Terms of Reference (Consultant)
Conduct an impact and end-line assessment survey of the project titled ‘’Fostering Collaboration to Amplify CSO Contribution in the Realization of SRHR in Rwanda’’
Introduction
Health Development Initiative–Rwanda (HDI) is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit organization based in Kigali and officially registered with the Government of Rwanda. Since its founding in 2005 by a group of committed Rwandan physicians working in both health facilities and communities across the country, HDI has worked to improve the quality and accessibility of healthcare for all Rwandans through advocacy, education, and training. Guided by a rights-based approach, HDI builds sustainable partnerships to advocate for and support inclusive, health-friendly policies and services for everyone—regardless of social, cultural, economic, or other status.
Over the past 30 months, HDI has been implementing a project titled “Fostering Collaboration to Amplify CSO Contribution in the Realization of SRHR in Rwanda.” Aiming to establish a coalition of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Rwanda, with the goal of strengthening their capacity for advocacy and networking in support of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and the safe abortion movement. Through a human rights-based approach, the coalition has collaboratively worked to address both legal and practical barriers limiting access to safe abortion services in Rwanda. SRHR are a fundamental component of human rights and public health, and the project has made notable progress in building a unified SRHR movement. Partners have successfully organized CSOs, developed robust networking strategies, and defined a common vision and mission to guide their joint efforts.
As the project approaches completion, HDI seeks to engage a qualified consultant with expertise in Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) to conduct an endline evaluation. The primary focus will be to assess the project’s achievements particularly how it has strengthened CSO capacity and fostered collaboration around SRHR advocacy in Rwanda.
About the Project
The project titled “Fostering Collaboration to Amplify CSO Contribution in the Realization of SRHR in Rwanda” is funded by AmplifyChange and has been implemented over a 30-month period. It is led by Health Development Initiative (HDI) in partnership with Great Lakes Initiative for Human Rights and Development (GLIHD), Ihorere MunyarwandaOrganisation (IMRO), Medical Doctors for Choice (MDC), Strive Foundation Rwanda, and the Rwanda NGOs Forum on HIV/AIDS and Health Promotion (RNGOF).
The project focuses on strengthening collaboration among Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Rwanda and on building a unified, strategic movement to advocate for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), with a particular emphasis on the safe abortion movement. It seeks to enhance the capacity of CSOs to work collectively by creating strong networks, sharing knowledge and advocacy strategies, and developing a shared vision and mission to guide their actions.
Throughout its implementation, the project has prioritized fostering mutual support and synergy among participating organizations. It has enabled CSOs to engage more effectively in coordinated advocacy efforts and to present a united front when addressing legal, policy, and societal barriers that limit access to safe abortion services. By the end of the project period, the coalition had made significant strides in organizing CSOs around a common agenda and in laying the groundwork for a sustainable SRHR advocacy movement in Rwanda.
About the Evaluation
HDI is behind the request for a final external evaluation as a key activity within the project’s implementation framework. This evaluation is intended to assess the extent to which the project has achieved its objectives and expected outcomes, and to measure its overall impact in alignment with defined indicators. The evaluation will serve not only as an accountability tool but also as a learning opportunity for HDI and its consortium partners, contributing to future programming in the area of SRHR and CSO advocacy.
Expectation and Objectives of the Evaluation
The external evaluation should make it possible to assess:
- The relevance of the objectives set by the project;
- The effectiveness of the project and the quality of the project steering and project management;
- The efficiency of the project (analysis of the relationship between resources employed and the results obtained)
- The impact of the project on the target stakeholders.
The sustainability of the project
The evaluation will highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the project in relation to the various points listed above, and will underline the main lessons that can be learned from them. This evaluation must draw lessons learned, and make operational and general recommendations in order to feed the reflection of the consortium concerning the possible continuation of an action in the same sector.
The rationale of the external evaluation
The choice of an external evaluation was preferred in order to:
- Contribute to ensuring the independence, impartiality, and credibility of the process
- Provide expertise on evaluation methods and techniques
- Provide expertise in the relevant project sectors
Scope of the evaluation
The evaluation will relate to the project “Fostering Collaboration to Amplify CSO Contribution in the Realization of SRHR in Rwanda” as a whole. The timeframe which the evaluation will consider is that of the implementation of the project, which began on January 1st 2023 and will end on 30th June 2025.
Evaluation Questions and Evaluation Criteria
The evaluation will focus on 5 evaluation criteria, with particular attention to the aspects of relevance, efficiency, and sustainability.
Relevance
- Does the project meet an important/essential beneficiary need?
- To what extent did the project respond to the needs and priorities of CSOs working in the field of SRHR in Rwanda?
- Was the focus on fostering collaboration and building a unified SRHR movement appropriate and aligned with the Rwandan context?
- Are the activities implemented relevant with regards to expected results?
- Was the project design (focused exclusively on Fostering Collaboration to Amplify CSO Contribution in the Realization of SRHR in Rwanda) relevant?
- How well did the project’s design and implementation reflect a human rights-based approach and respond to the evolving advocacy landscape in Rwanda?
Effectiveness
- To what extent did the project meet its intended objectives and expected results?
- Do the actual results of the project match the expected results? If there are discrepancies, can they be justified?
- How successfully did the project enhance collaboration, networking, and strategic alignment among partner CSOs?
- Are the direct or indirect beneficiaries generally satisfied?
- What are the unforeseen results (negative or positive)?
- Were methods of implementation sufficient for conducting the activities and generating results?
- Has the monitoring and evaluation of the activities been effective?
- Were the operational work plan and budget satisfactory? What were the difficulties?
- Have there been any changes in the implementation strategy? For what reasons and what was the result?
More specifically:
- Have the activities to be carried out at the national level been implemented? What were the barriers and obstacles to their implementation?
- Were the capacity-building efforts effective in strengthening CSO skills in evidence-based advocacy and policy engagement?
- To what extent has the gender approach been taken into account during implementation?
Sustainability
- Which obtained results appear sustainable in the long-term?
- Which activities should be carried out in order to sustain certain relevant results?
Effects/impact
- What observable changes have occurred in how CSOs collaborate and advocate on SRHR and safe abortion issues?
- Has the project made it possible improve CSOs contribution in the justice and human rights sector;
- How has the project influenced the visibility, legitimacy, and influence of CSO voices in SRHR policy and discourse?
Efficiency
- Were project resources (financial, human, and technical) used in a cost-effective and timely manner to achieve intended outcomes?
- Among the support mechanisms implemented which are among the most efficient?
- How efficient were the coordination, communication, and decision-making processes among consortium members?
Objective of the survey
The overall objective of the endline assessment is to evaluate the extent to which the project “Fostering Collaboration to Amplify CSO Contribution in the Realization of SRHR in Rwanda” has strengthened the capacity of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to collaborate, coordinate, and advocate for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). The assessment will examine both the outcomes and processes that contributed to building a stronger and more unified SRHR advocacy movement in Rwanda.
Scope of work
Key assignments in this assessment will consist in the following:
- Develop an inception report that defines methodology and tools to be used for data collection, identifies persons and groups to be interviewed and develop research questions;
- Carry out a literature review on SRHR, and CSO collaboration and movement building in advocacy within the Rwandan context.
- Identify key resourceful persons for the assessment and conduct key informants’ interviews (KIIs) with different CSOs and public institutions involved in justice and human rights sector;
- Facilitate focus group discussions (FGD);
- Analyze the data collected to assess the project's impact on CSO effectiveness, networking dynamics, and the advancement of the SRHR movement.
Expected deliverables
The deliverables for the assignment include:
- Inception report
- Developed tools to be used for data collection;
- Developed guiding questions for FGDs and KIIs;
- Reports of the FGDs and KIIs conducted;
- A draft endline evaluation report highlighting the project’s impact on CSO collaboration, advocacy capacity, and SRHR movement building.
- Presentation of findings and recommendations during the validation meeting;
- Final report of the assessment rom HDI and consortium partners.
Duration
The successful consultant will start this assignment as soon as possible following the completion of the recruitment process and signing the contract thereof. The duration of the consultancy is expected to be not more than 20 working days from the signature of the contract.
Responsibility
The consultant will be under the supervision of SRHR Advisor of the HDI.
Required skills and competences:
- Have a minimum of a Master degree in public policy, law, Human Rights, development studies or any other relevant field;
- Have a minimum of 5 years of experience working on similar assignments with human rights CSOs and/or public institutions involved in the Health, justice and human rights sector.
- Strong research skills and experience in conducting similar work;
- Excellent command of English and outstanding written skills;
- Excellent analytical, interpersonal, communication and reporting skills;
- Proof of former conducted assignments is a requirement
- Have a strong understanding of the Rwandan CSOs and the justice sector.
Consultants interested in conducting this evaluation should include:
- A technical proposal presenting the understanding of the issues and the evaluation questions, the method of evaluation
- A financial proposal
- CV of the consultant(s) and references from the last 5 years in similar domains
- Two copies of previously conducted similar assignments
Applications should be sent to finance@hdirwanda.org or submit hard copies at HDI office no later than the 13th of June 2025 by 5pm.