Organisation: Association “Prijateljice Obrazovanja – Amica Educa” (hereinafter Amica Educa)
Place: Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina Evaluation period: max. 20 days (August to November 2025) Mandated by: Frieda – the Feminist Peace Organisation
Information on the mandating organisation: Frieda
Frieda – the Feminist Peace Organisation is a peace and development organisation working towards gender equality, the empowerment of women, and participation of women in conflict resolution and peace building efforts. Its regional focus is around the Mediterranean (Southeastern Europe, Maghreb and Middle East). Frieda’s engagement in South-Eastern Europe goes back to 1996 and remained ever since a key element in the international cooperation program of the organisation. Frieda cooperates with local NGOs, mostly local women’s organisations, human right’s organisations, organisations engaged in inclusive economic development and other NGOs with already defined gender-sensitive approaches or who are interested to further develop their inclusive intervention strategies. Frieda engages in the following sectors: prevention of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), income generation, and social and political inclusion. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Frieda is supporting projects in all three thematic fields.
Information on the partner organisation: Amica Educa
Association Amica Educa (hereinafter Amica Educa) was established in September 1996 by a group of experts in the field of psychosocial work as an international non-governmental organisation. In 1999, it was re-registered as a local humanitarian organisation with the place of residence in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH). In 2005, it was re-registered as Association. Amica Educa’s vision is a society of healthy, functional, equal and productive individuals. It is a non-profit, non-partisan, non-governmental organization that, through education, psychosocial assistance and counseling, promotes social inclusion, mental health and gender equality of people in a state of psychosocial need.
Partnership of Amica Educa and Frieda
Amica Educa and Frieda have been working together since 2010. The current and last project phase started on January 1, 2024, and will end on December 31, 2025.
The project to be evaluated was implemented in two interrelated phases and is aimed at young people (between the ages of 16 and 30) from the Tuzla Canton, who are empowered and trained to carry out project advocacy activities towards other project beneficiaries and the public.
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The first project phase lasted from January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2023. The long-term goal of the first project phase was: young people in Tuzla City contribute to social changes, focusing on youth mental health, gender equality, and peace building.
The second phase of the project is planned for the period from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2025 (2025 project year is to be evaluated only up to September 30). The long-term outcome of the second project phase is: improvement of youth mental health and reduction of gender-based violence in youth partner relationships through active engagements of peer counselors and trained young people.
This second project phase long-term outcome is divided into three specific project outcomes:
- Project outcome 1: Young people (project participants) are trained and able to act as peer counselors and started to mobilize their peers to seek peer support.
- Output 1.1. for outcome 1: Young people (project participants) successfully completed psycho-educational trainings and gained a clear understanding of the concept of peer counseling.
- Project outcome 2: Peer counselors and project volunteers support young people from different communities in addressing and overcoming their mental health problems and gender-based violence in youth partner relationships.
- Output 2.1. for outcome 2: Peer counselors gather young people in need and implement need-oriented services and activities for youth.
- Output 2.2. for outcome 2: Young people (project volunteers) implement promotion activities focusing on youth mental health and gender-based violence in youth partner relationships.
- Project outcome 3: Young people are trained and initiate changes and decisions on local level concerning their needs and rights in mental health and gender equality.
- Output 3.1. for outcome 3: Young people successfully completed the training in
political literacy and show readiness to take actions to improve their position in society.
The project period to be evaluated is January 1, 2021 – September 30, 2025.
The general objective of the evaluation is to provide an in-depth reflection on the project’s strategic and operational planning, achievements, successes, challenges, and performance, building on the cumulative experience of project intervention in the last 4.5 years (January 01, 2021 – September 30, 2025) The evaluation is envisaged to be a summative evaluation that intends to provide a reflection process and in-depth analysis to inform further efforts in the area of gender equality and mental health enhancement.
The evaluation should focus on two main aspects:
- To evaluate the extent to which the project contributed to the improvement of youth mental health and reduction of gender-based violence in youth partner relationships through peer counselors and trained young people.
- To assess support and collaboration between Frieda and Amica Educa since its beginning in 2010, identifying the extent of collaboration between the two organizations to improve project implementation and to analyse/assess effects of this collaboration and lessons learned from this process for both Frieda and Amica Educa.
Specific objectives of the evaluation
The evaluation can be based on OECD/DAC evaluation criteria. It should provide an in-depth analysis focusing on aspects of psychosocial empowerment through the promotion of mental health.
- Relevance and Coherence: Was the intervention relevant and coherent to improve
mental health, empower people and support identification and reduction of gender- based violence among youth? How have project activities contributed to the change of attitudes and acquiring new skills? How did the intervention take into consideration different needs of men and women, boys and girls? To what extent have special measures been designed to respond to those needs? What is the added value/comparative advantage of the project compared to similar interventions?
- Effectiveness: Assess effectiveness and organizational efficiency in progressing towards
the achievement of the project’s goals. Was the project designed in a coherent and realistic way to achieve the originally defined objectives? What are the changes produced by the project at local level? What are the changes that project participants experienced at the individual level – how do project participants experience and describe the changes they underwent during the project implementation? What has been the progress made towards achievement of the expected outcomes and expected results?
- Efficiency: Were the project funds managed effectively? Could the activities and outputs
have been delivered with fewer resources without reducing their quality and quantity? Has Amica Educa’s organisational structure, management and coordination mechanisms effectively supported the programme and its goals? In what way were project participants and other stakeholders involved in the project design and steering?
- Sustainability: Assess the sustainability of the intervention to empower youth to claim
their rights with respect to mental health. Key questions for sustainability:
- Were the interventions designed in a way to ensure that no one is left behind in the long run?
- To what extent was the intervention designed to achieve greater gender equality in the targeted areas by the project?
- How did the project help build sustainable partnerships and/or support with local authorities at cantonal, municipal and communal level?
- What are the possible partnerships and cooperations needed for Amica Educa to
continue their work?
- Impact (road to): Determine the (road to) impact of the intervention regarding
- Access and equality: What were the intended and unintended, positive and negative, long-term effects of the project? What was the most significant change that the project contributed to for the project participants?
- Cooperation between Frieda and Amica Educa: How was Frieda able to support the implementation of the project? What was the effect of the cooperation on the Amica Educa as an organisation? What changes or improvements were made as a result of this collaboration? What are lessons learned from the cooperation on both sides? How did collaboration between Frieda and Amica Educa influence the organisational development and capacity-building of both partners? Did the partnership lead to any new funding opportunities or external collaborations for either organisation? How did the collaboration between Frieda and Amica Educa impact the long-term sustainability of Amica Educa? What challenges or obstacles did both organizations face during the cooperation, and how were these addressed or overcome? How did the knowledge and experience gained through this partnership help strengthen the organisational structure and operations of Amica Educa?
Conclusions and recommendations
Define what changes/adaptations need to be envisioned in order to address the identified gaps, challenges and obstacles and to improve long-term benefits of the project. Propose measures and formulate concrete recommendations for both Frieda and Amica Educa.
Data collection
The evaluation will be based on a desk study for the review of relevant secondary sources as well as primary data collection of qualitative data.
Relevant documents for the desk study may include:
- Project documents and reports
- Media reports/articles
- Statements from the participants
The inclusion of qualitative methods of data collection is required. The consultant will propose the methodological approach as a part of his/her motivational letter. Detailed methodology will be finalized in participation with the partner organisation and Frieda’s staff and defined in the inception report.
Evaluation Report
- Submission of draft report in English and executive summary in English and Bosnian.
- Realization of feedback session in English for Frieda and Amica Educa.
- Preparation of final report in English and an executive summary in English and Bosnian, incorporating results from the feedback session
Dissemination of the research results
The evaluator shall present the final report findings to Frieda in English. Involved stakeholders (see target group, including Centres for mental health and Centres for Social Welfare) shall be informed in a short restitution session in Bosnian.
The participants in this project evaluation include:
- Director and project staff members of Amica Educa
- Direct project participants
- External partners/stakeholders
- Frieda Programme Manager and Local Coordinator.
Approx. 20 days in the timeframe of up from August 01, 2025, final report submission latest mid- November 2025.
Timeframe needs to include the following steps:
- Document review and preparation of draft inception report, including detailed evaluation scope and methodology.
- Presentation of draft inception report
- Incorporation of feedback from Frieda and Amica Educa
- Data collection including qualitative methodologies.
- Data analysis.
- Completion of draft evaluation report.
- Presentation of draft evaluation report for comments, data cross check and suggestions in feedback session with Frieda and Amica Educa.
- Incorporation of comments and additional findings into a finalized version of the evaluation report.
- Official presentation of evaluation findings to Frieda, Amica Educa, and relevant stakeholders.
- Inception Report, based on the review of all relevant documents, specifying the time plan and the methodology of the evaluation.
A draft inception report will be delivered and presented to Amica Educa and Frieda; comments are to be incorporated into the final version after the feedback session.
- Evaluation report in English, comprising:
- An executive summary of not more than 3 pages in Bosnian and English
- Analysis, findings / lessons learnt, conclusions and recommendations (max. 20 pages). A draft version of the report will be presented to Amica Educa and Frieda in a feedback session. The results of this session shall be incorporated into the final report.
- Annex with questionnaires and instruments developed for the evaluation
- University Degree in Social, Gender, Human Rights or Political Science
- Profound knowledge and experience in the Balkans; understanding of the specifics of the current context, its challenges and the dynamics of political, economic, social and technological transition
- Practical experience of advising non-government organizations on designing, implementing and evaluating projects from a feminist perspective
- Proven experience in women’s rights, gender-based violence and discrimination, mental
health and trauma work
- Excellent social scientific methodological data collection skills (qualitative and quantitative)
- Excellent writing and analytical skills
- Fluency in English (oral and written) and BiH constitute languages/Bosnian required
- Bosnia and Herzegovina citizenship
Obligations of Frieda and Amica Educa
- Payment of the consultant fee as agreed after submission between Frieda and consultant.
- Provision of all relevant documents for the analysis.
- Support of the consultant with access to potential interview partners.
- Timely provision of feedback on draft inception report and draft evaluation report.
Obligation of Consultant
- Execute all tasks as agreed in the contract and adhere to proposed methods.
- Submit the above specified deliverables in time.
- Organize the data collection and field visit in coordination with Amica Educa and according to availabilities of participants.
Interested consultants/teams of consultants are asked to provide a written proposal (max. 5 pages) including the proposed methodology, time schedule, financial offer, as well as the CV of the consultant(s) until January 31, 2025, by email to: frieda.bih@gmail.com and ivona.erdeljac@amicaeduca.ba
Criteria for the selection of the offer will be:
- Previous experience of consultant (specifically in evaluation and in the specified thematic areas)
- Quality of the proposed methodology