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Programme Background

The Commonwealth Equality Project (CEP) is implemented by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) and Kaleidoscope Trust (KT). The programme is funded by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) as part of a broader initiative also titled the Commonwealth Equality Project, however the partnership between WFD and KT is discreet with its own project Theory of Change and Outcome Matrix. The programme implementation period is from October 2020 – March 2021.

CEP works with decision makers and civic actors in 13 commonwealth countries1 to make progress towards advancing gender equality and LGBT+ inclusion. Programme interventions are based on:

1. Creating greater evidence, capacities and incentives among government actors and parliamentarians of the social and economic costs of discriminatory regulations and practices;
2. Strengthening collaborative relationships between CSOs and political decision-makers and the flow of reliable information and evidence; and
3. Deepening civil society policy development and policy advocacy capacities with a view to creating a more conducive environment for positive change in laws, policies and implementation and social norms.

CEP reports to a Programme Steering Group comprised of WFD and KT representatives as well as to the FCDO via formal reporting mechanisms.

Countries were selected for interventions acknowledging the limited time-scale of the project and restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Programme interventions have been designed to factor existing relationships that WFD and KT already had established in targeted countries, and already existing movements, prioritisation, and progress in target countries towards greater equality. Where these factors do not exist, programme interventions have prioritised developing the evidence base to be used by decision makers and civic actors to make the case for greater equality.

CEP has also invested in global products to advance the objectives of the programme and with a view for usage beyond the life-cycle of the programme. These include an adaptation of WFD’s Post-Legislative Scrutiny (PLS) methodology, to be used by CSOs; research on the rights and status of Intersex persons in South Asia; the development of a SOGIE-inclusive CEDAW tracker; and an event on influencing change in informal political spaces.

Evaluation

The evaluation of the programme will use a mixed-methods approach to look at:

1. A theory-based evaluation looking at the extent to which our theory of change worked as a concept;
2. A thematic evaluation looking at key results to help us understand what progress has been made in six months and that of our contribution (and our partners) to it;
3. Based on the above and of the likelihood/feasibly of change in the contexts evaluated, direction for longer-term work.

The evaluator(s) will have access to reporting data collected by WFD and KT for the purposes of reporting against the project’s TOC and country specific outcome matrix.

Steps and Deliverables

The evaluation is expected to comply with the following steps and deliverables:

1. Proposal – this should detail the evaluators’ understanding of what is being evaluated and why, presenting proposed evaluation questions and showing how they could be answered by way of: proposed methods; proposed sources of data; and data collection procedures. This should be mindful of COVID-19 restrictions and collection of data within these restrictions as well as the project timeframe of six months of interventions. The proposal should include a schedule of tasks and activities.
2. Methodology – the approach designed, after partner consultations, for undertaking the evaluation which will need to be approved by the partners.
3. Draft evaluation report – including assessment findings from the desk review and remotely based interviews, to be presented to the partners for feedback and further input.
4. Final evaluation report – this should be aligned with the report format stipulated further below.

Timeline

Report format

The evaluation report is expected to follow the structure outlined below:

1. Table of Contents
2. Abbreviations/acronyms page
3. Executive summary (maximum 3 pages)
4. A short introduction to the programme
5. The evaluation methodology
6. Findings
7. Lessons learned
8. Summary of recommendations

Annexes must include:

• Terms of reference for the Final Evaluation
• Evaluation schedule/timetable
• List of people interviewed
• Documents consulted and other data

Fee Structure

• 50% of fee payable upon signature of contract and 50% of fee payable upon completion of evaluation and submission of invoice.
• Maximum budget applicable: £15,000

Criteria for selecting the Consultant

The Evaluator shall have the following expertise and qualification:

• At least Master’s degree in Public Policy, International Development, Development Economics/Planning, Economics, International Relations/ Diplomacy or any other relevant university degree;
• Extensive expertise, knowledge, and experience in the field of aid effectiveness and aid management process related issues, including governance programmes;
• Experience of project formulation and evaluation; At least 10 years of experience in working with international organizations and donors, evaluating projects with multiple partners with complex implementation modalities. Experience with outcome mapping preferred;
• Excellent written and verbal Communication skills in English;
• Offers will be evaluated on these criteria as well as the quality of the technical offer (proposed methodology, capacity to mobilize qualified personnel and consideration of COVID-19 restrictions, etc.) and the soundness of the financial offer.

Submission of proposal

Please submit CV, technical and financial proposal to Charlotte Egan, Director, Commonwealth Equality Project (CEP): Charlotte.Egan@wfd.org by 23:59 GMT Friday 12 March 2021. Late proposals will not be accepted. The subject line of the email should read ‘CEP Evaluation’. For queries, please contact Charlotte.Egan@wfd.org or Sophia.Fernandes@wfd.org.

View these Terms of References in PDF format.

Should you require this information in an alternative format to meet accessibility requirements, please send an email to comms@wfd.org.