JOB DETAILS DESCRIPTION

The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) seeks a short-term, locally-hired consultant to: (1) develop and lead NDI’s contributions to a CEPPS-wide inception report that includes detailed evaluation questions, proposed methodology and sampling strategy, instrumentation and data collection and analysis protocols; (2) develop an evaluation matrix; (3) lead the data collection in the field and analyze data collected; and (4) draft and finalize the mid-term evaluation report in coordination with the NDI team. This consultancy will be based in Islamabad, might require travel within Pakistan, and will work closely with Washington-based staff. Candidates must have active legal authorization to work in Pakistan.

BACKGROUND

NDI has actively supported democratic development in Pakistan since 1997, engaging civic groups and government bodies on initiatives to promote political and civic participation, supporting multi-stakeholder groups and amplifying women’s voices in governance discussions. This program seeks to encourage peaceful political and electoral processes; improve government accountability through enhanced oversight of political processes; and promote meaningful participation of all Pakistani citizens in their systems of governance including in flood-affected areas. Activities conducted to date and future activities include 1) election violence monitoring and training; 2) events to counter disinformation and dangerous speech; 3) civic voter education and information campaigns; 4) political process and participatory performance monitoring training.

CEPPS will conduct a mid-term evaluation to assess the effectiveness of the program in addressing defined results and objectives of the Inclusive Democratic Processes and Governance (IDPG) program. This evaluation is intended to serve several purposes. First, it will assess the progress made towards achievement of the intended outcomes outlined in the approved Results Framework for the program. Second, it will identify any unintended results of the project. Third, it will identify and assess challenges, constraints, and opportunities that impact the ability of the program to meet its objectives and results. Fourth, it will identify changes in programmatic or political context that may necessitate project adaptation. Finally, it will contribute to consortium-level learning.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

The performance mid term evaluation (MTE) will employ the following Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee (OECD/DAC) criteria to guide the lines of inquiry:

1. Relevance of the programming intervention to respond to the articulated beneficiaries, needs, and context;
2. Potential effectiveness of programing implementation in achieving progress towards the IRs;
3. Potential sustainability of program interventions.

EXPECTED DELIVERABLES OF SELECTED CONSULTANT

1. A detailed inception report: NDI will provide the consultant with proposal documents, the program work plans, the Activity Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan (AMELP) and Performance Management Plan (PMP), preliminary stakeholder analysis, quarterly/annual performance reports, and any other program documents for desk review. Based on the review and discussions with NDI staff, the consultant will develop an inception report that includes recommendations for the midterm evaluation design and methodology, including evaluation questions and sub-questions, primary data sources, data collection and analysis methods, instrumentation and sampling strategy. The inception report will also describe the consultant’s approach for maintaining data security and data confidentiality. The draft inception report will be reviewed and approved by the Institute’s MEL and Asia teams. The selected consultant will incorporate all requested edits and finalize an evaluation matrix as well as the key components of the inception report. The consultant will review the draft Joint Inception Report and suggest edits or revisions for clarity and consistency. The approved CEPPS Joint Inception report will serve as the blueprint for the field portion of the midterm evaluation. 

• Summary of literature review conducted
• Evaluation schedule including field plan
• Proposed evaluation methodology including evaluation design matrix that links the evaluation questions to data sources, methods, and data analysis plan.
• List of potential key informants and proposed selection criteria
• Draft data collection tools
• Limitations to the evaluation design

1. Midterm Evaluation Design and Methodology:  The consultant will outline an evaluative framework and propose the best evaluative methods, depending on the available data and proposed evaluation questions to strengthen the validity of the findings and provide room for data triangulation. In addressing the evaluation questions, the consultant will assess the strategy, approaches, accomplishments, and impact of the IDPG program interventions. The consultant will also pre-test the data collection tools in the field to ensure their relevance and reliability. A description of the proposed evaluation methodology must include the following:

• Review of literature, IDPG activities and results, work plans, performance/progress reports, monitoring, evaluation and learning plan (AMELP), and other relevant documents.
• A sampling design and plan.
• Qualitative and quantitative data collection tools
• Data analysis plan
• Evaluation matrix

1. Midterm Evaluation Data Collection and Analysis: The consultant will analyze the data from a variety of sources, collected by the mixed methods approach and develop a comprehensive report. The  inception report will provide the sample frame and method and contain specific numbers if anticipated key informant interviews (KIIs) and group interviews for each data source. The consultant will develop a data collection plan to ensure the evaluation covers all key stakeholders and beneficiaries. Following each interview, the consultant will summarize the notes for data analysis.

Literature review: The methodology includes an initial review of secondary sources, including program documents, performance reports, related USAID policy documents, and publications. A summary of literature review findings  will be added to the report by the consultant.

Key Informant Interviews: The consultant will identify methods and tools utilized to target the program beneficiaries benefiting from the interventions of its results under program objective 1. The purpose of the KIIs and group interviews will be to gather detailed information from the selected sample of  IDPG stakeholders regarding the program interventions, results of those interventions, and effectiveness. The consultant will ensure inclusiveness among the key informants. Data collected will be disaggregated by location and gender. The KIIs will help the consultant to collect qualitative data in the form of interview notes. Summarized notes from the KIIs will be organized, coded, and analyzed by the consultant, per the evaluations questions. Findings will be gathered across the sources and methods, and across the EQs to facilitate data triangulation. Possible evaluation limitations, their implications, and mitigating research biases will also be included in the inception report. All notes and translated copies of notes will be provided to NDI.

1. Evaluation Report: The consultant will be required to prepare an inception and final report consistent with the scope provided in the ToR, report templates, and must meet all the evaluation requirements as per the provided checklist. The final evaluation will broadly cover the following format:

1. Executive Summary
2. Evaluation Purpose
3. Background
4. Evaluation Questions
5. Methodology - including a detailed matrix that links the evaluation questions to data sources, methods, and data analysis plan.
   1. Summary of literature review conducted
   2. Selection criteria (sampling plan).
   3. Data Analysis
6. Limitations to the evaluation design.
7. Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendations
8. Annexes
   1. Data collection tools.
   2. List of potential key informants
   3. Bibliography

The report will be reviewed and approved by the Institute’s MEL and Asia teams. The consultant will incorporate all requested edits before the section is added to the larger CEPPS report. The consultant will review the draft CEPPS report and suggest edits or revisions for clarity and consistency.

CONSULTANCY TERMS

1. The exact term of consultancy will be determined upon signature of contract. The start date is June 15, 2024 and the end date must be on or before August 30, 2024 with a maximum of 30 billable days, based on the following allocation:

1. NDI will cover the cost of the consultant’s travel, including airfare, lodging, and per diem for meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) when traveling to a location they do not reside in.. M&IE will be provided based on the prevailing US Department rates minus any meals otherwise provided including group meals.
2. The consultant is responsible for the filing and payment of all withholding and other taxes to which he is subject. The consultant is not entitled to any fringe benefits from NDI, including but not limited to sick leave, health or life insurance and pension plan.
3. NDI will make payments to the consultant upon receipt of invoices for work completed.
4. All raw data collected and reports prepared would be considered property of NDI.

ABOUT NDI

NDI is a nonpartisan, nongovernmental organization that responds to the worldwide quest for popular civic participation, open and competitive political systems, and representative and accountable government. Since its founding in 1983, NDI and its local partners have worked to establish and strengthen democratic institutions and practices by building political and civic organizations, safeguarding elections and promoting citizen participation, openness and accountability in government. You can learn more about the Institute at our website, www.ndi.org.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)