Evaluation of the Ireland’s Civil Society Programme Global Citizenship Education Stream

Background

Concern Worldwide seeks to engage a consultant(s) to evaluate the Global Citizenship Education (GCE) programme funded under Ireland’s Civil Society Partnership for A Better World.

Ireland’s Civil Society Partnership (ICSP) for A Better World is a five-year funding mechanism (2023 – 2027) that supports ten Irish civil society partners. It is a requirement of the ICSP scheme to conduct an external, independent evaluation of programmes funded under the scheme. This evaluation will satisfy this requirement for Concern Worldwide as a partner in the scheme.

This evaluation will take place in the fourth year of a five-year programme and will be a cross-sectional, theory-based evaluation. It will assess the programme at a defined point in time, drawing on available evidence from 2023 to 2026 to examine causal pathways, actual and emerging outcomes.

Description of the programme being evaluated

The ICSP is composed of four funding streams: long-term development (LTD), chronic humanitarian crises (CHC), acute humanitarian crises stream (ACS), and global citizenship education (GCE). Additionally, there is a climate allocation integrated into the programme.

Programmes funded under ICSP contribute to Ireland’s foreign policy priorities, particularly Ireland’s overseas development policy, A Better World. The Flagship Outcomes under A Better World articulate the specific outcomes ICSP aims to achieve. These Flagship Outcomes are comprised of 10 thematic and 3 process outcomes and are used in annual reporting since 2025. In relation to Global Citizenship Education, the ICSP Strategic Framework intends to “Promote global citizenship education, so that Irish people are equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to be active global citizens… Engage with the Irish public to build awareness and understanding of the Irish Aid programme, so they are aware of how it is addressing poverty and inequality on their behalf” contributing to ICSP Thematic Outcome 10 (TO10) “The Irish public is aware, understands, and takes action on global justice issues.”

The GCE stream of the ICSP is an all-island programme that explores the root causes of poverty, encourages critical thinking and promotes meaningful action. Through our Global Citizenship work, Concern aims to foster lifelong identification with Concern and commitment to the values at the heart of Concern’s mission with programme participants. The Global Citizenship team do this through a suite of approaches which includes the Concern Post-Primary Debates, Concern Primary Debates, TY Academy, workshops (in schools and with third level, youth, adult and community), events, a civil society small grants initiative and developingeducational resources. The GCE stream has two types of targets which we report on annually to Irish Aid:

• The number of people that we will reach in our programme activities through direct programming.
• An agreed results framework with outcomes and indicators which measures the effect of the work that we do with children, young people and communities.

The outcomes and indicators measure global literacy, social / environmental responsibility and capacity for transformative action of the people that we work with after their engagement with our GCE programmes. At the end of each year, we report to Irish Aid on the above metrics, as well as a programme breakdown of spending against each indicator.

Purpose and objectives of the evaluation

To support Concern’s commitment to accountability to programme participants, institutional and public donors, through assessing the good practices, gaps and adjusting the learnings in future programmes, this independent evaluation seeks to:

• Assess the performance, delivery and impact of the ICSP GCE programme stream implemented by Concern Worldwide both as a standalone stream and in terms of its contribution to the overall portfolio and programme of work.
• Assess Concern’s ICSP GCE programme stream against the thematic and process outcomes of the ICSP strategic framework and against the relevant OECD-DAC criteria and core Concern policies and approaches.
• Identify learning and good practice to inform the design of the successor to the next iteration of the ICSP and Concern’s broader Global Citizenship work. The evaluation is expected to identify learning and good practice from design through implementation and adaptation. The evaluators are expected to provide actionable recommendations against both elements.

This evaluation is structured to address the mandatory ICSP evaluation questions set out in Irish Aid guidance, with additional questions included to reflect Concern’s programme priorities.

Primary intended audience and use of the evaluation

The primary audience of the evaluation are Concern Worldwide Global Citizenship programme teams, Global Citizenship partners of Concern Worldwide and the donor, Irish Aid.

Evaluation scope

The evaluation will cover the GCE stream implemented across the island of Ireland by Concern Worldwide. The time period will be from January 2023 up to the end of June 2026, noting the limitation that annual quantitative monitoring data against baseline will only be available up to the end of year 3 (2025).

Evaluation criteria & questions

To meet the overall purpose and objectives outlined above, the evaluators will need to provide an assessment and scoring1 against the below OECD DAC criteria and suggested evaluation questions, along with any additional questions, or sub-questions, the evaluator deems appropriate.

Overall Assessment:

• What evidence is there that the GCE programme contributed to increased awareness, understanding, engagement, and action among the Irish public on global justice issues, in line with ICSP Thematic Outcome 10, ICSP Strategic Framework and the Irish Aid Global Citizenship Strategy (2021-2025)?
• To what extent is the programme being implemented as intended in the logframe/theory of change (activities, outputs, outcome pathways)?
• How appropriate and realistic were the underlying assumptions of the theory of change, given the evolving political, conflict, climatic, and socio‑economic contexts?
• What contextual or external factors (policy, sector, school environment, public discourse, partner capacity) affected the theory of change pathways?
• How effectively were learning and reflection processes embedded across programme management and implementation, and how did they inform adjustments to programme design or delivery?

Relevance:

• To what extent was the GCE programme relevant to the needs, contexts, and capacities of its target audiences (learners, educators, schools, and partners), and how were these needs identified and reflected in programme design and adaptation?
• How well did the programme align with the aims, values, and policy context of Global Citizenship Education on the island of Ireland, including the promotion of critical engagement, global justice, and learner agency?

Coherence:

• How well does the programme align with other policies, standards and interventions?
• How is the Concern GCE programme contributing to coordination activities and strategic direction of the GCE sector on the island of Ireland?
• How did the GCE programme engage with Concern country programmes to translate on‑the‑ground experience, learning, and participant perspectives into the GCE stream activities?

Effectiveness:

• Assessment of achievement against the results framework, to what extent have intended outcomes been achieved?
• What evidence is there that an appropriate and fit‑for‑purpose monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system was in place, effectively implemented, and used to inform strategic and operational decisions?
• To what extent did different programme components vary in their effectiveness in achieving reach and core GCE competencies, and what factors explain differences in performance?
• What innovative approaches were adopted within the programme, were they effective, and how were lessons captured and integrated into ongoing or subsequent practice?

Finally, the evaluation should aim to identify any learning or evidence of practices, actions, and approaches that actively contribute to the success of the programme. These ideally can be used as examples of good practice, to surface lessons learned and contribute to actionable recommendations.

Methodology

The evaluation will consider quantitative monitoring data, existing documentation and provide specific evidence against each of the relevant evaluation questions.

Concern will provide the evaluators with relevant information, documentation, contacts and guidance during the inception phase. This will include documentation relating to the proposal, annual reporting and results frameworks, and a mid-term review report of the Concern Global Citizenship Strategy.

The methodology must be participatory and in addition to data and evidence from programme implementation, allow for the inclusion of viewpoints and perspectives from a wide range of stakeholders including:

• Programme participants (disaggregated to consider the views and opinions of women, people with disabilities and others in traditionally marginalised groups);
• Stakeholders of the GCE programme which can include teachers and volunteers
• Recipients of the Concern Global Citizenship Education Grant
• GCE peers in Ireland
• Concern staff

In their technical proposal, the selected evaluator(s) will propose the methodology they will use for conducting the evaluation, taking into account these requirements and ensuring a comprehensive review of the ICSP GCE stream as implemented by Concern Worldwide.

It is expected that, following initial discussions and a desk review of existing documentation and data, an inception report will set out the final evaluation questions and describe a mixed method evaluation approach with rationale.

Expected evaluation products

The following deliverables are expected to be produced by the evaluator(s):

• Inception report and evaluation matrix should set out the key EQs, design and methodology to meet the above-mentioned purpose and to answer the evaluation questions.
• Validation workshop shortly after the end of data collection: presentation of the most important observations from the data collection, reporting any challenges, and collaborating on recommendations before report drafting.
• Draft report:
• Executive Summary (maximum 2 pages)
• Brief context and description of the intervention
• Evaluation methodology and any limitations encountered
• Main findings, conclusions and recommendations in relation to the evaluation questions using graphs, charts and tables where appropriate
• Scoring and narrative against the extended DAC criteria2
• Recommendations
• For remaining period of the programme;
• More broadly and for future programming
• Annexes:
• ToR
• Number of people/groups consulted, schedules of the process, summary notes from validation workshop
• Final report incorporating agreed feedback.

Resources, roles and responsibilities

A Steering Committee comprising the Director of Strategy Advocacy and Learning, the Head of International Advocacy and the Head of Global Citizenship will be responsible for commissioning, approving and overseeing the evaluation. The committee will work closely with the Concern MEL Advisor, the ICSP Programme Coordinator and the Humanitarian Advisor.

The Evaluators will report to the Head of Global Citizenship for the overall evaluation and day-to-day coordination support.

Concern will be responsible for:

• Approval of the final evaluation plan, tools and methodology (inception report)
• Providing relevant documentation and date to the Lead Evaluator on the programme activities and briefing on the response as well as expectations of this evaluation.
• Facilitating introductions to programme participants, stakeholders and peers.
• Provision of timely feedback to the internal evaluator on first draft of the report.

The Lead Evaluator will be responsible for:

• Developing methodology and evaluation plan for approval by Concern outlining expected sources of data and their collection
• Primary qualitative data collection and conducting interviews with programme participants, stakeholders and Concern staff
• Data compilation, analysis and verification
• Facilitation of a validation workshop
• Report writing including finalisation according to feedback provided.

Plan for Evaluation implementation (including timelines)

The evaluation must be completed, and report validated and finalised by 30th October 2026.

An initial tentative timeline for the evaluation is presented below. However, to ensure a flexible approach is taken considering school holidays, Concern is keen to work with consultants that could spread the work over a number of months, to ensure a robust sample of programme participants is included in the evaluation. Proposals are expected to discuss the feasibility of such a timeline and include a workplan. The final timeline / workplan will be agreed upon jointly with the evaluator(s) and Concern.

• Tender submission date - Tender submission - No later than 25th May 09.00am GMT
• Feedback and interview period - Tender award - 5th June
• Desk review of available data - Inception Report - 31st July
• Evaluation activity - Draft report - August - October
• Feedback and discussions, draft report and findings - Final validated report - 30th October

Composition, skills and experience of the Evaluation team

It is anticipated that the evaluator(s) will have substantive relevant experience in conducting evaluations of similar scale and complexity using mixed methods approaches. It is also essential that they have expert knowledge of and evaluation expertise in Global Citizenship Education in Ireland.

Ethical considerations

Concern is committed to upholding the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability. All consultants engaged in the delivery of services will be required to sign Concern’s Code of Conduct and associated policies (namely the Programme Protection Policy, Child Safeguarding Policy and Anti-trafficking in Persons policy and GDPR).

How to apply

Technical and financial offer for proposals

Proposals should be submitted to Amy.Dignam@concern.net with the subject “Proposal to evaluate Concern ICSP GSE Stream – APPLICANT NAME”, no later than 25th May 09.00am GMT.

Technical proposal to include:

• Evaluation methodology: detailed explanation of how the evaluation purpose, criteria and questions will be addressed within the scope of the evaluation. The methodology should be proposed with the aim to meet the objectives outlined in this ToR and discuss its feasibility.
• Work plan: A clear and reasonable timeline of activities, aligned with the deliverables and ideally matching the overall deadlines mentioned in the ToR.
• Team composition and roles: an overview of the proposed evaluation team, including individual roles, qualifications, relevant experience and an indication of whether the team has worked together in any capacity before.
• Feasibility and risks: Reflections on potential challenges and mitigation measures for the evaluation process.
• Full CVs of the proposed team members, including references, should be attached
• Examples of relevant previous assignments and at least one relevant work sample, e.g. a final evaluation report or a relevant innovative evaluation product.

Financial offer to include:

• Proposed budget for the complete evaluation (plus the respective VAT, if applicable).
• Information on the fees per working day and the number of working days, ideally by evaluation stage
• Any other expected costs (e.g. costs for logistics, costs for workshops) should be clearly indicated. All prices shall be quoted in Euro (EUR/€).

All insurances are the responsibility of the evaluator(s).

Proposals will be evaluated against the following criteria:

• Quality of Technical Proposal and proposed methodology - 40%
• Competitiveness of Financial Proposal and alignment with the proposed methodology - 40%
• Experience of the consultants including the individuals proposed - 20%

Please note that Concern may exercise the option to invite the evaluator(s) who submitted the top-ranked proposals, based on the criteria outlined above, for an interview before the final selection is made.

Annexes

To receive the relevant annexes, interested parties should email Amy.Dignam@concern.net with the subject ‘Request for ToR Annexes – ICSP Final Evaluation’.