Call for evaluation teams for final evaluation of Wealth of Nations programme 

Thomson Reuters Foundation (TRF) is commissioning a final evaluation of its NORAD-funded Wealth of Nations – Finding Africa’s Missing Billions1 (WoN) programme, implemented from 2017-2023 with the support of NORAD. The programme aimed to form a strong, well-trained and independent media able to investigate and expose IFFs. The programme was led by TRF and implemented in collaboration with some of Africa's leading organisations promoting excellence in journalism, such as the African Centre for Media Excellence (Uganda), the Media Development Centre (Tunisia), the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism (South Africa), the Media Institute of Southern Africa-Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe), the Media Institute of Southern Africa-Moçambique (Mozambique), Code for Africa (registered in South Africa and Kenya) and one of Africa’s leading IFF policy think tanks, TrustAfrica (Senegal). 

The programme is coming to an end in June 2023, with the next phase of the programme (2023-2025), focusing on Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and Rwanda, expected to start in July 2023. The final evaluation is expected to assess whether the programme achieved its intended objectives, identify key results and impacts and lessons learned with a view to informing the design and delivery of the next phase of the programme, as well as other programmes in TRF’s portfolio. Please consult the attached ToR for more information.  

Evaluation purpose, objectives and scope 

The final evaluation will contribute to TRF’s and partner organisation’s learning on how best to support journalists and newsrooms to increase coverage of IFFs and Tax in the media and will be used to document programme results and impacts particularly in the countries where TRF is no longer continuing the work.  The evaluation is also expected to inform the design of activities in the next phase of the programme, as well as informing TRF’s and partner organisations’ approach on other programmes. The intended audiences for the evaluation are TRF’s programme team and NORAD. 

 The final evaluation is expected to cover all countries/regions and partners in the programme, with an in-depth focus on two countries and a regional partner where the data collection will be undertaken also through country visits.  

The final evaluation aims to assess the programme’s: 

  • Relevance: How well was the programme designed, manage, resourced and delivered to address the needs and priorities of journalists and newsrooms, emerging trends on IFFs, and to achieve its intended objectives? 
  • Efficiency: How efficiently were key programme decisions, including the choice of interventions and outputs and resource allocations made? How efficiently was the programme and its partnerships managed? 
  • Effectiveness: What progress did the programme make to achieving its set objectives?  
  • Impact: To what extent (and how) did the programme make a difference/contribute to journalist career progression, increased quantity and quality of stories and investigations on IFFs/media narrative on IFFs, as well as higher-level impacts, such as steps towards policy change; how and why? 
  • Sustainability: How likely is it that the results that the programme contributed to will continue to be sustained; how effectively was exit planned for and managed? 

In addition, the evaluation aims to: 

  • identify the main programmatic (and operational) lessons, including ones that have been learned and absorbed into partner and TRF programming; 
  • make recommendations particularly in relation to programme design, approaches to targeting, training and supporting journalists and newsrooms on IFFs, decision making,  partnership management and monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL).  

Approach and methodology  

The evaluation is expected to use a theory-based approach, testing TRF’s and implementing partners’ hypotheses and assumptions about how the programme’s interventions supported change.  

The evaluation should draw on a mixture of: 

  • desk review of programme documentation, monitoring information and annual evaluations, review of literature related to IFFs (academic/expert literature, policies, laws in programme countries) 
  • analysis of media coverage related to IFFs 
  •  survey with alumni journalists 
  • in-depth interviews with TRF and implementing partner staff and trainers, alumni journalists 
  • newsroom staff and any other relevant external stakeholders such as businesses, decisions makers, experts on IFFs, and CSOs campaigning on IFFs. 

Timeframe 

Proposals submitted to TRF: 3 July   

Review of proposals and interviews: 4-12 July 

Award decision communicated: 14 July  

Inception report: outlining finalized evaluation framework, approach,  

methodology and research tools:  31 July  

Field work: August-October  

Analysis: October  

Sessions to validate findings/ recommendations: October  

Draft final report: 26 October  

Comments from TRF on the report: 6 November 

Final report with comments addressed: 23 November  

Final presentation to TRF: 31 November  

Final presentation to partners: 31 November  

Deliverables  

  • Inception report: The inception report should provide the finalized evaluation framework, methodology, including approach to sampling, countries of focus/visits and research tools, finalized workplan and budget. 
  • Validation session: The evaluators should facilitate two sessions with TRF and partner organisations to validate the findings of the evaluation and to discuss recommendations. 
  • Draft final report: A draft report (following the final report structure) should be submitted to TRF for comments.  
  • Final report: The final report, not exceeding 40 pages, following a structure to be agreed with TRF, that addresses TRF’s and partners comments. 
  • Presentation of findings: The team should present (online and/or in London if based in the UK) on the findings of the final report to TRF and to partners. 

Required competencies and experience 

The evaluation team should have a mixture of the following competencies and experience: 

  • extensive experience of conducting research or evaluations, particularly of media development programmes; 
  • wide-ranging experience of theory-based evaluations and qualitative evaluation methods, experience of using contribution analysis would be advantageous; 
  • experience of conducting evaluations of similar programmes in the region; 
  • expertise in using media analysis software to analyse media narratives; 
  • knowledge/ understanding of the topic of IFFs/tax, particularly in the programme countries;  
  • some understanding/knowledge of gender issues, particularly in relation to IFFs; and 
  • fluent English, with ability to draw on evaluators with French, Portuguese and Arabic language if needed. 

Application procedure 

Interested teams of consultants should submit a proposal (of no more than 15 pages) to liisa.kytola@thomsonreuters.com by 3 July 2023 5.30pm UK time 

The proposal should cover: 

  • Understanding of the assignment 
  • Approach/methodology: proposed methodology, approach to sampling, data collection, and analysis, challenges (and how these would be addressed) and limitations of methodology 
  • Proposed team: roles and responsibilities and relevant experience and expertise of each team member to the assignment 
  • Approach to quality assurance 
  • Workplan 
  • Annexes (not included in the page limit) 
  • CVs  
  • Detailed budget, including day rates for consultants and any related expenses 
  • Summary examples of similar assignments, with links provide to published reports 

The budget for the assignment should not exceed £60,000, including travel costs and all local taxes.  and also 'To receive a detailed Terms of Reference for the evaluation, please email liisa.kytola@thomsonreuters.com.