Background

INTRODUCTION

 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 ‘Integrated community-based forest and catchment management through an ecosystem service approach (PIMS #4033)’.

 PROJECT SUMMARY TABLE

Duties and Responsibilities

PURPOSE, OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE:

 This project’s objective is to create an enabling policy and institutional environment for scaling-up integrated Community Based Forestry and Catchment Management (CBFCM) practices through innovative financing mechanisms. The project will achieve this objective by strengthening systemic capacities in sustainable forest and catchment management at the local, regional and national levels (Outcome 1), and by supporting the expansion of CBFCM coverage throughout the country through pilot testing of defined Payment for Environmental Services (PES) and bi-ocarbon financing mechanisms (Outcome 2).

 The project will build capacities of MONRE to harmonise policies, plans and legal instruments to support CBFCM and PES and biocarbon schemes. It will also support the establishment of a multi-sectoral mechanism for CBFCM, with active with participation of all Regional CBFCM Networks, REOs, ONEP and RFD. This will act as an effective policy feedback, knowledge sharing and capacity development mechanism.  The project will also strengthen national capacities to promote PES (including and biocarbon) in order to strengthen community incentives for effective forest and catchment management.

 The project will support scaling up of CBFCM best practices using PES and biocarbon financing mechanisms at four sites, led by four Regional Environment Offices (REOs). These sites include Mae Sa Catchment (North), Tha Chin Catchment (Central), Lam Sebai Catchment (Northeast), and Pa-Ngan Catchment (South).  The project will strengthen capacities of local authorities, landholders and the private sector to ensure that innovative financing mechanisms (PES) is used for improving livelihoods, global biodiversity conservation benefits and GHG emission reduction from land use and land use changes. In order to do this, the project will support catchment level ecosystem services valuation (incl. biocarbon) and assessment of benefits, trade-offs and various opportunity costs of land-use options taking into full account the ecosystem services.  Biodiversity friendly PES & biocarbon financing strategies will be implemented, with institutionalization of payment distribution structures that fully consider gender and other social equity aspects.

 The total project budget is USD. 14,318,182. The allocated resources including the co-financing amount are as follows:

• GEF                          USD    1,758,182
• MONRE         USD  12,210,000
• UNDP                       USD     350,000

 The project will be executed through UNDP’s National Implementation Modality (NIM) with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) as the Implementing Partner (IP). At the central level, Pollution Control Department under MONRE’s Office of Permanent Secretary had served as the focal point of the project and the project management unit from February 2012 to August 2015. In August 2015, the REOs and the project management unit had been shifted to report instead to the Office of Permanent Secretary, under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

 At the site level, Regional Environmental Offices (REO) will be the focal points in each pilot site. REO 1 will lead the Northern cluster; REO 12 will lead the North-eastern cluster; REO 5 will lead the Central cluster; REO 14 will lead the Southern cluster.

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

 The objectives of the evaluation are to assess the achievement of projects results, and to draw lessons that can both improve the sustainability of benefits from this project, and aid in the overall enhancement of UNDP programming.

 EVALUATION APPROACH AND METHOD

 An overall approach and method for conducting project terminal evaluations of UNDP supported GEF financed projects has developed over time. The evaluator is expected to frame the evaluation effort using the criteria of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, and impact, as defined and explained in the UNDP Guidance for Conducting Terminal Evaluations of UNDP-supported, GEF-financed Projects.    A set of questions covering each of these criteria have been drafted and are included with this TOR (Annex C). The evaluator is expected to amend, complete and submit this matrix as part of an evaluation inception report, and shall include it as an annex to the final report.

 The evaluation must provide evidence-based information that is credible, reliable and useful. The evaluator is expected to follow a participatory and consultative approach ensuring close engagement with government counterparts, in particular the GEF operational focal point, UNDP Country Office, project team, UNDP GEF Technical Adviser based in the region and key stakeholders. The evaluator is expected to conduct a field mission to Thailand including the project sites in:

• Mae Sa Catchment (North), Chiang Mai Province
• Tha Chin Catchment (Central)
• Lam Sebai Catchment (Northeast), Ubol Ratchathani Province
• Pa-Ngan Catchment (South), Surat Thani Province

 At the four pilot sites, key stakeholders include REOs, the local government, forest and protected areas authorities as well government agencies on agriculture, industries and coastal and marine resources management.

 Interviews will be held with the following personnel and organizations and individuals at a minimum:

• Project Director
• Project Manager
• Representative of Responsible Parties, including :

• Head of Corporate Communications, SCCC Public Co., Ltd.
• Forestry Faculty, Kasetsart University abd Project Consultant (Policy Framework)
• RECOFTC   

•             Field Officers

•             Representatives from pilot communities

•             Project Administrative Officer

•             Project Financial Officer

•             Members of Project Board

•             UNDP Country Office in Bangkok in-charge of this project.

 The evaluator will review all relevant sources of information, such as the project document, project reports – including Annual APR/PIR, project budget revisions, midterm review, progress reports, GEF focal area tracking tools, project files, national strategic and legal documents, and any other materials that the evaluator considers useful for this evidence-based assessment. A list of documents that the project team will provide to the evaluator for review is included in Annex B of this Terms of Reference. The full scope methods used in the evaluation are at the discretion of the evaluator(s), but a mixed method of document review, interviews, and direct observations should be employed, at a minimum. The TE inception report and TE report should explain all the evaluation methods used in detail.

 EVALUATION CRITERIA & RATINGS

 An assessment of project performance will be carried out, based against expectations set out in the Project Logical Framework/Results Framework (see  Annex A), which provides performance and impact indicators for project implementation along with their corresponding means of verification. The evaluation will at a minimum cover the criteria of: relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability and impact. Ratings must be provided on the following performance criteria. The completed table must be included in the evaluation executive summary.   The obligatory rating scales are included in  Annex D.

 PROJECT FINANCE / COFINANCE

 The Evaluation will assess the key financial aspects of the project, including the extent of co-financing planned and realized.  Project cost and funding data will be required, including annual expenditures.  Variances between planned and actual expenditures will need to be assessed and explained.  Results from recent financial audits, as available, should be taken into consideration. The evaluator(s) will receive assistance from the Country Office (CO) and Project Team to obtain financial data in order to complete the co-financing table below, which will be included in the terminal evaluation report.

MAINSTREAMING

 UNDP supported GEF financed projects are key components in UNDP country programming, as well as regional and global programmes. The evaluation will assess the extent to which the project was successfully mainstreamed with other UNDP priorities, including poverty alleviation, improved governance, the prevention and recovery from natural disasters, and gender.

IMPACT

 The evaluators will assess the extent to which the project is achieving impacts or progressing towards the achievement of impacts. Key findings that should be brought out in the evaluations include whether the project has demonstrated: a) verifiable improvements in ecological status, b) verifiable reductions in stress on ecological systems, and/or c) demonstrated progress towards these impact achievements.

 CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS & LESSONS

 The evaluation report must include a chapter providing a set of conclusions, recommendations and lessons.

 IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS

 The principal responsibility for managing this evaluation resides with the UNDP CO in Thailand.  The UNDP CO will contract the evaluators and ensure the timely provision of per diems and travel arrangements within the country for the evaluation team. The Project Team will be responsible for liaising with the Evaluators team to set up stakeholder interviews, arrange field visits, coordinate with the Government etc.

EVALUATION TIMEFRAME

 The total duration of the evaluation will be 29 days over a time period from 1 May to 30 July 2017 according to the following plan:

EVALUATION DELIVERABLES

 The evaluation team is expected to deliver the following:

Competencies

Technical Competencies:

• Analytic capacity and demonstrated ability to process, analyse and synthesise complex, technical information;
• Proven ability to support the development of high quality knowledge and training materials, and to train technical teams;
• Proven experience in the developing country context and working in different cultural settings.

 Communication:

• Communicate effectively in writing to a varied and broad audience in a simple and concise manner.

 Professionalism:

• Capable of working in a high pressure environment with sharp and frequent deadlines, managing many tasks simultaneously;
• Excellent analytical and organizational skills.

 Teamwork:

• Projects a positive image and is ready to take on a wide range of tasks;
• Focuses on results for the client;
• Welcomes constructive feedback.

Required Skills and Experience

TEAM COMPOSITION

 The evaluation team will be composed of an international and a national evaluator.  The consultants shall have prior experience in evaluating similar projects.  Experience with GEF financed projects is an advantage.  The international evaluator will be designated as the team leader and will be responsible for finalizing the report.  The evaluators selected should not have participated in the project preparation and/or implementation and should not have conflict of interest with project related activities.

 The team members must present the following qualifications:

 INTERNATIONAL LEAD CONSULTANT 

PROFILE

• Post-Graduate in environmental studies, development studies, social sciences and/ or other related fields (20%)
• Minimum of 8 years accumulated and recognized experience in biodiversity conservation and sustainable utilisation areas, and sustainable livelihoods (20%)
• Minimum of 5 years of project evaluation and/or implementation experience in the result-based management framework, adaptive management and UNDP or GEF Monitoring and Evaluation Policy (20%)
• Familiarity in similar country or regional situations relevant to that of INTEGRATED COMMUNITY-BASED FOREST AND CATCHMENT MANAGEMENT THROUGH AN ECOSYSTEM SERVICE APPROACH IS an advantage (5%).
• Experience with multilateral and bilateral supported biodiversity conservation and sustainable utilisation projects
• Comprehensive knowledge of international biodiversity conservation and sustainable utilisation best practices (15%)
• Excellent written English (20%)

 RESPONSIBILITIES

• Documentation review
• Leading the TE Team in planning, conducting and reporting on the evaluation
• Deciding on division of labour within the Team and ensuring timeliness of reports
• Use of best practice evaluation methodologies in conducting the evaluation
• Leading the drafting and finalization of the Inception Report for the Terminal Evaluation
• Leading presentation of the draft evaluation findings and recommendations in-country
• Conducting the de-briefing for the UNDP Country Office in Thailand and Core Project Management Team
• Leading the drafting and finalization of the Terminal Evaluation Report

FINANCIAL PROPOSAL

PAYMENT MODALITIES AND SPECIFICATIONS

EVALUATION

EVALUATOR ETHICS

 Evaluation consultants will be held to the highest ethical standards and are required to sign a Code of Conduct (Annex E) upon acceptance of the assignment. UNDP evaluations are conducted in accordance with the principles outlined in the UNEG 'Ethical Guidelines for Evaluations'.

 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.

DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS.

Interested Individual Consultant 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.

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.

 Incomplete proposals may not be considered.

Annexes:

• Annex I -      TOR - TERMINAL EVALUATION TERMS OF REFERENCE (INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANT) : http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_file.cfm?doc_id=104962
• Annex II -    General Condition of Contract : http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_file.cfm?doc_id=104964
• Annex III – Offeror’s Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the Individual IC : http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_file.cfm?doc_id=104963

All documents can be downloaded at http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=36696