DRAFT 4 Terms of Reference – external evaluation of EU Aid Volunteer project

Terms of Referencefor external evaluation of

VSO EU Aid Volunteer Project (formerly known as EVHAC; European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps)

1.Background and Context

Volunteering is on the rise in Europe with an increasing number and variety of voluntary organisations offering volunteering opportunities to individuals of EU member states. However, global humanitarian disasters are increasing in frequency and severity, requiring increased capacity in this sector. In the Treaty of Lisbon 2009, EU member states determined that there is a role for trained and prepared volunteers to add capacity to humanitarian contexts and to offer solidarity to other countries suffering humanitarian disasters. DG ECHO has therefore developed pilot projects to explore the proposed EU Aid Volunteer initiative, and to feed in learning and best practice on the recruitment, selection, training and deployment of volunteers, to inform the establishment of a future, permanent EU Aid Volunteer scheme from 2014 onwards.

This pilot project proposal has been made jointly by partners in three EU member states - Netherlands, Romania and the United Kingdom. VSO's network already extends to a fourth member state, Ireland, and during thisAction, access to volunteering opportunities for citizens of all member states will be prioritised. In line with DG ECHO'S expectations of where EU Aid Volunteers can demonstrate real added value, this proposed action will add value in the following areas while maintaining a core focus on the European dimensions of the work:

The overall objective of this pilot is to contribute to DG ECHO's learning,by deploying 40 European volunteers to disaster-preparedness and post conflict-recovery placements in Bangladesh, Pakistan and South Sudan. The specific objective of the pilot project willbe to gather learning from the development and use of innovative tailored approaches in: a) therecruitment, selection and training of volunteers, b) the accreditation of volunteers’ learning and work,c) the management of volunteers and the evaluation/accreditation of agencies hosting volunteers.

This action will develop a series of placements aimed at building organisational and individualcapabilities in disaster-preparedness and post-conflict situations, whilst accrediting the volunteer'spreparation and work in order to guarantee professionalism and long-term impact. Appropriatestandards and methodologies for the selection, training and management of volunteers will be identified and trainingcurricula and materials for volunteers and organisations managing them will be developed. Technological developments to allow recruitment, selection and training of volunteers across nationaland linguistic boundaries will be examined and developed as appropriate. A strong focus onmonitoring and evaluation will be embedded in the pilot to ultimately deliver a high quality level of dataand analysis to the EC.

(i) Identification and selection of volunteers

Targeted recruitment will focus on European networks and recruitment activities will have a pan- European dimension. Selection developments generated through this action will focus on howonline methodologies can promote access for Europeans to volunteering opportunities indeveloping countries managed through agencies in other member states.

(ii) Training (common standards, good practices and modules)

Specific training will be developed for EU Aid Volunteers and for organizations hosting these volunteers. The development of accreditation mechanisms for both volunteers and organisations involved in thedeployment of volunteers in humanitarian situations will build on local experiencesin the European context as well as learning from volunteer management experiences indeveloping countries. These mechanisms will allow evaluation against the standards agreedthrough the action while training materials and courses will be designed against these standards.The pilot will also examine the feasibility of establishing the accreditation of volunteer learning as agreed pan-Europeancommon standards betweeneducational institutes across the EU.

(iii) Deployment, in order to benefit from volunteers in EU humanitarian aid operations

The deployment of 40 EU volunteers with local, regional or national organizations in Bangladesh, South Sudan and Pakistan, including all the necessary pre-departure logistical arrangements.

Expected results and outputs of the project are listed in the contract between ECHO and VSO International, on behalf of the VSO consortium.

2. Purpose and Objectives of the Evaluation

The purpose of this evaluation is to inform ECHO and VSO about lessons learned within the pilot on the aspects of recruitment, selection, training and deployment in order to:

1)inform DG ECHO in the decision making process on how to formally set up the permanent EU Aid Volunteer initiative from January 2014;

2)inform VSO whether the ‘placement process’ (ie the volunteer journey) needs to be different for placement contexts that are more ‘humanitarian’ than the usual VSO programme; and whether the methodologies tested and are efficient and cost-effective

3)assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the activities that are included in this Action

4)assess the effectiveness of the management of the Action by the VSO consortium

5) where possible, assess the impact of volunteers to date on the work of their employer-partner organizations and the local communities they serve

6)Propose a comprehensive framework for evaluation and monitoring of the actions on the basis of specificqualitative and quantitative indicators for each of the following objectives:

- improve the EU capacity to respond to humanitarian crises;

- improve the skills and competences of the volunteers in the field of humanitarian aid and the conditions under which they are working;

- promote the visibility of humanitarian aid values

- enhance the coherence and consistency of volunteering across Member States to improve opportunities for European citizens to participate in humanitarian aid operations

Specific evaluation questions (to be refined in collaboration with the evaluator):

  • Have all the desired results and outputs of the project contract been delivered?
  • Do the new recruitment, selection and training methodologiesdeveloped for the pilot deliver sufficient and appropriatelyqualified and prepared volunteers?
  • Is the selection methodology adequate to select ‘humanitarian’volunteers?
  • Is the preparation training for volunteersadequate and sufficient to work in humanitarian situations (in a variety of scenarios)?
  • Does the VSO EU Aid Volunteer website and innovative common technology allow participation and deployment of volunteers from across the European Union?
  • Is the new recruitment, selection and training methodology time- and cost- effective (with reference to the original aims/budget of the project, and compared to VSO’s usual methodology)?

If the answer to any of these questions is no, please give reasons why this occurred, in order to inform recommendations for the future.

3. Scope

The scope of the evaluation should cover all project objectives, activities and results to date since the project began on 1st February 2012. In addition, it would be useful if the evaluation can include any estimate of the impact of these volunteers to date on the work of their employers and the local communities they serve.

4. Methodology

The methodology for this evaluation will be agreed with the evaluator(s). However, it is envisaged that the following documents should be consulted:

  • Original project proposal and final contract, with attached budget
  • Text of draft European legislation to underpin the future EU Aid Volunteer scheme, published by DG ECHO on 19th September 2012 (plus subsequent impact assessment document)
  • Individual project plans on different modules; and end-of-module learning reports completed by project team members
  • Annual work plan of project
  • Minutes of project team meetings and Steering Committee meetings
  • Formal 6-month interim report to DG ECHO, July 2012
  • Formal request from VSO to DG ECHO for changes to budget and actions
  • Informal learning reports submitted to DG ECHO as requested, December 2012 and January 2013
  • Key outputs producedeg. Volunteer management standards, pre-departure training curricula for volunteers, training curricula for hosting organisations
  • Newsletters and publicity information, including website and Facebook page
  • Quotes and email feedback from volunteers
  • Questionnaire and surveys completed by volunteers, before and after deployment

Interviews should be conducted with:

A cross-section of project volunteers, including all those in Pakistan and Bangladesh and around half of those in South Sudan (including a range of ages and nationalities). The South Sudan volunteers should include those who were evacuated from their placements in Wau in December 2012 for security reasons, and those placed in more difficult or remote towns such as Rumbek and Mundri. It would also be useful to include a full cross-section of European nationalities, and a wide age range of volunteers, within the findings.

  • The project team, which includes staff in VSO International, VSO NL and Pro Vobis
  • VSO staff outside the project team, whose work has been or may be affected by this project and its recommendations – including theVolunteer Lifecycle Review team, VSO UK recruitment team, VSO International IT Dept, VSO International Medical Unit, and Country Office staff in Bangladesh, South Sudan and Pakistan
  • Former chair of the Steering Committee Nick Gallagher and current members of the Steering Committee

5. Profile of the Evaluation Team

The evaluator(s) should have skills in evaluation, desk research, conducting phone interviews, analysis and report-writing in English plus prior experience of evaluations of European Commission projects. Ideally the evaluator should have knowledge of the aims, objectives and operating model of VSO. An understanding of the issues surrounding the use of volunteers in both development and humanitarian contexts (and the differences between these) would be useful.

6. Outputs and Deliverables

  • Report on overall progress against qualitative and quantitativekey performance indicators, including executive summary, summary of recommendations, and annexes as appropriate (eg. Data, quotes from interviews)
  • Full list of learning and recommendations for DG ECHO, when setting up the permanent EU Aid Volunteer initiative from 2014
  • Full list of learning and recommendations for VSO, when deploying future volunteers in humanitarian contexts

7. Evaluation Timetable

We have roughly estimated that the evaluation will take around 2-3 weeks. The deadline for the 1st draft of the evaluation reports is 22ndApril 2013, with the final report by end April.

8. Cost

The total budget of 5000 euros (negotiable) should include all travel/accommodation for visits to VSO London, and telephone/Skype interviews with staff and volunteers.

9. Logistical Support (normally provided by the implementing office)

The project manager (Carol Hatchett) will offer logistical support in terms of making phone/desk space available in VSO’s office in London as and when required; scheduling interviews with volunteers and staff; providing access to key documents.

Expressions of interest are invited in writing by 25thMarch 2013 to Carol Hatchett ( ).

The expression of interest, plus accompanying cv, should include:

  • information regarding the applicant’s suitability for the work
  • a rough indication of the anticipated methodology
  • confirmation of availability during April 2013 for completion and timely submission of the reports
  • if higher than 5000 euros, an indication of the amount sought for the work and a rationale for any extra budget required.

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