1 – Context and Background

The Regional Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) Fund is a regional funding mechanism that was set up in 2010 by Hivos Southern Africa and Ford Foundation to strengthen SRHR work in the region. The Fund was established in recognition of the critical need for a strategic regional response to collectively address the myriad of SRHR issues in Southern and East Africa with particular attention to young people and adolescents as well as to provide an opportunity for donors to coordinate their support to SRHR in the region. In 2017, Hivos with support from Sida’s Africa Department Unit for Regional SRHR extended the scope and reach of the Fund to cover East and Southern Africa (ESA).

The Fund is currently implementing the second phase of the project titled “Adolescent and Youth SRHR Inclusive Access Initiative” from March 2023 to December 2026. The new phase of the Fund focuses on strengthening and empowering youth and youth-led organizations to increasingly defend and promote their SRHR, engage and influence duty bearers to increasingly design, adopt and implement laws and practices that promote the SRHR of adolescents and young people and finally to strengthen and empower youth researchers to generate evidence on SRHR in the ESA region.

The current Regional SRHR Fund key activities include: sub-granting, coordination of key actors, convenings, building capacity and gathering and sharing information on advocacy and related SRHR issues to strengthen the efforts of civil society organisations (CSOs) working on SRHR in the ESA region.

2 – Project Description

2.1. Impact

By December 2026, stronger, more diverse and better-coordinated youth-led civil society organizations are able to demand and promote access to inclusive and affirming SRHR information and services for adolescent and young people.

2.2 Project objectives

• Objective 1: Support and empower adolescents and young people – strengthened and empowered youth led and youth focused organizations increasingly defend and promote their SRHR.
• Objective 2: Engage and influence duty bearers – duty bearers increasingly design, adopt and implement laws and practices that promote the SRHR of adolescents and young people.
• Objective 3: Evidence generation – Strengthened and empowered youth researchers to generate evidence on SRHR in the ESA region.
• Objective 4: Coordination / convening: Youth-led and/or youth focused organizations have enhanced capacity to coordinate SRHR activities and convene spaces through integrated and inter-linked initiatives, including with similar organizations in East and Southern Africa.
• Objective 5: Special Initiatives Fund: A Fund for strategic and responsive grant-making is in place to facilitate engagement in strategic regional SRHR initiatives

3. Evaluation Assignment

3.1 Purpose and Aim

In line with the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) established by OECD, the evaluation will focus on assessing the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability of the Regional SRHR Fund and the intervention’s overall objectives including:

1. Assessing all processes relating to implementation of the intervention.
2. Assessing project outputs and immediate outcomes.
3. Modelling/projecting the impact of the intervention beyond the intervention’s life using immediate outcome indicators in the August 2022 submitted results framework.
4. Drawing lessons and recommendations to inform future planning.

The aim of the midterm evaluation is to obtain an objective, critical, readable, and transparent analysis of the progress made with the interventions since project inception. The analysis should contain recommendations on improvement actions, potential adjustments and on future courses of action.

Specific Objectives

1. To assess the appropriateness of the project activities with respect to its project beneficiaries and targets group.
2. To evaluate the performance and achievements of the project against the plans laid out in the approved project results framework and determine the degree to which each of the individual objectives and indicators of the project were achieved and what impact these achievements have had so far and may have in future SRHR programming.
3. To assess Hivos’ ability to manage the Fund and subgrantees partners (in terms of cost-effectiveness, use of funds, selection of subgrantees, internal controls, management, structures for objective and transparent fund-management).
4. To determine the extent to which the Fund has integrated lessons learned and recommendations from the first phase of the regional SRHR Fund and to offer actionable recommendations for improvements in the second phase.
5. To assess the risk matrix and identify needed updates, with a focus on incorporating new risks and eliminating risks that are outdated.
6. To determine what lasting impact the Fund may have achieved.

3.2 Evaluation Approach and Methodology

The research team/consultant is invited to submit a detailed sampling methodology in their proposal. The research team will also have to design a sampling method that ensures that the study generates country specific data as well as regional data. The midterm evaluation study should use the programme results framework to inform the focus of the midterm evaluation study to determine what data is needed.

The evaluation should be designed to be forward looking, capturing lessons learned so far and providing information not only in terms of the extent to which the project has worked, but also where it has not and what can be done to improve the intervention going forward. Further, the evaluation should be a document that can function as a learning tool for Hivos and its sub grant partners, the Funder (Sida), National and Local Authorities, Ministries of Health and/Youth and other relevant stakeholders including regional actor such as regional CSOs, UN agencies and regional economic bodies.

The selected consultant will be required to work with young researchers from the youth researcher academies. This will be done in the spirit of ensuring continuity and sustainability of the Youth Research Academy (YRA) program initiated during the first phase of the project. The methodology of the consultant will be guided (but not limited to) by the following evaluation questions and criteria:

Relevance

• Are the program interventions responding to the needs of the adolescents and young people in the ESA region? Are the partners (subgrantees) selected by the Fund responding to the needs of adolescents and young people in the region? Do the subgrantees have the capacity to contribute to the outcomes of the program?
• Is the program appropriate in the context of where it is being implemented?
• How has the program ensured participation of young people and adolescents?
• How relevant is the Regional SRHR Fund for the region and how relevant are all the different grants including the Special Initiatives Fund (SIF) and the Convening grants.
• What is the complementarity between the different grants and the different subgrantees?

Efficiency

• Were the resources (financial and human resources as well as time) invested in the program sufficient and efficiently utilized to achieve results (Outputs and outcomes)?
• If/were any cost reducing measures/strategies introduced into the intervention? Based on alternatives?

Effectiveness

• To what extent are the intended program outcomes likely to be achieved? To what extent are project outputs and immediate outcomes achieved?

Impact

• What changes has the setting up and relaunching of the Regional SRHR Fund brought to the region?

Sustainability

• What is the likelihood that the Regional SRHR Fund will be sustained?

Lessons Learnt and Recommendations

• To what extent has the Fund incorporated the lessons learned and recommendations from the evaluation of the first phase?
• What are the key or significant lessons learnt and recommendations that can be drawn from program implementation, the Fund and its key program activities in the second phase?
• Evaluation questions and criteria will be fully developed and finalized by the consultant(s) together with the Hivos team.

3.3 Scope of the Evaluation

The evaluation will cover the five (5) project focus countries i.e. Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Primary/target Group: the SRHR grantees/project grantees/sub-grantees beneficiaries

Key informants will include Representatives of partner organisations/grantees receiving support from Hivos; Key CSOs and CBOs working on ASRHR issues; Other organisations with insights on ASRHR in Southern and Eastern Africa; Regional and national governmental organizations/bodies, UN Agencies and Donors working on ASRHR or related issues, Hivos Regional SRHR Fund and Sida staff.

3.4 Evaluation Timeline

It is expected that the midterm evaluation study will take 3 months (3rd March 2025 to 30th May, 2025) including field visits to the main countries to collect data.

3.5 Work plan, timeline and deliverables

3.6 Roles and Responsibilities of Each Party

Consultant responsibilities  

• Produce research protocol (inception report) for carrying out the midterm evaluation study. 
• Review all relevant documents for the midterm evaluation study.
• Develop midterm evaluation study design which includes survey methodology and data collection tools (questionnaires, FGD guides, interview protocol, data entry templates etc), as appropriate in consultation with Hivos SRHR Design, Monitoring, Evaluation And Learning Officer.
• Develop field work schedule in consultation with the midterm evaluation survey team and Hivos.
• Produce and submit to Hivos team draft report on findings (per required format and data request).
• Incorporate comments from the Hivos team into draft report and produce final report.
• Finalise a high quality midterm evaluation analysis report.
• Present findings to the Hivos team after the report submission. 
• Coordinate with the Hivos Regional SRHR team to disseminate study findings to respondents and other stakeholders. 
• Work with the young researchers from the established Youth Research Academies (Kenya, Uganda and Malawi) to collect data.

Hivos responsibilities  

The Regional SRHR Fund will provide key primary documentation and information to be reviewed, as well as participating in some activities, including but not limited to: 

• The project proposal documents and any other relevant documentation that will be deemed necessary for the midterm evaluation study. 
• Assist the team in setting up appointments with partner organisations and other relevant stakeholders. 
• Consolidating Hivos’ and stakeholders’ comments for incorporation by the consultants. 
• Coordinating with the consultant(s) to ensure quality implementation of the evaluation study on ground.
• Ensuring the dissemination of survey findings to beneficiaries and other field-based stakeholders.

3.7 Consultant(s) Requirements, Knowledge and Expertise

• The lead consultant should have a Master’s Degree or higher in a relevant field, such as Public Health, Demography, Health Economics, Project Management, Social/Health sciences, or any other related disciplines.
• Experience in working with marginalised and priority populations. 
• Experience in conducting research on adolescent and youth will be considered an asset.
• Consultant(s)/research team have proven experience and expertise on both quantitative and qualitative methods and proven experience of successfully undertaking project baseline studies, midterm evaluations or end of project evaluations.
• The consultant(s) should have proven experience in conducting surveys of similar set-up, size and scope in East and Southern Africa.
• Knowledge and experience of participatory assessment / development approaches will be required.
• Knowledge and experience in organizational development approaches including organizational capacity assessment and development.
• Broad experience in conducting large survey fieldwork (data collection, validation, entry and analysis).
• Experience in leading teams implementing surveys in the field (training, field logistics, human relations, teamwork).
• Existing research networks, partnerships and experience in the focus countries is preferred.
• Experience in SRHR programming and its related fields required.
• Prior experience working with Sida-funded projects is preferred.
• Must travel to field sites during the fieldwork phase.
• Provide a list of staff that will be involved in the evaluation at all levels- with a summary of their relevant experience and proposed role in the evaluation. A full CV for each team member should be provided as an annex. 

3.8 Submission and Evaluation of Proposals

Consultants who meet the requirements should submit a maximum of 10 pages’ (excluding annexes) expression of interest, which should include the following:

• A suitability statement, including commitment to availability for the entire assignment
• A short profile of the individual or organization.
• Updated curriculum vitae (annex) of each consultant or team member that clearly spells out qualifications and experience with special emphasis on SRHR programming or implementation.
• A brief statement on the proposed study methodology, including a draft work plan.
• A financial proposal in USD ($).
• All transport, including flights and local transport, accommodation, and other research field costs (such as room hire for data collectors training, paying data collectors and all other costs should be in the consultants’ fees.
• Three references from organizations that have contracted the consultant proving ability to carry out a survey of such related nature.
• Two previous similar or related reports written by the lead consultant.
• A letter or letters of support in the form of reference checks from organizations that the consultant has worked with.

All interested parties should respond to the TOR by 15th January 2025. The expression of interest should be sent to proposals.hubsaf@hivos.org with the title Regional SRHR Fund Midterm Evaluation in the subject line. Only Shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Applications will be evaluated using a weighted scoring approach, as specified below:

3.9 Budget and Payment Schedule

The consultant should prepare and submit a detailed budget for the midterm evaluation inclusive of all logistical, administrative and non-administrative costs.

Payments will be made as follows, in line with receipt of key deliverables: 

• 30% upon approval of the inception report. 
• 30% upon presentation and approval of the final draft midterm evaluation report.
• 40% upon submission and approval of the finalized midterm evaluation report