Strategic Evaluation at Forum Syd

Terms of Reference for Evaluation of Implementation of PAWA Strategic Plan in 2015

 

Purpose

 

This is a Short-term consultancy assignment to carry out an evaluation on year one of implementation of core activities of the strategic plan of PAWA. The assignment will also assess organizational capacity development reflecting on the findings of the internal control systems audit carried out in 2014. PAWA is a partner organization to the ongoing Forum Syd Wajibu Wetu Programme.

Assignment Background

 

PAWA Initiative is a non-profit initiative established in 2009. It is the philanthropic arm of PAWA254, Kenya’s unique art and cultural collaborative hub that houses, fosters and catalyses creative and community-driven projects for social change. The acronym “PAWA” is Swahili corruption of “power,” while “254” is Kenya’s international telephone code. Our vision is to facilitate a bold, innovative and thriving art and media landscape to create social change in Kenya and exists to provide space and avenues where artists can learn and develop skills that can expose them to further opportunities for enhanced outputs, while promoting social change.

 

As a bold ‘ARTIVISM’ organization that creatively integrates art and activism to promote active civic participation, livelihoods and employment development for Kenyan youth, PAWA’s work is organized around two thematic areas;

 

Arts and Culture: PAWA works at developing the capacity of emerging artists and facilitating the integration of this artistic expression for livelihoods development for young people in Kenya. This is achieved through a number of interventions including provision of a state of the art co- working space that consists of creative suites for artists and professional equipment such as cameras, lighting, and other production equipment, skills transfer, networking and partnership opportunities.

 

Civic Engagement & Social Accountability: PAWA uses art as a form of civic engagement through dance, poetry, graffiti, theatre, music, film and photography all while embedding dialogue and participation. The arts are leveraged to spark civic participation through focusing attention on emerging social concerns in the country and in the process prompt communities to action. Furthermore, through art, PAWA brings forward unheard voices in public discourses and convenes groups of people with divergent views through provision of physical, psychological, experiential, and intellectual spaces conducive to reflection and discussion.”

 

Objectives and Scope of Work

 

This Evaluation covers PAWA strategic plan 2015-2019 specifically the fiscal period of Jan. 2015 – Dec. 2105 with direct support from the Embassy of Sweden Nairobi. The assignment will also cover the progress on the implementation of internal controls system audit recommendations, as well as the various activities implemented by PAWA (planned and unplanned). In overall the assignment should cover the following areas;

 

Regarding the strategic plan and activity implementation in 2015, the evaluator will assess the following;

 

• All activities implemented in the year both those planned within the strategic plan and others implemented in line with PAWA priorities for the year.
• Assess the relevance of PAWA work in 2015 in relation to their strategy and activity plan for the year. e.g. How is the appropriateness of the implemented activities to the problems identified, needs and priorities of its target group/rightholders?
• Effectiveness: Are the strategies, approaches and activities implemented relevant, well-designed and effective? To what extent have the partner communities been involved in the planning, implementation and monitoring processes?
• Efficiency: To what extent have resources (human, financial, administrative, time, etc.) been efficiently utilized and combined to achieve the expected results- towards change process

 

Regarding internal controls system audit, the evaluation will assess

 

• How well PAWA has been able to incorporate the recommendations from the internal control systems audit in their day to day management
• Specific area of assessment will include progress on the implementation of the recommendations of the system audit action plan, identifying challenges and deviations.
• Broadly the assignment will also include an assessment of the organizational structure in place to implement the organization strategic plan.

 

Assignment process

 

Preparatory Phase: As soon as the team leader and the team members are identified and contracted, the team shall produce the inception report 5days after signing the contract. Forum Syd shall make all relevant documents available to the team for review in good time before the actual evaluation and assessment.

 

Evaluation and Assessment Phase: Based on the TOR and the submitted proposal; the team and the Forum Syd will agree on a timetable of the assignment process and a mechanism for reporting. The methodology and the work plan shall be discussed and agreed upon between the team and the Forum Syd. Forum Syd shall brief the team on the PAWA Strategy. To assess the implementation of recommendations of internal control systems audit of 2014 by PAWA the team shall meet regularly over the consultancy period with the Board, Management Team and staff at their offices. 2- 3 short interim reports and feedback meetings shall be provided.

 

The team shall conduct field visits to agreed project areas and have meetings and workshops with partner communities, PAWA 254 staff and, to the extent possible, with local government and other stakeholders. PAWA shall provide a comprehensive brief on the projects and be responsible for facilitating the co-ordination of meetings and workshops. Prior to commencing the evaluation at each project location, the team shall meet with the project staff for a briefing.

 

Prior to departure from the project sites, opportunities shall be sought to debrief project staff on the team’s key local project findings. At the end of the strategic plan evaluation phase, a debriefing workshop shall be conducted to discuss the preliminary findings, conclusions and recommendations. The purpose is to inform PAWA, partner communities and other stakeholders of the team’s observations, and to gather feedback to improve the final report. Ample time is set aside for feedback meetings, analysis and reflection together with PAWA staff, management team and Board.

 

Completion Phase: The evaluation ends when the final report has been delivered and the PAWA management has given their response to the recommendations in writing. PAWA shall also develop an Action Plan to implement the recommendations as appropriate.

 

Reporting

 

It is the responsibility of the team leader to compile the reports based on input from the other team members. The final reports should be produced after incorporating feedback from PAWA and partner communities. The report should not exceed 50 pages (excluding annexes) each. A draft report should be sent to Forum Syd, PAWA and partner organization by e-mail for comments within 8days after the debriefing workshops. The final reports should be delivered to Forum Syd and PAWA both as a hard copy and as a PDF file.

 

The linkages between findings, conclusions and recommendations in the reports should be clear and transparent. The recommendations should refer back to the TOR, be actionable, explicitly linked to the conclusions, clustered, prioritized (very high/high/medium) and with an identified addressee.

 

Indicative Timetable

 

The evaluation process shall start on 1st of Nov. 2016 and shall get concluded by 5th Dec. 2016. Keeping this timeline in view, the evaluator has to develop detailed schedule for the evaluation. The consultancy working days shall be staggered across this period.
The Evaluation Team Bids for this assignment are open to independent individual consultants or a consultancy firm. If bidding as a team, the team should not exceed 3 persons and each member should have a specific role and responsibility clearly defined in the proposal.

 

Strategic Evaluation Job Preferred Qualifications

 

• Competence in the field of development cooperation and programmatic evaluation.
• Experience in leading evaluation teams and processes.
• Sound level of knowledge and experience in Organizational Development, Strategic Planning, Facilitation, Communication, Report
• Writing, and the Kenyan context.
• In-depth knowledge of key areas of the evaluation/assessment.