Impact evaluation for the Wilson Center Africa Program Project “The Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding”

Request for Proposals: Impact evaluation for the Wilson Center Africa Program Project "The Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding"

Duration: 23 weeks (March through August 2020)

Location: United States (Washington D.C.)

Deadline for Applications: Extended to March 31, 2020

Budget:  Up to$10,000

Position: The Africa Program of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars is seeking a qualified individual to conduct an impact assessment of the Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding (SVNP) project titled “For engaging African peacebuilding scholars to inform policy dialogues in the United States through the Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding.” 

Tasks and Responsibilities: The evaluator will conduct a comprehensive, length-of-project evaluation of the activities and impact of the SVNP. The evaluator is responsible for designing, conducting, and preparing the final written report and deliverables for the evaluation. The evaluator will participate in briefing and debriefings, check-ins with the Project Director, conducting interviews, preparing a written report, and final presentation of findings.

Candidate Requirements:

• Master’s degree in an Africa-related field; a Ph.D. would be an advantage.
• A minimum of 5 years’ experience in quantitative and qualitative monitoring, evaluation, and impact assessment.
• Proven expertise or knowledge about in peacebuilding in Africa would be an advantage.
• Native speaker level fluency in English is required; proficiency in French is highly desirable.

Project Information:[1]

Title: The Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding: “For engaging African peacebuilding scholars to inform policy dialogues in the United States through the Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding” (formerly, “Eliciting and applying local knowledge for peacebuilding and state-building in Africa.”)

Organization: The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Africa Program

Project Start and End Dates: October 1, 2012 (approved in 2011) to Present

Background:

• History of Project: The SVNP is a continent-wide network of African policy, research and academic organizations that works with the Wilson Center’s Africa Program to bring African knowledge and perspectives to U.S., African, and international policy on peacebuilding in Africa. Established in 2011 and supported by the generous financial support of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the project provides avenues for African researchers and practitioners to engage with, inform, and exchange analyses and perspectives with U.S., African, and international policymakers in order to develop the most appropriate, cohesive, and inclusive policy frameworks and approaches to achieving sustainable peace in Africa.
• The Project has grown to a pan-Africa network of 24 organizations and expanded into a premier platform for facilitating the exchange of knowledge and policy options between African and policymakers. In 2021 the SVNP will mark its 10th year in existence.
• Project Purpose: The purpose of the SVNP is to address the absence of African knowledge in the formulation of policy toward Africa, specifically policy toward peacebuilding and state-building, and equip the next generation of African peacebuilders to communicate more effectively with U.S. and African policymakers. The project does this through maintaining and strengthening a network of African research and policy organizations to channel and amplify African knowledge into the larger eco-system of U.S. policy toward Africa.

Main Project Objectives:

1. Provide a forum through which African scholars can bring their knowledge and expertise on peacebuilding to inform U.S., international, and African policymakers, and contribute to the development of appropriate and more inclusive peacebuilding frameworks, policies, and approaches toward Africa;
2. Build the knowledge and capacities of the next generation of African peacebuilders and enhance the peacebuilding capacities and profiles of African think tanks and peacebuilding organizations.
3. Strengthen collaboration and sharing of best practices and lessons learned about peacebuilding and state-building among SVNP members and with African and international stakeholders; and,
4. Work to understand, evaluate, and respond to the current and changing global environments to inform peacebuilding.

• Current Status:  Since its establishment, the SVNP has hosted 26 scholars, conducted 52 events, 8 annual and regional conferences, published 26 research and 19 policy papers, as well as more than 80 blogs related to peacebuilding in Africa.  The project has also worked to foster collaboration among members through joint research and activities.
• The project is currently mid-way through its 4th grant iteration with support from the Carnegie Corporation. The project has refined and adapted its goals and activities to the changing international environment for policy and peacebuilding while maintaining its core mission and activities. Entering its 10th year, the project is seeking to conduct a longitudinal analysis of the impact of the Network and its activities in achieving its goals and positioning itself for future work.

Evaluation Fundamentals:

• Purpose: The goal of this evaluation is to assess the impact of the Network and its activities in achieving its goals to:

1. generate knowledge that informs policy on peacebuilding in Africa;
2. build the knowledge, skills, and capacities of the next generation of African peacebuilders;
3. enhance collaboration among members; and
4. provide lessons learned from a decade of collaboration on policymaking and peacebuilding efforts in Africa.

• In your cover letter, please address both your qualifications, and in brief your plan and approach for conducting this impact assessment, as well as the key questions that you would cover in your assessment.

Management

• Tentative Schedule
  • March: Meeting with the Director
  • April: Development, presentation, and finalization of evaluation plan
  • April-July: Implementation of evaluation
  • June: Mid-term check in of evaluation status with the Director
  • July 13-17, 2020: Attendance at SVNP Conference
  • August: Final delivery of the written report and deliverables
  • August: Final oral briefing and presentation
• Budget: The evaluator will receive compensation of up to USD$ 10,000 subject to U.S. taxes.
• Point of Contact and Roles: The Africa Program Director, Dr. Monde Muyangwa, is the Project Coordinator and point of contact for the evaluator.

Instructions for Applying:

• Email a CV (no more than 3 pages) and cover letter to the Africa Program at africa@wilsoncenter.org no later than 11:59 PM EST on Sunday, March 31, 2020.
• In your cover letter, please address both your qualifications, and in brief your plan and approach for conducting this impact assessment, as well as the key questions that you would cover in your assessment.
• Please use the subject line “Expression of Interest: SVNP Impact Evaluation [Your Last Name]” in your email. You will be contacted within 3 weeks of the application deadline.

Organizational Background Information:
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars was established by an Act of Congress in 1968. Building on the ideals of Woodrow Wilson, its mission is to use research and scholarship to develop policy options for resolving the world's most pressing problems. In recognition of its work toward this mission, in 2018, the Wilson Center was recognized as the world's leading think tank for inter-disciplinary research, and as the 6th leading think tank in the world. The Wilson Center comprises 18 programs and initiatives, including the Africa Program.

The Africa Program was established at the Wilson Center in 1999 to work on Africa-related issues in support of the broader Wilson Center mission. The Africa Program's mission is to offer policy options for addressing the most pressing current and over-the-horizon challenges facing Africa and U.S.-Africa relations; provide options for the development of mutually beneficial U.S.-Africa relations; and educate the public about Africa by challenging dominant narratives about the continent. The Africa Program contributes to and takes advantage of the Wilson Center's strategic positioning in Washington D.C., and its mission as the nation's key non-partisan policy forum for tackling global issues, its unparalleled convening power, and its depth of substantive and cultural expertise to fulfill effectively its mission. The Africa Program has four major programmatic focus areas: 1) conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and security; 2) leadership and good governance; 3) trade, investment, and sustainable development; and, 4) Africa's evolving role in the global arena. The roles of women, youth, and technology are addressed as cross-cutting issues across the four program pillars.

[1] Project documents, reports, and grant deliverables will be made available to the evaluator upon selection.