Terms of Reference. External End-of-Project review

The project Wings4Youth will undergo an external end-of-project review to separately assess the specific objectives and results.

Project Details:

Project Background
The project is implemented against the backdrop of substantial barriers for vulnerable youth, especially young women, in accessing the labour market and achieving economic independence. The most vulnerable youth in Moldova are those who come from social protection services (e.g., institutional and alternative care settings) and struggle to receive an education and find employment. They have expressed the need for support in acquiring vocational skills demanded in the labour market, drafting a CV, preparing for job interviews, and gaining work experience. Girls and women are often confined to social roles, focusing on professions that are easily combined with family responsibilities. Thus, there is a need to support young females in developing their full potential and educating them about their rights.

Wings4Youth is dedicated to supporting young care leavers, who are young adults aged 16-25 that have grown up in family-like groups or foster families and are now transitioning to independent life. These care leavers are among the most vulnerable groups in society. Unlike most young people who are still supported through their families when they reach 18, care leavers do not receive support from the state when they leave care. The project aims to improve the employability of care leavers and strengthen their skills for independent living by enhancing the quality of standards and provisions that promote their socio-economic integration. Additionally, it aims to build trust between young people and professionals on both sides of the Nistru River and raise awareness in the labour market about the importance of integrating young people into the world of work.

The project is implemented in four communities with significant support needs: Chișinău, Nisporeni, Congaz, Cosăuți. Its goal is to equip vulnerable young women and men with the necessary skills for independent living, job coaching, and support for starting their own businesses so they can compete in the labour market. It also involves working with relevant stakeholders to facilitate confidence-building measures for young people by exchanging ideas and information between the target groups in Moldova and Transnistria. The intervention aims to foster mutual understanding and ensure contact and exchange between two groups of people divided by conflict.

Nota bene:
Under the projects „Wings4Youth for Moldova“(Project Nr. 8108-06/2020, CONCORDIA Verein für Sozialprojekte) and „Wings4Youth for Transnistria” (Project Nr. 8108-04/2020, Caritas Austria) CONCORDIA
and Caritas Austria have implemented two separate projects with similar goals and objectives but differing target groups and project locations. Both projects include one shared objective of fostering understanding and tolerance between the target groups in Moldova and Transnistria. Both projects are co-financed by ADA but run under different contracts with ADA. The projects are reviewed separately.

Purpose of and objective of end-of-project review

This end-of-project review aims to assess the project’s achievements and draw lessons from its experiences. It will identify what worked and what didn't in both project management and activity implementation. The review will offer insights and recommendations for future decision-making and program renewal. By reviewing the project’s objectives and impact on participants, the assessment will also generate recommendations on the sustainability of the results. A participative approach will be used to encourage joint reflection among staff and participants on the effectiveness and impact of the activities.

Scope

Impact

The overall project objective is to contribute to social inclusion and poverty reduction of young care leavers in the Republic of Moldova (in line with SDG 4 and 8) and to reconciliation between peers from both sides of the Nistru rivers (in line with SDG 16) by fostering an environment of mutual understanding, confidence and respect

Programme outcomes

SO1: Project participants (young care leavers) are more employable and have increased competences for independent living through better quality socio-vocational integration services (SVIS) in the Republic of Moldova by 2024.

SO2: Increased confidence between youth and professional staff from both sides of the Nistru River and increased awareness on labour market on inclusion of young people through exchange and joint advocacy efforts (in cooperation with Caritas Austria).

Expected results

ER 1.1. Young care leavers are provided with effective support services that facilitate a transition to an independent life.

ER 1.2. Young care leavers have increased capacity for socio-economic integration into the labour market and become economically independent, with a particular focus on female youth.

ER 1.3. Care professionals have better capacity to support transition out-of-care and access to employment.

ER 1.4. More favourable standards and provisions in place that foster SVIS for young care leavers ER 2.2. Created support structure for employers and their needs (EMPLOYER’S SUPPORT)

ER 2.1. Increased understanding and tolerance of care leavers (i.e. between vulnerable youth from both sides of the Nistru river) on different cultural and community perspectives through exchange of ideas and information.

ER 2.2. Improved SVIS-network across both sides of the Nistru river provides a platform for exchanging experiences and best practices among service providers.

For more information, please refer to the project documents that will be made available upon assignment

Qualifications of the review team

The review team shall have the following key qualifications:

• At least one person of the review team (team lead + expert) should either originate from Moldova or shall have profound working experience in the regi Thus, having experience with local authorities and practice, political and decision-making processes;
• Profound experience in the review/evaluation of programmes funded by institutional dono
• A minimum of 3 years’ experience and expertise in the review/evaluation of similar programmes and appropriate knowledge of data collection methods and data analysis;
• Sound experience in the use of participatory methods and gender responsive approaches;
• Knowledge of the local socio-political and economic structures of the Republic of Moldova and Transnistria
• Fluency in English (reading, speaking, writing); (Excellent) Knowledge in Romanian, especially for local review consultants/facilitators compulsory;
• At least one letter of recommendation from relevant institutions/NGOs.

The evaluator(s) must not have been involved in the design, implementation or monitoring of this project.

Approach and Methods

This review will adopt a non-experimental design, focusing on the changes experienced by those impacted by the project. It will adhere to the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) quality standards and guidelines for end-of-project reviews. The review will integrate the human rights-based approach (HRBA), ADC’s cross-cutting issues, and the fundamental principles and quality standards relevant to ADA’s program and project design. Additionally, reviewers are expected to sign the United Nations Evaluation Group’s (UNEG) pledge of ethical conduct in evaluation (attached as an annex to these Terms of Reference) and CONCORDIA’s child protection policy alongside the end-of-project review contract.

Expected Use of the Review:

• Primary Users: Management and project staff of CONCORDIA and
• Demonstration of Relevance: To provide evidence of the project's relevance to donors, partners, institutions, and project participants.
• Follow-up Project Development: This is to inform the development of potential follow-up projects.
• Organizational Learning: To contribute to organizational learning and knowledge managem
• Impact: to provide evidence of the impact on the programme participants supported by the project.

Criteria for Review Design:

The design of the end-of-project review should consider the following criteria:

• Relevance: Alignment with the review's purpos
• Cost-effectiveness: Efficient use of resources.
• Validity: Ensuring the accuracy and reliability of the informat 
• Ethical Considerations: Addressing ethical issues related to the use of the information.

Key Review Questions:

The review team should address the following questions:

1.     Overall Questions

• What were the major factors influencing the achievement or non-achievement of the project’s objectives and expected results?

• To what extent did all project stakeholders collaborate as planned and assume ownership of the project’s activities?

• How effectively was gender mainstreaming incorporated into the projects, and to what extent did the implementation demonstrate gender responsiveness?

2.     Learning Objectives and Use

• What aspects of the project went well or not so well, and why? What are best practices in the project?
• To what extent were the project objectives and results achieved?
• How and to what extent did the activities have an immediate impact on the lives of the project participants? What changed for them?
• To what extent did the project employ participatory approaches?
• What was the positive effect of the project on the future prospects of the participants?
• Was the project implemented according to plan?
• Was the project relevant and did it meet the current needs?

Review Methodology:

The review team should remain flexible, adjusting the original design as more information becomes available or as gaps are identified. Multiple sources of evidence should be utilized to answer the review questions, including both existing data and newly generated information.

Data Collection Methods

The data collection will primarily focus on qualitative and participatory approaches, and may include:

• Analysis of Project Documents: Review of the intervention logic, theory of change, and underlying assumption
• Learning Workshops: Sessions for project staff to share insights and discuss act
• Structured or Semi-structured Focus Group Discussions: Gathering qualitative data from young people involved in the project act
• Direct Interviews: Particularly with participants from minority groups, those with special needs, or those facing challenging socio-economic conditions, to gain deeper insight
• After-Action Reviews and Retrospectives: Reflecting on intervention approaches and identifying areas for improvement in potential follow-up projec What are the needs which are still burning among the target group and recommendations how to address them?
• Most Significant Change (MSC) Method: Capturing major transformations in the lives of program participants, ensuring their active participation in the evaluation process.

The selection of specific methods or a methodological mix for generating qualitative data from project teams in each country will be at the discretion of the reviewers. The chosen data collection and analysis methods must be rigorous enough to provide a comprehensive, fair, and unbiased assessment.

The process for the end-of-project review will be carried out according to the following steps:

Estimated total number of working days: 19 days

Kick-off meeting – 1 day

The review team will meet in Vienna/Chisinau or online to be briefed by the programme managers of CONCORDIA about the project and the expected outcomes of the review. Participation of ADA staff is possible.

1st stage: In-depth-study of written material – 2 days

The reviewers will be provided with all relevant programme documents regarding the project concept and implementation to have the possibility to get an insight into the development of the project and get a clear picture of it.

2nd stage: Inception report to CONCORDIA – 2 days

The reviewers write a first report to CONCORDIA to

• present their understanding of the objective of the review
• present the key review questions elaborated, indicators for each review sub-question and an overview over the methods envisaged to be used
• feedback by CONCORDIA on the inception report

3rd stage: Trip to the project sites – 5 days

• Data collection through participatory methods with youths who benefitted from the different project’s activities 
• conduct structured focus group discussions among local labour market stakeholders, governmental and non-governmental organisations
• conduct interviews or structured focus-group discussions with CONCORDIA Moldova employees

4th stage: Drafting the review report and share it with CONCORDIA – 6 days

5th stage: Drafting and presentation of the final review report, including recommendations for dissemination – 3 days

Review Management Arrangements

The main coordination of the review process is within the responsibility of the project holder (CONCORDIA). This includes the management of the procurement process, the consultation with the reviewer(s) on content questions and technical as well as financial arrangements. Likewise, CONCORDIA will coordinate with the local partner organisations to arrange dates for field visits and the like.

Confidentiality of information: All documents provided to the reviewer(s) and all data collected during field research must be treated as confidential and used solely for the purpose of this review. Respondents shall not be identified in reports without their explicit written permission. Photos, videos, and other research data that can be traced back to individual research participants shall be anonymised unless agreed otherwise, in writing, with the person concerned.

Ownership of data, findings, products: CONCORDIA retains full ownership of all data, findings, and products produced as part of this assignment.

Safeguarding and protection: For the time of the assignment, the reviewer(s) commits to safeguarding and protection policies and procedures that are shared and reiterated during the preparatory phase.

Distribution Policy: All deliverables generated through this review will be subject to approval by CONCORDIA before public dissemination.

Expected results (deliverables) from the review

The reviewers will submit the following reports in English language:

• A draft and final inception report (8-10 pages max without annexes in English), clearly outlining the details of the review methodology and approach based on preliminary findings from the document review. A description of the instruments is to be provided in English.
• A draft and final review report (20-25 pages without annexes in English), including an executive summary presenting the main results of the researc A description of the instruments is to be provided in English.
• A dissemination meeting (proposed online or in Chișinău), whereby key findings, lessons learned, and recommendations are shared with partners.
• A minimum of 3 case stories of best practices and/or most significant change stories of maximum 1 page each.

Ideally, the final report should use the following structure:

• Title page
• Acknowledgements
• A table of content
• An executive summary
• An introductory chapter setting the context and the nature of the problem
• An explanatory chapter of the research methodology and design, the research tools and key re- search questions
• A chapter presenting in detail the findings and the results of the data analysis
• A chapter with detailed conclusions and recommendations
• Dissemination steps
• References
• All necessary annexes

Coordination

Ms. Caroline Lercher Tauber will be the contact person for this review.

Contact details: caroline.lercher-tauber@CONCORDIA.or.at, +43 1 2128149-34.

Budget

The total budget of the end-of-project review must not exceed EUR 7,500 (including VAT, it the case). The financial proposal should include all occurred expenditures, e.g., travelling costs for the evaluator(s), office supplies, protocol, etc. Please note that the evaluator(s) will be responsible for paying income taxes and any other due taxes as per applicable national legislation.

CONCORDIA reserves the right not to pay the contractors or withhold part of the payable amount if requirement(s) established for this assignment are not met or if the deadline set for the accomplishment of the tasks is missed.

Application procedure

The offer has to include a technical and a financial part. The total number of pages should not exceed 25 pages.

The offer should lie between EUR 5,000 and 7,500 € incl. VAT.

Deadline for handing in offers is DATE 22.09.2024 5pm Vienna (GMT+1) via e-mail to caroline.lercher-tauber@CONCORDIA.or.at.

The offer should include the following points:

1. CV/CVs focused on the skills and experiences requested;

2. A cover letter underlining the motivation for applying for this assessment and how the candidates’ skills and experience match the requirements of the evaluation;

3. A financial plan that clearly states how the budget (maximum EUR 7,500) will be All costs (including travel costs) must be included in the budget frame.

If invited for an interview, candidates are asked to prepare a brief review plan (max. 3 pages) to be presented and discussed during the interview.

The name of the bidder(s), phone numbers, email addresses must be specified.

In the assessment of the offer, the following weighing will be applied:

Annexes

• Short Project Description Wings4Youth Moldova (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JQ9xkx16x-CEfLEtIUT5W_6dsBR63hoh/view?usp=sharing)
• CONCORDIA Child Protection Policy (https://drive.google.com/file/d/16q-fXrwEl6N_8KpaJhmk_gKgkz38g-X5/view?usp=sharing)

See ADA Guidelines for Programme and Project Evaluations under:https://www.entwick- lung.at/en/ada/evaluation  for further references.

• Evaluation Policy of the Austrian Development Agency (Annex 3)
• UNEG Ethical Guidelines for Evaluation http://www.unevaluatorg/document/detail/2866

The following sources of information that can be publicly assessed can be used for drafting the offer:

https://www.concordia.or.at/en/how-concordia-helps/education/wings4youth-of-moldova/

Documents which will be made available to the evaluator after the contract was signed:

• Original project document
• All annexes to the original project document
• Approved requests for budget reallocation
• Primary data collected in the course of programme implementation
• All narrative progress reports incl. annexes