likely is it that any positive changes may be sustained in the short- and medium-term?

Partnership with local CSOs and NPA capacity

• Assess the partnership process and the partnership relationship between NPA and the seven local partners, identifying what worked well and what did not and recommend possible changes.

Evaluation implementation timeframe:
The preliminary draft report should be submitted to NPA Iraq by 15th September 2023 the latest and the final evaluation report should be submitted to NPA after three weeks of receiving NPA’s feedback to the draft report, latest by 30th September 2023. The work is planned to commence no later than 20th July 2023.

Evaluation team:

• Proven expertise in design and review of programmes focused on protection, human rights, democratization and experience in the MENA context, preference will be given to candidates that have past experience with programme design, implementation and/or evaluation of development projects in the MENA.
• Data analysis and writing up of evaluation reports experience is also key for this exercise. The consultant should possess extensive work experience and in-depth knowledge on conducting project evaluations.
• The consultant or group of consultants should have a post graduate degree in development studies and human rights, or equivalent knowledge in the areas mentioned in above two points.
• Preferably, the Consultancy Company or the Individual consultant should deploy a multidisciplinary team with a background of political and statistical data analysis qualifications.
• It is desirable to have a postgraduate in political studies. Preference will be given to those who possess past experience working with INGOs and conducting evaluation surveys.
• The consultant or group of consultants should have proficiency in English. Working knowledge of Arabic and Kurdish is plus.

Organisation of evaluation management:

• An external consultant will be hired by NPA to conduct the evaluation and report to the NPA steering committee, consisting of the Iraq Country Office team (Country Director, Programme Manager, and MEAL Manager) and Iraq Advisor at NPA Head Office.
• The steering group will oversee and support the day-to-day delivery of the evaluation.
• The donor will provide feedback on draft findings and recommendations and inform NPA’s management response.
• NPA will provide administrative/logistical support towards organisation of documentation, interviews, meetings, field visits and workshops.

Methodology:
The consultant will design the details in the methodology in cooperation with NPA. The evaluation should follow a collaborative and participatory mixed-methods approach that draws on both existing and new quantitative and qualitative data to respond to the evaluation questions mentioned earlier in this document. The consultant should follow a theory-based approach based on the project theory of change. Furthermore, it should combine evaluation tools based on international standards and guidelines, notably OECD DAC Quality Standards. It is expected that the consultant will assess the quality of the project’s theory of change and, if necessary, to develop a realistic impact logic based upon the conducted interventions. The methodology design should be developed by the consultant in consideration of the information outlined in this ToR to ensure accuracy and rigor. A detailed methodology and data collection methods should be included in the technical proposal, which will be further improved in consultation with the NPA team during the inception phase of the evaluation. The choice of methods must also consider the needs and capacities of the different target groups and stakeholders.

Desk review:

Desk Review should be conducted by the consultant to inform the methodology and development of the tools. In addition, the conducted desk review should cover the following documents:

• Project proposal;
• Baseline;
• Log-frame;
• Existing documents available at NPA and among partners; and
• Sampling methodologies and secondary literature studies related to the measurement of goal and outcome level indicators.

The desk review process should serve as guiding for the consultant to continue gathering resources that would enable him/her to carry out development of tools. The document review will also include NPA policies, proposal, reports submitted to the donor, documentation from partners, and various forms of project documentation.
It will also include field studies to the selected locations in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and other parts of Iraq. This will include field visits and interviews with NPA staff, donor staff, representatives of partners, local authorities and other stakeholders.
The evaluation should have a strong learning aspect and should therefore apply participatory methods that will include various stakeholders.
The main findings should be presented at the NPA Iraq country office before the final version of the report.

Deliverables:

a. Present to NPA Iraq Evaluation Work Plan: This document will operationalize and direct the evaluation. It will describe how the evaluation will be executed, thus refining and elaborating upon the terms of reference; it will be approved by NPA senior management and act as an agreement between parties for how the evaluation will be conducted. The work plan will include the following elements:

• Expectations of evaluation
• Roles and responsibilities
• Evaluation methodology, questions
• Evaluation framework
• Information collection and methods of analysis
• Reporting formats
• Day by day work plan and time-frame for deliverables

b. Develop the tools and methodology for conducting the evaluation, using both quantitative and qualitative approaches to address the key evaluation questions listed above. The consultant will then compare the findings with baseline values, using appropriate surveys, statistical tests (relevant methodology), to draw the findings and conclusions and considering the qualitative information to write the report.

c. Review all of the project documents (proposal, log frame, baseline report, M&E data and partners’ reports) and relevant NPA policy documents.
d. Conduct qualitative/quantitative data collection through appropriate methods and carry out data analysis (including appropriate statistical tests).
e. Prepare draft evaluation report which includes the following elements:

1. A stand-alone Executive Summary
2. Introduction
3. Methodology
4. Responses to questions/ Findings
5. Problems and needs
6. Achievement of purpose
7. Overall assessment
8. Conclusions, Targeted Recommendations and Management Responses
9. Annexes to the report, including data analysis report.

f. Present findings to NPA Iraq and partner staff in a briefing session.
g. Consultant receives feedback on the first draft from NPA Iraq and partner staff
h. Prepare the evaluation report incorporating all the feedback from both the document review and briefing session and submit the final report to NPA Iraq.
i. All developed tools, questionnaires, reports, guidelines should be delivered to NPA in soft and hard copy.

Qualities of the evaluators:

The consultant should be skilled in conducting evaluations and reviews. The consultant must have substantive understanding of issues related to human rights, protection, SGBV, stabilization and social cohesion, youth and women issues. Knowledge of project management and implementation is critical for this assignment. The consultant should demonstrate ethical consideration including respectful attitude towards NPA partners and their constituency, as well as other stakeholders.

The consultant should have proven experiences of previous assignments with development analysis, evaluations and reviews of similar nature as well as engaging communities using participatory methodologies.

The composition of the evaluation team is up to the consultant/firm who can choose, depending on their internal system, ideas and logic but the team members must fulfil competency criteria. NPA recommends that the team should be composed of one Team Leader/Focal point who takes overall responsibility for this evaluation and coordinate/liaise between NPA and the evaluation team.

Supervision of the field work and quality (reliability and validity) of the data/information collected at field level is the primary responsibility of the team leader. Similarly, the team leader will work closely with NPA’s project management team. In each step and process, consultation with the NPA Programme Manager and MEAL Manager is vital.