Kenya: Gender Consultant (End-of-Project-Evaluation)

1.Background

The multi-donor Fund for Gender Equality (FGE) of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) was launched in 2009 to fast-track commitments to gender equality focused on women’s economic and political empowerment at local, national and regional levels. The Fund provides multi-year grants ranging from US $200,000 – US $1 million directly to women’s organizations and governmental agencies in developing countries. It is dedicated to advancing the economic and political empowerment of women.

Since its launch in 2009, the Fund has delivered grants totaling US $56.5 million to 96 grantee programmes in 72 countries. Awarded programmes reflect a range of interventions in commitments to gender equality laws and policies and embody unique combinations of strategies, partnerships and target beneficiaries.

2.Description of the Intervention

The programme entitled “To Strengthen governance and accountability of leadership in Kenya through quality and quantity of women’s political participation” is an FGE-supported implementation programme being undertaken in Kenya by GROOTS Kenya (Grassroots Organizations Operating Together in Sisterhood). It is a two-year programme that commenced in January, 2013. Its overall budget is USD 302,000.

This programme aims to influence good governance and accountability of the leadership in Kenya through increasing quality and quantity of women’s political participation.

The programme has 4 key outcomes:

Outcome 1: Enhanced capacity of communities particularly grassroots women to support women candidates vying for political leadership and create demand for good leadership.Outcome 2: The number of women elected and nominated into political positions and appointed into devolved government structures increased by the end of the electioneering period.Outcome 3: Men’s support to women leadership improved within political processes and development agenda during and after elections.Outcome 4: The capacity of elected and nominated women strengthened to enable them to perform their duties in their positions and be able to influence both pro-gender and positive change within development agenda.

The programme is being implemented by GROOTS Kenya (Grassroots Organizations Operating Together in Sisterhood) in close cooperation with Association of Media Women in Kenya (AMWIK) and Africa Woman and Child Feature Services (AWCFS).

3.Purpose and Use of the Evaluation

FGE was established as a bold investment in women’s rights, testing a more focused and better-resourced modality for catalyzing and sustaining gender equality and efforts. Its founding Programme Document sets forth its mandate to track, assess and widely share the lessons learned from this pioneering grant programme and to contribute to global know-how in the field of gender equality. Undertaking Strategic Final Evaluations of programmes are a vital piece of this mandate. The main purposes of a final evaluation are the following:

Accountability:

Provide credible and reliable judgements on the programmes’ results, including in the areas of programme design, implementation, impact on beneficiaries and partners, and overall results.Provide high quality assessments accessible to a wide range of audiences, including FGE donors, UN Women, women’s rights and gender equality organizations, government agencies, peer multi-lateral agencies, and other actors.

Learning:

Identify novel/unique approaches to catalyse processes toward the development of gender equality commitments.Identify particular approaches and methodologies that are effective in meaningfully and tangibly advancing women’s economic and political empowerment.

Improved evidence-based decision making:

Identify lessons learned from the experience of grantees in order to influence policy and practice at national, regional and global levels.Inform and strengthen UN Women´s planning and programming by providing evidence-based knowledge on what works, why and in what context.

Final evaluations are summative exercises that are oriented to gather data and information to measure the extent to which development results have been attained. However, the utility of the evaluation process and products should go far beyond what was said by programme stakeholders during the field visit or what the evaluation team wrote in the evaluation report.

The momentum created by the evaluations process (meetings with government, donors, beneficiaries, civil society, etc.) is the ideal opportunity to set an agenda for the future of the programme or some of their components (sustainability) through a Management Response. It is also an excellent platform to communicate lessons learnt and convey key messages on good practices, share products that can be replicated or scaled-up at the country and international level.

The evaluator will provide inputs for the Reference Group (see section 7 in the attached document for more information) to design a complete dissemination plan of the evaluation findings, conclusions and recommendations with the aim of advocating for sustainability, scaling-up or sharing good practices and lessons learnt at local, national or/and international level.

4.Scope and Objectives of the Evaluation

The unit of analysis or object of study for this evaluation is the programme, understood to be the set of components, outcomes, outputs, activities and inputs that were detailed in the programme document and in associated modifications made during implementation. The geographic area of intervention evaluated is Kiambu, Laikipia and Kakamega Counties.

The timeframe of the evaluation will cover from the period of conceptualization and design to the moment when the evaluation is taking place.

The evaluation will assess:

To what extent the programme has contributed to solve the needs and problems identified in the design phase.To what extent the programme was efficiently implemented and delivered quality outputs and outcomes, against what was originally planned or subsequently officially revised.To what extent the programme has attained development results to the targeted population, beneficiaries, participants - whether individuals, communities, institutions, etc.-, therefore improving political empowerment of women in Kenya (Kiambu, Laikipia and Kakamega Counties).

5.Evaluation Criteria, Questions and Methodological Approach

Following the UN Women Evaluation Policy and United Nations Evaluation Group guidelines, evaluations are often organized around the standard OECD evaluation criteria, which are relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability of the programmes. Each evaluation must integrate gender and human-rights perspectives throughout each of these areas of analysis and within its methodology. This is particularly important to understand and assess programmes addressing complex, intersectional issues in women’s rights. Please refer to the attached document for the detailed evaluation questions.

The evaluation will use methods and techniques as determined by the specific needs of information, the availability of resources and the priorities of stakeholders. The consultant is expected to identify and utilize a wide range of information sources for data collection (documents, field information, institutional information systems, financial records, monitoring reports, past evaluations) and key informants (beneficiaries, staff, funders, experts, government officials and community groups).

The consultant is also expected to analyze all relevant information sources and use interview and focus group discussions as means to collect relevant data for the evaluation, using a mixed-method approach that can capture qualitative and quantitative dimensions. The methodology and techniques (such as a case study, sample survey, etc.) to be used in the evaluation should be described in detail in the inception report and in the final evaluation report and should be linked to each of the evaluation questions in the Evaluation Matrix. When applicable, a reference should be made regarding the criteria used to select the geographic areas of intervention that will be visited during the country mission.

The methods used should ensure the involvement of the main stakeholders of the programme. Rights holders and duty bearers should be involved in meetings, focus group discussions and consultations where they would take part actively in providing in-depth information about how the programme was implemented, what has been changed in their status and how the programme helped bring changes in their livelihoods. The evaluator will develop specific questionnaires pertinent to specific group of stakeholders and their needs and capacities (for example, illiteracy needs to be factored in, or language barriers). When appropriate, audiovisual techniques could be used to capture the different perspectives of the population involved and to illustrate the findings of the evaluation.

6.Management of the Evaluation

The consultant will be under contract with GROOTS Kenya who will manage the evaluation. GROOTS Kenya will be responsible for selecting the evaluator(s) through applying a fair, transparent, and competitive process and for ensuring that the evaluation process is conducted as stipulated, promoting and leading the evaluation design, coordinating and monitoring progress.

The evaluation consultant will be responsible for his/her own office space, administrative and secretarial support, telecommunications, and printing of documentation. The evaluation consultant will be also responsible for the implementation of all methodological tools such as surveys and questionnaires.

7.Reference Group and Stakeholder Participation

A Reference Group (RG) is meant to ensure an efficient, participatory and accountable evaluation process and facilitate the participation of stakeholders enhancing the use of the evaluation findings. It includes members from the programme organization (Lead and Co-lead organizations), relevant government and CSO stakeholders, UN Women Country Office and/or Regional Office and FGE Secretariat. Please refer to the annexed document for the role and members of the Group.

8.Evaluation Deliverables

The consultant is responsible for submitting the following deliverables:

Inception Report,PowerPoint presentation of preliminary findings to the Reference Group,Final Evaluation Report (according to UNEG quality standards, see attached document for further details).

9.Required Skills

Education:

A Masters or higher level degree in International Development or a similar field related to political and economic development, etc.

Work Experience:

A minimum of 5 years’ relevant experience undertaking evaluations is required.Substantive experience in evaluating similar development projects related to local development and political and economic empowerment of women.Substantive experience in evaluating projects with a strong gender focus is preferred.Experience working in Kenya is preferred.Experience working on gender, added value of expertise in undertaking gender-sensitive evaluations.

Language Requirements:

Excellent English writing and communication skills are required.Working knowledge in Kiswahili would be an added advantage. Consultants without Kiswahili language skills are encouraged to partner with a local consultant.

The consultant(s) is required to submit a proposal of maximum 3 pages, which must include the following items:

Summary of consultant experience and background.List of the most relevant previous consulting projects completed, including a description of the projects and contact details for references.Brief summary of the proposed methodology for the evaluation, including the involvement of the Reference Group and other stakeholders during each step.Proposed process for disseminating the results of the evaluation.

The following items should be included as attachments (not included in the page limit):

Detailed work plan.CV for consultant, and other team members if applicable.At least three sample reports from previous consulting projects (all samples will be kept confidential) or links to website where reports can be retrieved (highly recommended).Detailed budget.Team structure, roles and responsibilities and time allocation if applicable.

The budget must include all costs related to the following items:

The consultant’s time, and the time of any other team members (e.g. local consultant). The day rate for the consultant and all team members should be clearly specified.Transport costs, accommodation costs and per-diems for the consultant and any other team members to travel to/from Kenya and within Kenya.Communication costs, office costs, supplies and other materials.

The organization commissioning this evaluation has budgeted for the following items:

Participation of beneficiaries in evaluation activities (e.g. transport and refreshment costs for focus group discussions).Participation of the Reference Group in evaluation activities (e.g. meeting costs).Translation costs of the full report and/or executive summary when this would facilitate dissemination among targeted population).Dissemination of the results of the evaluation to stakeholders on the basis of the evaluator´s proposal and in agreement with the Reference Group.

Proposals should be addressed to GROOOTS Kenya, Esther Mwaura Muiru, The Director and emailed to admin@grootskenya.org by 1st December, 2014 by 9 am