Myanmar: Consultant - Final Project Evaluation MyConstitution Programme

Consultancy Announcement: Final Evaluation of MyConstitution Programme

Country: Myanmar

Sector: Governance

Starting date of the assignment:** As soon as possible

Expected duration of the assignment: 22 days

1. Background

This evaluation is intended to assess the performance of and generate lessons learned from implementation of the Myanmar Constitution Centre (MyConstitution) programme. The programme is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway (since December 2015) and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (since April 2017). Myanmar’s 2008 Constitution nests both locks and keys to Myanmar’s democratic transition. As constitutional change continues to be a prominent arena where the nascent democratic framework is forged, this programme aims to increase the inclusiveness and accountability of state institutions in Myanmar for them to become more democratic (impact) by promoting an inclusive, home-grown and well-informed debate about constitutional change as an integral part of Myanmar’s democratic transition (outcome). The project brings together national and international actors to achieve three specific transformations:

1. Increased domestic expertise in constitutional affairs relevant to Myanmar’s democratization process;

2. Improved capacity of civil society organizations and other democratic actors to convene dialogues and advocate for changes to the constitution;

3. Invigorated and better-informed public debate amongst key democratic stakeholders on constitutional change with references to Myanmar’s history and institutions, as well as comparative experiences.

The creation of the Myanmar Constitutional Centre (MyConstitution) responds to the challenges facing Myanmar’s democratic transition. Although the political landscape has grown more pluralistic since 2012, and all major political stakeholders have openly expressed their commitment to the current transition to democracy, there is a lack of consensus as to the desired pace and extent of these democratic reforms in the years ahead. The official position of the Government of Myanmar remains that constitutional reform is focused on the national peace and reconciliation process. However, agreement on certain constitutional questions, such as secession, self-determination, and sub-state constitutions, evaded the participants of the 2^ndUnion Peace Conference in May 2017.

Despite the increased sensitivity of debate regarding constitutional change, calls for broader constitutional change continue to loom large. In this context, International IDEA has continued to provide demand-driven advisory support, analysis and capacity building on constitutional issues with a view to ensuring a sustainable constitutional framework to Myanmar’s development towards peace and democracy.

Additionally, with a view to the possibility of a constitutional change process, International IDEA has continued to engage with civil society, women’s groups, and political parties, to share information on potential avenues for reform. In particular, International IDEA has also developed avenues for constructive engagement between civil society and government actors.

The project follows a three-fold approach that combines capacity development, dialogue-based advocacy for reform, and locally-generated knowledge. Project beneficiaries include representatives from key democratic stakeholders, including CSOs, political parties, parliamentarians, ethnic armed groups, academia, the media, and government institutions. The project beneficiaries use the demand-driven advisory services of the Myanmar Constitution Centre, and receive information briefs and other research, to gain access to comparative analyses of options to navigate on constitutional issues. Additionally they attend courses, workshops, roundtables and dialogues organised by the Centre on topical constitutional debates to be informed and inspired about strategies to move forward in the transition to democracy.

This evaluation comes at the conclusion of the implementation period which covers December 2015 – July 2018 and is intended to provide an overview of results achieved and lessons learned to inform implementation of the second phase of the programme; MyConstitution: Constitutionalism in support of an inclusive, peaceful and democratic Myanmar (hereafter MyCon II). The evaluation should seek to identify which interventions were the most successful in achieving intended impact, and which programme interventions could be strengthened or innovated in the future.

About International IDEA:

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, International IDEA, is an intergovernmental organization with 30 Member States and over 20 years of experience in supporting sustainable democracy worldwide. The Institute aims to stimulate and contribute to the public debate on democracy and assist in strengthening processes, reforms, institutions and actors that build, advance and safeguard democracy, with a primary focus on three key impact areas including electoral processes, constitution building processes, and political participation and representation. Throughout all of its work International IDEA also mainstreams gender, diversity and security. International IDEA works to provide knowledge to democracy builders, provide policy development and analysis and support Yangon, Myanmar.

2. Evaluation Scope & Intended Users

The purpose of the evaluation of the MyConstitution programme is to:

• Promote the accountability of International IDEA’s work and contribute to International IDEA’s global programming on constitution building by highlighting successful methods of supporting constitution building processes;
• Provide an overall independent assessment of the MyConstitution programme, with regard to the achievement of its overall outcomes, relevance, effectiveness and efficiency, key lessons and recommendations in order to improve the second phase of the programme;
• Assess whether the programme achieved its goals to effectively and efficiently support its key beneficiaries in the context of the new government’s priorities and make recommendations for the second phase of the project;
• Assess the conditions and effectiveness of capacity building activities;
• Evaluate the extent to which the project has mainstreamed gender perspectives, diversity and conflict sensitivity in the design and implementation of the project, and make recommendations in this regard.

The primary intended users of the evaluation are International IDEA and the MyConstitution donor organisations; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

The evaluation is to be designed, conducted and reported to meet the needs of the intended users and the consultant shall elaborate in the tender how this will be ensured during the evaluation process.

3. Evaluation Objectives and Questions

The final evaluation will assess the MyConstitution programme throughout its implementation from December 2015 until July 2018. The evaluation relates to activities as outlined in the project proposal, taking into account adjustments as captured in the updated intervention framework. The evaluation will critically consider how fit the original project design was for obtaining the longer-term objectives of the program and will identify overlaps, inconsistencies, synergies (or the lack of the same) and the achievement of cumulative results. It will serve both as a final evaluation of the work and its achievements in order to inform the programme’s next phase (MyCon II), as well as IDEA’s work on constitution-building globally.

The evaluation will consider the following questions, along with others proposed by the evaluators in their inception report:

• Relevance (with emphasis on alignment of the project objective and approach to Myanmar’ssituation)

  • To what extent is MyConstitution responding to the emerging national needs and priorities of the target beneficiaries?
  • Do the various target beneficiaries of the programme recognize its relevance (including women’s groups)?
  • To what extent was the programme able to respond to the fluidity of Myanmar’s political process and remain relevant?

• Effectiveness (with emphasis on achievement of objectives at all levels)

  • To which extent has the programme contributed to its intended outcomes?
  • How effective where MyConstitution strategies and activities towards achieving the programme’s objectives?
  • Most components of MyConstitution interventions had a strong emphasis on capacity development. To what extent were the capacity development approach(es) fit for achieving the programme’s outcomes, outputs and results?
  • How effectively were gender and social inclusion considerations streamlined across project interventions? What methods worked best for streamlining?

• Efficiency

  • Were resources available to MyConstitution utilized in the most appropriate and efficient way possible towards achieving results?
  • Were synergies between key national stakeholders, partner organisations and activities increased?
  • How were partnerships that have been developed with other national stakeholders perceived and how can they be strengthened?

• Impact:

  • What is the overall impact of the programme in terms of direct or indirect, negative and positive results?

• Sustainability:

  • What measures were put in place for ensuring capacity development initiatives and other activities were sustainable?
  • To what extent was national ownership and agency promoted in the project activities?

The intervention logic of the programme is based on the recognition that Myanmar requires the best possible capacity of the key national stakeholders to sustain the democratic transition and undertake their respective roles. Moreover, that the key national stakeholders develop conducive relations and engage in dialogue regarding constitutional processes and broader democratic transition.

The strategic objectives, results, and targets will be provided in the logical framework. Questions are expected to be developed during the inception phase of the evaluation. Final questions will be agreed to by International IDEA, donor agencies and the consultant.

4. Methodology

The evaluation process will be carried out in four phases: (1) inception phase; (2) field phase; (3) synthesis phase; and, (4) dissemination phase. Deliverables in the form of reports and PowerPoint presentations should be submitted at the end of the corresponding stages.

Inception phase

The contract will begin with an inception phase where the evaluation design, methodology, and methods for data collection and analysis will be developed by the consultant and agreed upon with International IDEA. It is expected that the inception phase should include: i) how intended users are to participate in and contribute to the evaluation process and ii) methodology and methods for data collection that create space for reflection, discussion and learning between the intended users and of the evaluation. It is expected that the consultant describes and justifies an appropriate evaluation approach/methodology and methods for data collection in the tender. The evaluation design, methodology, and methods for data collection and analysis, including the final lists of evaluation questions, proposed interview protocol, and statement of intended impact, are expected to be fully presented in the inception report. A specific time and work plan, including number of hours/working days, for the remainder of the evaluation should be presented. The inception report should be written in English

The consultant should take into consideration appropriate measures for collecting data in cases where sensitive or confidential issues are addressed, and avoid presenting information that may be harmful to some stakeholder groups. Such ethical questions should be discussed with International IDEA during the inception phase.

The inception phase will last no longer than a few days.

Field phase

The field phase should take no longer than 10 days. The consultant shall:

• Submit an indicative list of people to be interviewed, other tools to be used, dates of visits and itinerary. The indicative list of people to be interviewed shall consist of key stakeholders and beneficiaries, including representatives from government institutions, political parties, the judiciary, CSOs and academia. International IDEA can facilitate this process.
• Ensure adequate contact and consultation with, and involvement of the different stakeholders. Use the most reliable and appropriate sources of information.
• Summarise work at the end of the field phase (slide presentation), discuss the reliability and coverage of data collection, and present preliminary findings to International IDEA.

Synthesis phase

This phase is mainly devoted to the preparation of the final report. The consultant will present in a single document their findings, conclusions and recommendations in accordance with the agreed structure no later than mid-August.The consultant will make sure that:

• The assessments are objective and balanced, statements accurate and verifiable, and recommendations realistic.
• When drafting the report, the consultant will acknowledge clearly where changes in the desired direction are known to be already taking place.

Dissemination phase

The Evaluation Report will be submitted to International IDEA for review and submission to the donor organisations no later than by the end of August.

5. Organisation of evaluation management

This evaluation is commissioned by International IDEA Myanmar. International IDEA will serve as the Evaluation Manager. The intended users are International IDEA and the MyConstitution donor organisations; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The intended users of the evaluation form a steering group which has contributed to and agreed on the ToR for this evaluation. The role of the steering group is to evaluate tenders and approve the inception report and the final report of the evaluation. The steering group will be participating in the start-up meeting of the evaluation as well as in the debriefing workshop where preliminary findings and conclusions are discussed.

6. Evaluation Quality

The evaluation shall conform to OECD/DAC’s Quality Standards for Development Evaluation[1]. The consultant shall use the Sida OECD/DAC Glossary of Key Terms in Evaluation[2]. The consultant shall specify how quality assurance will be handled by them during the evaluation process.

7. Timeline and Deliverables

Starting date of the assignment: As soon as possible

Expected duration of the assignment: 22 days

Deadline final report: End of August

The proposed timeline of the action is outlined below. A specific timeline will be concluded in consultation with the consultant upon presentation of the workplan.

Timeline and approval of milestones

• A draft inception report is to be submitted to International IDEA within 3 daysof contract signing;
• A draft of the final report must be submitted to International IDEA no later thanmid-August 2018;
• IDEA will provide feedback within 3 daysafter submitting the first draft;
• The final version of the report must be completed no later than by the end of August 2018.

Final report

A draft evaluation report shall be presented to International IDEA in accordance with the timeline outlined above. Following comments by International IDEA, a final report shall be submitted 5 days after receipt of comments.

The report will be written in English and no longer than twenty pages, not including the executive summary and attachments. The executive summary should be maximum 2 pages. The evaluation approach/methodology and methods for data collection used shall be clearly described and explained in detail and a clear distinction between the two shall be made. All limitations to the methodology and methods shall be made explicit and the consequences of these limitations discussed. Findings shall flow logically from the data, showing a clear line of evidence to support the conclusions. Conclusions should be substantiated by findings and analysis. Recommendations and lessons learned should flow logically from conclusions. Recommendations should be specific, directed to relevant stakeholders and categorised as a short-term, medium-term and long-term. The final version of the report shall be sent to International IDEA in electronic format (Word and PDF).

Tentative structure of the report:

• Executive summary
• Introduction: Purpose of evaluation, context of the project
• Evaluation approach: Methodology and processes
• Findings in respect to the project objectives
• Analysis, conclusions and recommendations

Attachments:

• List of interviewees, interview protocol, timing of interviews, and transcripts;
• Actual timeline of evaluation;
• Terms of Reference;
• Summaries of data analysis (if appropriate).

At the request of International IDEA, the consultant shall be available for discussions about recommendations and follow-up points.

8. Qualifications

The consultant shall ideally include the following competencies:

1. 3-5 years of experience in designing and conducting evaluations, preferably in democracy building projects;
2. Proven competence in the design, implementation and management of evaluation and organizational development processes, including with multiple stakeholders, in constitution and/or development assistance projects. Proven application of the OECD DAC criteria;
3. Relevant education background, qualifications and training in evaluation at a Master degree level. If Master degree level has not been attained, the consultant shall have conducted a minimum of three evaluations;
4. Understanding of results-based management systems; logical framework analysis; rapid assessment procedures;
5. Fluent in English.

Other desirable competencies include:

1. Fluency in Myanmar language would be a strong asset.
2. Previous experience in South-East Asia or Myanmar;
3. Expertise in one of the following fields: Constitution support, governance, gender, democratic accountability;
4. Excellent understanding of democratic processes in Myanmar, including knowledge of the institutional, political, and electoral context, as well as of key stakeholders.

A CV shall be included in the call of response, outlining the consultant’s qualifications and professional work experience.

The consultant must be independent from the evaluation object and evaluated activities, and have no stake in the outcome of the evaluation.

9. Resources and Fees

The budget amount available for the evaluation is Eur 8,000(all inclusive).

To facilitate the evaluation, the consultant will be provided with the following documents by International IDEA;

• Project proposal and funding agreement;
• Updated log frame;
• Interim reports;
• Partner survey results;
• Financial reporting.

Other documents needed by the consultant will be discussed with International IDEA.

Additionally, International IDEA can provide an office space at the Yangon Office and facilitate the interview process, for instance by suggesting possible interviewees and, if necessary, a translator.

The consultant will be required to arrange all required logistics including flights, any necessary security arrangements, and booking interviews.

Interested candidates are invited to send a two-page proposal and CV to jobsmyanmar@idea.int . Only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

NOTE: The contact person (Belayneh Alehegn Geremew;b.geremew@idea.int) should be consulted if any problems arise during the evaluation process.