REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST: EXTERNAL EVALUATION

DEADLINE EXTENDED BY 1 WEEK- SEPTEMBER 18, 2022

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REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST:

EXTERNAL EVALUATION

National Integrity Building & Anti–Corruption (NIBA) Program MIDLINE EVALUATION (Years 1 & 2)

Background

The Center for Transparency and Accountability (CENTAL) is a civil society organization and the national chapter of Transparency International (TI), the global coalition against corruption with chapters and networks in more than 120 countries worldwide. Since 2004, CENTAL has led and sustained active civil society engagement with integrity-building and anti-corruption efforts in Liberia. During this period, the Organization has engaged and partnered with diverse stakeholders, including ordinary citizens, local and national officials, international NGOs, bilateral and multilateral institutions, the private sector, media, and other civil society organizations respectively.

On August 11, 2020, CENTAL signed a partnership agreement with the Government and People of Sweden, through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) to implement a 3.5-year program known as the National Integrity Building and Anti-corruption (NIBA) Program. The intervention targets seven (7) counties in Liberia - Montserrado, Nimba, Bong, Bomi, Grand Bassa, Rivercess, and Gbarpolu.

The objectives of the Program are: (1) To increase Citizens’ access to relevant information and mechanisms to demand and take action against Corruption by December 2023, (2); To increase advocacy efforts against corruption by December 2023; and (3) To strengthen the capacity of CENTAL to effectively play her independent monitoring and advocacy roles by December 2023.

Meanwhile, key activities of the Program include, but are not limited to: establishment and running of Integrity Clubs (I Clubs) at four Universities in Monrovia; publication of State of Corruption Report (SCORE); the Open Expenditure Initiative under which Open Expenditure Forums are conducted; the Advocacy and Legal Advice Center (ALAC) that enables citizens to report and seek redress to corruption and other integrity-related issues; and advocacy engagements with policymakers to timely act against corruption in Liberia. Overall, the Program supports the Liberian Government’s anti-corruption and integrity-building efforts and commitments, as contained under Pillar 4 (Governance and Transparency) of the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD), which emphasizes the fight against corruption, fraud, waste, and abuse in the Country.

Specific objectives to be addressed by the evaluation are:

• To examine if project (NIBA PROGRAM) implementation is going according to plan.

• To determine if various program activities implemented, so far achieved their desired results, in line with the result framework.

• And to identify and recommend solutions to issues identified during implementation to enhance program performance(s) and the work of the organization (CENTAL), more broadly.

Scope and focus of the assignment/evaluation

Having implemented Years 1 and 2, CENTAL is hiring a consultant to evaluate the NIBA Program, covering the period August 2020 to July 2022. The Evaluation will independently assess and report on performance of the program against planned activities and results, in line with the approved Work Plan and Result Framework. Lessons learned, challenges, and best practices obtained during the implementation period will also be collated and analyzed to inform the next phase of the program implementation and even beyond. Overall, the exercise is meant to understand what has worked and what hasn’t, to guide future planning and implementation efforts. These include, but are not limited to the effectiveness of knowledge products, outreach activities, and reporting tools and mechanisms.

Some Key Questions and Dimensions

 The evaluation will seek to answer the below and other key questions:

• Are activities implementation on track and likely to lead to attainment of overall project results?
• To what extent were the planned outputs and outcomes of the evaluation period achieved?
• Has the project made any progress/impact, so far, in line with the result framework?
• Were the strategies and tools used during program implementation effective?
• If any, what factor (s), contributed to or hindered the achievement of the intended outputs and outcomes? And
• What recommendations can be proffered to enhance program implementation and overall impact, especially during the remaining period and beyond?

Management of the Assignment / Evaluation

The assignment/evaluation is commissioned by THE CENTER FOR TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN LIBERIA (CENTAL), as part of its Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning functions. The MEAL Officer is the key focal person, with support from the Program Manager and Executive Director.

Expected Deliverables

The following deliverables are expected before the assignment/ evaluation.

• Inception report. The Evaluator(s) / Consultant(s) will prepare an inception report that details his/her understanding of the tasks to be performed. This includes details on how the proposed and any other key evaluation questions will be addressed.

• The report shall also detail out evaluation matrix summarizing the evaluation design, methodologies, evaluation questions, data source, and collection tools for each data source, and the measures by which each project focus area will be evaluated.

The following deliverables are expected after the assignment/ evaluation.

• Draft evaluation report. The evaluator(s)/consultant(s) will prepare a draft report and share first with the Program Manager and MEAL officer for input(s) and comment(s). The report will be reviewed to ensure the evaluator(s) / consultant(s) meet the required quality and standard set by the CENTAL / MEAL department.

• PowerPoint Presentation: (Synthesize finding into graphs & charts). The report will be presented at a meeting with senior management and the MEAL team for comments, questions, and inputs. The presentation shall highlight the methodology, main findings, lessons learned, and recommendations.

• Final Report. Soft and at least one hard copy of the full and summary versions of the comprehensive report shall be submitted within 5 working days after the receipt of all comments and feedback from CENTAL. The reports shall be submitted or addressed to the MEAL Officer and Program Manager respectively.

• Submission of Dataset. For CONFIDENTIALITY purposes, upon completion of assignment, the Evaluator(s) / consultant(s) shall submit ALL datasets, raw & cleaned, transcriptions and audio files from various methods and tools used during the evaluation.

Time table of the assignment/evaluation

The Evaluation is expected to be conducted/completed within one-month, as of the completion of all contractual arrangements. The final report is expected to be available on or before October 15, 2022.

Required expertise of the Firm

• Professionals with at least postgraduate qualification in Statistics, Demographics, Monitoring, & Evaluation, Project Management, Gender, and Youth Empowerment, and any other disciplines related to this task.

• At least 5 years of practical experience (s) in research, and project management, as well as experience(s) in conducting & supervising data collection, and analysis, including demonstrated experience with data analysis using statistical packages such as SPSS (Preferred), STATA, SAS, and ATLAS.

• Proven expertise and knowledge in conducting impact evaluation(s) taking into consideration, corporate, decentralized, ex – post, formative and summative evaluations in developing countries, especially Liberia.

• Knowledge and experience in using various mobile data collection software such as KOBO COLLECT (preferred), SURVEY CTO, SURVEY TOGO, etc.

• Excellent written communication skills in English, and ability to synthesize large amounts of information to be used for program activity (ies).

 Application Procedure and Package:

 Interested firm(s) should submit the followings:

• An expression of interest (EOI) including CVs of individuals to be part of the assignment/evaluation.
• Technical proposal detailing methodology and tools to be used for the work, based on the objectives, scope, and key evaluation questions presented in preceding sections of this document.
• A detailed work plan that outlines key tasks to be completed within the stipulated one-month proposed duration of the assignment
• A financial proposal detailing all costs associated with the work
• Valid Business registration document (s)
• And valid Tax certificate & TIN number (Tax Identification number)

All submissions/applications must be made to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with certified copies to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.,lr, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The deadline for submission is Wednesday, September 16, 2022 at 11:00 PM. Late submission (s) will not be considered.

FEMALE CANDIDATES ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY!