Job Opportunity: The African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) is hiring a Project Mid-Term & Final Evaluator: Apply Now!!

ACTS is looking for an expert required to design, plan, carry out and implement project mid-term evaluation. The mid-term evaluation will be conducted for the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada and Swedish International Development Agency (Sida), Sweden funded Artificial Intelligence for Development (AI4D) Africa Scholarship Program. The program envisions a future where AI empowers Africans to have a more prosperous, inclusive and greener future.

Application Deadline: 24 January 2024

The purpose of this call is to engage an external expert to conduct project final evaluation. The expert will conduct an overall independent assessment of the last 36 months performance of the project, paying particular attention to the impact of the project actions against its objectives and to identify key lessons and to propose practical recommendations for follow-up actions.

Background

The African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), in collaboration with five regional partners and two international partners, have been implementing a project on Financial Management of the Scholarship for the African Artificial Intelligence for Development (AI4D). The overall objective of the project was to design and administer a scholarship program that will foster the talent needed to meet a growing demand for research and development in responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in African public universities. The specific objectives were: (a) to support at least 12 scholars to undertake and successfully complete PhD research in AI and ML in African universities for 24 to 36 months; (b) to support at least 8 Early Career Academics (ECA) to strengthen their R&D capacities in AI and ML for a period of at least 24 months; and (c) to facilitate professional development for the PhD and ECA scholarship holders.

Purpose and Coverage

The goal of contracting a consultant for this exercise is therefore is to carry out/ perform in-depth project final term evaluation and then prepare a final project evaluation report.

Consultancy deliverables

The following will be the expected deliverables of the consultancy exercise:

• Work plan for implementing the final evaluation;
• Draft and Final report on the implementation of the tasks, key findings with recommendations, and lessons leant;
• Final and or terminal evaluation report

The main evaluation report should be concise and not exceed 25 pages, excluding annexes (supporting data and details can be included in annexes).           

A Power-Point presentation with the preliminary findings, recommendations and lessons learned to be presented ACTS consortium and key stakeholders.

All draft and final outputs, including supporting documents, analytical reports and raw data should be provided in electronic version compatible with WORD for windows. Ownership of the data from the evaluation rests jointly with ACTS, AI4D Africa, IDRC/ Sida and the consultant. The copyright of the evaluation report will rest exclusively with ACTS, AI4D Africa, and IDRC/ Sida.

Duration and time frame

The final term evaluation shall be expected to be completed within 20 – 25 days beginning as soon as possible.

Three (3) days after signing of the contract, the expert will submit to ACTS a refined inception report that articulates the overall requirements of the ToR including proposed methodology/ approach, work plan with clear timelines, and division of labor where necessary.

Evaluation and Selection Process

This application is open to experts who are specialized in implementing or performing project/ program monitoring, evaluations, learning and reporting. The selected expert will be responsible for designing and executing all the activities described in the ToR in collaboration with ACTS Staff.

The selection process of the expert will be based on the set of criteria developed by ACTS Evaluation Committee to evaluate the proposals. The Evaluation Committee will evaluate the proposals by using the combined scoring method. The technical proposal will be evaluated on 60%; whereas financial proposals will be evaluated on 40%. The shortlisted bidding consultant or firm may be asked for a formal presentation prior to the final selection.

Consultancy Competencies, Experience and Skill Requirements:

• Experience in project monitoring, evaluation, learning and reporting of program/ projects
• Extensive knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research methods and techniques
• Ability to use participatory approaches for evaluation and learning
• Good knowledge of the Sub-Saharan Africa context: Anglophone, Francophone and Lusophone communities, and dynamics of the consortium work
• Good probing and analytical skills
• Excellent communication and written skills in English knowledge and French added asset.

Deadline and submission of expression of interest (EoI)

ACTS invites interested experts to submit the following documents by or before 24/01/2024, 17:00hrs to: [email protected] and copy to: [email protected] and [email protected]

• Expression of interest (EoI) outlining how the expert meets the selection criteria and their understanding of the ToR.
• Curriculum vitae (CV) outlining relevant qualifications and experience.
• A summarized description of the scope of work and the intended methodology to be used as well as a tentative work plan including activities and time frames.
• Itemized financial proposal.

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