Call for Trainers

Call for researcher/consultant for the development of recommendations for the monitoring and evaluation of the future ID Strategy.

The SALTO Inclusion & Diversity resource centre hosted by JINT VZW and SALTO resource centre for Inclusion and Diversity in Education and Training hosted by AMEUP, with the support of the European Commission. is looking for

1 researcher (this can be a freelance expert, a team, or an institute)

Application deadline:

25 March 2025, 23:59 CET.

Description

In a nutshell

Currently, the European Commission is planning the next programme cycle (2028-2034). The SALTO Inclusion & Diversity resource centre for youth, SALTO Inclusion and Diversity resource centre for Education and Training, and the Inclusion and Diversity Steering group for Youth want to contribute to this by reviewing and strengthening the future cross-sectoral Inclusion & Diversity strategy (ID Strategy). As part of this, we want to develop a recommendation for the monitoring and evaluation methodology of the future ID strategy. This recommendation should support the European Commission, National Agencies, SALTOs and other relevant stakeholders, in monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency in reaching the aim of the inclusion and diversity strategy.

The project dates are roughly from April – October. While the process can be refined in consultation, this is what we expect:

Refinement of the aims of the Inclusion & Diversity into clear and well-defined objectives.
Operationalisation of the objectives into a set of quantitative and qualitative indicators.
Development of a recommendation for a structured, realistic and replicable approach to monitor and evaluate the Inclusion and Diversity Strategy.
A summary of the above findings in a proposal for the monitoring and evaluation for the new Inclusion and Diversity Strategy.
Optionally: facilitation of the focus groups that will be set up for this project.

The deliverables of this assignment will serve as a proposal to the European Commission on how the future ID strategy can be monitored and evaluated in the next programme period. As the ID Strategy is cross-sectoral (youth and education & training), this proposal will be developed cross-sectorally as well. Specifics parts of the process however can be developed per sector.

Background information

The European Commission is working hard on planning the next programme cycle (2028-2034). At this stage, the focus is on preparing the legislative packages, which should result in a draft legal base by mid-2025. In the next step, the general calls, programme guides and different strategies supporting the European programmes will be planned. By autumn 2027 this should result in general calls and programme guides 2028.

We want to contribute to this by supporting the planning of the future cross-sectoral ID Strategy. For this, we want to draw from mid-term evaluation reports of the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes and the research report Making Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps more inclusive. This latter research explores the contribution of the Inclusion and Diversity Strategy in making the programmes more inclusive and aims to provide an overview of the efforts in inclusion and diversity since the start of the current Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes in 2021. Additionally, the report identifies the strengths and areas for improvement. One of these areas is the lack of a strategy to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the ID Strategy. It was strongly recommended to adjust as well as create proper monitoring and evaluation tools.

Building on this recommendation and in view of the planning of the next programme cycle, the SALTO Inclusion & Diversity resource centres and the Inclusion and Diversity Steering Group want to focus on a recommendation for monitoring and evaluating the future Inclusion & Diversity Strategy.

Organisations involved

SALTO Inclusion & Diversity resource centre for youth (SALTO I&D) strives to give young people with fewer opportunities (YPWFO) better chances in life and create a more inclusive society that embraces diversity of all kinds. To do so, we contribute and support the field of youth and youth work, in working with YPWFO and embracing diversity, within the frame of the EU youth programmes. The main and ultimate goal is to get more YPWFO in the European programmes for youth, but the role of SALTO I&D is to work in the “second line” and to focus on capacity building for youth workers, youth organisations and NAs.
SALTO Inclusion & Diversity resource centre Education & Training (SALTO I&D E&T) promotes and supports inclusion and diversity within Erasmus+ education and training field by working with Erasmus+ national agencies to enhance the programme’s quality and impact. Our goal is to ensure equal opportunities for all to participate in Erasmus+ by providing a variety of resources, expert support, and best practices, as well as by organising events that foster the exchange of knowledge among national agencies and other stakeholders. We place a strong focus on capacity building for national agencies (through the network of inclusion officers), educational institutions, and other key actors in the field.
The Inclusion and Diversity Steering Group for youth (IDSG) oversees and supports the implementation of the Inclusion & Diversity Strategy. It wants to ensure that the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes directly benefit young people with fewer opportunities. The IDSG was set up in 2014, is being coordinated by SALTO I&D and the European Commission and is supported by participation of SALTO I&D E&T.
The European Commission will delegate staff having a strong affinity and expertise with the monitoring and evaluation tools into the working group of this project.

The two SALTOs and the IDSG work together with the European Commission, National Agencies, programmes’ beneficiaries and other relevant actors in fields of inclusion, and diversity. By using a coordinated approach, they want to reinforce the inclusion & diversity dimension of EU programmes.

Inclusion frameworks

In 2021 the Commission has adopted a Framework of inclusion measures for Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps Programmes 2021-2027. This joint framework of inclusion measures presents a general overview of the type of measures to be put in place over the period of 7 years.
The current Implementation guidelines - Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps Inclusion and Diversity Strategy 2021-2027 aim to create equitable opportunities of access for everyone to these programmes. It builds on the experiences across the different sectors of the programmes and encourages mutual inspiration and motivation amongst them.
To operationalise and translate the ID Strategy in concrete actions, SALTO I&D created the ID Road Map for the youth field.
To provide suggestions on how to ensure persons with fewer opportunities have the best possible access to the opportunities offered by the Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps, SALTO I&D E&T drafted the Guidelines on Development of Inclusion and Diversity Strategies. To explore and browse different published national inclusion and diversity strategies and action plans, SALTO I&D E&T has created dedicated section on its website.
The research report Making Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps more inclusive is the contribution of SALTO Inclusion & Diversity to interim evaluation of the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes (2021-2027) (mid-term evaluation when it’s finished).

Tasks & deliverables

The deliverables of this assignment will serve as a proposal to the European Commission on how the future ID strategy can be monitored and evaluated in the next programme period. The SALTO resource Centres, the IDSG and the European Commission will support the researcher in implementing this assignment. While we identified the expectations below, the consultant is free to make a proposal on how the process could look like.

(1) Translation of the aims for the new ID Strategy into objectives

The current ID Strategy aims to help create equitable opportunities of access for everyone to the Erasmus+ and Europeans Solidarity Corps. The way in which it wants to achieve this by:

Establishing a common understanding of those who may be considered people with fewer opportunities and set up a coherent framework for including them in the programmes;
Increasing commitment to inclusion and diversity from all actors in the programmes’ actions and a positive approach to diversity of all kinds in the projects;
Supporting beneficiary organisations in establishing more quality projects involving people with fewer opportunities (e.g. provide training, tools, funding, coaching etc.);
Reducing barriers to participation in the programmes for people with fewer opportunities and helping applicants and potential applicants to overcome these barriers, as well as establishing appropriate conditions for learning, working or volunteering by addressing their support needs;
Fostering the recognition of the experience and competences developed by people with fewer opportunities in the programmes and by the people working with them;
Ensuring that the focus on inclusion and diversity is taken into account at all stages of the programmes’ management and project life-cycle: before (promotion, outreach, support, assessment, etc.), during (participant selection, preparation, implementation, results, etc.) and after the project (evaluation, dissemination and exploitation of project outcomes, follow-up, etc.).
Increase the visibility of inclusion and diversity and its role in the high quality implementation of the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps Programmes.

In consultation with the stakeholders involved, the researcher will translate these aims into a list of clear and well-defined objectives for all the sectors.

Deliverable: first report with updated aims and list of objectives by 31/05/2025.

(2) Operationalisation of the objectives into indicators

In consultation with the National Agencies and programmes’ beneficiaries, the researcher will operationalise the objectives of the ID Strategy into a set of quantitative and qualitative indicators. This set should present one or more ideal scenarios in how the effectiveness and efficiency of the ID Strategy can be measured and not be limited to the current status quo of the European Commission’s dashboard and data collection. This part of the process will be developed sector specific.

Deliverable: set of indicators by 30/06/2025.

(3) Monitoring and evaluation approach

Based on the set of indicators, the researcher will develop a realistic and replicable approach to the monitoring and evaluation of the ID Strategy. This includes:
An analysis of the extent in which the tools of the Commission can be used for collecting data with regards to the set of indicators.
The design of a method to collect data for the indicators that can’t be measured with the tools of the European Commission.
A proposal of how we can collect data and report on the monitoring and evaluation of the ID Strategy on a yearly basis. This approach should be tailored to the programme cycle of the European Commission.

Deliverable: second report by 30/09/2025.

(4) Monitoring and evaluation recommendation

The results and outcomes of the previous steps, should be summarised into a recommendation for the future Inclusion and Diversity Strategy. This chapter should outline clearly (1) how the ID Strategy will be monitored and evaluated, (2) a timeline that includes the different steps of monitoring and evaluation, and (3) which actors could support specific parts of the monitoring and evaluation strategy. This recommendation will serve as a proposal towards the European Commission to be integrated in the ID Strategy.

Deliverable: final report by 31/10/2025.

(5) Focus groups

SALTO Inclusion & Diversity for the field of youth will set up a focus group dedicated to this project. This focus group will consist of people that identify themselves as having lived experience of exclusion and overcoming barriers, with a strong knowledge of the European programmes for youth, and a background in monitoring and evaluation. Their role in this process can range from consultation to co-production. For the purposes of education and training field, focus groups on a smaller scale could be organised.

If possible, we would like the researcher to facilitate the meetings of the focus group, If the researcher however assesses that the facilitation of such a focus group isn’t feasible, than SALTO Inclusion & Diversity will hire a facilitator. In both cases, it is up to the researcher to ensure that the voices of the focus group are incorporated in a valuable way in this project.

Timeline

First report (objectives): April – May
Set of indicators: May - June
Second report (monitoring and evaluation approach): June – September
Final report (recommendation): September - October

Requested trainer profile

The expert, team or institute should:

Have experience and a good understanding of the EU programmes of the current and previous programme period, both youth and education and training.
Have affinity with the existing monitoring and evaluation tools of the European Commission.
Have a strong expertise and experience with setting up monitoring and evaluation strategies.
Have the capacity to use a co-creative approach in the project, ensuring that the relevant stakeholders are meaningfully involved.
Have a basic understanding of the ID Strategy and affinity with the different sectors.
Have the competence to summarising and drawing conclusions based on the findings, and writing them down in accessible international English.

Working conditions

Trainers fees, travel and board & lodging

Please submit as part of your application a budget proposal based on a 360€/day fee VAT included. This should cover all costs (e.g. participating in meetings, desk research, and drafting report).

The travel and subsistence for the meetings will be covered separately by SALTO I&D.

Dates

The consultant can start as soon as the terms and conditions are agreed, and the contract is signed.

The deadlines might vary depending on availability and the progress of the work, and the suggested approach by the consultant.

The next Inclusion & Diversity Strategy Steering Group meeting is taking place in Brussels from 9-10 April. If possible, it would be good to be available on these days.

Team composition

Representatives of SALTO I&D youth and education & training.
Representatives from the ID Steering Group.
Commission representative on monitoring and evaluation.
Researcher selected through this call.

Application & selection procedure

Apply no later than: 25 March 2025, 23:59 CET.
How to apply:

Interested consultants should send their application via mail to inclusion@salto-youth.net before 25 March 2025, 23:59 CET. This application should include:

Your suggested approach to the assignment (max. 1000 words).
Your cv and at least 2 reference persons relevant for this assignment.
A sample of minimum 2 reports that are relevant for this assignment.

You will be informed about the selection by: Applicants will be informed by 4 April 2025 the latest.

Downloads

For more information

Marija Kljajic and Pieter-Jan De Graeve., Project officers at SALTO Inclusion & Diversity for the field of youth and co-coordinators of the ID Steering Group.
Phone: +322 329 11 10
Email:

Disclaimer

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