Call for Evaluation

 Final Evaluation – MARDI Project

Terms of Reference

Municipal Action for Reintegration and Diaspora – MARDI/P220003

1. General project information

 2. About the MARDI project  

The general objective of Caritas Switzerland is to fight against poverty. To achieve this goal, Caritas Switzerland’ Strategy 2021 - 2025 focuses on the three topics income generation, climate change and migration. In the area of migration, the focus is on basic services for migrants and refugees and their social and economic integration. Caritas Switzerland consistently implements programmes according to the Nexus approach, thus combining humanitarian and development policy aspects in its projects. Gender, conflict sensitivity, partner promotion and participation are considered as cross-cutting-issues in all country strategies.

Objectives of Migration according to the Country Strategy Kosovo 2021 – 2025:  By covering basic needs to education and job opportunities, refugees and migrants are better protected and contribute increasingly to their self-sufficiency and development in the countries of origin, transit, and destination.

• Migrants and refugees having access to social and economic services to enhance inclusion.
• Protection of migrants and refugees is enhanced, and their basic needs are covered through access to cash, goods and services.

Graduation approach: in the MARDI project Caritas Switzerland has implemented the Graduation Approach to ensure sustainability and impact of the project’s results and support given to the target vulnerable groups. To participate in a graduation programme, the individuals have to be psychologically stable and plan to remain in the same place for at least 18 months. The approach is thus a phased transition from emergency aid to independence but is not suitable for all contexts and all beneficiaries.

The MARDI project aims to enhance coordination amongst multiple stakeholders to address the underlying and longer-term needs of people returning to and integrating in Kosovo. Simultaneously, the project seeks to harness the untapped potential of the diaspora to viewing back migration as a positive force that can be paired with investment and economic development, ultimately fostering more attractive communities in Kosovo. The MARDI project has been implemented in line with Kosovo’s Ministry of Internal Affair’s Strategy on Migration 2021 – 2025 and its Action Plan for the Implementation of the Strategy on Migration, Regulation (GRK) No. 22/2020 on Reintegration of Repatriated Persons, Regulation (GRK) No. 09/2019 for the Integration of Foreigners and based on updated Municipal Action Plan for Sustainable Reintegration of Repatriated Persons and Integration of Foreigners 2023 – 2025. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has been considered as the main actor in MARDI project for coordinating and supporting the reintegration processes and policies towards better and sustainable reintegration of repatriated persons and foreigners. For integration of foreigners, the MARDI project has implemented its activities in line with the State Curricula for Integration Training of Foreigners.

The MARDI project has also been implemented according to the Strategy for Regional Development 2020 – 2030 of the Ministry of Regional Development, taking into account the regional division into five (5) development regions: Centre, East, West, South and North. Balanced regional development as a policy is considered both on economic, social and political grounds. The MARDI project has been focused on the following Strategic Objectives from the Strategy for Regional Development:

• Strategic Objective: 2. Balanced regional development and regions capable of inter-regional competition
• Strategic Objective: 3. Sustainable regional development based on natural, economic, cultural and human resources

According to the Mid-term evaluation report results covering the first 18 months of project implementation, the MARDI project is considered a highly relevant intervention, demonstrating significant progress, transparency and efficient resource utilization. The project aligns with CACH’s migration strategy as well as national migration and diaspora strategies by incorporating a business support component. The respective project has actively transferred knowledge, monitored project progress, facilitated collaboration, and contributed to capacity building. However, the MARDI project team has also taken the evaluation findings into consideration for improvement and change and has documented lessons learned and best practices.

The MARDI project is in line with the Sustainable Development Goal 10 (Reduce Inequalities), which recognized the impact of migration on sustainable development. However, the migration is a cross-cutting issues in the 2030 Agenda, relevant to all other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

3. Purpose and scope of the evaluation

The purpose of the evaluation is to provide final findings, recommendations and an assessment of the results achieved throughout the entire project implementation period. It should include an evaluation of the project’s relevance, measure its effectiveness by assessing the extent to which objectives have been met, and analyse its impact, sustainability and coherence by examining the differences that the intervention has made. The final evaluation will use recommendations and findings resulted from the mid-term evaluation report as a comparative reference. The final evaluation will also apply to the OECD DAC Evaluation Criteria. The evaluation includes the whole project implementation period from 2022 to 2024 (36 months).

The evaluation should focus on the project’s intervention logic, which employs an integrated approach between (1) addressing the short-term requirements for reintegration made through the commitment of governmental actors and (2) meeting the medium- and longer-term socio-economic requirements for the integration of foreigners through proactive and targeted services. The project has been focused on the capacity building of actors across three levels:

• Individual repatriated persons, refugees and their families
• Municipal actors seeking to promote improved local governance for integration

National inter-organizational actors striving to enhance social impact by providing supports for refugees

Overall project objective: The municipalities of Kosovo are perceived as places of positive socio-economic development by using the strong potential and experience of repatriated persons, refugees, ethnic minorities and the diaspora.

Outcome 1: Municipal and non-governmental actors improve their capacities and coordination to better address challenges in the field of migration and integration management.

Outcome 2: Local capacities are developed and strengthened to provide individual support and to facilitate the sustainable (re-) integration of migrants.

Outcome 3: Diasporas know how and financial capital are utilized for economic development of Kosovar municipalities.

4. Evaluation questions

Relevance: The evaluation report will provide an assessment of the extent to which the project objectives have addressed the needs of beneficiaries and partner institutions.

• To what extent has the MARDI project taken into consideration the needs of the beneficiaries and partner institutions?
• Was the needs assessment process of target project beneficiaries properly supporting the (re)integration process of repatriated persons and refugees? To what extent were the identified findings and recommendations from the needs assessment process considered during project implementation?
• How did the project interventions contribute to improving and strengthening the migration management at central and local institutions?
• To what extent did the project contribute to supporting the beneficiaries needs through the application of the graduation approach?
• What recommendations can be made to improve the project’s responsiveness to the needs of beneficiaries and partner institutions?

Effectiveness: The evaluation report will provide information on the extent to which the project achieved its expected objectives and results.

• Has the MARDI project achieved all project results according to the requested targets?
• Has the MARDI project team documented all the targets according to the reporting periods and has the monitoring system been updated accordingly? How adaptable and updated is the Monitoring Results Framework System? What challenges or examples should be considered for improvement or change regarding the monitoring and reporting process?
• Have the projects implementing partners reported in accordance with the project requirements? What were some of the challenges faced? What are the lessons learned? What recommendations can be made for improvement based on these lessons learned?
• What are the biggest internal and external factors affecting the project implementation, and how can they be mitigated?

Impact: The evaluation report will provide information on the extent to which the project has generated or is expected to generate effects on sustainable economic and psychosocial reintegration as well as business economic growth and expertise.  

• To what extent has the MARDI project made a difference in the field of migration in Kosovo?
• What has been the contribution of the MARDI project to providing long-term job opportunities for repatriated persons?
• What has been the contribution of the MARDI project to ensuring sustainable psychosocial reintegration?
• What has been the contribution of the MARDI project to the annual growth/income/export of local companies? To what extent has the participation of local companies in B2B meetings, economic forums, and other networking events contributed to their business approach, internationalization and marketing?
• Have local institutions and engaged professionals from diaspora achieved the desired outcomes from their cooperation?

Coherence: To what extent are the interventions consistent and synergistic with other interventions carried out by other projects in Kosovo, as well as with relevant international norms and standards?

• What is/was Caritas Switzerland`s comparative advantage within the wider, complex, systemic context it is embedded in? Why?
• How well do Caritas Switzerland contributions, role, value added, comparative advantages fit within the wider, complex, systemic context it is embedded in? Why?

Sustainability: Will Caritas Switzerland contributions last? Are they resilient to risk?

• What factors are needed to be present alongside Caritas Switzerland's contribution (or are/were missing) for (sustainable) goals to be achieved?

5. Approach and methodology 

6. Budget and timeline

The total amount available for the final evaluation is 9,000.00 EUR. The total amount cannot be exceeded. Any additional days requested from the contracted service provider may result in no additional fee charged. The total number of days for engagement is estimated at 45 days. The evaluation process will be organized during October – November 2024. The call is applicable either for a group of evaluators, independent evaluator, or an evaluation company. The applicant should prepare the financial proposal considering the daily fee charge. Caritas Switzerland will not reimburse or pay for any other evaluation expenses apart from the evaluator(s)/company daily fee compensation.
The Project Manager and the Monitoring and Evaluation Manager will be part of the evaluation team, requiring them to contribute approximately the following working days:

7. Ethical standards and considerations

CACH will ensure that the evaluation is designed and conducted with respect for and protection of the rights and welfare of individuals and communities involved. The evaluation will be technically accurate, reliable, legitimate, useful and conducted in a transparent and impartial manner, contributing to organizational learning and accountability. It will adhere to the DAC Quality Standards for Development Evaluation. All documents and data collected from interviews will be treated as confidential and used solely to facilitate analysis purposes. Interviewees will not be quoted in the reports without their explicit permission.

8. Deliverables

9. Professional competencies of evaluators

Eligible candidates/applicants: Open to a group of evaluators, independent evaluator, or an evaluation company.

A strong academic background in social sciences, including migration, diaspora studies, development, or business administration, is essential. Proficiency in Albanian and English is required, while knowledge of Serbian is considered a big advantage.

• Knowledge of ethical guidelines: Understands ethical guidelines and their implications for evaluation processes and effectively communicates this understanding to others.
• Understanding of SDG evaluability: Capable of addressing issues related to the evaluability of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• Integration of human rights and gender perspectives: Consistently incorporates human rights and gender perspectives into all stages of the evaluation process, from planning to communication and utilization of results.
• Stakeholder engagement: Able to work with relevant stakeholders to identify the evaluation's purpose, determine who will use the findings, and understand the decisions to be made based on those findings.
• Data collection and analysis: Proficient in applying qualitative and quantitative data collection methods and analysis. Knowledgeable about applying OECD/DAC criteria in the evaluation process.
• Analytical skills: Possesses the ability to produce credible findings and synthesize data effectively.
• Reporting: Able to clearly present credible conclusions supported by evidence and provide recommendations that logically follow from the conclusions.
• Dissemination and use of findings: Knowledgeable about how to disseminate and use evaluation findings to inform and improve project implementation.

10. Application process and timeline 

Interested parties should submit the following documents for application to [email protected] with cc to [email protected]:

• CVs of all evaluators
• Technical proposal

1. Commitment to assignment
2. Professional profile of evaluators specified with the evaluation thematic
3. Division of work between the evaluators
4. Workplan based on the given timeline in the TOR
5. Brief explanation on the methodology
6. Two professional references on evaluation, one related to migration and diaspora expertise
7. Business registration documents (for companies)

• Financial proposal based on the given instructions in the TOR (only for daily fees)

CACH will not bear any cost associated with the preparation of an application.

The deadline for applications is until 20^th of September 2024.