Background

Strengthening the Governance of Climate Change Finance to Benefit the Poor and Vulnerable in South Asia (2013-17) is a regional project implemented by UNDP and supported by DFID. The project is part of a larger UNDP regional program on climate finance governance and development effectiveness. The project aims to enhance the ability of partner governments to effectively govern climate finance and to integrate climate change planning into national fiscal policy and budgetary systems. In strengthening budgetary policies and processes, public financial management systems–and their ability to effectively handle climate change as a cross-cutting issue, the project outputs support countries to better:

  • Climate change is integrated into budget formulation at national and subnational levels;
  • Strengthened institutions track and report on climate change expenditures as part of the budget process at national and sub-national levels;
  • Knowledge effectively shared within and across countries of the region as well as with key international policy process related to climate finance.

Working regionally, with concentrated action in Pakistan and Nepal, and prioritizing the central role of Ministries of Finance, the project contributes to the generation and replication of knowledge and good practice across the sub-region and the Asia-Pacific region as a whole.  It does this through various tools including policy and technical briefs, advocacy communications, and supporting a national and regional network that promotes peer learning.

Key project activities include:

  • Conducting Climate Change Public Expenditure and Institutional Reviews (CPEIRs) at national and provincial levels and other audits and reports to better track public expenditures;
  • Elaborating a suite of policy and institutional reforms to engender a conducive “climate change finance framework.”
  • Linked to above, conducting hands-on capacity building with practitioners in Ministries of Finance and provincial and local governments to institute various technical and process changes in budgetary systems and;
  • Skills-based training and capacity building of practitioners, CSO, and Parliamentarians on different aspects of budget oversight and monitoring and linkage to climate finance aspects;
  • Design and delivery of a targeted policy advocacy campaign focused on strengthening demand and accountability over and more effective climate finance governance.

As mutually agreed by DFID and UNDP, an independent mid-term evaluation shall conducted and jointly organized by the end of the 18th month of the project to assess project performance against the indicators presented in the logical framework. Against this backdrop, this Terms of Reference outlines the objectives, approach, scope of work, and expected results of the Mid-Term Review (MTR), as well as the role of the Senior Evaluation expert.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objective:

The Mid-Term Review (MTR) will assess progress towards the achievement of objectives, assess the process and quality of project delivery, and outline future delivery needs. It offers an opportunity for all stakeholders to identify potential project design problems, identify and document lessons learned, and make recommendations regarding specific actions or new approaches that might be taken to improve implementation. The MTR is expected to serve as a means of validating or filling the gaps in the initial assessment of relevance, effectiveness and efficiency obtained from monitoring, and to allow course correction as necessary. To this end, the MTR will serve to:

  • Strengthen the management and monitoring functions of the project;
  • Enhance the likelihood of achievement of the project objectives through analyzing project strengths and weaknesses, and suggesting measures for improvement;
  • Contribute to organizational and development learning;
  • Enable informed decision-making;
  • Assess the sustainability of the project’s interventions;
  • Create the basis of replication of successful project results achieved so far;
  • Serve as a platform for dialogue and focused consideration among project partners and stakeholders of the progress made and the overall approach to project implementation.

Scope of Work:

The MTR team is expected to be composed of at least two independent consultants not involved with the formulation, appraisal, approval and/or implementation of daily management of the project. UNDP will oversee the administrative process of recruitment and contracting, with both UNDP and DFID being given the option of participating in each stage of the selection, including short-listing, reviewing financial proposals, interview panels, etc.

Overall responsibilities lie with the Senior Evaluation Expert also acting as MTR Team Lead, who will provide guidance and leadership on conducting the MTR and on preparing/revising the deliverables. The MTR Team Lead will have expertise in results-based evaluation methodologies.

Specific responsibilities of the Team Member include:

  • Under the guidance of the Team Lead, undertaking the documentation review and framing of MTR questions on areas related to Governance and PFM;
  • Under the advice and request by Team Lead, supporting the Team Lead during interviews and consultations, as well as any debriefings to the stakeholders/partners, and leading on Governance and PFM aspects;
  • Contributing to the drafting and revision of relevant parts of the inception report and the MTR report, under the guidance of the Team Lead.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables:

  • Deliverable 1: Briefings to MTR team/ Target Due Dates: By 16 November 2015;
  • Deliverable 2: Preparation and submission of inception report based on desk review of resources and documents/Target Due Dates: By 23 November 2015;
  • Deliverable 3: Validation of preliminary findings with stakeholders through circulation of initial findings for comments, and other types of feedback mechanisms/Target Due Dates: by end-November 2015;
  • Deliverable 4: Preparation and submission of draft MTR report/ Target Due Dates: By 15 December 2015;
  • Deliverable 5: Preparation and submission of final MTR report based on comments received on draft/ Target Due Dates: By 22 January 2016;

Review and Approvals of all deliverables from UNDP/BRH - Governance and Development Effectiveness Advisor and MTR Advisory Group are required.

Deliverables are further defined and elaborated below:

Inception report: The inception report should include a proposed schedule of tasks, activities and deliverables, building on what has been provisionally proposed in this ToR. It should be prepared by the MTR team before going into the full-fledged MTR exercise. It should detail the reviewers’ understanding of what is being reviewed and why, showing how each area of inquiry will be answered by way of: proposed methods; proposed sources of data; and data collection procedures. This information should be provided through the preparation of an MTR Matrix, which can be adapted from the sample in Annex 2. The inception report should provide UNDP/DFID and the MTR team with an opportunity to verify that they share the same understanding about the assignment and clarify any misunderstandings at the outset.

Draft MTR report: The MTR Advisory Group will review the draft MTR report to ensure that it meets the required quality standards and covers all agreed components and contents of the MTR. Detailed comments and feedback on the draft report will be provided to the MTR team, and discussions may be held to provide clarifications as necessary. The draft report will also be shared with stakeholders and other partners, including SIDA, for additional feedback and inputs.

Final MTR report: The final report will be produced by the MTR team based on feedback received on the draft report. The final report will be shared with stakeholders and other partners.

Institutional Arrangement

The Consultant will work under the supervision of the UNDP BRH Governance and Development Effectiveness Advisor, who will consult closely with DFID counterparts, as well as seek inputs from DFID counterparts. UNDP and DFID will also have the role of convening an MTR Advisory Group and of coordinating interaction with the Advisory Group, including sharing of MTR deliverables and organizing discussions with the Group. The team will be able to conduct some interviews in person. However, much of the data collection will need to take place virtually- through telephone, online questionnaires, email, and other methods.

Although UNDP is administratively responsible for the MTR, it shall not interfere with analysis and reporting, except where requested and at opportunities for comments/feedback. UNDP will share the final version of the MTR report with the national stakeholder agencies and all partners of the project. All relevant documentation will be made available by UNDP and DFID. The Consultant will be provided with contact information and introductions to key stakeholders and partners.

Duration of the Work:

  • 12 November 2015 - 31 January 2016 (up to 15 working days).

Duty Station:

  • Home based.

Expected places of travel:

  • Travel to Thailand, Nepal and Pakistan is required.

Competencies

  • Strong interpersonal and communication skills;
  • Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities skills;
  • Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
  • Ability to plan, organize, implement and report on work;
  • Ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines;
  • Comprehensiveness knowledge of climate change, environmental management, or performance/results-based budgeting
  • Proficiency in the use of office IT applications and internet in conducting research;
  • Outstanding communication, project management and organizational skills;
  • Excellent presentation and facilitation skills.
  • Demonstrates integrity and ethical standards;
  • Positive, constructive attitude to work;
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Required Skills and Experience

Team Member and Public Financial Management Expert for Mid-Term Review shall have the following qualifications:

Education:

  • Master’s degree in Development Studies, Public Finance, Political Science, Public Management,  Environmental Economics, or other relevant field;
  • Academic/professional background in statistics, RBM, or public finance is an asset.

Experience:

  • At least 7 years of relevant professional work experience in in developing countries in the area of public financial management and/or fiscal policy and planning;
  • Experience with result-based management, evaluation methodologies and program/project monitoring required;
  • Experience working with development partners, especially in the area of governance or public financial management. Prior experience working with DFID would be an advantage;
  • Project review/evaluation experience and governance-oriented project implementation within the UN System considered an asset;
  • Experience working in Asia is preferred. Local presence in South Asia would be an advantage.

Language requirements:

  • Excellent spoken and written English language skills required;
  • Knowledge of languages of the program countries an asset, but not required.

Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments:

Consultant must send a financial proposal based on Lump Sum Amount.

The total amount quoted shall include professional fee and any other applicable cost to be incurred by the IC in completing the assignment only. Travel and travel related expenses will be arranged by UNDP. The contract price will fixed output-based price regardless of extension of the herein specified duration. Payment will be made after satisfactory acceptance and certification of the deliverables and in accordance with UNDP procedures:

  • Upon submission of MTR inception report – 20% of the total value of the contract;
  • Upon submission of draft MTR report – 30% of the total value of the contract;
  • Upon acceptance of final MTR report – 50% of the total value of the contract.

In general, UNDP shall not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.

In the event of unforeseeable travel not anticipated in this TOR, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and the Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Evaluation Method and Criteria:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology

Cumulative analysis

The award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

  • responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
  • having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical (70%) and financial criteria (30%) specific to the solicitation.

Financial score shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced proposal received by UNDP for the assignment. Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 350 technical points would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical Criteria for Evaluation (Maximum 500 points)

  • Criteria 1 : Education- max 100 points;
  • Criteria 2 : Technical experience - max 200 points;
  • Criteria 3 : Experience with UN system - max 100 points;
  • Criteria 4 : Availability - max 50 points;
  • Criteria 5 : Language - max 50 points.

Documentation required

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Please group them into one (1) single PDF document as the application only allows to upload maximum one document:

  • Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided in Annex 2.
  • Personal CV and P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.
  • Financial proposal, as per template provided in Annex 2.

Incomplete proposals may not be considered.

Annexes :

For any clarification regarding this assignment please write to brh.gef.procurement@undp.org.