TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR EXTERNAL FINAL EVALUATION

Kosovo Youth Participation – KYP project

CARE Deutschland e.V. Office in Kosovo- CARE International, within its project “Kosovo Youth Participation - KYP”, financed by the European Union program Advancing the role of civil society for social justice, participation and human rights(EuropeAid/171380/DD/ACT/XK 11/2020-IPA 2019, Contract no. 2021/430-824) is planning to perform a final project evaluation, to reflect on and measure the achieved results.

Consultancy period: 22 May – 28 June 2024, maximum 20 working days.

1. Background and Rationale
CARE’s work in the Balkans started in 1993, when it provided humanitarian support to people affected by war. In the late 90-ties, CARE shifted its focus in the region from humanitarian post-war assistance and rehabilitation to socio-economic development, engaging in interventions directed at conflict prevention and peace-building, sustainable livelihoods, gender equality and the prevention of gender-based violence.

CARE International in the Balkans places the quality of its program at the centre of its mission and has developed a regional strategy that encompasses two main program directions: Gender Equality, Social, and Economic Inclusion. CARE’s Gender Equality Program aims to empower women vulnerable to violence, discrimination and poverty, to reach better life opportunities and social justice and to work on prevention of peer violence and building of tolerance among young men in the Western Balkans. The goal of the Social and Economic Inclusion Program is to strengthen capacity and create opportunities for the marginalized, socially excluded and poor to integrate into society and access rights. CARE’s engagement and contribution lies in strengthening sustainability of key regional, national and/ or local civil society organizations and networks promoting equality and diversity, in the context of social inclusion and non-violence.

Basic Project information

Kosovo Youth Participation - KYP project is implemented by CARE Deutschland e.V. Office in Kosovo, and it seeks to contribute to the active inclusion of civil society in Kosovo in promoting democratic values, inclusive governance and achievement of human rights and fundamental freedoms. More specifically, KYP project aims to foster democratic participation, civic engagement and social inclusion of different groups of marginalised youth, mainly from rural areas and small towns of Kosovo.

Project purposes: Increased capacities and opportunities for the democratic participation, civic engagement and social inclusion of different groups of marginalised youth in Kosovo - youth from rural areas and small towns (especially young women), youth with different possibilities, who are, as a rule, omitted from the opportunities for larger youth involvement and inclusion. Through working on increasing the capacity of youth for different types of engagement, both peer-to-peer and in decision-making processes on all levels, for their overall better inclusion in the society, the action will contribute to promoting active citizenship, democratic values, inclusive governance and achievement of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Target groups and regions of the project:

The KYP project target group are young women and men from rural areas and small towns of Kosovo, aged 15-29. The KYP project is being implemented in the following municipalities: Deçan/Dečani, Fushë Kosova/Kosovo Polje, Gjakova/Đakovica, Junik/Junik, Obiliq/Obilić, Peja/Peć, Rahovec/Orahovac, and Suharekë/Suva Reka.

Project Outputs:

Output 1: Increased participation of disadvantaged youth in decision making, in local communities and on the central level.

Output 2: Enhanced engagement and employability of marginalised youth, in particular young women, through skills development and involvement in volunteering initiatives

Output 3: Increased Democratic dialogue across Kosovo youth fostered through raised awareness on and promotion of gender equality, solidarity, inter-cultural relations and counter stereotypes and dis-information.

The KYP is implemented based on the EU Gender Action Plan III OECD - Gender Marker 1 project, as per EU requirements. Thus, the evaluation has to consider reporting all indicators and targets as disaggregated by gender as per EU GAP III Country Level Implementation Plan (CLIP) requirements.

2. Purpose, Objectives and Scope of Work

The evaluation is designed to comprehensively assess the entire period of the KYP project implementation (30 months); it will consider the lessons learned and take into the consideration findings from the field for improvement, with focus on three main project outputs.

The overall objectives of the final evaluation are:

1. To assess the project’s performance against the standard criteria for evaluation as per OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC): relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, sustainability, and additionally monitoring and learning, mode of delivery, staffing structure, partnership model and quality of partnership relationships, technical assistance provided.

The OECD criteria should cover, as a minimum, the listed detailed aspects of each set of criteria.

Relevance: How relevant is the intervention of the KYP project to the priorities and needs of youth in Kosovo and to what extent? How aligned is it with strategic documents and policies in place, regarding the target group and its actions, such as Youth Strategy 2019-2023?

Coherence: How well are the actions taken in the KYP project incorporated with other interventions on youth development and inclusion in the country, undertaken by the state, other civic actors or third parties? To which extent other interventions (particularly policies) support or undermine the intervention, and vice versa.

Effectiveness: Are the intended objectives of the project accomplished?

Efficiency: How well are the resources being used: staffing structure, partner organisation and cooperation with the key stakeholders?

Impact: what are the measurable outcomes and results that the project intervention has made?

Sustainability: Does the intervention made by the KYP project contribute to and assure the sustainability and longevity of the actions taken?

1. A qualitative and quantitative review of the project achievements against the indicators set in the project logical framework.
2. To identify lessons learned and provide recommendations for improving future CARE’s programming.

Methodology

The final evaluation will be performed by an external expert consultant, organisation or a company who will be required to design the methodology and schedule for the final evaluation, in consultation with the CARE Project Manager. A mix of quantitative and qualitative instruments and methods will be used, and a participatory approach should be adopted, capturing the perspectives of key stakeholders. The methodology will include project documentation review, for which key documents will be provided by the project staff, including proposal, Initial mapping exercise, baseline data, interim annual reports, activities evidence tables, monitoring reports etc. In addition, the evaluation will also encompass desk review of external documents (such as donor’s and stakeholders’ decisions relevant for the project) and field data gathering, with partners’ staff, beneficiaries and relevant stakeholders (predominantly from the project target areas).

Consultancy tasks:

• Design a Final evaluation plan, based on the objectives and the log frame indicators of the project, in communication with CARE Project Manager.
• Review relevant project documents, as well as general reports, decisions, studies and surveys on the subject of the project and consultancy.
• Undertake a field analysis throughout the target project area, employing qualitative and quantitative data collection methods necessary for obtaining relevant and required information, i.e. interviews with beneficiaries, main stakeholders, agencies, focus group discussions etc.
• Provide the Final evaluation data on all project log-frame indicators for measuring project effectiveness and project impact during and/or after the completion of the project activity.
• Design and deliver a one-day workshop (in English language) with the project staff and project partner, for debriefing of preliminary findings of the Final Evaluation and discussing implications on implementation and instalment of the evaluation recommendations into future project interventions. The logistics for the workshop will be done by KYP project.
• Prepare a well-structured Final Evaluation Report (in English language), to be submitted to the CARE Project Manager.

3. Process/timeline

The Consultant will be engaged for 20 full consultancy days, over the period 22 May – 28 June 2024, according to the following timetable:

Action Responsible Deadline

• Submission of the bid (electronically) Consultant 12 May 2024
• Contract signing, initial agreements CARE, Consultant 22 May 2024
• Deadline for realisation of the tasks Consultant 20 June 2024

submission of the draft report

• Conduct the one-day workshop Consultant, CARE 25 June 2024
• Submission of the Final Evaluation

Report Consultant 28 June 2024

Payment schedule:

CARE will undertake the final payment (100% of the contracted amount) upon the approval of the Consultancy report. The detailed payment schedule will be outlined in the Consultancy Contract. The Payment will be carried out in line with all necessary documentation as per CARE’s administrative procedures (timesheets, consultancy report, etc).

4. Outputs and Deliverables

CARE Outputs:

• Provide necessary information and documentation on the project, partner, associates and stakeholders. Agree on the work plan with the Consultant.
• Coordinate with partner organisation - SHL- Kosova and the Consultant during the preparation and realisation of the task.
• Provide logistical support to the Consultant necessary for the realisation of the task, other than travel logistics (travel and accommodation costs for the fieldwork envisaged should be included in the Consultants’ bid).

Consultant’s deliverables:

• Detailed methodology and plan for implementation of the Final Evaluation.
• Qualitative and quantitative field data collected through interviews and group discussions.
• Presentation on the main Final Report findings and recommendations regarding the project planning to the project team and partners, in a form of a debriefing one-day workshop.
• Final Evaluation Report in high standard written English (15-20 pages, plus Annexes). The Report should consist of the executive summary (2 pages), main findings (approx. 10 pages) and conclusions with recommendations for future project planning (up to 3 pages). Mandatory Annexes to the Final Report:
  • Log frame matrix of the project updated with finally evaluated values for all indicators (both qualitative and quantitative);
  • Questionnaires and other data collection tools;
  • Final evaluation schedule;
  • List of interviewees.
• Hand over to CARE the entire original quantitative and qualitative data documentation collected for the purposes of the consultancy, upon the final report acceptance and prior to the payment.

Required qualifications of the Consultant(s):

CARE invites individual experts, expert teams, NGOs and agencies, experienced in project evaluations in the context of youth socioeconomic development initiative, to submit their bids and present their relevant expertise and experience. The general requirements for Consultants’ expertise are:

• Relevant University degree in economics, social sciences or similar, with 5 -8 years of experience in work with the non-government sector in Kosovo.
• Excellent knowledge and vast experience in project evaluations based on the OECD/DAC evaluation criteria, preferably of EU funded projects. Vast documented experience and qualification in research (qualitative and quantitative) and analysis.
• Excellent knowledge of CSO scene in Kosovo and a good overview of the situation and life conditions of the Kosovo youth, in particular those from small towns and rural areas of Kosovo.
• Good acquaintance with the applied current laws and policies for the youth and the work of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCYS).
• Good acquaintance with socio-economic situation in the project region, as well as with the Kosovo economic development trends, including the program and achievements of the Employment Agency of the Republic of Kosovo (EARK), especially their Active Labour Market Measures (ALMM).
• Excellent knowledge of English and Albanian languages, highest standard of written English.
• Good presentation skills, good knowledge of workshop techniques.
• Clear demonstration that the consultant(s) is able to meet the consultancy task in the envisaged timeframe.

The Consultant’s bid/application should consist of the following:

1. Consultant(s)'s CV(s) (preferably in EU Format) or portfolio, with detailed information relevant to the required qualifications including two relevant references from similar evaluations conducted to international organisations;
2. Draft consultancy plan – implementation plan (schedule) for the consultancy;
3. Bid – financial offer: The Consultant shall suggest a gross daily fee/rate in EUR per consultancy and an excluded VAT daily fee/rate in EUR for the companies. Transportation, food and accommodation costs should be included in the daily rate. There is no standard format for the bid;
4. Appendix 1- filled identification form (the form provided by CARE). Including copies of the business registration certificate, VAT etc. (for companies).

The received applications will be evaluated against the following criteria: The evaluation of the bids will be evaluated based of the cumulative analysis methodology. Technical and quality evaluation weight 70% and financial criteria weight 30%.

Only the bids obtaining a minimum of 70 points in the technical evaluation shall be considered for the financial evaluation. The evaluation criteria that shall be as follow:

THE APPLICATION- BID SHOULD BE IN ENGLISH!

Interested candidates are invited to apply to the e-mail: [email protected]

Closing date for applications is 12 May 2024.

We thank to all applicants for their interest. Only selected applicant will be contacted.

For any additional information concerning the application, you may contact Merita Bytyci Kelmendi, Project Manager, [email protected] with CC: [email protected] no later than 10 May 2024.

Prishtine/Pristina 02.05.2024