ActionAid Nigeria is an affiliate of ActionAid International, an International Non-Governmental organisation registered in The Netherlands with its headquarters in Johannesburg South Africa. ActionAid International works in more than 40 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas.

POSITION : Consultant - SCEEP Endline Evaluation

The Project

• ActionAid Nigeria and BBC Media Action, with support from the UK Department for International Development (DFID) is implementing the Strengthening Citizens’ Engagement in the Electoral Process (SCEEP) project from July 2014 to March 2018. The project is aimed at strengthening the electoral engagement of women, youth and persons with disability in Nigeria. The project started in in 10 States;  Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, Bauchi, Adamawa, Lagos, Oyo, Imo, Akwa Ibom and Rivers states of Nigeria and subsequently reduced to six (6) states. The SCEEP project also engages issues at the national level
• The project intends to reach 21,680,000 adult Nigerians through its intervention within the four-year of implementation. It also plans to influence the changes listed below:
  • Women, youth and persons living with disability participating and influencing electoral politics.
  • Target audiences reporting increases in knowledge of democratic process, the political candidates and their policies.
  • Journalists being better trained and more confident in producing responsible political journalism and programmes.
  • Media organisations creating opportunities for political debate, with increased participation from women, youth and people living with disabilities.
  • Nigerian electoral system being more inclusive of women, youth and persons living with disability.
• The SCEEP project is expected to deliver citizens engagement that enhances citizens’ inclusion and influence in the electoral process, holding elected leaders at all levels to account in delivering on their social contract or manifestos and upholding the socio-economic and political rights of citizens.

Background

• The SCEEP project commenced in July 2014 and it is expected to run through March 2018 . The SCEEP project is already at the end of the fourth year of implementation. During this period   engagements had been undertaken by the the implementation team of the project consisting of ActionAid Nigeria and BBC Media Action with project beneficiaries applying the theory of change and the proposed delivery approaches
• A baseline was conducted in March, 2015, to ensure that the measurement of the project’s impact and part of its outcome is possible at the end of the four-year project. This survey was necessary to show the perception of citizens with regards to service delivery and the responsiveness of governance and governance institutions as well as their knowledge of political and governance process in SCEEP targeted states and communities in 2014. The baseline survey did assess the extent to which citizens consider that they are able to advocate for and claim their rights through elected officials and public institutions
• In March 2018, SCEEP is now expected to conduct an endline survey to appraise the relevance and effectiveness of the approaches/ strategies used in the implementation of the SCEEP project. The end-line findings is expected to showcase the attribution and contribution of the SCEEP project, acclaimed results in relation to the contextual analysis for the future years of possible SCEEP replication or continuation.
• ActionAid Nigeria is therefore requesting for the services of a consultant with considerable experience of project monitoring and evaluation, design of M&E systems to conduct an endline survey for the SCEEP Project impact and outcome indicators under the following terms of reference. This term of reference (ToR) provide parameters to evaluate the project.

Purpose and Objectives of the Consultancy

• The main purpose of the evaluation is to assess the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness and impact of the SCEEP; lessons learnt and best practices that could be replicated and shared
• The evaluation will also analyse challenges and critical risk factors that may have, and how they impacted on the project and take into account internal and external relationships and complementarity with election related processes such as voter education, election campaigns, debates amongst others and institutions the INEC, SIECs, other stakeholders and project funders.

The Specific Objectives shall be:

• Review SCEEP project routine monthly, Quarterly and annual reports, and develop a consolidated report showing the summary of activities, results tracker and challenges.
• To assess and document evidence of impact of the SCEEP project with reference to reviewing the results that the project intended to achieve in relation to the geographical focus of the project (This would be the 10 states of the project at the inception)
• To appraise the relevance and effectiveness of the approaches/ strategies used in the implementation of the SCEEP project; as well as keeping in mind the achievement of the objectives (including the unintended results (either positive or negative) and sustainability of the project.
• Conduct a participatory contextual analysis in relation to other election related projects and partnerships for the future years of SCEEP replication or continuation.
• Identify examples of best practices, lessons learnt and present concrete recommendations should there be a next phase of the project while keeping in mind the electoral processes and proposed reform context in Nigeria.

Line of Inquiry:

• Strategy for Citizens’ demands generation leading to positive alteration in the landscape.
• Citizens’ participation and engagement in elections, broader policy and governance processes through enhanced access to information
• Evidence of increased transparency and accountability of government functions to citizens and civil society as a result of SCEEP activities.
• Enhanced responsiveness of government functions through citizens’ engagement.
• Local organisations and communities are empowered to articulate community rights and entitlements and influence local policy-decision making processes.
• Civil society organisations engaged in civic education activities and opportunities for dialogue between CSOs and the state have increased
• SCEEP’s role in strengthening and supporting CSOs capacity to promoting Citizen Participation:
  • Facilitating Provision of Quality Civic Education
  • Facilitating Implementing partners to support citizen engagement
  • Capacity Building support to agencies of  governments
  • Build a critical mass by use of media support
  • Advocacy, networking & Research

Scope and Focus of the Evaluation

• The evaluation will focus on the following key issues and guiding questions
• In addition to these issues the consultant is expected to raise and respond to relevant issues emerging during the review
• The consultant is expected to suggests additional guiding questions relevant to the evaluation.

Relevance of Project Strategies:

• How did the project interventions relate to the problem identified by the local stakeholders at the baseline? How did the project interventions minimise these problems?
• Are the project interventions being implemented relevant to “beneficiary” needs and effectiveness in expanding citizen engagement and participation in the elections? Are they replicable? Is the coverage adequate? Are they sustainable?
• Are project interventions in line with policies, best practices and strategies of local partners, government and other stakeholders?
• How appropriate were the women, PWDs and youth mainstreaming strategies utilised in the project, if any?

Effectiveness:

• Were SCEEP partners and target groups (PWDs, Women and Young People) actively contributing to the development process and were they able to influence decisions?
• What level of influence did they feel they made during the period of the project?
• How did the partners work with government at various levels? What adaptations needed to be made to strengthen partnerships?
• Did the SCEEP intervention meet the project objectives? What could have been done differently?
• What were the advocacy strategies being used by partners in the project and how can these be improved? Were objectives and activities sufficiently clearly defined? Were they relevant to the context and to the envisaged outcome of the project?
• Where roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders, including funders, clearly defined?

Efficiency and VfM:

• How well did the project prioritise resources in response to local needs/context?
• How well did the project build on the existing strengths and capacities of the partners?

Sustainability:

• What sustainable interventions and structures were established during the duration of the project? Could sustainability have been enhanced by working differently?

Impact:

• Have the capacities of communities and partners strengthened to make well-informed decisions concerning enduring solutions for themselves and their communities?
• Has there been a tangible and direct impact in terms of?
• Increased responsiveness of government and state institutions?
• Expanded civil society space and citizen participation. How much and where? If not, why?
• What unexpected changes took place that can be attributed to the project?
• Are there ways the impact could have been enhanced?

Strengths and Weaknesses:

• Determine strengths (including successful innovations and promising practices) and weaknesses (factors impeding success) of the project planning, design, implementation, funding, monitoring and evaluation.

Policies and Guidelines:

• How did the project activities take into account the specific needs of vulnerable groups?
• How were women, young people and PWDs involved in the planning and implementation of the project?

Methodology
Desk Review:

• The Consultant will evaluate the project’s documentation including but not confined to project proposals, budget and project management  update reports, the quarterly project reports to DFID, MOUs and any other document required

Field Mission:

• The evaluation will include field visits to consult with beneficiaries, partners, project staff and experts, and other stakeholders. The evaluation is expected to be no longer than 30 days
• The Consultant in conjunction AAN (SCEEP) will organise the visits and it is expected that the team (The Consultant) will propose the best methodology to deliver on the evaluation

Interviews with Stakeholders:

• Consultations in the field will be held with relevant stakeholders including organisations working in the media, elections, women rights, PWDs, youth and good governance sectors
• Interviews should also be held with representatives from BBC Media and other Consortium members involved in this project
• The Consultant will identify the appropriate sampling technique that is consistent with the various contexts during the project’s implementation.

Situational Analysis:

• The evaluation process should include a participatory situation analysis with stakeholders.

Activities Envisaged
The Consultant(s) will prepare the evaluation work plan (inception report) that will operationalise and direct the evaluation. The plan will address:

• Expectations of evaluation
• Roles and responsibilities of AAN, consultant, and partners
• Evaluation framework and methodology
• Data collection and analysis
• Work scheduling
• Reporting

Anticipated Outputs:

• A draft work plan/inception report is to be submitted within seven (7) working days of signing of the contract.
• After receiving the comments, the Consultant should submit the final work plan within 3 days.
• A draft evaluation report should be received within 2 weeks of returning from the field.
• Final concise report capturing evaluation expectations, best practices, sections on media, project beneficiaries and case studies to be submitted not later than 2 weeks of receiving comments on the draft report. The final report should include: Executive summary, main report and attachments of all partners visited, ToRs, work schedule, clear recommendations and suggestions for future project design, fundraising etc. The report should not be more than 30 pages without annexes.

Time Frame

• The evaluation is expected to take place for 21 - 30 days. A final work schedule with dates will be developed in agreement with AAN and local partners involved in the project and consultant.

Deliverables

• Expectations of evaluation
• Roles and responsibilities of AAN, consultant and partners  and work scheduling
• Evaluation framework and methodology
• Data collection and analysis
• Reporting

Key Tasks
In line with the core evaluation protocol that has been prepared, key tasks to be considered include:

• Desk review of project (including baselines, project review reports etc.), projects and partner documents; and review of government policies and relevant secondary data
• Field visits for interviews and partner meetings
• Systematically assess and document what was done under the project to achieve the targeted outcomes
• Identify and document evidence on what targeted project outcomes have actually materialised, as well as any relevant unintended outcomes including lessons learnt and best practices and can be used similar projects in future
• Analysis of information and data gathered: In light of other contributing factors, and using all available evidence, assess the significance of SCEEP’s contribution and the distinct value that it has added as a Facilitating Partner. 
• Draft report to be shared with AAN for review and comments
• Final report/power point highlighting outcome of the evaluation

Qualifications and Experience

• A Post-graduate Degree in Social Sciences or Project Management
• Minimum of 10 years of work experience in the area of democratic governance, at least 5 years of which should include evaluation of election-related projects and programmes.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to communicate and summarize this analysis in writing.
• A good understanding of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies.
• Familiarity with survey design, data entry and analysis.
• Excellent research writing skills

Management and Reporting Lines

• The Consultant(s) shall submit their reports to the Impact Assessment and Shared Learning Manager and SCEEP Governance Manager at ActionAid Nigeria, who will provide technical oversight to the Consultants and confirm reports satisfactory before payments are made.

How To Apply
Candidates should send their Expression of Interests (EOIs) to:Procurement.Nigeria@actionaid.org  
More details here)