Request For Proposals – Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Consultancy With AWID

Deadline: May 11, 2014
Location: Open
Organization: Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID) 

1. Background

The Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID) is an international feminist membership organization. Our mission is to be a driving force within the global community of feminist and women’s rights activists, organizations and movements, strengthening our collective voice, influencing and transforming structures of power and decision-making and advancing human rights, gender justice and environmental sustainability worldwide. To this end, our work is structured across eight different program areas, which combine research, information dissemination, advocacy, convening’s and capacity-building. We have small offices in Toronto, Mexico City and Cape Town, and staff is based in 13 different countries around the world.

AWID uses a customized Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) system, which is an adaptation of Outcome Mapping and Theory of Change approaches. Our 2013-2016 strategic plan includes 5 organization-wide outcomes.

Organizational Outcomes 2013-2016 1. Women’s rights organizations and movements are well informed and equipped to effectively respond to opportunities and counter threats to women’s human rights at different levels. 2. Shifts made in policies and practices of diverse influential actors and institutions that shape or influence human rights and development outcomes (including donors, development agencies, business sector, human rights institutions and major CSOs) to more effectively advance, respect, protect and fulfill women’s rights and promote gender justice. 3. Expanded solidarity and powerful joint action among women’s rights activists and allies through meaningful inclusion and engagement of historically excluded or discriminated groups of women. 4. Women’s rights activists across generations, causes and movements are accessing and using knowledge and other resources to strengthen their security and wellness, and expand the enjoyment of their own human rights. 5. Greater visibility and understanding of women’s rights initiatives, the threats they face and effective response strategies led by women and women’s rights organizations, among influential actors and institutions that shape human rights and development outcomes.

Currently each of our program areas defines annual desired outcomes (aligned to the broader organization-wide outcomes). AWID is required to submit detailed annual reports to our funders that speak to SMART indicators pre-defined for each outcome.

Following an external evaluation of our 2006-2012 Strategic Plan, AWID has embarked on a process to strengthen our M&E system. The process underway includes:

• updating our theory of change;
• fine-tuning our results framework to ensure that it both meets funder needs for clear connections between activities, outputs and outcomes, and is also viable for staff to monitor and report on given the dynamic and responsive nature of AWID’s work; and
• developing a system for the regular collection and processing of relevant M&E data, again in such a way that is not overly burdensome for staff and acts to enhance learning regarding our work and its impact.

We are seeking a consultant to work with us through September 2014 to guide and complete this refinement of our M&E systems.  

2. AWID’s Approach to M&E

AWID has advanced considerable work and thinking on Feminist approaches to Monitoring & Evaluation. Key reference documents (available at http://www.awid.org/AWID-s-Publications/Monitoring-and-Evaluation) to understand our approaches to M&E include:

• Capturing Change in Women’s Realities
• Strengthening Monitoring & Evaluation for Women’s Rights: Thirteen Insights for Women’s Organizations

These documents provide important background to how we think about and understand M&E, and principles for how we aspire to do M&E within AWID.

3. Overview of the Consultancy:

The consultant will report to the Director of Programs and will work closely with the staff M&E Liaison team. While the precise terms and focus of the consultancy will be fleshed out in further detail with the successful candidate, AWID’s expectation is that the consultancy would cover the following activities and outputs.

1. Use AWID’s established theory of change as a background to review our current M&E Results Framework, identify key gaps and offer recommendations for addressing them. In other words, are we looking at the most important information to tell us if we’re making progress toward our desired outcomes?
2. Building from existing internal resources and processes, provide concrete recommendations to refine our M&E system; that is, the steps that take us from established work plans to tracking progress (including unplanned impacts), organizing, analyzing and reporting on relevant M&E data and feeding insights back into program planning. In particular, we are seeking support to identify and prioritize viable and effective tracking mechanisms for key M&E data, and help set up the needed tracking systems and processes for their use
3. Collaborate with staff in the development of ‘special’ M&E instruments, which might include, but not be limited to: bi-annual member surveys, an in-depth member focus group, analysis of relevant “meta data” drawing from online statistics, framing for external evaluation, etc.
4. Provide supports to enhance evaluative thinking and practice within AWID, in line with the M&E strategy, potentially through staff training and accompaniment.

LOCATION OF THE ROLE: OPEN

QUALIFICATIONS

The consultant(s) should have experience in:

• Feminist approaches to research, evaluation and knowledge generation
• Using Outcome Mapping as an approach/methodology for learning and evaluation
• Quantitative and qualitative research methods and analysis
• The field of women’s rights and development
• Evaluating organizations that use multiple strategies 
• Experience and ability working in diverse cultural settings and in a multi-country, virtual  team

4. APPLICATION GUIDELINES

Proposals should be no more than 5 pages (not including attachments) and include the following,in English

1. Describe your interest in working with AWID and the particular ‘value add’ you feel you would bring to the organization’s M&E practice given the nature of the organization and our work
2. How would you undertake the consultancy? What would the process and methodology look like?
1. Please include a high level project plan-approximately one to two pages in length, inclusive of estimated time/timelines & steps required to complete the consultancy.
2. Please provide your average or estimated daily rate
3. Who would be the consultant(s)? (attach CVs) Please briefly describe their relevant M&E experience.
4. What challenges do you anticipate in such a consultancy and how would you address them?

Send completed applications (a proposal following the indications above and any relevant attachments, including contact information for 3 references) by fax or email to:
Fax: +416 594 0330
E-mail: jobs@awid.org (please include “M&E Strategy Consultant” in the subject line)

No phone calls please.  Only email and faxed applications will be accepted. The deadline is May 11^th, 2014.  We thank all who apply, but only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.  AWID encourages, promotes and supports diversity in all aspects of its work.

Additional background documents are available upon request