Invitation to Bid: an Independent External End-Term Evaluator – HIVOS Retour vers les opportunités

Project: GreenWorks 

Study Title: External End-Term Evaluation GreenWorks LEAD Program 

Duration: 3 months (mid-March until end-June 2024) 

Location & geographical coverage: Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia.  

Deadline: March 7th, 2024. 

Start date: March 15th, 2024 

About Hivos  

Hivos is an international organization guided by humanist values, that works for a world where  people can realize their full potential, unleashing their ingenuity and creativity to build fair, just  and life sustaining societies for themselves and generations to come. We work in partnership  with others in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America in three impact areas: 1) civic rights  in a digital age, 2) climate justice, and 3) gender equality, diversity and inclusion. Our approach  is solution driven, and we build wider movements for change by amplifying and connecting  voices. To ensure continuity and expansion of our work, we aim to diversify our sources of  funding and increase our funding base. 

About GreenWorks 

GreenWorks is a program developed by Hivos, a Netherlands-based INGO, and implemented in  collaboration with various local partner organizations across North-Africa (Algeria, Egypt &  Tunisia). Hivos and the local partners are referred to as the Alliance. The program initially ran  from January 2020 until December 2024, but received a 6-month No-Cost Extension until June  2024. 

The program aims to contribute to climate change mitigation by creating sustainable business  and job opportunities for more than 9000 young women and men in the green economy in North  Africa. To this end, it focuses on:

1. supporting the creation of “innovation clusters” that enable businesses in the green and digital economies to scale
2. enhancing the capacities of Business Development Support Organizations and Employability Hubs to create jobs and develop private sector activities beyond program support 
3. training youth in 21st-century skills to afford them economic opportunities in future oriented green sectors
4. enabling social enterprises operating in the green economies to scale their businesses and create new jobs

GreenWorks is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the Local Employment for  African Development (LEAD II). LEAD is implemented by four NGO-consortia led by SOS, Oxfam,  Hivos and SPARK in Somalia, Nigeria, Mali, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia. The program aims to  strengthen the SME ecosystem, enhance employability of youth, create new jobs, and stimulate  youth entrepreneurship.  

Program Scale 

Out of the 3 target countries, the biggest bulk of activities is implemented in Egypt, followed by  Tunisia and Algeria. GreenWorks Alliance members consist of a variety of BDSOs and investor  networks, including Nahdet El Mahrousa, ElSpace, ElRehla, The Tunisian Center for Social  Entrepreneurship, AUC VLab, Clean Tech Arabia, Flat6Labs Tunisia, Wasabi, Fondation Tunisie  Pour Development, Sylabs, Impact Partner, ElSpace Innovation Hub, Med Angels Investment  Network, Education for Employment Tunisia, and Alexandria Angels. In addition, Hivos launched  a matching fund under GreenWorks, supporting more than a dozen green startups spread over  the 3 targeted countries.  

The Evaluation 

The evaluation will look into the program’s overall impact, taking into account the design and key  assumptions underlying the implementation, as well as changes made as part of the 2022 mid term review. It will place findings in the context of regional and global developments such as  covid that have had an impact on the program, and provide lessons learned and recommendations for future implementation. Of course, the evaluation will also look at the effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability of the program. The assessing consultant/entity is  expected to either conduct field visits or contract local researchers to work closely with the  alliance partners on the ground to (1) validate and check samples of impact documentation and  (2) conduct qualitative interviews with beneficiaries. 

Evaluation Questions 

The following key questions will guide the end of project evaluation:  

Project Design and Key Assumptions 

• In what ways has the program managed to support Business support organizations to undergo organizational change and pivot towards a green economy?
• How has enhancing the capacities of BDSOs resulted in increased ability to implement long-term job creation and private sector development activities?
• Were BDSOs and employability hubs able to attract sufficient young women for their activities, in line with project assumptions?
• Have we managed to catalyze and de-risk private investments in green social enterprises? Has more funding become available to green social enterprises, and what has the role of the program been in this compared to other actors? 
• To what extent has upskilling youth result in tackling the mismatch between supply and demand in local labour?

Effectiveness  

• To what degree has the project succeeded in achieving its outcomes, and to what extent were expectations around these outcomes adapted in the course of the project?
• How effective were the strategies and tools used in the implementation of the project,  both in view of the set outcomes and changing circumstances? 
• To what extent what the team able to effectively respond to changing conditions and circumstances? How have these changes affected the program and what lessons can be learned from this? 
• What external developments influenced the program implementation and to what extent have these affected its impact?
• To what extent have the program’s results met the assumed and actual needs of the beneficiaries?

Efficiency  

• Did the actual results (outputs and outcomes) justify the costs incurred, and would there have been different ways to achieve the same or better results?
• What factors contributed to increasing and reducing program efficiency?
• Did project activities overlap, duplicate or add value to other similar interventions (funded nationally and /or by other donors)?
• How did the project financial management processes and procedures affect project implementation?

Sustainability  

• What is the likelihood of continuation and sustainability of project impact and results after completion of the project?
• How did the program contribute (or not) to sustainability and increased local ownership, and what lessons for the future can be drawn from this?
• What are the key factors that will require attention in order to improve prospects of sustainability of project outcomes and the potential for replication of the approach?
• How were capacities strengthened at the individual and organizational level, and how has  this related to creating local ownership? 
• What are the recommendations for similar support in future?

Expected Methodology and Proposed Approach 

The below is the initial methodology suggested by Hivos. Changes are expected to occur based  on further discussions with the selected applicant.  

1. Collection of and acquaintance with the project M&E plan, program progress reports and other relevant program-related materials.
2. Designing the detailed assessment scope and methodology
3. The assessment will provide quantitative and qualitative data through the following methods:

• Desk study and review of all relevant program documentation including program documents, work-plans and program progress reports & previous mid-term evaluation, synthesis report, etc.;  
• In depth interviews to gather primary data from key stakeholders/ beneficiaries using a structured methodology;
• Focus group discussion with project beneficiaries and other stakeholders;
• Observations. 

1. Undertaking evaluation of program through agreed methods and processes according to agreed framework.
2. The overall objective of the GreenWorks program is to create 9,000 jobs. The contracted  consultant/entities are expected to validate a sample of minimum 10%. 
3. Continuous communication with the Hivos Program Management team to clarify any other matters.
4. Delivering a final evaluation report including findings, lessons learned and recommendations.

Deliverables 

The following deliverables are expected to be delivered during the assignment:

1.  Workplan 

The workplan is expected to be submitted upon conducting a kick-off meeting with the  Hivos team, aligning all parties on the scope of the assignment & methodology, and  collecting and reviewing GreenWorks key documents 

2. First Draft End-Term Evaluation Report 

The draft report is expected to clearly present the findings and analysis of primary as well  as secondary data collected by the consultant 

3. Final End-Term Evaluation Report & Presentation  

The final version of the report should be submitted after addressing all comments  received by the Hivos team. The consultant is also expected to deliver an online  presentation (and submit the PPT slides) on the findings of the report. The exact invitees  to the presentation will be decided on during the assignment. 

Timeline for the Evaluation 

The total duration of the assignment is 3 months. The study is expected to commence mid-March  and conclude by mid-June 2024; exact dates can be found below. It is important to note that the  consultant should be available to accommodate to partners’ working days and schedules across  the region, as necessary. 

Support from Alliance 

Considering the scale of the assessment and the high number of stakeholders, the alliance  partners will provide support to the entity conducting the assessment. Such support would entail: a. Providing all relevant project documents; 

1. Providing all needed data already collected by the implementing entities; c. Provide support- when possible- in collecting further data needed by the entity conducting the assessment;
2. Leveraging network when needed (this includes support in obtaining visas for field visits when needed);
3. Organizing meetings with stakeholders and other partners as determined to be needed by the entity conducting the assessment;
4. Assigning a project officer to act as the communication focal point with the entity conducting the assessment.

Eligibility 

Individual consultants and/or legal entities must be based or have an affiliate in either Algeria,  Egypt, Tunisia are to apply. Consultants and registered legal entities should have a proven track  record of experience on conducting employment/entrepreneurship related evaluations and  impact studies and other similar undertakings.  

Contracted consultants/entities are expected to be able to acquire any needed clearances from  local authorities to conduct this assessment if needed.  

Applicants must be aware that the products of this call will be shared with the Dutch Ministry of  Foreign Affairs.  

Payment 

The consultant is expected to submit the deliverables listed below and receive the corresponding  payments:

Annexes 

DD Results Indicator  Annex 1 – DDE Results Indicator (Final)

Original M&E Framework for the Program developed by Hivos Annex 2 – Original M&E Framework developed by Hivos

GreenWorks Mid-Term Evaluation Report Annex 3 – GreenWorks Mid-Term Evaluation Report

M&E Templates and Questionnaires developed by Hivos (Annex 4) Annex 4.1 Baseline & Endline Survey Template and Annex 4.2 – Partner Data Collection Tool