National Terminal Evaluation Consultant for projects C-SAP 3 and 4

Background

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is currently implementing a project that requires the services of an individual to perform the work described in this document.

Should you be interested and decide to submit an offer for this assignment, kindly submit directly in the online supplier portal no later than 29 Nov 2024.

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If any discrepancy between deadline in the system and in deadline indicated elsewhere, deadline in the system prevails.

We look forward to your favourable response and thank you in advance for your interest in working with UNDP.  

Sincerely

A.    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 TEs of the full-sized projects below:

.    Project 1: Conservation and sustainable use of indigenous agricultural genetic diversity in Hubei (PRC-GEF Partnership Program on Sustainable Agricultural Development (C-SAP) Project #4) (PIMS 5822)

This project is implemented by the Hubei Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. The project started on September 29th, 2020, and is in its fourth year of implementation.

.    Project 2: Participatory in-situ conservation and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity in Hainan (PRC-GEF Partnership Program on Sustainable Agricultural Development (C-SAP) Project #3) (PIMS 5823)

This project is implemented by the Hainan Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. The project started on October 26th, 2020, and is in its fourth year of implementation.

The TE process must follow the guidance outlined in the document ‘Guidance For Conducting Terminal

Evaluations of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects: financedProjects.pdf ).

B.    PROJECT BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

This is the Terms of Reference for the following two projects: 1) Conservation and sustainable use of indigenous agricultural genetic diversity in Hubei (PRC-GEF Partnership Program on Sustainable Agricultural Development (C-SAP) Project #4: C-SAP 4 Project); 2) UNDP-GEF Terminal Evaluation (TE) of Participatory in-situ conservation and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity in Hainan (PRC-GEF Partnership Program on Sustainable Agricultural Development (C-SAP) Project #3: C-SAP 3 Project)

1. Project 1: Conservation and sustainable use of indigenous agricultural genetic diversity in Hubei (PRC-GEF Partnership Program on Sustainable Agricultural Development (C-SAP) Project #4) (PIMS 5822)

Brief project description: The project is part of an innovative programmatic approach to mainstream in-situ conservation of agrobiodiversity across China and reduce key threats to globally significant genetic resources for food and agriculture (GRFA). This project is designed to remove barriers currently restricting the protection and sustainable use of indigenous agricultural genetic diversity in Hubei Province, contributing towards achievement of the long-term objective of strengthening conservation of Hubei’s globally important agrobiodiversity, through an enhanced provincial policy framework, strengthened institutional capacity, the establishment of innovative incentive mechanisms, and improved knowledge and understanding of the economic and environmental value of local GRFA varieties.

A core focus of the project is demonstration of innovative, participatory, partnership-based and incentivized approaches that support the achievement of long-term agrobiodiversity conservation and sustainable development outcomes. Participatory approaches will be implemented in three demonstration landscapes having a cumulative area of 15,500 hectares, with two landscapes situated within the Danjiangkou Reservoir area in northwestern Hubei and one within the Dabie Mountains region in the eastern part of the province. The target GRFA varieties in the demonstration landscapes include rouge rice (Oryza sative), Wudang Tao tea (Eurya alata) and black goat (Capra hircus).

The key  barriers are:1)The absence of a cohesive policy and regulatory framework to support the in-situ conservation of agrobiodiversity and a lack of inter-sectoral coordination mechanisms; 2) Uncoordinated and insufficient incentive mechanisms for farmers to engage in the conservation and sustainable use of local agricultural varieties; 3) Limited capacity for in-situ conservation and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity and a lack of mainstreamed institutional support structures; 4) Lack of awareness on the importance of indigenous crops and livestock and a lack of access to knowledge and information.

The project strategy as the GEF alternative aimed at removing the barriers outlined above is broken.

down into the following four integrated components and described in the theory of change diagram in Figure 2:

. Component   1:  Enhanced provincial policy and regulatory framework

. Component 2: Demonstration of sustainable incentive mechanisms for in-situ conservation and use of Agrobiodiversity

. Component 3: Mainstreaming of approaches and strengthened institutional capacity

. Component 4: Knowledge management and monitoring & evaluation

The Implementing Partner for this project is the Hubei Rural Affairs. The Implementing Partner is responsible and accountable for managing this project, including the monitoring and evaluation of project interventions, achieving project outcomes, and for the effective use of UNDP resources. A single Project Management Office (PMO), located in Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in Wuhan.  It operates under delegation and administrative authority of Hubei DARA, with responsibility for coordinating implementation and logistics. The NPD will appoint a provincial coordinator as the Deputy Project Director to take responsibility for daily operation of the PMO.

The project is the 4th project of the 5 projects under the GEF-financed C-SAP Program. The planned implementation period is 60 months, from 21/6/2020 to 20/6/2025. The International Implementing Agency is UNDP and the National Implementing Partner is the Hubei Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (Hubei DARA). Hubei DARA is responsible for managing this project.  The PMO is in Hubei Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, which is responsible for implementing this project. The amount of GEF Trust of this project is US$1,509,633, co-financing is US$11,810,000. The project launched on June 21, 2020. The Project Steering Committee (PSC) was established on September 29, 2020, and the first PSC meeting was held on September 29, 2020. Representatives from Hubei DARA, UNDP, Rural Energy and Environment Agency of MARA and Department of Finance of Hubei Province attended the first PSC meeting. Four PSC meetings have been organized up to now.

2. Project 2: Participatory in-situ conservation and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity in Hainan (PRC-GEF Partnership Program on Sustainable Agricultural Development (C-SAP) Project #3) (PIMS 5823)

Brief project description: The project is part of an innovative programmatic approach to mainstream in-situ conservation of agrobiodiversity across China and reduce key threats to globally significant genetic resources for food and agriculture (GRFA). This project is designed to remove barriers currently restricting the protection and sustainable use of local agricultural genetic diversity in Hainan Province, contributing towards achievement of the long-term objective of strengthening conservation of Hainan’s globally important agrobiodiversity, through an enhanced provincial policy framework, strengthened institutional capacity, the establishment of innovative incentive mechanisms, and improved knowledge and understanding of the economic and environmental value of GRFA varieties.

A core focus of the project is demonstration of innovative, participatory, partnership-based and incentivized approaches that support the achievement of long-term agrobiodiversity conservation and sustainable development outcomes. Participatory approaches will be implemented in three demonstration landscapes having a cumulative area of 13,787 hectares, with target GRFA varieties in the demonstration landscapes including Shanlan rice (Oryza sativa), Wuzhishan pig (Sus scrofa) and Jiaji duck (Anas domestica).

The key  barriers are: 1) The absence of a cohesive policy and regulatory framework to support the in-situ conservation of agrobiodiversity and a lack of inter-sectoral coordination mechanisms; 2) Uncoordinated and insufficient incentive mechanisms for farmers to engage in the conservation and sustainable use of local agricultural varieties, and the absence of public sector support structures and market-based mechanisms to establish these incentives; 3) Limited capacity for in-situ conservation and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity and a lack of mainstreamed institutional support structures; 4) Lack of awareness on the importance of crops and livestock and a lack of access to knowledge and information

The project strategy as the GEF alternative aimed at removing the barriers outlined above is broken

down into the following four integrated components and described in the theory of change diagram in Figure 2:

. Component   1:  Strengthened provincial framework

. Component 2: Demonstration of sustainable incentive mechanisms for in-situ conservation and use of agrobiodiversity

. Component 3: Mainstreaming and institutional capacity strengthening

. Component 4: Knowledge management and monitoring & evaluation

The Implementing Partner for this project is the Hainan Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. The Implementing Partner is responsible and accountable for managing this project, including the monitoring and evaluation of project interventions, achieving project outcomes, and for the effective use of UNDP resources. A single Project Management Office (PMO), located in Hainan Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (DARA) in Haikou.  It operates under delegation and administrative authority of Hainan DARA, with responsibility for coordinating implementation and logistics. The NPD will three other co-financed, seconded positions within DARA, a Project Director, Deputy Project Director and Provincial Coordinator to take responsibility for daily operation of the PMO.

The project is the 3rd project of the 5 projects under the GEF-financed C-SAP Program. The planned implementation period is 60 months, from 1/6/2020 to 30/5/2025. The International Implementing Agency is UNDP and the National Implementing Partner is the Hainan Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (Hainan DARA). Hainan DARA is responsible for managing this project. The PMO is in Hainan Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, which is responsible for implementing this project. The amount of GEF Trust of this project is US$1,509,633, co-financing is US$10,160,000. The project launched on October 26, 2020. The Project Steering Committee (PSC) was established on October 26, 2020, and the first PSC meeting was held on October 26, 2020. Representatives from Hainan DARA, UNDP, MARA, PMO, Hainan Provincial Department of Finance and others attended the first PSC meeting. Four PSC meetings have been organized up to now.

Duties and Responsibilities

C.  TE PURPOSE

The TE report will assess the achievement of projects results against what were expected to be achieved 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, also assesses the extent of project accomplishments.

The TE will also establish the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, performance and success of the project, including the sustainability of results and the long-term sustainability strategy. The TE will draw and analyze lessons learned through the project and best practices pertaining to the strategies employed, and implementation arrangements, which may be utilized to inform future programs.

Special Objectives: Gender and cross cutting issues. The terminal evaluation will assess the implementation status of Gender Analysis and Mainstreaming Action Plan, and will place a strong emphasis on gender equality and the integration of cross-cutting issues, reflecting UNDP's commitment to these priorities across its programming. Special objectives include assessing the extent to which gender considerations have been effectively mainstreamed throughout the project cycle, from design to implementation and results.

Additionally, the TE will scrutinize the handling of cross-cutting issues such as human rights, environmental sustainability, and social inclusion, evaluating how these dimensions have been addressed to foster holistic and inclusive development outcomes.

D.  TE APPROACH & METHODOLOGY

D.1 General Methodologies

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 Hubei Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hainan Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Finance, member agencies of Project Board/PSC, senior officials and task team/component leaders, UNDP Regional Technical Advisor for the project, key experts and consultants in the subject areas, project beneficiaries, academia, local government and CSOs, etc. Additionally, the evaluation consultants are expected to conduct field missions to Yunyang, Danjiangkou and Xishui for PIMS 5822 Project and to Qiongzhong, Baisha and Qionghai for PIMS 5823 Project.

On gender and cross-cutting issues, the evaluation shall also evaluate the project's impact on diverse groups and to identify any unintended consequences or gaps in programming. This may involve collecting and analyzing data on project outcomes disaggregated by gender and other relevant factors, as well as conducting stakeholder consultations and/or engaging with local communities. The evaluators shall also go to the field visit for the “tangible” result verification on the ground, facilitated by the Evaluation Reference Group.

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, however, 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.

D.2 Data collection and analysis

The TE team will first 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 evaluation shall then conduct a set of semi-structured interviews, including the Key Informant Interview (KII) and Focus Group Discussions (FGD). These interviews will be based on the methodologies and questions itemized above, whilst customizing these questions to different stakeholders. The evaluator shall also go to the field visit for the “tangible” result verification on the ground. The evaluator should triangulate data from various sources to ensure validity and reliability of the data.

E.  DETAILED SCOPE OF THE TE

The TE will assess project performance against expectations set out in the projects’ Logical Framework/Results Framework (see ToR Annex A). The TE will assess results according to the criteria outlined in . 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 the ToR Annex C.

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

Findings

I. Project Design/Formulation

• National priorities and country driven-ness
• Theory of Change
• Gender equality and women’s empowerment
• Social and Environmental Standards (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

II. 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 (Safeguards)

III. 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.

Competencies

F.  TIMEFRAME

The total duration of the TE will be approximately 85-day (42.5 days for PIMS 5822 Project and 42.5 days for PIMS 5823 Project) over a time period of around 3 months. The tentative TE time frames are as follows:

Options for site visits should be provided in the TE Inception Report.

G.  TE DELIVERABLES

*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 (Access at: )

H.  TE ARRANGEMENTS

The principal responsibility for managing the TE resides with the Commissioning Unit. The Commissioning Unit for this project’s TE is the UNDP China. The Commissioning Unit will contract the evaluators 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.

On feedback mechanism, the terminal evaluation will actively seek and incorporate a broad spectrum of perspectives from various stakeholders. By employing a combination of surveys, focus groups, and interviews, the mechanism will ensure that all voices, especially those historically underrepresented, are heard and duly considered.

The numbers in parentheses are the actual working days, and the period before them is only indicative working period.

Required Skills and Experience

I.  TE TEAM COMPOSITION

A team of Two consultants (One international consultant as the team leader, and One national evaluator) will conduct the two TEs.  The team leader with experience and exposure to projects and evaluations in other regions will be responsible for the  overall  design, join the field mission, providing  guidance to the  national consultant and writing of the TE report. The national consultant will work with the Project Team in developing the TE itinerary and do the field visit to the sites, be responsible for collecting the necessary information to provide to the evaluation team.

The evaluator(s) cannot have participated in the project preparation, formulation and/or implementation (including the writing of the project document), must not have conducted this project’s Mid-Term Review and should not have a conflict of interest with the project’s related activities.

The selection of evaluators will be aimed at maximizing the overall “team” qualities in the following areas: (Adjust the qualifications as needed and provide a weight to each qualification.  In most cases, the qualifications for the team leader and those for the team expert will differ.  Therefore, there should be two different lists of qualifications or separate ToRs.)

Qualifications for the National Consultant

Education

• At least a Bachelor’s degree in Biodiversity/Environmental Science/Environmental/Social Science or other closely related field. (10%)

Experience

• Relevant experience with results-based management evaluation methodologies (10%);
• Experience applying SMART indicators and reconstructing or validating baseline scenarios; (5%)
• Competence in adaptive management, as applied to biodiversity; (10%)
• Experience in evaluating projects; (5%)
• Experience working in China would be highly preferable; (5%)
• Minimum 10 years of work experience in biodiversity conservation (10%);
• Demonstrated understanding of issues related to gender and biodiversity; experience in gender responsive evaluation and analysis;(10%)
• Excellent communication skills; (5%)
• Demonstrable analytical skills;(5%)
• Project evaluation/review experience within United Nations system will be considered an asset. (20%)

Language

• Fluency in written and spoken Chinese (native speaker) and English (5%)

J.  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 collection of data and reporting on data. The evaluator must also ensure 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.

K.  PAYMENT SCHEDULE

For International Leader and National Consultant:

• 20% payment upon satisfactory delivery of the final TE Inception Report and approval by 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.

L.  APPLICATION PROCESS

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  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.

Criteria for Evaluation of Proposal: 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.

Should you be interested and decide to submit an offer for this assignment, kindly submit directly in the online supplier portal no later than 29 Nov 2024.

Offers must be submitted directly in the system following this link:   using the profile you may have in the portal. Please do not submit on this website!

In case you have never registered before, you can register a profile using the registration link   and following the instructions in guides available in UNDP website: .  Do not create a new profile if you already have one. Use the forgotten password feature in case you do not remember the password or the username from previous registration. If you are new registered for IC, the company name should be the name of individual.

Once you login the supplier platform, Click-View Active Negotiations, Search with Negotiation Number: UNDP-CHN-00143, then Create response.

Please note that only the application submitted in UNDP online supplier portal is accepted! Please do not submit on this website!

If any discrepancy between deadline in the system and in deadline indicated elsewhere, deadline in the system prevails.

We look forward to your favourable response and thank you in advance for your interest in working with UNDP.  

Sincerely