Consultancy for Development of Organisational M&E Courses to the Programmes Approaches and Learning Unit

Background

Concern Worldwide is an international non-governmental humanitarian organization dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries. In 2023, Concern worked in 26 countries. Its work is supported by a Head Office team, including the Strategies Approaches and Learning Directorate, with a dedicated Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Unit.

The MEL Unit is responsible for supporting countries teams in designing evidence-based programmes and implementing a robust MEL system. Their role relies on providing both remote and in-country support. The team has also developed a Programme Quality Guide which outlines Concern’s guidelines in relation to programme quality, in particular programme planning, monitoring, evaluation and learning. The PQ Guide also offers sectoral guidelines and standard indicators to be used across the different types of programming.

The MEL Unit has recently identified a need to develop a series of MEL courses for both MEAL and Programme staff in Concern’s countries[1]. While the PQ Guide is offering a vast amount of content and guidelines, it does not offer a clear induction plan for new starters and does not necessarily support staff in converting theory into practice. As part of this process, Concern Worldwide would like to develop two courses, MEL Fundamentals and MEL Advanced. The table below outlines the purpose, recommended format and key audience for both courses:

Course: MEL Fundamentals (Level 1 and 2)

Purpose:

Provide an induction to new joiners on the minimum MEL standards in the organisation. It will help harmonise the level of knowledge across the different countries of operation.

Format:

Level 1 Self-Paced online course: developed on an internal platform. This will guide participants through basic MEL topics (already pre-identified) with a number of exercises and quizzes.

Level 2 Live Online Course: this course will be held online for a duration of 4-5 days. The purpose of the course will be to convert the Level 1 learnings into practice with the use of a simulation for a new programme. Participants will go through all the stages of programme development and implementation from the MEL perspective during this course.

Audience:

Programme Staff, MEAL Staff (in particular below MEAL Coordinator level), New Joiners

Course: MEL Advanced

Purpose:

Support MEAL staff’s career progression by developing skills of MEAL Managers and, if relevant, MEAL Coordinators. The course will prepare MEAL Managers to become MEAL Coordinators responsible for country-wide MEAL strategy.

Format:

Live Online Format: this 4-5 day course will aim at mixing theory and practice for advanced MEL topics.

Audience:

MEAL Managers, MEAL Coordinators

Concern is using a dedicated online platform to deliver training courses across the organisation, Learn365. This platform is particularly useful for self-paced courses, but can also be used to support live courses as a repository of all resources, including videos.

Purpose of the Consultancy

The Consultant will work closely with the MEL team to develop the above courses. The development of the MEL Fundamentals Level 1 is currently in progress and the consultant’s role will be more limited in this course, with a bigger focus on development and delivery of the MEL Fundamentals Level 2 and MEL Advanced. These courses will have to be run by Concern MEL team in the future, so the participatory methodology of content development will be essential. At the end of the consultancy, the consultant will train Concern staff in all used methodologies and software, if not already known to staff.

Essential and Desirable Experience/Qualifications

• Proven experience in establishing online MEAL Courses or MEAL Academies, including identifying the best technological solutions for delivering online courses
• At least five years’ experience in developing and implementing M&E systems in developing countries
• Familiarity with standards and best practices (including donor requirements) for M&E
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills
• Excellent facilitation skills and experience in applying varied facilitation methods
• Availability within the indicated timeline (August – November 2024)
• Proficiency in French and ability to deliver the course in French will be considered an asset

Objectives and Specific Tasks to be undertaken by the Consultant(s)

The specific tasks to be undertaken by the Consultant include:

MEL Fundamentals Level 1 (Self-paced):

• Support the MEL team in identifying the best technological solutions for the delivery of the online self-paced course.
• Support with session script finalisation (25 sessions already identified, script development in progress).
• Support with video recordings (AI solutions are currently being explored).

MEL Fundamentals Level 2 (Live):

• Develop the course agenda and detailed session plans (liaising with the MEL team)
• Coordinate content development with the MEL team
• Develop interactive exercises and case studies to facilitate experiential learning
• Conduct 4-5 days week M&E Fundamentals training for registered staff in Q3 2024 (online)
• Train the Head Office MEL team on methodologies used and course delivery for next rounds
• Collect feedback from the training sessions and produce a training report
• Modules for this course may include, but are not limited (using a simulation of a humanitarian or development programme):
  • Conducting Needs Assessment
  • Developing programme Theory of Change and logframe
  • Developing a MEL plan
  • Preparing for baseline/midline data collection
  • Analysing MEAL Data
  • Using MEAL Data
  • Programme evaluation

MEL Advanced (Live):

• Develop the course agenda and detailed session plans (liaising with the MEL team)
• Coordinate content development with the MEL team
• Develop interactive exercises and case studies to facilitate experiential learning
• Conduct 4-5 days live training for registered staff in Q3 2024 (online)
• Train the Head Office MEL team on methodologies used and course delivery for next rounds
• Collect feedback from the training sessions and produce a training report
• Modules for this course may include, but are not limited to:
  • Theory of Change Development
  • Designing Needs Assessment
  • Designing logical frameworks
  • Understanding donor requirements for MEAL
  • Indicator development
  • Developing a MEAL Plan
  • Participant targeting
  • Quantitative Data Collection
  • Qualitative Data Collection
  • Data Collection logistics
  • M&E budget and resources
  • Sampling Methodologies
  • Data Analysis
  • Report development
  • Attribution of results
  • Evaluation Design
  • Data Visualisation
  • Use of Data for Results Based Management
  • Lessons learnt capitalisation

Please note that this will be a highly participatory process, with some of the content developed by the MEL team and regular support offered to the consultant, which should be considered in the financial proposals. The consultant will be supported in the process by five Concern staff: Senior MEL Adviser, 3 MEL Advisers and an M&E Officer. The topics for both courses will be proposed by the MEL team and reviewed jointly with the consultant. While the consultant will be responsible for developing sessions scripts and materials for the two live courses (MEL Fundamentals Level 2 and MEL Advanced), the MEL team will be available to provide feedback and co-produce some of the content. The consultant can propose a workplan which takes this support into consideration.

Expected Outputs and Timeline

The contract duration for this consultancy will be 120 days (4 months), with the final courses to be organised at a pre-agreed dates in October/November. If feasible on both Consultant’s and Concern’s side, the consultancy can be finalised sooner. The work is expected to be delivered within 20-30 full-time workings days, but the consultant is expected to suggest a workplan based on the requirements outlined above.

If the consultant is fluent in French, they can also suggest an additional step to the consultancy, which would be producing the content and delivering the two courses in French. The additional cost and adjustments to the workplan for this work should be clearly marked in the proposal.

[1] Please note that while the Head Office team covers Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning support, at the country office level MEL staff are also responsible for Accountability and their titles refer to MEAL instead of MEL.