CALL FOR PROPOSAL;Final Evaluation of CAP Youth Empowerment Institute’s Phase Two of Basic Employability Skills Training (BEST) Model Terms of Reference (TOR) at CAP Youth Empowerment Institute Kenya

Project background

The project was established with the following goals and objectives:

Goals

1. Give disadvantaged youth in Kenya the opportunity to successfully transition to market-oriented work, and earn and build assets for their futures by employing the Basic Employability Skills Training (BEST) methodology to teach life skills, job market relevant skills, savings education & small business development training.
2. Provide youth with vital pre- and post-job-placement counselling, support and services (including financial) as they transition to work
3. Transform outdated technical and vocational training systems (TVETs) in Kenya though capacity building of the trainers in some of the elements of the BEST model

Objectives

1. Provide 23,030 marginalized youth with employability skills and support to access internship and  job  opportunities,  through  CAP’s  Basic  Employability  Skills  Training  (CAP-BEST)  model  in  20  existing and new demonstration and replication centers that will function as accredited vocational training centers within the Kenyan TVET sector.
2. Facilitate adoption of the CAP-BEST model components into the Kenyan TVET system through training and capacity building of 500 VTC instructors and managers to improve learning outcomes in their TVET institutions, in order to reach 39,000  young Kenyans with improved market-relevant soft and technical skills.
3. Provide  4,000  graduates  of  the  CAP-BEST  model  support  to  establish  and  grow  micro-businesses   in   the   agriculture,   digital,   manufacturing   and   service   sectors   through   demonstration, replication and VTC partner centers.

Purpose of Summative Evaluation

This final evaluation is being commissioned by The MasterCard Foundation in collaboration with CAP YEI. The evaluation should provide both the Foundation and CAP with data and analyses that will allow for them to assess the performance of the program against its intended goals and objectives, as well as offer evidence that will shape the program moving forward. It is expected that the contents of the evaluation will allow for a review of program design, achievements, and challenges in order to generate key lessons for future strategic and programming decisions.

Evaluation Scope and Key Learning Questions

This evaluation seeks to answer several strategic questions related to CAP YEI’s program in Kenya.  Given the ongoing importance of developing effective youth livelihood strategies in Kenya, CAP YEI’s work nationally and globally, and the Foundation’s explicit focus on Sub-Saharan Africa, the evaluation should seek to maximize the transferability of findings from this final evaluation of the last five years of programming to a wider social application. The broader Key Evaluation and Learning Questions are as follows:

1. To what extent is the BEST model contextually appropriate and responsive to the needs of various types of youth and prospective employers in Kenya?
2. To what extent can this project be considered cost-efficient? Does this input-output/outcome ratio seem reasonable?
3. To what extent has the project attained its training, enhancement of skills & capabilities and job placement objectives? To what extent does the CAP model present an effective approach for addressing youth unemployment in Kenya?
4. What impact – positive or negative, direct or indirect, intended or unintended – has the program produced in youth, their life conditions, and/or the broader contexts within which they live?
5. Are the benefits of the programmatic activities for youth and the community likely to continue into the long-term?
6. How responsive has the program and CAP YEI model been to changes in society that affect youth?

The consultant will develop corresponding sub-questions for each of the above questions which will be refined and agreed upon by The MasterCard Foundation, CAP YEI, and the evaluator(s) as part of the inception/work planning phase of the evaluation. This evaluation will conclude with specific recommendations for CAP YEI’s future programming, including ideas for how to further to strengthen the model and approach. 

Deliverables

Evaluation Inception Report/Work Plan for the evaluation

1. Overview of project and the context in which it operates
2. Purpose of the Evaluation
3. Recommendations or modifications related to the proposed learning questions
4. Clarity around roles and responsibilities if the evaluation is conducted by a team
5. Proposed evaluation methodology and approach including methods for data collection and analysis
6. Perspectives on the current learning questions including any recommendations for strengthening and/or structuring
7. Proposed and updated evaluation framework and timeframe
8. Proposed and updated budget
9. Reporting timelines
10. A draft schedule of meetings/briefing plan which would include regular teleconferences with key MasterCard Foundation and CAP YEI points of contact to check progress and provide updates.

The consultant will be required to present the draft report in person to CAPYEI and may be required to present the findings at a public dissemination event. A final revised version of the Evaluation Report will be submitted as the final deliverable for this project.

Evaluation Updates

In addition to these deliverables, the evaluator will engage in regular briefing updates – either by phone or by email – with The MasterCard Foundation that may also include CAP YEI

Timeline of key activities and Deliverables

The assignment will start upon signature of the contract date. The due dates for all deliverables will be finalized by the evaluator(s) with The MasterCard Foundation in collaboration with CAP YEI prior to submission of the inception report/work plan.

Schedule of payment

The consultant shall propose the payment schedule that will be vetted professionally.