Terms of Reference for Mid-Term Evaluation Ofthe Project

Terms of Reference for Mid-Term Evaluation ofthe Project

“Equality for All - Civil Society Coalition AgainstDiscrimination”

BACKGROUND

The project “Equality for All – Civil Society Coalition against Discrimination” (hereafter referred to as “the Project”) is a four-year program that aims to prevent and combat discrimination in BiH by promoting active involvement of CSOs and citizens in antidiscrimination. The project is implemented by the Foundation Mediacentar (FMC) in cooperation with the Center for Social Research Analitika, Rights for All and Vasa prava BiH, and supported by USAID and Open Society Fund BiH.

The Project has three specific objectives:

• To improve cooperation and build strategic partnerships between CSOs on one side, and key government institutions and courts on the other, in order to improve the legal antidiscrimination framework in BiH.
• To improve the capacities of CSOs to become agents of change in the fight against discrimination.
• To raise citizens’ awareness of discrimination issues and the framework for protection fromdiscrimination.

In line with these objectives, the Project has three distinct yet interconnected components.

Within our policy and advocacy component,the project aims todevelop a set of policy recommendations regarding the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination BiH and to advocate for improvements of the legal framework and its implementation in practice. Specifically, we work with judiciary, government representatives, civil society and other key stakeholders on developing and delivering policy proposals that would improve the current legal framework. We also hold consultation meetings and events aimed at expanding the coordination and cooperation of all key stakeholders in the field of antidiscrimination in BiH. We have actively participated in the policy process of amending the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination in BiH and The Law on Ombudsman for Human Rights of BiH, while our policy outputs explored different aspects of the antidiscrimination framework, such as the class action, court practices in discrimination cases, andthe regulation of mobbing, to name only a few. All our policy outputs published by the project partner Analitika are available here.

The second component has to do withcapacity building of civil society organizationsinvolvedin antidiscrimination. So far we have implementedtwo training of trainers programs and organized 10 workshops for CSOs across BiH in antidiscrimination paralegal aid and antidiscrimination advocacy. In addition to education programs, we also focus on providing legal advice and free legal aid to the victims of discrimination,whilea dedicated legal team of Vasa prava BiH is continuously engaged in the provision of legal advice to citizens,as well as in strategic litigation cases. So far, Vasa prava BiH have initiated over 50 legal proceedings. In supporting the active involvement of the civil society, the Project also awards smallgrants for advocacy efforts that are implemented on a local level by civil society organizations across BiH. So far we have awarded 12 grants under this project component.

The third project component is dedicated to awareness raising activities, and through that we foster active dialogue on instances and consequences of discrimination in our society, and we deliver specific communication campaigns. Our key communication tool is the web platform and so far we have implemented foursmall/medium-scale campaigns aimed at youth and the general public. In our effort to raise awareness about discrimination, we also award grants to CSOs across BiH to conduct campaigns and awareness-raising efforts in local communities. To this day, the Project has awarded fivegrants under this component.

EVALUATION OBJECTIVES

The Project,currently half-way through theimplementation stage, seeks to engage an independent consultant to conduct mid-term evaluation of activities and mechanisms in place. Specifically, the objectives of the evaluation are as follows:

• Assess the extent to which the project has achieved its planned outputs, as identified in the Project documents, and assess to which extent the projectis reaching its overall and specific objectives;
• Assess the extent to which project outputs have reached the intended beneficiaries and/or key stakeholders, and asses the impactof these interventions and outputs on the final beneficiaries and key stakeholders;
• Evaluate the project management procedures and mechanisms in place and assess the extent to which theyenable efficient and result-oriented project implementation.

EXPECTED OUTPUTS

The output of the evaluation will be an evaluation report of up to 20 pages in English that will highlight the findings and offer a set of recommendations for the remaining two years of program. The report willhave the following structure:

1. Introduction
2. Scope and aim of the evaluation
3. Methodology
4. Analysis of data obtained – for each of the project components separate chapter + one section on overall project level and overall project management
5. Key findings and recommendations
6. Conclusions
7. Annex 1: list of interviewees

METHODOLOGY

The evaluator is expected to consult all relevant sources of information, such as the project documents, project M&E matrix, project reports byFMC, project partners, and grantees, all relevant project files, and any other materials that he or she may be finduseful for the evaluation process. The evaluator is also expected to consult and work closely with the project implementers and counterparts, as well as beneficiaries and key stakeholders.

The evaluation process willconsist of:

• Methodology development, and desk review of all relevant documents.
• Discussions and interviews with key FMC project staff (3 persons);
• Field visits and in-depth interviews with partners, sub-grantees, project beneficiaries and key stakeholders (up to 20 persons/interviews);
• Report writing: draft report writing andfinalization of the report in accordance with the comments and suggestions provided by project implementers.

WHO CAN APPLY?

The Project is seeking to engage an independentconsultant with the following qualifications:

• University degree in social sciences
• At least fiveyears of progressively responsible experience in the civil society sector, human rights, and related fields.
• Provenknowledge and experience in project evaluation – i.e. direct professional experience in conducting internal or external project evaluations on at least fiveprojects.
• Excellent English and B/H/S language skills.

Applicants are to submit a CV demonstrating that they meet all of the above-mentioned requirements. Please note that a list of at least five projects must be included in the CV (or submitted alongside the CV), and that it is obligatory to provide key data for each project,such as: full project title, project timeframe and overall budget, contact person, and a short summary of the consultant’s work on that project.

LOGISTICS

The performance period is October 10 2016 – November 30 2016. The time frame and the scope of evaluation are as follows:

The consultant is expected to arrange all filed visits and interviews and to organize all related logistics (travel, accommodation, etc.). The FMC will provide all contacts and assist where needed. The location of the field visits will depend on the final methodology developed by the consultant, but will most likely have to include interviews in some or all of the following cities in BiH: Mostar, Tuzla, Banja Luka, Bijeljina, and Zenica.

BUDGET

All candidates are expected to submit a detailed financial proposal, in accordance with the ToR, that will consist of daily unit price for each day of work.

The total number of working days cannot exceed 19, as outlined in the above time frame.

The fee includes all other costs of the assignment, including travel, accommodation, and per diems. The rates are in BAM and do not include taxes, as those will be calculated and covered additionally by the FMC in accordance with its fiscal obligations.

The payments will be made in two instalments:

• First installment/advance payment will be made upon the signing of the contract and will amount to 20% of the total fee.
• Second installment/final payment will be made after the completion of the evaluation and approval of the final report by the FMC. It will amount to 80% of the total fee.

SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS

All candidates should send their CVs and financial offers by September 30 2016 at the latest to .

For further information, please see the Project web page

Please note that we do not respond to phone inquiries.

U saradnji sa: Centar za društvena istraživanja Analitika, Prava za sve i Vaša prava BiH