Summary for Request for EOI: Identification of roster of vendors to conduct evaluations and evaluative exercises for the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund (PBF); the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS); and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
OIOS is the internal oversight body of the United Nations Secretariat and has an Inspection and Evaluation Division (IED) based in New York which conducts independent thematic and programmatic evaluations of the United Nations Secretariat Offices, Programmes, Departments and Peacekeeping Operations. Evaluations are conducted by teams of OIOS-IED staff members under the overall supervision of a Chief of Section with review by advisory panels, as necessary. The evaluations involve as part of their methodology, the collection, compilation, analysis and presentation of data from a variety of qualitative and quantitative sources. Final evaluation reports are publically available.
OCHA conducts evaluations of OCHA’s own policies and responses, and Inter Agency Humanitarian Evaluations (IAHE) on behalf of the Inter Agency Standing Committee. OCHA also conducts scoping, inception, synthesis and meta-evaluations. OCHA evaluations are mandated by the IASC or requested by OCHA’s Senior Management as independent evaluations of specific issues and humanitarian operations. Their main objective is to provide findings and recommendations on these key issues, for OCHA’s Senior Management and IASC consideration and action. They will also serve as relevant inputs to policies and guidance, and other reviews. Evaluations are conducted by independent evaluators and managed by OCHA’s Evaluation Unit that is located in the Strategic Planning Evaluation and Guidance Section (SPEGS) in the Office of the Assistant Secretary General’s office. An Evaluation Unit staff member may be part of the evaluation team. OCHA evaluations and IAHEs are typically guided by a management / advisory group.
The PBF supports the United Nations’ broader peacebuilding objectives in countries emerging out of conflict or at risk of relapsing into conflict. It is intended to be a catalytic fund, driven by planning, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms tailored to support the peacebuilding strategies of in-country United Nations and Government leadership. The PBF undertakes evaluations and evaluability assessments of peacebuilding programmes at the country-level. These evaluations and evaluability assessments are conducted by independent evaluators and managed by PBF, with support from in-country United Nations staff. A PBF staff member may accompany the evaluation team during data collection for quality assurance. An evaluation reference group of key stakeholders will also provide feedback on evaluation deliverables.
This EOI will create separate Long Term Agreements (LTA) for the following types of evaluations / evaluative exercises:
(1) Evaluations of peacebuilding programmes;
(2) Humanitarian evaluations;
(3) Peacekeeping operations evaluations;
(4) Evaluability assessments;
(5) Scoping and/or inception;
(6) Evaluation synthesis and/or meta-evaluations; and
(7) Local population surveys and/or qualitative data collection and analysis.
The LTAs will be valid for an initial period of three years, with an option to annually extend the contract for up to two more years. Companies that already have LTAs with OCHA do not need to submit a new application.
Seven different rosters of pre-approved vendors will be established of companies to conduct the above evaluations and/or evaluative exercises. Each vendor must present a proposal that includes a description of the experience and capacities of the company, and CVs that demonstrate the qualifications of the evaluation team.
Independent of the type of evaluation indicated above (bullets 1-3), the evaluation’s methodology should identify a range of data collection tools and ensure that both qualitative and quantitative methods are used appropriately in a mixed methods approach. Data will be derived from primary and secondary sources, direct observation in the field, key informant interviews, focus groups, and/or surveys with stakeholder groups. Other methodologies to consider include the development of case studies, cluster analysis, statistical analysis of data, social network analysis, etc.
The evaluation team will produce a detailed methodological plan. This plan should also include a detailed description of the triangulation strategy, gender analysis, human rights-based approach and how stakeholder perceptions will be utilized as a validation tool.
The outcome of an evaluation (bullets 1-3) will be a report that presents main findings and recommendations from the evaluation, as well as presentations to key stakeholders. The evaluation report should provide concise and actionable recommendations on how to modify activities in the specific area being evaluated to improve relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, sustainability and impact. The final evaluation report may be made public.
Evaluability assessments (bullet 4) are often undertaken at the early stages of a programme design or implementation to determine the extent to which it will be ready for a final outcome evaluation and the changes needed to increase its readiness. Objectives include clarifying programme design from the viewpoints of programme officers and stakeholders (through methods such as facilitation of workshops and group discussions) and assessing the plausibility of programme objectives and feasibility of performance measures. Evaluability assessments typically review programme design, early programme implementation (if applicable), and monitoring and evaluation systems.
Scoping and inception (bullet 5) are the first steps of an evaluation. The scoping phase results in a report that includes the evaluation Terms of Reference and defines the scope of the evaluation. For inception, the scope of the evaluation has already been defined in an evaluation Terms of Reference. The objective of inception is to detail the evaluation approach and methods that will be applied in conducting an evaluation. The inception phase results in an Inception Report.
Local population surveys and/or qualitative data collection and analysis indicated above (bullet 7) will involve the collecting and analysing of data from the local population and/or beneficiaries or key stakeholders in country-specific locations. All preliminary research, data collection methodologies, instruments, analysis and formulation of findings for a local population survey will be designed by the evaluation team and include specific background research for selected countries; drafting, piloting and refinement of any instruments in country-specific languages; determination of an appropriate sampling method and sample size; identification of sample lists; implementation of survey via enumerators who are appropriately trained and supervised; maintaining completed data collection records and data set; and providing a report of the overall findings from the survey in English.
Qualitative interviews and/or focus groups will be designed and conducted by the evaluation team and include any necessary background research; assisting in identification of interviewees and/or focus group participants; designing and piloting the interview/focus group instruments; taking and maintaining a record of the interviews/focus groups; and providing a report of the overall findings in English.
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