CALL FOR A CONSULTANT/ CONSULTANCY FIRM TO EVALUATE - Promoting Good Governance through Arts, Media, and Development (ArMeD)

1. Background

The Arab Resource Center for Popular Arts (ARCPA), commonly known as AL-JANA, was established in 1990 as a local non-governmental organization registered in Lebanon under registration number 54/ ED. ARCPA works with marginalized communities in Lebanon through documenting their enriching experiences and creative contributions and building on them, while at the same time enhancing the capacity of youth towards conflict transformation, active learning, and creative expression. 

1. purpose of the consultancy service

Since January 2022 (and continuing till December 2022), ARCPA has been implementing a project titled “Promoting Good Governance through Arts, Media, and Development (ArMeD)” with funding from ifa/ zivik. The project works with three main key actors and is founded on a theory of change that proposes the following: if we work with youth who are the future generation and NGO staff who themselves also work with and influence central actors, equipping them with the right tools in safe spaces, they can themselves embrace diversity and human rights and then get actively engaged to set the momentum to a participative civil society that holds central actors responsible and that works to fight the existing corruption.

Approaching the project end, ARCPA is seeking a Consultant/ Consultancy Firm to evaluate the project, especially that it has already submitted a request to Zivik for a one-year extension. 

1. about the project

Promoting Good Governance Through Arts, Media, & Development, ArMeD works with three main key actors; NGO staff and activists, refugee youth, and Lebanese/ host community youth.  A series of activities have been planned and implemented across Lebanon engaging Palestinian refugees, Syrian refugees, and Lebanese host community members and ranging from capacity development interventions to the use of media and theater to influence good governance and civic participation. Additionally, local community initiatives are being implemented by youth committees under the umbrella of local municipalities. Thus, application is directly intertwined with the theoretical background. The project has set three main outcomes:

• Outcome 1: NGO staff and activists are enabled to make use of media as a tool combined with the skills of mediation, dialogue, human rights, and civic engagement, to implement media-related activities and issue reports that promote transitional justice for refugees and democracy, good governance, and the rule of law for all.
• Outcome 2: Youth are enabled to get actively engaged in spaces within their communities away from corruption and the realm of politics, political parties and extremism and in mediating conflicts and raising awareness towards human rights and civic engagement issues through culture and media. 
• Outcome 3: Youth are empowered to initiate local reforms through committees formed and trained to act on the boards of local municipalities to actively participate in local decision-making processes.

1. Purpose of the Evaluation 

The overall purpose of the end-of-project evaluation is learning and accountability. Recommendations provided should serve to improve subsequent project phases with emphasis on promoting impact and sustainability. Guiding evaluation questions to be answered are:

• How sound is the project’s underlying theory of change? Was the project successful in working to achieve it?
• How effective was project planning?
• What is key actors’ feedback on the project’s benefits and what recommendations do they provide? Specifically, how do they assess project impact, sustainability, and their ability to continue after the project ends?
• How did the project link to central actors?
• To what extent did the project meet its milestones and achieve its outcomes and objective? 

1. Scope of the Evaluation 

The proposed evaluation will focus on the project’s underlying theory of change and work to cover and concentrate on the analysis of the situation, target group, organization, partnerships, and the project itself. It will look at the following main components and should provide answers to the six OECD/ DAC criteria of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, impact, and coherence. Key questions to be addressed are as follows:

• Relevance:  How relevant is the project to the context in Lebanon and to the needs of key actors?
• Effectiveness: To what extent have the project outcomes been achieved? Were milestones set realistic? What were the main internal and external factors influencing the achievement or non-achievement of key outcomes?
• Efficiency: To what extent were project resources properly utilized? Were methods used for project planning and implementation efficient?
• Sustainability: To what extent would the benefits of the project continue after the project ends?
• Impact: How is the project progressing towards its theory of change and what impact/ potential is it leaving?
• Coherence: How compatible is the project with other projects being implemented by ARCPA or by other actors in the country?

The above questions are just indicative and the Consultant/ Consultancy Firm is expected to develop a complete list of questions along with data collection tools during the inception phase.

1. Methodology 

This evaluation will adopt a qualitative and reflective approach, and utilize both primary and secondary data collection tools, including but not necessarily limited to: 

• Review of context and project documentation (proposal and project planning matrix, training reports, activity reports, interim reports, …)
• Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with key actors

Given the learning outcomes to be derived from this project, it is essential that the evaluation process engages partners and beneficiaries. A detailed methodology should be submitted by the Consultant/ Consultancy Firm one week after contract signature as part of the inception report.  

1. Deliverables 

The following deliverables are expected to be received from the Consultant/ Group of Consultants:

• Evaluation plan, methodology, and data collection tools one week after contract signature in an inception report
• Draft report four weeks after contract signature 
• Final report one week after receiving comments from ARCPA

The main body of the report, in Word format, should be between 20 and 30 pages (excluding the appendices/annexes) and is to include the following elements:

• Table of Contents 
• Executive Summary
• Introduction
• List of Acronyms
• Background (description of the project)
• Evaluation objectives and criteria
• Methodology 
• Main results and analysis, clearly responding to the evaluation criteria and key questions in the TOR and referring to the project’s outcomes 
• Conclusions and recommendations, focusing on project development for the next phase 
• Annexes 

1. Qualifications and Application Procedures 

Consultants are expected to possess the following key qualifications: 

• University degree in social sciences or relevant fields
• At least five years of experience in conducting external evaluations in Lebanon, including experience in working within the refugee context 
• Experience in evaluations/research relating to peacebuilding and conflict transformation 
• Fluency in English and Arabic
• Strong interpersonal communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to handle sensitive information with discretion and professionalism

   

Consultancy Firms are expected to possess the following key qualifications:

• A team leader with a university degree in social sciences or relevant fields
• At least five years of experience in conducting external evaluations in Lebanon, including experience in working within the refugee context 
• Experience in evaluations/research relating to peacebuilding and conflict transformation 
• A team who is fluent in English and Arabic
• Demonstrated ability to handle sensitive information with discretion and professionalism