Consultancy at International Alert

Background

• Period being evaluated: 1st August 2021 – 30th June 2023 (35 months).
• Project: Matasa Ku Taso” (Youth Arise)
• Project Areas of Intervention: The project targets 4 LGAs in Bauchi and Yobe States (Bauchi and Gamawa LGAs in Bauchi state, Damaturu and Gujba LGAs in Yobe state)
• Donor: European Union

International Alert (Alert) and Taimako Community Development Initiative (TCDI) have designed the “Matasa ku taso: Youth Arise!” project to address the challenges of youth exclusion and conflict in Yobe and Bauchi States. This has been done through creating opportunities for young people to have more say in decisions that shape their lives, thus reducing grievances, addressing their basic needs, and rebuilding the fractured trust with community leaders, state authorities and security forces. Such trust is the foundation of long-term stability, as it encourages collaboration between different stakeholders in preventing and responding to conflict triggers. The overall objective of the action is to increase the leadership role of young people in addressing local drivers of conflict and fragility in Bauchi and Yobe States through enhanced youth participation in conflict prevention, mitigation and management, and increased youth access to decision-making on local development and economic empowerment initiatives.

Project Goals and Objectives:

The overall objective of the “Matasa ku Taso” (Youth Arise) project is to increase the leadership role of young people in addressing local drivers of conflict and fragility in Yobe and Bauchi States.

The specific objectives of the project are:

• Enhance youth participation in conflict prevention, mitigation, and management.
• Increase youth access to decision-making on local development and economic empowerment initiatives.

Overview of the survey

This final evaluation will be used to understand the impact of the  Matasa Ku Taso project in Bauchi & Yobe states, Northeast Nigeria. The purpose will be to provide information on the efficiency, effectiveness of the strategy adopted, impact and sustainability of the project, for internal accountability and learning which will be used for designing, planning and implementation of future programmes and for accountability to donors.

Specific objectives are:

• To update the project indicators in achieving the overall goal of the project.
• To determine the extent to which Alert’s project in Bauchi & Yobe state is having an impact as framed in the programme theory of change.
• To assess the conflict and gender sensitivity of the Matasa Ku Taso project in Bauchi State.
• To provide and share actionable lessons learned and recommendations for the design and implementation of future projects.
• Evaluate the relevance, impact, efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability of the project.

The Evaluation Questions

The following key questions will guide the end of project evaluation:

Relevance – Assess design and focus of the project.

• Was the project relevant to the identified needs and target groups?
• Were the inputs and strategies identified realistic, appropriate, and adequate to achieve the results?

Effectiveness- Describe the management processes and their appropriateness in supporting delivery.

• Was the project effective in delivering desired/planned results?
• How effective were the strategies and tools used in the implementation of the project?
• How effective has the project been in responding to the needs of the beneficiaries, and what results were achieved.
• To what extent did the project achieve its overall objectives?
• What and how much progress has been made towards achieving the overall outputs and outcomes
• To what extent were the results (impacts, outcomes, and outputs) achieved?

Efficiency – Of Project Implementation

• Was the process of achieving results efficient? Specifically did the actual or expected results (outputs and outcomes) justify the costs incurred? Were the resources effectively utilized?
• Did project activities overlap and duplicate other similar interventions (funded nationally and /or by other donors? Are there more efficient ways and means of delivering more and better results (outputs and outcomes) with the available inputs?
• How did the project financial management processes and procedures affect project implementation?

Sustainability-

• To what extent are the benefits of the projects likely to be sustained after the completion of this project?
• What is the likelihood of continuation and sustainability of project outcomes and benefits after completion of the project?
• How effective were the exit strategies, and approaches to phase out assistance provided by the project including contributing factors and constraints?
• Describe key factors that will require attention in order to improve prospects of sustainability of Project outcomes and the potential for replication of the approach.
• How were capacities strengthened at the individual and organizational levels (including contributing factors and constraints)?
• How was the project’s collaboration with the relevant Government stakeholders, national institutions, development and implementation partners, and other key actors?

Lesson Learned-

• Describe the main lessons that have emerged?
• What are the recommendations for similar support in future?
• What are the future intervention strategies and issues?

(Nb. The recommendations should provide comprehensive proposals for future interventions based on the current evaluation findings).

Overall responsibilities of the consultant include:

• develop an inception report for the endline survey 
• design/adapt/refine (as appropriate) the endline survey questionnaires
• incorporate changes into the questionnaires after pre-testing the questionnaires
• hire and train the field supervisors and enumerators (v) plan the field work logistics
• conduct a pilot survey and revise the questionnaire based on the findings of the pilot survey (vii) prepare survey implementation and questionnaire documentation. (viii) supervise survey implementation and ensure quality control (ix) analyze and report the findings of the survey and provide datasets and final documentation/report. 

Evaluation Timing and Duration

The evaluation would commence within June 2023, with a desk review. Field data collection would commence ideally at the end of the desk review and inception report produced.

Evaluation Methodology

The evaluation will be led by an independent evaluator who will adopt a quantitative and qualitative result-based approach and utilized several data collection tools including a project document review, direct observations, interview with key informants and focused group discussions and household survey. The evaluator could also use participatory approach to design data collection or analysis that would be inclusive of women, men and youth specific perspectives.

• Inception phase: The evaluator will review project documentation and have initial conversations with project staff to ensure that he/she has enough information to refine the evaluation methodology.
• Development of the methodology: Following this the evaluator will draft a detailed methodology, work plan and evaluation tools, which will be reviewed and finalized together with International Alert’s team. The methodology will be included in the submission of an inception report, together with the evaluation final terms of reference and tools for data collection.
• Fieldwork: Fieldwork will be used to collect data, carry out interviews and focus group discussions, and household survey on specific aspects of the project. The fieldwork will mainly be carried out in the project target areas in Bauchi & Yobe state.
• International Alert will provide lists of different stakeholders for the consultant to select from and will ensure that staff assist and accompany the consultant throughout the evaluation.
• The survey, interviews and/ or focus group discussions will be carried out with: Alert staff, , beneficiaries, and stakeholders as identified in the agreed methodology.
• Analysis of results: All collected data should form part of a comprehensive analysis. The analysis should seek to answer the evaluation questions and be geared to respond to the objectives of the evaluation.
• Reports: A draft report will be submitted to  Alert. It will respond fully to the final evaluation terms of reference. The final report will consider and incorporate  observations and comments of Alert on the first draft report.

Deliverables and tentative schedule  

• The evaluator will produce an inception report detailing methodology and tools for data collection and analysis, evaluation report and a summarized version of the main report.
• Tentatively, the work will be delivered within 30 days from inception to end.
• All deliverables will have to be approved by Alert’s Country Director and the Head of Impact  HQ
• All deliverables and data of the evaluation will be owned by Alert and may be used for both internal and external reporting and communications.
• The main body of the evaluation report, in word format, should be 20 pages max (excluding the appendices/annexes) and is to include the following elements:
• Content Table
• Executive Summary
• Introduction
• List of acronyms
• Background (description of the project)
• Evaluation objectives and criteria
• Methodology and limitations
• Main results and analysis, clearly responding to the evaluation criteria and key questions in the ToR and referring to the projects’ results and indicators.
• Conclusions and recommendations
• Annexes: Three case studies of what has worked well (written, photographic), evaluation Terms of Reference, meeting calendar, tools used in evaluation (survey questionnaire, question guides, interview questionnaires, observation grids, etc.), list of documents consulted.

Evaluation findings and learning use and dissemination

• External: The full report will be shared with the donors funding the project as well as other stakeholders.
• Internal: Northeast Programme Manager, will facilitate a Management Response process that will provide an opportunity to discuss findings, and lead to an action plan with clear deadlines and responsibilities for uptake of recommendations.

Support and resources to be provided by Alert

Based on the final ToRs and contract, International Alert will provide resources such as office space, International Alert’s Project Officer/Northeast Programme Manager will be the focal points for communicating and providing documentation to the Consultant.

Ethics and data protection

Relevant International Alert policies on procurement and HR, and the organizational code of conduct will be provided to successful candidates.

• Knowledge of Hausa, Kanuri, Fulani, Karekare, Babur and/or Bade languages.
• In-depth knowledge of the socio-cultural, economic, and political context of Northeast Nigeria, specifically Yobe State.
• Experience in the design, implementation, and assessments of peacebuilding work, ideally with an emphasis on displacement, reintegration, and reconciliation.

Required skills and experience

We are seeking an experienced external consultant to conduct the evaluation.

The following are required skills and experience:

• At least  7 years’ experience in the design, implementation, and evaluation of peacebuilding work in Northeast Nigeria.
• At least 7 years experience in carrying out impact evaluations, ideally in the peacebuilding sector
• Fluent in English
• MA University degree in relevant field (gender studies, political science, anthropology, international relations, development studies, etc.)
• Proven experience in conducting quantitative and qualitative research.
• Experience in the design, implementation, and assessments of peacebuilding work, ideally with an emphasis on displacement, reintegration, and reconciliation
• Excellent skills in quantitative and qualitative data analysis software.
• Excellent written and spoken English.
• Excellent report writing skills.
• An excellent communicator and ability to be conflict and gender-sensitive when addressing sensitive issues.
• Knowledge and experience of gender sensitive approaches, including conducting baseline studies on gender issues.
• The following are desirable skills and experience
• Experience implementing youth focused interventions

The following are desirable skills and experience.

• Knowledge of Hausa languages.
• In-depth knowledge of the socio-cultural, economic, and political context of Northeast Nigeria, specifically Yobe State.