Final Evaluation Consultant at CCFN - Catholic Caritas Foundation of Nigeria

Project Background

The Institutional Capacity Strengthening Initiative (ICS) is a five-year project aimed at strengthening the institutional capacity of Catholic Church development structures (specifically JDPC units) for better quality and improved coordination of programs.

This project will further empower the Catholic Caritas Foundation of Nigeria (Caritas Nigeria) lead Church Dioceses and Provinces in a participatory organizational self-assessment and action planning process through the Holistic Organizational Capacity Assessment Initiative (HOCAI) mechanism. This initiative will be conducted Province by Province over a five years period.

This plan is a core component of Caritas Nigeria national mandate as outlined by the Catholic Bishop Conference of Nigeria (CBCN). This mandate provides for Caritas Nigeria to strengthen the institutional capacity of Catholic Church development structures and coordinate programs and interventions.

The first year of the program implementation began in Benin Province, followed by Abuja Province in 2015. 2016 saw the program being implemented in Calabar and Owerri provinces, while Jos and Kaduna Provinces benefitted from the program in 2017. Currently now its fifth and final year, the program is being implemented in Lagos and Ibadan provinces.

Evaluation Objective

Caritas Nigeria seeks a Consultant to conduct a final evaluation of ICS over the life of the project. The objectives of this evaluation are to:

Undertake an evaluation to assess the project:

a) Relevance – the extent to which the objectives were consistent with beneficiaries’ needs and priorities

b) Effectiveness – the extent to which the targeted project objectives were achieved (or are expected to be achieved)

c) Sustainability – the extent to which the benefits are likely to continue after the project e

d) Impact – where possible, the long-term effects produced by the project (directly, indirectly, intended, unintended, positive and negative).

The evaluation should assess the above in relation to two central broad questions:

1. What changes/ outcomes/achievements have taken place?
2. How have these changes/ outcomes/achievements been brought about?

Methodology

The evaluation should consist of:

(a) Review of project documentation: Review of archived material related to the project. This could include, but is not restricted to: annual and quarterly reports, communications between Caritas Nigeria and CRS, the original project proposal document, the basic ‘logic chain’, all relevant project records and data, training materials etc. this information will be provided to the evaluator by Caritas Nigeria. The evaluator would also be expected to review any other relevant statistics and secondary sources.

(b) Development of an evaluation approach and data collection tools/methods: this should include;

• A detailed timeline and work plan
• Outline of any proposed changes to the scope of the evaluation
• Key learning questions
• Proposed sampling framework
• Development of associated data collection and evaluation tools

(c) Participate in an inception briefing with Caritas Nigeria: This should take place immediately prior to the development of the inception report

(d) Field visits: Field visits will take place in 5 Catholic Dioceses selected from 5 Provinces, and should include an agreed sample of participants and stakeholders. This is expected to require between 2 weeks, depending on the exact methodology.

(e) Submit a draft evaluation report that corresponds to the requirements outlined below in the ‘Deliverables’ section.

(f) Submit a final evaluation report: incorporating any relevant feedback from Caritas Nigeria.

Deliverables

should include the following:

• An evaluation work plan, including: planned timeline, methodology/approach, data collection and analysis tools, qualitative and quantitative protocols for data collection and analysis
• Any suggested improvements to existing evaluation scope, as outlined in this document
• Presentation of preliminary findings
• Draft evaluation report written in English 
• One (1) electronic file of the clean (final) qualitative and quantitative data collected
• Final evaluation report

Reporting

The consultant will report to the Caritas Nigeria ICS Program Manager for all issues related to logistics and fieldwork.

Duration & Deadlines

The duration of the contract will be a total of one month, starting from the first of August 2018 to the end of August 2018.

​Evaluator's Competencies

• Sound understanding of Capacity building; Sound knowledge on program development; Sound knowledge on Organizational Development
• Knowledge of evaluation activities;
• Strong research skills;
• Both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis skills;
• Academic degree in social sciences and other related fields;
• Demonstrated technical skills in project evaluations;
• Ability to produce well written, analytical reports in English
• Prior experiences of evaluating programs in NGOs and Faith-Based Organizations will be an added advantage