Consultant for the Summative Evaluation of the Integrated Programming Approach in... Tender

Procurement Summary

Country : Mali

Summary : Consultant for the Summative Evaluation of the Integrated Programming Approach in the Mopti and Sikasso Regions

Deadline : 12 Sep 2018

Other Information

Notice Type : Tender

TOT Ref.No.: 26367815

Document Ref. No. :

Competition : ICB

Financier : United Nations Secretariat

Purchaser Ownership : -

Tender Value : Refer Document

Purchaser's Detail

Purchaser : UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN'S FUND
Niamakoro Route de l 'Aéroport Bamako Tel: +223-44.97.70.00 / 20.70.91.00 Fax: 44.97.70.89
Mali
Email :bamako@unicef.org
URL :http://www.unicef.org/

Tender Details

Tenders are invited for NOC National Consultant for the Summative Evaluation of the Integrated Programming Approach in the Mopti and Sikasso Regions of Mali.

Purpose of the evaluation

Based on the collection and analysis of relevant data and information, this assessment should serve two main purposes: accountability and organizational learning .

· In relation to accountability, the evaluation will provide evidence on the level of progress achieved by the program in relation to the expected results of integrated programming in each of the two targeted regions (Sikasso and Mopti);

· With regard to learning, the evaluation will inform the new Cooperation Program and draw up recommendations to better understand the implementation strategies of the next program of cooperation between Mali and UNICEF for the period 2020- 2024. To do this, the evaluation will develop a Theory of Change (ToC) [1] - lack of an initial ToC of this integrated programming. The evaluation will then identify and describe the contours of the integrated programming in its implementation modalities (which were not quite the same in Mopti and Sikasso), before proceeding to its detailed analysis, according to the criteria of mentioned below. At the end of the evaluation, the ToC will be reviewed on the basis of best practices and experiences observed in the field.

The evaluation will inform UNICEF programming directly at two key moments:

· The strategic moment of reflection (SMR, 22-24 October 2018); and

· The development of the Program Strategy Notes (PSN, September-December 2018) [2], which includes programmatic priorities and approaches and strategies for the next program cycle

Objectives of the evaluation

The objective of this evaluation is to provide an in-depth analysis of the conceptual framework and implementation of integrated programming in Sikasso and Mopti, in line with UNICEF's mandate, its country program standards and objectives / expected results., and the usual criteria for evaluation. It is expected that at the end of this exercise, a series of recommendations and a revised theory of change will be provided to UNICEF in order to ensure better performance of its integrated programming during the implementation of the new Mali Cooperation Program. .

Evaluation questions

This evaluation will seek to answer the following evaluative questions grouped around the 6 identified criteria:

· Relevance :

· To what extent are the objectives and strategy for implementing integrated programming in Mopti and Sikasso in line with government priorities and the 2015-2019UNICEF-Mali Cooperation Program?

· In terms of equity, have gender issues and human rights been taken into account?

· To what extent has the socio-economic, political, institutional and environmental context been taken into account in the implementation of integrated programming?

· To what extent are the expectations of UNICEF and partners in relation to integrated programming still valid in light of changing national circumstances?

Efficiency :

· To what extent has the strategy for implementing integrated programming in Mopti and Sikasso produced the expected results?

· How responsive are these gender-sensitive results and equity issues?

· What roles did the partners play in implementing the integrated approach?

· How has integrated programming strengthened the capacities of different actors?

· What corrective measures have been taken to address the bottlenecks and bottlenecks identified during the MoRES follow-up visits? To what extent has this contributed to the achievement of the program's expected objectives?

· What changes have been made at the institutional level (Local / National Administration, UNICEF)?

· Is there an identification of good practices to replicate?

· What factors (internal and external to UNICEF) have contributed to the success of the integrated programming approach?

· What factors (internal and external to UNICEF) have impeded the success of the integrated programming approach?

· Efficiency :

· To what extent have financial resources been adequate, of quality and made available on time?

· What were the operational costs related to implementation? Were these costs proportional to the results obtained?

· Could better results have been produced with fewer resources or with a better combination of resources?

Durability :

· To what extent can the multi-sectoral dynamics and platforms created be able to continue without the participation of UNICEF?

· To what extent have the different sections of UNICEF in Mali integrated the principles of integrated programming into their day-to-day work? If integration has not met the challenges, what strategies should be adopted?

· To what extent have local authorities taken ownership of the integrated programming approach and are able to continue to carry the process without the involvement of UNICEF?

Ownership and Coordination:

· To what extent has the concept of integrated programming been understood and generated commitment by different sections of UNICEF in its implementation?

· To what extent have the different sections of the Mali Country Office (Bamako central office and Sikasso and Mopti area offices) developed and implemented a coordination strategy between them for the success of this program?

· What were the strengths and / or weaknesses (if any) of coordination between the Country Office and the Zone Offices?

· To what extent has UNICEF coordinated with other partners (including government, other donors and civil society) to achieve the results of this project?

Methodology

This assessment will be based on the use of mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative). The documentary review will be complemented by visits to the intervention circles in the two regions (Sikasso and Mopti), as well as semi-structured interviews with key informants.

The desk review will cover strategic and programmatic documents (containing both quantitative and qualitative data) from Mali, including those available at the regional level (Sikasso and Mopti) to capture regional specificities, and documents from other countries and other contexts that have used a similar integrated approach.

During the preparation of the scoping note, a theory of change (ToC) of the integrated approach will be formulated, based on the document review and initial interviews. At the end of the evaluation, this ToC will be revised and finalized on the basis of best practices and experiences observed in the field.

Key informant interviews will initially be conducted remotely (by Skype, telephone, etc.), and will be supplemented by face-to-face interviews in the intervention areas.

The collection of qualitative information in the field will be done by: a) key informants (UNICEF staff, government partners, other agencies, NGOs, etc.); b) direct and indirect beneficiaries and c) non-beneficiaries of the integrated approach in the intervention areas. The approach will be proposed by the consultant, taking into account the differences in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, the most relevant.

Two to three Circles will be selected in each of the regions of Mopti and Sikasso, based on the criteria to be defined in the detailed methodological proposal.

The consultant will propose the methodology (including the sampling and analysis strategy) and the assessment steps in their proposal.

The interim and final reports will provide clear recommendations for the continuation / expansion of integrated programming or its adaptation.

Evaluation work plan

duration

The duration of the consultation is 6 weeks, over the period from 23 September to 31 November 2018, distributed as follows:

· 1st and 2nd weeks: Review of the documentation (see attached a non-exhaustive list of documents to consult); Skype / phone interviews with UNICEF staff; Elaboration of the Theory of Change; Drafting of the scoping note for the evaluation and meeting with the actors of the program at the central level; Development and validation of the methodology and tools for collecting information;

· 3rd and 4th week: Field mission for the collection of additional data + Debriefing on preliminary findings just after field data collection;

· 5th week: Drafting of the preliminary report of the evaluation and discussion in a restitution session with the UNICEF staff; Submission for consideration of the draft final report;

· 6th week: Integration of observations; Drafting and submission of the final report.

Consultants may propose a revised schedule in the scoping note.

Results and expected outputs

The consultant will provide UNICEF with:

· An inception report that describes the proposed methodologies, data collection, analysis strategy and reporting plans with preliminary data collection tools such as interview guides (including list of potential interviewees / key informants at global, regional and national level), a timeline with dates for deliverables, and field trip arrangements for evaluation. The scoping note will also include a Theory of Change. ;

· PPT presentation of up to 30 slides with the Theory of Change and the first conclusions of the documentary analysis and interviews.

· PPT presentation of up to 40 slides with key messages on preliminary findings following the return of the field (this presentation will be shared during the preliminary debriefing to be organized before the departure of the international consultant);

· Preliminary report, identifying key findings, conclusions, recommendations and lessons learned from the project (this report will incorporate feedback provided by evaluation stakeholders during debriefing);

· PPT presentation of key findings for national partners, implementing partners and major donors;

· A quality final report, written in a clear and access

Documents

 Tender Notice