TERMS OF REFERENCE – CONSULTANCY SERVICES TO CONDUCT THE EVALUATION OF THE AFRICAN POPULATION AND HEALTH RESEARCH CENTER STRATEGIC PLAN 2022-2026
DEADLINE: April 1, 2024
OPEN JOB
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A. Services Required
APHRC is seeking proposals from competent consultancy firms to undertake a midterm evaluation of its 2022-2026 Strategic Plan. This will involve developing and implementing a sound evaluation framework.
B. Introduction and Context
- About APHRC
The African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) is a leading Africa-based, international research and policy institution headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, with a regional office in Dakar, Senegal. Our work contributes to the body of evidence about the critical issues in population health and wellbeing affecting Africa’s development to provide strong direction and recommendations to policy- and decision-makers at different levels. Our program priorities are organized under four thematic areas: Human Development, Health and Well-being, Data Science and Evaluation, and Population Dynamics and Urbanization in Africa. Our research is implemented within these thematic areas. In addition, the Center has other programmatic areas in Research and Related Capacity Strengthening, and Policy Engagement and Communications, also aligned to the priority program areas.
2. The Strategic Plan 2022-2026
The Strategic Plan articulates the Center’s vision to be a transformative force on the continent, building on over 20 years of experience in evidence generation, and promoting its use to guide decision making for Africa’s development and developing and implementing globally competitive capacity strengthening programs.
APHRC is committed to producing scientific evidence relevant to the African context, developing strong African research leadership, and promoting Evidence-Informed Decision Making (EIDM) while addressing systemic challenges that have stifled Africa’s path to self-sufficiency in Research & Development. The APHRC 2022-2026 Strategic Plan is centered around four strategic objectives as listed below:
- Generate scientific knowledge aligned to local and international development agendas that affect health and development in Africa.
- Develop capacities to strengthen the research ecosystem in Africa and contribute to the development and implementation of a blueprint for Africa’s self-sufficiency in R&D.
- Use research evidence and engage policy actors for transformative change.
- Strengthen operational efficiencies in systems and processes for maximum programmatic impact.
For APHRC to meet its third strategic objective, the Center has deepened its approach to impact. From the previous approaches which focused on the primacy of evidence as a lever of change, the Center embraced a system thinking approach that examines how financial, economic, social, cultural, political, and knowledge systems interact in shaping decisions affecting Africans. In addition, the Center is developing and enacting outward facing initiatives aimed at transforming the Research & Development ecosystem in which the Center operates, as a strategy for achieving greater impact. To achieve this, the Center focused on the following three thrusts.
- A set of strategies to deepen and strengthen our programmatic work grounded in the existing Evidence Informed Decision Making (EIDM) approach.
- New strategies to support the pivot towards a systems-thinking approach.
- Cross-cutting strategies to address gaps in the Center’s current systems and to accommodate the new shifts.
C. Purpose and Scope of Work
The purpose of the mid-term evaluation/review is to take stock of the progress at the mid-term (2.5 years) of implementation of the APHRC 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, to identify any emerging strategic concerns and to propose the best mitigation measures needed to address the issues identified during the remaining period. A secondary purpose is to assess the management and oversight of the delivery of the strategic plan that will streamline the pathways towards impact.
Specifically, the objectives of this midterm evaluation/review are to:
- Assess progress against the objectives and outcomes of the strategic plan, including what has/hasn’t worked well in the delivery of the plan so far.
- Assess the relevance of the strategic plan to address emerging issues in the global context.
- Analyze how the strategic plan is being monitored, whether it is adequate, and whether changes are required.
- Provide recommendations for strengthened delivery of the strategy, identify areas that need to be explored further and strategic decisions required based on findings from the analysis.
D. Evaluation Questions and Methodological Approach
The Evaluation will target the selected priority elements of the Plan including strategic thrusts, signature issues, guiding principles and Strategic Objectives. The evaluation questions will be based on Development Assistance Committee (DAC) evaluation criteria, specifically looking at relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability. The evaluation will also focus on the impact achieved so far. This will be assessed internally and externally by examining the impact of APHRC programmes in influencing Research and Development in Africa.
The evaluation will utilize both qualitative and quantitative methods that will provide and validate the evaluation questions and develop relevant recommendations. The methods will include but not be limited to:
- Secondary data analysis / review of relevant documents.
- Key Informant Interviews (KII) with internal stakeholders including senior management, heads of units, Senior Management Team, and Executive Leadership Team, board of directors.
- Staff survey.
- KII with relevant external stakeholders
Triangulation of data
Collected data will be triangulated and aggregated to inform the subsequent analysis, responding to the evaluation questions. The approach and depth of analysis for the components of the Strategic Plan will be determined during the inception phase based on an initial assessment of the evidence available and data gaps for action.
E. Key Stakeholders
There are various groups of stakeholders that will be engaged in this evaluation including APHRC staff, senior management team, donors, APHRC board members, academic institutions, regional bodies, multilaterals, civil society Organizations (CSOs), and government entities.
F. Expected Deliverables
The following deliverables will be expected from the evaluator:
- Evaluation protocol – the evaluator shall prepare an evaluation protocol prior to the data collection exercise. The protocol shall include a structured evaluation plan, the methodology and the support required from APHRC. This is a critical deliverable and will require approval from APHRC before data collection can commence.
- Draft evaluation report – A draft evaluation report with preliminary findings for discussion and input by management and staff.
- Final evaluation report – the final evaluation report shall consider APHRC values of fairness, integrity, and excellence. The final report will be submitted at the end of the assignment.
- Presentations of findings – The evaluator shall be expected to make presentations of the evaluation’s findings to both senior management and the Board in separate and joint sessions.
- Evaluation Report Brief/ Summary – Summary of the report shall be developed for sharing with crucial stakeholders and partners.
G. Work Plan Timelines and Logistical Arrangements
The estimated duration of the evaluation will be approximately 4 months (May- Aug 2024). Desk reviews will take place in the Nairobi office. The evaluator will be responsible for their own field visit arrangements and appointments with relevant stakeholders that will be arranged in cooperation with the in-house corporate monitoring and evaluation team. The consultant will report to the Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Communication Specialist with overall supervision of the Director of Operations.
H. Qualifications of the Evaluator
Competencies:
The lead consultant or consulting team should have the following qualifications and competences:
- Proven record in leading similar evaluations.
- Knowledge of, and experience in applying standard evaluation principles, qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods.
- Ability to draft concise evaluation reports of high quality in English.
- Proven expertise in strategic planning and organizational development in the development sector.
Qualifications and Skills:
Consulting firms and individual consultants may apply. Individual consultants or the consulting team need to meet the qualification requirements below:
- PhD degree, in areas relevant to international development/humanitarian action/economics or social science. Master’s degree in these areas and extensive (more than 7 years) relevant experience would compensate for the absence of a PhD
- More than 6 years of experience in research and strategy/organizational development/project management and review.
- Extensive experience of working with international organizations and specifically in complex environments in the field of social accountability, good governance, public budgeting, and institutional development.
- Evidence of quality outputs from previous assignments.
- Fluent in English.
- Good qualitative and quantitative analytical skills.
- Good reporting and presentation skills.
I. Submission of Bids
Applicants shall submit the following documents.
- A cover letter with a brief description of relevant previous experiences conducting similar evaluations.
- Samples of outputs from comparable evaluations recently carried out.
- Contact details of two references to support claims of knowledge, skills, and experience.
- Curriculum vitae (CV) of consulting team or individual consultant including references, certifications, and accreditations.
- An evaluation proposal/work plan, also highlighting how the evaluation will adapt to the ongoing working from home arrangement.
- Proposed budget of the evaluation.
J. How to Apply
Interested candidates should send the technical and financial proposals to [email protected] and a copy to [email protected] with the subject “MIDTERM EVALUATION OF APHRC’S STRATEGIC PLAN 2022- 2026” by 1st April 2024. APHRC will evaluate the responses to this Request for Proposal based on the consultants’ ability to provide a general overview of the services your organization provided in the past, including number of years in the business, number of relevant professional consultants or CVs, and experience of working with clients on a similar assignment.
K. Special Notice
APHRC is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and organizational needs. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process.