Burundi/DRC/Kenya/Rwanda: International Evaluator for the Trans-Border Dialogue for Peace in the Great Lakes Region Programme

Oct 13, 2015 | Interpeace
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Interpeace’s Trans-Border Dialogue for Peace in the Great Lakes Region programme seeks a consultant to conduct a mid-term evaluation. The evaluation is expected to measure progress of the programme and to assess the effectiveness of the programme strategies for achieving programme outcomes. The evaluation is also expected to provide recommendations for ensuring programme effectiveness and efficiency, adapting to changes in the political context, as well as maximizing programme impact. The programme has been designed using the outcome mapping approach which is also expected to guide the methodology of the evaluation. Interpeace anticipates that the evaluation will commence in November 2015, for a period of 30 working days, including a minimum of 15 days in Nairobi, Burundi, DRC, and/or Rwanda.

Reporting to: Design, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer

Location: Nairobi (Kenya) with travel to Rwanda, Burundi and Democratic Republic of the Congo

Type of position: Consultancy

Application opening: 15 October 2015

Job start date: November 2015

Period: 30 working days

Background: 

The Trans-Border Dialogue for Peace in the Great Lakes Region programme is a 40-month programme implemented by Interpeace and six partners: Centre d’Alerte et de Prévention des Conflits (CENAP) in Burundi; Never Again Rwanda (NAR) in Rwanda; the Centre d’Etudes Juridiques Appliquées (CEJA) and Pole Institute in DRC’s North Kivu province, as well as Action pour la Paix et la Concorde (APC) and Réseau d’Innovation Organisationnelle (RIO) in South Kivu province. The programme aims to restore trust and collaboration between communities and other key stakeholders of the region and to reduce the vertical space between decision makers and citizens. The main strategy employed to achieve this aim is catalyzing and facilitating dialogue, supported by participatory action research processes, on key issue concerning peace and collaboration in the region.

The African Great Lakes region – comprising the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi – has suffered from recurring cycles of violence for decades. Despite numerous peace agreements, violence flares up every couple of months. The work of Interpeace in Rwanda and Burundi, since 2001 and 2007 respectively, revealed a deep interconnectedness of conflicts in the region and the necessity of anchoring sustainable conflict resolution at the regional level. Thus, in 2012, Interpeace and six partners in the Great Lakes Region initiated a trans-border dialogue programme which builds upon a 6-month exploratory research, using Participatory Action Research (PAR), on the dynamics of peace and conflicts in the Great Lakes Region.

Interpeace and its partners designed the Trans-Border Dialogue for Peace in the Great Lakes Region programme using the outcome mapping approach, focusing its efforts on contributing to behavioural change among key stakeholders in order to promote sustainable peace in the Great Lakes.  In keeping with the outcome mapping approach, the programme has identified the following:

• Vision: The Great Lakes is a region where there is peace and social cohesion achieved through collaboration and inter-cooperation among and between diverse populations and decision makers.
• Mission: In support of the vision, the programme will hold dialogue processes with communities, decision makers, CSOs in particular youth, women and peacebuilding organizations and regional institutions to promote the value of common interests and to reduce feelings of mistrust and prejudice held by local populations. It will conduct participatory action research with various stakeholders in order to gain a deep understanding of the identified divisive factors within Great Lakes Region populations and will propose and disseminate concrete consensus-based solutions to decision makers that take into account the concerns and recommendations of local populations. It will facilitate dialogue processes involving decision makers, community members, civil society organizations and regional institutions in order to strengthen the collaboration and linkages among and between the populations of the Great Lakes regions and will sensitize the media and religious leaders about both divisive factors and opportunities for social cohesion.
• Boundary Partners: To achieve this mission, the proposed programme has as direct target groups in the four intervention zones: i) decision makers, ii) civil-society organizations, iii) community members and iv) regional institutions.

These elements have been complemented by outcome statements and progress markers for each boundary partner.

Interpeace and its partners launched the programme in October 2012, commencing with a PAR on “Identity-based manipulations and stereotypes,” an issue identified as a key driver of conflict by key stakeholders during the exploratory research phase, consulting close to 350 across the Great Lakes region. A second PAR on “land, identity and population movement,” during which the programme teams consulted close to 1800 people, is in the process of finalization. In addition, the programme has established several mechanisms for trans-border dialogues, a network of cross border civil society organizations and linkages with decision makers at the local, national and regional levels. The first phase of the programme is anticipated to run until the end of 2016.  This mid-term evaluation will inform the next year and a half of programming as well as the next phase of the programme.

Objectives and key questions of the evaluation:

The main objective of the evaluation is to assess the progress, achievements, and challenges of Trans-Border Dialogue for Peace in the Great Lakes Region programme to contribute to behaviour change among boundary partners in order to promote collaboration and inter-cooperation among and between diverse populations and decision makers. The evaluation is expected to analyze the effectiveness of programme strategies in achieving the intended outcomes, to gather lessons learned during programme implementation and to provide recommendations for maximizing impact and achievement of progress markers and outcomes. The evaluation will be of interest to Interpeace, CENAP, NAR, CEJA, Pole Institute, APC, and RIO as well as to international donors and policy makers engaged in the Great Lakes region.

The evaluation will assess and analyze progress and challenges under each programme outcomes by responding to the following questions:

• What is the programme doing to contribute to changes in behaviour among the four boundary partners? How? (effectiveness, impact)
• What strategies employed by the programme have been most effective in pursuing programme outcomes and overall vision? Why? (relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability and impact)
• What strategies employed by the programme have been least effective in programme outcomes and overall vision? Why? (relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability and impact)
• What are key recommendations for strengthening the programme’s ability and strategy for meeting progress markers and achieving its four key outcomes, particularly in light of the evolving political context in the region?  (effectiveness, sustainability and impact)

Interpeace anticipates that these key evaluation questions will be further refined with the selected evaluation consultants.

Timeframe and Methodology:

The anticipated duration of the evaluation is 30 working days with a minimum of 15 days spent in Nairobi, Rwanda, Burundi, North Kivu and South Kivu, as possible. The anticipated start date is early November 2015 with submission of the final draft in early January 2016. The final timeframe will be agreed upon with the selected consultants.

Outcome mapping will be used as the primary method of assessment, applying the conceptual framework of assessing outcomes and changes in behaviour and relationships among boundary partners as a result of engagement in programme activities and actions. The evaluation will be both an objective and a consultative/participatory exercise, and is expected to involve the following elements:

Initial planning process: in conjunction with Interpeace and partners, finalize the methodology, guiding questions and indicators, and workplan.

Documentary review: a review of relevant documentation, including the original and revised programme document; programme logical framework; programme reports and updates; reports of workshop proceedings; research outputs; and relevant audio visual material produced for the programme.

Stakeholder interviews and focus group discussions: including with employees of Interpeace; the Interpeace partner organizations; authorities in Rwanda, Burundi, North Kivu and South Kivu, as possible; representatives of regional institutions engaged by the programme; donor representatives; members of the boards of the Interpeace partners; civil society organizations engaged by the programme and community members participating in programme activities. Indicators to assess the progress and impact of the programme, complementing existing progress markers and outcome statements, will be developed in consultation with Interpeace, local partners and stakeholders.

While Interpeace anticipates the use of the elements listed above, the list is not exhaustive. The evaluation may include additional elements and approaches as appropriate for responding to the mid-term evaluation questions. The applicant is encouraged to suggest a comprehensive methodology that includes these elements and others that the evaluators deem fit for meeting the evaluation objectives. The methodology for data collection should be described in the proposals. The final list of elements will be discussed with selected consultant or team.

Deliverables, Reporting and feedback:

The evaluators will provide:

• A brief inception report (no more than 5 pages) at the end of the initial planning phase, setting out a timetable for the evaluation, an overview of the final agreed upon methodology, the names of people and groups to be interviewed, a detailed workplan and a list of documents to be reviewed. Data collection tools are expected to be reviewed by and finalized together with Interpeace.
• The evaluators will provide a brief mid-term progress report and presentation at the end of the fieldwork phase (no more than 10 pages) summarizing the progress of the evaluation, highlighting any changes to the evaluation schedule, and providing tentative findings.
• The evaluators will submit a draft report within 15 days after completing the fieldwork.
• They will provide a final report taking into account comments on the draft report within 5 days of receiving such comments.

The evaluators will hold a feedback meeting (or meetings) for the Interpeace partner organizations, the Interpeace East and Central Africa office and invited stakeholders. This will be an opportunity to debrief on the evaluation, and to exchange views on preliminary findings and recommendations.

The evaluation report will include a main text of no more than 30 pages with findings and recommendations.  The report will be expected to include:

1. An analysis of the programme progress, strategies, challenges and lessons learned
2. Recommendations for enhancing programme activities and interventions to ensure effectiveness, efficiency and continued relevance as well as responsiveness to the evolving political context and achievement of intended outcomes over the remainder of the Trans-Border Dialogue for Peace in the Great Lakes Region programme.

Qualifications:

The evaluation will be undertaken by a team composed of an international consultant, who will be the team leader, and a local consultant from the Great Lakes region (Rwanda, Burundi or the DR Congo).

The consultant will be expected to have the following skills and experience at a minimum:

• Experience conducting evaluations/assessments
• Strong analytical skills and experience working with the Outcome Mapping approach
• Strong knowledge of and experience with conflict resolution, peacebuilding and reconciliation programmes
• Experience working in the Great Lakes region or other conflict or post-conflict environments, with preference given to Great Lakes-specific experience
• Proven record of delivering professional outputs
• A willingness to travel to the Great Lakes region
• Excellent French and English speaking and writing skills
• An ability to work within tight deadlines
• Ability to work effectively and inclusively with people of different culture, race, nationality, gender, religious belief, age, sexual orientation, marital status, disability or political affiliation

Interpeace and its partners will be responsible for:

• Providing a focal point for the evaluation, who may travel with the consultants (time and funds permitting)
• Providing a focal point at each partner organization
• Providing logistical support inside and outside the Great Lakes region
• Providing standard Interpeace security support for the evaluators (responsibility rests with the consultants)
• Arranging meetings with stakeholders
• Providing relevant programme reports and documentation in advance.

Instructions for Submitting CVs:

For consideration for this opportunity, please submit an expression of interest (no longer than 3 pages) and a CV by October 15, 2015 (midnight) via email to: recruitment@interpeace.org

Applicants, if shortlisted, will be required to subsequently submit work samples in English and a preliminary evaluation methodology.

Interpeace values diversity among its staff and aims at achieving greater gender parity in all levels of its work. We welcome applications from women and men, including those with disabilities.