Country: Georgia
Closing date: 19 Sep 2016
Europe Foundation (EPF) seeks an evaluation Consultant(s) to conduct an evaluation of its EC–funded project “*Transparent Convergence to EU Policies in Sanitary Issues: the Case of Georgia and Moldova”.* The evaluation is to provide an independent assessment of the project’s implementation, including the assessment of the quality, impact, and sustainability of the activities undertaken. EPF expects that the recommendations derived from the evaluation will support the Foundation’s own learning and development process.
The evaluation is scheduled to be conducted during October-November 2016.
About Europe Foundation
Europe Foundation’s mission is to empower people to effect change for social justice and economic prosperity through hands-on programs, helping them to improve their communities and their own lives. To achieve its mission, EPF strives (1) to strengthen the capacity of individuals and institutions, empowering them to address pressing issues and (2) to mobilize relevant stakeholders in issue-based dialogue, through raising public awareness and creating various coalitions, platforms or working groups, so as to effect positive change. EPF’s work is guided by the following approaches: (1) creating opportunities for civic participation in public policy making, (2) engaging youth, (3) fostering culture of corporate and community philanthropy, including through formation of public-private-NGO partnerships, (4) promoting evidence-based advocacy and decision making, and (5) building confidence across religious, ethnic, and community divides. Some of EPF’s flagship programs include: (1) Engage and Monitor for Change, (2) European Integration, (3) Youth Integration, (4) Social Enterprise and (5) Open Door Grantmaking. Together, they feed into achieving the Foundation’s mission and provide opportunities for Georgians to engage in social, economic, and political developments, in order to effect substantive and sustainable positive change at the local and national level.
About the Project
Supporting civic engagement in Georgia’s European integration efforts, especially in trade related areas, has long been one of the foci of EPF’s programmatic and grantmaking efforts. For years, these efforts have been supported with funds from USAID and Sida. In 2012, the Foundation was awarded a grant from the European Union (under the local Civil Society Facility call) to improve civil society’s capacity and engagement in Georgia’s food safety reforms. It was shortly followed by another EU grant under the global call for proposals (NSA/LA) to contribute to improved socio-economic conditions for the citizens of Georgia and Moldova through supporting transparent convergence to EU policies in sanitary and phyto-sanitary issues. It envisioned broadening the scale, diversifying the scope, and intensifying the frequency of the activities that EPF has been implementing in the SPS and consumer rights spheres with support from both EU and Sida. To implement the project, EPF partnered with East Europe Foundation (EEF) Moldova and the Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia (CSRDG).
The overall objective of the project to be evaluated is to contribute to improved socio-economic conditions for the citizens of Georgia and Moldova through supporting transparent convergence to EU policies in sanitary and phytosanitary issues. Specifically, the project was designed (1) to enhance stakeholder understanding of and adherence to SPS standards and (2) to contribute to improved food safety legislation and practice.
The project anticipated results are as follows:
- NSAs' advocacy capacity is enhanced, so as to wage successful advocacy campaigns for improved SPS system.
- Georgian and Moldovan consumers and food operators are informed about EU's SPS standards and mobilised to demand improved implementation of the existing regulatory framework.
- Improved convergence with European SPS standards and practices in both countries.
- Enhanced cooperation between Georgian and Moldovan NSAs to support closer approximation of national SPS systems with EU standards.
The Evaluation Goal
The overall goal of the evaluation is to provide an independent assessment of the project’s implementation in relation to the achievement of its overall goal and specific objectives as provided in the Project Proposal (Annex 1) and Logframe (Annex 2), including the project’s performance in relation to each of its component. The evaluator should look into the sustainability of concrete changes in policies, decisions, and services in the area of implementation of the project both in Georgia and Moldova and, based on the information gleaned from the assessment, provide recommendations (methodological or otherwise) for future work in the SPS area that fall within the mission and the mandates of the Foundation.
Below are the evaluation’s objectives, which are of particular interest to EPF. The evaluator is expected to complete this list with additional questions to better assess the relevance, effectiveness, impact, and sustainability of the project in both Georgia and Moldova.
Objective 1: Assess the extent to which the project contributed to strengthening the capacities of the targeted NSAs to wage advocacy for improved SPS system in Georgia and Moldova. Has the project succeeded in enhancing civic monitoring of the SPS reforms in the targeted countries? If yes, what methods utilized by the implementing partners or beneficiaries have been successful? Has the project achieved enhanced cooperation between Georgian and Moldovan NSAs in support of closer approximation of national SPS systems with EU standards? If yes, how?
Objective 2: Assess whether the project contributed to enhanced awareness of Georgian and Moldovan consumers and food operators on SPS related issues. How has the project been able to achieve this result and what were the more effective methods used in this regard? In case of lackluster performance, what were either external or internal reasons that could explain lack of progress made? Has the enhanced awareness of these target groups led to improved implementation of the existing regulatory framework in both countries?
Objective 3: Develop recommendations for the Foundation for future interventions focused on promoting civic engagement in SPS reform and alignment of Georgia's and Moldova’s food safety and consumer rights policy and legislative framework with the EU standards. The recommendations must be in line with the mission and the mandates of the Foundation.
Evaluation Methodology
The consultant(s) will be responsible for developing the evaluation design and methodology in order to meet the evaluation’s goal and objectives. Details about the approach and the data collection methods to be employed to undertake this task should be included in the bid. EPF expects that the Consultant(s) will conduct a participatory evaluation, providing for active and meaningful involvement of all stakeholders, namely the relevant EPF staff, partners, grantees, donors, etc.
The evaluation is to be conducted following ethical practices in evaluation, which should be outlined in the proposal.
The work to be carried out by the consultant(s) will be based on the following four criteria:
- Relevance, including the extent to which various problems and needs addressed by EPF’s Youth Integration Program are relevant in the Georgian context;
- Effectiveness, including the extent to which the Program’s objectives have been met;
- Impact, the extent to which EPF’s efforts contributed to the achievement of the Program’s overall goal; and
- Sustainability, the extent to which outcomes of the project have been sustained or are likely to be sustained in the future.
The issues of efficiency should be addressed in a broad manner, as it relates to the project partners’ decisions on cost allowance.
Sources of Information
Documents of the project partners available for review include all documentation related to the grants funded within the project, programmatic reports submitted to the donor, assessments of GoG’s reform efforts related to food safety regulation in Georgia, training materials, training participant feedback forms, agendas and participant lists of public events, outreach and media materials, terms of reference for competitions, correspondence with authorities, enterprise assessment reports, public statements and website user statistics. Large part of this information is available on the websites and Facebook pages of the project partners www.mkidveli.ge, fb.com/mkidveli.ge, www.alegesanatos.md, fb.com/alegesanatosmd, www.momxmarebeli.ge, fb.com/momxmarebeli.ge mostly in Georgian and Moldovan languages.
Other sources of information, which might be helpful for the evaluation, may include food safety legislation that is available on the websites of Georgian and Moldovan food agencies on local languages (http://nfa.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=GEO&sec_id=88, http://ansa.gov.md/ro/legi-ale-republicii-moldova.html) and partially in English, upon request.
Intended Use of the Evaluation In addition to EPF and its project partners and their grantees, the following organizations may also benefit from the findings of the evaluation: the Foundation’s past, current, and future donors, local non-state actors, and international implementers supporting civil society and fostering civic engagement in Georgia and Moldova, the region, and internationally.
Timeframe and Reporting Requirements
The expected duration of the evaluation is 6 weeks.
The Consultant(s) will produce the following deliverables (all in English):
- Inception report (due on October 5, 2016), which will address the following components:
- Overview of the project
- Expectations of evaluation
- Evaluation methodology and data collection methods (derived from methodology)
- Evaluation framework
- Synthesis of the collected data
- Indicative timeline
- Data collection instruments (due on October 5, 2016)
- Draft of the evaluation report (due on November 10, 2016)
- Final report (due on November 30, 2016). The final report will include the following sections:
- Executive summary (max. 2 pages);
- Evaluation summary in PPT form;
- Brief description of the context and the project;
- Description of evaluation goals and objectives;
- Description of evaluation methodology and data collection tools utilized in the course of the evaluation;
- Presentation of main findings and conclusions of the assessment (including both generalized part, as well as individual grant projects);
- Discussion of lessons learned;
- Recommendations (programmatic and otherwise);
- Annexes as provided in the inception report, including the reviewed project fiches, all data collection tools, list of interviewees, etc.
The evaluation report will be the sole property of EPF, which will retain the right to use it for internal and external purposes.
Budget The budget of the evaluation should not exceed EUR 15,000 (GROSS)** for evaluation services, including expenses for transportation to and within Georgia and Moldova, accommodation, per diem, Georgian and Moldovan taxes (if applicable). Price competitiveness will be a consideration during the selection process, and all proposals exceeding the maximum will be ineligible.
How to apply:
Request for Bids
EPF seeks bids from individuals or organizations to conduct this evaluation. Applicants should submit a proposal in English that includes:
- Detailed description of the Consultant's qualifications, with a list of previously undertaken assignments in the same field;
- Copy of an evaluation report completed by the applicant during the past three years;
- Description and justification of proposed evaluation methodology including sampling strategy, description of tools and techniques that will be used to collect and analyze information;
- Draft work plan and budget.
Only complete applications will be considered.
Selection Criteria
EPF will select the winning candidate among the companies or individuals submitting a complete bid by the proposal deadline. The selection criteria will include the following:
- Degree to which proposal adheres to evaluation questions listed above;
- Quality of the proposed methodology;
- Qualifications of the bidding individuals or organizations, including past experience in evaluating similar projects and expertise in SPS regulation issues;
- Feasibility of proposed methodology and work plan;
- Cost-effectiveness of the proposal;
- Ability to adhere to the time constraints of the proposed activities.
Review Process
Proposals can be submitted by email to lberdzuli@epfound.ge. When making the submission, please indicate “EC Project Evaluation” in the subject line of your email. Interested persons who have questions about this tender should email their inquiries to vkobaladze@epfound.ge.
The deadline for the submission of applications is September 19, 2016, 17:00 Tbilisi Time.