UPDATE on Sida's Evaluation Framework Agreement
2019 was a great year for NCG in relation to Sida Evaluation Framework Agreement. In a period of 4 months NCG was awarded six assignments within this framework.
Won assignments:
Mid-term Evaluation of the Power of Africa Initiative at Sida
The main focus of the mid-term evaluation is the relevance, efficiency and effectiveness of the PAP so far. However, the capacity of the project to capture impact and sustainability at time of completion should also be adressed. The objectives of the evalation are to:
- Evaluate the relevance, cost efficiency, and effectiveness of the PAP project to date, in relation to its set targets
- Contribute to reflection and learning among Sida staff during the evalution process
- Generate lessons learned and recommendations for Sida and implementing partners to inform the continuation of the PAP, including with regards to its impact and sustainability
- Generate lessons learnt and potential recommendations for application of working approach and methodologies/instruments used in PAP that are relevant for other thematic areas within Sida beyond renewable energy.
The assignment will be implemented by NCG Denmark alone.
End of project evaluation of the one UN-SRHR for girls and young women in Mozambique - Rapariga Biz Program, 2016-2019
The evaluation will cover the period May 1st 2016 - June 30th 2019. Part of the scope is an analysis of the organization of the program and its various interactions with other donors. The main objectives of this evaluation are to:
- help the donors (The Embassy of Sweden, Canadian High Comission and DFID) and their partners; UN Agencies (UNFPA, UNICEF, UNESCO, UNWOMEN) and the Government of Mozambique to assess progress of the ongoing Rapariga Biz Program to understand what is working well in the implementation of the project and the challenges being faced, in order to inform decisons on how project implementation may be adjusted and/or improved
- use the results of the evaluation to plan the next phase of the programme
- advise on changes needed in the program guidelines and in the general functioning of the programme
The assignment will be implemented in collaboration with consortium partners, Oxford Policy Management UK (OPM) and Triple Line UK.
Evaluation of "Support to Serbian Municipalities on the Road to EU Accession"
The main purpose of the evaluation is to assess the contribution and added value of the partnership as well as identify potential adjustments and reinforcements that could strengthen the partnership, as well as assess and provide concrete recomenndations on how the linkages between the two different components can be optimised and used more strategically to achieve the project objectives. This mid-term evaluation will cover the period from April 2016 to December 2020, and the main objectives are:
- hands-on support for services to citizens and business (Municipal Support Packages - MSPs) to selected municipalities
- support to SCTM and municipalities collectively at policy level to represent local interest and enhance the capacity of all local authorities
Mid-term Review of Sida support to BIRN Albania (Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Hub).
The main objective is to assess the progress of Strategic Plan of BIRN Albania 2018-2020 and provide recommendations to BIRN Albania and the Embassy for the remaining agreement period.
The tasks to be performed includes, but are not limited to:
- Review the progress made in achieving the strategic objectives and assess to what extent Sida core support has contributed to these achievements
- Assess the effectiveness of BIRN Albania measures inmanaginginternal and external risks
- Identifysuccess stories of impact made by BIRN Albania: 1) change in citizens’ awareness and understanding due to BIRN Albania’s informative work and 2) how investigative work have produced an impact beyond the audience/citizens
- Identify examples on how BIRN Albania support and mentoring to local journalists have contributed to improved editorial and journalism skills
Evaluation of the prioject "Improving Land Management and Urban Development in the Republic of Belarus"
The project contributes to development of land administration sector in the Republic of Belarus. The main objective is to assess the results achieved by the project, focusing on the following:
- to frame and summarise lessons learned
- to evaluate the outcomes of the project on strengthening the influence of civil society in the area of land administration and urban development, improving the system of mass formation and mass valuation, improving the procedures for real property taxation, and improving urban spatial planning by involving civil society and using new approaches
- to evaluate the extent, to which the project has improved the cooperation among the beneficiaries of the project
- to look ahead and provide recommendations for a possible new project phase
Evaluation of the project "A Strengthened Private Sector and an Improved Functioning of the Employment Services in Belarus"
The overall objective of the project is to contribute to a better business climate, increased levels of investment, sustained growth, and a stronger private sector, which is essential for the economic development in Belarus. The project is divided into three main outcomes:
- Extended labour market information, aimed at strengthening relations with employers, in particular within the private sector
- Improved service to job-seekers, including vulnerable groups, through the development of new working-methods at PES
- New information and communication strategy for PES developed and implemented
The last four assignments listed will be implemented in collaboration with consortium partner, NCG Sweden.
Information about the framework agreement below:
NCG is excited to announce that Sida Framework Agreement for Evaluation services has just come into effect September 1, 2019
The Framework commissions two types of evaluations. First, centralized strategic evaluations that focus on thematic areas, approaches, policy implementations etc., of value to the entire organization. Second, decentralized evaluations which are often closely linked to the implementation of interventions under the country strategies.
Evaluations under this framework agreements include all types of evaluations:
- Respect to purpose (summative, formative; for accountability, for learning etc.)
- Evaluation object (project, programme, strategy, policy, method etc.)
- Part of the “result chain” considered (process, output, outcome or impact)
- Timing (mid-term, end-term, ex-post etc.)
- Approach (quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods etc.)
- Other evaluation related services may include, but are not limited to evaluation pre-studies; evaluability studies; evaluation approach and methodology studies; synthesis and summary reports etc.
We are very much looking forward to starting the work.
If you have relevant expertise and want to join NCG’s pool of Evaluation Experts, kindly forward your updated CV to Framework Manager, Sabina Dziadecka Gråbæk This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and indicate “ Sida’s Evaluation Framework Agreement“ in the email title.
Review of Danish Evaluation Findings and Lessons Learned in Afghanistan
Read more: Review of Danish Evaluation Findings and Lessons Learned in Afghanistan
Independent Evaluation of the Linkage of Humanitarian Aid and Development Cooperation at the Swiss Development Cooperation
In 2017, Nordic Consulting Group was commissioned by the SDC to carry out an independent evaluation of the linkage (‘nexus’) between humanitarian aid and development cooperation. The mandate was: to assess the performance of SDC strategies, programmes and partnerships in linking humanitarian aid and development cooperation (operational); to analyse to what extent the working procedures, funding procedures/set-up and ways of collaboration are adequate for implementing this linkage in practice (institutional); and to compare the SDC’s performance with international practices (benchmarking).
The evaluation process included close involvement with the SDC’s Core Learning Partnership comprising staff from all SDC departments, from both head office and the field. It was conducted with field visits to Haiti, the Horn of Africa, Mali and Myanmar as well as remote data collection in Pakistan and South Sudan, a large number of individual and group interviews as well as an e-survey.
The period under review was from 2013 to 2017 to assess recent developments as a basis for drawing up the new dispatch. Therefore, the evaluation was to assess to what extent the SDC’s operational instruments and institutional processes ensure that humanitarian strategies and programmes adopt a systems change perspective, taking into account the corresponding development requirements and objectives. With a particular focus on protracted crisis situations, the SDC’s actions are expected to facilitate the interface between relief and development. In turn, development actions include activities to respond to conflict and to reduce disaster risks.
Nordic Consulting Group’s team was spearheaded by Anne-Lise Klausen as Team Leader with the participation of Team Members: Mathias Kjær, Ananda S. Millard, Tasneem Mowjee, Maja Pedersen and Niels Harild.
The final evaluation can be consulted and downloaded on the following link: https://www.admin.ch/gov/de/start/dokumentation/studien.survey-id-1053.html
Danida Market Development Partnerships 2019
NCG has been awarded the contract as Technical Assistant of the Danida Market Development Partnerships 2019 (DMPP). The DMPP contributes to sustainable market development at the pre-commercial stage with a focus on economic growth and employment in developing countries. The purpose of the assignment is to enable the Minister of Foreign Affairs to evaluate the Concept Note applications, invite several partner consortia to develop a full Project Proposal and approve 10-12 finalized full Project Proposals. As technical assistant, NCG, will provide technical guidance in the process.
The NCG team consists of Marie-Louise Appelquist and Mikkel Klim. The assignment includes, but are not limited to, registration of Concept Notes, assessments of these, and making recommendations.Mid-term Review of the Danish Neighbourhood Programme 2017-2021
The review will have its main focus on DANEP, but will also consider other activities such as:
- EU anti-corruption initiative in Ukraine
- Growth and employment for young entrepreneurs as well as support to energy efficiency and sustainable energy in Georgia
The NCG team consists of Charlotte Flindt Pedersen, as Democracy, Human Rights and Civil Society Expert, and Hans Henrik Madsen as Sustainable and Inclusive Growth Expert. Mr. Madsen is also the Team Coordinator and Financial Management Expert. In addition, four local consultants from Ukraine and Georgia, are part of the team; Sergey Vetosh (inclusive growth consultant, Ukraine), Solomiya Borshosh (democracy, human rights and civil society consultant, Ukraine), Konstantin Zhgenti (inclusive grown consultant, Georgia) and Anna Zhvania (democracy, human rights and civil society consultant, Georgia). The assignment includes data- collection and -analysis, and field missions to conduct research, gather information and issue recommendations through a Mid-term review. The field missions will be carried out in Ukraine and Georgia.