Project title: Better Regional Migration Management Programme

Donors: UK Foreign Commonwealth development Office (FCDO)

Budget: 6,000,000 GBP

Duration: Three years (33 months), start date: 01 July 2022 End date: 31 March 2025

Coverage: East and Horn ofAfrica Region, with focus on Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda

Evaluation mission schedule: June 2023.

BACKGROUND
Migration in the East and Horn of Africa is a complex and multi-faceted phenomenon. It has always been part of its socio-economic landscape. The flows of people in, between and from countries in the region is best characterized as mixed migration flows that encompasses refugees, asylum-seekers, and migrant workers. For instance, in 2019, the East and Horn of Africa sub-region has hosted approximately 7.7 million international migrants, the highest share of the total migrant population. Most of these migrants (72 per cent) are estimated to be in working age, i.e., aged 15 years and older, and men account for 53 per cent. This flow has put a strain on governments in the region as they struggle to cope with the large number of migrants crossing their borders and moving through their countries. The men, women and children making up these migrant flows frequently resort to unsafe modes of transportation and smuggling networks during their journey, exposing themselves to injury, violence, detention, exploitation and abuse.

Each country has its own labour migration profile; however, it shares an overall labour migration trend, largely characterized by intra-regional flows and the migration of low-skilled workers. Main drivers of migration, include labour migration include protracted conflicts, political and communal violence, and peacebuilding setbacks that resulted in the displacement of millions. The region is a major destination for migrants from within Africa and other regions. The intraregional migration is mainly driven by the growing demand for high and low skilled labour. It is further a significant origin of low and medium skilled migrant workers going to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States driven by poverty, low wages, lack of social protection and high unemployment in origin countries. Around 30 per cent of the migratory movements documented during 2019 in East and Horn of Africa were towards or within the region, whilst another 63 per cent were eastwards towards the Arab Peninsula, in particular to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Finally, environmental change and natural disasters are key factors for influencing human movement and displacement in the region.

Based on the above, countries in the East and Horn of Africa region have increased efforts to enhance migration governance at regional and national level based on continental and global initiatives and frameworks established to advance improved migration management. Global level initiatives include the SDGs (especially target 8.8 and 10.7) Global Compact for Migration (GCM) and the Global Compact for Refugees (GCR) and continental level most noteworthy initiatives comprise of the Agenda 2063, where labour migration is included in objective 1 and 8; the 2018 revised Migration Policy Framework for Africa that recognizes that mixed migration as an essential component of the AU economic and political landscape; the AU Free Movement of Persons Protocol, the AU Ouagadougou+10 Declaration and Plan of Action on Employment, Poverty Eradication and Inclusive Development in Africa (2015), where labour migration is one of the six key priority areas; and the establishment of the African Labour Migration Advisory Committee in 2018 to promote and protect the rights of migrant workers and members of their families across the continent.

Parallelly, certain Regional Economic Commissions, namely COMESA, EAC, IGAD and SADC promote labour migration and mobility as a means to bolster regional integration and socio-economic development. Some of the initiatives include the IGAD 2012 Regional Migration Policy Framework, the 2021 Djibouti Declaration on Labour, Employment and Labour Migration, the COMESA 2001 Free Movement Protocol, the EAC 2010 Common Market Protocol and the SADC 2020-2025 Labour Migration Action. However, the ratification and implementation of these regional initiatives has proved challenging for a number of reasons, including security concerns; the protection of national labour markets, the public purse, and social services; and the complexity of harmonizing immigration laws and systems, as well as training, education, and skills recognition.

In this context, to overcome some of the challenges and improve labour migration governance in East and Horn of Africa, the ILO implemented the “Better Regional Migration Management Phase I” project, funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, from September 2021 to June 2022 where it laid a foundation for improving labour migration governance in East Africa by using evidence-based policies, enhancing migrant workers’ qualifications and skills, and actively engaging the social partners for improved development outcomes. BRMM phase I has made significant and concrete contributions in Labour Migration statistics, skills, social protection, and engagement of social partners in policy development.

Currently, with an extended funding from FCDO, the ILO will continue the work carried out by BRMM Project Phase I, under BRMM phase II, from July 2022 till March 2025. The second phase covering Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Djibouti will focus on strengthening the capacities of countries in East and Horn of Africa to govern labour migration by using evidence-based policies, enhancing migrant workers’ qualifications and skills, and actively engaging the social partners. The project will cover three inter-related components of intervention.

The first component will scale up and expand the work on labour migration statistics, focusing on building the capacities of National Statistical Offices to collect and disseminate labour migration statistics, following international standards and definitions. It will also focus on selected administrative sources for labour migration data. The work under the statistics component will be done, following the ILO methodology for building Labour Market Information Systems and will incorporate labour migration components. It will further use the ILO’s Social Security Inquiry (SSI) for the collection of social protection statistics. Hence, it will ensure a sustainable and comprehensive approach and will result in having more and up-to-date statistical information for the design and implementation of labour migration policies.

The second component will continue the work on improving employment services for labour market integration of potential migrants and returnees. In this context, a particular attention will be devoted on developing MSMEs and social finance. Further, the feasibility assessments, carried out under the Project Phase I, for enhancing skills and qualification portability, at sector level, will be operationalized and scaled up. A new migration inter-regional corridor will also be added to link skills policies to migrant workers’ protection issues, focusing on specific occupations, under a coherent labour migration governance framework. This component will also look into strengthening access to social protection benefits for migrant workers, thus delivering a holistic approach to labour migration. This would contribute to better skills matching and development, improved rights protection and fair recruitment processes.

The third component will focus on enhancing labour migration governance, with the strong engagement of employers’ and workers’ organizations. It will continue to build their capacity for the effective implementation of ILO migrant-related labour standards, recommendations and frameworks. It will further strengthen the capacities of employers’ and workers’ organizations to actively contribute to labour migration policy design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation at national, regional, and continental levels.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES, EXPECTED RESULTS, BENEFICIARIES AND TIMELINE
The Better regional migration management (BRMM) project will continue the work carried out by BRMM project phase I and will focus on strengthening the capacities of countries in East and Horn of Africa to govern labour migration by using evidence-based policies, enhancing migrant workers’ qualifications and skills, and actively engaging the social partners. The project will cover three inter-related components of interventions, namely:

Outcome 1 – Labour migration policies and programmes that support productive migration in East Africa and Horn of Africa are evidence-based and gender sensitive.
Outcome 2 – Labour migration governance is more equitable and effective recognizing skills and facilitating social inclusion and decent work;
Outcome 3 – Labour migration governance is strengthened through being more inclusive of social partners.
The imperativeness of strengthening each of these 3 pillars has been recognized widely by both countries of origin and destination, as well as by employers and workers’ organizations, providing a basis for dialogue and action within and across countries.

The BRMM project stakeholders are:

Governments, and primarily ministries of labour, education, foreign affairs and interior, national statistics offices, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Institutions, and other relevant government bodies at the national and subnational levels.
African Union Commission and Regional Economic Communities, namely IGAD and EAC
Employers’ and Workers organizations and their members in countries covered by the project
National and regional social security institutions and associations such as the East and Central Africa Social Security Association (ECASSA)
Private employment agencies, civil society organizations and research / academic institutions.
International and developmental partners.
UN Organizations.
In accordance with International Labour Organization (ILO) policy governing technical cooperation projects, an evaluability assessment is required for the BRMM project in the first 12 months. To support results-based management of ILO projects and programmes, it is critical that their design meet the minimum standards for monitoring and evaluation (M&E). This can be determined by assessing a set of design-specific aspects prior to implementation, which are defined as “evaluability.”

The project started in July 2022 with the inception phase and has consisted with mainly the establishment of management frameworks to govern and guide the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the project at three levels namely:

Tier 1 – Steering committee (SC) at Political level (Regional);
Tier 2 – Labour migration advisory group (LMAG) at technical level (Regional); and
Tier 3 – Technical Working group (WG) at technical level (National).
This phase will also facilitate the recruitment and establishment of the project management team.

One of the priorities of the project team was to put in place a system to regularly collect and analyse data on implementation, to assess actions, make evidence-based decisions to redirect and adjust actions if necessary. That is the purpose of this evaluability assessment, which aims to assess the effectiveness of these mechanisms put in place and the extent to which they can facilitate the evaluability of the project at the mid-term and at the end of its implementation.

The assessment will be guided by the ILO’s evaluability instrument to score the BRMM project on a set of M&E criteria and provide recommendations for improvement. It will review the programme’s M&E strategy in 7 areas:

Clarity of objectives/outcomes
Quality of Indicators
Establishment of baselines
Inclusion of time-bound milestones
Assessment of risks and assumptions
Comprehensiveness of M&E system
Validity of methodology for gender analysis
The evaluability assessment will be conducted in compliance with the principles and standards for project evaluation set forth in the ILO Policy guidelines for results-based evaluation[1].

COMPREHENSIVE MONITORING AND EVALUATION SYSTEM (CMES) AND MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS
Comprehensive Monitoring and Evaluation System

During the inception phase, BRMM project has developed its Comprehensive M&E system (MEL plan) that integrates a revised log frame, Theory of changes, Performance Indicators and Targets, detailed implementation plan, MEL operation plan, Evaluation plan, Learning Plan, and indicator performance tracking table (IPTT), to facilitate a shift towards a more rigorous and data-driven strategy for measurement of results and learning.

The M&E system outlines the objectives, criteria and indicators that will provide the basis for evaluating the project. The approach developed will serve four main purposes:

Results-based management: To obtain empirical data on the results of the project in order to provide an evidence base for strategic planning.
Learning and knowledge sharing: To document good practices and lessons learned that will contribute to the global knowledge base on child labour.
Capacity development: To build the capacity of partners to apply a more results-based approach to policy and practice.
Accountability: To ensure accountability to programme stakeholders and from implementing partners for achieving results that are in-line with expectations.
Management arrangements for monitoring and evaluation

Overall responsibility for management of the M&E system lies with the Chief Technical Advisor of BRMM project. This establishes a direct linkage between management decision-making and the results produced by the project.

Technical leadership for the design, implementation and backstopping of the M&E system is provided by the National M&E and Knowledge Sharing Officer based in Ethiopia. The National M&E and Knowledge Sharing Officer is also responsible for maintaining the relevance of the approach through making any adjustments that are necessary to respond to programmatic changes and lessons learned during the course of the programme. In addition, any M&E related queries or data requests by the donor and any other partner will be addressed by the National M&E and Knowledge Sharing Officer.

The Technical Officer based in Ethiopia and National Project Coordinators (in different countries) are responsible for data collection, use for management and learning and reporting within the scope of their countries and partnerships.

Presentation of progress by the project team at the different level of the management framework will provide the opportunity for stakeholders (government, social partners and civil society organizations) to obtain a clear understanding of achievements and challenges and provide input on adjustments to be made.

EVALUABILITY ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES, CRITERIA, SCOPE AND CLIENTS
Objectives
The evaluability assessment will assess the M&E strategy developed for the BRMM project to achieve four main objectives:

Determine the extent to which the BRMM project has been designed in a manner that will allow for valid and impartial assessment of programme performance, providing information to support programme management decisions, and stakeholder needs.
Determine the monitoring and evaluation capacities and gaps of key partners, further to the resources and management arrangements put in place by the project to implement its CM&ES plan.
Define the causal logic and results-level linkages between the project, the Decent work country programs (DWCPs) of countries covered by the project, ILO Country program Objectives (CPO) as well as other national, sub-regional, continental and global level developmental frameworks and approaches.
Provide recommendations for improving the project current CM&E strategy to improve the program’s evaluability (by the project and its stakeholders and by independent evaluators).
Criteria
The following set of key criteria should be the minimum applied in determining the evaluability of the programme:

Criteria

Definition

1. Objectives/Outcomes

Clarity of the definition of objectives, including outcomes that can be comprehended as a major focus of management for results

2. Indicators

The selection of SMART indicators that are quantitative or qualitative and include comparison points of levels, quality and grade. Outcome indicators effectively facilitate the observation of change, while output indicators measure whether the right outputs are produced

3. Baseline

The existence of sufficient baseline data to establish a starting point for comparisons and future measurements of outputs and outcomes

4. Milestones

A set of time-bound milestones that provide a clear sense of the intended path towards achieving established outputs and outcomes

5. Risks and assumptions

Assessment of factors, namely risks and assumptions, likely to affect the achievement of an intervention’s objectives, and related contingency measures

6. Monitoring and evaluation strategy

M&E strategy to identify problems during project and programme implementation and facilitate the measurement of progress

7. Gender equality/inclusion of disadvantaged groups

Extent to which valid methods for assessing gender differences as well as targeting other disadvantaged groups (such as disability inclusion) within the results of the intervention have been developed.

Scope
The evaluability assessment will seek to assess the M&E strategies developed for BRMM project. It will include the following documents within its scope: Project Document, Theory of Change, Log frame, Comprehensive MEL system, Communication strategy and management framework.

Clients
The primary end users of the assessment’s findings will be the management team of the BRMM project, the donor, ILO Country Offices based in Addis Ababa, the ILO technical unit at headquarters and field offices (MIGRANT, SKILLS, SOCPRO, STAT, SME, SFP, ACTRAV and ACTEMP) and ILO administrative unit and other regional and national stakeholders involved in the M&E of the project.

EVALUABILITY ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS
The evaluability assessment will seek to answer the key questions listed below as measures of the programme’s evaluability. Adaptation is encouraged but any fundamental changes should be agreed upon between the BRMM project team and the evaluator and reflected in the inception report.

Objectives/Outcomes
Are the result statements for the project clearly articulated?
How realistic is the achievement of the outcomes of the BRMM project based upon the proposed outputs and activities?
Are the outcomes established closely aligned with DWCPs and UNSDCFs of countries covered and other national, sub-regional, continental, and global development frameworks/agendas related to improving labour migration governance (AU, ECs, ILO, SDGs, etc.)
Indicators
Are the performance indicators established for the project SMART?
Does the performance framework provide for a comprehensive assessment of results of the project that will allow for informed adjustments of activities with all implementing partners?
Do the performance indicators make use of a robust mix of both qualitative and quantitative methods in assessing results?
Will the collection of data required from stakeholders measure feasible indicators given their capacities?
Are the project indicators enough to reports links to DWCPs, UNDCFs , donor requirements, other key stakeholders’ requirements and ILO P&B indicators?
Baselines
Have baselines been established for each outcome and impact indicator as needed?
Does the baseline establish a credible assessment of the conditions at the start of the BRMM project?
Does the baseline provide a valid means for assessing the causality of the changes identified?
Milestones
Do the milestones provide a clear sense of timeframe for achievement of results?
Are the milestones a useful directive for work planning?
Are the milestones established realistic and achievable?
Risks and assumptions
Have the risks to achieving outcomes been comprehensively identified?
Are the risk mitigation measures clearly defined and supported by theory, logic, empirical evidence and/or past ILO experience?
Does the risk management plan provide for regular assessments and adjustments to be made?
Monitoring and evaluation system
Does the M&E system allow the collection of adequate, regular and quality information on project performance to meet management and stakeholder needs?
Is the resourcing (infrastructure, human and financial resources) for the M&E strategy sufficient to meet its objectives?
Have the criteria for evaluating the results of the project been clearly defined?
Are participatory methods in place that will allow for beneficiaries to contribute to the assessment of project performance?
Does the M&E system include means for assessing the unintended benefits and consequences of the project?
Does the CMES provides sound methodology for analysis and learning with key stakeholders
Does the M&E strategy address project expected contribution to program learning
Gender equality and non-discrimination and inclusion of other disadvantaged groups
How thoroughly has gender and the inclusion of other disadvantaged groups been mainstreamed into the M&E strategy?
Is data sufficiently disaggregated to analyze the necessary differences and other relevant categories of potential discrimination and inform project management decisions?
Have indicators that measure gender-specific or other relevant categories of potential discrimination asymmetric results been established?
Does the theory of change adequately integrate gender and non-discrimination concerns as well as the inclusion of other disadvantaged groups, including articulation of how the project is expected to impact women or disabled people?

ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY

The ILO Policy guidelines for results-based evaluation[2] will provide the framework for carrying out the evaluability assessment and particularly the Tool 1.1: Evaluability review during project start-up phase.[3] These guidelines adhere to the evaluation norms and standards of the United Nations system.

The assessment is to be carried out by an independent evaluator and the final methodology and evaluation questions will be determined by the evaluator, in consultation with the Project CTA and the M&E officer. The following primary and secondary data collection techniques are recommended:

Review of ILO documents on monitoring and evaluation
Review of relevant project documents
Key informant interviews with Country Directors, the Donor, project staff, relevant specialists in the ILO’s, key national stakeholders, etc.
Data collection during the assessment must obtain the perspective of both women and men staff members, as well as take into consideration the relevant ILO guidance note on integrating gender into monitoring and evaluation.

EVALUABILITY ASSESSMENT PROCESS AND MAIN OUTPUTS
The main outputs expected (Deliverables) from the assessment are as follows:

Inception report with finalized data collection tools and methodology
Presentation of the preliminary report findings and recommendations to the project team, Country Directors, and key stakeholders (virtual/face-to-face workshop)
Submission of the draft evaluability review report to the project CTA, COP Directors and key stakeholders for comments.
Submission of the final assessment report addressing stakeholders’ comments.
BRMM National M&E and Knowledge Sharing Officer will coordinate the assessment process, ensuring the assessment is conducted as per TORs, including following ILO EVAL guidelines, methodology and formatting requirements. He/She will assist the consultant by providing logistic and documentation support, facilitate access to information, list of key informants and other sources relevant for the assessment.

The consultant will be conducting face to face (for Ethiopia& Kenya) and online interviews with key informants for other project target countries.

The consultant will draft a short inception report after reviewing the available documents and holding an initial discussion with the project management staff. This report should provide a well-refined assessment methodology and data collection tools (including the assessment criteria and questions, data collection and analytical techniques and key informant interview questionnaires and work plan). Any substantial changes from the terms of reference for the assessment will need to be approved by the project CTA.

The main output of the assessment will be a report assessing the project’s evaluability, to be revised based on the comments of the project and relevant internal and external stakeholders. The report should be no longer than 30 pages (excluding appendices) and will include an assessment executive summary of no more than 4 pages.

The consultant will give a presentation of the findings for discussion, highlighting the key findings on evaluability, and actionable recommendations for improvements. He/she will revise the report based upon the comments received and submit a finalized report, which will then be reviewed and approved by the project CTA.

All data is to be kept confidential. All information relating to this assessment, including any copyright or ownership of documents generated during the process, is owned by the ILO and its project partners.

MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS AND WORK PLAN
Roles and responsibilities
National Monitoring and Evaluation and Knowledge Sharing Officer: The National Monitoring and Evaluation and Knowledge Sharing Officer will assist the CTA in managing the assessment. He/She will be responsible for finalizing the Terms of Reference and coordinate the selection of the Evaluator in consultation with the CTA and ROAF SMEO. The National Monitoring-Evaluation and Knowledge Sharing Officer will assist the ROAF SMEO in providing a briefing on the ILO’s Evaluation Policy to the selected evaluator, be involved in the presentation of findings and sharing of the final report and review the final report before sharing it with EVAL.

Annexed to the evaluator’s employment contract, the National Monitoring-Evaluation and Knowledge Sharing Officer will provide the following documents: (1) The Terms of Reference for the assignment; (2) A list of individuals pertinent to the evaluation with contact details; (3) and relevant documents to facilitate the commissioning of the assessment.

BRMM project staff: The project staff will provide information and logistical support to the evaluator during the assessment. The project team will also ensure that all relevant documentation is up-to-date and provided to the evaluator. It is expected that project staff will provide full cooperation and answer all questions as candidly as possible during the assessment.

Work plan
The assessment will take place during June 9-July 5, 2023. An indicative work plan is provided below, and a more detailed schedule will be developed by the consultant as part of the inception report.

Preparatory work including desk review (5 workdays)

Initial interviews with the project, review of project documents, strategic frameworks, etc. and development and submission of inception report. June 9-15, 2023

Approval of the inception report by the project June 16, 2023`

Key informant interviews (5 workdays)

Discussions with programme staff, Country Directors, relevant technical Units, donor, and key stakeholders. June 19-23, 2023

Report writing, presentation, revision and final report submission (8 workdays)

Produce a draft report for submission to the project CTA, who will disseminate it to the relevant partners for comments. June 26-30 , 2023

The Report will be in English with Executive summary in French and English July 3, 2023

Presentation of the key findings to Country Directors, project staff July 5, 2023

Finalize the report based upon the feedback received and prepare the assessment summary for submission to the project team.

Total (18 days)

Qualification and Experience
Advanced university degree in statistics, demographics economics, public policy, international development sociology or a related discipline.
Minimum of 7 years’ professional experience in on conducting evaluations of and/or implementing M&E systems of similar complex regional projects
Proven understanding and experience of project M&E systems/strategies design and implementation (including quantitative, qualitative and participatory), logical framework, theory of change and other strategic planning approaches, information analysis and report writing
Fluency in written and spoken English. Oral French would be an asset but not mandatory
Excellent consultative, communication and interviewing skills
Demonstrated ability to deliver quality results within strict deadlines
Experience and knowledge of labor migration issues will be an asset
Understanding of Decent Work concepts and the ILO’s normative mandate and tripartite structure will be an asset
Knowledge of the UN System and of UN evaluation norms and its programming
Understanding of the development context of covered or similar countries in Africa.
No involvement in the project.
Fees and Payment Schedule
The payments will be made in three instalments as detailed below and upon completion of all work to the evaluability assessment of the ILO.

Payments will be made as follows:

20% of the agreed sum upon submission and approval of Inception report by 16 June, 2023.
55% of the agreed sum upon submission and presentation of the Draft report by 30 June 2023.
25% of the agreed sum upon submission of final report to the project CTA of the ILO, by 5 July 2023
Evaluation Criteria
The successful candidate will have a mix of expertise and qualifications in the focus areas related to this assignment. Evaluation of the suitability of the Consultant to work on this assignment will be made against the following technical criteria:

Evaluation Criteria

Maximum mark

Expertise/Qualification
Advanced university degree in statistics, demographics economics, public policy, international development sociology or a related discipline. 10
Minimum of 7 years’ professional experience in on conducting evaluations of and/or implementing M&E systems of similar complex regional projects.
Proven understanding and experience of project M&E systems/strategies design and implementation (including quantitative, qualitative, and participatory), logical framework, theory of change and other strategic planning approaches, information analysis and report writing 10
Experience and knowledge of labor migration issues, and development context of covered or similar countries in Africa.
Understanding of Decent Work concepts and the ILO’s normative mandate and tripartite structure,
Knowledge of the UN System and of UN evaluation norms and its programming.
Relevant international exprience 10
Maximum Points 30

Proposed approach to deliver the ToR’s scope of work
Applicant demonstrates (via submitted technical proposal) their expertise working on assessments. The technical proposal includes a realistic action/work plan. The evaluation to assess the understanding of scope, objectives and completeness of response .40

Quality of the sample report suggests that the applicant(s) possess the required level of knowledge, analytical skill and ability to undertake the assessment. 30

Maximum Points .70

Total for Both Section A (30 Points) and Section B (70 Points) 100

Minimum Acceptable Score for the Proposal to be considered for financial evaluation. 70

Recommended presentation of proposal
Interested individual consultant must submit the following documents/information:

Technical Proposal, specifying the understanding of the assignment, methodology, approach, proposed work and management plan, personnel qualifications and relevant experiences of the consultant; Sample(s) of accredited publication(s)/reports of similar work done previously.
Personal CV, indicating all experience from similar assignments, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the candidate and at least three (3) professional references.
Financial proposal, the interested individual consultant is requested to provide a financial offer that is deliverable based AND includes separately professional fees related to the activity and costs for field mission dates and days, travel cost and daily allowance if needs be.
The ILO promotes equal opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive employment in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity.

[1] ILO policy guidelines for results-based evaluation: Principles, rationale, planning and managing for evaluations.http://www.ilo.org/eval/Evaluationpolicy/WCMS_168289/lang–en/index.htm