Evaluation of SPIDER´s program with Sida / Globec

Administrative Officer

Magdalena Pers Färjemark

Institution / equivalent

SPIDER, Department of Computer and Systems Sciences

Inquiry

About Stockholm University

Stockholm University is characterized by openness and an innovative and cross-border activity in Sweden´s capital. Ranked as one of the world´s top 100 HEIs, Stockholm University is one of Europe´s leading institutions for higher education and research in human sciences and natural sciences.

Stockholm University was founded in 1878 with the ambition to renew the traditional universities in Sweden. Close contacts and an active exchange of experience and knowledge with the outside world characterize the business since its inception.

33,000 students, 1,600 doctoral students and 5,500 employees are active at Stockholm University. Within the science areas of science and human sciences, 190 study programs and 1,700 courses are offered. The university has a total turnover of SEK 4.93 billion.

Stockholm University contributes to knowledge development in a global perspective and in collaboration with others. This is done through education and research in the international front line, as well as in cross-border and multidisciplinary studies. In collaboration with the surrounding society, knowledge is made available to everyone through dialogue and participation in debate and social development.

1 About the contracting institution

SPIDER (The Swedish Program for ICT in Developing Regions) is an independent centre based at the Department of Computer and Systems Sciences (DSV), Stockholm University, Sweden. Founded in 2004, SPIDER is one of the pioneer organizations whose focus is to support and promote the application of relevant Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for International Development.

Sida and SPIDER have been collaborating since 2004. The current agreement is subject to the Strategy for Sweden’s global development cooperation in sustainable economic development 2018-2022 and ends in 2021.

2 Goals and purpose

SPIDER wish to procure an end term evaluation of the programme that is run with support from Sida’s Globec unit. The evaluation will serve as input to discussions concerning a potential new agreement between Sida/Globec and SPIDER.

Intended use and intended users

The purpose or intended use of the evaluation is to:

provide Sida and SPIDER with an input to upcoming discussions concerning the preparation of a potential new phase of the partnership between Globec and SPIDER

understand the impact and relevance of SPIDER’s work

determine SPIDER’s strengths and weaknesses, both in terms of results and organisational capacity

provide input for SPIDER’s future direction

The primary intended users of the evaluation are  

the SPIDER team

Sida’s Globec unit

The evaluation is to be designed, conducted and reported to meet the needs of the intended users and tenderers shall elaborate in the tender how this will be ensured during the evaluation process.

Evaluation scope

The evaluation scope is limited to the impact of SPIDER programmes from 2011 to 2020, under the agreements with Sida Globala Program and Sida GLOBEC.

SPIDER’s other programs may be of interest to understand the organization and its capacities, but the results of these programs shall not be considered in this evaluation.

The detailed scope of the evaluation will be further elaborated in dialogue between the evaluator, SPIDER and Sida in the inception report.

Evaluation objective and questions

The objectives of this evaluation are to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of the program, assess weaknesses and strengths in the program and issue recommendations as an input to upcoming discussions concerning the preparation of a potential new phase of the intervention.

The evaluation questions are:

Impact

To what extent has the programme generated significant positive or negative high-level results?

To what extent has the programme generated unintended impact, positive as well as negative? 

In which program area has SPIDER generated the most impact?

If the program has failed to generate positive results, what are the reasons behind the failure and what are the lessons learned?

Coherence

To what extent has the SPIDER program been coherent and harmonised with other actors working in similar fields of work (actors: public, donors, private, academia, CSOs. Etc.)?

What has been SPIDERs added value, compared to other actors working in similar fields of work?

Sustainability

To what extent has SPIDER generated results (programming and as an organisation) that can be reasonably expected to be sustained over time?

Effectiveness

To what extent has the intervention achieved, or is expected to achieve, its objectives?

If the intervention has failed to achieve its objectives, what are the reasons behind the failure?

Has SPIDER succeeded in disseminating knowledge about and practice of successful use of ICT in development projects?

Has the SPIDER program been relevant in responding to changes in their fields of work?

Has the M&E system delivered robust and useful information that could be used to assess progress towards outcomes and contribute to learning?

Questions are expected to be developed in the tender by the tenderer and further refined during the inception phase of the evaluation.

Evaluation approach and methods

Additional information in annex 1

Organisation of evaluation management

The intended users of the evaluation form a steering group, which has contributed to and agreed on the ToR for this evaluation. The steering group is a decision-making body. It will approve the inception report and the final report of the. The steering group will participate in the start-up meeting of the evaluation, as well as in the debriefing/validation workshop where preliminary findings and conclusions are discussed.

Time schedule and deliverables

Additional information in annex 1

3 Requirement specification

The evaluation team shall include the following competencies:

- A good understanding of Sida’s working methods and reporting requirements, particularly knowledgeable about Results Based Management

- Good insights into the role of ICT for international development from both technical and social points of view.

- Experience of a wide variety of methods to assess impact, for example outcome harvesting

- Good knowledge on development contexts in the countries where SPIDER projects are based, sub-Saharan Africa, South East Asia and South America.

- Good knowledge on how civil society organizations, public authorities, academia and private sector interact and influence digital development both in Sweden and in partner countries.

- Proficiency in English

It is desirable that the evaluation team competencies include the following: 

- Gender, ideally in relation to technology

- Inclusion of marginalised groups

- Proficiency in Swedish (at least one person in the team)

A CV for each team member shall be included in the response. It should contain a full description of relevant qualifications and professional work experience. (expand in offer)

Please note that in the tender, the tenderers must propose a team leader that takes part in the evaluation by at least 30% of the total evaluation team time including core team members, specialists and all support functions, but excluding time for the quality assurance expert.

Further information can be found in annex 1

Evaluation quality

The evaluation shall conform to OECD/DAC’s Quality Standards for Development Evaluation. The evaluators shall use the Sida OECD/DAC Glossary of Key Terms in Evaluation and the OECD/DAC Better Criteria for Better Evaluation. The evaluators shall specify how quality assurance will be handled by them during the evaluation process.

4 Quotation

We expect a quote consisting of the following;

Quote template provided

CVs of the evaluation team

The total price for the evaluation with an itemized budget breakdown

No other costs may be added for the commission´s implementation.

Questions are asked and quotations are submitted in this platform, Mercell direktupphandling.

Last day for questions are 2021-02-22, 23.59 CET

Submit your quotation no later than 2021-02-25, 23.59 CET

The quotation must be binding until 2021-03-20

5. Evaluation and award

The supplier offering the most advantageous solution is awarded the contract. SU evaluates the tenders in accordance with the above requirements.

Price: 40%

Quality: 60%

SPIDER will evaluate the following quality features of the offer:

- Time for delivery

- Previous experience in evaluating Sida supported work

- Team knowledge in these three areas:

thematic areas of SPIDER’s work

ICT in development cooperation

Gender

6. Publicity and confidentiality.

Information in a procurement case is covered by secrecy in accordance with the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act (2009: 400) until all tenders are published or decisions on suppliers and tenders are made or the case has previously been completed. Thereafter, the tenders and other documents become public. Disclosure of a public document shall take place upon request. Information in the public documents can be protected in two cases: if it can be assumed that the public suffers damage if the information is disclosed or if for special reasons it can be assumed that an individual who has entered into a business relationship with Stockholm University suffers damage regarding information about business or operating conditions cleared. A tenderer who wishes information in the tender to be kept secret should state what information it concerns and what damage is at risk if the information is disclosed. The assessment of whether the reasons are sufficient for secrecy is made by Stockholm University in connection with someone requesting access to them.

Please note that information that is crucial for the award of the contract can only exceptionally be classified.

7. Processing of personal data

Stockholm University is responsible for personal data. Information, such as the names of contact persons and e-mail addresses, that is provided in connection with tendering and when signing an agreement with Stockholm University. The processing of personal data is necessary for Stockholm University to be able to complete the procurement and fulfill the subsequent agreement entered into. However, it is up to the bidding company to be responsible for the disclosure of personal data in accordance with the Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and the Data Protection Act (2018: 218). By submitting a tender, the bidding company agrees that all information in the tender and associated appendices, including personal data, is handled electronically by Stockholm University. In cases where the submission of such personal data requires the consent of employees or other third parties, it is the responsibility of the bidding company to obtain such consent.

8. Submission of tenders

Tenders must be submitted electronically via Visma Direktupphandling. Tenderers register and thus create an individual bidder account, which is used to read tender documents, ask questions, etc. and to create and send tenders. The tenderer´s account must be registered with an identical organization number as the bidding company, as well as by a competent tenderer. It is possible to close the account after completing the procurement. Read the procurement documents and tenders carefully to be sure that all requested information is actually included. Tenders that do not meet all the requirements will not be accepted.