Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Expert

MiCT is calling for proposals for the evaluation of its Fellowship for Critical Voices. These Terms of Reference are to be taken as the basis for the evaluation. MiCT invites interested and qualified applicants to submit proposals by 10.11.2024

1. oducing MiCT

Media in Cooperation and Transition (MiCT) is a non-profit organisation delivering expert media services in complex and challenging contexts with passion, precision and agility. Through our collaborative work with our partners, we foster transparent, inclusive and fair dialogue supporting resilient societies that thrive.

Across three continents and 15 countries, MiCT facilitates the training of journalists and media producers, programme and content development, radio and film production, magazine and book publishing, media research and monitoring, in addition to supporting the financial viability of our partners.

2. The Program

The case worker is to support the MiCT Critical Voices Fellowship, which is aimed at media professionals from conflict and crisis regions who share a common value in their professional journalistic integrity. The program is currently focused on journalists and media makers from across the globe, and will have supported roughly 300 individuals in 2024. The Fellowship offers a modular support structure that can be adapted according to country and individual requirements, and focuses on 7 Module areas, specifically: Security, Livelihood, Health, Integration and Legalisation, Professional Development, Community and Resettlement, depending on Fellows’ individual circumstances. Fellows are supported either in a cohort-based fashion, for more sustained conflict areas, or onboarded on a rolling basis, in emergency and new conflict regions.

The program is implemented, in collaboration with 5 local partner organisations, and 7 regional community managers and operate from the exile locations, associated with the various conflicts – namely Thailand, Pakistan, Georgia, Kenya as well as from within Ukraine. The 2024 program follows 2 previous periods of implementation since September 2022 and forms part of the Hannah Arendt Initiative of the German Federal Foreign Office.

3. Description of the role

The project evaluation is to cover the full period of the program from its inception 01.01.2024 until the beginning of the evaluation process. The program is to be completed by 31.12.2024. The evaluation shall be based on principles aligned with the OECD/DAC: Relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability.

Subject to agreement reached in the inception workshop, research questions/issues for the evaluation may include:

• Design and implementation of the interventions
• Degree to which logframe indicators were reached
• Effectiveness of team and partner setup and structure, particularly with view to a power sensitive development and humanitarian work
• Sense of security perceived by Fellows
• Long-term sustainability of Fellowship in terms of Fellows security and possibility to continue reporting

The evaluation should be based on the DAC Criteria, as well as the logframe, which will be shared with the selected evaluator. To this end, the selected candidate should be available to join and actively contribute to the global team meet-up in the first week of December.

4. Deliverables

The following services are to be rendered on assignment:

1. Planning & conducting a 2 day in-person evaluation workshop, in coordination with the MiCT week to take place in the first week of December 2024. Travel may be required. Travel expenses will be covered by MiCT separately.
2. Inception report (max 5 pages plus appendices) outlining the workshop structure & methodology and instruments for data gathering for the evaluation.
3. Data collection, including surveys and/or online interviews with additional partners and beneficiaries and review of project documentation. Where required, this may include the coordination of translators for the surveys. Translators will be contracted by MiCT separately. .
4. Final evaluation report (max 20 pages plus appendix) in English, consisting of the following:

• An executive summary
• Main report structured according to OECD/CAD principles
• Key conclusions and recommendations
• Appendix including the cleaned data, interview questions and guidelines, and list of interviewees.

1. Organising and conducting a 2*2h learning workshop with the project team and partners

All deliverables are to be completed by 31.12.2024

Criteria of selection

Individuals, teams and organisations are invited to apply. Successful applicants should be able to provide proof of the following:

• Familiarity with the OECD/DAC criteria
• Extensive experience with (primarily digital) methods of data gathering
• Experience with evaluation of projects funded by the German Federal Foreign Office preferred
• Thorough understanding of evaluation needs and adequate methodologies for projects in the field of media development, as well as humanitarian emergency support highly desired
• Availability to take part in a 2-3 day evaluation workshop in the first week of December.
• Knowledge of power-sensitive and decolonial development structures a distinct advantage
• Familiarity with other project languages such as Arabic, French, Russian, Ukrainian, Burmese, Dari and/or Pashto preferred