PCAP Evaluation - Gaza

Mercy Corps is Seeking Evaluation Firms for Conducting Performance Evaluation of PCAP Program in Gaza.

Eligible to Apply: Experienced and Established Evaluation and Research Firms and Institutions
Number of Lead Evaluators Required: 3
Number of Gazan Evaluators Required: 3 Evaluation Place: Gaza Strip
Program: Palestinian Community Assistance Program (PCAP)
Deadline for Questions: 9 December 2011
Closing Date of Application: 5 January 2012

Mercy Corps is a non-profit international relief and development organization serving in more than 35 countries in the world. It has its presence in Gaza and West bank since 1985 and has been helping Palestinian communities in humanitarian assistance, economic and social recovery.

Mercy Corps seeks to conduct a performance evaluation of the “Palestinian Community Assistance Program (PCAP)”, a USAID funded program designed to rebuild and improve community infrastructure and housing, develop the economy and provide social assistance in the Gaza Strip. The main objective of the evaluation is to assess the progress of the Program in its effort to improve social, economic and infrastructure recovery in Gaza as outlined in the PCAP’s three key Intermediate Results and Goal. The evaluation will determine to what extent the present activities are contributing to the achievement of recovery objectives of the Program. The evaluation will guide management and operational decision-making to achieve the program objectives and will identify areas where program implementation could be improved.

In order to conduct the evaluation, Mercy Corps WBG is soliciting applications from experienced Evaluation Firms and Institutions.

Time–frame of the Evaluation Study
Desk Review of Documents – 15 February 2012 onwards
Inception Report Due - 25 February 2012
Commencement of Field Works in Gaza - 1 March, 2012 (about 3 to 4 weeks including early data analysis and
Preliminary presentation of findings to the Mercy Corps and USAID)
Draft Report Due - 30 April 2011
Final Report Due - 31 May 2011

Statement of Works
Following the detailed Terms of Reference, the evaluation team will be responsible to undertake following activities and deliver the results.
1) Prior to conducting evaluation, develop an inception report detailing the methods and instruments for conducting evaluation. The report should include working with project team and relevant people in revisiting and finalizing key evaluation questions as outlined in Section 3 of the ToR. The Inception report will be discussed with Mercy Corps PCAP team and USAID before approval.
2) Desk review of relevant documents, including but not limited to PCAP key documentations, project level documentations, records, PCAP quarterly and Annual Reports.
3) Review all monitoring indicator data, baseline and end line reports and GEO-MIS1 latest information as required.
4) Conduct interviews of PCAP senior Managers, Program and Project Managers of relevant PCAP components.
5) Conduct Interviews, focus group discussion, survey or as relevant as per the methodologies described in the inception report, of PCAP beneficiaries, local CBO staff, facilitators, and private institutions as relevant
6) Carefully follow USAID evaluation policies in the design, conducting field works and in preparing evaluation report (Please refer to http://www.usaid.gov/evaluation/ to download the Evaluation Policy Document).
7) Adhere to all relevant policies and procedures of the Mercy Corps and USAID.
8) Adhere to ethical guidelines as outlined in Section 8 of the ToR.
9) Adhere to USAID standard reporting and dissemination.

Deliverables:
1) A final evaluation inception report by the selected firm, detailing the evaluation methods and draft instruments, for discussion and approval before starting the field work.
2) Presentation of the preliminary findings to the Mercy Corps management and relevant staff at the end of the evaluation field works in Gaza and then for USAID in Jerusalem or combined, as decided later on.
3. Submission of the draft report in English language in the format attached as Annex -3 of the ToR within 4 weeks of the completion of the field work. The report should ensure that the “CRITERIA TO ENSURE THE QUALITY OF THE EVALUATION REPORT” as stated in the Appendix 1 of USAID Evaluation Policy is followed.
3) Submission of the FINAL Report in English in the format attached within two weeks after receiving the feedback from the Mercy Corps/Partners/USAID on the draft report. Please note that the report will not be considered final until all of the comments and feedbacks from PCAP are well incorporated into the Report.
4) Properly filed/archived hard copies of all interviews, focus group discussion and questionnaire (if used) transcripts should be delivered as documents of evidences supporting the findings in the report.

Desired education and Qualification of the Firms and Evaluators Firms and Institutions
- Legally registered in the country of origin
- An established entity in the area of monitoring, evaluation and research
- Several years of experiences in conducting evaluation of development programs in the under-developed countries and preferably in the Middle and Near Middle east region.

Following are the key team members required:

Lead Social Recovery Evaluator
- PhD in Social Science, Psychology or in related field from reputed university.
- 15 years of experiences in the development field in the planning, management, monitoring and evaluation of the development programs and conducting research.
- Extensive experience in the development program evaluation. Demonstrated evidences of leading a number of large scale program evaluations in the past.
- Practical experience of quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection using range of tools and techniques and ability to guide the team.
- Demonstrated experiences in leading a number of consultants and consolidating findings and reports
- Experience working in the fragile working condition. Middle East and OPT Experience a plus
- Fluent in English language with the proven ability to interpret, analyze and produce high quality evaluation report.

Lead Infrastructure Recovery Evaluator
- Master or PhD in social science/construction engineering,
- 12 to 15 years of experience in the planning and evaluation field of development and construction sector
works including housing and small infrastructure rehabilitation and their social implications.
- Extensive experience in the evaluation of construction sector projects. He /she must have practical experiences in the evaluation and preparation of quality evaluation report and be an established evaluator in this field.
- Practical experience of quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection using range of tools and techniques.
- Experience working in the fragile working condition. Knowledge and experience of OPT/Middle East region will be an advantage.
- Fluent in English with quality report writing skills. Knowledge of Arabic language will be an advantage.

Lead Economic Recovery Evaluator
- Master , preferably in economics, development economics or related field
- 12 to 15 years of experience in the development field in the planning, management and evaluation of the economic recovery and livelihoods related programs, and conducting research.
- Practical experience of quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection using range of tools and techniques.
- Extensive experience in the program evaluation of economic recovery programs.
- Knowledge and experiences of ICT sector’s program planning and evaluation.
- Experience working in fragile working conditions. Middle East and OPT Experience a plus.
- Fluent in English with the proven ability to interpret, analyze and produce high quality evaluation report.

General criteria for Gazan Evaluators
The local Evaluators are the counterpart of each of the lead consultants as described above. They must be residents of Gaza. The general requirements for Gazan Evaluators are as follows:
- At least a Master degree in the relevant field of Study (Social Science, Development Economics, Construction or relevant area of study).
- 8-10 years of experience in the planning, management and evaluation of social sector projects and programs.
- Practical experiences in the monitoring and evaluation of development programs.
- Practical experience of quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection using range of tools and techniques.
- Fluent in English and Arabic Language. Proven ability to write quality reports in English.
- Well familiar with the local context of Gaza.

Mercy Corps will assist the selected firms in the following:
- Mercy Corps will endeavor to arrange Gaza Entry permits
- Assist in arranging accommodations in Gaza and Jerusalem
- Coordinate evaluation preparation, planning and coordination with Program and Partners for evaluation events
- Others as necessary

Criteria to Select Evaluation Firms and Institutions
Mercy Corps and USAID will carefully review each of the proposals received from the competing firms. Following will be the main criteria (but not limited to) for the evaluation of proposals:
- Past experience and performance
- Previous experience in managing similar nature of evaluation
- Qualifications of consultants proposed
- Budget
- Previous writing samples
- Working experience in fragile conditions

Content of the Application
- A cover letter
- A description of your firm or institution detailing present capacities, expertise, and experiences in the monitoring and evaluation of development programs.
- Past performance summary and references
- An Inception report detailing your methodologies for evaluation based on evaluation questions, and an evaluation plan including days to be spent on desk reviews, planning and stakeholders interviews, field work, presentation of preliminary findings, data analysis, compilation of draft and final report.
- Curricula Vitae (CV) for all members of the team identifying the Team Leader
- Detailed budget in USD. The budget should cover all the expenses needed for the evaluation purpose from beginning to until the finalization of report.

Following are the key example items (No. of days needed particularly for each evaluation item should be clearly mentioned);
Sample

SN
Budget Item
No. of Days
Rate
Amount

1 Evaluation Days –Lead Evaluators
Desk Reviews
Evaluation Preparation /planning in Gaza
Field work /Interviews
Data Analysis/Preparation for early presentation
Draft Report writing
Finalization of report
2 Evaluation days- Gazan Evaluators
3 Travel to and From Gaza
4 Accommodation in Gaza/Jerusalem
5 Other …

- A sample of writing from previous evaluation conducted by the Firm/Institution

Any questions related to the RFA process or the evaluation TOR should be submitted to the same email address no later than December 9, 2011.

Responses to all questions will be shared with all applicants within one week from this deadline.

The deadline for the submission of applications is January 5, 2012, no later than 15:00 Jerusalem time.

Each applicant should submit one original and two copies of the application documents. The application packages should include electronic copies of applications on a CD.

How to apply:

Apply online at our website:
http://mercycorps.silkroad.com/epostings/submit.cfm?fuseaction=app.dspjo...