UNDP Jobs - 20752- National Initiative on Civic Education (NICE) Proj

National Initiative on Civic Education (NICE) Project Final Evaluation Consultancy

Location :

Suva

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

24-Jan-2011

Application Deadline :

04-Jan-11 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

18 days

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The UNDP National Initiative on Civil Education (NICE) Project is designed to ultimately assist the whole nation of Fiji through cultivating its people and society to adhere to principles of universally recognized human rights and civic responsibilities which form the basis of stable, peaceful coexistence, democratic governance and participatory nation building. The project supports the development of relevant civic education curricula, the production of civic education resources and training materials, training of civic education facilitators, leadership and negotiation skills for community leaders, capacity building and networking of civil societies, and delivering of civic education messages. The NICE Project is one component of the overall Fiji Good Governance Programme on community civic education.

The NICE project has the following components:

Capacity Building and Networking
Under this component, the project works on communications strategy and embarks on establishing a network of partners involved with civic education and other interest groups.

Develop and Disseminate Civic Education messages
To develop civic education messages to be disseminated through appropriate modes, with each designed to suit its intended target group.

Advocacy-Leadership and Negotiation Skills
To empower individuals and communities to use existing avenues and institutions to address issues that affect them and encourage them to actively participate in the policy-making process.

Voter Education
To inform and educate citizens on the importance of voting in a democratic society, widening their knowledge on issues related to elections/voting and encourage their participation during municipal and national elections.

Project Impact Survey
The impact of civic and voter education programme on people’s understanding and attitudes towards democracy and good governance measured.

The National Initiative on Civil Education (NICE) is aligned with the United Nations Development Assistance Framework for the Pacific Sub-Region (UNDAF) under the Principles of Good Governance and Human Rights. NICE is also closely linked with the Pacific Plan objective dealing with improved transparency, accountability and equity. The Project commenced in 2006 and is coming to its end on 31st March 2011.

NICE is a broad-based project directly implemented by UNDP under the DEX implementation arrangement funded by NZAID and EU.

Duties and Responsibilities

Overall Purpose of the Summative Evaluation

The overall purpose of this summative evaluation is as follows:

It is intended that the outcomes of the evaluation will provide useful and relevant information to all stakeholders on the effectiveness of the project, including lessons for future of civic education activities in Fiji.
Review project achievements, impacts and lessons learnt against the five Project components.
The summative evaluation will also consider if the Project has achieved the intended results and outcomes against agreed to date, and provide guidance for the key stakeholders (UNDP, NZAID, Government of Fiji and CSOs) on the effectiveness of the implementation mechanisms of project interventions.
Accountability: The Summative Evaluation is also an instrument for the overall accountability system of the project. It will assess whether or not the project plans were fulfilled and whether resources were used in a responsible way. It aims at assisting partners to assess sustainability of activities, approaches and structures initiated or supported by the project, and provide recommendations for the future.

Specific Objectives:

The specific objective of this consultancy service is to undertake the final evaluation of the UNDP National Initiative on Civic Education (NICE) Project. More precisely the consultant is expected to:

Assess the projects’ accomplishments to date and its contributions towards the achievement of outcomes, including any constraints on its effectiveness, and any unintended outcomes
Assess the direct and indirect effects of the project on intended beneficiaries and broader socio-economic, political, MDG and gender dimensions.
Assess the appropriateness of the project design and point out strengths and weaknesses, particularly as it relates to the achievement of project objectives, its linkages with the government’s national strategic plans, policy on decentralization and problems it intends to address.
Assesses the management and implementation arrangement of the project, including financial and human resource management, monitoring and oversight as well as the risks and risk management strategies in terms of their contribution to the delivery of project results in accordance with the project Results and Resources Framework (RRF).
Identify key factors which have contributed to the project’s successes and failures
Document the lessons learned in the design, delivery, management and monitoring of the project that will add value to second phase of the project.
Recommend options for the continuation, conclusion or modification of this project, including programmatic areas and management structure.
Identify and suggest possible outputs and activities for the next phase of the project(s), and ways forward to incorporate them into UNDP´s Results and Resources Framework.
Assessing the impacts of the project and the contribution of the outputs to the overall purpose;
Review Project implementation, including assessing the institutional arrangement, partnerships, risk management, monitoring and evaluation, project implementation and project management;
Assessing the long term sustainability of project interventions;
Evaluating the effectiveness of the curricular materials against the curricular processes, and their effectiveness- in particular the usage of the materials by civil society implementing partners and their facilitators;
Assess the effectiveness of the resources expended against the achievements of outputs, and,
Assess the gender impacts of the CE Project

Scope of the Final Evaluation

Within this framework, specific issues and questions to be addressed will include, but not limited to the following:

Effectiveness

Was the civic education framework (design, definitions, and consultation systems) that was established effective for guiding the development and delivery of a civic education curriculum?
Have the activities been implemented in accordance with the project plans? If not, why?
What outputs have been achieved? To what extent do they contribute to the objectives?
How effective are the approaches and structures in delivering the desired outputs?
Have the partner organizations worked together effectively? Is the partnership structure effective in achieving the desired outputs?

Efficiency

Are the available technical and financial resources adequate to fulfill the project plans?
Are the funds being spent in accordance with project plans and using the right procedures?
Have there been any unforeseen problems? How well have they been dealt with?
Are the capacities of the partners adequate?
What have been the roles of the partners and staff and are they appropriate?
Is there an effective process, built into the management structure for self-monitoring and assessment, reporting and reflection?

Relevance

Establish whether or not the design and approach are relevant in addressing the identified needs, issues and challenges?
Determine the potential of the project contributing to the strategic policies and programmes of the Government and in addressing the identified needs of the Fiji governance System.

Sustainability

Has the project brought about desired changes in the behavior of citizens?
Are all key stakeholders sufficiently and effectively involved? Are their expectations met and are they satisfied with their level of participation?
Are alternative or additional measures needed and, if so, what is required to ensure the continued sustainability and positive impact?

Key Deliverables

Submit an inception report four days after in-country
Conduct debriefing sessions for UNDP MCO staff
Conduct debriefing sessions in the presence of all project stakeholders and partners
Submit Final Evaluation Report in two weeks time from the date of the final evaluation mission

Evaluation and Selection Criteria

Technical Evaluation Criteria
i. The technical proposal is evaluated on the basis of its responsiveness to the Terms of Reference (TOR)/Scope of Work (SOW) as per the evaluation criteria below.
ii. Minimum Qualification: In order to be included in the short list, the bidder must get a total score of no rating below 70% for each of the criterion. Any CV’s getting below 70% in each of the criterion will not be eligible for the financial proposal.

Followings are the criteria points:

Applicable Experience. Record of previous and actual engagement and/or work experience including quality of performance in similar projects preferably in the South Pacific. (25)
Relevant Projects for similar international organization. Applicable experience that contributes to the overall understanding and experience of the assignment with projects funded by other bilateral agencies such as NZAID and EU and/or international organization. (15)
Knowledge of UNDP cluster portfolio, particularly governance and Civic and voter educations. (10)
Qualifications and relevant training or specialization: qualification of personnel to be assigned to the project compared to the complexity of the undertaking. This includes the education and applicable length of experience related to the project to be undertaken. (20)

Financial Evaluation Criteria:
The financial proposal is assessed by considering the lowest offered price without prejudice to quality. Financial proposals of technically responsive proposals will be reviewed to total points of (30)

Competencies

Extensive experience in civic education, voter education, advocacy and leadership and negotiation skills.
Proven experience in project evaluations and formulations in areas of governance, civic and voter educations, parliamentary development projects, citizenship projects, etc.
Prior experience of similar project evaluation works in UNDP, EU and NZAID governance programme portfolios preferred;
Experience in gender analysis preferred;
Strong contextual and analytical skills;
Excellent English writing and communication skills;
Excellent interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills; and
Ability to meet deadlines.

Scope of Bid and Payment process
This consultancy will be undertaken using the Individual Contract modality where the contract price is a fixed output based price regardless of extension of time. In accordance with UNDP procurement guidelines prospective applicants are required to include in the computation of their contract price professional fees, travel and daily subsistence allowance. Following the identification of successful applicant and preparations of the Individual Contract contract, a proposed schedule of payment will be as follows:

10 percent to be paid upon signing of the contract
30 percent after first draft report is submitted and accepted by UNDP
30 percent on receipt of first draft evaluation report; addressing comments received on the first draft.
30 percent on receipt and acceptance of the final evaluation report, addressing feedback from stakeholders on the draft report.

Application requirements
Applicants should include information on referees, an updated current CV and a cover letter setting out:

i) Technical proposal which includes an updated current CV, information on referees and a cover letter setting out:
• How the applicant meets the selection criteria
• Evaluation approach and methodology

ii) Financial Proposal including professional fees, travel, living expenses for the duty station (Fiji) ; and any other miscellaneous cost that may be incurred during the duration of the consultancy using the below as a guide:

Daily Consultancy Fees for the No. of days + Miscellaneous Expenses including travel exp

Applications are due by 5pm Fiji time (+12GMT), 4 January 2010
Applications should be sent to registry.fj@undp.org.

Required Skills and Experience

Advanced University Degree (master and above) preferably in Political Science, Governance and Development Management, International Development, International Law, and/or relevant Social Sciences.