ReDSS is a secretariat working on behalf of 14 international and national NGOs responding to forced displacement in East Africa, the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes region. ReDSS was established in 2015 in response to a desire by the NGO community to be more proactive in shaping durable solutions policy and programming in the region. Our team works both at regional and country level and focusses on the translation of evidence and research into policies and programmes that can better deliver for displacement-affected communities. This is achieved through a range of activities, including convening key stakeholders at multiple levels to build consensus around collective actions; supporting new evidence generation through commissioning and undertaking research and analysis; and building the capacity of key actors through delivering training and developing tools and guidance among others.
Project Background
The Kenya Evidence Platform (KEP) was established in response to a persistent gap within the displacement sector: the limited visibility and uptake of refugee-led and locally grounded research within refugee policy and programming processes in Kenya. Funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the three-year initiative (2023–2026) operates at the intersection of research, policy, and practice, with a focus on strengthening locally driven evidence generation and use.
Implemented by a consortium comprising the Regional Durable Solutions Secretariat (ReDSS), the Refugee-Led Research Hub (RLRH), and Maseno University, KEP was launched during a significant period of policy transition in Kenya, including the implementation of the Refugees Act (2021) and the development and launch of the Shirika Plan. Within this context, the platform seeks to strengthen the role of refugee and Kenyan researchers in shaping evidence-informed approaches to refugee management and durable solutions.
KEP has supported a range of initiatives aimed at strengthening the refugee research ecosystem in Kenya. These include:
- Supporting refugee and Kenyan scholars to produce independent research papers and evidence products;
- Establishing and supporting the Forced Migration Research Network in Kenya (FOMREK) to strengthen coordination, mentorship, and collaboration among researchers;
- Conducting research trainings, coaching, and mentorship for emerging refugee and local researchers;
- Convening policy dialogues and engagement forums involving government, academia, humanitarian and development actors; and
- Producing and disseminating evidence products intended to inform refugee policy and programming in Kenya.
The platform primarily targets researchers with lived experience of displacement, Kenyan scholars, academia, policymakers, and actors involved in refugee policy and programming, particularly in Nairobi, Kakuma, and Dadaab.
Through these interventions, KEP aims to contribute to improved coordination around refugee research, increased availability and visibility of refugee-led evidence, stronger research capacity among emerging scholars, and more direct engagement between evidence producers and decisionmakers within Kenya’s refugee management ecosystem.
Purpose of the consultancy
The primary purpose of this consultancy is to conduct a rigorous, utilization-focused endline evaluation. Given the absence of a formal baseline at project inception and the operational unfeasibility of non-treatment comparison groups, the evaluation utilizes a Theory-Based framework that fulfills three distinct evaluative functions:
- Strategic Accountability: Verifying performance beyond output counts by evaluating the technical quality and policy relevance of research products (via standardized qualitative rubrics), tracing the depth of institutional evidence uptake in key policy frameworks (example: Shirika Plan, Differentiated Assistance Framework, County Integrated Development Plans, etc.), and independently substantiating behavioural outcomes among target decision-makers.
- Baseline Reconstruction & Capacity Trajectory Mapping: Reconstructing historical capacity starting points, specifically for supported researchers using single-sitting Retrospective Pre-Test (RPT) self-assessments, anchored and validated through objective rubric-based scoring of pre- vs. post-project research artifacts (e.g., initial concept notes vs. Published working papers/briefs) across distinct exposure tiers.
- Learning & Systems Tracing: Identifying the qualitative mechanisms, institutional pathways, and contextual drivers (e.g., political incentives, funding shifts, regional coordination structures) that facilitated or hindered the uptake of refugee-led and locally grounded research within Kenya's forced displacement architecture.
Objective of the consultancy
The specific objectives of the endline evaluation are:
- Assess Research Quality & Production (Outcome 1): Determine the extent to which the platform increased the production of high-quality, locally authored research products, evaluating their academic and technical rigor using standardized qualitative rubrics.
- Evaluate Policy and Programmatic Influence (Outcome 3): Trace the utilization of KEP evidence products (policy briefs, research papers, Evidence Mapping Reports) within government bodies, humanitarian agencies, and NGO coordination mechanisms, assessing their specific influence on policy, practice outcomes and programme design.
- Reconstruct Tiered Capacity Trajectories (Outcome 2): Measure changes in technical research skills, policy engagement capacity, and professional networking among supported researchers, disaggregated by category/tier of support (e.g., Independent Research Projects vs. Writing Workshops vs. Training Cohorts), using retrospective self-assessments triangulated against objective artifact quality scores.
- Analyze Systemic Localization (Cross-cutting): Evaluate the project's contribution to increased visibility, credibility, institutional leadership (e.g., FOMREK), and structural inclusion of refugee-led and locally grounded researchers within Kenya's displacement architecture.
- Provide Strategic Recommendations (Learning): Offer actionable, user-specific insights for the Kingdom of the Netherlands (DGIS), ReDSS, consortium partners, and local government actors on sustaining platform gains beyond the current funding cycle.
Methodology & Scope of Work
NOTE: The Methodology shared here is not prescriptive, the applicants are encouraged to propose a different approach, integrate with other approaches that deliver the results the consultancy is looking for or adapt it altogether. If adapted, the consultants will be at liberty to refine it during the inception phase.
Additional Note: The Project's Theory of Change already exists with highlighted Assumptions. The Total Project Participants after removal of duplicities are 789 (Nairobi, Kakuma, Dadaab (20%)). Total Project Evidence Products: 12
This evaluation will utilize an Integrated Theory-Based Evaluation (TBE) Framework. Bidders are explicitly instructed not to propose quasi-experimental designs or non-treatment comparison groups, as these are unviable given the population parameters. Bidders must demonstrate methodological mastery in the following four core pillars:
Core Methodological Pillars
- Contribution Analysis (CA) with Process Tracing:
- The evaluation will use Mayne’s Contribution Analysis to test the project's vertical Theory of Change (ToC) logic and claims
- During the Inception Phase, the consultant will explicitly reconstruct and disaggregate implicit ToC assumptions (these are generated from an already existing ToC) into testable capacity, behavioural, and contextual hypotheses.
- For major policy and practice outcome claims, the consultant will apply qualitative Process Tracing tests to evaluate KEP’s contribution against rival hypotheses (e.g., independent Shirika Plan political momentum, World Bank/UNHCR funding shifts, or broader economic trends).
- Inductive Outcome Harvesting (OH) with Independent Substantiation:
- OH, will identify intended and unintended changes in the behaviour, relationships, policies, or practices of external social actors (government officials, UN agencies, RLOs, INGOs).
- Strict Methodological & Safeguarding Requirement: Site-based Outcome Harvesting workshops in Nairobi, Kakuma, and Dadaab are strictly for outcome formulation and discovery. All outcome substantiation must be conducted independently via 1-on-1 external Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) or documentary verification.
- Tiered Within-Subject Capacity Mapping & Rubric Artifact Scoring: To account for varying intervention intensity, the consultant must partition the beneficiary population into explicit Exposure Tiers rather than aggregating them into a single average:
- Tier 1 (High Intensity - IRP Grantees & Mentees): Evaluated via qualitative 1-on-1 narrative KIIs, retrospective skill recall grids, and objective rubric-based scoring of baseline vs. endline research artifacts (comparing early proposals against final published papers/briefs using a 4-point qualitative quality rubric).
- Tier 2 (Medium Intensity - Writing Workshop Alumni): Evaluated via retrospective self-assessment grids cross-checked against independent publication/submission verification.
- Tier 3 (Low Intensity - Training Cohort Alumni & Event Attendees): Evaluated via lightweight tracer surveys focusing strictly on skill application, evidence reach, and immediate utility.
Phased Scope of Work
The Note on the Methodology applies here as well.
Phase 1: Inception Phase (Days 1–10): Inception Report, Reconstructing Theory of Change assumptions for CA; drafting quality rubrics for artifact scoring; designing modular, stakeholder-specific KII guides; and the Outcome Register template.
**Phase 2: Fieldwork...