Evaluation of the Global Humanitarian Partnership between Save the Children, C&A and C&A Foundation

Transcription

1 Evaluation of the Global Humanitarian Partnership between Save the Children, C&A and C&A Foundation Terms of Reference Contents: I. INTRODUCTION 2 II. GLOBAL HUMANITARIAN PARTNERSHIP 3 III. SCOPE 4 IV. OBJECTIVES AND QUESTIONS 5 V. METHODOLOGY 7 VI. STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT 8 VII. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 9 VIII. EVALUATION PROCESS 10 IX. DELIVERABLES 11 X. AUDIENCE AND DISSEMINATION 12 XI. CONSULTANT REQUIREMENTS AND LEVEL OF EFFORT 12 Contact: Lee Alexander Risby, Head of Impact and Communications: l.risby@candafoundation.org C&A Foundation, Grafenauweg 10, 6330 Zug, Switzerland Tel: Independent evaluation of C&A / C&AF and STC Partnership

2 I. Introduction C&A Foundation was created in 2011 to deepen and expand the work of the C&A Initiative for Social Development (CISD) ( ) and then re-structured in 2013 to lead and manage all of the corporate philanthropic entities of the C&A company in retail and sourcing countries, including Instituto C&A in Brazil, and Fundación C&A in Mexico. The C&A Foundation primary emphasis is on funding programmes that improve the social and environmental sustainability of the fashion / apparel industry, with a secondary emphasis on funding humanitarian relief operations through a partnership with Save the Children and community-based initiatives in retail countries, including employee engagement and volunteering. C&A Foundation is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland with annual funding of over 45 million Euros. Save the Children, C&A and C&A Foundation entered into a three-year global partnership in The aim of the partnership was to work strategically together to respond to disasters, utilizing the power of C&A s employees, customers and its business to have a wider impact on women and children globally. C&A Foundation has committed over EUR 10m to Save the Children through this partnership. As the third year of the partnership is starting, C&A Foundation has requested that an independent evaluation of the partnership and programmes be undertaken to: a) provide an objective assessment of successes, failures and missed opportunities of: (a) the partnership; and b) funded programmes in disaster relief and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). Based on the findings provide a focused set of recommendations and lessons that will enhance the partnership and programmatic effectiveness. The evaluation will be required to conduct a partnership programme evaluation. The terms of reference present a brief description of the programme; scope; objectives and key questions; evaluation methodology; stakeholder involvement; roles and responsibilities; evaluation process; deliverables; audience and dissemination; consultant qualifications and projected level of effort. The evaluation is required to be completed and submitted to C&A Foundation by 30 th September Independent evaluation of C&A / C&AF and STC Partnership

3 II. Global Humanitarian Partnership The Global Humanitarian Partnership was started in 2015 when C&A Foundation and C&A had developed its first joint global sustainability framework. Under the pillar of Sustainable Lives, the partnership aimed to support communities affected by disasters in C&A s retail and sourcing operating areas and globally. The owners of C&A 1 have a history of supporting humanitarian efforts in the past through corporate and private philanthropy and to wanted to continue with the support through a more structured partnership. The goals of the Global Humanitarian Partnership are: To work strategically with one NGO (Save the Children) to help communities to prepare and respond to disasters. To work with C&A to influence customers and employees to also contribute to the efforts of Save the Children. The three pillars and objectives and / or actions of the partnership are: Communication & Leveraged Funds Employee engagement, Cause-related marketing, Customer donations (A) Mothers-in-Crisis Fund - Immediate, life-saving emergency response EUR 1.5m p.a. - Flexible funding (reactive) Global: Category 1* C&A sourcing and retail countries: Cat. 2-4* *As defined by Save the Children (B) DRR Innovation Fund - Piloting innovative riskreduction & resilience approaches in (peri)urban settings EUR 1.5m p.a. - Grants-based funding (proactive) C&A sourcing and retail countries (C) Children s Rights & Business Principles - C&A business principles will be adjusted to better meet mothers and children s rights 1 The Brenninkmeijer family. 3 Independent evaluation of C&A / C&AF and STC Partnership

4 C&A Foundation has committed EUR 3.36m per year in grant funding towards the partnership. The Global Humanitarian Partnership is governed by a steering committee with representatives from Save the Children Switzerland, Save the Children Germany, Save the Children International, C&A Global Sustainability, C&A Foundation, C&A Brazil and C&A Mexico. The partnership is managed primarily by functional, programmatic and partnership managers at Save the Children Switzerland, Save the Children Germany, C&A Foundation (Global), C&A Europe (Corporate Communications and Marketing), Instituto C&A (Brazil), Fundación C&A (Mexico). Since the start of the partnership, Save the Children responded to approximately 20 2 humanitarian disasters and has set up Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) projects in Brazil, Mexico, China, India and Bangladesh. III. Scope The evaluation scope will focus on assessing the results of the global humanitarian partnership between January 2015 and the end of April 2017 (2.5-year period). This is separated into two parts: A. Partnership Level Evaluation (non-programmatic elements) this will assess the design, functional operations and quality of the partnership between Save the Children, C&A and C&A Foundation; and factors that have positively and negatively influenced the effectiveness of the partnership. B. Programme Level Evaluation this will assess the humanitarian disaster relief (including immediate response to save lives, mitigate suffering and cover basic needs; survival assistance and early-stage recovery as appropriate to individual context of responses) and DRR programmes run by Save the Children and funded through the partnership. The assessment will place an emphasis on contribution of the partnership with the context of multi-stakeholder responses to humanitarian disaster relief; short and medium term results; and factors that have positively and negatively influenced results. The assessment will take into account OECD-DAC / DAC-ALNAP standard criteria for evaluating humanitarian disaster response 3 : coherence; appropriateness; effectiveness (results); and connectedness. 2 For example, Refugee Crisis in Europe; and various humanitarian disasters in South Asia and East Asia. A full list of the responses will be provided to the evaluation team as input into the inception report preparation process. 4 Independent evaluation of C&A / C&AF and STC Partnership

5 IV. Objectives and Questions The two overarching objectives are to be addressed by the evaluation: To assess the health 4 of the Global Humanitarian Partnership between C&A Foundation, C&A and Save the Children, and provide recommendations, and lessons learned on how the structure and function of the partnership can be improved. To assess the results of the humanitarian disaster relief and Disaster Risk Reduction operations, research and evidence-building, and provide recommendations and lessons on how future operations can be improved. The evaluation will be guided by the following questions: A. Partnership Level 1. To what extent was the partnership aligned with each partners missions, strategic and operational objectives? 2. To what extent has the partnership between C&A, C&A Foundation and Save the Children functioned effectively and efficiently? This question will consider (inter alia): a. Governance (steering committee) and functional structure of the partnership To what extent was it fit for purpose? b. Quality of relationships; coordination / collaboration / cooperation and communication within the partnership. c. Identify factors that enabled or impeded the partnership function. d. Adequacy of human and financial capacities and systems in place within each partner to support the operations and attainment of results. 3. What unintended results (positive or negative) did the partnership process produce? 4. What were the missed opportunities of the partnership? How can each organisation support and address these gaps in the future? 5. To what extent did the partnership deliver results for C&A? This question will consider (inter alia): a. Marketing and sales; 3 See OECD (1999) Guidance for Evaluation of Humanitarian Assistance in Complex Emergencies. OECD-DAC; ALNAP (2006) Evaluating Humanitarian Action using OECD-DAC criteria An ANLAP Guide for Humanitarian Agencies. ALNAP-ODI. 4 For the purposes of the evaluation: Health is defined as the extent to which the current structure, quality, interactions and relationships between C&A Foundation, C&A and Save the Children enable the partnership to function in a relevant, effective and efficient way to support the delivery of results. 5 Independent evaluation of C&A / C&AF and STC Partnership

6 b. Integrating children s rights into business principles; c. Employee engagement activities; d. Customer awareness / engagement and donations 6. What are the main lessons learned from the partnership? B. Programme Humanitarian Disaster Relief and Disaster Risk Reduction In emergency responses funded by C&A Foundation: 1. To what extent did the goods and services 5 provided by Save the Children meet the needs of the beneficiary communities? This question will consider a. Perceptions of end-user beneficiaries b. Sphere standards for humanitarian response 2. How does Save the Children: a. Work with local/national implementing partners? b. Build capacity of local/national implementing partners to respond in the future (link to DRR and preparedness)? What are the strengths and weaknesses of (a) and (b)? 3. What were the factors positive and negative influenced the effectiveness (results) of emergency responses? 4. What unintended results (positive or negative) did the emergency responses produce? 5. How effective is the funding mechanism between C&A Foundation and Save the Children in emergency responses? 6. To what extent does the emergency seed funding enable Save the Children to act and bring in other donors? a. What lessons can be drawn from operations of the funding mechanism For disaster risk reduction component funded by C&A Foundation: 7. To what extent do the initiatives meet the objectives and respond to the needs of beneficiaries / partners? 8. What results were achieved and why? What were the areas of under-achievement and why? a. What unintended results (positive or negative) has the DRR programme produced? 9. How does Save the Children: a. Work with local/national implementing DRR partners? b. Build DRR capacity of local/national implementing partners? What are the strengths and weaknesses of (a) and (b)? 10. How efficiently were the DRR initiative implemented? 5 Safety for women and children, older and disabled etc; access to sanitation and water; access to shelter / housing; sufficient and quality food; curative and preventative health care; domestic and hygiene items. 6 Independent evaluation of C&A / C&AF and STC Partnership

7 11. To what extent do the research and evidence-building initiatives meet the needs of the DRR sector? This question will take into account: a. Use and utility b. Communication / dissemination of research and evidence-building V. Methodology The methodology will be split into two parts (a) to assess the partnership health and (b) to assess the humanitarian disaster relief and DRR operations. Partnership Evaluation Methodology The evaluation methods for assessing the effectiveness of partnerships have developed in recent years 6 and this provides some guidance and inspiration. It is expected that evaluation methodological framework will draw on, as appropriate: Social network analyses Integration and cooperation assessment Partnership survey In doing so, the evaluation will be required to employ a mixed-methodological approach to ensure that evidence gathered can be sufficiently triangulated to deliver aggregate quantitative and qualitative judgments on the basis of a broad range of data; documentary (available from C&A, C&A Foundation and Save the Children) 7 ; interviews with staff and employees of C&A, C&A Foundation 8 and Save the Children; and structured survey questionnaire. The qualitative data will be used to provide critical insight into health of the partnership and how and why it has supported the delivery of results or not. The qualitative data will be complemented quantitative data in form of a survey. 6 See ARTD (2014) Methods to assess the effectiveness of partnerships: partnership survey, integration measure and social network analysis; Coffman J (2005) Evaluating Partnerships: Seven Success Factors. Harvard Family Research Project Evaluation Exchange; GEF Evaluation Office (2013) Fifth Overall Performance Study. Approach Paper Sub-study on Health of the GEF Partnership. Washington DC; ADB Independent Evaluation Office (2015) Corporate Evaluation Study of the Effectiveness of Asian Development Bank s Partnerships. 7 The evaluation team will be provided with full access to internal documents that concern the partnership, including minutes of meetings. 8 Including C&A Foundation staff in Brazil (Instituto) and Mexico (Fundacion). 7 Independent evaluation of C&A / C&AF and STC Partnership

8 Humanitarian Disaster Relief and DRR Evaluation Methodology The evaluation of humanitarian relief and DRR is to be undertaken as a mixed-method approach, drawing as necessary on available documentary and interview data through qualitative case studies. Rigorous qualitative approaches (e.g., content analyses) should be employed to analyse and examine data, causality and contextual influencing factors, where possible. Portfolio and documentary review will be conducted based on all existing data held by Save the Children. The review (alongside initial interviews) will be conducted first and inform the selection of case studies. Semi-structured Interviews and Focus Groups will be conducted with informants including: Beneficiaries of relief efforts and DRR Save the Children staff Partner agencies (Government / other NGOs / International agencies) as appropriate C&A Foundation and C&A staff Structured micro-surveys will be considered to complement and inform qualitative data streams gathered internally and externally. In doing so, consideration should be given to tailor surveys to beneficiaries to get relevant feedback on the performance of humanitarian relief and DRR operations. Care needs to be taken to ensure methods selected respond to the performance criteria of DAC-ALNAP. Case study selection is to be detailed in the inception report, and take into account a range of humanitarian relief and DRR experiences in order to maximise the potential for learning within the partnership. VI. Stakeholder Involvement Stakeholder involvement is critical to the successful execution of the evaluation. The evaluation consultancy is expected to retain independence in coming to judgments about the partnership and programmes, but employ participatory and constructive approach providing for meaningful involvement of C&A, C&A Foundation and Save the Children management and staff in all relevant regions and individuals in beneficiary communities. The draft report will be circulated to relevant Save the Children, C&A and C&A Foundation staff and management for review and comments prior to finalization. 8 Independent evaluation of C&A / C&AF and STC Partnership

9 VII. Roles and Responsibilities The Head of Impact and Communications 9 (the Evaluation Manager) is responsible for: Overall responsibility and accountability for management and delivery of the evaluation up to and including approval of the final report; Technical guidance for the evaluation consultants throughout the implementation of the evaluation up to and including participation / observation of field visits. Leadership of the evaluation draft report review process including collating comments and facilitating discussion and management responses. In all of these roles necessary support may be provided by other members of the C&A Foundation Impact Team 10. The Programme Manager at C&A Foundation is responsible for: Facilitation and day-to-day assistance to the evaluation consultants including access to portfolio data, all documents, and access to stakeholders (internal and external); Reviewing and commenting on drafts of the inception and evaluation report; Preparing a management response, as and when necessary. The Programme Manager at Save the Children is responsible for: Facilitation and day-to-day assistance to the evaluation consultants including access to programme and project data, all documents, and access to stakeholders in countries with humanitarian disaster response operations and DRR; Reviewing and commenting on drafts of the inception and evaluation report; Preparing a management response, as and when necessary. C&A (Managers & Steering Committee Members) are responsible for: Facilitation and day-to-day assistance to the evaluation consultants including access to programmes data, all documents and access to relevant C&A staff Reviewing and commenting on drafts of the inception and evaluation report; Preparing a management response, as and when necessary. The evaluation consultants are responsible for: Conducting all necessary qualitative and quantitative assessments and fieldwork; 9 Head of Impact and Communication is not involved in the management of the partnership or the day to day operations. 10 Evaluation specialists based in India and Brazil offices of C&A Foundation. 9 Independent evaluation of C&A / C&AF and STC Partnership

10 Day-to-day management of the evaluation; Regular formal and informal reporting to the Evaluation Manager; Production of deliverables (evaluation report) in accordance with the Terms of Reference and contractual arrangements. The evaluation consultants will report to the Evaluation Manager Head of Impact and Communications on all issues related to the evaluation, contracts, fees and expenses, and deliverables and commenting / responses processes. VIII. Evaluation Process The evaluation will be carried out in conformity with the principles and standards set out in C&A Foundation minimum requirements and policy for Monitoring and Evaluation (to be provided to consultants). The consultants will prepare an evaluation inception report and work-plan that will operationalise the Terms of Reference. The inception report will be based on initial documentary review and preliminary interviews with key stakeholders. The inception report and work-plan will address the following elements: Expectations of the evaluation; roles and responsibilities within the evaluation consulting team; elaboration of the global partnership programme theory, as appropriate; any refinements and elaboration to evaluation questions; methods qualitative and quantitative and data collection, including possible constraints; selection of case studies of humanitarian relief and DRR operations; outline of the final evaluation report and an evaluation matrix linking questions methods data sources and indicators. The inception report and work-plan will be approved by the Head of Impact and Communications and act as an agreement between the consultants and the C&A Foundation on how the evaluation is to be conducted. The consultants will prepare the draft and final evaluation reports that describe the evaluation methodology, findings, recommendations and key lessons. Case studies (unedited) will be provided in annexes. If significant differences arise regarding the interpretation of evidence between C&A, C&A Foundation and Save the Children programme management and the independent evaluation report an opportunity will be provided to formulate a management response to the findings and recommendations. This will be published with the final report. The main activities and evaluation timetable for this consultancy is set out below: 10 Independent evaluation of C&A / C&AF and STC Partnership

11 Evaluation Process Deadline Responsibility Selection and contracting of consultancy By 30 th March 2017 C&A Foundation (Head of Impact and Communications) Inception report preparation 30 th April 2017 Consultant Team Completion of documentary review / interviews and fieldwork 30 th July 2017 Consultant Team Draft report for comment by partnership stakeholders and if necessary management response. Final report Preparation and copy-editing of report 30 th August 2017 Consultant Team / Head of Impact and Communications (facilitator) 30 th September 2017 Consultant Team October December 2017 Board Presentation December 2017 Dissemination of the evaluation January 2018 onwards C&A Foundation (Head of Impact and Communications) C&A Foundation (Head of Impact and Communications) C&A Foundation (Communications Team) Save the Children IX. Deliverables The consultants will prepare (a) an evaluation inception report and work-plan; and (b) an independent evaluation report in accordance with the C&A Foundation M&E Policy. These deliverables are to be: Evaluation inception report and work-plan Evaluation Draft Report Evaluation Final Report All reports are to be submitted to the Head of Impact and Communications 11 Independent evaluation of C&A / C&AF and STC Partnership

12 The evaluation inception report and work-plan is to be submitted within four (4) weeks of signing the contract. The consultant will submit the draft evaluation report for review by the C&A Foundation, C&A and Save the Children. Within two weeks of receiving stakeholder comments, the final evaluation report including an executive summary and annexes will be submitted to the C&A Foundation. The final evaluation report, not including annexes will be no longer than 40 pages with an executive summary of no more than 3 pages. A management response, if necessary, will be appended to the final report. X. Audience and Dissemination Main audiences for the evaluation will be: C&A Foundation, C&A and Save the Children. The evaluation will be a critical learning input into the new phase of the partnership. The final evaluation report will be published and disseminated through the C&A, C&A Foundation, and Save the Children websites and social media channels, as appropriate and necessary. Learning products including a lessons notes will be developed after the completion of the evaluation. XI. Consultant Requirements and Level of Effort The consultant team will be required to have the following experience: Substantial experience in conducting evaluations of humanitarian disaster relief; DRR; and corporate-ngo partnerships; Programmatic / strategic evaluation experience to inform further development of operations; Additional experience is expected in: o Methods for evaluating partnership; o Theory-based evaluation designs; o Qualitative and quantitative methods; A good understanding of corporate responsibility programmes and partnerships between the private sector and International NGOs or other organizations is required; Fluency in English (spoken and written) is essential. o An ability to work in Spanish and / or Portuguese would be appreciated but is not essential. The expected level of effort for the evaluation is approximately working days. 12 Independent evaluation of C&A / C&AF and STC Partnership