Consultoria 2025/005 SV External ex-post evaluation of the project “strengthening the capacities of the government of el salvador to provide access to programmes on violence prevention, gender, and prevention of irregular migration

External ex-post evaluation of the project “strengthening the capacities of the government of el salvador to provide access to programmes on violence prevention, gender, and prevention of irregular migration. 

1.Evaluation context

In El Salvador, in the latest decade, violence was one of the main reasons for internal displacement and migration of its citizens. In 2021, 8,481 returned migrants were reported, of which 18 percent declared that violence was one of the reasons for migrating.  This situation also affects adolescents who are forcibly returned to El Salvador. During 2022, 14,437 people were forcibly returned, of which 4,612 were children and adolescents. In that year, 23 percent of children and adolescents expressed insecurity as the second driver of irregular migration. 

The project was conceived as a tool to contribute to strengthening the capacities of the Government of El Salvador to provide adolescents with access to gender programmes and the prevention of irregular migration. Through the diagnosis of training needs and training in gender, violence prevention, prevention of irregular migration, psychosocial care and socio-labour skills, the technical teams of the National Council for Early Childhood, Children and Adolescents (CONAPINA), especially those who attend to returned migrant children and adolescents, strengthened their capacities to provide quality care to the beneficiary population. 

It should be noted that, in the original proposal for the project, it was established to work with the Salvadoran Institute for Children and Adolescents (ISNA); however, during the period prior to the beginning of the implementation and by executive decision of the Government of El Salvador, this institution was merged with the National Council for Children and Adolescents (CONNA), thus creating CONAPINA.

The project proposed a main result focused on:

Outcome 1: CONAPINA integrates an action plan into its Annual Operational Plans to implement gender and prevention of violence and irregular migration programmes for returned adolescents.

Output 1.1: CONAPINA's technical teams increase their capacities in manuals for the psychosocial approach and conflict resolution with returning adolescents.

Output 1.2: CONAPINA's Children, Adolescence and Family Care Centers (CANAF) strengthen their capacities through the implementation of gender and prevention of violence and irregular migration programmes, and training on labour and social skills for returned adolescents.

Output 1.3: An Action Plan to replicate gender and prevention of violence and irregular migration programmes for returned adolescents is available.

2. Evaluation purpose and objective

The evaluation aims to assess the project´s design, relevance, logical coherence, alignment with IOM strategies and coherence with other initiatives. It will evaluate the project´s achievements, efficiency, effectiveness and impact in addressing the causes of irregular migration on adolescents. Additionally, the evaluation will analyze how impactful and sustainable the project's outcomes have been, while identifying the main obstacles, best practices, lessons learned and developing recommendations for future programming. This also will include the environmental approach and consider gender mainstreaming and human´s rights approach. Moreover, it will include the accountability of affected population and accountability to the donor.

The evaluation report will be shared with key stakeholders, mainly government institutions related to gender, migration, childhood and any service providers that can profit from the information collected for their own programing. The results are going to be shared through IOM´s social media and in one public event. 

3.Evaluation scope

The evaluation will focus on the whole implementation of the project “Strengthen the capacities of the government of El Salvador to provide access to programs on violence prevention, gender, and prevention of irregular migration”, launched on 1 February 2023 and implemented over 12 months, concluding on 31 January 2024. 

All components of the project will be evaluated, including assessment and preparatory phases, awareness-raising activities, community engagement and empowerment initiatives. Specific attention will be given to gender and irregular migration prevention with adolescents, and it will evaluate a rights-based approach and environmental considerations.

The evaluation will cover the project activities in the national territory, and it will include all the key locations where the project was implemented. 

4.Evaluation criteria 

The evaluation will use the following OECD-DAC criteria: relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, impact and sustainability. Additionally, with respect to gender, all findings will be analyzed through a gender lens to assess the extent to which the project has adequately mainstreamed gender and to examine how the impact may have differed by gender. Data will be disaggregated by sex (where relevant and to the extent possible) and analyzed and reported accordingly.

As for the rights-based approach, the evaluation will identify the rights holders and their entitlements and corresponding duty bearers and their obligations. It will be evaluated if there are any gaps regarding the capacity of duty-bearers to meet their obligations and encourages rights holders to claim their rights. 

The IOM Development Fund requests the use of the IOMDF Scoring Matrix[1] to score each OECD/DAC evaluation criteria when reviewing the findings during the ex-post evaluation.

[1] IOMDF Evaluation Guidelines 2025 and Scoring Matrix available here.

5. Evaluation questions

The evaluation is expected to answer the following question under each of the OECD-DAC evaluation criteria against which the project performance is expected to be assessed. 

Relevance: 

Effectiveness: 

Efficiency and Cost effectiveness: 

Impact: 

Sustainability:

Cross-cutting Criteria: 

Do beneficiaries consider the project to have been inclusive and respected cultural and social diversity?

How well did the project adequately integrate a human rights-based approach to migration? 

5.Evaluation methodology

A mixed methodology combining qualitative and quantitative approaches can be used.

Document Review: Analyze project documents, progress reports, activity logs and any other relevant documentation to gain a complete understanding of the project context and activities.

Semi-structured interviews: Conduct interviews with key stakeholders involved in the project, including government representatives, NGOs, beneficiaries and other key partners. These interviews will provide detailed information and diverse perspectives on the implementation and results of the project.

Focus groups: Organize focus groups with members of the beneficiary communities to discuss their experiences, perceptions and opinions about the project. This will help to capture the voices of the beneficiaries and to better understand the impact of the project on their lives.

Surveys: Design and administer structured surveys to collect quantitative data from key groups such as project beneficiaries, local community members, and relevant stakeholders.

Methodologically, there will be a triangulation of data sources to address some research questions. This strategy enhances the validity and credibility of findings and mitigates research biases. 

6. Ethics, norms and standards for evaluation 

IOM abides by the norms and standards of United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) and expects the evaluators (s) and all evaluation stakeholders to be familiar with the ethical conduct guidelines of UNEG with the UNEG codes of conduct as well. The Evaluator must follow the IOM Data Protection Principles, UNEG norms and standards and ethical guidelines throughout the evaluation process. 

7. Evaluation deliverables 

The following deliverables are expected to be prepared and submitted by the evaluator within the timeframes designated in the Work Plan section. All deliverables and report shall be written in Spanish and meet good language standards:

Inception Report: A comprehensive draft inception report that outlines the finalized evaluation framework, methodology, tools for data collection, and a detailed work plan. It should include an evaluation matrix aligned with the evaluation criteria. 

Presentation of initial findings: A concise presentation summarizing initial findings, preliminary conclusions and tentative recommendations for discussion with IOM El Salvador project management team to validate the findings and to address any misrepresentations and evidence gaps to be submitted following the completion of the data collection. 

Draft Evaluation Report: A comprehensive first draft evaluation report detailing the evaluation’s findings, lessons learned, good practices, conclusions, and recommendations according to agreed structure. It should be submitted to IOM El Salvador for review and feedback. In addition, a draft copy of the Evaluation Report needs to be submitted to the RPMEO for endorsement before submitting it to the IOM Development Fund for final review and approval, before the contract with the evaluator ends and before payment is made.

Final Evaluation Report: The finalized version of the Evaluation Report, incorporating feedback and comments received from the project management team and other key project stakeholders like the donor) should be submitted together with relevant annexes. 

The report must include the following: 

Evaluation Brief: A two-page evaluation brief highlighting key findings, conclusions, recommendations, and lessons learned and good practices, using the IOM template. To be submitted alongside the final report. 

PowerPoint Presentation: A slide deck (15/20 slides max.) summarizing the main findings, conclusions, recommendations, lessons learned and good practices, suitable for presentation to the donor. To be submitted after finalization of the evaluation report. 

Evaluation management follow up response: A partially completed management response matrix, listing the recommendations and suggested actions. This draft will be finalized by the IOM El Salvador management team. Submitted along with the final evaluation report. 

8. Specifications of roles 

IOM El Salvador’s project management team will oversee the planning, management and coordination of the evaluation process, including consolidating stakeholder feedback on deliverables, managing logistics for field visits, and providing support to address any challenges raised by the evaluator.

The evaluation manager will arrange an initial management meeting to ensure a common understanding of the evaluation process, to confirm final logistics, and review and give input into data collection plans as outlined in the Inception Report. 

The external evaluator will develop the detailed methodology of the evaluation and will take the lead role in identifying appropriate data collection mechanisms and is responsible for submitting results as outlined in the timeline below. The evaluator will carry out the data collection and timely inform the IOM El Salvador project team of any emerging issues. In line with the TOR, the evaluator will carry out a review of documents provided by the IOM El Salvador project management team and draft the Inception Report for review by the project management team, carry out data collection, analysis and draft the Evaluation Report.

This evaluation is tentatively scheduled to start in mid-April 2025 and the final Evaluation Report should be submitted after three months, in August 2025. The final schedule will be discussed and confirmed with the evaluator once on board as part of the inception process.

9. Evaluation budget

The consultant must arrange and cover all expenses for their visit to El Salvador, including lodging, transportation, and catering for focus groups. IOM will not handle any transportation or logistics. The IOM project management team will assist in identifying and contacting beneficiaries and stakeholders, and will supervise the activities.

10.Evaluation requirements

Academic Requirements: Must hold a university professional degree in areas such as social science, sociology, social worker, migration, education, gender and diversity.

Experience: Must have at least 3 years of relevant experience, preferably evaluating projects related to migration and/or gender. 

Technical Skills: Must be a specialist in research and evaluation techniques, as well as data analysis tools. 
Commitment and Ethics: Must commit to following the established procedures for the evaluation and delivery of reports, guaranteeing transparency, confidentiality and impartiality throughout the process according to IOM’s principles.

Analytical Skills: Must be able to analyze both the technical and economic aspects of the project, evaluating the relevance, fulfillment of objectives, legal aspects and benefits.

Communication: Effective communication skills  in Spanish is required to collect data and to present the findings and recommendations clearly and concisely.

11. Submission of application

For being selected to evaluate the project the person must send, in spanish: 

All documents should be submitted to Oracle application in one document before 15 may 2025 COB El Salvador time. Late submissions will not be entertained. 

If you have any questions, please contact Ximena Valle, Project Manager at xvalle@iom.int