Final Evaluation Consultant

Final Evaluation - Peace Pioneers II

Search for Common Ground

Search for Common Ground (Search) is an international conflict transformation NGO that aims to transform the way individuals, groups, governments, and companies deal with conflict, away from adversarial approaches and towards collaborative solutions. Headquartered in Washington DC, USA, and Brussels, Belgium, with field offices in 35 countries, SFCG designs and implements multifaceted, culturally appropriate and conflict-sensitive programs using a diverse range of tools, including media and training, to promote dialogue, increase knowledge and determine a positive shift in behaviors.

Your contribution  to evaluate the second phase of “Peace Pioneers Phase” a project funded by the Swiss Embassy in Beirut, with the overall goal to stimulate engagement between CSO and private sector partners for sustainable long-term peace by building the knowledge base for CSOs and Private Sector Actors on Peacebuilding and enhance CSO and Private Sector capacity to develop, implement, and sustain partnerships.

To assess project objectives which are  (I) to Increase understanding for key stakeholders on how the private sector in Lebanon can contribute to peacebuilding  (II) to Strengthen working relationships between the private sector and peacebuilding actors in Lebanon around shared values intended evaluation will take into account the OECD-DAC peacebuilding Evaluation Criteria: relevance and effectiveness, investigating below set of questions and utilizing and/or addressing the performance indicators described in the project document. It will also reflect on successes and failures. In addition, the study will aim to capture learning outcomes as regards the success and failure of the project, especially in terms of perceptions and relationship building.  Unintended outcomes of the project (positive or negative) will also be captured.

A strong focus will be dedicated to the unpacking of the involvement of stakeholders and how the project contributed to the facilitation of the management of expectations from both the private sector and Civil Society organizations. The evaluation will seek to analyze local CSOs’ engagement with the private sector: barriers and enhancers. Finally, in line with the innovative approach of this project relying on stimulation of private sector engagement in Lebanon peacebuilding, the evaluation will require reflection on a new collaborative model involving local CSOs, the private sector and Search’s implication in this model for future opportunities

Key Questions of the Study

Relevance:

• Are the stated goal and outcomes relevant to the context in Lebanon?
• Are the activities and outputs of the program consistent with the intended impacts and effects?

Effectiveness:

• To which extent did the project contribute to stimulating the private sector engagement in Lebanon peacebuilding?
• To which extent did the project achieve to change the targeted stakeholders understanding, perceptions and attitudes on how collaboration between the private sector and civil society in Lebanon can contribute to advance peacebuilding?
•  To which extent did the project succeed in initiating working relationships between the private sector and civil society actors around shared values?
• What were the internal or external factors that facilitated or hindered the objectives’ achievements?
• What are the major best practices and lessons learned to stem from the project’s implementation?

Impact:

•  What are the main results from the project, intended and unintended, positive and negative?

Innovation:

• To which extent has the project been innovative regarding the involvement of the Private sector in Lebanon Peacebuilding?

What have we learned about the innovative approach of the project?

Collaborative advantage:

• What are the perceived advantages and disadvantages of this type of collaboration?
• What were the challenges and successes?

In addition to the above lines of inquiry, the evaluation is expected to provide quantitative and qualitative information on the key indicators as listed in the project logic

Geographic Locations:  Data collection will take place in Lebanon (essentially Beirut & Tripoli)

5. Methodology and Data Collection Tools

Search approach to evaluation is grounded in the guiding principles of our work: participatory, culturally sensitive, committed to building capacity, affirming and positive while honest and productively critical, and valuing knowledge and approaches from within the context. Search and the hired consultant(s) will agree upon a joint set of evaluation standards when negotiating the final contract of agreement.

The principles should be taken into account:

• Inclusiveness—the methodology should include a wide range of viewpoints, specifically gender and age-sensitivity when applicable.
• Mixed-method approaches—both qualitative and quantitative methods need to be present in the methodology.
• The rigor of evidence—gathered information needs to be reliable and transparent
• Ethics—the methodology needs to consider ethics in order to ensure that the evaluation is fully objective.

In addition, the consultant is expected to respect Search  evaluations standards, to be found in Search evaluation guidelines: https://www.sfcg.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/SFCG-External-Evaluation-Guidelines-FINAL.pdf

The evaluation will investigate two principal target groups: the private sector and the civil society active in Lebanon peacebuilding. The sample size should be adequate and representative of the target groups. In addition, the evaluation should employ both quantitative and qualitative methods.

It will draw on the following sources and data collection methods:

• Desk study review: Project documents and other relevant sources of data to complete the assessment.
• Reflection Sessions: two reflection sessions to be conducted separately with (1) civil society project’s participants and (2) private sector project’s participants.
• Key Informant Interviews (KIIs): interviews to be conducted with key stakeholders involved in the project (e.g. implementation staff, research partner, UN Global Compact, etc.)

    6. Deliverables

• Within seven days from signing the contract, the consultant should submit an Inception report, which clearly defines the study background and methodology, including clear outlines for the data collection tools and research timeline with specific deadlines for each deliverable. The Inception report and the data collection tools need formal approval from Search before starting the data collection in the field. The inception report should include how learning will be captured and mainstreamed across the final report. 
• A draft final evaluation report to be submitted within 10 days of completion of the data collection for review and comments from Search country team and the Regional DMEL specialist. The review and feedback of the report could be more than one round depending on the quality of the report and the extent to which the comments and suggestions from the first round have been incorporated.
• A final evaluation report to be submitted after incorporating the comments of Search. The report should be written in English, 30-35 pages excluding annexes, and using the final evaluation template provided by Search, consisting of:
  • Cover page, Search will provide sample cover sheet for reference
  • Table of contents, list of acronyms, abbreviations, and list of tables and charts.
  • Executive summary of key findings actionable recommendations – 3-4 pages
  • Background information and context analysis presented per key criteria with a brief description
  • Evaluation methodology with clear explanation of sampling and limitations, participants’ selection and data analysis approach.
  • Research findings, analysis, with associated data presented, where appropriate in clear graphs or charts. The findings can include subsections for each research criteria.
  • Conclusion and Recommendations for future project implementation.
  • The recommendations should be framed according to each evaluation criteria.
  • Appendices should include the ToRs, collected data, detailed description of the methodology with research instruments, and list of participants.

• A Digest Assessment of no more than 10 pages to be shared with the wider target audience.
• Once the draft is submitted and reviewed, Search may decide based on the quality of the draft whether the consultant may be required to revise the draft, working closely with Search DM&E Manager as necessary.
• The report should be submitted electronically in an MS – Word document. The consultant is responsible for English editing of the final report which should be well formatted. The report will be credited to the evaluator and potentially placed in the public domain at the decision of Search.
• All handwritten and electronic transcripts of data collection, hard copies of survey questionnaires, photographs were taken during the assessment and any equipment received from Search for the purpose of the study should be submitted to Search. Furthermore, all information generated during the baseline study will be the sole property of Search and is subject to submission to Search along with the final report, prior to the end of the contract.

C. Deadlines

• Consultant Inception Report June 9, 2019
• Deadline for data collection tools: June 23, 2019
• Deadline for the draft report: June 26, 2019
• Deadline for the final deliverables: June 28, 2019

The Final Evaluation Consultant: Search Lebanon seeks an experienced consultant with the following qualifications: Proficiency in Arabic and English; Solid understanding of the Lebanese peacebuilding context; More than 5 years of experience in private sector and civil society research or equivalent project evaluation and baseline expertise, including collecting and analyzing data from interviews, surveys, FGDs, etc.; Solid knowledge and experience of corporate social responsibility and related concepts as well as SDGs application in Lebanon. ; Experience in working with international organizations.; Strong communication and writing skills.; Research and evaluation methods and data collection skills; Ability to be flexible with time and work schedule.; Attention to detail and ability to meet tight deadlines; Conflict resolution/peacebuilding experience.