Terms of Reference
Consultancy for an Impact Evaluation
of Swiss Church Aid’s Bangladesh Country Programme 2017-2021

Purpose of the consultancy

Swiss Church Aid (HEKS/EPER) seeks to procure the services of a researcher/consultant or a team of researchers/ consultants to design, plan and conduct an impact evaluation of its Bangladesh country programme (2017-2021). The desk research/inception phase is expected to take place during January/February 2021, while the field research/data collection phase is expected to take place between March and May 2021. The data analysis and report writing are expected to take place during June 2021.

It is expected that the researchers/consultants will have extensive knowledge of and experience in designing, planning, and conducting impact evaluations using various designs.

Purpose and scope of the evaluation

The planned evaluation is an impact evaluation which builds upon a data collection conducted in 2016. The purpose of the impact evaluation is threefold. Firstly, conducting an external end-of-phase evaluation is a PCM requirement and serves the purpose of being accountable to the People of our Concern (PooC), our partners, and donors. Secondly, the results of the impact evaluation will be utilized for the purpose of steering, i.e. for adapting the next country programme phase (2022-2025). Lastly, the entire impact evaluation process will also< support an institutional learning process: which impact evaluation designs, approaches, and methods are suitable for a programme focusing on social integration.

The impact assessment is expected to deliver key findings on the validity of the programme’s theory of change. Its findings and recommendations will inform the planning of the subsequent phase (2022-2025). It is anticipated that the country programme Bangladesh will operate beyond 2025, particularly because social integration, the key component of the country programme, is a complex, long-term process. Moreover, for the programme to maximize its effectiveness it is important to increase its influence at policy making level. Accordingly, it is envisioned to gradually scale up the programme in terms of the number of people reached, as well as in terms of geographical coverage, provided the theory of change is accurate and depending on the availability of funds

The target audience of the impact evaluation are Swiss Church Aid staff of the Bangladesh country programme, as well as the partner organisations implementing the activities of the programme and its projects, and the Desk Officer for the Bangladesh country programme. They will utilize the results to adapt their programming, and to transfer lessons learnt to other interventions. The results are also targeted at the MEL unit of Swiss Church Aid in Switzerland which will utilize the results for reporting purposes, and to improve Swiss Church Aid’s impact assessment policy and practice.

The data collection for the impact evaluation will focus on a set of indicators selected by the HEKS/EPER Office and HQ and outlined in the programme’s intervention logic and M&E plan. The data collected on these indicators will serve as measurement for the 2017-2021 programme’s progress and will also be utilized as baseline values for the 2022-2025 programme.

Submit completed applications (preferably in one file) with the e-mail title “Application Impact Evaluation Bangladesh” to Annika.Klotz@heks.ch by November 4th, 2020. Please indicate in your application on which website or through which mailing list you came across the call for applications.

For questions about your application, please contact Ms. Annika Klotz, MEL Officer at Swiss Church Aid in Zurich
(Annika.Klotz@heks.ch)

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