RFP : Disability Movement Project

Request for proposal for the final external evaluation of Handicap International’s project focusing on the disability movement in the Middle-East: 

“Strengthening Disabled People’s Organizations’ role in multi-stakeholder dialogues for democratic changes in Egypt, Jordan and the occupied Palestinian territories”

Proposals must be sent to:

Anne Villeneuve, Regional Projects Coordinator, HI Middle East; [email protected]

Rula Aburub, Regional Project Coordinator, HI Middle East; [email protected]

About Handicap International:

Handicap International is an independent and impartial international aid organisation working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster. Working alongside people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups, our action and testimony are focused on responding to their essential needs, improving their living conditions and promoting respect for their dignity and their fundamental rights. HI is currently implementing projects in more than 50 countries worldwide. 

HI has been active in the Middle East since 1987 and has led initiatives in 7 countries: Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Iraqi Kurdistan, Syria and Yemen. 

Handicap International’s Middle East regional programme has developed its new 5 year (2015-2019) Regional Programme Framework (RPF) building upon extensive process which started in each country-mission then consolidated at the regional level. This strategic framework, which keeps a strong sense of continuity with the previous 5-years strategy while bringing in important innovations and new elements in line with the evolution of the political situation in the region, aims to “Promote access to inclusive and adapted services for Persons With Disabilities and vulnerable groups, with a particular focus on youth and women, in varied and volatile environments, characterized by chronic political and human crisis, and through duty bearers’, users’ and service providers’ representatives central involvement”.

Introduction

Handicap International is looking for a consultant or team of consultants to implement the external final evaluation of the Regional project HIWAR  for “Strengthening Disabled People’s Organizations’ role in multi-stakeholder dialogues for democratic changes”.  HIWAR project is implemented by Handicap International in Egypt, Jordan and the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) over the period 1st April 2013 to 31st September 2016 and is funded by the  European Union Delegation for Palestine(EU).

The final evaluation will provide an opportunity to identify key areas and factors for success and reflect and guide the way forward for future interventions in the Middle East on disability movement empowerment and involvement in policy making.

It will provide HI, the implementing partners and the EU with sufficient information to:

-Make an overall independent assessment about the performance of the project based upon the main objectives and expected results;
-Identify key conclusions and propose practical recommendations for follow-up actions.

Background of the intervention

-Disability movement and Public Authorities

Egypt, Jordan and the oPt have many similarities in terms of disability policy and practice and the situation of the disability movement. Across the government sectors, Right Based Approach (RBA) and relevant capacities are only slowly gaining ground. Disability is largely approached from a welfare / medical perspective, with a focus on service provision. 

The absence of horizontal approaches and poor recognition of DPOs as part of Civil Society and partners in development and policy dialogue further contribute to the exclusion of disability rights from mainstream legislation and programming. 

In this context, first steps have been taken by governments in the 3 countries to fulfil their commitment towards the Convention on the Rights of persons with disabilities (CRPD)  (e.g. the reactivation of the Higher Councils on Disability). Moreover, the reform processes engaged with the Arab Spring in 2011, despite disappointing and unequal results across the region, brought a greater focus from governments on consultation with Civil Society creating positive environment for fostering collaboration between DPOs and public authorities.

-Disability movement and Civil Society Organisations

The understanding of disability as a component of human rights (HR) among other civil society and Human Rights organizations has shown weaknesses, and so has the cooperation between the disability movement and these groups. This hampered the integration of disability into the broader civil society agenda and disability inclusion as a crosscutting approach engaging the responsibility of all development stakeholders. 

The action, in line with HI regional strategy for the Middle East, was built on the experience of previous projects in the target countries and regional interventions, i.e. the ‘MUSAWA’ project (2009-2012) (co-funded by EC) and the Disability Monitor Initiative (2008-2011)  which both contributed to the development of the disability movement in the Middle East. The action was developed as a consistent continuation by addressing the identified gaps from these previous interventions, i.e. the need for greater capacities and policy involvement of national DPOs and stronger regional dynamics of the disability movement. 

Presentation of the project to be evaluated

Within the context described above and in the continuity of the Arab Spring dynamics and of civil society uphold, the overall objective of the proposed project is to improve the socio-economic inclusion of persons with disabilities in the oPt, Egypt and Jordan through the development and implementation of policies and programs that fulfil their rights. To achieve the overall objective, the specific objective is to improve, in the oPt, Egypt, and Jordan, the participation of empowered DPOs as effective, credible and legitimate actors in national policy processes along authorities and civil society organisations (CSOs). 

The project provides a timely contribution to the implementation of CRPD obligations with regard to the role and participation of representative organisations of persons with disabilities in development processes (Art. 4, 29, 30, 32, 33). The systematic development of capacities and evidence based in national DPOs reinforced by regional cooperation combined with the provision of opportunities to jointly translate the outputs into dialogue and consecutive action with other CSOs and political society, are proposed as key contributions to sustain disability inclusion in national reform processes. Thereby, the implementation experience and dissemination of outputs, lessons learned and good practices is not only intended to increase awareness and knowledge among authorities and CSOs, beyond the target groups directly involved in the project implementation, but also to benefit to the disability movement in the region as a whole, providing means for replication. 

This way, the project was developed to strengthen national DPOs towards meeting their potential as civic actors in the regional transformation process, developing their advocacy capacity and increasing their ability to monitor and participate effectively in policy reform dialogues and in assisting political and social change in the region. 

The project logic

General objective: To Improve the socio-economic Inclusion of persons with disabilities in Egypt, Jordan and the oPt, through development and implementation of policies and programs that fulfil their rights

Specific objective: To improve the participation of empowered DPOs as effective, credible and legitimate actors in national policy process with legal authorities and civil society organizations in Egypt, Jordan and the oPt.

Expected Results

-National DPOs developed skills and practical experience in monitoring public policies and advocating for disability rights
-DPOs strengthened their dialogue and interaction mechanisms on disability rights with authorities and CSOs on a national and regional level.
-Good practices on how DPOs influence policy making processes are shared among the disability movement and with political and civil society at national and regional level.

Main activities

Related to expected result 1:

Activity 1.0: Conduct a baseline study on representation of DPOs in higher councils, existing coordination mechanisms between DPOs and public authorities or CSO , visibility of disability issues on publications issued by government ,CSO and Human right bodies
Activity 1.1: Identification and mobilisation of national Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) in each target country
Activity 1.2: Implementation of a regional series of advanced training on disability rights, advocacy and policy making processes for DPO representatives
Activity 1.3: Development and release of an e-learning package on advocacy and project cycle management for DPOs building on the regional training series
Activity 1.4: Analysis of disability-related policy and practice in view of the CRPD and development of national reports by participating DPOs in each target country
Activity 1.5: Development of national advocacy strategies and related recommendations and priority areas for action by participating DPOs and their representatives based on the findings of the policy analysis
Activity 1.6: Provision of two micro-grant cycles to support the implementation of national advocacy strategies by selected DPOs in each target country, including on-going technical assistance for grantees
Activity 1.7: Implementation of exchange visits for representatives of selected DPOs to peers in Arab countries (Middle East or North Africa) and the European Union

Related to expected result 2:

Activity 2.1: Identification of relevant public authorities and civil society organizations in each target country and assessment of their disability-related needs.
Activity 2.2: Implementation of a regional training series on disability rights and mainstreaming in policy planning and implementation for representatives of selected PAs and CSOs from each country.
Activity 2.3: Facilitation of on-going coordination and networking of DPOs with public authorities and civil society organisations.
Activity 2.4: Implementation of a national consultative workshop for representatives of DPOs, PAs and CSOs in each country to present the findings of the policy analysis, recommendations and priority areas for action.
Activity 2.5: Implementation of a follow-up regional workshop for representatives of DPOs to consolidate the findings of the policy analysis and related recommendations and national advocacy strategies.
Activity 2.6: Implementation of a regional workshop for representatives of participating DPOs, PAs and CSOs to discuss the findings of the policy analysis and related recommendations and priority areas for intervention

Related to expected result 3:

Activity 3.1: Update and further development of existing website to disseminate project information, outputs and material.
Activity 3.2: Publication and dissemination of a regional report on the findings of the policy analysis and related recommendations and priority areas for action from the 3 target countries.
Activity 3.3: Identification and consolidation of lessons learnt and good practice of the project experience.
Activity 3.4: Implementation of a regional closure workshop to disseminate consolidated lessons learned and outcomes of the project

The main partners and geographical coverage of the project

The action is implemented by HI in partnership with the Center for Continuing Education (CCE) based in Birzeit University – West Bank/Ramallah and the Information and Research Center (IRC) located in King Hussein Foundation – Amman/Jordan. 

This partnership combines HI’s expertise in the field of disability rights and advocacy with the expertise of the partners in civil society organisational development, policy analysis and reform processes. HI benefits from its experience in the promotion of disability rights and the disability movement in the region since 1992, with offices in each of the project countries. CCE offers 15 years of experience in developing human resources and upgrading skills of local, national and regional CSOs in the oPt. IRC contributes 15 years of expertise in multidisciplinary analysis to policy makers and advocates in Jordan and the Middle East, promoting effective socio-economic transformation and decision making. 

In Egypt, the project has been implemented by HI team.

A Steering Committee made up of representatives from HI and partners was established at project launching to oversee the overall implementation of the project in each of the three countries. 

Geographic coverage

Jordan : the project was implemented in three regions of the country (north, center and south), including the Baqaa camp for Palestinian refugees (in central Jordan).

Egypt: ranging between upper middle and lower egypt, including 8 governorates: Great Cairo (Jiza and Cairo), Bani Seif, AlWadi AlGideed, Alexandria, Menia, Asiout, and Aswan;

oPt: Gaza and the West Bank with a focus on Ramallah, Nablus and Qualqiliah and Jenine.

Project target groups and beneficiaries

Project target groups: at least 15 national DPOs and 15 public authorities and mainstream CSO representatives from Egypt, Jordan and oPt that will benefit from capacity building and practical experience at national and regional level. 

As stated in the project document, the final beneficiaries of the project include: 1)People with disabilities and their families living in the three countries affected by the poor enforcement of legislations and by stigmatisation that both limit their access to basic services, resulting in disproportionate representation among the poorest and most marginalized groups. Supporting national DPOs towards greater effectiveness in their actions should contribute to better include people with disabilities needs in on-going reform and policy processes resulting in the development of measures and frameworks that in the long-run will ultimately impact all people with disabilities.

-DPOs, their branches and SHGs in the three countries: the disability movement lacks strategies and evidence for effective advocacy. Assisting national DPOs in the implementation of evidence-based, thus more effective advocacy will generate evidence based and good practices that can be used and replicated by the disability movement in the countries and throughout the region. 

-National public authorities and local offices of governmental bodies in the three countries: public authorities lack knowledge on disability as a cross-cutting component of Human Rights and the potential of DPOs as partners in order to mainstream disability in development and reform processes. 

-Civil Society and Human Rights organizations and INGOs and UN agencies in the three countries and the region: CSOs, INGOs and other agencies require greater understanding of disability as a HR issue to effectively address it. 

-Objective and expected results of the evaluation

-Objective

The objective of this final project evaluation is to assess project achievements and identify key areas and factors for success to reflect and guide the way forward for future interventions on strengthening DPOs role in advocacy and in policy changes in collaboration with Public authorities and Civil Society Organisations.

It should be instrumental in determining the relevance of the set objectives and to which extent they have been fulfilled. The evaluation will also consider the developmental efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability of the action and will identify recommendations directed at project recipients, implementing organizations and donors for promoting DPOs movement and their ability to promote policies and programs that fulfil their rights

Expected results

The evaluation results are expected to be used, by different stakeholders involved in the project according to the different components of the project. HI and the EU will potentially use recommendations for future programming needs. Others will be used by HI, partners, DPOs, CSOs and Public Authorities for advocacy purposes towards main national stakeholders and development stakeholders.

The main expected results of the assignment will be as follow:

-Evaluate the performance of the project through an assessment of project’s expected results achievements taking into account the context, the proposal and the monitoring and evaluation framework of the project

-Based on the project lessons learnt as well as on the performance achieved, provide recommendations on participatory and partnership approaches in relation to the participation of DPOs  and other local stakeholders in the implemented project 

-Scope of the evaluation and stakeholders

Scope of the evaluation

The evaluation will take place in Jordan, Egypt and the oPt where the project has been implemented.

It will take place between 15th of June to and 20th of September 2016 and will focus on the processes and the outcomes of the project for the period covering April 2013 to August 2016.

Documents and source of information

-Project proposal;
-Initial detailed project planning
-Interim technical and financial report and request for no cost extension
-National advocacy initiatives (guidelines, proposals, applications, plans, and reports produced).
-Mid term evaluation report and annexes
-Baseline assessment reports
-Training need assessment, training materials, training reports Partnership agreements
-Letters Testimony from the participants in the project
-Awareness material: Flyers, booklets and brochures

Participatory approach

With respect to the time and resources available, and in relation to the methodology proposed, evaluation should rely on a participatory approach to increase ownership, empowerment and usability of the results. Other evaluation criteria such as coherence, coverage of target groups, gender and alignment in particular related to local institution could be addressed as per relevance and feasibility.

Stakeholders

-local DPOs including targeted DPO federations/unions and coalitions
-Community members
-Public Authorities (Ministries and Higher Councils for Disability)
-Representatives of national development stakeholders (CSOs, NGOs and donors). 

Evaluation questions and level of analysis

The evaluations will explore common key elements and questions as listed below.

Key elements of the projects to be evaluated:

Relevance: 

-Are the objectives of the project meeting with locally or regionally defined needs and priorities?
-What is the added value of the implemented activities under this project? 
-Were the project activities adequate to realize the objectives? 

Effectiveness: 

To what extent have the project objectives on the national or regional levels been reached? 

Efficiency: 

Is the relationship between the project costs and results reasonable? Have the most efficient approaches been used during the implementation of the activities?

Sustainability: 

To what extent has the project established processes and systems that are likely to support the current actions related to advancing the role of the disability movement in policy making process within the Middle East Region? 

Are the involved parties willing and able to continue the work on disability and rights on their own?

Key evaluation questions to be answered : :

Overall proposed evaluation questions and level of analysis:

Assess the extent to which proposed objectives and results have been achieved. This includes the following:

-Did the project engage Disabled Peoples’ Organizations at local, national level actively in the implementation process and did it increase the awareness of the duty bearers of their responsibilities with regards to the role of DPOs as key actors in disability rights and advocacy?
-Did the project improve interaction between national DPOs at both national and regional level and contribute to increase joint efforts in disability rights initiatives?
-Did the project manage to create effective and sustainable networks and alliances between DPOs and CSOs, both at national and regional levels?
-Did the project manage to build the capacities and strengthen targeted DPOs?
-Did the project strengthen the dialogue and interaction mechanisms between DPOs and Public Authorities and CSOs?
-Did the project allow the dissemination of good practices on how DPOs can influence policy making processes among the disability movement and with political and civil society at national and regional level?
-Analyse the main strengths and weaknesses of the project, and identify key success stories.
-Assess the achieved level of coordination with other stakeholders, mechanisms, and synergies. This includes addressing the issue of promoting and reinforcing the collaboration among Public Authorities, CSOs to coordinate responses in regards to disability rights and support to disability movement.
-Based on the identified lessons learned of the projects and key conclusions from the evaluations, propose key recommendations for future actions to support disability movement involvement in policy making and increased collaboration between CSOs, public authorities and DPOs,.
-Methodology and work plan
-Typology and methods:

The consultant will be required to implement qualitative analysis and to review the project achievements.

Possible methods for data collection would include:

-Document review
-Interview with project stakeholders, activists with disabilities and DPOs
-Focus group with participating DPOs
-Individual testimonies
-Field visits

Proposed work plan

The proposed steps for the evaluation are:

-Desk Phase

The consultant (or team of experts) will undertake a desk review based on all documents sent by the project. On this basis, the consultant will refine the evaluation questions, propose a detailed methodology emphasizing participation of the project beneficiaries and stakeholders, as well as define a detailed working plan including the list of stakeholders to meet during field phase. These elements will be combined in an inception report. HI team will validate the inception report before going further with the evaluation

-Field Phase
-Briefing with Regional Project Manager, Senior Field Officer, Deputy Project Manager, Regional Technical Coordinator, Regional Projects Coordinator.
-Field visits, FGD and meetings with the main project stakeholders and beneficiaries.
-Debriefing to HI project team and the main project’s partners.
-Reporting

The consultant will be required to deliver the following documents in English:

-An inception report after the desk phase for validation prior launching the field phase.
-A power point presenting the main findings to HI project team and its partners at the end of the field phase.
-A draft and final reports.

NB: The findings from the specific evaluation in the three countries will be merged by the consultant with the analysis of all components of the project, to prepare the final evaluation report for the full project.

Structure of the final report

The final report should not exceed 50 pages (without annexes). The report will describe the evaluation, the evaluation findings, lessons learned and recommendations. It should include:

-Cover page (title of the evaluation report, date, name of consultants)
-Contents table
-Executive summary of no more than 2 pages outlining the key purpose of the evaluation, main points of analysis, key findings, conclusions and recommendations
-Introduction outlining the background of the project and the evaluation
-Purpose and objectives of the evaluation
-Analytical framework of the evaluation including methodology/approach, indicators used, ethical issues and limitations of the evaluation
-Summary results against project log-frame indicators
-Major findings (data analysis, including gender analysis and response to evaluation questions)
-Recommendations
-Annexes: details of data collection tools, schedule of field visits and meetings; list of people interviewed; bibliography of key documents consulted; TOR for the evaluation

Annexes may also include more detailed country-level reports or case studies (exact format to be agreed during inception phase)
-Evaluation team

The evaluation team can be made of 1 to 3 persons including the following skills:

-Extensive and advanced evaluation skills and experience in the related field(s)

-Familiar with qualitative evaluation

-Understanding of main concepts of the project: disability, rights based approach, advocacy, inclusive development, policy dialogue etc.

-Familiar with participatory and partnership approaches and empowerment strategies

-Fluency in English, Arabic language is a highly recommended (most of the documents are in Arabic). In case the consultant is not fluent in Arabic, interpretation and translation must be considered and included in the budget.

-Understanding of Middle East context with preferably previous experiences in the region

-Gender balance would be preferable, if a team is proposed

If a team is proposed, a team coordinator will be appointed. The team coordinator will be ultimately responsible for the whole work and all deliveries; s/he will also act as the contact person with HI.

-Time frame and budget for the evaluation:

The evaluation is expected to take place between June and September 2016

A draft report is to be submitted to the reference group by 20th August 2016.

The Final report of the external evaluation will be due no later than 20th September 2016.

The budget should include all necessary costs for performing the evaluation:

-Submission of the proposal

The proposal for this evaluation will include:

-A technical proposal including the understanding of the stakes of this evaluation and of the ToRs, the methodology proposed and a detailed timetable

-A financial proposal/ budget forecast

-The CV of the proposed evaluators (education background, expertise and experience in relation with the scope of the evaluation and the geographical location). In case of evaluation team, the team coordinator will be identified.

-List of previous assignments in evaluation and/or in relation with disability

The proposal must be sent by email to:

Anne Villeneuve, Regional Projects Coordinator, HI Middle East;

[email protected]

Rula Aburub, Regional Project Coordinator, HI Middle East; 

[email protected]

Deadline for submission of applications: 5th June 2016 at 8 pm (Jordan time)

Incomplete applications or applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered.

Selected applicants may be invited for a (phone/skype) interview.

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