Supporting Q&A consultants in the Sahel region

October 2020 - September 2022

Groupe URD is launching a two-year project (funded by AFD) to support aid organisations and their partners with a view to improving the quality and accountability of programmes in Mali, Niger and Chad in the context of very limited access due to COVID-19 and growing insecurity. The objective is to accompany a network of consultants and reinforce local/national capacity in terms of evaluation and change management.

Funded by

Agence française de développement (AFD)

Commissioned by

Anna Lear

Due to a high level of insecurity, lockdown conditions in certain countries and the closing of borders, it is currently difficult for international consultants who provide Q&A to reach certain crisis contexts. It should be pointed out that before the COVID-19 crisis, the consultancy market was relatively closed to national experts, other than to provide support to international consultants, and this despite the commitments of the Grand Bargain regarding aid localisation.

This project covers three countries in the Sahel region: Mali, Niger and Chad. It aims to develop a network of national consultants capable of meeting the demands of aid organisations in terms of quality and accountability. The consultants will therefore require critical analysis and evaluation skills, and the ability to use reliable and rigorous tools and methods.

The participating consultants will therefore be provided with training and support in order to build local/national capacity in evaluation and change management.

A training course that aims to:

Reinforce participants’ skills in evaluation and change management

Effectively contributing to the fulfilment of quality and accountability commitments in the aid sector;
Making pertinent recommendations based on reliable data;
Understanding current issues and challenges in the aid sector;
Improving your technical and methodological skills;
Testing practices and approaches with advice from experienced professionals;
Developing your professional relations and learning to work in a team.