Draft Terms of Reference:
External Evaluation of
Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit
1. Background and Justification
The Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) is the successor organisation to
the Strategic Monitoring Unit (SMU), which was first envisaged as part of the UN’s
Strategic Framework initiative launched in 1998. The dramatic changes in Afghanistan
following September 11th resulted in major changes in how the international assistance
community operated in Afghanistan. SMU, like most other organizations, had to rethink
its role in light of the changed circumstances. The February 2002 Afghanistan
Programming Body meeting approved a proposal from the SMU Board that the name of
the organization be changed to the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
to reflect its new purpose as an independent policy research organization.
AREU’s mission is to conduct and facilitate action-oriented research and learning that
informs and influences policy and practice. AREU also actively promotes a culture of
research and learning by strengthening analytical capacity in Afghanistan and by
creating opportunities for analysis, thought and debate. Fundamental to AREU’s vision
is that its work should improve Afghan lives. It seeks, therefore, not just to produce
reports, but to be part of a process of change that will significantly improve the quality,
impact and accountability of reconstruction and development efforts. AREU seeks to
increase accountability, not through the monitoring and evaluation of individual projects,
but through relevant research and strategic level evaluations that increase knowledge,
inform policy and improve practice.
To achieve its mission, the core functions of AREU are to:
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Conduct and facilitate high quality action-oriented research and evaluations relevant
to policies and programmes that aim to improve Afghan lives
Undertake communications and advocacy initiatives to ensure that AREU’s research
is accessible, and informs and influences the policy and practice of stakeholders
Promote a culture of research and learning, including contributing towards building
research capacity in Afghanistan
AREU’s work is shaped broadly by its Strategic Plan 2003-2006, and more specifically
by its annual Operating Plans. The Strategic Plan states that midway through the
timeframe of the plan, an external evaluation will be organised. Two of AREU’s major
donors, the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and the Swiss Agency
for Development and Cooperation (SDC), have agreed to fund this external evaluation in
early 2005.
2. Purpose and Objectives
The purpose of the evaluation is to review AREU’s work to date, using its Strategic
Plan as a benchmark. The evaluation will include:
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A review of AREU’s programmatic work and an assessment of its impact;
A review of AREU’s organisational and management systems.
The exercise will be a performance evaluation of AREU since its establishment in
2002, but will consider as background the institution’s history from the establishment
of the Strategic Monitoring Unit in 2000.
3. Areas of Assessment
The evaluators will assess the following areas of AREU’s performance:
Governance, Organisational Structures and Systems
 Management and administrative systems
 Financial systems (although a separate financial audit will be conducted)
 Human Resources (firstly in terms of human resources management and
secondly AREU’s ability to attract and retain quality staff).
 Capacity building and development of Afghan research capacity
 Governance structures including role of AREU Board
 Funding
Research and Evaluation
 Research strategy and methodologies
 Selection of research themes and topics
 Quality of research
 Relevance of research
 Prioritisation of research over evaluation
Communications and Advocacy
 Communications and advocacy strategy and activities
 Impact of research and advocacy
 Relationships with policy makers and other stakeholders
 Quality of products
The evaluators will assess the above through:
 Meetings with current and former AREU staff and consultants
 Meetings with AREU Board members
 Meetings with external stakeholders and clients (i.e. AREU donors, partner
NGOs, Afghan government, military actors (ISAF and coalition), “clients” who
use AREU’s materials)
 Review of AREU internal systems and documentation
 Review of AREU reports and external materials
AREU will provide logistical and administrative support and will assist with setting up
meetings for the evaluation team prior to their arrival and during their stay.
4. Outputs
An initial feedback meeting will be held by the evaluators with AREU management
and with the AREU Board while the evaluators are still in Kabul. The full findings of
the evaluation will be presented in a written report (with an executive summary) to
include:
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AREU’s accomplishments with respect to the Strategic Plan;
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Recommendations on areas for improvement with respect to AREU’s
strategic direction;
Findings on AREU’s impact;
Recommendations on ways in which AREU could increase its impact;
An assessment of AREU’s current focus on research rather than evaluations;
Findings and recommendations on governance, administrative, financial and
management issues, to include suggestions with regard to AREU’s future
funding;
Suggestions of ways to overcome the constraints faced by AREU (e.g.
security, difficulty of recruiting staff); and
List of meetings.
5. Evaluators
The evaluation team will consist of three individuals, one of whom will be a team
leader, with experience conducting external evaluations of non-profit organisations.
At least one of the evaluators should have experience with policy research
organisations. At least one of the evaluators must have had prior experience working
in Afghanistan.
One of the evaluators will focus on governance, administrative, financial and
management issues, one will focus on programmatic issues relating to AREU’s
research, and the third will look at communications and advocacy strategies and
activities.
6. Timeline
Although the AREU Strategic Plan states that an external evaluation should be
organised in summer 2005, it has been decided to bring the timing forward to March
2005 in order that the evaluation takes place before the departure of the current
AREU Director, who plans to leave Afghanistan by early May 2005.
It is estimated that the external evaluation will take:
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three days background research and reading;
two weeks in Kabul (includes travel time); and
one week for writing up.
By 30 April 2005 a written report should be delivered to SIDA and SDC, who will then
share it with the AREU board.
7.
Reference Documents
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SMU documents
AREU Strategic Plan
AREU Memorandum of Understanding with the Afghan Government
AREU Memorandum of Association and Rules and Regulations
AREU Operating Plan 2004
AREU Operating Plan 2005
AREU Policy and Procedures Manual
List of AREU publications and other materials
Other material will be made available as necessary.