Consultant

Terms of Reference for Consultant (s) to conduct the Mid-term Evaluation for the Women and Girls Rebuilding Iraq Project (2019-2022), Iraq

1. Program Context

Following Iraq’s military victory over ISIS in December 2017, efforts to rebuild a shattered country and to re-establish the rule of law have been underway. But general insecurity continues. The reconstruction efforts have been carried out amid sporadic attacks by ISIS, socio-economic instability and pre-existing vulnerabilities, especially in the Disputed Territories of Iraq, where ethnic, political and sectarian divides have long affected social cohesion. Despite these constraints, the humanitarian context in Iraq has gradually transitioned into a new phase allowing humanitarian actors to plan and implement recovery and development interventions addressing community reconciliation, resilient livelihoods, as well as participation in governance structures and decision-making. The situation of many women and girls requires a particular attention. The crimes committed by ISIL have left deep psychological scars on many women and their families. Displaced women continue to suffer sexual and gender-based violence in both in-camp and out-of-camps settings even while the military offensive by ISIL is over. Despite some progress in the legislative protection of women’s equal rights, most of the women in Iraq are affected by long-term social, economic and political exclusion exacerbated by deeply entrenched patriarchal values held by a large proportion of the population.

1. Women and Girls Rebuilding Iraq

The intervention entitled by Women and Girls Rebuilding Iraq implemented by OXFAM in Iraq contributes to shaping policy, decision-making mechanisms and peacebuilding processes at multiple levels with the specific objective to ensure women and girls play a significant role in the new rehabilitation and development agenda. The initiative is working with women and girls in Kirkuk and Diyala governorates, both of which have endured a protracted conflict. Part of the project also takes places at national level involving public policy engagement and advocacy on women and girls’ rights. The project is implemented in cooperation with Women Rights Organizations (WROs) promoting transformative leadership in formal and informal governance structures. The initiative seeks to engage 9,000 vulnerable women and girls in Iraq. In addition, 40 men and boys from local communities are to be trained to act as role models for progressive masculinities. They will act as change agents in shifting attitudes and practices that hinder women’s equal rights.

Two intermediate outcomes have been envisioned for the project:

· Increased active participation of women and girls in public decision-making processes as transformative leaders.

· Improved social and political environment for the effective participation of women and girls in government structures.

Four immediate outcomes include the following:

· Increased access to leadership roles for women and girls in governance structures and better inclusion of women’s and girls’ needs and interests

· Increased support by community members, community leaders, and other opinion influencers (media, academia, practitioners, etc.) on women’s and girls’ participation in governance structures and decision-making processes

· Increased capacities of WROs to engage with decision and policy makers and design gender-responsive policies integrating women’s and girls’ needs and interests

· Increased skills of WROs to design and implement gender-responsive programming and advocacy to support women’s and girls’ voices

The project works at 3 levels:

· Micro: individual capacity building and community engagement (involving both women and men);

· Meso: working with WROs and women’s right defenders to improve the wellbeing of women and girls;

· Macro: work with opinion formers and policymakers for increased active participation of women and girls in governance structures.

Project status as of May 2021

The inception period took place in the first six months of the project. The COVID 19 pandemic affected the initial implementation in Year 1 requiring the team to request a 6-month No Cost Extension (NCE). As per NCE, the end of the project is expected in June 2022 with a 3-month closeout period ending in September 2022. The final evaluation will take place during the closing period. In term of the activities undertaken in Year 1 (March 2019 – March 2020), the Project Implementation Plan was developed and validated by the donor in January 2020. Several studies were carried out in Year 1 including: a study on barriers for women and girls to participate in governance and decision-making; a study on social norms and masculinities; a gender analysis; an outline of recommendations based on the Northern Iraq Livelihoods Assessment report; and adaptation of the Gender Action Learning Systems (GALS) methodology. These outputs contributed to rolling out awareness-raising sessions for women and girls at the micro-level along with community dialogues, awareness-raising sessions for men and boys, and GALS sessions. At the meso level, the project supported the capacity building of two implementing partners focusing on partners’ capacity to engage in gender justice programming. Activities at the macro-level related to policy-related outputs. The second phase of Women and Girls Rebuilding Iraq will be implemented in the context of the planned parliamentary elections scheduled for October 2021.

1. Objectives of the Mid-term Evaluation

The main objective of the mid-term evaluation is to systematically review the overall progress of the first phase of the project towards the project’s outcomes and provide recommendations on the overall design of the project, modifications, and specific actions that might be taken into consideration in the remaining period of the project.

Specifically, the consultant will:

1. Identify and assess the project progress against the intermediate and immediate outcomes as outlined in the project logic model.

2. Review the indicators and update the midline qualitative and quantitative values in the Performance Measurement Framework (PMF).

3. Apply Development Assistance Committee (DAC) methodology as the evaluation criteria: relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, coherence and impact to assess the project’s progress and recommend measures to improve the project’s implementation processes and its partnerships in order to meet project goals.

4. Assess efforts of stakeholders in support of the implementation of the project

5. Examine the extent to which the project has impacted the intended beneficiaries.

6. Assess the likelihood of sustainability of the project outcomes and provide recommendations to strengthen the project’s sustainability.

7. Identify best practices, lessons learnt and strategic recommendations that are emerging from the project.

Primary Audience

OXFAM in Iraq programme team, OXFAM Quebec, Global Affairs Canada, Project Steering Committee

Secondary Audience

Partners co-implementing the project

Beneficiaries

1. Scope of Work

The mid-term evaluation will require the following key steps:

1. Review project documentation and engage with the project staff and partners’ representatives to familiarize yourself with the intervention.

2. Based on the understanding of the terms of reference and the project, prepare tools to collect quantitative and qualitative data in line with the objectives of the mid-term evaluation.

3. Develop an evaluation matrix with respondents for each tool, while providing sufficient space for direct project participants, in addition to the project team, partners and other key stakeholders.

4. Based on the data collected, analyze to what extent the project activities have contributed to the achievement of the project’s immediate and intermediate outcomes and outputs.

5. Ensure appropriate context, gender and conflict analyses are part of the mid-term evaluation process.

6. Identify recommendations that need to be implemented at the micro, meso and macro levels of the project to meet the project outcomes and contribute to its ultimate goal.

7. Methodology

The mid-term evaluation intends to apply a combination of qualitative and quantitative data methodology with a purposeful bias towards collecting qualitative data. In addition, due to the challenges associated with the global COVID 19 pandemics, the selected consultant(s) will be required to conduct in-person data collection combined with a remote approach. OXFAM is ready to provide information and support to mitigate potential COVID 19 risks, in addition to assessing security risks that can be encountered during field-based work.

The following methods are recommended to conduct the mid-term evaluation:

1. Desk review: this will entail the review of the project documentation such as progress reports, baseline reports and research studies carried out as part of the project.

2. Primary data collection: this can include surveys, case studies, key informant interviews, focus group discussions with selected individuals and groups within Iraq. The data involving these methods should be collected in person, particularly when considering direct project participants.

3. Secondary data collection: this will entail NGOs reports and similar documents with useful information that can contribute to the understanding of the context.

5.1 Key Questions and dimensions of the mid-term evaluation

The key questions the mid-term evaluation aims to respond to are framed by the DAC criteria. These include the following:

RELEVANCE:

· Has the initiative responded or is responding well to the needs and interests of women and girls as identified in the problem analysis?

· Did the programme design miss anything, either at the planning or implementation stage that can be addressed in the second phase of the project?

· Did the programme design include actions to contribute to the sustainability of the project?

· To what extent has the research outputs produced as part of the project contributed towards the project outcomes?

· Does the project goal resonate with the aspirations of Iraq women rights defenders and women rights organizations involved in the project? Has the project engaged with them meaningfully?

· What has been the nature of participation of the beneficiaries and the partners in project design?

· What changes have taken place in the implementation of the project that differed from the original design?

· To what extent have the key contextual changes, threats and opportunities that arose during implementation been influencing and informing project implementation?

· How and to what extent have monitoring findings been used to inform decision-making and the improvement of project implementation by OXFAM and partners?

COHERENCE:

· To what extent has the initiative contributed so far to the progress at micro, meso and macro levels as understood by this project?

· To what extent has the partners’ approaches aligned with the project objectives and OXFAM’s commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment?

· Have the steps undertaken by the project to contribute to the objectives of the Iraq National Action Plan been adequate?

EFFECTIVENESS:

· Are the ongoing project activities effective in contributing to their related immediate outcomes? What gaps can be identified?

· How effective is the methodology applied to change social and gender norms hindering women’s participation governance and decision-making at micro level?

· How effective has been the project advocacy at governorate and national levels?

· Are there any significant differences between the implementation sites in Kirkuk and Diyala, including the consideration of the implementation by two project partners?

· To what extent has the project contributed to partners’ capacity building as identified in capacity building plans?

· What unintended consequences (if any), whether positive or negative, has the intervention had on women, men, boys and girls so far?

· What system and mechanism are in place (at OXFAM and in partner organisations) to ensure accountability to the beneficiaries and how well have they been working throughout the project?

· What factors have contributed to achieving or not achieving intended outcomes and set objectives of the project?

· Are there any exceptional achievements of the project substantiated with evidence, such, but not limited to, case studies and best practices?

EFFICIENCY:

· How cost-effective has been the intervention? What cost-effective alternatives could have been used?

· Is the progress in achieving project targets in line with the project implementation plan?

· Have the resources of the project (human, financial, material) been invested in accordance with the project timeframe and the intended changes identified in the project logical framework?

· Are there any missed opportunities and gaps in cost-effectiveness of the implementation that can be addressed in the second phase of the project?

SUSTAINABILITY:

· Considering the work already done with the partners, has there been any noticeable change in the ways how the partners are working?

· Are modalities of engaging community volunteers appropriate in ensuring that they will remain key resource persons beyond the life of the project? What are the signs of community acceptance?

· How well are the project’s outputs linked to more long-term focused objectives?

IMPACT:

· What significant changes in the lives of the women and girls in Iraq can be identified so far in line with the project ultimate outcome?

· Are there any unintended changes (positive and negative), which were not foreseen by the project design?

5.2 Supervision and management of data collection process

The MEAL Officers and the project teams in Diyala and Kirkuk will provide support and ensure coordination on data collection at the field level, supported by the Country MEAL Coordinator and the Gender Justice Programme Manager based in Erbil.

5.2 Data collection and management ethics and management of data collection process

The following ethical standards are to be guaranteed at every stage of the evaluation:

Informed consent: Respondents will be fully informed of the purpose of collecting the data, what data is to be collected, how the information/findings will be used, any potential adverse impacts of participation and who will have access to the findings.

Voluntary participation: Participants who will participate in data collection will not be forced/pressured to participate but will be made aware their participation is voluntary and are free to participate or withdraw at any point of data collection without fear of retaliation.

Anonymity of respondents: The project will maintain the anonymity and will not disclose the full identity of respondents in data collection and management. In cases where quotes are to be used in the report, the respondents’ permission will be sought first.

Confidentiality: The project will ensure that the information provided by respondents are kept secured and will not be made available to unauthorised individuals.

Do no harm: The team will ensure that there is no negative impact of the evaluation process on the respondents, the target population, and the enumerators in terms of any physical, psychological or political consequences (stress, pain, anxiety, diminishing self-esteem or an invasion of privacy). The data collection process will make sure enumerators do not make any promises, whether material or in any other form, to respondents or any other individuals.

5.4 Data quality checks **

Regular data quality checks will be conducted by the consultant(s) with support from the MEAL team and corrective actions undertaken by the consultant(s). Throughout the data collection in the field, regular follow-up will be conducted, including daily de-brief sessions.

6. Key Deliverables

1. Inception report with detailed methodology, data collection tools and respondents:

The consultant will prepare the midline qualitative and quantitative data collection tools at the onset of the mid-term evaluation process. The OXFAM Country MEAL Coordinator and Gender Justice Programme Manager will review a draft English version of the tools, and inception report and provide consolidated feedback to the consultant(s). The consultant(s) will be responsible to translate the final tools to Arabic.

1. An updated Performance Measurement Framework (PMF):

The updated version will include progress on targets as per the project qualitative and quantitative indicators.

1. A preliminary report in English:

The report will provide draft findings responding to the key questions identified in these terms of reference and including draft recommendations for corrective measures that can be applied in the upcoming phase of the project. OXFAM will provide consolidated feedback on the preliminary report. A template will be agreed between OXFAM and the selected consultant(s).

1. Final report in English:

The report will detail the methodology applied, analysis of findings and practical recommendations following the template agreed for the preliminary report. The final report should not exceed 30 pages (excluding annexes), include a brief executive summary, and be accompanied by a maximum 10 slides with the summary (PowerPoint presentation).

All deliverables will be considered final upon receiving a written acceptance note from OXFAM’s Gender Justice Programme Manager.

7. Supervision and Management

The assignment will be supervised by the Gender Justice Programme Manager and directly managed by the Gender Project Manager responsible for the management of Women and Girls Rebuilding Iraq. The Gender Justice team will ensure that the partners and other stakeholders in the project have adequate space in providing their feedback on the processes and the content of the mid-term evaluation.

8. Logistics and Constraints

Considering the limitations of movements due to the COVID 19 pandemic, international consultants may not be able to travel to Iraq. Access to the targeted communities is also likely to be limited. Therefore, it is recommended to form a team including Iraq-based counterparts and adopt a flexible work approach.

9. Timeframe

It is estimated that the assignment would require 25 working days, preferably undertaken from June to July 2021. The consultant(s) will present a work plan of activities leading to completion of the assignment accompanied by a detailed financial proposal (budget) in USD, including the costs for translation of tools used in the assignment. The table in Annex 2 is an indicate template that can be used by the consultant(s) to submit their technical offer.

10. Knowledge and Experience

The following key technical requirements will be taken into consideration when assessing consultants’ technical competencies:

· University degree in gender studies, political science, sociology or other relevant fields.

· Experience in conducting external evaluations, reviews and similar assignments assessing large-scale humanitarian and development interventions.

· Expertise in applying a mixed-method approach in evaluation processes, involving data collection with the participation of diverse audiences.

· High proficiency in understanding gender transformative and rights-based approaches and how these are relevant in evaluating civil society interventions.

· Familiarity with constraints and challenges encountered by civil society actors working on gender transformative interventions in a conflict-prone and fragile context.

· Familiarity with issues affecting women’s participation in decision-making in Iraq.

· Full English proficiency by the lead consultant.

· Spoken Arabic in the team skill mix.