Final Evaluation of Governance and Economic Management Support (GEMS)

Consultant Elections & Governance

Contract

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Background

n July 2019 the Royal Norwegian Embassy in South Sudan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed a three-year partnership agreement to implement Governance and Economic Management Support (GEMS) project with objective of enhancing technical delivery on the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) through capacity development and integrity strengthening for key Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) at the national level. The aim was to provide an opportunity for Revitalized Government of National Unity (RTGoNU) to carry out reforms skilfully, structurally, systematically, symbiotically and synthetically during the three-year transitional period and slightly beyond. The lifespan of the initial project was to run from August 2019 to December 2022 with a total cost of NOK 242,276,625 (US$ 28,429,550).

However, delays in the formation of the RTGoNU and the unforeseen emergence of Covid-19 restrictions affected seriously the timely outputs of GEMS project to deliver what was planned for the two outcomes: 1) effective implementation of R-ARCSS, and 2) improved economic management. The situation swayed the donor to opt for downsizing of areas of intervention with redesign of the original project document so that it is focused on one outcome only: strengthening economic governance through creation of enabling institutional environment; improving systems, procedures, and operational capacities; and developing technical and functional human resource skills in the targeted few MDAs. Instead of spreading the support to 38 national MDAs, the revised GEMS project limited the intervention to Ministry of Finance and Planning, Ministry of Public Services and Human Resource Development, Ministry of Petroleum, Ministry of Interior (Department of Customs and Immigration), National Bureau of Statistics, National Audit Chamber, and National Revenue Authority. The assumption was that these institutions are central to Public Finance Management Reform Strategy (PFM-RS) for laying a firm foundation for effective and inclusive economic governance in South Sudan. The theory of change remained slightly the same as in the initial project though narrowed to enhancing economic governance with more attention to Public Finance Management (PFM).

Like the old GEMS project, the revised outputs have to be cost-effective in generating outcomes within PESTLE (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental) context of operation informed by SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis. Therefore, the revised project has to continue being aligned to the United Nations Cooperation Framework (UNCF 2019 - 2021); UNDP Country Programme Documents (CPD 2019-2021) Outcome 1 on strengthening “peace infrastructures and accountable governance at the national and local levels”; UNDP Strategic Plan (2018-2021 & 2022 - 2025), Signature Solution 2 on strengthening effective, inclusive and accountable governance; South Sudan National Development Strategy (NDS 2018-2021 and the revised RNDS 2021 - 2024) to “consolidate peace and stabilize the economy-strengthen core government functions”; and South Sudan Vision 2040 with objective of “building a prosperous, productive, and innovative nation” with improved “efficiency and effectiveness of the public sector”.

Purpose

The purpose of GEMS project end-term evaluation is to assess and ascertain the results that were achieved or missed for the initial two outcomes of effective implementation of R-ARCSS and improved economic management, and the revised one outcome of strengthened economic governance. This evaluation will compare the planned results with the actual results and impact based on both the initial and the revised assumptions from which the theory of change emanated.

The evaluation will serve as an important accountability function of providing UNDP, donors, national stakeholders, and partners with impartial assessment of what was achieved or missed from the planned GEMS project. Therefore, the findings and recommendations will determine whether there is strong justification for extension of GEMS project for more years after informing the key stakeholders, relevant MDAs of the Government of South Sudan, project donor (Norway), UNDP, UN agencies, UN Mission in South Sudan, civil society organizations, academia, and other actors on what need to be sustained or improved for future interventions on capacity building and post-conflict reforms.

Objectives

The following are the objectives of end-term evaluation of the initial and the revised GEMS Project:

• To determine the relevance and strategic positioning of UNDP’s GEMS project to governance and economic management capacity building support to the targeted government institutions within the context R-ARCSS implementation focusing on technical aspects of Chapter I and Chapter IV:
• Assess the progress made towards GEMS project results and whether there were any unintended achievements that were not foreseen prior to commencement of the planned outputs and activities.
• Assess the challenges faced by the GEMS project and risks mitigation measures that were taken to ensure that the initial and the revised objectives were met to create impact.
• Assess the partnerships and collaboration, stakeholder engagement, and South-South or Triangular Cooperation that the GEMS project enhanced.
• To analyze the extent to which the GEMS project enhanced cross-cutting aspects of capacity building with reference to gender mainstreaming, human rights promotion, environmental sustainability, and anti-corruption efforts.
• To ascertain whether the GEMS project management arrangements, approaches, strategies, monitoring and evaluation were well-conceived for effective and efficient delivery on the outputs and three outcomes of the initial GEMS project as well as the one outcome of the revised version.

To capture lessons learned from the GEMS project that can be used for the ongoing and future capacity building support to public institutions with focus on governance in terms of public administration and economic management, especially the aspect of Public Finance Management (PFM).

Duties and Responsibilities

The final evaluation of GEMS project will cover the entire project duration, from August 2019 to December 2022, with reference to both the initial and the revised project document. Within this period, the evaluators will assess project context, assumptions, theory of change, outputs, activities, outcomes and impact and risks using the criteria of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability and lessons learnt for holistic capacity building framework:

• Enabling the institutional environment.
• Strengthening the operational systems; and
• Training, coaching and mentoring technical human resource base.

The evaluation will be guided by UNDP’s UNDP Evaluation Guideline, principles, guidelines, policies, ethics, standards and quality assurance. The findings and conclusions should be backed by referenced evidence with clear sources.

The evaluation will adopt a combine qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques using:

Documents Review: The evaluation will review GEMS project documents and content produced before and during implementation period including the project proposal, contribution agreements and addendums, annual and quarterly work plans, project progress reports, annual project reports, project brief documents, minutes of key project meetings, M&E reports, and other documents produced by or associated with the project.

Direct Interviews: The evaluation will interview GEMS project stakeholders, key partners

using questionnaires developed by the two (2) consultants in line with the mandatory evaluation questions in collaboration with GEMS project management team and the donor (Norway):

• Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) will be conducted with selected relevant CAs, SSEs and the targeted public institutions (a list of key informants and institutions will be agreed between the evaluators, project management team and Embassy of Norway.
• Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) will be conducted with project beneficiaries and other project stakeholders using a pre-designed guide agreed between the evaluators, Evaluation Reference Group (ERG), project management team and Embassy of Norway.
• Where applicable, sample survey will be conducted in select locations to gauge the perception of the population about the outcome and impact of the project.

Field Visits: The evaluation will have field visits for on-site validation of GEMS project key tangible outputs and interventions. During the field visits, the evaluators are expected to follow a participatory and consultative approach that ensures close engagement with the beneficiaries and stakeholders with gender mainstreaming consideration.

The final methodological approach including interview schedule, field visits and data to be used in the evaluation, should be clearly outlined in the inception report and be fully discussed and agreed between ERG, UNDP and Embassy of Norway.

Deliverables

The evaluation is expected to start on 15th September 2022 and will last for 50 working days including fieldwork/interviews, report writing and submission.

S/N

Deliverables

Description

Timeline

1.

Inception Report and Workplan

The Evaluator prepares inception report and workplan in line with the GEMS project final evaluation TOR and based on preliminary discussions with UNDP and Embassy of Norway before the actual evaluation starts. This will be followed by evaluation debriefings to GEMS project team, ERG and Embassy of Norway before commencement of desk review, interviews, and field visits.

15 – 28 September 2022

2.

Draft Evaluation Report

The Evaluator conduct desk review, interviews and field visits; analyze the literature and the data collected; share evaluation briefs, compile draft evaluation report and submit it to UNDP and Embassy of Norway for review and comments within 5 days before sending it back for final editing. Comments in the draft report shall be retained in a separate copy with track changes.

29 September – 31st October 2022

3.

Final Evaluation Report

The Evaluator edit the draft report by addressing the comments and changes suggested by the UNDP and Embassy of Norway, and also do follow-up with the beneficiaries and stakeholders when deemed necessary for revision and validation before sharing the final draft with UNDP and Embassy of Norway. In case of further comments and suggestions for refinements, UNDP will send back the final draft to the Evaluators to address the concerns within 5 days. Once the final evaluation report is endorsed by the UNDP and Norway, the Evaluators will then submit it to UNDP close the contract.

1 October – 23 November

Implementation Arrangements:

The UNDP South Sudan Country Office will select a qualified and experienced evaluation consultant through UNDP procurement processes and in consultation with the partners. UNDP will be responsible for the management of the consultant and will in this regard designate the focal point. The GEMS Project staff will assist in facilitating the process (e.g., providing relevant documentation, arranging visits/interviews, etc.).

The GEMS project manager and UNDP projects quality assurance team convene an Evaluation reference group to enhance the quality of the final evaluation report. This reference group will review the inception report and the draft evaluation report to provide detailed comments related to the quality of methodology, evidence collected, analysis and articulation of findings and approve the final report. The reference group will also advise on the conformity of processes to UNDP and UNEG standards.

The evaluation consultant will take responsibility, with assistance from the GEMS project team, for setting up meetings and conducting documents reviews, interviews and field visits. The consultant will report directly to the designated focal point and work closely with the project team. The consultant will work full time, based in UNDP South Sudan or remotely at times and will be required to travel to the project locations as part of the assessment and evaluation. Office space and limited administrative and logistical support will be provided. The consultant will use her/his own laptop and cell phone. UNDP will develop a management response to the evaluation within 4 weeks of report finalization.

The budget for the evaluation must be realistic and reasonable compared to the task outlined in the ToR. This must correspond to the evaluation questions, methodology and time required to ensure the quality of process and report.

Competencies

Identifying and Building Strategic Partnerships:

• Effective networking with partners, seizing opportunities to build strategic alliances.
• Faster coordination on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Innovating and Developing Good Governance Strategies, Plans and Regulations:

• Knowledge of flatforms on e-governance, gender and youth development.
• Innovative on proposal writing on contemporary management standards.

Creating Impact through Sustainable Peace and Holistic Development Dividends:

• leadership and administrative skills of developmental analyses.
• Comparative advantage of working with the public sector.

Promoting Institutional Training, Technical Expertise and Knowledge Sharing:

• Experience in training, coaching and mentoring of senior public servants.
• Efficient drafting, planning, presentation and report-writing skills.

Organizational Awareness:

• Promotes the mission, vision and strategic goals of UNDP
• Corporate knowledge and sound judgment.

Working in Teams:

• Team player and facilitator;
• Works collaboratively with colleagues, partners and stakeholders to pursue common goals.

Communicating Information and Ideas:

• Efficient and effective communication;
• Ability to listen and take direction and leadership from others.

Self-Management & Emotional Intelligence:

• Creating synergies through self-control,
• Tolerates conditions of stress and uncertainty to maintain a positive outlook and to work productively.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

At least a minimum of Minimum Advanced/Masters’ Degree in International Development, Public Administration, Public Policy, Economics, Law, Political Science or any other relevant university degree related to development programming and projects management.

Experience

Relevant professional experience in monitoring and evaluation of development programmes and projects (experience with UNDP will be an advantage)

Technical competencies:

• At least 5 years of technical competence in fields of governance and/or economic institutional capacity building
• At least 3 years of technical competence (and recent – latest should have been conducted within the past 2 years) in conducting studies, reviews, evaluations and assessments in governance and/or economic management capacity building.
• Excellent writing skills with a strong background in report drafting
• Demonstrated ability and willingness to work with people of different cultural, ethnic and religious background, different gender, and diverse political views.

Applicants will be evaluated based on cumulative scoring. When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Being responsive, compliant and acceptable; and
• Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation where technical criteria weighs 70% and Financial criteria/ Proposal weighs 30%.

Technical Evaluation = 100% total points (1000 total marks):

• Criteria 1: Relevant educational qualifications as per the TOR*: Weight = 30% maximum points.*
• Criteria 2: Professional working experience in relevant fields related to monitoring and evaluation of programmes/projects: weigh = 20% maximum points.
• Criteria 3: Technical competencies, English language, and ability to work in complex environment: Weight = 50 maximum points.

Having reviewed applications received, UNDP will award the top candidates with highest scores. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for financial proposal.

Candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (49 points) of the maximum obtainable points for the technical criteria (70 points) shall be considered for the financial evaluation.

Financial Evaluation - Total 30% (30 points).

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

p = y (µ/z), where

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Contract Award:

Candidate obtaining the highest combined scores of Technical and Financial Evaluation will be considered technically qualified and will be offered to enter into contract with UNDP.

Payment Modality:

Payment to the consultant will be made based on the actual number of days worked, deliverables accepted and upon certification of satisfactory completion by the manager, and shall be done according to the following percentages and days:

• First deliverable makes 20% of the total payment (10 days).
• Second deliverable makes 50% of the total payment (30 days).
• Third and final deliverable makes 30% of the total payment (10 days).

The work week will be based on 35 hours, i.e. on a 7-hours working day, with core hours being between 9h00 and 18h00 daily.

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Added 1 year ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: jobs.undp.org