Terms of Reference for the End Term Evaluation for the Project: Supporting Innovation in the Technical and Vocational Education Sector: Towards Productivity and Competitiveness (SITVES)

1. Introduction

Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) through its office in Nairobi invites proposals for the End Term Evaluation for the project ‘Supporting Innovation in the Technical and Vocational Education Sector: Towards Productivity and Competitiveness (SITVES). This evaluation will assess the project design, scope, administration, and the level of achievement of planned project outcomes. It will collate and analyze lessons learned, challenges faced, and best practices obtained during implementation with a view to providing key recommendations for any future initiatives in the Applied Research space in Kenya.

2. Project background

Supporting Innovation in the Technical and Vocational Education Sector: Towards Productivity and Competitiveness (SITVES) is a competitive innovation/research grant initiative funded by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC). SITVES is being implemented in Kenya by CICan (Colleges and Institutes Canada) in collaboration with Linking Industry with Academia Programme Trust (LIWA) and the Rift Valley Technical Training Institute (RVTTI).

The program seeks to Identify and document best practices that favor the employability of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) graduates and recommend policies to support and scale up applied research within TVET in Kenya. It provides grant funding to 10 Kenyan TVET institutions in Kenya aimed at aimed at developing/strengthening applied research, innovation, gender policy and other knowledge generation around TVET in Kenya.

This three-year program focused on three pillars:

• Pillar 1 – Innovation and Applied Research Hubs: Support applied research initiatives that combine TVET with entrepreneurship using a business development approach through training, mentoring, incubation, learner placement, internships, on-the-job training programs and network access to catalyze economic growth in local communities.
• Pillar 2 – Gender Equality in TVET: Enhance the capacity of TVET institutions to undertake research with a focus on the analysis of the TVET sector and the emerging labor market from a gender perspective, linkages to the private sector and understanding stakeholder priorities.
• Pillar 3 – Action Research: Support Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions to conduct action-based and industry-oriented research in conjunction with hubs, start-ups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the private sector.

Altogether, nine research projects were carried out under Pillar 1, Pillar 2, and Pillar 3.

3. Evaluation purpose and objectives

This evaluation focuses on the implementation process and attempts to determine how successfully the project followed and adapted the strategy laid out initially. This evaluation will focus on inputs, activities, outputs, and in some cases outcomes and how they work together. It will pinpoint strengths and weaknesses within the program design and improve upon the program in future efforts.

The evaluation will assess the project design, scope, administration, and the level of achievement of planned project outcomes. It will collate and analyze lessons learned, challenges faced, and best practices obtained during implementation with a view to providing key recommendations for any future initiatives in this area. This end of project evaluation focuses on the entire implementation period.

4. Objectives

The specified objectives below should touch all three pillars that this project is focusing on.

General Objective:

Capture lessons learnt and build on SITVES’ experiences. Doing so should help CICan, IDRC, Ministry of Education, TVET institutions, relevant industries and other stakeholders understand how decisions made during the project can be used to implement successful research and innovation initiatives in the future.

Specific Objectives:

• Study inputs, activities, strategies, processes, and tools to find out their suitability to achieve the expected results. Were the inputs, activities, strategies, processes, and tools identified realistic, appropriate, and adequate to achieve the results? Were they effective?
• Analyze the extent to which the project responded to the identified needs. Was the project relevant to the identified needs?
• Identify strategies and activities that allowed the project to adapt to change to ensure continued relevance. How did the project adjust to change (including changes resulting from COVID) to ensure continued relevance? Were these changes effective?
• Study the extent to which the management and accountability structures of the project were appropriate to achieve expected results. How efficient were the management and accountability structures of the project?
• Evaluate the adequacy and relevance of project operational and financial management processes and procedures and their effect on project implementation. (NB: The recommendations should provide comprehensive suggestions/proposals for future interventions based on the current evaluation findings).

5. Expected Deliverables

i. Inception report: The Evaluator will prepare an inception report which details the evaluator’s understanding of the evaluation and how the evaluation questions will be addressed. The inception report will include the following:

a) Technical Proposal: Includes an evaluation matrix summarizing the evaluation design, methodology, evaluation questions, data sources and collection analysis tool for each data source and the measure by which each question will be evaluated as well as the scope of work, any other relevant sections, documents, procedures, processes, literature, and references, proposed detailed work plan and schedule of activities.

b) Financial Proposal: Details the time frame and cost of conducting the end-term evaluation. This includes daily rates for each team member proposed by the applicant organization. Individual consultants should list their proposed daily rate.

The inception report will be discussed and agreed upon by both CICan and the evaluator.

ii. Draft Evaluation report: The Evaluator will prepare a draft Evaluation Report, cognizant of the proposed format which will be submitted to CICan for review and comments. The report will be reviewed to ensure that the evaluation meets the required quality criteria. The draft report will include:

• An Executive Summary.
• A brief section on project main results and methods.
• A main section on methodologies, policy, and capacities in vocational education according to relevant themes.
• Findings on gender equality
• A reflection on the lessons emerging from the use of different methods by the innovations etc.
• A reflection on gaps that future investments could contribute to and add value within the wider context.

CICan will be responsible for ensuring timely arrangement for a program advisory committee meeting for the review and validation of the evaluation report.

iii. Final Evaluation Report (40 to 50 pages): The Evaluator will submit a final evaluation report which will include the comments addressed from the programme stakeholders. The content and the structure of the final evaluation report will be shared by CICan to the successful applicant.

iv. The Evaluator will submit an accessible and engaging executive summary of the final evaluation report to be used by the sub grantees and other external stakeholders for cross learning purposes.

v. The Evaluator will make a presentation to IDRC, CICan, the Program Advisory Committee and Pillar Leads on the main findings, lessons learnt and recommendations from the end term evaluation.

vi. The final evaluation report must be submitted to CICan by June 25,2022.

6. Expression of Interest

Interested applicants (individuals and/or organizations) should submit an Expression of Interest of no more than 15 pages detailing and including the following:

i. A technical proposal with the proposed evaluation framework/design, a list of activities and a scheduled timeline, and a description of the evaluation team.

ii. The applicant should also provide the following details as an appendix to the Expression of interest:

a. The CV(s) of proposed staff and consultant(s) listing qualifications and relevant past assignments, experience, and expertise.

b. Names and email addresses of three previous clients/referees who can be contacted to provide references.

iii. A financial proposal which details the time frame and cost of conducting the end term evaluation. This includes daily rates of each team member proposed by the applicant organization/individual consultant. Individual consultants should list their proposed daily rate. Consultant(s) tendering for this work should propose a budget and a time breakdown that fits the methodology and deliverables proposed.

7. Skills of the consultant(s)

The Evaluator(s) must have the following expertise and qualifications:

• Have a proven track record of designing, conducting, and delivering high quality evaluations and have strong qualitative, quantitative and /or emerging evaluation methods as well as analytical research skills
• Have experience working with the TVET sector at a minimum in the tertiary education sector, preferably in applied research.
• At least 10 years of experience in working with international organizations and donors.
• Experience of programme formulation, monitoring, and evaluation.
• Expertise/experience in planning for and evaluating projects in the TVET sector would also be an asset
• Strong organizational commitment to, expertise and knowledge of the TVET sector
• At least 10 years of experience in report writing, academic writing, M&E and Research
• Have the ability to work efficiently and effectively with programme stakeholders in various locations and from multiple organizations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English – publication and communications capacity an asset
• Demonstrated ability to work during COVID-19 context, and readiness to effectively deliver in case this context is extended or recurs

8. Research Ethics Policies

This assignment has an open access policy, which can be found here, that is consistent with the broader movement toward open access, supported by research funders and governments, including the Government of Canada, as a way to increase transparency, accountability, and efficiency.

9. Permission for Use and Disclosure of Information

By way of submitting an application under this Expression of Interest, the applicant consents to the disclosure of the documents submitted by the applicant to the reviewers involved in the selection process. The applicant further consents to the disclosure of the name of the applicant, the name of the lead researcher and the name of the proposed project, in any announcement of selected proposals.