Call for tenders

Evaluation of the IncluCities Project

 Consultancy services

Terms of Reference for an external evaluation of the IncluCities 

(read the TOR)

General context

IncluCities is a European project funded under the AMIF (Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund) by the European Commission in 2020 and led by the CEMR The 'project's main scope is to boost the cooperation of eight European cities, accompanied by their national associations of local and regional governments, in the field of migrants' inclusion and, in particular, of Third Countries Nationals (TCNs). This cooperation is framed as a mentoring scheme, including a mentee and a mentor, each represented by the city and a national association. These entities form four pairs.

The partner's cities are:

  • Capaci (Italy) paired with Mechelen (Belgium),
  • Jelgava (Latvia) paired with Schaerbeek (Belgium)
  • Levadia (Greece) paired with Fuenlabrada (Spain), and
  • Saint Jean de la Ruelle (France) paired with Brussels (Belgium).

These cities are accompanied by their national associations of local governments as follows: Capaci by AICCRE, Mechelen by VVSG, Schaerbeek and Brussels by Brulocalis, Jelgava by LALRG, Levadia by KEDE, Fuenlabrada by FEMP, Saint Jean de la Ruelle by AFCCRE.

IncluCities has been conceived as a three steps process in which the first phase was represented by a need assessment of the mentee city to understand the challenges in the inclusion path of the migrants already present in the territory. The second phase saw the cities and associations meet each other in three different occasions (the study visits), to get acquainted with the real context of the mentee city and with the best practices of the mentor city.

The third phase started with the first harvesting of the results during a series of transfer knowledge workshops where mentee cities and their national associations began to disclose the first steps of their Action Plan containing actions to reach a better inclusion process. These workshops have been followed by the training academies in which the mentor cities and their national associations, showcased the results of the project in their territories, the benefit of the cooperation, the finalised one-stop-shop (an interactive collection of all the services available in the city to help newcomers get settled in). The very aim of these academies has been to prove the replicability of the same exercise with more cities on a national scale.

The activities of the project started in February 2020 and are ending in March 2023, with a final conference in Brussels and an exhibition of photos taken during the last semester of the project in the mentee cities to highlight the stories of the people involved in the project and to create a common storytelling thread.

For more information on the project: https://www.inclucities.eu/

Objective of the evaluation

The requested evaluation should:

  • Evaluate the achievements of the objectives stated in the project proposal;
  • Analyse the role of the CEMR’s national associations and their impact on the learning process, support to cities, promotion, dissemination and replication of the good practices on integration;
  • Showcase the added value of the initiative as such, the IncluCities project, as well as the lessons learned, to formulate tailored recommendations to both mentee and mentor cities as well as the different stakeholders involved;
  • Evaluate the impact and the efficiency of the actions and the communication strategy, including outcomes resulting from the activities of the project that were not initially contemplated and their respective causes;

  • Evaluate the impact of the project on the CEMR Task Force on Migration and Inclusion' 's outreach and expansion of the policy interests; Formulate tailored recommendations for CEMR Coordination and management, including the lessons learned from the main challenges faced by the partners and stakeholders involved.

The final document will be public, and it will be directly shared on the IncluCities and CEMR websites, among project partners and relevant stakeholders, as well as with the European Commission.

Evaluation methodology

The evaluator is invited to follow the methodology described below:

1. Desk research in order to deepen the context and exploit the already identified findings as a starting point (e.g. previous mid-term progress report and evaluations conducted by CEMR on events, webinars and workshops, meetings minutes, Implementation 'Committees' minutes, etc.). The Secretariat will provide the relevant documents to be summarised;

2. Tailored questionnaire and interviews with identified Stakeholders and Signatories (the Secretariat will provide a list of mandatory and suggested associations/cities/contacts). The evaluator should aim at least 24 interviews with:

  • CEMR team members (with regards to communication, budget, and activities – 4 interviews)
  • CEMR’s Secretary General and Director of External resources (2 interviews)
  • Partner cities (8 interviews), and other relevant partners (such as AFCCRE, AICCRE, LALRG, Brulocalis,. – 8 interviews)
  • Project stakeholders (DGHOME, CEMR task force members on migration - 2 interviews).

3. Based on the findings, identify key recommendations.

Evaluation timeframe

The evaluation will consist of the following phases:

  1. Draft of the questions to be addressed to the participants (cities and associations) delivered to the CEMR Secretariat by the 6th February 2023
  2. Data collection from the participants (cities and associations): until the 6th of March 2023
  3. First draft of the evaluation to the Secretariat by 13th of March
  4. Finalised evaluation to the Secretariat by 31st of March 2023

Format of reporting

  1. The evaluation report should be provided by e-mail in word version and no longer than 15 pages, excluding the annexes.
  2. The structure of the findings will be discussed with the Secretariat based on the proposal to be made by the contractor.
  3. The report should be in line with the visual identityof the IncluCities project, CEMR and should respect the visual recommendations of the European Commission.
  4. The report should be provided in British English. The Service provider shall be responsible for correct language and grammar.

 Organisation of the evaluation

The Secretariat will contribute with:

  1. Providing access to all necessary background documents;
  2. Providing feedback to the semi-structured interviews;
  3. Introducing the consultant to the interviewees;
  4. Providing feedback on the first and final draft of the evaluation

The evaluator is invited to plan at least three coordination meetings with the Secretariat, which could take place either in Brussels or online according to the location of the consultants: 

1. (kick-off meeting) Ensure a good understanding of the objectives of the evaluation, the scope and nature of the project, and the background documentation available for the evaluation: at the signature of the contract;

2. Present and discuss the first draft of the evaluation report for feedback by the Secretariat;

3. Presentation of the final evaluation report.

Document to submit for the selection procedure

  • Proven records of previous work with local authorities or public administration
  • At least two examples of relevant evaluations done in the past five years
  • CV of the people that will be involved in the evaluation (at least EN-FR are mandatory in order to conduct the interviews with the stakeholders)

Awarding Criteria

Timeline & application

  • Service providers should submit their bids no later than Friday 25/11/2022 COB .
  • The bids, and any other communication related to the tender, must be sent to the e-mail address This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , with “IncluCities Final Evaluation” mentioned in the subject line.

Budget

€20.000  VAT excluded. The price proposal should include all fees, expenses and any other costs linked to the assignment

Selection criteria

The client will select one offer providing the most advantageous cost whilst meeting the requirements.

The deadline for application is: 25/11/2022.

 

Contact

Vincent Furlan

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

  + 32 2 213 86 92