Project Evaluator

Fondation Hirondelle is looking for an external evaluator, to assess progress of the project in Bangladesh “‘Improving Refugee and Host Community Resourcefulness, Resilience & Social Harmony through Information”.

1. Context and History of the Project

In June 2018, Fondation Hirondelle started a project in Bangladesh, in the Rohingya refugee camp of Jamtoli. In 2019, they expanded the project into two additional Rohingya refugee camps and also work with affected Bangladeshi communities near the camps. Fondation Hirondelle’s work aims to contribute to the resourcefulness and resilience of refugees and the host community and strengthen social cohesion between the groups.

In partnership with HEKS/EPER since July 2020, Fondation Hirondelle’s project aims to improve the access to important and practical information for thousands of listeners a week living in the camps and in communities nearby. The project also aims to contribute to increased social cohesion between refugees and host populations through shared media programming.

The project includes the production of an audio program in 3 refugee camps by a group of refugees with oversight and support by Fondation Hirondelle producers. The programs offer information on camp life, important information and awareness messages from NGOs working in the camp, and the government. Since the Covid-19 outbreak, the programs have focused on the direct impact of the pandemic on refugees, as well as on mitigating its secondary impacts. The broadcasting of the audio programs is implemented through a narrowcasting network of loudspeakers set up in places where the population gathers. To ensure feedback from affected populations and increased accountability, the project also includes the compilation of important information from audio program content from refugees, shared with producers, camp managers, the government and other humanitarian actors. A weekly program is likewise produced for host communities with information about services and advice that could improve their food security, livelihoods and knowledge about health and rights. This is broadcast in small listening groups and on the local radio station Bangladesh Betar. Lastly, the project aims to increase social cohesion between refugees and local populations through an audio program that brings the host and refugee populations together through radio.

2. Evaluation purpose: Intended use and intended users

The purpose or intended use of the evaluation is to:

Help Fondation Hirondelle and Swiss Solidarity (SwS) to assess progress of Fondation Hirondelle’s project in Bangladesh “‘Improving Refugee and Host Community Resourcefulness, Resilience & Social Harmony through Information” to learn from what worked well and less well and inform decisions on how any future project design may be adjusted and improved.

The primary intended users of the evaluation are:

Fondation Hirondelle, the project management team and Swiss Solidarity.

3. Object of the evaluation and Objective

The evaluation object is Fondation Hirondelle’s ‘Improving Refugee and Host Community Resourcefulness, Resilience & Social Harmony through Information’ project during the period from 1 January 2019 to 30 June 2021. This evaluation will be limited to providing an overall appreciation of the project contribution to achieving its specific objectives.

It will focus on the overall performance of the project in achieving the expected results. It will concern all dimensions of the project’s implementation and will cover institutional, operational, technical and partnership aspects and will include an analysis of the implementation context in relation to the COVID-19 health crisis.

The evaluation will cover the Core Humanitarian Standards evaluation criteria of the project.

The evaluation of the project impact on the program audiences on qualitative and quantitative terms is not the object of this study. A baseline survey has been carried out by an independent organization and an endline is underway to measure these impacts. A short synthesis of these studies shall however be drafted.

The objective of this evaluation is to:

· evaluate the project in terms of the Core Humanitarian Standards (see below) and formulate recommendations as an input to any future Fondation Hirondelle project in humanitarian crisis contexts.

Specifically, this will involve:

– Analyzing the achievement of the expected results, including the factors that facilitated their achievement and the main difficulties encountered;

– Analyzing the project’s capacity to adapt to socio-economic and political contextual changes;

– Identifying lessons learned and the measures taken to ensure the sustainability of the achievements.

The evaluator will work on the different phases of the evaluation for a period of approximately 20 days. The evaluator may sub-contract local consultants to help carry out the evaluation.
The evaluation should take place before the end of June 2021 and the final report should be submitted by the end of July. The evaluator shall submit the proposed time schedule.
The final report shall contain all evaluation findings, and provide recommendations. It shall total 15-25 pages.

Contact and how to apply

Qualified candidates are invited to apply by 06 June 2021.

The application must contain:

• CVs
• Brief description of the working method/technical proposal indicating why the firm and its team believe they are best placed to carry out the assignment awarded, and proposed methodology and time schedule, indicating how they will approach and carry out the assignment awarded;
• Financial proposal indicating the total all-inclusive contract amount and any other travel-related expenses.

All documents associated with the application should be submitted by email by to: Dianne.janes@hirondelle.org and gabrielle.kaprielian-cunin@hirondelle.org.

Please, find more information here.