1. Background
The DCYDE! project (“Digital global Citizenship for Youngsters and Educators in Partnership”) is a DEAR project that promotes Digital Global Citizenship Education (GCE) and sustainable development across Europe. It empowers young people and educators through transnational partnerships, hybrid learning environments, and youth-led activities. DCYDE! addresses educational gaps by fostering global awareness, intercultural competencies, and engagement in both physical and digital spaces.

To complement the internal monitoring and evaluation processes led by the project’s M&E manager, we are seeking an experienced external evaluation team or consultant(s) to carry out formative and summative evaluations of the DCYDE! project.

2. Purpose of the External Evaluation
The purpose of the external evaluation is to provide an independent, objective, and critical assessment of the project’s:

• Achievement of objectives and the role of partnership collaboration
• Quality and effectiveness of collaboration within the partnership
• Sustainability and long-term viability of the partnership

This evaluation will support accountability to donors and stakeholders, inform learning within the project partnership, and contribute to the strategic development of future programming. In addition to assessing outcomes and results, the external evaluation shall examine:

• The coherence between the project’s methodological design and its implementation
• The validity, reliability, and consistency of the project’s logical framework (Logframe) and results
• The extent to which the theory of change embedded in DCYDE!’s pedagogical and implementation approach is being translated into practice at all levels - from national training cycles to participant engagement

3. Scope of Work
The external evaluation will include:

• A review and analysis of the project design, partnership structure, and monitoring data
• A summative evaluation at the end of the project
• The evaluator is expected to work closely with the project’s internal M&E manager and align their work with the overall M&E framework of the project.

Additionally, the evaluation shall:

• Assess whether the project’s collaborative approach is consistently applied and functioning across partners and activity types
• Evaluate the extent to which the project’s design and collaborative elements (e.g., multi-level coordination, feedback loops) are implemented effectively and reinforce each other
• Provide recommendations on systemic alignment, including potential adaptations for improved functionality in future replication or scaling

4. Methodology
The evaluation will apply a mixed-methods approach, including but not limited to:

• Desk review of project documentation and monitoring reports
• Online surveys
• Participation in selected project meetings
• Semi-structured interviews with project staff and partners
• Focus groups and participatory feedback sessions (primarily online)
• The evaluation methodology, tools, and work plan will be defined during the inception phase in close consultation with the project coordination team.

5. Deliverables

• Evaluation plan
• Midterm Evaluation Report with recommendations
• Final Evaluation Report
• Presentation of findings to the project consortium

6. Timeline

• Start of contract: October 2025
• End of project evaluation: June 2027 (to be clarified)
  Evaluation activities will follow the project’s timeline and key milestones.

7. Profile of the Evaluator(s)

• Proven experience in evaluating EU-funded projects or equivalent international programs
• Expertise in youth engagement, digital education, and/or global citizenship
• Solid knowledge of qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods
• Strong intercultural and participatory evaluation competencies
• Ability to work in English (written and spoken); additional EU languages are an asset
• Institutional applicants (evaluation firms, research centers) or individual consultants are both eligible
• Experience in facilitating trainings with adults, co-workers, or consortium participants from diverse backgrounds
• Experience in working with both small and large organizations

8. Contracting
The available budget is in line with standard rates for comparable EU-funded evaluations. A detailed budget will be negotiated with the selected evaluator. The contract will be issued by Eine Welt Netzwerk Thüringen e. V. (EWNT), the lead applicant of the DCYDE! project.