Internews Latin America and the Caribbean External Evaluator

ABOUT INTERNEWS

Internews empowers people worldwide with the trustworthy, high-quality news and information they need to make informed decisions, participate in their communities, and hold power to account. Our vision is to unleash human potential everywhere by turning on the bright light of information.

For more than 35 years, in more than 100 countries, Internews has worked to build healthy media and information environments where they are most needed. We have proudly incubated hundreds of sustainable organizations, bolstered the skills of thousands of media professionals, activists, and citizens, and helped these partners reach millions of people with quality, local information.

OVERVIEW

Internews’ Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) team is seeking an external evaluator for a project funded by the US government that is focused on promoting and enabling environment for online freedom of expression. The contractor will conduct a final evaluation report assessing the performance and success of the LAC regional project, as well as the project team’s overall methodology and approach.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

The LAC regional project spans a timeframe from June 2016 – December 2020 with a total of approximately 1.7 million USD in funding. The main countries of focus are in the Andean region.

The final evaluation will examine the impact of project activities on beneficiaries as well as the sustainability of results,

The evaluation will be theory-driven, should follow acceptable standards, and include elements of both quantitative and qualitative analysis. the evaluation should pay particular attention to gender, marginalized, and at-risk groups.

The project is regional, and the evaluator should be willing and able to conduct virtual, secure interviews in the Spanish language with partners and other members of the community located in multiple countries. All work will be conducted remotely. The evaluator should be familiar with secure methods of communication including encrypted messaging and email, encrypted calls and encrypted video calls, and secure document storage and transfer.

The research will include handling personally identifiable information (PII); the consultant will therefore be required to demonstrate capacity in handling, communicating, and temporarily storing sensitive information. The consultant will be required to ensure that the identities of individuals are protected and that no information in the final report could be used to identify specific individuals or organizations without their explicit consent and the consent of Internews.

TIMEFRAME AND DELIVERABLES

Deadline for applications: 25 September 2020, 6pm ET

Appointment of evaluator: by 30 September 2020

Timeframe: Final evaluation research and report writing – October – 31 December 2020

SCOPE OF WORK

Inception Phase

• Evaluation Planning: Initial discussion with key project team stakeholders to identify internal priorities, lines of inquiry, and sensitivities. Based on this activity, the contractor will draft an evaluation workplan and methodological framework, detailing the qualitative and quantitative tools and evaluation questions to be used during the primary data collection phase. This workplan and framework will be shared with program staff for review.

Research

• Desk Review: Review and analysis of project documents, including proposal documents, quarterly narrative reports, and partner reports.
• Quantitative Data Collection: Design online survey(s), send to project partners/beneficiaries, analyze results. Evaluator should determine with the program team how the survey will be deployed safely.
• Qualitative Data Collection: Conduct remote, in-depth interview or focus groups with key project partners and community members – should be linked to online surveys. Evaluator should determine with the program team how the interviews will be conducted safely.

Analysis, Report, Presentation

• Analysis Drafting First Report: Synthesize findings and draft report detailing the answers to the evaluation questions, findings, and recommendations.
• Send First Draft of Report for Internews Review: Submit first draft of preliminary findings to Internews staff for comments and feedback.
• Finalize report: Incorporate comments and feedback.
• Presentation: Organize and conduct a presentation of key findings, recommendations, and lessons learned to Internews staff.

DELIVERABLES

1. Workplan: Evaluation workplan and methodological framework, to include relevant documentation and:

• Literature review
• Draft methodology
• Data collection tools
• Outline of report structure

Due by 15 October 2020

1. Final Report: 10-15 page final report (excluding appendices) including narrative description of results achieved, operational lessons, and recommendations for future programming.

Reports should contain a concise Executive Summary of core findings and recommendations, the latter being specific and action-oriented, and tailored to all relevant stakeholders. Reports should also include a methodology section, making explicit any limits to the evaluation. Where appropriate, reports will include illustrative graphics and charts summarizing project data.

Annexes will include (among other items) cross tabulations from quarterly reports and interviews, so readers can clearly see data that supports findings and conclusions.

First Draft Due by 1 December 2020

Final Draft Due by 31 December 2020

1. Presentation: Presentation of findings to key Internews staff

Between 14 – 17 December 2020

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field or equivalent work experience in Latin America.
• Fluency in both written and spoken English and Spanish required.
• Demonstrated experience conducting evaluations of advocacy and human rights programs, particular for US donors, and/or experience working for human rights or international development programs.
• Experience with qualitative and quantitative M&E data collection and analysis methods.
• Strong facilitation, presentation, writing and communication skills.
• Experience in the field of digital rights, digital security, internet freedom and/or media and journalism highly preferred.

TO APPLY

To apply, please visit the Internews website: https://phf.tbe.taleo.net/phf04/ats/careers/v2/viewRequisition?org=INTERNEWS&cws=38&rid=1248

Applications should include the below documentation:

• A 1-2 page statement of interest/draft SOW, describing how your profile meets the qualifications outlined above and highlighting how your methodological approach will address the scope planned for this evaluation. Include a cost estimate.
• A CV or resume and the names of at least two references (these should be clients for whom you have conducted external evaluations previously or individuals who can speak to your equivalent experience/expertise).
• Evidence of evaluation and/or written work (e.g. link to evaluation reports or PDF attachments), highlighting evaluation theories and approaches if possible. If this isn’t possible, a writing sample can be submitted.