Country: Georgia
Closing date: 14 Sep 2016
Europe Foundation (EPF) seeks a qualified international evaluation consultant or a team of consultants with expertise in social enterprise (SE) development or promotion of social entrepreneurship to conduct a formative evaluation of the Foundation’s Social Enterprise Development Program. The evaluation is to focus on assessing the broader context or external environment in which the Program operates, identifying openings for innovative interventions, and providing recommendations for possible ways to enhance EPF’s programming in this area.
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 EPF’s Social Enterprise Development Program
Social Enterprise Development Program aims at promoting the concept of social enterprise (SE) as one of the ways for CSOs to ensure their long-term sustainability and in this process to foster improved socio-economic integration of vulnerable groups and contribute to job creation. Over the years, EPF has been supporting SE development in Georgia, to contribute to increased civic engagement and inclusive growth. Considering the novelty of the SE concept in Georgian reality, initially EPF directed its efforts toward promoting the concept through targeted stakeholder outreach and awareness campaigns, as well as through supporting SEs, so as to create positive examples for both CSOs and the Government to emulate. Just as importantly, EPF succeeded in creating lasting collaboration between CSOs, universities, businesses, and public authorities, including through annual competitions Students for Social Enterprise. During the initial years of the Program, EPF actively cooperated with the Center for Strategic Research and Development (CSRDG), the British Council, and Civil Society Institute (CSI). Already, eleven social enterprises have been set up with grant support from EPF, of which eight are still operational. More than 100 jobs were created for individuals representing socially vulnerable groups (e.g. PWDs, IDPs, women, rural population), with an average job retention rate of 86%. As a result, representatives of different vulnerable groups are better integrated in the society and the targeted CSOs enhanced their sustainability toward fulfilling their missions.
The efforts of EPF and its partner organizations to promote the SE concept have not gone unnoticed and the SE concept is being replicated throughout the country with support from other donors. New stakeholders from both public and civic sectors have started to issue grants to SEs, e.g. People in Need, the Young Economists’ Association of Georgia, LEPL Children and Youth Development under the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, ASB Georgia, Hilfswerk Austria International, Charity Fund of Bank of Georgia, International Organization for Migration, and others. Furthermore, EPF spearheaded the efforts to initiate a multi-stakeholder working group on SE development, whereby CSOs, IOs and local and national authorities came together to discuss SE development issues. Most recently, EPF partner organization, CSRDG, has developed and submitted to the Parliament a Draft Law on Social Enterprise.
In the next several years, EPF plans to continue to promote the concept of social enterprise (SE) as one of the ways for CSOs to ensure their long-term sustainability and in this process to foster improved socio-economic integration of vulnerable groups and contribute to job creation.
Evaluation Goal
The overall goal of the evaluation is to provide an independent assessment of the achievements of the Foundation’s Social Enterprise Development Program and to identify ways in which the Program can be improved to achieve the desired outcomes. Toward this end, EPF expects the consultant to undertake a comprehensive review of the situation on the ground, including but not limited to ascertaining the broader context and external environment in which the Program operates, identifying openings for innovative interventions, and providing recommendations for possible ways to enhance EPF’s programming in this area.
Below are the evaluation objectives, which are of particular interest to EPF. The consultant(s) will be expected to complete this list with additional questions to better meet the goal of the evaluation.
Objective 1. Assess past and future relevance of the Program
- How appropriate was and is the Program to local needs?
- What value did the program add to the situation on the ground? What value, if any, does the program add to the current context?
Objective 2. Assess actual and potential effectiveness of the Program
- Have the planned activities and outputs led to the achievement of the outcomes? Have any unexpected outputs happened? If yes, why?
- Have some of the design assumptions (including selected support schemes) not held and if so, how has this affected the Program’s achievements?
- Considering the context (local needs, as well as the projects or activities implementing by other stakeholders) will the planned intervention strategy lead to the achievements of the desired outcomes?
Objective 3. Develop recommendations concerning possible ways of enhancing the outcome of the Program, keeping in mind local context and international best practices
- Are there changes in the environmental, social, political, security or economic situation of the program, which necessitate reformulation of design? If yes, which factors and how?
- Considering increased programming in this area, is there evidence of better (alternative) strategies or ways of achieving the Program’s objectives and addressing local needs? If yes, how can these be incorporated into a revised program redesign?
- What are the new areas that are left unattended and could be covered by the Program, so that it supports SE development and promotes social entrepreneurship? What are the best ways to implement these new directions?
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.
Sources of Information
EPF documents available for review include EPF’s strategy, annual reports, reports of international organizations on social entrepreneurship and small businesses in Georgia, interviews and relevant documents of social enterprises and other stakeholders, including public institutions, civil society organizations, social enterprises and businesses. Additional information about the program could be seen at the Foundation’s web-page at www.epfound.ge and at www.gosocialenterprise.ge.
Timeframe and Reporting Requirements
The expected duration of the evaluation is 2 months.
The Consultant(s) will produce the following deliverables (all in English):
1. Inception report (due on October 5, 2016), which will address the following components
- Overview of both the context and the Program
- Expectations of evaluation
- Evaluation methodology and data collection methods (derived from methodology)
- Evaluation framework
- Synthesis of the collected data
- Indicative timeline
- Draft data collection instruments
2. Draft evaluation report (due on November 11, 2016). The draft report does not have to include executive summary and annexes.
3. Final Evaluation 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.
How to apply:
Budget
The budget of the evaluation should not exceed 8,000 USD (GROSS) for evaluation services, including expenses for transportation to and within Georgia, accommodation, per diem, and Georgian taxes (if applicable). Price competitiveness will be a consideration during the selection process, and all proposals exceeding the maximum will be ineligible.
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;
- 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.
- Copy of at least one evaluation report on a similar subject matter completed by the applicant during the past three years;
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 organization and the personnel involved in the project, including past experience in evaluation of similar program;
- Cost-effectiveness of the proposal;
- Feasibility of proposed methodology and work plan;
Review Process
Proposals can be submitted in by email to Mariam Robitashvili, Program Assistant at mrobitashvili@epfound.ge. Please indicate “Social Enterprise Development Program Formative Evaluation” in the subject line of your email. Interested persons who have questions about this tender should email their inquiries to Viktor Baramia, Senior Program Manager (vbaramia@epfound.ge). The deadline for the submission of applications is September 14, 2016 17:00 Tbilisi Time. EPF senior management, program, and evaluation staff will review the proposals.