Country: France
Closing date: 03 Apr 2017
1.Introduction
The Sigmah project is already almost a decade old. Since it began, the digital revolution has increasingly become part of our everyday reality. ICT solutions and opportunities are now often seen as a natural complementary dimension to consider when looking at the issues facing the international aid sector.
The “Grand Bargain” that was agreed at the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016 is a good example of the importance given to ICT by humanitarian top management. The detailed commitments that were made by aid organisations and donors to tackle the challenges currently facing the humanitarian sector, from transparency to community engagement, included an ICT dimension. There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, ICT can increase efficiency due to automation. And secondly, in contrast to repeated calls for increased coordination, they have the ability to make stakeholders focus on shared and operational solutions, such as a concrete tool or information standards.
Mutualizing means and improving efficiency are also the two key objectives of the Sigmah project. The Sigmah Steering Cooperative and Groupe URD hope that this first external evaluation of the project will not only provide guidance for the future of our project, but will also provide a detailed study of the benefits and shortcomings of the project, and the pros and cons of cooperating to develop an ICT solution for the sector.
2.Sigmah in a nutshell:
Sigmah is a multi-lingual, open source project management software for the humanitarian sector but is also a collaborative project which has grown out of a participatory approach with its users.
In order to ensure that the software is as well adapted as possible to the needs of humanitarian organisations, and that they continue to remain interested in the project, they are involved in the development and evolution of the software.
A Steering Cooperative was therefore set-up and is currently made up of 14 organisations, which share the same needs: Acting For Life, Action Contre la Faim, CARE Nederland, Comité de Secours Internationaux, Croix-Rouge Française, Croix-Rouge Luxembourgeoise, Etc. Terra, Equilibres & Populations, Groupe URD, Handicap International, Médecins du Monde, Première Urgence Internationale, Solidarités International, Triangle Génération Humanitaire.
Groupe URD is the facilitator for the Cooperative, using its expertise in developing Quality assurance for the humanitarian sector and lessons learnt from the COMPAS method, specifically the Dynamic COMPAS, software for the management of humanitarian projects.
Software development and maintenance is done by technical partners: the three companies Netapsys, Atol C&D and Code Lutin play those roles.
All major evolutions made on the project has been possible thanks to the support of major donors like the European Commission ECHO office, the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the Humanitarian Innovation Fund (HIF), the Rhône-Alpes and Ile-de-France regions, or the Fondation pour le Progrès de l’Homme (FPH).
Sigmah is an innovation which is in the process of scaling. With 8 organisations currently using the product, the innovation has yet a limited impact on the sector. But indicators, such as the increase of investment from using organisations for new features, show the potential for scaling.
Soon reaching the end of the AFD-supported project, the time has come to organise an external evaluation both to evaluate the outcome of this innovation, and to help define strategies to reach scale.
3.Purpose of the evaluation:
Bring to the Steering Cooperative and Groupe URD an assessment of the outcomes of the Sigmah software and an overall picture, the strengths and weaknesses of the project, for them to be able to make strategic decisions about its future.
4.Evaluation questions:
The main questions of the evaluation are:
How effective is the adoption of the Sigmah software in improving the quality and effectiveness of project management mechanisms for organisations?
How relevant and solid are the conceptual and technical basis of the software to respond to users evolving needs? What major features are required to fit organisations’ needs?
How effective and efficient have the Steering Cooperative and Groupe URD been to host and manage Sigmah project up to its current state of development?
Which recommendations can be made and which scenarios can be elaborated to reinforce the project’s impact on the sector, and its sustainability including its financial sustainability (grants, business model) and its governance?
5.Users of the evaluation
Direct users of the evaluation are:
The Sigmah steering cooperative;
Users of Sigmah software;
Groupe URD teams, both at project and management/directorate levels.
Indirect users of the evaluation are:
Donors who supported the project so far or willing to support it for further developments;
Humanitarian community as a whole, interested in learning from this collaborative and innovative experience.
6.Deliverables:
An inception report detailing the methods and tools proposed for the evaluation;
A draft report presenting the findings and recommendations;
A separate report on the technical evaluation of the source code and technical documentation of the project
A slide presentation developed to facilitate a presentation to the Steering Cooperative and Groupe URD’s management and team
The final evaluation report.
7.Proposed methodology:
We suggest the following elements of methodology for the evaluation, which will be discussed further during the inception phase:
Code and code documentation analysis
Project documents review and analysis (project proposals, reporting documents, etc.)
A survey should be conducted with current Sigmah users in order to collect their opinions on the software and the project
Current and future users’ needs’ assessment
Interviews with current and previous users on impact and satisfaction perceptions, and with organisations that didn’t choose to use Sigmah in order to understand their choice
Interviews with donors (current and potential) and potential users
Interviews with the Steering Cooperative on the project management
Interviews with Groupe URD (Project team and management)
Qualifications and profile of the consultant(s)
Excellent track record of conducting and managing evaluations
Experience in evaluating digital innovations is an asset
Good knowledge of the international aid sector (humanitarian and development)
Experience in managing information systems projects
Experience in developing Java web applications, knowledge of GWT framework is an asset
Excellent verbal and written skills in English are essential, while strong verbal and written skills in French are also important in the team
How to apply:
This evaluation will start in April 2017 and is expected to require more or less 30 working days for the team of consultants.
Part of the consultancy will be home-based, with travels to Groupe URD headquarters in Plaisians, France, and possibly to other NGOs headquarters in Europe. Workshops could be an option, possibly with organisations in order to collect and understand their needs and necessarily a workshop at Groupe URD HQ for a restitution.
Supervision and reporting: the evaluator(s) will be asked to keep Groupe URD’s focal point abreast of progress over the course of the evaluation process.
Applications should include a technical proposal (understanding of ToR, approach, methodology and work plan) and a budget, as well as CV(s) of the proposed consultant(s), and at least one example of past work relevant to the current evaluation, they should be sent to contact@urd.org no later than 3rd April 2017 by COB.
