Terms of Reference (Re-Advertised) Independent External Evaluation of AP2000’s Corruption Tracker System (CTS) Project 1. Background and Context Agenda Participation 2000 (AP 2000) is a Tanzanian NGO working to promote a culture of Good Governance and Democratization in Tanzania. The organization conducts civic education, training and documentation of issues that can strengthen citizen engagement in the governance and development process. In 2009 AP2000 established the Tanzania Corruption Tracker System (CTS) as a pilot project on anti corruption with the aim of tracking publicly available information on presumed or confirmed cases of corruption and in order to increase accountability and responsiveness in the fight against corruption. The initial objectives of the CTS were to build a data bank of cases on presumed and confirmed cases on corruption, increasing transparency and accountability of cases and citizen engagement in the fight against corruption, establishing an electronic quick archive and a mechanism that can used as an instrument to compel state institutions to take action in response against corrupt behavior, and to provide an electronic medium for interface between the state institutions and public on issues related to corruption. The online corruption tracker can be viewed on www.corruptiontracker.or.tz. The Embassy of Finland and SDC provided support to AP2000 for the pilot phase of the CTS in 2009, and then from 2010 until 2012 to scale up the operations of the CTS. The current phase of support from Finland and SDC will end in December 2012. In the final quarter of 2012, AP2000 intends to develop a new Strategic Plan for 2013-2015 encompassing further improvement and scaling up of the CTS and its governance portfolio. To this end, AP2000 now seeks to commission an independent and external evaluation of the CTS from its inception to its current phase, with a view to providing quality inputs and recommendations for the strategic planning process. 2. Purpose of the Evaluation The overall aim of the independent evaluation is to assess the contribution of the CTS (2009-2012) to increasing accountability, responsiveness and citizen engagement in the fight against corruption in Tanzania, as expressed in its overall goal. This will be done by examining and assessing the extent to which outputs were achieved, the contribution of outputs to the intended project outcome, and their likely im¬pact, relevance and overall sustainability. A second key objective is to draw lessons and make recommendations for future development of the CTS, to inform the design of its next three year Strategic Plan. 3. Evaluation Scope The Evaluation scope is focused on the following criteria: 1. Relevance The extent to which the project design and implementation of activities was able to re¬spond to and address (where relevant): The needs identified in national policy and strategy documents such as the NACSAP, priorities expressed by key national and international anti corruption institutions, such as PCCB, Transparency International, etc, recommendations emerging from studies and surveys on corruption, the impact of corruption on local communities, women and the poor, How CTS is situated within the larger picture of initiatives and organizations working toward the same cause, networked with other projects and organizations and managed to fill the gap. 2. Effectiveness & Effectiveness The extent to which project activities yielded expected outputs and contributed to expected objectives and the overall goal as per the log frame, for example, Expanding a data bank of information on corruption, presumed and confirmed cases on corruption; Establishing an electronic bilingual website and quick archive that can be accessed for information and monitoring cases on corruption, Increasing transparency and accountability of on information and cases of corruption, Increasing citizen engagement in the fight against corruption, Establishing a mechanism that can used as an instrument to compel state institutions to take action in response against corrupt behavior, providing an electronic medium and public forum for interface between the state institutions and public on issues related to corruption, the evaluation shall examine to what extent results were achieved and endeavor to attribute any positive or negative results to the project. Further, the evaluation should also look at additional outcomes that may not be considered in the results framework. In particular Assess the outreach and visibility of the Corruption Tracker and its various “products”, Value for money and sustainability of its operations. 3. Lessons learned and recommendations for the future The evaluation should identify lessons learned from this first experience – good practices, innovation, obstacles, elements that deserve replication. Lastly, the evaluation should make recommendations on how the performance and visibility of the CTS could be enhanced. Different options could be presented listing what would be needed to develop it further in terms of staff (capacities, number), organizational setting, network (e.g. ownership, strategic partners), funding, etc. 4. Evaluation Team Composition and Required Qualifications AP2000 wishes to contract experienced evaluators to undertake the evaluation. As a minimum requirement for the team composition, at least one of the members of the evaluation team must have demonstrated strong understanding of anti corruption efforts; at least one member must have demonstrated experience conducting independent evaluations of donor supported projects, and; at least one member must have strong knowledge of broader democratic governance issues. Suggested profiles for the team members: i. Evaluation Team Leader University degree in a relevant area (e.g. political science, international devel-opment) with minimum 5 years post-degree work experience, Demonstrated capability as an effective evaluation manager with expe¬rience leading and conducting evaluation of projects in the area of democratic governance, Strong familiarity with corruption issues, and anti corruption efforts in Tanzania, particularly on strengthening the demand side of transparency and accountability, Experience with value for money assessment or similar cost-benefit analysis preferred, Excellent oral and written communication skills in Swahili and English. ii. Expert, Democratic governance At least a Master’s Degree in a relevant area with minimum 3 years post-degree work experience; At least 2 years experience in the design, implementation, management, and/or evaluation of democratic governance projects in Tanzania; Strong knowledge of broad governance issues in Tanzania, such as political parties, the media, civil society, human rights, women’s empowerment, legal sector, and natural resources management; Experience with value for money assessment or similar cost-benefit analysis preferred; Some familiarity with online communication tools, Excellent oral and written communication skills in Swahili and English. Duration of the Evaluation: The Evaluation is expected to start in 15 th October 2012 and have an expected total duration of 15 working days. The final work plan will be confirmed by the evaluation team and AP2000 upon submission of a draft work plan for discussion. Interested consultants should submit their expressions of interest and proposals by close of business on Friday 11th October 2012 clearly stipulating how they will undertake the evaluation and quoting their consultancy fees to: Email: info@corruptiontracker.or.tz; info@ap2000.or.tz copied to mkulaba2000@gmail.com and mmuya@uccmail.co.tz
