External Evaluation of the UN Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence Against Women

We would like to inform you that UNIFEM, as administrator of the UN Trust Fund in support of actions to Eliminate Violence against Women, is commissioning an external evaluation, which will be conducted from November 2008 to April 2009. It will cover the UN Trust Fund Strategy’s implementation and management issues, challenges  and current trends of the UN Trust Fund activities for that period. The evaluation will examine the UN Trust Fund Strategy at both global and country levels, and will pay particular attention on the Trust Fund processes and programme directions.  It is expected that the evaluation will provide forward looking recommendations, including as inputs to the development of the new UN Trust Fund Strategy.

The United Nations Trust Fund in Support of Activities to Eliminate Violence against Women is a leading global multilateral mechanism supporting national efforts to end violence against women and girls. It was established in 1996 by a UN General Assembly Resolution, designating the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) as the UN Trust Fund’s Administrator on behalf of the UN System. The UN Trust Fund operates based on the voluntary contributions of UN Member States, non-profit organizations, foundations, the private sector and concerned individuals. By the end of 2007 the UN Trust Fund had provided 263 initiatives in nearly 115 countries with more than US$ 19 million. The UN Trust Fund awards grants based on an annual, open and competitive process. It focuses on implementing national commitments to ending violence against women and girls, in line with leading international agreements, expert recommendations and General Assembly Resolutions. The UN Trust Fund brings together more than 20 UN agencies in participatory mechanisms that serve to appraise and select proposals, allocate grants and advice the UN Trust Fund management on policy and process issues.

This external evaluation will be a formative evaluation, with emphasis on the key elements of the strategy and will focus on two main aspects: 1) the overall implementation of the UN Trust Fund Strategy 2005-2008; and 2) the UN Trust Fund contributions to advancing the agenda on ending violence against women at country levels  through selected case studies in a sample of 4-6 selected countries. The objectives of this evaluation are: 1) to assess the overall implementation and effectiveness of the UN Trust Fund 2005-2008 Strategy; 2) to identify strengths, weaknesses, challenges and current trends in the UN Trust Fund activities during the 2005-2008 strategy period that would have implications for strengthening its future managerial, programmatic and funding directions; 3) to provide forward-looking recommendations, including for the development of the next UN Trust Fund Strategy.  The evaluation methodology will include:  desk reviews, in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, and  4-6 country field visits.

Please find enclosed the Terms of Reference for the evaluation which identify the main objectives, as stated above, the scope and key evaluation criteria and questions, as well as the profile of the evaluation team to be recruited.  During the inception stage of the evaluation, the evaluation criteria and questions will be further refined in coordination with a Evaluation Task Manager and key stakeholders.  Attached is the TORs for the Evaluation, the Request for Proposals and the Proposal Assessment Guidelines (Annex A in the TORs).

Interested evaluators are invited to send their proposals to UNIFEM as indicated in the TORs to belen.sanz@unifem.org