Purchase of services for an external evaluation of Free Turkey Journalists programme
The International Press Institute (IPI) seeks tenders from potential providers to conduct a final evaluation of the Free Turkey Journalists project (2021/23), which aims to contribute towards the improvement of the media environment in Turkey by 1) exposing the numerous and complex ways in which free expression and media freedom rights are routinely violated and 2) to strengthen the collective voice of those journalists who expose human rights violations and seek to promote independent journalism in Turkey based on the highest ethical and professional standards.
With funding from the European Commission and the Swedish Consulate-General in Istanbul, the project runs until December 31, 2023. Please see https://freeturkeyjournalists.ipi.media/ for more information.
The final evaluation is scheduled to take place during the final trimester of the project period, from September 1 to December 30, 2023.
Terms of Reference
Background
The project’s overall objective is to contribute towards the improvement of the media environment in Turkey, which in turn will support independent quality journalism and widen the broader public’s access to quality news. It builds on the momentum and progress of the first phase in the Free Turkey Journalists project carried by IPI between 2018 and 2020. The project also addresses specific priorities of a) freedom of expression by supporting targeted journalists and advocating for reform and media freedom; and b) access to justice, the right to a fair trial and due process, which hundreds of journalists have been denied in recent years.
The specific objectives and expected results of the programme to be evaluated are:
Specific Objective 1: Media freedom and freedom of expression issues in Turkey are monitored and documented, informing the international community of the plight of journalists in Turkey.
Specific Objective 2: Effective advocacy efforts lead to the adoption and effective implementation of policies and practices which improve the environment for independent journalism.
Specific Objective 3: Independent voices of journalists are strengthened and able to lead a national debate about the future of journalism in Turkey.
The activities conducted under the programme consisted of the following:
Work package 1: Monitoring and documentation of freedom of expression developments
A1.1. Daily monitoring and documenting of all developments related to press and media freedom
A1.2. Production and dissemination of alerts and press releases on FoE developments
A1.3. Monthly update of trial calendar and status of prosecutions
A1.4. Trial monitoring (10-15 hearings every year)
A1.5. Annual meeting with Turkey FoE groups to review statistics on jailed and prosecuted journalists
A1.6. Annual joint press freedom mission to Turkey (three in total)
A1.7. Production of annual press freedom report (three in total) launched in the EU and in Turkey
Work package 2: Advocacy
A2.1. IPI leads at least 3 campaigns a year on high profile and critical FoE cases in Turkey and the EU
A2.2. One annual advocacy visit (three in total) to representative of IGOs and regular participation in EU-level and OSCE-level advocacy efforts on Turkey
A2.3. One annual advocacy strategy meeting (three in total) with journalism advocacy groups to co-ordinate joint advocacy actions including
A2.4. Timely advocacy interventions targeting policy makers on Turkey on human rights, freedom of expression and media freedom
A2.5. Hold at least one public media panel a year (three in total) on journalism in Turkey at European media festivals and conferences
Work package 3: Strengthening the voice of Turkey’s journalists and leading national debate on the future of journalism in Turkey
A3.1.1 Establish a local office for IPI’s Turkey National Committee
A3.1.2. Strengthen cooperation and networks of editors and journalists under the umbrella of the IPI National Committee including developing roadmaps and strategic priorities
A3.2. Programme of talks / actions in support of quality independent journalism
- a) 4 media expert columns every year (12 in total) for international voices in
- b) Monthly media expert, podcast and “Turkey Dispatches” series
- c) Annual media symposium
- d) Study on future of journalism for Turkey
- e) Programme of public talks with journalism institutions on the value of independent journalism
A3.3. Campaign against online harassment and abuse
- a) Awareness raising about the phenomenon of online harassment
- b) Adapt IPI protocol for newsrooms to Turkish reality
Objectives of the evaluation
An indicative list of the areas of assessment is provided below. The evaluation questions can be further refined by the provider carrying out the evaluation.
Effectiveness: Assess the effectiveness of the project in meeting its stated objectives, outputs and results:.
- Did the project achieve its intended objectives?
- Did the project successfully deliver the desired outputs and results?
- What evidence or indicators demonstrate the project’s effectiveness?
- Did the project deliver the intended benefits to its target beneficiaries or stakeholders?
- Did the project adhere to its planned timeline and budget?
- What were the main factors that contributed to or hindered the project’s effectiveness?
- Were there any external factors/challenges or contextual changes that influenced the project’s outcomes? How were they addressed?
- What feedback or evaluations have been received from project beneficiaries, stakeholders, or experts regarding its effectiveness?
Need: Assess the extent to which the activities of the Free Turkey Journalists project addressed the needs of journalists and other stakeholders.
- To what extent did Free Turkey Journalists address challenges to media freedom and pluralism?
- Were the needs of journalists properly identified in the project methodology
- To what extent were the identified needs addressed by the project?
- Have those needs changed?
Impact: Assess the changes resulting from the programme (positive/negative, direct/indirect, intended/unintended).
- Where did the project have an impact and why?
- Where did the project fail to have an impact and why?
Efficiency: Assess the efficiency of the project in terms of impact and resources.
- Was the budget effectively designed and implemented?
- How could the budget have been more effectively used?
Sustainability and Replicability: Assess whether the impacts achieved through the programme are likely to be sustained after the current funding period and if they are replicable in other regions.
- What are the prospects of the project being sustained?
- Make recommendations to IPI and the IPI National Committee on future strategy
Learning Review: Identify and expand upon lessons learned that have not been drawn in the sections above.
- This section will cover any key areas that have not featured in the sections above and that may surface throughout the evaluation process.
Methodology and Deliverables
The selected provider will:
- Review all grant-related documents;
- Assess the impact of Free Turkey Journalists’ public campaigns;
- Interview IPI staff involved in the project, including project managers and senior management, and IPI National Committee members;
- Interview a broad cross-section of Turkey’s journalists involved, directly or indirectly, in the project;
- Other relevant activities.
All interviews will remain confidential and anonymised. During all contacts with stakeholders, the independent evaluation provider will clearly identify themselves as independent consultants and not as an official representative of IPI, IPI Turkey National Committee or Free Turkey Journalists.
The consultant will provide one draft report (approximately 20-25pages long) covering all areas noted in Section 2. It shall be submitted to IPI by December 10, 2023. The final report – which incorporates or has responded to any internal feedback provided on the draft version – should be submitted to IPI by December 25, 2022.
Eligibility Criteria
The selected provider will need relevant subject knowledge and experience conducting free media and journalism-related evaluations.
The independent evaluation provider must be strictly neutral, and they will not have had any involvement in the project prior to this activity, so as to avoid any potential conflict of interests.
Award criteria
- Quality of the offer (60%), including:
- Methodology proposed;
- Previous experience in evaluating journalism-related projects/programmes;
- Technical competence and experience in conducting evaluation from a distance/by video conference.
- Financial offer (40%).
Eligible tenderers will be invited for an interview to discuss their credentials and proposed plan. All tenderers will be informed about the outcome of their submission by email.
Applications
Interested parties must provide a short proposal outlining their approach (two pages maximum). This should be accompanied by:
- CV(s) of staff who will be involved in carrying out the evaluation;
- A proposed methodology for carrying out the monitoring and evaluation;
- Ideally, one example of an evaluation report recently completed in English.
Tenders shall be submitted by email only (with attachments) to the email address [email protected] with the reference “FreeTurkeyJournalists 2021/23 evaluation”. Deadline for submission: August 7, 2023.
Interviews will take place on a rolling basis.
Other considerations
The maximum amount available for the evaluation of the project, covering all the deliverables to be achieved by the selected tenderer as listed above, ranges from 6,000 to 8,000 Euros. The allocated budget includes consultancy fees, and travel and subsistence if relevant and in line with COVID-19 safety rules, and translation costs, if any.
