TOR: External Final Evaluation

1. Introduction

1.1 PIN Background

People in Need (PIN) is an international, non-profit organization established in early 1990s in the Czech Republic. Since then, PIN has grown to be the biggest relief and development organization of its kind in post-communist Europe and currently provides humanitarian and development assistance in 24 countries worldwide. 
People in Need established a country program in Armenia in 2003. PIN’s goal in Armenia is supporting a strong civil society that takes an active part in poverty reduction and sustainable development.  We work in four interlinked sectoral directions: sustainable livelihoods and environment; education and skills development; good governance at the local level; humanitarian support to the displaced people in Armenia. More information on PIN Armenia and its’ projects can be found here: Facebook and PIN Armenia Website.  
 
1.2 Project Summary
 
The EU funded ‘EU4Tourism: Outdoor Adventures on the Historic Trails in Syunik’ project empowers civil society groups in Syunik region to take a more active part in reducing poverty through local tourism development. The project supports communities located in and around Goris and Kapan in further development of their tourism potential. It involves civil society organisations, village/community-based groups (including youth groups, women’s groups etc.), individual or family-run small enterprises (existing and start-ups) and students from Goris University and other universities in Armenia. The focus is on supporting the rural population in villages that has not benefited from tourism infrastructure investments thus far.
Main activities within the project are: 
  • Scouting, mapping, marking of a hiking trail of 250 km from Khndzoresk (Goris) to Khustup (Kapan);  
  • Community mobilisation and provision of the sub-grants for community initiatives and businesses.  
  • Promotion of the hiking trail to bring both local and international tourists to the newly established hiking trail.  

1.3 Project Status 

As of end of April, 2021, most of the main project activities have been completed. In line with the objectives of the project: the new hiking trail named the ‘Legends Trail’ was established, all the scouting, mapping and marking activities are completed. All the 3 rounds of grants both for community initiatives and business were announced and granted. In total for all rounds PIN has granted 18 community initiative grants and 17 businesses. The 3rd round of grants was announced only at the end of March, 2021, the contracts have been signed and the grant implementation started. Currently procurement, capacity-building and monitoring activities are carried out for round 3 grantees. The promotion of the legends trail is ongoing and will be due to the last days of the EU4Tourism project implementation. The project underwent an internal mid-term evaluation in September- October 2019 and identified its strengths and weaknesses and provided recommendation for the remaining implementation period. The selected Evaluator will be provided with the mid-term evaluation, all official donor reports and other key documents to inform the successful completion of this assignment. 

Main Assignment: External Final Evaluation

2. Purpose of the Evaluation

The purpose of this final evaluation is to provide an overall assessment of the project’s performance in relation to achievement of the intended results and in terms of how they have been delivered. The evaluation will identify key lessons and propose practical recommendations that will enable PIN, its partners and other stakeholders to enhance the impact of future, similarly focused projects. 

2.1 Scope
 
The evaluation will look over the whole life of the project’s delivery period; 15 March 2018 – 15 June 2021, and assess the intended direct results and also consider some of the indirect benefits brought about through the projects work. Specifically, it will focus its scope around the following workstreams:
  • Establishment of the hiking trail: ‘Legends Trail’; 
  • Community activation and engagement in the project activities; 
  • Viability of the supported businesses;
  • Employment to businesses; 
  • Effective cooperation with the local authorities within community initiatives; 
  • Trail promotion component. 
The Evaluator will conduct their work primarily in Syunik region, with the focus in the main activity areas of Goris and Kapan communities. Some aspects of the evaluation will be required to be undertaken in Yerevan. 

2.2 Audience for the Evaluation Results 
 
The evaluation results will be shared with EU, project partners, RA State Tourism Committee, Armenian Tourism Federation, Syunik regional and local authorities, future stakeholders: Hike Armenia, Trails for Change and any other relevant stakeholders, as well as with PIN HQ to consider the findings and recommendations for future programming.     
 
2.3 Methodology
 
The evaluator will be responsible for developing the evaluation design and methodology in order to meet the above stated goal and objectives. The methodology should be informed by the Development Assistance Criteria (DAC) of Relevance, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Impact and Sustainability and use a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methods to answer the questions articulated in this TOR. Both qualitative and quantitative methods should be used: document review, field research, etc.  It is expected that the evaluator uses participatory methods including key informant interviews and focus group discussions as well first-hand direct observations including the physical check of the trail quality. Desk-based review of key project documents including the project proposal, Logframe, reports and procurement documents. A list of key stakeholders that the evaluator will be expected to consult with is provided under Annex A. 

Applicants to this assignment are requested to outline the methodology and approach they will use to undertake this evaluation, in their submitted proposal. 
 
​​​2.3.1 Evaluation Questions to be Answered 
 
The following suggested questions are expected to be answered through this evaluation. Answers should be specific, analytical and evidence-driven. Lessons and recommendations should be drawn out against each question and backed up by evidence. Additional questions that the evaluator deems appropriate must be agreed with PIN in advance and as part of the inception report approval process.



If an answer cannot be provided on the foundation of date or evidence, this must be communicated to the nominated PIN Focal Person as soon as possible. Failure to do so can result in decreasing the consultant’s remuneration.

2.4 Specific Tasks to be Undertaken by the Evaluator
 
The evaluator will be required to undertake the following tasks: 
  1. Design and finalise the evaluation methodology, tools and workplan, detailing the resources and support need to complete the evaluation to time and quality, and agree with PIN
  2. Undertake the evaluation activities in the field. 
  3. Analyse the data and present findings to PIN and project partners 
  4. Prepare first draft of the Final Evaluation Report for review by PIN
  5. Finalise the Final Evaluation Report considering the feedback provided by PIN. 
The report must provide clear, evidence-based and analytical answers to all evaluation questions. It should contain all the necessary raw data information used in the process of data collection and analysis, and any other necessary annexes and references used. Final Evaluation Report template is provided in Annex B.
 
2.5 Assignment Deliverables and Proposed Timeframes 


3. Assignment Terms 

3.1 Budget
 
The maximum budget of the project final evaluation is 4,000 EUR including taxes. Per-diem, accommodation, transportation, translation and other costs should be included in the evaluation fee. 
 
3.2 Management Arrangement 

The Evaluator will report to and liaise with the PIN Focal Person on all matters and decisions relating to this assignment. PIN will be responsible for arranging meetings with all relevant stakeholders. To enable this the Evaluator must provide a list and schedule of meetings in good time to ensure all meetings can be arranged in a respectful and timely way. If required, PIN can support the Evaluator with logistics arrangements, but the Evaluator will be responsible for making the respective payments. 
 
3.3 ​​​​Payment Modality 

4. Application Process

4.1 Evaluator Experience 

Essential 
  • At least 10 years of professional experience in conducting development project evaluations;  
  • Experience of evaluating tourism related projects and grant schemes; 
  • Proven experience and knowledge of conducting quantitative and qualitative research; 
  • Excellent analytical skills; 
  • Significant practical experience in report writing and formulation of recommendations; 
  • Excellent spoken and written English. 
Preferred
  • Experience evaluating EC-funded projects;  
  • Understanding of project management principles; 
  • Previous experience with results‐based monitoring and evaluation methodologies;  
  • Russian language will be considered an advantage.  

Please note that most targeted beneficiaries and stakeholders do not speak English, so relevant translation services need to be considered in the proposed price of the work and organised by the Evaluator in case of foreign evaluators or organizations.  
 

4.2 Proposal Submission and review of the applications 

Interested candidates/organizations whose profile matches the qualification requirements stated above are invited to send their:   

  • Curriculum vitae or organizational profile highlighting relevant experience (max.4 pages);   

  • Cover letter stating how your experience and competencies can best deliver the assignment (mas.1 pages);   

  • 2 samples of previous similar work;   

  • Clear and concise proposal outlining the methodology and questions to be asked (max. 4 pages) 

  • Assignment Budget (in EUR) broken down by: 

    a. Personnel Service fees b.Direct evaluation activity costs  
    c. Anticipated logistics, travel and subsistence costs  

 All interested candidates/organizations who meet the above requirements and are confident that their background and experience qualify them to implement Final Evaluation, should e-mail their complete application packs in English language to: lilit.saribekyan@peopleinneed.cz mentioning “Final Evaluation: EU4Tourism project”  in the subject line of the e-mail.  

Review and selection criteria:
The selection committee will be formed who will be evaluating the applications against the following criteria: 
  • Suggested budget/ cost efficiency to complete the evaluation (criteria weight is 20%); 
  • Quality of the submitted technical offer (criteria weight is 40 %); 
  • Relevant experience, qualification and quality of sample report submitted (criteria weight is 40%).

Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. The final decision will be made after the interviews. 

OPENING DATE:   30 April 2021  
APPLICATION DEADLINE:   Extended until June 29, 2021  
 


Annex A: List of Recommended Stakeholders 


Annex B: Final Evaluation Report Specification 

The Final Evaluation Report, written in English, will be required to comply with the following standards and specification:
  1. Executive Summary (max. 2 pages) 
  1. Introduction (max. 1 page) 
  1. Methodology (max 2 pages) 
  1. Findings and Discussions (max. 10 pages) 
  1. Conclusions (max. 4 pages) 
  1. Lessons learned and associated Recommendations (max. 6 pages)  
  2. Annexes 

The report should be submitted electronically to the PIN Focal Person and Five official hard copies to the PIN Armenia Representatives Office