Midterm Evaluation of ‘Earth Journalism Network Asia-Pacific Phase 2 Project’

Position description

Internews is an international non-profit organization dedicated to giving people the news and information they need, the ability to connect, and the means to make their voices heard. Since its formation in 1982, Internews has worked in more than 150 countries worldwide and helped partners reach millions of people with trustworthy information that saves lives, improves livelihoods, and holds institutions accountable.

Founded in 2004, Internews’ Earth Journalism Network (EJN) is a global community of over 25,000 journalists dedicated to improving coverage of environmental and climate change issues. EJN trained over 14,800 journalists and supported the production of over 14,000 stories worldwide on a variety of environmental issues, including climate change, pollution, biodiversity, One Health, wildlife trafficking, energy transition, and management of oceans and coastal resources. Over the past 20 years, we have developed several key approaches and tools to raise the voices of marginalized and vulnerable people and help journalists and environmental rights activists hold power to account.

ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY

Internews is seeking a qualified individual consultant, group of consultants or firm to conduct a midterm evaluation for its EJN Asia-Pacific Phase 2 project aiming to improve governance and accountability in the Asia-Pacific region through a strengthened information ecosystem for informed decision-making and action by citizens, political leaders, and other key decision makers. The evaluation will help Internews assess project performance, achievements, and implementation, identify good practices and lessons learned, and evaluate potential impact on beneficiaries and the sustainability of results.

LOGISTICS

This is a global remote opportunity. All work, including data collection, is expected to be done remotely, with limited travel for face-to-face data collection, if the budget allows. Candidates based anywhere in the world will be considered, with preference to those based in Asia and/or with strong experience in the Asia-Pacific region.

The evaluation is expected to be completed by 30 April 2025.

The estimated budget for this evaluation is 15,000 USD, all inclusive.

Project background

Funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the Earth Journalism Network (EJN) Asia-Pacific Phase 2 was initially designed for 3 years (1 January 2022 – 31 December 2024). It has been then extended for another 2 years (1 January 2025– 31 December 2026) with additional funds. This is the second phase of the EJN Asia-Pacific project which started in November 2017 and was completed in March 2022. Building on EJN’s past work and extensive network in Asia, the project strengthens the capacity of individual reporters, media outlets, media development organisations and journalism networks, to increase the quantity and quality of media reporting on themes relating to the environment and natural resource management. It supports the dissemination of environmental news and information to the public, policy makers and vulnerable communities, and amplifies the voices of women and other marginalized groups who are most affected by environmental changes.

The EJN Asia-Pacific Phase 2 project aims to improve governance and accountability in the Asia-Pacific region through a strengthened information ecosystem for informed decision-making and action by citizens, political leaders, and other key decision makers. The project provides a suite of activities and approaches to boost environmental reporting. These include training workshops, fellowships for journalists to participate in global environmental conferences such as the UNFCCC Climate COP, grants for media organisations, journalists’ network and NGOs to implement capacity building and environmental reporting projects, story grants and mentorship for journalists, and the development and maintenance of local and regional environmental news websites.

Project Objective: Advance public understanding of the serious state of the environment and climate crises to drive changes that can effectively address these challenges through strengthened environmental reporting across media in the Asia-Pacific region.

Intermediate-Objectives:

1. Strengthen the capacity of journalists and media organisations to produce high-quality, factual and engaging public environmental information on the consequences of human impacts on climate and the environment and provide viable solutions to respond to these impacts.

2. Increase the quantity of high-quality content and media coverage on key environmental themes — including climate change, biodiversity loss, ocean management, wildlife trafficking, air pollution, energy transition, and sustainable development — to focus public attention on the interdependence of the health and well-being of humans, animals, and their environments.

3. Empower women, the poor, youth, indigenous peoples, and other vulnerable groups to address the disproportionate impacts of environmental degradation by amplifying their voices in environmental reporting and increasing their access to high-quality, publicly available environmental information.

These activities are expected to result in increased access to environmental news and information, improved environmental content, greater inclusion of women and marginalized groups, and more engagement both among journalists and between them and other stakeholders.

Theory of Change:

The EJN Asia Pacific Phase 2 project is designed based on the overarching theory of change that:

IF the capacity of journalists and media organisations in the Asia-Pacific region is strengthened to safely produce and distribute high-quality, inclusive, evidence driven, and solution-oriented public information addressing key environmental issues including climate change, biodiversity loss, ocean management, wildlife trafficking, air pollution, energy transition, and sustainable development at the national and regional levels; and

IF the voices, needs, and concerns of women, the poor, youth, indigenous peoples, and other vulnerable groups are included and amplified in the media and information ecosystem around environmental concerns in the Asia Pacific region; and

IF local and regional networking and collaboration among journalists, media, and civil society organisations working in the environment in the Asia-Pacific region are enhanced to expose environmental injustices;

THEN the public including women, the poor, indigenous peoples, youth and other vulnerable groups will have access to the information they need to make informed decision and critically engage with it in a meaningful way by taking further action to hold power to account, contributing to improved environmental related governance and accountability in the Asia-Pacific region.

Evaluation Purpose

The purpose of this midterm evaluation (MTE) is to assess the progress and effectiveness of the on-going EJN Asia-Pacific Phase 2 project for the first 3 years (1 January 2022 – 31 December 2024) to inform decisions on how project implementation may be adjusted and improved in the two-year cost extension period (1 January 2025– 31 December 2026). The primary intended users of the evaluation are Internews-EJN and the Embassy of Sweden, Bangkok. In addition, this evaluation aims to identify the lessons learnt and best practices from the project’s implementation. The specific objectives of this evaluation include:

1) To evaluate the outcomes and impact achieved through project implementation.

2) To assess the project’s impact on the quality of environmental media coverage, with a focus on the inclusion of women and marginalized groups, as well as improved access to environmental content.

3) To examine the project’s influence on networking, engagement, and collaboration among journalists and key stakeholders.

4) To review the progress made against the recommendations of the last evaluation report.

5) To analyze external factors beyond Internews’ control that may have affected the achievement of project outcomes.

6) To identify lessons learned, best practices, and provide actionable recommendations for enhancing the effectiveness of the project’s activities during the cost extension phase.

Evaluation Questions

This evaluation will be guided by the following questions to assess the project’s progress, outcomes, and impact, while also identifying areas for improvement and lessons to inform future initiatives. GESI and HRBA will be incorporated into the data collection and analysis process for all relevant evaluation questions.

A. Key Overarching Questions

1- Key Impact

a) To what extent has the project led to measurable community action in response to environmental threats?

b) How effective has the project been in influencing policy changes related to environmental threats?

c) What evidence exists to demonstrate the positive development outcomes that have emerged as a result of the project’s interventions?

d) How have the project’s activities contributed to addressing key environmental threats in the target communities?

e) What factors have facilitated or hindered community action, policy change, and other positive developments in addressing environmental threats?

f) To what degree has the project’s impact been sustainable in driving long-term environmental improvements?

2- Key Outcomes

a) To what extent has the project increased the capacity of journalists and media partners to produce and distribute high-quality, factual, and engaging public environmental information?

b) To what extent has the project increased public access to high-quality content on key environmental themes and the connections between animal, human, and environmental health?

c) What changes has the project had on increasing the voices of women, the poor, indigenous peoples, youth, and other vulnerable groups in environmental reporting, and improving their access to it?

d) What changes has the project had on increasing networking and collaboration among journalists and media partners working in environmental journalism across country boundaries?

B. Capacity Building

1) What specific skills (e.g., investigative techniques, inclusive storytelling, data visualization) have been enhanced through the project’s training and support?

2) Are journalists and media organizations effectively applying newly gained knowledge and skills to their work?

3) What challenges are journalists facing in applying these knowledge and skills into their practice?

C. Quality of Media Content

1) How has the quality of environmental reporting (e.g., accuracy, depth, engagement) improved among project participants?

2) Are the stories produced by journalists and media organizations well-researched, fact-checked, and credible?

3) Do the produced stories reflect diverse and contextually relevant perspectives on climate and environmental issues?

D. Coverage of Consequences and Solutions

1) To what extent do the produced stories highlight the consequences of human impacts on climate and the environment?

2) Are viable solutions to environmental and climate challenges effectively communicated in the content?

3) Do the stories present actionable insights for policymakers, communities, and individuals?

E. Engagement and Reach

1) Are the produced stories engaging and accessible to the intended audiences?

2) Are the stories reaching a diverse audience, including marginalized and underserved populations?

3) To what extent have the stories sparked discussions or actions on environmental issues?

F. Collaboration and Organizational Strengthening

1) How have media organizations strengthened their internal capacities (e.g., editorial processes, fact-checking protocols, resource allocation) to support environmental journalism?

2) Are there improvements in collaborative reporting or partnerships among journalists, media organizations, CSOs, and environmental experts/defenders/activists?

3) To what extent are partners continuing to prioritize and produce high-quality environmental content?

G. Sustainability of Capacity Gains

1) Are journalists and media organizations demonstrating the ability to independently sustain the quality and quantity of environmental reporting?

2) Have participants established networks or communities of practice to support ongoing improvements in environmental journalism?

3) What resources or support are still needed to ensure long-term sustainability?

4) How is the exit strategy defined, and how will it be managed at the end of the funding period?

H. Lessons Learned

1) What challenges have journalists and media organizations encountered in reporting on environmental issues?

2) How has the project addressed barriers to high-quality environmental journalism (e.g., lack of data, censorship, limited funding)?

3) What additional support could enhance the effectiveness of participants’ environmental reporting?

Application instructions

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