1.     Introduction and Context:

The Legal Aid Society (LAS) is a not for profit non-governmental organization which was registered on 19 November, 2013 under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid, Former Chief Justice of Sindh and Former Supreme Court Judge, founded the organization with the main objective of serving marginalized and underprivileged communities to reduce challenges in accessing justice. Over the last eight years of operations, LAS has spread its operations to thirteen (13) judicial districts in the province of Sindh. The head office is situated in Karachi and operations are conducted through seven (07) district offices located in Hyderabad, Larkana, Sukkur, Khairpur, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sanghar, and Dadu.

Pakistan currently ranks at 153 out of 156 countries on the gender inequality index of the World Economic Forum’s Global Gap Report of 2021[1]. The current system is one of dichotomous social values, where one gender has rights over the other but not vice versa and existing structural gender inequalities are maintained by a host of interlocking and reciprocally reinforcing factors[2]. This is the primary reason for the prevailing inequitable patterns of social, economic and political disadvantage[3] of women in the country. Pakistan ranks as the sixth most risky country in the world for women[4], with rampant cases of sexual and domestic violence. Violence against women is common across Pakistan and women continue to face structural and systemic barriers in accessing their fundamental and constitutional rights as identified in the Sindh Rule of Law Roadmap.

LAS has initiated the second phase of a project titled “Strengthening the Criminal Justice System’s Response to Sexual Violence in Sindh and ICT” funded by the British High Commission. The timeline of the project is 1^st June 2021 to 31^st March 2022.  

The project is being implemented in Sindh (Karachi and Hyderabad Districts) and  ICT with federal government institutions with the aim of wider level outreach. The key stakeholders at Sindh and ICT levels are judiciary, police, Federal MoLJ, Law, Justice Commission of Pakistan, Federal Judicial Academy, Law, Home and WDD, Federal Ministry of Human Rights, Office of the Prosecutor General in Sindh and ICT, National and Provincial Commissions on Women and Human Rights, and the users of the Criminal Justice System (CJS).

The aim is to improve the experience of victims and survivors with the criminal justice institutions through focusing on sensitisation and reorientation towards dispensation of   victim centric service provision. The project outcome is planned to be achieved by implementing 4 outputs centring on:

       i.          Improving capacity of investigations through specialisations

     ii.          Improving processing of cases by the courts

    iii.          Provision of special measures in court

    iv.          Advocacy and lessons sharing at the provincial and federal level for wider learnings

In Sindh, the existing momentum gained in the previous project will be used to advance the initiatives prioritised by the CJS actors and already in motion; initiatives will be piloted (e.g., specialised Gender Base Violence (GBV) Investigation Officers (hereinafter refer as “IOs”) and Performance Management Framework for IOs under Output 1) or current momentum will be used for advancement on existing initiatives (e.g., training of GBV Court judges on Guidelines for Gender-Based Violence Courts (hereinafter refer as “GBV Courts”) in Sindh under Output 2). In ICT, successful strategies from the Sindh experience will be replicated (e.g., Gap analysis in Investigation and Prosecution of Rape Cases under Output 2, and generation of on-ground data on GBV Courts and User Satisfaction Survey (hereinafter refer as “USS”) under Output 3) to build support and pilot initiatives such as Special Protection Mechanisms (hereinafter refer as “SPMs”), evidenced to be successful in Sindh under Output 3. These successes will be used as the basis of dialogue on successful initiatives for the Federal institutions for generating buy in, support and consensus, and ultimately sustainability of an approach and strategy within the CJS and Government departments under Output 4.

This call for proposals is for an end-of-project evaluation. The evaluator will consider all the activities and efforts which were undertaken under this project as per the log-frame of the project.  The evaluator will evaluate the project on the following criteria:

• Relevance:
  • To what extent is LAS’s engagement strengthening the Criminal Justice System in particular the GBV Courts in targeted areas?
  • Was the design of the project adequate to address the issues related to Sexual violence, Serious Sexual Violence and Gender Based Violence?
  • Are the activities and outputs of the project consistent with the intended outcomes and effects?
  • To what extent has LAS’s capacity building support to Judges, and Police Investigation officers, in relevant districts contributed to increase their knowledge on Gender-based Violence, Sexual Violence, GBV courts  and its relevant laws?
  • To what extent has policy making been driven by research contributions of the project such as the Gap Analysis on investigation and prosecution of Rape and Sodomy Cases.
  • To what extent was LAS’s method of delivery appropriate to the context; especially in the context of the pandemic ?
  • To what extent was the logical framework (and indicators) appropriately designed?  Did LFA follow SMART definitions and measure key results and activities?

Coherence:

• To what extent is this intervention coherent with other interventions, which have similar objectives?
• To what extent is the intervention coherent within Sindh and at the Federal level?

Effectiveness:

• To what extent have the project results been achieved or has progress been made towards their achievement?
• What were the positive or negative, intended or unintended, changes brought about by the project’s work?
• To what extent did the project benefit its beneficiaries specially Police for investigating the rape and sodomy cases?
• To what extent were the activities achieved as per planned outputs as described in the project’s log frame and produced beneficial results?
• What were the main factors influencing the outcome of this project, either negatively or positively? What are the lessons to be learned from this project?

Efficiency:

• To what extent were the activities of the project completed in a timely manner?
• Could a different approach have produced better results?
• Have resources and funds been used efficiently, leveraging in-house expertise, previous interventions and other resources to optimize the project outcome?
• How is the project management structure operating?
• What best practices/lessons can be learned for application in future interventions?

Impact:

• What is the overall effect of the project on its wider environment, and its contribution to the wider rule of law policy or sector objectives?

Sustainability:

• To what extent will potential effect of the activities last after the project ends?
• To what extent has the project been designed and implemented to ensure the maximum sustainability of the activities carried out within the project time?
• To what extent has a sustainability strategy, including capacity development of key stakeholders, been developed or implemented?
• To what extent are policy frameworks in place that will support the continuation of benefits?

1. 2.     Methodology:

This final evaluation involves mix method (qualitative and quantitative) approach to evaluate project implementation and performance and to make recommendations for future interventions . The evaluation will be carried out by an independent evaluator or company, and will engage key stakeholders including government officials and quasi-state organizations. This evaluation is expected to take a “project theory/theory of change’’ (TOC) approach to determining causal links between the interventions that LAS has supported.

The design of the projectis iterative and adaptive. The LFA has been revised multiple times; the evaluator will need to consider all versions of LFAs for evaluation. A mixed method approach should be used to triangulate all available data and to reach any findings, conclusions including but not limited to review of relevant project documents and materials, interviews with staff of LAS, interviews with stakeholders, surveys of training particpants where possible, and analysis of data collected. The evaluation team/consultant will report to the project manager for execution and facilitation and work with M&E specialist. The evaluator will be responsible for design, data collection and assessment and reporting.

3.     Data Collection:

In order to use existing sources/information and avoid duplication, data will be mainly collected from various information sources through a comprehensive desk review that will include the analysis of relevant documents, information, data/statistics, triangulation of different studies etc. Data will also be collected from stakeholder key informants through interviews, and discussions. The methodology will be discussed and revised (if required) after the award of the contract.

4.     Timeline of the Evaluation:

The total duration of the evaluation is 25 days and will take place between 10^th February 2022 to to 10^th March 2022 ensuring all field work is completed before or on 12^th March 2022. The evaluator will submit the first draft to LAS on 19^th March 2022 and final draft after amendments (if any) by 26^th March 2021.

5.     Reporting Line:

The evaluator must present a weekly update to the Project Manager and in addition will submit a first draft for review before final submission giving sufficient time to LAS to verify findings and respond if necessary.

6.     Deliverables

The consultant will submit a comprehensive evaluation report that includes evaluation protocols, detailing the evaluation methods and draft instruments, for discussion and approval, (before starting the field work). The deliverables will be submitted in the following forms:

• Inception report with a detailed work plan, finalized methodology/sample, tools, and timelines.
• Draft Evaluation Report
• Final Evaluation Report in English- free of jargon and no more than 30 pages excluding annexes. The report must include:
  • Title Page
  • Table of Contents / Figures and Tables
  • Abbreviations / acronyms page
  • Executive summary (1 to 2 pages’ maximum)
  • Background and a short introduction to the project
  • The evaluation methodology (including evaluation/research questions and tools)
  • Findings
  • Lessons learned
  • Case studies/stories should be used to highlight/illustrate the findings
  • Conclusion
  • Recommendations
  • Value for money analysis
    • 1 or 2 case studies showcasing project success and achievement of desired change
    • Cleaned data (transcriptions of interviews/questionnaires & quantitative data sets).
    • Presentation of major findings to LAS’s senior management team.

7.     Qualifications and Experience

At least 5 years’ experience required in conducting similar evaluations preferably on areas related to rule of law, development and access to justice related project evaluations and capacity development. Fluency in English, and Urdu is desirable.

•          More than eight years of professional experience in leading research, evaluations, impact assessments.

•          Knowledge of the local context in Pakistan.

•          Masters’ degree preferred, or equivalent combination of education and relevant work experience.

•          Experience with quantitative and qualitative research methods.

•          Ability to work with people of different language and cultural backgrounds.

•          Strong computer skills in the areas of spreadsheets, word processing, database management, and statistical analysis software.

•          Excellent written and spoken English for report writing and presentation of findings.

8.     How to apply for the consultancy?

Applicants are required to submit a written expression of interest including:

a)     A cover letter stating why they are suitable for the consultancy and including work experience which is relevant

b)     Detailed CV

c)      Financial proposal including all tax amounts and travel costs if any

d)     Two sample evaluation report may also be submitted as a reference point.

e)     Three professional references

The application deadline for this assignment is January 31, 2022. Submit your proposal on mention the below address:

Legal Aid Society

A-13, Spanish Homes Apartment, Mezzanine floor, DHA Phase I, Karachi.