GENERAL INFORMATION
Title of Consultancy: Final evaluation of project “Building Integrity and National Accountability in Lebanon” (BINA’)
Application Closing Date: 30 May 2025
Consultancy Start and End Date: 15 September – 15 December 2025
Location of Consultancy: remote/home, with potential travel to Lebanon in November 2025.
BACKGROUND
Transparency International (TI) is the global civil society organisation leading the fight against corruption. In collaboration with nearly 100 chapters worldwide and an international secretariat in Berlin, Germany, TI raises awareness of the damaging effects of corruption and works with partners in government, business and civil society to develop and implement effective measures to tackle it.
Transparency International Secretariat (TI-S) in Berlin is looking for an independent evaluator or team of evaluators to conduct an independent final evaluation of the project Building Integrity and National Accountability in Lebanon (BINA’), by collating and analysing evidence about the achieved levels of impact the action either generated or contributed to.
BINA’ – "Building Integrity and National Accountability in Lebanon" is an EU-funded project spanning from 2022 to 2025, implemented by the Transparency International Secretariat, Transparency International Lebanon – No Corruption (TI-LB), and the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies (LCPS). BINA’ aims to enhance transparency and national accountability in Lebanon through various strategic initiatives involving local and national civil society actors.
BINA’ supports civil society organisations (CSOs) across Lebanon to monitor, advocate, and engage in reform processes, with a particular focus on the Reform, Recovery and Reconstruction Framework (3RF). The project strengthens CSO capacities to conduct oversight, build coalitions, engage in policy dialogue, and promote transparency and accountability in both local and national governance. It also provides subgrants to support CSO-led initiatives; while initially launched through open calls, the sub-granting mechanism was adapted in the later stages of the project to allow for direct awards in response to the escalating crisis. In total, 30 actions have been funded through this mechanism.
The project also facilitates structured dialogue between the European Union and CSOs to ensure that civil society perspectives inform reform-related discussions and EU engagement in Lebanon. Through these adapted mechanisms, BINA’ introduced innovative approaches to project delivery and stakeholder engagement in a fragile and rapidly evolving context. Target audiences include established CSOs, youth and women’s organisations, local authorities, and broader citizen constituencies involved in anti-corruption and good governance work.
The final evaluation will assess the relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability of the project, and provide actionable learning to inform future programming in similarly complex and fragile environments. It will also explore how innovation contributed to the project’s ability to respond to contextual challenges and enhance the effectiveness of its interventions.
OBJECTIVES OF THE FINAL EVALUATION
The main purpose of the evaluation exercise is to provide an external and independent assessment, prioritising the project’s impact, sustainability and overall performance, including its achievements and contribution to any positive or negative changes. The assessment will stimulate learning and may inform TI’s project design and development as well.
The overall objectives of the evaluation are the following:
• Provide an independent, systematic and objective assessment of the impact and sustainability, evaluating outcomes of the project against the initial goals specified in the project’s MEL framework and the extent to which the net benefits of the project are sustainable over time.
• Document lessons learned and good practices to generate clear forward-looking and actionable recommendations to guide TI-S, National Chapter, partner organisations, sub-grantees and other stakeholders in developing strategies for future related work at national and regional levels.
A key audience for this evaluation is TI-S, project partners and other TI National Chapters which will use the results to sustain the project results/outcomes and inform the design of future related projects. The European Commission may use the evaluation for accountability and verification purposes.
KEY ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED
The following OECD DAC criteria and evaluation questions should be addressed during the project evaluation but are subject to discussion and agreement between TI-S and the evaluator(s) during the designing of the evaluation approach in the inception phase. Given the prior Results Oriented Monitoring (ROM) review of the project, the final evaluation should streamline the proposed evaluation questions to avoid duplicating efforts and should include a stronger focus on Impact and Sustainability. Some questions may be deprioritised or omitted to reduce the workload, especially if they were likely addressed in earlier reviews or are less critical for the final evaluation of the project. The evaluator is free to further prioritise these questions in the proposal and suggest others as deemed necessary.
RELEVANCE/ COHERENCE
• How well did the project outcomes align with the priorities and policies of the beneficiaries, TI global strategy , national reform objectives and EU priorities in Lebanon?
• Were the activities and outputs of the project consistent with the intended project goals and objectives (i.e. was the planned chain of causality coherent), and did this coherence remain consistent throughout implementation?
• To what extent were the project’s interventions complementary to other anti-corruption initiatives in Lebanon?
EFFECTIVENESS
•To what extent were the project objectives achieved in comparison to initial plans, and how strongly can they be attributed to TI-S and the project partners’ work?
• How far did internal management structures and external factors (e.g. conflict, political instability, donor coordination) influence the implementation of the project and its ability to meet objectives?
• Which specific approaches, strategies or interventions – including sub-granting, structured dialogue, and adaptations made post 2023 – proved most effective or ineffective, and what lessons can be drawn for future programming?
• To what extent were the recommendations from the Results-Oriented Monitoring (ROM) exercise taken into consideration in the design, implementation, and adaptation of the project?
EFFICIENCY
• Were resources (financial, human, technical support) allocated strategically and sufficiently to achieve the project outputs and outcomes? What gaps in capacity or resources emerged during implementation?
• How efficiently were project activities implemented in relation to the planned schedule? Were delays, disruptions and implementation risks adequately identified, managed and mitigated throughout the project lifecycle?
• Did the project demonstrate value for money in achieving its results relative to the resources utilised? Did the project team, both at TI-S and at the chapter level, demonstrate adaptability and resilience, to maintain the project’s relevance in the volatile and unpredictable operations’ context?
IMPACT
• What key outcomes and impact were achieved, including any unintended positive or negative effects? How were these leveraged or addressed? To what extent can these changes be attributed to the project, and what other factors contributed?
• To what extent did the project contribute to long-term systemic change in public integrity, transparency and accountability in Lebanon? Which strategies showed most promise in contributing to systemic shifts?
• What evidence exists of the project’s contributions to improved policymaking and increased civic engagement in anti-corruption efforts, including through structured dialogue and sub-granted initiatives? To what extent can these changes be attributed to the project, and what other factors contributed?
SUSTAINABILITY
• Are the benefits of the project likely to continue once funding has ceased? What risks could threaten the sustainability of the outcomes, and to what extent have mitigation strategies been implemented? What are the major factors that could influence the achievement or non-achievement of sustainability?
• To what extent did the project help establish conditions for continued civic engagement and anticorruption reform, including through the strengthened capacity, networks, and advocacy efforts of CSOs?
• What lessons from the project can inform the design of future EU-funded initiatives aiming to support sustainable governance and anti-corruption reforms in Lebanon?
INNOVATION (optional)
• To what extent did the project introduce or pilot innovative approaches, tools or mechanisms in its design, implementation or stakeholder engagement, and how did these contribute to the achievement of results and add value to the project’s relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, or sustainability?
• What lessons can be drawn from the innovative aspects of the project for future programming, including potential for replication or scaling?
METHODOLOGY
The evaluation, including its approach and methods, will be planned, agreed and conducted in close consultation with the TI-S Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) coordinator and project team.
The evaluation consultant is ultimately responsible for the overall methodological approach and design of the final project evaluation and is expected to propose methods that they consider most appropriate and that could further strengthen the quality of the data and/or close any gaps identified to achieve the aims, which should be adapted to the requirements of this ToR.
The final project evaluation should use a participatory and inclusive approach engaging relevant staff at TIS and national chapter/partner levels through structured methods. Both quantitative and qualitative data should be utilised in assessing the project. The exact methodology should be defined, discussed, and agreed upon with TI-S during the inception phase.
Innovation is included as an optional evaluation theme. The evaluator may consider reflecting on it across the DAC criteria or propose targeted methods to assess innovative approaches and their contribution to project outcomes.
The final project evaluation can include but not necessarily be limited to the following methods:
• Desk review of relevant documents.
• Individual and/or group online (or possibly in person) interviews with project implementing stakeholders.
• Possible attendance at the final project meeting in November 2025 in Beirut.
Survey/ questionnaires targeting TI staff involved in implementation and relevant external stakeholders. The consultant should present a detailed statement of the proposed review methods in the technical proposal. The consultant is expected to refine the scope and methodology of this assignment during the inception phase in cooperation with TI-S and provide a detailed plan.
EXPECTED DELIVERABLES
This evaluation is expected to be mostly desk-based, conducted remotely.
The consultant or team of consultants is expected to deliver:
• An inception report outlining the proposed methodology, stakeholders for interviews and FGDs, data collection tools and timeframe of planned actions.
• A draft evaluation report for review and comments by TI-S, including annexes. While considering the comments provided on the draft, the consultant(s) shall use their independent and impartial judgment in preparing the final report.
• An online validation meeting with key stakeholders to discuss findings and feedback on draft report, with design, facilitation and documentation of a participatory workshop, incl. PowerPoint presentation, to discuss and validate the draft report.
• A final evaluation report documenting the evaluation process and results following a clear structure. The evaluation report will contain the findings, conclusions, and recommendations as well as lessons learned with action-oriented recommendations.
Guidance and quality assurance:
•The findings should be referenced.
•The consultant’s approach should be guided by the Transparency International Impact Matrix methodology.
•The research should abide by ethical protocols including participant confidentiality and privacy, and by data protection regulations.
The final report should not be longer than 20 pages, excluding the annexes and the executive summary, and should be accompanied by a summary PowerPoint presentation. All evaluation deliverables are to be submitted in English, in electronic form, in accordance with the agreed deadlines. The consultant is responsible for the quality of the final product, including editing and quality control of language.
Annexes to the Final Report should be kept to an absolute minimum, only those annexes that serve to demonstrate or clarify an issue related to a significant finding should be included. Existing documents should be referenced but not necessarily annexed.
SELECTION CRITERIA
TI-S is inviting expressions of interest from individual consultants or a team of consultants to carry out the mid-term evaluation of the project. The consultant(s) should have:
Core competencies
People’s skills: be able to mediate the different expectations of the different internal stakeholders to produce a strong independent assessment that will genuinely serve the learning purposes set out in this ToR.
Work style: well-planned and organised even within a fluid working environment and has a capacity for initiative with competent analytical and problem-solving skills. Maintains a strong level and flow of communication with reporting stakeholders.
Language: excellent command of English and Arabic is a requirement.
Technical competencies
Applicants should have the following skills and experience:
•Substantial experience in conducting evaluations, including in the anti-corruption field.
•At least 7 years of proven relevant professional experience in an international development environment, of which at least 5 years should be in Monitoring & Evaluation of multiple country projects & programmes.
•University degree in social sciences or a related area. A post-graduate degree in project management, and/or related fields would be an advantage.
•Excellent drafting and report-writing capacities.
•Knowledge and experience of working for advocacy-oriented organisations.
•Proven experience in the conceptualisation and facilitation of participatory workshops.
•Highly motivated and committed to the values of transparency and integrity.
•Regional experience and a good understanding of political and socio-economic issues in Lebanon, would be an advantage.
•Experience with the evaluation of EU-funded projects is desirable.
REMUNERATION AND COSTS
The consultant(s) should provide their estimated total fee as a lump sum or as standard daily rates before any VAT or other charges. The budget available for this evaluation is EUR 20,000 (including VAT).
For Consultants based in the EU, EEA and Switzerland
Transparency International e.V. (Secretariat), (TI-S) is registered as a Business Entity in Germany with VAT identification number DE273612486. To determine the Value Added Tax (VAT) implications of this tender, we kindly request that the Consultants fill out the VAT Form for Tenders/Vendor Form (instructions inside the form) and submit the completed and duly signed form along with their email application.
Consultants who are based in Germany and do not charge German VAT must confirm their small entrepreneur status.
LOGISTICS AND SPECIFICATION
The consultant or team are expected to work between 15 September and 15 December 2025. A detailed timeline needs to be agreed upon at the beginning of the assignment.
DATA PROTECTION
When you respond to this tender and submit your application, you provide consent that Transparency International e. V. keeps your application materials for a period of ten years according to German legal requirements. Afterwards Transparency International will delete your application and any personal data 6 included in it. If you have any data protection questions, please reach out to dataprotection@transparency.org.
Guidelines for handling overhead and travel expenses
Overhead
Regular overhead expenses associated with the Consultants maintaining their place of business, such as rent, telephone, utilities or stationery, are included in the Consultant’s professional fee, except where explicitly agreed otherwise in the contract.
Travel
Travel and accommodation expenses will as far as possible, and where applicable, be recovered from the institutions and companies hosting events or using the outputs provided by the Consultant.
Where such cost recovery is not possible, all travel is subject to prior approval by TI-S staff responsible for the financial management of the Project or TI Budget Line that will support the costs of travel. TI shall not issue travel advances to the Consultants. For accommodation or travel by air, rail or coach, they will instead have to contact TI-S which will make travel arrangements on the Consultant’s behalf.
All travel booked by TI-S will include travel health and accident insurance with worldwide coverage and Economy class only; accommodation will aim to achieve the best value for money up to a 4-star category.
Consultants shall be entitled to invoice TI-S only for local transportation and visa cost (if applicable).
Subsistence allowance (per diems) and expenses for individual meals cannot be claimed. These are part of the Consultant’s business expenses.
Please note that TI-S will not cover costs related to Hostile Environment Awareness Training (HEAT) or similar security training. It is the sole responsibility of the Consultant to ensure they have completed such training if they deem it necessary.
How to Apply:
SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS
Interested applicants must submit the required documents listed below in English consolidated into a single PDF file, in the same order to BINAevaluation@transparency.org and complete the application form available here https://forms.office.com/e/r0yHFRLHU2 by 30 May 2025.
• Applications must include a detailed technical proposal of how the assignment will be approached, including a budget and tentative timeline.
• A letter of motivation, focusing on concrete examples relating to the necessary skills and experience requested in this Terms of Reference.
• Curriculum Vitae with a description of the applicant’s profile and experience (maximum 3 pages).
• Contact details for at least two independent referees with in-depth and proven knowledge of the applicant’s expertise and relevant work experience.
• A sample evaluation, as the first author, published in the last 3 years.
• A completed VAT Form for Tenders/Vendor Form (for EU only), available here: https://files.transparencycdn.org/images/TendersVendor-Form.docx .
Please note that only short-listed candidates will be contacted and that it is unfortunately not possible to provide individual feedback on applications.
The Transparency International Secretariat is committed to creating an inclusive work environment where diversity is valued and where there is equality of opportunity. We actively seek a diverse applicant pool and, therefore, welcome applications from qualified candidates of all regions, countries, cultures and backgrounds.
Selection of candidates is made on a competitive basis, and we do not discriminate based on national origin, race, colour or ethnic background, religious belief, sex, gender identity and expression or sexual orientation, marital or family status, age, or ability. We kindly ask applicants to refrain from including in their application information relating to the above as well as from attaching photos.
TI retains the right to reject any or all the applications and/or to enter additional negotiations with one or more of the tendering parties.
