Job Title: Project Evaluator – Youth & Peace at Kofi Annan Foundation
Job Description
Introduction
These terms of reference are designed for the evaluation of the Bridges to Peace project which was launched on 1 January 2023 in Uganda. Funded by the European Union (EU), this project is a joined partnership of the Kofi Annan Foundation (KAF) and the Uganda Muslim Youth Development Forum (UMYDF).
The 18-month project is due to finish on 30 June 2024. The evaluation will take place towards the end of the project, in May-June 2024, to assess the project impact.
2. Background
Following the surge in violent extremism in 2021 in Uganda, the Bridges to Peace project was designed to enhance community preparedness and resilience to violent extremism in four districts affected by this deterioration in peace and security (Kampala, Masaka, Lwengo and Bugiri). Several factors make the country vulnerable to violence, including the lack of meaningful socio-economic opportunities among at-risk communities contributing to both voluntary and involuntary recruitment into armed groups; minority groups’ perceptions of social, economic, and political marginalization; human rights abuses perpetrated in the context of the government’s counter-terrorism response; and lack of civil society’s capacity to prevent violence.
Using training workshops, community stories videos, participatory radio drama programmes, knowledge exchange opportunities, community dialogues, sub-grants and inter-faith exhibits, the project aims to decrease the vulnerability of those most at risk of being driven into violent extremism, as well as to raise the wider community’s awareness and preventative response in hotspot districts. More specifically, Bridges to Peace works with at-risk women and youth, civil society organizations, local government entities, community influencers and media professionals, to:
• Raise awareness and increase communities’ preparedness to violent extremism in districts and cities particularly affected by it.
• Build the capacity of community members and at-risk individuals to positively engage with other groups and worldviews and to promote social cohesion.
• Help civil society organizations design and implement their own effective interventions
designed to prevent or counter violent extremism.
• Contribute to the peaceful reintegration of former combatants.
3. Objectives of the Evaluation
The main objective of the evaluation is to assess the results, achievements, challenges and lessons learnt of the Bridges to Peace project in contributing to reducing incidents of violent extremism and support for such acts in Uganda. The evaluation is expected to analyse the effectiveness of the project strategies to achieve the intended outcomes and to provide recommendations for maximising impact and enhancing future projects’ implementation. The evaluation will be of interest to KAF, UMYDF and the EU, and will inform the Bridges to Peace final report to the EU.
The evaluation will assess and analyse the effectiveness of the project by responding to the following key questions:
Relevance and added value
• Is the project relevant to the needs of the country and the project beneficiaries when it comes to addressing the recent uptick in violent extremism?
• Are the project’s theory of change and methodology relevant for attaining the objective of contributing to reducing incidents of violent extremism and support for such acts in Uganda? • Coherence of the project:
o Does the project show internal coherence e.g., are there synergies and interlinkages between the different components of the project, and with other peace and security projects led by KAF and UMYDF? o Does the project show external coherence e.g., does it add value and avoid duplication of efforts? Is there complementarity and efforts towards coordination and interactions with other stakeholders and donors involved in similar actions during the life of the project?
• How has the project managed to remain relevant and to adapt to the evolution of the context, especially the volatile security situation?
• Has the project engaged the right target groups to meet its objectives?
• Have both women and men been involved, and how has gender been considered in the
project activities (including intersectionality)?
Efficiency and Effectiveness
• Has the project achieved its intended results? Were there any unintended outcomes and
outputs (both positive and negative)?
• Which strategies employed have been most and least effective in achieving the project’s
objectives? Why?
• Has the project effectively increased community awareness of the risk of violent extremism, and target groups’ capacities in preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE)?
(Change in attitude, values or behaviour at individual level)
• Has increased knowledge on P/CVE encouraged the target groups to share what they have learned with their communities and engage in P/CVE activities? (Change in attitude, values or
behaviour at group level)
Impact and Sustainability
• What was the effect of the baseline research on the project’s intervention strategy?
• Has the project contributed to increased interaction between different faith groups, and
between at-risk community leaders and state authorities? (Change in relationships)
• Has the project led to the creation of sustainable collaboration among target groups, or
between UMYDF and other stakeholders engaged in P/CVE?
• How relevant are the experience and lessons learned drawn from the project to KAF’s and UMYDF’s work beyond the lifespan of the project? And to the P/CVE work of other CSOs and policymakers from the region and internationally?
• What are key recommendations for strengthening the project’s ability and strategy for achieving its outcomes and overall vision?
• Has the project contributed to strengthening KAF’s and UMYDF’s capacities and preparedness to further conduct P/CVE projects in the future?
4. Methodology:
The evaluation will be both an objective and consultative exercise, and will involve the following elements:
Documentary review: a review of relevant documentation; including the original project document; project reports and updates; baseline research report; training resources; audio-visual material.
Stakeholder interviews: including with the project teams of the Kofi Annan Foundation and Uganda
Muslim Youth Development Forum; project donor (European Commission); and people and communities engaged in the project activities.
Focus group discussions: with a group of stakeholders as necessary and relevant.
Activity observation: follow some of the on-the-ground and/or wider dissemination activities.
The use of specific methods for evaluating peace work, such as Reflecting on Peace Practice1 and
Outcome Harvesting2, or methodologies particularly adapted to evaluate sensitive P/CVE programmes3 (e.g. random response and endorsement experiments to assess level of support for the use of violence) will be particularly relevant.
The evaluator(s) will be expected to use a ‘do-no-harm’ approach when designing and implementing the external evaluation. Particular attention will be given to the sensitive and security-relevant nature of preventing and countering violent extremism when developing the methodology for data collection, especially interviews with target groups. Extra care will be needed to ensure that information is not mishandled or inappropriately shared and that it complies with the EU General Data Protection Regulation.
5. Deliverables:
Inception report: Following a detailed briefing but before fully engaging in the analysis and interviews, the evaluator(s) will present an inception report of no more than 8 pages, detailing further how they will explore the major questions listed above, with a tentative list of the people to be contacted, the criteria for any choice of locations, and a tentative timetable.
Draft report: A draft report will be presented to the Kofi Annan Foundation, and shortly thereafter discussed in a workshop format.
Final report: The final report will be in English and contain findings with analysis and supporting evidence and recommendations. An executive summary of no more than 5 pages will precede the full report. A map, a list of key documents consulted, a list of people interviewed, and other detailed materials will be attached in annex.
1.https://www.cdacollaborative.org/publication/the-use-of-reflecting-on-peace-practice-in-peacebuildingevaluation/
2 .https://outcomeharvesting.net/
3.See USIP (2018), Measuring Up – Evaluating the Impact of P/CVE Programs
https://www.usip.org/publications/2018/09/measuring-monitoring-and-evaluating-pcve-programs
The report will:
• Provide a brief introduction, followed by sections with the findings, analysis and supporting evidence for the main domains of inquiry listed above (“key questions”).
• The closing section of the report will provide a reasoned and balanced appreciation of the overall relevance and performance of the project indicating strengths and weaknesses, and recommendations for the future of the work.
• The annexes will include a list of people interviewed (including anonymized names if needed), a list of key documents consulted, and possibly longer case studies. These case studies should be no more than 2-3 pages, succinctly spelling out the background context, what happened and what resulted from it. They should also provide substantiating evidence, for example, in the form of quotations, anecdotes or testimonies; referencing to documents relevant to the case; observable or observed changes in behaviours or relationships; and apparent changes in trends, among others.
6. Qualifications
The evaluator(s) will be expected to have the following skills and experience:
• Experience in conducting evaluations of programmes seeking to build peace and/or prevent violent extremism and of their specific sensitive and security-relevant nature; and a proven record of delivering professional outputs against Terms of Reference;
• Strong knowledge of and experience with programmes aiming to Prevent and Counter Violent Extremism (P/CVE);
• Experience working in Uganda and understanding of its peace and security context;
• An advanced command of English; knowledge of Luganda and/or Lusoga is considered an advantage;
• Excellent writing skills;
• Ability to communicate using everyday language for interviews and focus groups with project participants and to translate results and content into analytical reflections;
• Ability to work with tight deadlines;
• Gender- and faith-sensitivity;
• Conflict-sensitive and ethical interviewing practice, sound judgement and confidentiality.
7. Tentative Timeframe:
*The evaluation itself (review of documents; interviews and report writing) is envisaged to take a maximum of 20 days, including 10 days in Uganda for data collection. The evaluator(s) will submit a draft report within 10 days of completing the fieldwork. They will provide a final report based on feedback on the draft report within 3 days of receiving such comments.
*The evaluator(s) will hold a feedback meeting with the Kofi Annan Foundation, UMYDF and the EU.
*This will be an opportunity to debrief stakeholders on the evaluation and share and exchange views on the preliminary findings and recommendations.
*The anticipated start date is early May with submission of the final report in mid-June. The final timeframe will be agreed upon with the selected consultants.
Method of Application:
Applications must be sent in English to HR@kofiannanfoundation.org by March 3rd, 2024 at 23.59 CET and include the following:
• A technical and financial proposal (no longer than 3 pages, with the financial offer in EUR)
• A CV (max. 2 pages) for proposed evaluator(s) detailing relevant previous experience of evaluation and knowledge of the country;
• A sample of a previous evaluation report, when possible;
• 3 references.
Important:
• Only applications received before the deadline and conforming to the requirements set out above will be considered.
• Applicants will be contacted only if they are shortlisted.
