ACCENTURE SKILLING FOR CHANGE PROJECT SHORT TERM MONITORING AND EVALUATION CONSULTANCY TERMS OF REFERENCE Cherie Blair Foundation for Women Registered Charity No 1125751 PO Box 60519, London W2 7JU T: +44 (0) 207 724 3109 www.cherieblairfoundation.org Registered office address: 66 Lincoln s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3LH
1. Background- Skilling for Change Programme The Cherie Blair Foundation for Women (the Foundation) was awarded a two year grant by Accenture and Accenture Foundations to implement the Skilling for Change Programme in Rwanda and globally. The Foundation in partnership with CARE International is facilitating business training, mentoring and access to finance for women entrepreneurs in Rwanda. The programme aims to promote the long-term economic independence of up to 15,600 1 women entrepreneurs in CARE Rwanda s Village Savings and Lending Associations (VSLAs) by developing the key skills they need to grow their businesses over two years from April 2014 to March 2016. During the project period the Foundation s Mentoring Women in Business Programme will expand by 600 mentees, 50 of which will come from Rwanda. It is expected that at least 70% of these women (10,920) will demonstrate significantly enhanced business skills as a result of these training interventions (this includes a smaller group of 150 who are receiving in-depth business training and incubation). This initiative is unique in addressing skilling needs of women entrepreneurs in a tailored way, according to maturity of their businesses, their ICT skills, and in their local language. The impact in Rwanda will be measured and tested for efficacy, and learning from the project will inform replication in other emerging economies. The Foundation s three core programmes: Enterprise Development Programme, Mentoring Women and Business Programme and the Mobile Technology Programme are working collaboratively to design and implement the project with partner organisations. Through Skilling for Change the Foundation plans to address women s poverty through a combination of three tailored, individual and complementary initiatives, listed below. 1. Mentoring platform expansion (Location: multi-country) Population targeted: 600 women entrepreneurs in developing and emerging economies with strong English language knowledge, ICT skills, and the desire to develop new skills and markets through mentoring. 2. Financial literacy training and mobile loan service provision (Location: Rwanda) Population targeted: 15,000 rural Rwandan women entrepreneurs with low financial literacy, limited English language knowledge, no ICT proficiency or access, and basic enterprise skills. a) The partnership will roll out a project in Rwanda which15,000 women from CARE Rwanda s Village Savings and Loans Associations will be offered financial literacy and investor readiness training to enable them to manage and grow their businesses. It will take place as a three day face-to-face program delivered by CARE Rwanda, with the training content based on that developed by CBFW with Accenture for the mentoring program, but tailored for the local context and needs. The women will be chosen on the basis of the following criteria: they have completed CARE Rwanda s basic existing Village Savings and Loans Association financial training, have the desire to receive advanced financial and investor readiness training, as well as the desire to access the mobile money service. It is expected 1 Please note that we are training 15,000 women in Rwanda will be trained on financial literacy skills. This includes a smaller group of 150 who are receiving in-depth business training and incubation. In addition to this, we are training 600 women through our online mentoring program around the world. Of this total number of 15,600, we expect 70% i.e. 10,920, will report demonstrable and significant enhancement of their business skills
that at least 70% of the 15,000 women (10,500) will demonstrate significantly enhanced business skills as a result of accessing the training. b) Additionally, up to 15,000 women entrepreneurs will be offered improved access to finance via a mobile loan service. It is expected that at least 10% of the 15,000 women (1,500) will take up loans using the mobile loan service. 3. Business training and incubation (Rwanda) Population targeted: 150 rural Rwandan women entrepreneurs with high potential to develop their businesses, but who lack the language or ICT skills to benefit from global mentoring. a) From the 15,000 women targeted through the project, the highest performing women entrepreneurs (based on specific evaluation criteria) will be invited to apply for intensive business training. 150 of them will be selected by the Foundation and CARE Rwanda through an assessment that ensures that they own their businesses, are operating at the micro level as a minimum, have the desire and ability to scale and are willing to access capital and invest their own resources in the businesses. b) Following the business training, 75 of the 150 women with the strongest business ideas will receive further intensive, targeted business incubation over twelve months, which includes one-to-one business coaching, marketing and face-to-face mentoring to enable them to advance their businesses. 2. Organisational Profiles This Skilling for Change Project is a multi-party effort led by the Foundation delivered in collaboration with Accenture, Accenture Foundation, CARE International UK and CARE Rwanda. The Cherie Blair Foundation for Women The Foundation has reached 100,000 women entrepreneurs in over 70 countries to date providing them with access to technology, markets, finance and business training. The Foundation provides women entrepreneurs in developing and emerging markets with the skills, technology, networks and access to capital that they need to become successful small and growing business owners, so that they can contribute to their economies and have a stronger voice in their societies. Working in partnership with local and international non-profit organisations, the private and public sector, the Foundation develops projects with sustainable solutions to the challenges women entrepreneurs face through the Foundation s core programmes: Enterprise Development Programme, Mentoring Women in Business Programme, Mobile Technology Programme. The potential of women entrepreneurs remains largely untapped in developing and emerging markets, with many lacking the access to capital, skills and equal opportunities needed to be successful business owners. In developing countries, women own only around 30% of small businesses and as little as 17% of medium enterprises. Women are also three times more likely to operate within the informal economy. CARE International UK CARE fights poverty and injustice in 84 countries around the world to help the world s poorest people find routes out of poverty. CARE also delivers emergency aid to survivors of war and natural disasters, and helps people rebuild their lives in the aftermath. CARE started developing the VSLA
methodology in Niger in 1991. Today, there are over 7 million VSLA members around the globe. Last year, CARE helped more than 3.4 million people improve their household income through increased access to financial and non-financial services, participation in village savings and loan associations, value chain strengthening, market linkages and diversified livelihoods. CARE Rwanda CARE has been operational in Rwanda since 1984. For the last seven years our programming there has focused on promoting economic and social empowerment and the rights of women and the most vulnerable. However CARE s work in Rwanda continues to evolve and as such we have chosen to focus our programming on two impact groups - Orphans and Vulnerable Children (0-18 years old) and Vulnerable Women identified and selected from the lowest poor categories of Rwandans as defined and developed by Ministry of Local Government and available at local administration offices. CARE s vision for vulnerable women is that by 2025 they will live in a socially and economically secure and enabling environment and with the ability to exercise their rights. CARE Rwanda has been successfully implementing the VSLA methodology since 1999, currently reaching over 175,000 clients (6,000 VSLAs) in 23 districts. 3. Scope of the Consultancy The M&E consultant will be responsible for proposing the project s M&E framework and developing the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the project as well as tools, in line with key stakeholders Accenture, CARE UK and the Foundation s guidelines and existing systems for M&E. The M&E consultant will incorporate Accenture s Skilling to Succeed metrics to the KPIs, with reference to the metrics used across CARE International UK, CARE Rwanda (particularly in alignment with the vulnerable women programme impact management framework currently being finalised) and the Foundation s programmes. For the entire project, the purpose of the Monitoring Consultant is to incorporate the existing KPIrelated metrics the Mentoring Programme already uses in its robust M&E system. If needed based on the agreed KPIs, the Monitoring Consultant might also be asked to suggest additional metrics that the Mentoring Programme (project one) could add to its final feedback questionnaires. For project two and three, the purpose of the Monitoring Consultant is to support the Foundation, CARE International UK and CARE Rwanda to identify an inclusive methodology for local monitoring and evaluation of the project. The monitoring methodology produced by the consultant should ensure stakeholder (especially beneficiary) engagement and include both qualitative and quantitative key performance indicators that assess women entrepreneurs capability, confidence, access to capital and empowerment, as aligned with the project. The monitoring framework will also identify the indicators for the baseline and end-line assessments, including the evaluation.
The Consultant will be expected to provide an inclusive methodology framework and guide, developed in partnership with the Foundation, Accenture, CARE International UK and CARE Rwanda, which includes the following: 1. For the in-country project, a clear outline of the key stakeholders (including beneficiaries) and roles within the project that are to be consulted at the baseline and end-line, evaluation to the project. 2. For the entire project, a list of the key qualitative and quantitative performance indicators that will assess women entrepreneurs capability, confidence, access to capital and empowerment, including Accenture s Skills to Succeed metrics as aligned with the project. There should be at least 3 5 key indicators for each of the four areas, which would draw on existing M&E systems as much as possible. This process will involve reviewing the Foundation s and CARE s current indicators, developing new indicators, and collecting all these into a summary list. 3. A list of tools necessary to collect the data to ensure that they are aligned with the framework 4. A comprehensive guide to understand the whole M&E framework, the indicators, the tools to understand the timeline as well as the outcomes clearly. 5. Clear outline of the key stakeholders (including beneficiaries) and roles within the project that are to be consulted at the baseline, end-line, evaluation to the project. In order to engage with CARE Rwanda, the M&E consultant may be required to travel to Rwanda to develop KPIs and other key elements of the framework in line with CARE Rwanda s M&E framework and Management Information System. 4. Deliverables The following deliverables are expected during and at the end of the consultancy. A methodology framework report containing the following: o List of key qualitative and quantitative performance indicators for the entire project o Outline of methodology for data collection for projects two and three Presentation of the methodology in a live presentation using PowerPoint A methodology framework report that sets out all of the above Excel database or table that we will have to fill in for the monitoring for the in-country project (incl. embedded/protected formulas + graph that will be automatically produced when the data is entered) Design of tools for data collection such as surveys and data collection sheets for each stage of evaluation (for projects two and three) List of 2-3 additional questions the Mentoring Programme could add to its final feedback forms, if necessary based on the KPIs 5. Duration
The M&E consultancy is expected to commence by 15 May, 2014 to be carried out within a period of 20 days (maximum) in May- June, 2014. Breakdown of activities; - Desk review - Field visit - Development of the approach, the guidelines, the indicators and the tools (xxx days) - Production of the final report 6. Payment Terms 50% of the fee will be paid upon satisfactory approval of the draft report. 50% of the fee will be paid upon satisfactory approval of the final report. The consultant will be expected to cover the cost of insurance, travel, communication and any expenses associated with the consultancy. he Proposal Structure 7. Structure of the Proposal Prospective consultants/firms are expected to submit technical and financial proposals using the following format: Profile of consultancy consultant/firms, clear demonstration of previous experience Understanding of the Terms of Reference Approach and methodology Work plan Proposed budget in USD and inclusive of VAT Annexes CVs of key experts 3 references from similar projects undertaken by the firm/ consultant 8. Selection Criteria Criterion Details Weight Experience with women entrepreneurs Previous experience of working on women s entrepreneurship projects. Sound knowledge and understanding of the context and key issues related to the entrepreneurship in developing and emerging economies with particular reference to Rwanda. A record of designing and implementing M&E plans and activities M&E for other reputable organisations. Competencies in data analysis related to socioeconomic variables, and quantitative and qualitative research. Strong analytical skills 15%
Experience in developing and emerging markets Proposed methodology Consultant/s Financial proposal The successful consultant/firm must have a thorough understanding of the development context with experience of Rwanda desirable for this study. The successful consultant/firm must work in consultation with the Foundation and local partners to develop the methodology. The consultant/s must display the ability to identify gender-specific indicators relating to women entrepreneurs. The most economical proposal that meets the expectations of the work will be selected. 30% 30% 15% 10% 9. Instructions for Submission All submissions must reach the Access to Capital Programme Coordinator, Sandeep Kaur SKaur@cherieblairfoundation.org by May 12, 2014. Clarifications regarding the Terms of Reference can be sent directly to the Access to Capital Programme Coordinator.