Mid-term review of the Norwegian Human Rights Fund Colombia’s Forest, Environmental and Human Right Programme

PURPOSE AND SCOPE

The objective of the assessment is to evaluate the results achieved through the support to Colombian civil society organisations from January 2021 to December 2023, through the NHRF Colombia Office COL-22/0002 agreement 2021-2025 “Support to IPLCs and Civil Society in Colombia” (around 60M NOK) and to provide strategic advice for the further development of the programme. The review shall assess effectiveness, relevance, coherence, impact, and potential sustainability of the results achieved by the civil society organisations in Colombia through the support by the Fund.

The inception phase of the review should be used to further specify the scope of the evaluation in terms of e.g. delimitations and aspects to be evaluated, which shall be presented and justified in the draft inception report.

Findings, conclusions, and recommendations will be used as input for the further development of the programme. The following areas and review questions should be addressed when assessing the results achieved by the NHRF and its partner organisations. It is expected that the review questions will be further developed and detailed by the Consultant in the tender and that a full review design is presented in the inception report.

METHODOLOGY

The methodological framework is to be specified by the Consultant in the tender, according to the objectives for the assessment. The assessment design, methodology, and methods for data collection and analysis are expected to be fully presented in the inception report. The proposal should include field work in geographical areas where the projects are being implemented with the aim of gathering direct information from the grantee partners and their beneficiaries. Nevertheless, the fieldwork will depend on the sample selected by the consultant.

The ongoing projects supported by the NHRF include actions in rural areas of the following departments: Amazonas (2 projects), Antioquia (3 projects), Bolívar (1 project), Caquetá (4 projects), Cauca (2 projects), Cesar (1 project), Chocó (3 projects), Guaviare (2 projects), Meta (3 projects), Nariño (1 projects), Putumayo (3 projects), Quindío (1 project), Santander (1 project), Valle del Cauca (1 project), Bogotá (8 projects).

It is expected that the review will be conducted with a participatory approach that allows for the active participation and input from local stakeholders and beneficiaries. The Consultant shall actively try to balance inputs and influence from different categories of stakeholders over the evaluation process and results. Particular attention should be given to stakeholders who have otherwise little influence over strategy and decision making in aid, including marginalized groups.

It is also important to aim for a range in sources of information and consult not only direct stakeholders but also reliable external third-party sources such as representatives of the Colombian state and the international community working within the field in order to assess the results and impact of the intervention.

The Consultant should consider appropriate measures for collecting data and presenting sensitive or confidential information, to avoid harm to stakeholder groups. The anonymity and confidentiality of individual informants shall be protected when requested and/or as required by law, the context, or ethical considerations. The rights and welfare of all participants in the evaluation shall be protected and informed consent obtained.

The review shall conform to OECD/DAC’s Quality Standards for Development Evaluation. The Consultant should use the OECD/DAC Glossary of Key Terms in Evaluation and specify how quality assurance will be handled during the review process.

TEAM

The review should be conducted by at least two people. The team must have one main contact person. Preference will be given to locally based Colombian consultants.

Qualifications:

• English and Spanish speaker(s).
• Knowledge of social, environmental, or related sciences.
• Demonstrated strong knowledge of human rights work and NGO organisational development.
• Extensive experience with evaluation, monitoring, and learning work, ideally within human rights and environmental protection.
• Demonstrated experience with the use of participatory methods.
• Demonstrated experience working with civil society organisations, indigenous populations, and small-scale farmer communities.
• Experience with grant management organisations/funding mechanisms.
• Knowledge of issues associated with the protection and restoration of forests and the reduction of deforestation, sustainable livelihoods, and ethnic, territorial and environmental rights, as well as the field of protection of human rights defenders.
• Extensive work experience from Colombia.
• Gender-balanced team.

TIME FRAME AND BUDGET

The review process should ideally start no later than February 12 and the final report is expected to be delivered on May 3rd, 2024.

The NHRF has a budget of USD 25.000 (approx. 100.000.000 COP) inclusive of vat/taxes. The consultants must provide a detailed budget including all costs for the assignment, hereunder travel costs for the consultants. It is estimated that the evaluation team would use approximately 40 working days for the assignment.