UNDP Jobs - 59521- Conduct a Terminal Evaluation of the UNDP/COMESA P

Conduct a Terminal Evaluation of the UNDP/COMESA Project on Enhancing Adoption of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) in Five Districts of Bugiri, Busia, Budaka, Namutumba and Buyende in Uganda.

Location :

Kampala, UGANDA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

30-Oct-2015

Application Deadline :

08-Sep-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

19 working days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

19 working 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 Government of Uganda through the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) with support from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is implementing the project "Enhancing adoption of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices in Uganda’s farming systems” specifically focussing on five districts, namely Bugiri, Busia, Budaka, Namutumba and Buyende.

This project is part of Uganda Government’s Strategic Investment Framework (SIF) on Sustainable Land Management (SLM). The SLM SIF is within the framework of the Agricultural Sector Development Strategy and Investment Plan (DSIP). The SIF identified CSA practices such as Conservation Agriculture (CA) as relevant and underscored the need to address climate adaptation and mitigation measures in the agricultural sector to improve food security and minimize land degradation. Implementation arrangements also seek to contribute to objectives of the climate change National Adaptation Plan of Action (NAPA), which are within the Agriculture Sector Development Strategy and Investment Plan (DSIP). The project intends to use lessons learnt to inform policy and strengthen decentralized governance mechanisms and institutions and practices that empower local governments and CSOs in CSA and climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Whereas Uganda’s population largely depend on natural resource based sectors like agriculture, forestry and fisheries, climate change and the strain on natural resources, due to population growth and environmental degradation, are intensifying poverty and vulnerability of many people in the country. With a big number of Ugandans still depending on agriculture for livelihood, Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) is crucial for reducing widespread poverty and livelihood improvement; more especially to the poorest and vulnerable sections of society whose livelihoods depend on natural resource ecosystems.

This project thus focuses on enhancing productivity of land through sustainable land management of soil and water resources, particularly integrating CSA as a climate change adaptation strategy to build climate change resilient societies. The intention is to scale up CSA practices in the 5 districts, putting in place measures/ systems to improve input supply, develop produce markets for economic sustainability for CSA enterprises; and supporting research activities to generate baselines, monitoring and evaluation guidelines and national recommendations on CSA technologies and practices.

The project document (PRODOC) covering the period 2014-2015 was signed by Government, UNDP and COMESA in 2014, following pilot implementation of activities by MAAIF; and full project implementation began in July 2014. The project is scheduled to end on 31 December 2015.

Objective of the assignment

The Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) policy at the project level in UNDP has four key objectives namely:- i) to monitor and evaluate results and impacts; ii) to provide a basis for decision making on necessary amendments and improvements; iii) to promote accountability for resource use; and iv) to document, provide feedback on, and disseminate lessons learned. A mix of tools is used to ensure effective project M&E. These might be applied continuously throughout the lifetime of the project, e.g. periodic monitoring of indicators, or as specific time-bound exercises such as mid-term reviews, audit reports and independent evaluations but also apply to the Terminal Evaluations.
TE is beneficial for project performance assessment as it provides an independent in-depth review of project outcomes and impact. TEs are intended to identify unforeseen project design problems and implementation challenges, assess progress towards the achievement of objectives, identify and document lessons learned (including lessons that might improve design and implementation of other UNDP projects), and to make recommendations regarding specific actions that might be taken if a follow up project is to be designed.
The proposed TE will cover the project period up to the end. The TE will be conducted according to the guidance, rules and procedures established by UNDP in the UNDP Evaluation guidelines.

Overall Objective of the Terminal Evaluation

The main objective is to assess the extent of achievement of the intended results defined in the PRODOC, and identify opportunities, challenges and lessons learnt during implementation, and determine relevance of a next phase of programming.

The specific objectives of the TE are to:

Assess extent to which project has addressed set objectives and improved livelihoods;
Identify the changes caused by the project in terms of impact to target beneficiaries.

Consultancy Rationale

The overall goal of the project is to promote sustainable land management practices and improve agricultural productivity. The CSA is expected to propel land users to attain higher levels of production, efficiency in use of agricultural resources and profitability from their land while improving soil health and contributing to climate change adaptation and mitigation. From a broad perspective, the project will contribute to development of a national CSA strategy as contribution to the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) agenda, to the current Uganda National Development Plan (NDP) and the DSIP.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of work and Deliverables

The National Consultant will report to the Lead consultant on all activities of this assignment and s/he will deliver on the following:

Identify strengths and weaknesses in the Programme design and implementation;
Ascertain achievements to date; to what extent the Programme has moved towards achievement of the objectives and outputs under the three outcomes in the results framework and the need for continued focus;
Assess likelihood of sustainability of results;
Examine the significance of un-expected effects, whether beneficial or detrimental in character;
Assess to what extent the Programme has contributed to building capacity at national, district and community levels to formulate, implement and monitor actions/activities for sustainable land management;
Assess the validity of assumptions used in the development of the project;
Identify and assess lessons learnt and best practices in relation to achievement of the programme objectives and outputs;
Assess how the CSA programme has adapted to emerging issues and trends such as climate change, and energy needs, etc.

In addition to the above the National Consultant will:

Review documentation related to the project;
Conduct fieldwork together with the international consultant and interview stakeholders, national and local Government officials, UNDP Country office, and communities to generate authentic information and opinions;
Write and compile the information and reports as needed;
Present the key findings highlighting achievements, constraints, and make practical recommendations to decision makers and stakeholders;
Finalize the Terminal Evaluation Report.

Working Arrangement

Institutional Arrangement

With overall reporting to the UNDP Country Director, the Consultant will work on day to day basis with SLM Project Manager and the Project Coordinator MAAIF, and shall be supervised by the Team Leader, Energy and Environment Unit. The consultant will include travel costs and per diems within the country in their financial proposals. The Project Implementing partner, MAAIF, will be responsible for liaising with the Evaluation team to set up stakeholder interviews, arrange field visits and coordinate with Government. The planning and the administrative arrangements for the TE will be done in collaboration with the UNDP Head Quarters and COMESA. UNDP will support organization of stakeholder workshop to review and Validate the report.

The Consultant will liaise, interact, and collaborate/meet with officials from District Local Governments of Bugiri, Busia, Namutumba, Budaka and Buyende as well as relevant Central Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

UNDP will support the Consultant in the following areas:

Access to required information (copy of project document, Annual Work plans, Progress reports and other project related reports);
Access to UNDP Office and its infrastructure (e.g conference room and internet while at UNDP);
Support and assistance to gain access to relevant stakeholders for consultations;
Transport for visits both within Kampala and in the field (for official purposes only);
UNDP Kampala and the Project Office will coordinate the Evaluation and keep abreast of the mission’s activities during the consultant’s stay.

Reporting Arrangements

The National consultant will report to the Lead Consultant on all technical obligations and to the Country Director UNDP on all contractual obligations.

Competencies

Excellent Analytical Skills;
Positive, constructive attitude towards work;
Ability to act professionally and flexibly to engage with government officials, donor representatives, and local communities.
Demonstrates integrity and ethical standards;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity adaptability.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

An MSc degree in natural resources management, Agriculture, socio-economic development or related fields.

Experience:

At least 10 years experience in natural resources management, Agriculture, socio-economic development or related fields.
Familiarity with sustainable land management related projects in Uganda and particularly the cattle corridor Region, either through managing or evaluating donor-funded projects;
Substantive knowledge of participatory M&E processes is essential, and experience with CBOs/community development processes;
Design, implementation and/or management of community and local level sustainable livelihoods initiatives and country experience in Uganda are advantages;
Demonstrable understanding of both conservation and development decision-making processes at national and district level is essential;
Approaches to drylands development and capacity development projects would be an asset;
Excellent communication skills. Demonstrated ability to assess complex situations in order to analyse critical issues succinctly and clearly and draw forward-looking conclusions;
Experience in working with local communities and small multi-disciplinary teams to deliver quality products in high stress, short deadline situations;
Experience with COMESA, the United Nations or other development agencies is an advantage.

Language:

Fluent in English.

Schedule of Payments and Proposal Evaluation Criteria

Payment to the Consultant will be made in two instalments upon satisfactory completion of the following deliverables:

30% of the contract amount upon submission of an acceptable inception report;
70% of the contract amount upon submission, presentation and approval of final evaluation report.

Evaluation of Proposals (Method and Criteria)

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Cumulative analysis

The award of the contract shall 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 and financial criteria specific to the solicitation. 70%-30%;
Technical Criteria weight; [70%];
Financial Criteria weight; [30%].

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation
Technical Criteria – Maximum 1000 points.

Expertise of the Individual – 300 Points;
Description of approach/methodology to assignment – 700 Points.

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document:

Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP (Annex II);
Personal CV, 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;
Technical proposal with a brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment; a methodology and on how they will approach and complete the assignment;
Financial proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided (Annex II);
Annexes I and II may be downloaded from the UNDP Procurment Notices website:http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=24883.

For further clarification, please contact; justine.naiga-bagonza@undp.org and fredah.zawedde@undp.org.

Interested applicants should submit applications by uploading the required documentation as one single pdf document on the following website; http://jobs.undp.org/cj_job_edit.cfm?job_id=59521 by 8th.September 2015.