Call for Proposals - Invitation to Tender for "Engaging society and decision-makers in dialogue for peace over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict" Project, Caucasus Institute

Invitation to Project Evaluation Tender

Caucasus Institute Foundation

The CI is a policy think-tank based in Yerevan, Armenia. Its goal is to promote inclusive policy-making in Armenia through conducting research, producing and advocating policy documents and encouraging a pluralistic and informed public policy debate.

Project to be evaluated

Engaging society and decision-makers in dialogue for peace over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict implemented by the Caucasus Institute with support from the UK Government’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund

Period to be evaluated

May 2017-December 2018

About the organization

The Caucasus Institute is an independent policy think-tank founded in Armenia in 2002. Its main avenues of activity are academic and practical research; training and capacity building for civil society, media and academia; public debates, publications, policy recommendations, advocacy and consulting. The CI has published over 30 books, dozens of research papers and policy briefs. The CI’s advocacy potential relies on close ties with the media and decision-makers. It has the reputation of a neutral space for dialogue between stakeholders with sharply contrasting agendas representing the civil society, government, opposition, international organizations and media.

About the assignment

In April 2017- March 2018, the CI implemented the first phase of a project supported by the UK Government’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, called Engaging Society and Decision-Makers in Dialogue for Peace over the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict. The second phase of the project began in April 2018 and is due to end in March 2019.

The Caucasus Institute Foundation is seeking an evaluator to assess progress in both phases of the project. The evaluation should cover the period May 2017- December 2018.

The Project aims to engage the societies and governments of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh in a dialogue on peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and to create tools for sustaining this dialogue in the future.

Project Activities 

The Project’s activities have been based on research and fieldwork conducted by the Caucasus Institute in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh in 2017-2018 with the aim of better understanding public perceptions of the conflict and its resolution prospects, existing attitudes to compromises, and visions of the future. Research results were used to initiate an informed dialogue among various stakeholders – from decision-makers and political parties to university students – concerning the need for peace and the potential for conflict settlement.

The Project organized public and closed discussions in various formats, from international conferences to tea parties and closed meetings, involving youth, experts, public officials, political party activists and media in discussions of peace prospects in Nagorno-Karabakh. It also engaged in advocacy on various levels, and published the results of research and advocacy in a variety of formats, from policy briefs to collections of research papers.

To get insight into UK expertise and experience, the Project organized two study tours to the UK in 2018: one to London for a group of young members of political parties represented in the National Assembly of Armenia, and the other to Northern Ireland for a group of public officials and civil society members from Nagorno-Karabakh. The tours were reciprocated in September 2018 by a visit of two stakeholders from Northern Ireland who came to Armenia to share their experiences of negotiating the Good Friday Agreements in Northern Ireland and engaging in peacebuilding and reconciliation in the twenty years that followed.

Target Groups

1. societies – women, young scholars, students, political party officials, civil society and media representatives

2. decision-makers – officials in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh

Purposes of evaluation

1. Examine how successful the Project is at achieving the targets noted against each of the key output indicators;

2. Assess the level of impact the Project;

3. Assess the outputs of the Project as a whole;

4. Elaborate recommendations on how to improve management and impact of the Project.

Methodology

The evaluation is expected to combine qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Interviews, surveys and content analysis should form part of the methodology.

The evaluation should be focused on the baseline, milestones, targets and key indicators agreed with the Project personnel. The bid should set out a detailed description of the methodology you propose to use for this evaluation.

Requirements

Bidders are expected:

1. to show their understanding of the Project;

2. to outline a work plan (the timeline for development of instruments, data collection, analysis and reporting); and include CVs for key staff proposed to carry out the evaluation, their roles and responsibilities;

3. to present a breakdown of costs by staff (daily rates);

4. to list projects they have already evaluated and provide links to recently published reports (if applicable);

5. to provide at least two references from their recent customers for whom similar evaluations have been carried out

Only one organization/individual can partake in a bid.

Pricing

Bidders should submit a pricing schedule setting out the rates of proposed contractors and the number of days it is proposed each contractor will devote to the Project.Proposals should include a full budget plan for all costs including any travel expenses and VAT. All costs should be clear and transparent, with the number of days of each individual (if evaluator is an organization) working on the activity that they provide.

Timeline

Selection criteria

Evaluator will be selected against the following criteria:

1. Compliance with, and understanding of, requirements outlined in this document;
2. Understanding of the political and socioeconomic landscape of Armenia, and the scope of the CI activities;  
3. Experience in evaluation of similar projects;
4. Effectiveness of the proposed methodology for undertaking the evaluation;
5. Feasibility of the work plan and risk assessment;
6. Ability to meet the required timetable;
7. Value for money and a clear breakdown of the costs.

Submission and format of proposals

The deadline for receipt of submissions is Tuesday 4 December 2018. Late submissions will not be accepted. It is the responsibility of the bidder to ensure that the tender has arrived by the deadline. Any cost involved in producing the tender documents shall be borne by the bidder. All submissions will be acknowledged with a notification of receipt.Proposals must be submitted online in PDF format as a single zipped folder if the size of the submission is greater than 5Mb. Proposals should be no longer than 5 pages (excluding CVs of people involved) and typed in Cambria size 12 font. Proposals with the subject line “CSSF_Caucasus Institute_Evaluation Submission” should be emailed to: contact@c-i.am.The results of the tender will be announced on December 7, 2018. The successful bidder will receive confirmation along with the terms and conditions of the contract. Work is expected to start on December 10, 2018.Please contact Liana Avetisyan (liana@c-i.am) if you have any difficulty in providing the information requested. Pre-tender negotiations are not allowed.