Call for proposal to carry out an external endline evaluation for UBU-ITUZE IWACU project

1.  Context of the evaluation

About RCN Justice & Démocratie :

RCN Justice & Démocratie (RCN J&D) is a Belgian non-governmental organization (NGO) founded in 1994 in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide. It aims to ensure the respect of the fundamental rights of each individual, in particular the right to justice and the rights enshrined in international human rights conventions. In the wake of the genocide, RCN J&D supported the reconstruction of the Rwandan justice system. A remarkable and undisputed contribution is also recognized to RCN J&D, in the development phase of the country.

About the UBU-ITUZE IWACU project:

Since January 1^st, 2019, RCN Justice & Démocratie in Rwanda is lead of a consortium gathering 3 local Civil Society organisations (CSOs) Haguruka, Tubibe Amahoro and Lawyers of Hope. The initial programme - the Ubutabera Bwegereye Umurutage (UBU in acronyms, strengthening proximity Justice in Rwanda in English) – was funded for a duration of 3 years by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In May 2021, in consultation with the Embassy of the Netherlands, the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) granted RCN Justice & Démocratie and its consortium partners a financial contribution for the ITUZE IWACU project, which complemented the UBU Project. The global project has since taken the name of UBU-ITUZE IWACU.

The project aim is to guarantee access to justice for all by strengthening, in a rights-based approach, proximity justice providers and justice recipients.

Projects goals are:

Goal 1)  : Strengthen Access to Justice by increasing Justice Recipients’ (especially women and vulnerable groups) knowledge of their basic rights and the functioning of the proximity justice system, allowing them to claim their rights. Improving the ability of Justice Providers (including state actors and CSOs) to deliver high quality justice services, to inform the population of their rights and the functioning of the justice system, and to support citizens (especially women and vulnerable groups) to exercise their rights. Public satisfaction with the services of justice providers will consequently increase.

Goal 2)  : Build the capacity of CSOs in the justice sector to conduct advocacy in the interest of influencing positive change in the justice system, especially for the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment, for the benefit of the population (especially women and vulnerable groups). CSOs will undertake more advocacy initiatives.

This project has emphasized, in its design and implementation, access to justice for all by building and strengthening the capacities of Proximity Justice Mechanisms who are also legal aid actors. Some mechanisms were set up and the already existing others were reinforced by the project to guarantee accessibility to justice for all, in its four (4) components, namely, non-discrimination, geographical accessibility, affordability and accessibility to legal and jurisdictional information. These include, among others:

• legal aid clinics
• Abunzi Committees (committees of conciliators)
• Non-professional bailiffs (the executive secretaries of local governance entities including cells and sectors, mandated by the State, to sworn in to enforce court decisions or Abunzi Committee decisions free of charge),
• district Justice, Reconciliation, Law & Order Sector (JRLOS) committees, established by the 2014 Ministerial Instructions, to ensure the development of the justice sector in the district.

In addition to this, non-state actors capacities have been strengthened for them to offer legal aid, through a network of 10 district legal clinics among which, a total of seven (7) existing were strengthened, and three (3) new ones were created from scratch by the project. The CSO members of the JRLOS committees have also been strengthened, to better fulfil the role of advocacy within the justice sector, with a view to contributing to the improvement of policies relating to access to justice. Tools to assess their performance have been created and used for continuous self-assessment whether in advocacy or legal aid.

From that background, RCN J&D plans to conduct a final external evaluation. The final external evaluation of the UBU-ITUZE IWACU project will not only take a retrospective look at what has been achieved and its effects, but will above all, focus on the future and its conclusions as well as recommendations will be useful, in the future, for all concerned stakeholders including civil society organizations, development partners the authorities, private Sectors etc.

1. 1. Evaluation scope :

The external evaluation will cover a total period of four years of the project, from January 1^st, 2019 to December 31^st, 2022.

Geographically, the project covered six (7) districts - Karongi, Kayonza, Kicukiro, Ngoma, Nyanza, Rutsiro and Nyabihu- out of the 30 that make up the country.

Purpose and focus of the evaluation

This evaluation has two main purposes: firstly, to assess the achievement of the expected results of the UBU ITUZE IWACU project, draw lessons learned; and to situate stakeholders on its contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Secondly, to identify and propose relevant future interventions opportunities, still required for the achievement of the SDGs in relation to justice, with a focus on the declaration of the Ministers of Justice in 2019.

The high-level firm to conduct the evaluation will evaluate the project achievements on the basis of the international criteria of relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability. It will therefore focus on the achievement of results according to the project's logical framework, on the relevance of strategies implemented by RCN J&D and their adaptability in case they are implemented by local implementation partners, the sustainability of the results, as well as the efficiency of the funds granted. Besides, it will assess the project contribution on national legal and political framework, SDG 16.3 as well as the national and international strategic priorities, according to the justice Ministries Declaration of The Hague.

This assessment of the contribution of the funds to the strengthening of Access to Justice and conflict prevention mechanisms as well as to the evolution of related policies will also allow donors and RCN J&D to identify where to put efforts in the near future and will provide insights for their strategic planning.

This evaluation will, therefore also focus on the identification of strategic priorities, according to the current status of proximity justice as well as Conflicts prevention and resolution in the light of the current legal and political framework taking into account the SDG 16.3 and the Declaration of Ministers of Justice quoted above in its five (5) conclusions.

The analytical need status from the evaluation will be used, in addition, by RCN J&D and partners, including CSOs, development partners as well as government, to shape, scope and prepare future strategic interventions, for the consolidation of conflict prevention policy, and will inform policies of access to justice and conflict prevention in Rwanda.

It is expected that the consultant, will assess in which ways, existing intervention have contributed in Justice-related SDGs and on which issues stakeholders should focus on to achieve them.

2.  Methodological orientations and communication

The evaluation will be carried out using a participatory approach based on the active involvement of stakeholders whose opinion on the results, the lessons learned and on the projections must be collected and analysed.

The evaluation will propose a methodology to triangulate the qualitative and quantitative data of the monitoring, evaluation and Learning system and the data collected throughout the evaluation.

A steering committee will be formed to provide guidance to the consultant and validate all the deliverables. This committee will be composed of representatives of the Swiss Development Cooperation, The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, RCN J&D as the leading organisation, Haguruka, Lawyers of Hope, Tubibe Amahoro (local implementing partners) and the Ministry of Justice.

A resource person from RCN J&D, to be specified in the contract, will be designated to facilitate the consultant in his work.

3.  The profile of the evaluator

We are looking for a specialized firm that has carried out high-level assessments for at least 10 years. If it is a foreign consultancy firm, it has to include personnel who are physically in Rwanda and have a strong experience in the field.

The firm should have:

• At least 10 years of experience in program evaluation or management, with at least three proof of assignments of the same or greater scope than the program being evaluated;
• Perfect understanding of the international standards of the OECD and especially experience with OECD donors;
• Demonstrated work experience in the justice sector, preferably in the liberal professions of the justice sector;
• Experience of the judicial systems of at least two African countries;
• Fluency in English and/or French.

 Technical proposal content

The technical proposal will include:

• Understanding the terms of reference
• The detailed methodology;
• Provisional timetable;
• CVs of team members, including those from Rwanda
• The company's certificates of completion on similar consultancy work

 Selection process

The attribution will be based on the selection criteria mentioned above. Provided proofs/evidence of experience determines marks.

 The deliverables expected from the evaluator

The selected consultancy firm is expected to submit to the steering committee for validation:

• An inception report with a detailed methodology, work schedule (not exceeding 40 working days) and the evaluation report structure;
• An interim evaluation report detailing the methodology, findings, sources used, concluding observations and recommendations;
• A final report including the observations of the steering committee and an executive summary.

4.  Timeframe

The evaluation should be conducted in 45 workdays. The final version of the report is expected by 31 August 2023. 

5. Application process

To apply, firms are requested to submit the required documents by email before 21^st June 2023 to Ange Muhimpundu, RCN Rwanda AFL Coordinator, ange.muhimpundu@rcn.rw, with Brune Mercier RCN J&D Programme Manager, brune.mercier@rcn-ong.be, in copy, indicating the following email subject title “Proposal to carry out an External end line evaluation for UBU-ITUZE IWACU project”.