Terminal Evaluation National Consultant

Consultant

Contract

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Background

1.INTRODUCTION

In accordance with UNDP and GEF M&E policies and procedures, all full- and medium-sized UNDP-supported GEF-financed projects are required to undergo a Terminal Evaluation (TE) at the end of the project. This Terms of Reference (ToR) sets out the expectations for the TE of the medium-sized project titled “Strengthening Institutional Capacity for Effective Implementation of Rio Conventions in Uganda” (PIMS #5643) implemented through the National Environment Management Authority of Uganda. The project started on the 01st November 2017 and is in its 4th year of implementation. The TE process follows the guidance outlined in the document ‘Guidance For Conducting Terminal Evaluations of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects’.

2.PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The project is designed to the project’s strategy emphasizes a long-term approach to institutionalizing capacities to meet Rio Conventions obligations through a set of activities that form the foundation for effective decision-making and policy making regarding global environmental benefits. Three outcomes of the project include 1) Strengthened and elaborated national institutional framework for managing the environment and natural resources 2) Technical and management staff sufficiently trained in monitoring and data analysis, and linkage to decision-making processes.; 3) An improved national system to manage (i.e. collect, store, and access) data and information that supports monitoring and implementations of Rio Conventions.

The project goal is to strengthen institutional capacity for Rio Conventions implementation and environmental data and information management in Uganda, in order to improve the reporting process to the Rio Conventions and ensure sustainable development through better design and enforcement of environmental policy. The project’s strategy emphasizes a long-term approach to institutionalizing capacities to meet Rio Conventions obligations through a set of activities that form the foundation for effective decision-making and policy making regarding global environmental benefits. Specifically, the project is implemented through two components, namely, establishing a national institutional framework for environmental management, and development of coordinated information and data management system. Active participation of stakeholder representatives in the project life cycle facilitates the strategic implementation of project activities, mainly at the district level, in line with project objectives. Moreover, the inclusion of different stakeholders contributes to the adaptive collaborative management of project implementation and promotes long-term sustainability of project outcomes.

With 900,000.00 US$ from the GEF, the MEAs will have a total volume of 1.950 million US$. Co-financing is provided by Ugandan institutions and UNDP in-kind (National Environment Management Authority 275,000.00 USD, UNDP 200,000.00 USD) Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) 200,000.00 USD, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) 150,000.00 USD, recipient District Local Governments 125,000.00 USD, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) at local level 100,000.00)

In accordance with UNDP and GEF M&E policies and procedures, all full and medium-sized UNDP support GEF financed projects are required to undergo a terminal evaluation upon completion of implementation. These terms of reference (TOR) sets out the expectations for a Terminal Evaluation (TE) of the project “Strengthening Institutional Capacity for Effective Implementation of Rio Conventions in Uganda)” (PIMS# 5643)

The project is executed by the UNDP and NEMA in cooperation with other government and non-government institutions including five local governments. The Main project partners are the Ministry of Water and Environment, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, the pilot district local governments of Wakiso, Mukono, Buikwe, Kayunga and Jinja, and the local Civil Society Organizations.

The project is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) this project contributes to the following Sustainable Development Goal (s):

Goal 15: Protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.

Goal 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.

TE PURPOSE

The TE report will assess the achievement of project results against what was planned and draw lessons that can both improve the sustainability of benefits from this project, and aid in the overall enhancement of UNDP programming. The TE report promotes accountability and transparency and assesses the extent of project accomplishments.

The TE will be conducted according to the guidelines, rules, and procedures established by UNDP and GEF as reflected in the UNDP Evaluation Guidance for GEF Financed Projects.

Duties and Responsibilities

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITY

1.TE APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY

The TE report must provide evidence-based information that is credible, reliable and useful.

The TE team will review all relevant sources of information including documents prepared during the preparation phase (i.e. PIF, UNDP Initiation Plan, UNDP Social and Environmental Screening Procedure/SESP) the Project Document, project reports including annual PIRs, project budget revisions, lesson learned reports, national strategic and legal documents, and any other materials that the team considers useful for this evidence-based evaluation. The TE team will review the baseline and midterm GEF focal area Core Indicators/Tracking Tools submitted to the GEF at the CEO endorsement and midterm stages and the terminal Core Indicators/Tracking Tools that must be completed before the TE field mission begins.

The TE team is expected to follow a participatory and consultative approach ensuring close engagement with the Project Team, government counterparts (the GEF Operational Focal Point), Implementing Partners, the UNDP Country Office(s), the Regional Technical Advisor, direct beneficiaries and other stakeholders.

Engagement of stakeholders is vital to a successful TE. Stakeholder involvement should include interviews with stakeholders who have project responsibilities, including but not limited to representatives of the Ministry of Water and Environmental, Ministry Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Ministry of Local Government, Makerere University Department of Environmental Management, Nature Uganda, Environmental Alert and Action Coalition for Development and Environment, Pilot district local governments of Wakiso, Mukono, Kayunga, Buikwe and Jinja. Project Board, project beneficiaries, academia, local government and CSOs, etc. No requirements for field visits since there were no local interventions.

The national TE consultant is expected to work-with international TE consultant during the field mission to Uganda. Interviews will be held with the following organizations and individuals at a minimum: Ministry of Water and Environmental, Ministry Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Ministry of Local Government, Makerere University Department of Environmental Management, Nature Uganda, Environmental Alert and Action Coalition for Development and Environment, Pilot district local governments of Wakiso, Mukono, Kayunga, Buikwe and Jinja and UNDP Uganda Country Office. In case of travel restriction to Uganda due to the COVID-19 crisis, the interviewees will be held by national TE consultant only or will be held remotely.

The specific design and methodology for the TE should emerge from consultations between the TE team and the above-mentioned parties regarding what is appropriate and feasible for meeting the TE purpose and objectives and answering the evaluation questions, given limitations of budget, time and data. The TE team must use gender-responsive methodologies and tools and ensure that gender equality and women’s empowerment, as well as other cross-cutting issues and SDGs are incorporated into the TE report.

The final methodological approach including interview schedule, field visits and data to be used in the evaluation must be clearly outlined in the TE Inception Report and be fully discussed and agreed between UNDP, stakeholders and the TE team.

The final report must describe the full TE approach taken and the rationale for the approach making explicit the underlying assumptions, challenges, strengths and weaknesses about the methods and approach of the evaluation.

2.DETAILED SCOPE OF THE TE

The TE will assess project performance against expectations as set out in the project’s Results Framework (see ToR Annex A). The TE will assess results according to the criteria outlined in the Guidance for TEs of UNDP-supported GEF-financed Projects.

The Findings section of the TE report will cover the topics listed below. A full outline of the TE report’s content is provided in ToR Annex C.

The asterisk “(*)” indicates criteria for which a rating is required.

Findings

1. Project Design/Formulation

• National priorities and country driven ness
• Theory of Change
• Gender equality and women’s empowerment
• Social and Environmental Safeguards
• Analysis of Results Framework: project logic and strategy, indicators
• Assumptions and Risks
• Lessons from other relevant projects (e.g. same focal area) incorporated into project design
• Planned stakeholder participation
• Linkages between project and other interventions within the sector
• Management arrangements

1. Project Implementation

• Adaptive management (changes to the project design and project outputs during implementation)
• Actual stakeholder participation and partnership arrangements
• Project Finance and Co-finance
• Monitoring & Evaluation: design at entry (*), implementation (*), and overall assessment of M&E (*)
• Implementing Agency (UNDP) (*) and Executing Agency (*), overall project oversight/implementation and execution (*)
• Risk Management, including Social and Environmental Standards

1. Project Results

• Assess the achievement of outcomes against indicators by reporting on the level of progress for each objective and outcome indicator at the time of the TE and noting final achievements
• Relevance (*), Effectiveness (*), Efficiency (*) and overall project outcome (*)
• Sustainability: financial (*) , socio-political (*), institutional framework and governance (*), environmental (*), overall likelihood of sustainability (*)
• Country ownership
• Gender equality and women’s empowerment
• Cross-cutting issues (poverty alleviation, improved governance, climate change mitigation and adaptation, disaster prevention and recovery, human rights, capacity development, South-South cooperation, knowledge management, volunteerism, etc., as relevant)
• GEF Additionality
• Catalytic Role / Replication Effect
• Progress to impact

Main Findings, Conclusions, Recommendations and Lessons Learned

• The TE team will include a summary of the main findings of the TE report. Findings should be presented as statements of fact that are based on analysis of the data.
• The section on conclusions will be written in light of the findings. Conclusions should be comprehensive and balanced statements that are well substantiated by evidence and logically connected to the TE findings. They should highlight the strengths, weaknesses and results of the project, respond to key evaluation questions and provide insights into the identification of and/or solutions to important problems or issues pertinent to project beneficiaries, UNDP and the GEF, including issues in relation to gender equality and women’s empowerment.
• Recommendations should provide concrete, practical, feasible and targeted recommendations directed to the intended users of the evaluation about what actions to take and decisions to make. The recommendations should be specifically supported by the evidence and linked to the findings and conclusions around key questions addressed by the evaluation.
• The TE report should also include lessons that can be taken from the evaluation, including best practices in addressing issues relating to relevance, performance and success that can provide knowledge gained from the particular circumstance (programmatic and evaluation methods used, partnerships, financial leveraging, etc.) that are applicable to other GEF and UNDP interventions. When possible, the TE team should include examples of good practices in project design and implementation.
• It is important for the conclusions, recommendations and lessons learned of the TE report to incorporate gender equality and empowerment of women.

The TE report will include an Evaluation Ratings Table, as shown below:

Evaluation Ratings:

1. Monitoring and Evaluation

rating

2. IA& EA Execution

rating

M&E design at entry

Quality of UNDP Implementation

M&E Plan Implementation

Quality of Execution - Executing Agency

Overall quality of M&E

Overall quality of Implementation / Execution

3. Assessment of Outcomes

rating

4. Sustainability

rating

Relevance

Financial resources:

Effectiveness

Socio-political:

Efficiency

Institutional framework and governance:

Overall Project Outcome Rating

Environmental:

Overall likelihood of sustainability:

3.EXPECTED OUTPUTS AND DELIVERABLES

The TE consultant/team shall prepare and submit:

#

Deliverable

Description

Responsibilities

1

TE Inception Report

TE team clarifies objectives, methodology and timing of the TE

TE team submits Inception Report to UNDP Commissioning Unit and project management

2

Presentation

Initial Findings

TE team presents to UNDP Commissioning Unit and project management

3

Draft TE Report

Full draft report (using guidelines on report content in ToR.

TE team submits to UNDP Commissioning Unit; reviewed by BPPS-GEF RTA, Project Coordinating Unit, GEF OFP

5

Final TE Report* + Audit Trail

Revised final report and TE Audit trail in which the TE details how all received comments have (and have not) been addressed in the final TE report

TE team submits both documents to the UNDP Commissioning Unit

*The final TE report must be in English. If applicable, the Commissioning Unit may choose to arrange for a translation of the report into a language more widely shared by national stakeholders.

*All final TE reports will be quality assessed by the UNDP Independent Evaluation Office (IEO). Details of the IEO’s quality assessment of decentralized evaluations can be found in Section 6 of the UNDP Evaluation Guidelines.

NOTE: Flexibility and delays should be included in the timeframe for the TE, with additional time for implementing the TE virtually recognizing possible delays in accessing stakeholder groups due to COVID-19. Consideration may be given to a time contingency should the evaluation be delayed in any way due to COVID-19.

4.TE ARRANGEMENTS

The principal responsibility for managing the TE resides with the Commissioning Unit. The Commissioning Unit for this project’s TE is UNDP Uganda Country Office.

The Commissioning Unit will contract the consultants and ensure the timely provision of per diems and travel arrangements within the country for the TE team. The Project Team will be responsible for liaising with the TE team to provide all relevant documents, set up stakeholder interviews, and arrange field visits.

5.TIMEFRAME

The total duration of the TE will be approximately 27 working days over a time period of 16 weeks starting on 1st September 2021 and shall not exceed five months from when the TE team is hired.

6.DUTY STATION

Travel:

• International travel might not be possible for the team leader given the current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restriction imposed by number of countries in the region and globally;
• In case of travel, the BSAFE course must be successfully completed prior to commencement of travel;
• Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director.
• Consultants are required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under: https://dss.un.org/dssweb/
• All related travel expenses will be covered and will be reimbursed as per UNDP rules and regulations upon submission of an F-10 claim form and supporting documents.

1.EVALUATOR ETHICS

The TE team will be held to the highest ethical standards and is required to sign a code of conduct upon acceptance of the assignment. This evaluation will be conducted in accordance with the principles outlined in the UNEG ‘Ethical Guidelines for Evaluation’. The evaluator must safeguard the rights and confidentiality of information providers, interviewees, and stakeholders through measures to ensure compliance with legal and other relevant codes governing the collection of data and reporting on data. The evaluator must also ensure the security of collected information before and after the evaluation and protocols to ensure anonymity and confidentiality of sources of information where that is expected. The information knowledge and data gathered in the evaluation process must also be solely used for the evaluation and not for other uses without the express authorization of UNDP and partners.

2.PAYMENT SCHEDULE

• 20% payment upon satisfactory delivery of the final TE Inception Report and approval of the Commissioning Unit.
• 40% payment upon satisfactory delivery of the draft TE report to the Commissioning Unit.
• 40% payment upon satisfactory delivery of the final TE report and approval by the Commissioning Unit and RTA (via signatures on the TE Report Clearance Form) and delivery of completed TE Audit Trail.

Criteria for issuing the final payment of 40%:

• The final TE report includes all requirements outlined in the TE TOR and is in accordance with the TE guidance.
• The final TE report is clearly written, logically organized, and is specific for this project (i.e. text has not been cut & pasted from other TE reports).
• The Audit Trail includes responses to and justification for each comment listed.

In line with the UNDP’s financial regulations, when determined by the Commissioning Unit and/or the consultant that a deliverable or service cannot be satisfactorily completed due to the impact of COVID-19 and limitations to the TE, that deliverable or service will not be paid.

Due to the current COVID-19 situation and its implications, a partial payment may be considered if the consultant invested time towards the deliverable but was unable to complete to circumstances beyond his/her control.

APPLICATION PROCESS

3.SCOPE OF PRICE PROPOSAL AND SCHEDULE OF PAYMENTS

Financial Proposal:

• Financial proposals must be “all inclusive” and expressed in a lump-sum for the total duration of the contract. The term “all inclusive” implies all cost (professional fees, travel costs, living allowances etc.)
• The lump sum is fixed regardless of changes in the cost components.
• All prices must be in the local currency

4.RECOMMENDED PRESENTATION OF PROPOSAL:

1. Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;
2. CV and a Personal History Form (P11 form);
3. Brief description of approach to work/technical proposal of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment, and a proposed methodology on how they will approach and complete the assignment; (max 1 page)
4. Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price and all other travel-related costs (such as flight ticket, per diem, etc), supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template attached to the Letter of Confirmation of Interest template. If an applicant is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing email him/her to UNDP under Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the applicant must indicate at this point and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP.
5. The detailed Terms of Reference can be accessed on this link https://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=82083

All applications should be submitted to the UNDP job site as one PDF file and with the subject name “Consultant for Terminal Evaluation of Strengthening Institutional Capacity for Effective Implementation of Rio Conservation in Uganda” no later than 24th August, 2021 (5pm - Uganda Time). Any request for clarification must be sent by standard electronic communication to [email protected]. Incomplete applications will be excluded from further consideration.

5.CRITERIA FOR THE SELECTION OF THE BEST OFFER

Only those applications which are responsive and compliant will be evaluated. Offers will be evaluated according to the Combined Scoring method – where the educational background and experience on similar assignments will be weighted at 70% and the price proposal will weigh as 30% of the total scoring. The applicant receiving the Highest Combined Score that has also accepted UNDP’s General Terms and Conditions will be awarded the contract.

Competencies

• Competence in adaptive management, as applied to biodiversity, climate change and land degradation;
• Demonstrated understanding of issues related to gender and biodiversity, climate change and land degradation; experience in gender responsive evaluation and analysis;
• Excellent communication skills;
• Demonstrable analytical skills;

Required Skills and Experience

Education

• Master’s degree in in environment/forestry/agriculture/process engineering or economy or other closely related field;

Experience

• Recent experience with results-based management evaluation methodologies;
• Experience applying SMART indicators and reconstructing or validating baseline scenarios;
• Experience in evaluating projects;
• Experience working in Africa;
• Experience in relevant technical areas for at least 10 years;
• Project evaluation/review experience within United Nations system will be considered an asset;

Language

• Fluency in written and spoken English.

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Added 2 years ago - Updated 2 years ago - Source: jobs.undp.org