Terms of Reference

 

Goal: Evaluation of the Sarajevo Open Centre programme

Title: Consultant – Evaluation of the programme

Duration of the programme that needs to be evaluated: 01.01.2018-31.12.2019.

Duration of the engagement: 15 days (between January and March 2020)

 

Background

In 2017 Sarajevo Open Centre developed its strategic plan for the period 2018-2020 with the overall objective to improve the human rights situation of LGBT people and women in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The strategy has its five outcomes:

• LGBTI people are empowered to claim their human rights
• The state and its administrative units improve legal, policy and institutional framework for the protection of human rights of LGBTI people
• Advancing organizational ability to influence and interact with relevant stakeholders for achieving strategic objectives
• The state and its administrative units improve legal, policy and institutional framework for gender equality and human rights of women
• Feminism and gender equality mainstreamed into public and political discourse and debate

The strategic plan is delivered through the development of Annual Work Plans to cover all objectives. As of 2018, SOC created each year an Annual Work Plan of the organisation incorporating unique activities to each objective/outcome. The progress of SOC’s work has been monitored through the Result Assessment Framework and the progress has been measured twice per year.

 

Purpose and objectives of the programme evaluation

Purpose of this programme evaluation will be, on the one hand, to evaluate the outcomes of the above mentioned strategic plan, and, on the other hand, to be a basis for the new strategic plan 2021-2023 that will be done in 2020, after the completion of programme evaluation.

The purpose of the programme evaluation is to assess the overall programs’ relevance, quality performance, management and achievements. Furthermore, based on overall findings related to the programme implementation and considering the country context, make strategic recommendations towards potential directions and forward looking programme evolving concept.

 

The main questions to be answered by this evaluation are:

Quality of Implementation/Quality of Partnerships/Coordination/Monitoring/Evaluation

• How well did SOC conduct the process of the implementation? Has SOC’s organisational structure successfully accommodated the programme in reaching its objectives (if applicable, list recommendation for the improvement of organizational capacities, etc)?
• How were the resourses used to achieve the quality of outcomes/goals? Was it effective and efficient?
• To what extent have the tools utilized for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation been useful?
• How could the coordination amongst stakeholders be improved and how is SOC’s role in this perceived?
• How could the organisation collaborate differently with multiple relevant actors to better support the achievement of the expected results?
• What local structures and capacities have been created or strengthened?
• What can be learned from the successes and failures of the programs and how can this information be used to improve future programmes?
• What are the innovative aspects of the programs and should they be developed further?
• What recommendations are there to improve the design, management and sustainability of the programs?

Program relevance and coherence

• What is the significance of the addressed questions and the results and impacts achieved by the program as they pertain to the core problems identified in the problem analysis?
• To what extent do the results and impacts achieved within the program’s individual thematic focal points complement and reinforce each other? Do synergy effects occur?
• Did the program design and preparation allow for a logical and coherent programme?
• To what extent is the SOC’s name on the ground associated with specific values and questions? To what extent has it been able to set new trends in the respective context?

Results, impacts and sustainability of the programme

• To what extent were the planned outcomes (based on results assessment framework) and target groups attained and reached as a result of the activities conducted by the SOC? Where the methods/strategies used adequate? How useful were the indicators?
• Did the actions adequately address the needs of the target population?
• What unintended (positive and/or negative) impacts can be observed as a result of the program? What are the key learning points to be taken forward by the organisation?
• Are the achieved results in line with the needs of the SOC beneficiaries?
• How would you rate specific contributions of individual activities to achieved results (most beneficiary activities)? Did the actions allow the programme to achieve the desired results?
• To what degree has the program changed attitudes and behaviours of our target groups?
• What is the likelihood of the beneficiaries continuing to enjoy the positive impact of this program if the program is ended?
• To what extent are the results of the programme sustainable?
• Will further financial support be required to maintain the programs’s outcomes and impacts?

• Have mid- to long-term social/political changes occurred in the BiH/region played a significant role? What evidence is there that the changes can be attributed to the programme work undertaken in the period under review?
• What are the key lessons and practical recommendations for follow-up strategy?

 

Proposed methodology

The proposed methodology comprises of a preliminary desk review, followed by a field phase and contribution to final programme review write-up:

• Conduct desk review of programme documents, including official programme documents, reports and other data;
• Conduct in depth interviews/internal workshops/focus groups with the SOC’s staff and Board, Assembly, volunteers, target groups and beneficiaries but also consultations with external stakeholders such as donors, media, policy makers and other civil society organisations.
• Writing final review report that will capture the programme highlights, feedback, observations, lessons learned and conclusions and will capture key findings and conclusions against the core areas of programme, that can serve for the new process of strategy planning and implementation (organizational level)

 

Outputs

The consultant will provide an evaluation report in English and BHS language of maximum 30 pages per each version, including executive summary of key findings and recommendations and an abridged version of 2-5 pages length. The first draft of the report will be provided no later than February 29th, 2020. The final report will be delivered by March 15th 2020, in electronic format to SOC.

 

The final report will include, but not will be limited to:

Executive Summary (structured in accordance with the overall report)

Table of Contents

Introduction

Methodology

Political Framework Conditions

Organizational Design

Brief Description of Program

Evaluation of the methods/strategies of SOC work

Evaluation of the Results and Impact/Effectivity

Relevance

Planning and Coherence

Sustainability

Conclusions and recommendations for the formulation of interventions beyond the current strategy

 

Qualifications

• Understanding the LGBTI and women’s issues in BiH context;
• Solid understanding of the existing legal, institutional and administrative set up in Bosnia and Herzegovina linked to LGBTI and women’s issues
• Extensive programme monitoring and evaluation experience in the field of LGBTI and women’s issues
• Full working knowledge of English and B/C/S languages, and excellent report writing

 

Please submit your CV and financial offer to [email protected], no later than 22^nd of January 2020.