Evaluation of the Women’s Employment for Economic Recovery (WEER) Program in Eswatini

Evaluation of the Women’s Employment for Economic Recovery (WEER) Program in Eswatini

Grant Award No: 72067420FA00007

The American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) is a non-profit organization that implements legal reform programs in roughly 50 countries around the world. ABA ROLI has nearly 500 professional staff working abroad and in its Washington, DC office. ABA ROLI’s host country partners include judges, lawyers, bar associations, law schools, court administrators, legislatures, ministries of justice and a wide array of civil society organizations, including human rights groups.

ABA ROLI is seeking a Program Evaluator for its Women’s Employment for Economic Recovery Program.

Program Background

The W-GDP Women’s Employment for Economic Recovery (WEER) Program in Eswatini, a three-year program funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) with partners Grameen Foundation USA (Grameen) and Kwakha Indvodza (KI), aims to improve women’s economic participation in Eswatini, by addressing discriminatory legal and regulatory shortfalls, improving women’s access to finance resources, and fostering inclusive attitudes towards women’s participation in the workforce. Specifically, the program has two objectives:

• Objective 1: To mitigate restrictive economic, legal, and cultural barriers in order to facilitate women’s meaningful participation in the economy.
• Objective 2: Increase the cadre of male champions who advocate for more equal and meaningful participation of women in the economy.

Evaluation Purpose, Scope, and Objectives:

The evaluation is commissioned by ABA ROLI’s Africa Division to measure changes in the following areas and determine the extent to which the program contributed to these changes, if at all:

1. Legal reform to facilitate women’s meaningful participation in the economy; and
2. Improvement of gender awareness and policies in private and public workplaces.
3. The evaluation will also serve as a follow-up to the learning agenda conducted by partner Grameen Foundation in February/March to further evaluate the success of their interventions with financial service providers.

The evaluation will start in October and end in early December 2023. The evaluation is commissioned to support future programming in this area and will as well provide useful information for counterparts (i.e., training/education institutions and justice system) on directions for development and sustainability mechanisms introduced and supported under the program. The primary users of this evaluation are ABA ROLI, Grameen, KI, labor institutions in Eswatini, and USAID.

The evaluation will cover all three years of program implementation, from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2023, and will adopt an outcome evaluation as its primary approach using mixed methods to assess the changes that have occurred at the individual and institutional levels in Eswatini. Specifically, the evaluation will respond to the following questions:

1. What individual changes are observable or felt among government workers, non-profit/CSO partners, and private sector employers supported or assisted in the program?
   1. What changes are observable, if any, in how women are treated in the workplace?
2. The following questions as follow up to the learning agenda conducted by program partner Grameen in February and March 2023:
   1. What have been the benefits (including but not limited to time saved, money saved, convenience, security of funds, improved relations with spouse) of using a digital platform for end-users?
   2. What have been the drawbacks (including but not limited to conflict with spouse or others, challenges using platform, security of funds) of using a digital platform for end-users?
   3. What have been the benefits and drawbacks for financial service providers? (Benefits might include reduced costs of doing business and time savings for Credit Officers. Drawbacks might include difficulties using and managing the site.)
   4. Did users experience any benefits from receiving digital financial literacy training when onboarding onto the platform? What were these benefits?
   5. What are the next steps for the platform after the project period?
   6. What are the best practices and lessons learned of the overall Innovation Prize project implementation? What are the implementers’ recommendations for future projects?
3. What changes are observable in the institutions (e.g., the Ministry of Labour) supported by the program?
4. What factors (including outcomes of the program) contributed to observed changes (whether positive or negative changes)? To what extent have specific program activities contributed, if at all, to these changes?
5. Are there any other existing or emerging opportunities for capacity building that the program should consider?
6. What is the likelihood of continuation and sustainability of the Innovation Prize financial service products?
7. What is the likelihood that technical expertise provided to improve private sector partners’/beneficiaries’ internal policies with respect to gender in the workplace will be improved upon or maintained?

Evaluation approach and methodology:

The evaluation will use outcome evaluation as its primary approach to determine behavioral changes that may have resulted from the program efforts and the other factors that may have affected it. The evaluation must at the minimum:

1. Respond to the evaluation questions;
2. Map out outcomes as they relate to each other, and the various factors that contribute to the outcomes observed, including activities, contextual conditions, and other factors;
3. Describe behavioral changes, particularly as they relate to performance of justice actors at the individual and institutional levels in terms of what change occurred, where it was observed, when it was observed, and how the changes affect litigants, especially pre-trial detainees;
4. Establish through qualitative or quantitative metrics the level of contribution the Program has had in specific changes it has affected, providing information on what specific components of the program (i.e., activity, output, outcome) that may have resulted to the change; and
5. Provide opportunities for participation of stakeholders in identifying opportunities for capacity development and mechanisms for sustaining efforts and outcomes.

This evaluation will be primarily conducted using qualitative methods with some quantitative components/methods. The evaluation will have a full analysis of qualitative components, a full analysis of quantitative components on question two, and a synthesis of both. It is anticipated that a budget of $15,000 will be available for the evaluation and any travel expenses for any evaluator(s).

Professional qualifications, experience and expertise required for the Program Evaluator

The consultant should be based in Eswatini or a nearby country, be proficient in conducting outcome evaluations and in the context of the program. They must have:

• At least a master’s degree in public policy or administration, social or political science, law, or other related field with no less than seven years of experience conducting program evaluation OR a bachelor’s degree in these same fields with more than 10 years of experience in conducting program evaluations
• Must have previous experience in conducting evaluation in Africa; experience conducting evaluations with public sector particularly the legal sector is a plus
• Must have excellent English communication and writing skills
• Must demonstrate proficiency in the use of MS Office and other applications for online surveys and data analysis.

How to apply

Interested and qualified Consultants should submit their applications which should include the following:

1. Cover Letter

2. Detailed Curriculum Vitae

3. Proposed budget & workplan for the assignment

Please quote “WEER Eswatini Program” on the subject line. Applications should be emailed to Africa-recruitment@americanbar.org no later than September 21, 2023.