Call for Proposals – IOM عودة إلى الفرص

Final external evaluation of Regional Development and Protection  Programme North Africa Development Pillar Phase I and mid-term evaluation of Phase II 

The UN agency for Migration – IOM Tunisia is looking for a Consultant according to the  terms of reference stipulated below.

Please note that applications should be in English  

Funded by: European Union  

Commissioned by: IOM 

Managed by: IOM 

I.Evaluation Context

Established in 1951, IOM is the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration and  works closely with governmental, intergovernmental, and non-governmental partners. IOM is  dedicated to promoting safe, orderly, and regular migration for the benefit of all. It does so by  providing services and advice to governments and migrants.  

Due to bottlenecks in migrant integration in North Africa, caused by difficulties in accessing the formal  labour market and persistent discrimination, IOM is implementing the project “Regional Development  and Protection Programme North Africa – Development Pillar” (RDPP NA DEV) funded by the European  Union (DG NEAR). The project targets five countries (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia). The  first phase of the project, funded under the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI), started in  February 2016, and ended in October 2020, and the second phase of the project, funded under the EU  Trust Fund Africa (EUTF) North Africa window, began in January 2019, and will end in December 2021,  with a potential extension until the end of 2022 RDPP NA DEV aims at strengthening the resilience of  migrants together with their host communities. The project seeks to shape public opinion on migrants  and to enhance integration via interventions that focus on non-discrimination and access to the labour  market.  

The Regional Development and Protection Programme (RDPP) for North Africa, aims at improving  the protection of migrants as agents of development by facilitating dignified living conditions and  opportunities. At the same time, the programme supports the welfare of migrants and host societies  by promoting their empowerment and resilience.  

The RDPP NA Strategy contains both a protection and a development pillar. This project falls within  the development pillar, which has as objectives the enhancement of economic opportunities for  migrants and host communities; the preventing and controlling discrimination and strengthening of  social cohesion through improved, more inclusive services; and addressing potential tensions between  migrants and host communities. These goals are attained by building the capacity of civil society  organizations, the private sectors, unions, and local authorities to deliver needed services, by  supporting the local level projects to provide economic opportunities for migrant and host  communities, and by developing initiatives to enhance social cohesion and the realization of migrants’  rights, in particular their right not to be discriminated against, and their right to adequate housing and  to work. 

Under the direct supervision of the RDPP NA DEV Regional Senior Project Manager and the Monitoring  and Evaluation and Reporting Officer of the project, both based in Tunisia, and in close coordination  with the relevant project Coordinators in the five implementing countries, the Regional Monitoring  and Evaluation Officer and the Regional Thematic Specialist on Labour Mobility and Human  Development, the successful candidate will conduct: 1) a final evaluation of RDPP NA DEV phase 1; and  2) a mid-term evaluation of RDPP NA Phase 2. IOM Tunisia, together with IOM’s Regional Offices in  Cairo and Brussels, will provide technical support and guidance in their respective fields of  expertise during the process. The two evaluations should provide IOM and the main partners with a  critical retrospective analysis of the actions implemented as well as precise orientations for the future.  

II.Purpose and objectives of the Evaluation

The evaluation is an end-cycle (final for RDPP NA DEV phase 1) and a mid-term (for RDPP NA DEV phase  2) evaluation to be conducted through an external consultant or firm. The evaluation is intended to  improve programme management and ensure accountability to the project’s beneficiaries and donor.  The main objective is to evaluate the program’s performance against the desired results as articulated 

in the projects’ result frameworks. Recommendations will be used to improve the program  processes as well as the anticipated results in the most sustainable, effective, relevant, and efficient  manner. 

The evaluation specific objectives aim to: 

• Assess the overall project’s performance from planning, implementation, and knowledge  management by identifying the key strengths and areas of gaps and make the  necessary recommendations for future improvement. 
• Document vital lessons-learned/best practices resulting from RDPP NA DEV phases 1 & 2  response for future strategies and intervention. 
• Understand better what the project has achieved in relation to gender-mainstreaming and overall results. 
• Support the use of relevant and timely contributions to organizational learning, informed  decision-making processes resulting from the analysis, conclusions, or recommendations as  well as accountability for results. 
• Endorse IOM’s obligation on transparency and Accountability to the Affected Populations  (AAP), donors and the five project countries’ governmental authorities. 

The evaluation intends to help improve the project’s processes as well as the implementation of RDPP  NA DEV phase II. It will bring specific attention to lessons learned and best practices at a strategic level  to improve learning for future interventions primarily for future implementation as well as contribute  beyond the organization by generating knowledge and empowering stakeholders. 

III. Scope 

The scope will focus on the three thematic areas of the RDPP NA DEV as below from 2016: 

➢ Increased integration of migrants in project countries’ labour markets (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia). 

➢ Increased social cohesion between migrants and their host communities (Algeria, Egypt, Libya,  Morocco, and Tunisia). 

➢ Increased protection and direct assistance of migrants, particularly migrants in vulnerable  situations (Morocco). 

The above thematic areas are priority areas for the RDPP NA DEV. The geographical focus will  be Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia. The consultant/firm should be based in Tunis, the  regional management site of the RDPP NA DEV. Two previous evaluations / monitoring exercises have  been conducted on the RDPP NA DEV, both mid-term evaluations of Phase 1: a) an internal IOM  evaluation; and b) a monitoring exercise (ROM) by the project donor, the European Union (DG NEAR).  Efforts shall be exerted to ensure the inclusivity and engagement of relevant stakeholders to bring out  their voices on how they perceived the implementation of RDPP NA DEV; notably, migrants, host  communities, and government counterparts. 

Objectives and outputs of the RDPP NA DEV phase 2 project: 

Specific Objective 1 Increased public awareness and enhanced capacity of local civil society and  media to address migration including displacement issues 

Result 1.1: The needs of migrants and their host communities in the targeted countries are  properly assessed

Result 1.2: Coordination and response mechanisms are enhanced in the target countries with a  particular focus on the empowerment of local CSOs dealing with migrants and their  host communities 

Result 1.3 Public communications and information on migrants including displaced populations  based on facts and evidence is encouraged and developed through local media and  other relevant stakeholders, with a particular focus on the respect of fundamental  rights and the facilitation of dialogue and social cohesion at local level. 

Specific Objective 2: Migrants and their host communities are empowered through sustainable  interventions at local level, with a particular focus on socio-economic development  needs and on the promotion of rights, dialogue and social cohesion 

Result 2.1: Migrants and their host communities have means for improving their economic and  social well-being, and supporting, whenever relevant, inclusive local economic  development plans 

Result 2.2: A culture of rights, dialogue and social cohesion and the protection of vulnerable  groups are encouraged and strengthened at community level 

The evaluation processes shall be in line with IOM Data Protection Principles, IOM code of conduct, do  no harm principles, UNEG norms and standards for evaluations. IOM Tunisia will provide  technical support and guidance during the process, in coordination with IOM Regional Offices in Cairo  and Brussels, in their respective fields of expertise. The M&E Regional Advisor in IOM’s Regional Office  in Cairo will be consulted when deemed necessary. Clear financial track between the evaluation parts  related to RDPP phase 1 and to RDPP phase 2 will be ensured.  

IV.Evaluation criteria

The project’s performance will be evaluated according to the OECD/DAC evaluations quality standards  based on the criteria of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, and impact. 

1. Evaluation questions 

As an example, and without claiming to be exhaustive, some guiding questions on evaluation  expectations are proposed in the following list, by criterion: 

• Relevance: 

– Does the project comply with international reference frameworks, in particular the SDGs and  the Global Compact for Migration? 

– Was the project relevant and coherent with respect to the current context of the target  countries? 

– Was  phase 1 and is  phase 2 relevant to the needs and priorities of the target groups?  – Were the awareness raising/training/advocacy approaches deployed relevant?  – Were the actions carried out in line with the needs of national and local stakeholders / with  the partners’ capacities? 

– Were the activities carried out in coordination/cooperation with other national and local  actors, and was the choice of these collaborations relevant?  

• Effectiveness:

– Are the results achieved in line with the initial expected results?  

– To what extent has the specific objectives been achieved in relation to the defined indicators?  – To what extent are the key partners and other direct actors satisfied with the results of the  project?  

– Has the project created cohesion, a dynamic of consultation and cooperation between the  stakeholders?  

– Did the awareness-raising, training and advocacy actions bring the expected results? – Have innovative experiences of the project, in particular those supported through calls for  initiatives, been exchanged with other actors? If not, what local or external synergies should  be developed? 

– Were the partnerships developed, particularly in the context of initiatives, effective?  – How were the obstacles encountered overcome/bypassed? Were some activities reinforced  (or on the contrary reduced, reoriented)? If so, what were the main causes and what were the  main results? 

• Efficiency: 

– Were the resources mobilized (human, material and financial) in relation to the objectives  achieved adapted to the project activities?  

– Were the resources wisely used to ensure maximum results? 

– Are the results observed commensurate with the resources invested? – Were there any delays in the implementation of activities? If so, what influence did this have  on the conduct and progress of the project? 

– To what extent M&E mechanisms and data used to inform decisions about programme  efficiency during implementation? 

• Impact: 

– What are the effects of the project (positive and negative) felt by the direct and indirect  beneficiaries, the partners? How do they feel? Are the changes sustainable?  – What has been the project impact and what intervention components contributed to the  observed signs of impact if any? 

– Did the inclusive initiatives supported by the project generate the expected effects on migrants  in the regions targeted by the action? 

– Are other associations/institutions/services involved in the field inspired by the methods and  approaches developed by the project? 

– What measures should be taken to reinforce / guarantee this impact in the long term?  

• Sustainability: 

– What project activities and mechanisms put in motions are likely to live on after the project  has ended?  

– Have the actors at the local level appropriated the system set up?  

– What project activities and benefits are likely to continue beyond project closure? – What lessons can be learned to extend the action in terms of devices or strategy to be  implemented?  

– What progress has the project made in terms of appropriation of the principles of migrants’  integration? 

• Coherence: 

– Did the project strategy respond to the priorities of IOM’s regional strategies in Africa and in  MENA, its partners and its donors? 

– What is the added value of the initiatives supported by IOM in comparison with other  initiatives carried out in parallel on the same territory and/or the same theme? – Is the project in line with the priorities established by local, regional, or national authorities in  the field of migration in general, and social cohesion and economic integration in particular?  

• Coordination:  

– Have synergies and alliances with other local, national, or international actors working in the  field, local development in the area been created? Was the choice of these collaborations  relevant? 

– Have innovative experiences of the project been exchanged with other actors on a national or  international level? If not, what local or external synergies could have been developed? – What is the degree of synergy between the project and the different state entities? Can this  synergy be described as sustainable? 

• Coverage: 

– Has the project succeeded in reaching the intended target groups? 

– Was the selection of beneficiaries for the main project actions done appropriately? – To what extent were the beneficiaries’ representative of the main socio-demographic  characteristics of the population (gender, age, place of residence)? 

• Gender equality:  

– To what extent has the project benefits equally distributed among priority women/men target  beneficiaries? 

– How has the project contributed to the reduction of gender inequalities?

V. Evaluation Methodology 

The evaluation

should provide an overall assessment of the quality of the work done (strengths,  weaknesses) and of the results achieved in relation to the objectively verifiable objectives and  indicators mentioned in the project document, based on the criteria. The evaluation will aim to  measure (assess, verify, make sense of, interpret) what has been done, and to highlight the  achievements of the project. It will have to verify which objectives have been reached, both in terms  of results and in terms of dynamics and processes. 

Due to COVID-19 related travel restrictions, innovative methods to gather data from project  stakeholders will be necessary. Data to be collected and analysed should include both quantitative and  qualitative methods: The consultant/firm should include proposed methods of data collection in the  submitted technical proposal, but may include:  

1. Field visits/site observation of service delivery points in selected locations in Tunisia. 2. Desk reviews of project documents, narrative, and financial statements.  
2. Focus group discussions (FGDs) using both structured and semi-structured questionnaires for  some selected beneficiaries, using remote interview methods (such as migrants, host  communities, institutional actors, private sector, CSO; implementation partners). 
3. Key informant interviews (KIIs) with relevant authorities, community leaders, staff involved in  the implementation and supervision of the project at regional level. 
4. Interviews and surveys with project beneficiaries.

6 

Ethics, norms and standards  

The evaluation processes shall be in line with IOM Data Protection Principles, IOM code of conduct, do  no harm principles, UNEG norms and standards for evaluations. The M&E Regional Advisor in IOM’s Regional Office in Cairo will be consulted when deemed necessary. 

1. Deliverables

The evaluator is expected to produce:  

1. Inception report comprising data collection tools, evaluation matrix and workplans 
2. 2 * Draft evaluation report (a phase I end line evaluation, and a phase II midpoint  

evaluation) submitted for comments by programme stakeholders (at least internal  

stakeholders) 

3. 2 * final evaluation (a phase I end line evaluation, and a phase II midpoint evaluation)  reports that integrate comments from stakeholders 
4. Progress reports during the evaluation 
5. Presentation of preliminary findings 
6. Presentation of the final reports 
7. Workshop for evaluation intended users (encouraged in possible) to facilitate use
   8. A two-pager evaluation brief 

   Two separate reports will be produced, the first evaluating the entirety of RDPP NA DEV phase one,  and the second analysing RDPP NA DEV phase two so far. 

   VII. Evaluation Proposed Workplan 

VIII. Indicative calendar 

The total day should be approximately 40 to 45 days, to be refined according to the proposals.  The evaluation should start as soon as possible. 

The consultant or team of consultants should propose a detailed work plan, clearly outlining the  different phases of the evaluation, in particular the different stages of interim and final  reporting.