Introduction

African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) is looking for a consultant to design, plan, and implement project mid-term review/ evaluation. The mid-term evaluation will be conducted for the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) funded Research and Innovation Management (RIM) Project. The RIM Project is one of the Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI) projects. The project consortium is made up of ACTS, Nairobi, Kenya, as the Project Lead; the Association of African Universities (AAU), Accra, Ghana, supporting the Anglophone-West Africa; and the Cheikh Anta Diop Dakar University (UCAD), Dakar, Senegal, supporting Francophone-West Africa. The main aim of the project is to contribute towards building the capacities of Science Granting Councils (SGCs) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to fund and manage research and innovation projects.

Background

The SGCs have a key role to play in their national Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) systems. Among their multiple mandates, councils are responsible for management and disbursement of funds for research and development (R&D) and STI activities. As such, continued strengthening of the capacities of councils in the SSA to fund and manage research and innovation projects in areas aligned with their national development plans and the identified priorities is key. In this respect a consortium of partners led by the ACTS, together with the AAU in Ghana and UCAD in Senegal, is implementing a project on supporting Africa’s SGCs to fund and manage research and innovation projects. The project’s goal is therefore to strengthen the capacity of SGCs in SSA countries to fund and manage research and innovation projects in areas aligned to their national development plans and priorities and contribute to economic and social development in their respective countries.

The project’s goal is anticipated to be realized through the full implementation of the following seven specific objectives:

1. Refining and adapting the draft research and innovation framework in collaboration with the councils to meet their specific needs and interests and ensure effective implementation of research and innovation projects.
2. Supporting the councils to design and manage high-quality research competitions, including providing guidance on proposal development and review guidelines, and organizing proposal development workshops.
3. Issuing contracts to be signed by the grantees, councils, and collaborating technical agency to ensure the smooth execution of research projects.
4. Conducting joint monitoring of research projects with the councils, including reviewing progress reports and research outputs to ensure they meet the required standards. The councils will be the primary recipients of progress reports from researchers, with ACTS offering technical backstopping.
5. Support the councils to mainstream gender equality and inclusivity considerations in all funded projects.
6. Supporting the synthesis of research results and the development of various research outputs such as reports, journal articles, books, and policy briefs, and disseminating them for use to contribute to inclusive development in sub-Saharan Africa.
7. Supporting the organization of symposia for researchers funded by this project in collaboration with the councils to share their findings and promote knowledge exchange.

Purpose and Coverage

The purpose of this call is to engage an external expert/consultant to conduct project mid-term review. The expert will conduct an overall independent assessment of the last eighteen (18) months performance of the project, paying particular attention to the outputs and outcomes of the project against its objectives and to identify key lessons and propose practical recommendations for improvement and follow-up actions. The RIM project is being implemented across seventeen (17) countries in Africa.

In-depth project mid-term review and or evaluation plays a crucial role in ensuring the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability of a project. For this reason, the purpose of this review/ evaluation is to track progress based on the objectives. Specifically, it will help assess whether the project is meeting its objectives and milestones as planned; provide a feedback mechanism for project consortium; and facilitate learning from experiences gained during the past 18 months of project implementation. 

Consultancy deliverables

The following will be the expected deliverables of the consultancy exercise:

• A work plan for implementing the mid-term evaluation/ review;
• A draft report on the implementation of the tasks, key findings with recommendations, and lessons leant;
• A final mid-term evaluation/ review report.
• A Power-Point presentation with the preliminary findings, recommendations and lessons learned to be presented ACTS consortium and key stakeholders.

The Final mid-term evaluation report should be concise and not exceed 30 pages, excluding annexes (supporting data and details may be included in annexes).   

Note: All drafts and final outputs, including supporting documents, analytical reports and raw data should be provided in electronic version compatible with WORD for windows. Ownership of the data from the evaluation rests jointly with ACTS Consortium, Project Funders/ Promoters and the Consultant. The copyright of the evaluation/ review report will rest exclusively with ACTS Consortium and the Project Funders.

Duration and time frame

The mid-term evaluation exercise shall be expected to be completed within 20 - 25 days beginning as soon as possible.

Three (3) days after signing of the contract, the expert will submit to ACTS a refined inception report that articulates and concisely outlines the overall requirements of the ToR including proposed methodology, work plan with realistic timelines, and division of labor where necessary.

Evaluation and Selection Process

This application is open to experts who are specialized in implementing or performing project/ program monitoring, evaluations, learning and reporting. The selected expert will be responsible for designing and executing all the activities described in this ToR in collaboration with ACTS Staff.

The selection process of the expert will be based on the set of criteria developed by ACTS Evaluation Committee to evaluate the proposals. The Evaluation Committee will evaluate the proposals by using a combined scoring method. The technical proposal will be evaluated on 75% whereas financial proposals will be evaluated on 25%. The shortlisted bidding consultant or firm may be asked for a formal presentation prior to the final selection.

Further, the evaluation team will examine the proposals against the hereunder criteria as per the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)/ Development Assistance Committee (ODA) framework by addressing specific essential questions relevant to the project aims, goals, and objectives. These may include relevance and strategic fit of the project; project progress and effectiveness; efficiency of resources utilization; effectiveness of management arrangement (including M&E); sustainability, outcomes and impacts of the project; lessons learnt and best practices that can be replicated amongst other aspects.

Consultancy Competencies, Experience and Skill Requirements:

• Experience in project monitoring, evaluation, learning and reporting of program/ projects.
• Extensive knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research methods and techniques.
• Ability to use participatory approaches for evaluation and learning.
• Good knowledge of the Science Granting Councils Initiative: Anglophone, Francophone and Lusophone communities, and dynamics of the consortium work.
• Good probing and analytical skills.
• Excellent communication and written skills in English, and French knowledge is an added asset.

Deadline and submission of expression of interest (EoI)

ACTS invites interested experts to submit the following documents on or before 15^th September 2024,  17:00hrs to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and copy to email address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

• Expression of interest (EoI) outlining how the expert meets the selection criteria and their understanding of the ToR.
• Curriculum vitae (CV) outlining relevant qualifications and experience.
• A summarized description of the scope of work and the intended methodology to be used as well as a tentative work plan including activities and time frames.
• Itemized financial proposal.
• Documented similar assignments previously implemented to successful completion.