Evaluator to conduct a mid-term evaluation of a green-microbusinesses project

Terms of Reference for a mid-term review of the project

Green South: Green Micro-businesses in the South of Jordan

18 September 2025

Implementing organization: Future Pioneers for Empowering Communities’ Members in the Environmental and Educational Fields (FPEC)

Location South Jordan (Ma’an and Aqaba governorates)

Deadline for Submission: Extended: 17 November 2025

Funding agency: Drosos Foundation

1. Introduction

Future Pioneers for Empowering Communities’ Members in the Environmental and Educational Fields (FPEC) is a local Jordanian Non-profit organization established in 2012 to reduce poverty and promote human development in remote areas of Jordan. FPEC works in socio-economic empowerment of women and youth, community dialogue, civic engagement, climate change adaptation, waste management, renewable energy and WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene). Human rights, gender equality and environmental sustainability are cross-cutting themes in all activities. FPEC primarily targets women, youth and marginalised groups, including both Syrian refuges and host communities, supporting them through life skills and economic empowerment programmes to enhance employability and resilience.

Drosos Foundation is a non-profit organisation committed to empowering young people to navigate and address today’s global challenges. Together with partner organisations, it develops and supports projects that have a direct bearing on the effective and sustainable opportunities for young people. Established in 2003 as a private foundation based in Zurich, Switzerland, Drosos seeks long-term impact through its supported projects in Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Switzerland and Eastern Germany. In Jordan, Drosos has been active since 2012. It is ideologically, politically and religiously independent.

Drosos Foundation is supporting the project “Green South: Green Micro-businesses in the South of Jordan” which is being implemented in Al Muraygha in Ma'an governorate, and Al-Quirah in Aqaba governorate in Jordan by Future Pioneers for Empowering Communities’ Members in the Environmental and Educational Fields (FPEC). The project is implemented as part of Drosos’ thematic focus areas of Social and Economic Inclusion, as well as Entrepreneurship.

2. Thematic Area Description

Social and economic inclusion is one of three thematic focus areas of Drosos’ Strategy 2025-2028. Promoting social and economic inclusion is crucial to ensuring that young people from all backgrounds have equal opportunities to thrive. Marginalised youth are often disproportionately affected by crises and can feel excluded from mainstream economic and social structures. Social and economic inclusion initiatives and especially those informed or led by individuals with lived experience of vulnerability, can create meaningful pathways for these young people to access quality education, mentorship, and job opportunities, building a sense of belonging and purpose.

3. Project Description

Future Pioneers for Empowering Communities (FPEC) is implementing a four-year project in Southern Jordan (Al Muraygha in Ma'an and Al-Quirah in Aqaba) to tackle two major challenges: (i) the increasing burden of solid waste management (SWM) due to growing populations and refugee influxes, and (ii) high unemployment rates, particularly among youth, women, and refugees.

The project introduces circular economy principles to 350 women and youth and supports the creation and growth of 30 micro-businesses and home-based businesses that transform waste into resources, promote sustainable livelihoods, and generate employment opportunities. It emphasizes capacity building, market linkages, awareness campaigns, and community empowerment, aligning with Jordan’s national strategies and the Green Growth National Action Plan 2021–2025.

The main objectives of the project are:

1. Increased awareness of economic opportunities in the waste management sector
2. Existing micro-businesses adopt good waste management practices and create value from recycling
3. New micro-businesses create income-generating opportunities in the green economy
4. The partner has strengthened its evidence-based planning capacity

The project has been ongoing since February 2024 and will conclude in January 2028.

This mid-term evaluation shall assess progress towards project objectives, identify challenges, capture lessons learned, and make recommendations to optimize performance for the remainder of the project.

Future Pioneers for Empowering Communities and Drosos seek a qualified consultant to conduct a mid-term evaluation to assess the project’s initial results in promoting circular economy models, income generation, women empowerment, and social cohesion/inclusion.

4. Purpose and Objectives of the assignment

The primary purpose of the mid-term evaluation is to:

• Assess the relevance of the project’s approach in the context in Southern Jordan, given the economic reality in Southern rural communities.
• Assess early progress against the project’s objectives and indicators as outlined in the logical framework.
• Evaluate the quality, inclusiveness and effectiveness of the training activities, market linkages and community mobilisation efforts.
• Examine the effectiveness of the project’s participatory approach, including engagement with municipalities, CBOs, youth, women and refugees.
• Assess the capacity and readiness of the partner CBOs to act as supportive actors for micro-business development in the two communities in the long run.
• Capture real-time learnings, best practices, and areas needing adjustment for improved outcomes in the remaining project period.
• Assess the extent to which the project has strengthened the partner organization’s capacity for evidence-based planning, reporting, and monitoring. Assess the partner organisation’s capacity in conveying business concepts and identify potential training needs. Assess the partner organisation’s internal capacity and provide recommendations for targeted support in further organisational development.
• Provide evidence-based recommendations for course corrections, growth, and enhanced sustainability of the businesses during the remaining implementation period.

5. Topics and questions to be studied by the consultant(s)

1. Including but not limited to the following

   At the thematic level:

• In what ways are youth developing through our projects? What are the likely longer-term implications of this?
• How has the partner developed/adapted their work as they have learned more about the needs of young people and women?
• What are we learning about how to authentically engage women and youth and build their agency?
• What are we learning about actively and positively involving the participants (women and youth) and partners (CBOs) in the design and implementation of projects?
• What are we learning about building trusting relationships with women, youth and the community members?
• What are we learning about how to support grantee capacity and resilience?
• What spaces and processes are more conducive to sharing learnings and enhancing impact?
• What good practice can we identify regarding the partner using results data for advocacy, learning, sustainability, etc?
• What are we learning about what helps organizations and businesses to sustain their work after Drosos funding ends?
• Identify areas of success that can be replicated and lessons learned.
• Provide recommendations of potential cross learning and collaboration within the ecosystem and/or with other similar businesses.

At the project level

• What has changed since the project started: highlight intended and unintended results, successes and challenges.

• Assess the strategies, methodologies and tools adopted by the project, and elaborate on their strength where applicable. Assess how market potentials have been studied in the context of business ideas proposed by participants.

• To what extent does the project address pressing needs of communities, women, youth and refugees in the targeted areas?

• Are the trainings and mentoring deployed equipping the beneficiaries with the necessary knowledge and skills in building or sustaining their businesses?

• Examine adoption of SWM/circular economy practices by micro businesses and cost-savings achieved

• Are there early signs of improved livelihoods, income generation, and green job creation?

• Are micro businesses demonstrating innovation, scalability, or potential to serve as models for replication? Are they on a path to self-reliance post project?

• Are CBOs able to build up the capacity required to act as micro-business development hubs or at least focal points?

  Share recommendations on the features of financial sustainability for the micro businesses and CBOs post-project.

• Are women, youth, refugees, and vulnerable groups meaningfully engaged in the project? How are their voices influencing decision-making and the design and implementation of project activities?

• To what extent was the project design informed by a proper needs assessment and market mapping?

• To what extent was the project design informed by a proper needs assessment and market mapping?

• Did the project identify and understand the specific needs of home-based businesses and micro-businesses to provide the most effective support for market access, linkages, and product placement?

• How effective have the awareness campaigns been in changing waste-related behaviours? Has the project contributed towards early signs of improved practices?

• Analyse gender and social inclusion dimensions, including barriers to participation and enabling factors

• Has the project effectively supported the partner organization in reviewing and strengthening its operating approaches and its governance set-up?

  1. Assess the extent to which FPEC has re-thought and refined its operating approach (planning, implementation, monitoring, reporting).
  2. Examine the development and application of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for M&E.
  3. Examine the ways in which FPEC is working towards generating evidence-based reports and plans that inform decision-making and enhance project design and sustainability.
  4. What gaps or areas for improvement remain for long-term institutional strengthening?

6. Methodology used for the assignment

The evaluation shall be participatory, gender-sensitive and equity focused approach, using mixed methods and place emphasis on capturing lessons learned and actionable feedback to strengthen future implementation. Some of the recommended methods include:

• Review key project documents (proposal, logical framework, progress reports, budget, M&E data, beneficiary selection criteria, curricula, training reports).
• Key Informant Interviews and stakeholder consultations in Ma’an and Aqaba (beneficiaries, microbusinesses trainers, CBOs, municipal representatives, FPEC staff, and partners).
• Focus Group Discussions (beneficiaries, families, community stakeholders)
• Field visits and Direct Observation (workshops, training sessions, training delivery, campaigns)
• Survey/Questionnaires (beneficiaries and community members to capture quantitative data on behavioral change and satisfaction.)
• Qualitative Analysis (stories of change, case studies to highlight individual transformation stories)

7. Deliverables

• An inception report that includes a detailed methodology, data collection tools and workplan to conduct the assignment.
• Consultation meetings with FPEC in implementing some of the stakeholder’s meetings.
• A draft mid-term report in English.
• Participatory validation workshop with FPEC and Drosos to review findings, stakeholder feedback and co-create recommendations
• A summary in Arabic (max 2 pages) of the main relevant findings for the participants
• Final mid-term report in English, report incorporating both the partner and Drosos Foundation feedback (max 30 pages, including executive summary, findings, lessons learned, recommendations).

8. Timeline

The assignment is expected to take place between 1 December 2025 and 31 January 2026. The total effort for the evaluation is maximum 20 days.

9. Expected experiences of the consultant

The evaluation may be carried out by an individual consultant or by a team of consultants.

The consultant(s) should have the following qualifications and skills:

• A solid demonstrated experience of at least 10 years in conducting evaluations particularly in SWM, circular economy or green entrepreneurship.
• Gender and social inclusion specialist with expertise in youth/women empowerment.
• Expertise in mixed-methods evaluation design and participatory approaches.
• Based in Jordan with extensive knowledge of the context and experience in South Jordan.
• Good interpersonal and communications skills and ability to communicate with various stakeholders.
• Documentation skills spanning process documentation as well as more qualitative types of documentation such as case studies.
• Excellent writing and presentation skills in English and in Arabic. Good command of local Levantine Arabic language is desirable.

10. Consultants’ proposals

Interested consultants should submit a proposal including the following:

• CV and Cover Letter outlining relevant experience.
• High-level Technical Proposal of the steps to be taken to execute this mid-term evaluation within the timeline above and including details of the recommended methods necessary to meet the requirements of this TOR.
• Financial Proposal reflecting the level of effort broken down in different stages.
• Two sample reports of similar evaluations conducted.

11. Deadline

Deadline to submit the technical and financial proposal is extended to 17 November 2025. Technical and financial proposals should be submitted via email with reference Mid-Term Evaluation Green South in the subject to the following: Drosos Foundation: brahmi@drosos.org FPEC: anoud.daja@future-pioneers.org

How to apply

Technical and financial proposals should be submitted via email with reference Mid-Term Evaluation Green South in the subject to the following:

Drosos Foundation: brahmi@drosos.org

FPEC: anoud.daja@future-pioneers.org