Youth in the age group of 129 years comprise 27.5% of the population[1].  India’s population will continue to grow beyond 2025 and the trend is likely to persist well into the future. The National Youth Policy 2014 recognised the need for creating a productive workforce that can make sustainable contribution to India’s economic growth, develop a strong and healthy generation equipped to take on future challenges, support youth at risk and create equitable opportunities for all disadvantaged & marginalized youth, facilitate participation and civic engagement and instil social values and promote community service to build national ownership. The Policy clearly articulated, the role of volunteer schemes run by the Government of India such as Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), National Service Scheme (NSS), National Cadet Corps (NCC), Bharat Nirman Volunteers (BNVs) among others.

National Service Scheme (NSS) with more than 3.6 million student youth volunteers and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) with 8.43 million non-student youth volunteers through 1,25,000 youth clubs are two flagship volunteer based programmes of the Government of India. 

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) in India is implementing the project on “Strengthening Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) and National Service Scheme (NSS)” in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The project was initiated in September 2014 and provides a catalytic support to the two flagship Youth Volunteer Schemes run by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in the country i.e. Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) and National Service Scheme (NSS). It seeks to strengthen the volunteering infrastructure at the cutting-edge level and facilitate greater participation of youth in development programmes. The project recognises the importance of youth engagement in the socio-economic development arena and seeks to support implementation of various government schemes and action plans developed on the key strategic areas of the National Youth Policy 2014.

The Project has two distinct phases. In Phase-I (2014-2018), the national youth volunteer infrastructure of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MoYAS) was strengthened in the 29 districts  which has been further upscaled to 58 districts in Phase-II (2018-2022).The project focuses on volunteering within a larger framework of goals for young people – creating a productive workforce, developing a strong and healthy generation, instilling social values, promoting community service and facilitating civic engagement. The project seeks to increase participation of youth in developmental activities through youth clubs affiliated with NYKS.  It further seeks to create opportunities for enhanced civic engagement and economic activities through youth clubs in the project districts resulting into enhanced access and participation of youth to various schemes and services. 

The expected outcomes of the project includes (i)  greater participation of youth in volunteering and civic engagement; (ii) integration of youth volunteers in development schemes of the Government of India; (iii) enhanced employability for youth through life skilling and social entrepreneurship; and  (iv) promoting gender equality and social inclusion through volunteering. 

The outputs of the project are:  

• Strengthening of Volunteer Infrastructure in  58 districts across 27 States leading to  formation of new youth clubs, activation of dormant youth clubs, ;
• Youth Clubs strengthened and Youth Resource Centres established in select districts to serve as one stop shop for youth in rural areas leading to enhanced capacity of youths; and
• Contribution of Youth Volunteering recognized and skills for employability are built.

The project has adopted a multi-pronged strategy for promoting volunteering in the country including:

• Engagement at the Central Government level for building an ecosystem for the reimagined volunteering journey that facilitates and enables youth development through active volunteering in the country.
• Engagement at the state and district levels for greater participation of youth as volunteers
• Making volunteerism more aspirational for young people leading to mainstreaming youth volunteers in the development agenda of the country
• Establishing collaborative partnerships amongst government, private sector, and civil society for promoting volunteerism among youth.
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The Terminal Evaluation (TE ) will be conducted according to the guidelines, rules, and procedures established by UNDP as reflected in the UNDP Evaluation Guidance (http://web.undp.org/evaluation/guideline/)

In this regard, the UN Volunteers in India is looking for a Consultant to carry out a comprehensive  terminal evaluation of the project “Strengthening NYKS and NSS”. The evaluation will assess the achievement of project results against what was planned and draw lessons that can both improve the sustainability of benefits from this project, and aid in the overall enhancement for strengthening of Volunteer Infrastructure in the country. The evaluation will promote accountability and transparency and assesses the extent of project accomplishments. The evaluation will seek to be independent, credible, and useful, and will adhere to the highest possible professional standards in evaluation. The evaluation will be conducted in a consultative manner and will engage the participation of all key stakeholders. The evaluation will consider the Quarterly Progress Reports, Annual Progress Reports and, also the Mid-term Evaluation conducted for this project.  It will also consider the gender equality and women empowerment bemainstreamed throughout all aspects of the evaluation.

The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS)  and National Service Scheme (NSS) will be the major partners in the evaluation contributing both through data from 58 project districts and validation of the  evaluation results. The Project  Steering Committee chaired by the Secretary (Youth Affairs), Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports will guide this evaluation along with the Joint Secretary who is the National Project Director of “Strengthening NYKS and NSS”. The Evaluation will use the United Nations Evaluation Groups (UNEG) Standards criteria viz; relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, coherence and impact of results.

[1] Data as per Census of India 2011

Evaluation purpose, scope and objectives

Purpose

The purpose of the evaluation is to assess the project’s success in terms of its impact on the ground. The evaluation will critically examine the progress made in implementing various activities and measure achievements made and results obtained under the project. In addition, the evaluation aims at critically reviewing and identifying what has worked well in the project, what challenges have been faced, what lessons can be learned to improve future programming.

The evaluation will focus on six key evaluation criteria: relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact, sustainability, and coherence. The evaluation should provide credible, useful, evidence-based information which will help the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports,  UNDP and UNV in designing and implementing youth leadership and volunteering interventions in future.

?Objectives

The objectives of the evaluation are:

1. Assess how adequately the project has achieved its stated development objective and purpose across intervention districts of the project ;
2. Measure how effectively and efficiently the project outcomes and outputs have progressed in attaining the development objective and purpose of the project, both technically and finanacially;
3. To gather insights to promote greater participation of youth in youth leadership. development and volunteering though youth clubs/Mahila Mandals in the country.
4. To gather key findings and lessons learned to inform youth leadership development volunteering interventions which could be replicated across districts/states.
5. To capture what works and what doesn’t and why in the context of youth volunteering infrastructure in the country.
6. To make recommendations for the future interventions related to youth volunteering.

Scope of Work and Timelines

This evaluation covers the project implementation in 58 districts

1. To examine the project design to draw lessons for the future interventions.
2. To measure contributions of outputs and activities undertaken under the project towards strengthening volunteering infrastructure.
3. To examine the cross-cutting issues and the global UN programming principles e.g. leaving no one behind (LNOB), gender equality and women's empowerment, sustainability, and accountability.
4. To consider emerging issues such as, virtual or online volunteering, other methods for volunteering and volunteering in the post COVID-19  world
5. Partnerships Management and operational issues (M&E systems, financial systems, etc)

The scope of the work for the consultant will include but not be limited to:

Evaluation criteria and key guiding questions

The evaluation questions define the information that must be generated as a result of the evaluation process. The answers will provide key basis to the intended users of the evaluation in making informed decisions, taking actions or adding knowledge. Some of the tentative questions can be as follows:

Relevance

• To what extent was the project aligned with the UNV’s Strategic Framework, UNSDF, UNDP Country Programme and the youth development agenda of the MoYAS especially under the  National Youth Policy of India 2014 ?
• To what extent were lessons learned from other relevant projects and partnerships considered in the project’s design?
• To what extent does the project contribute to gender equality, the empowerment of women and the human rights-based approach?
• To what extent has the project been appropriately responsive to youth development agenda  in the country?

Effectiveness

• To what extent did the project contribute to the UNV’s Strategic Framework and country programme outcomes and outputs and broad objectoives of the National Youth Policy of India 2014?
• To what extent were the project outputs achieved?
• What factors have contributed to achieving or not achieving intended project outputs and outcomes?
• What have been the supporting factors? What have been the constraining factors and why? How can or could they be overcome?
• To what extent has the project contributed to gender equality and the empowerment of women and human rights?

Efficiency

• To what extent was the project management structure helped in achieving project results?
• To what extent have the project implementation strategy and execution been efficient and cost-effective?
• To what extent have project funds and activities been delivered in a timely manner?
• To what extent the project leveraged it resources and developed partnerships? 

Sustainability

• To what extent are lessons learned being documented by the project team on a continual basis and shared with key stakeholders who could learn from the project?
• What is the risk that the level of stakeholders’ ownership will be sufficient to allow for the project benefits to be sustained?
• To what extent do stakeholders support the project’s long-term objectives?
• What could be done to strengthen exit strategies and sustainability?

Coherence

• To what extent do other interventions (including policies) support or undermine the intervention, and vice versa? It includes internal coherence and external coherence.

Impact

• Have the projects brought changes in the lives of the people and their communities stated in the result framework?
• Is there any positive/ negative change in target beneficiaries, their communities, and duty bearers as a result of the projects? How many were to benefit?

Evaluation of Cross-Cutting Issues:

Leave no one behind and gender aspects will be considered well in evaluation questions as well the evaluation process. Gender analysis, including gender disaggregated data need to be incorporated in the evaluation. The evaluation will also aim to answer the following questions

• To what extent have poor, indigenous and physically challenged, women and other disadvantaged and marginalized groups benefited from the project?
• To what extent have gender equality and the empowerment of women been addressed in the design, implementation, and monitoring of the project?
• Is the gender marker data assigned to this project representative of reality?
• To what extent has the project promoted positive changes in gender equality and the empowerment of women? Were there any unintended effects?

Way forward

• Have any good practices, success stories, lessons learned, or transferable examples been identified? Please describe and document them.
• Based on the achievements to the date, provide forward looking programmatic recommendations for UNDP/UNV support to the MoYAS and other key stakeholders to promote volunteerism.

Methodology

It is strongly suggested that the evaluation should use a mixed method approach – collecting and analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data using multiple sources in order to draw valid and evidence-based findings and conclusions and practical recommendations.

The Consultant is expected to employ a combination of both qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods and instruments. This could involve review of all relevant documents, mid-term evaluation report, key informant interviews, data collection, data review & analysis, field visits and on-site validation of key tangible outputs and interventions. The method for field level data collection will be dependent upon the COVID-19 pandemic situation. The current situation of the COVID-19 crisis in the country needs to be considered when proposing data collection tools. The consultant is expected to present alternative means of data collection as viable options.

The consultant is expected to propose and determine a sound evaluation design and methodology (including detailed methodology to answer each evaluation question including the cross cutting issues) and submit it to UNV in the inception report following a review of all key relevant documents and meetings with UNV/UNDP. Final decisions about the specific design and methods for the evaluation will be made through consultation among the UNV, UNDP, the evaluator and key stakeholders about what is appropriate and feasible to meet the evaluation purpose and objectives as well as answer the evaluation questions. The evaluator is expected to follow a participatory and consultative approach ensuring close engagement with stakeholders

Methods to be used by the evaluation team to collect and analyze the required data shall include but not limited to:

• Desk Review: This should include a review of inter alia

• Project document
  • Annual Work Plans
  • Result/M&E Framework
  • Annual Reports
  • Highlights of Project Steering Committee meetings
  • Social media engagement

• Semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders including UNV, UNDP, Project Team, Government partners (MoYAS, NYKS, NSS), UN colleagues, development partners, youths, so on:

• Development of evaluation questions around relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, coherence, impact and cross cutting issues and designed for different stakeholders to be interviewed
• Key informant interviews with relevant stakeholders from government agencies, donors, UN Agencies, youth groups
• All interviews should be undertaken in full confidence and anonymity. The final evaluation report should not assign specific comments of individuals

• Data review and analysis of monitoring and other data sources and methods: ensure maximum validity, reliability of data (quality) and promote use; the evaluation team will ensure triangulation of the various data sources
• Data and evidence will be triangulated with multiple sources to address evaluation questions. The final methodological approach including interview schedule and data to be used in the evaluation should be clearly outlined in the inception report and fully discussed and agreed with UNV & UNDP and the consultants.

The Consultant will be responsible for carrying out the following tasks:

1. Prepare Inception report which will include
   1. a design matrix, data collection and analysis methods & tools
   2. list of key stakeholders for interviews potential project districts for field visits (if possible given COVID travel restrictions),
   3. assess the availability of logistical and administrative support; and
   4.  identify and collect relevant reference material.
   5. Share the draft evaluation plan with the UNDP and UNV for approval.
2. Carry out desk review of reference material, documents, reports and any other data and information provided by the UNDP and UNV.
3.  Carry out data collection activities as guided by the evaluation plan. S/he  will conduct agreed-upon interviews with stakeholders. At the end of the data collection activities, a meeting will be organized by the Consultant  to present preliminary findings and obtain feedback from the key stakeholders such as UNDP, UNV, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, NYKS, NSS.
4. Carry out systematic disaggregation of data including by sex, disability, geographical location etc.
5. Undertake field visits in keeping with allowable conditions in the COVID context  and collect feedback/inputs from the target group and key stakeholders for the evaluation of the project.
6. Prepare a comprehensive Evaluation Report and presentation capturing impact of the project and suggesting measures for improvement.
7. Capture good practices with potential of replication and scaling-up.
8. Benchmark cross cutting issues such as gender and differently abled youth.
9. Share draft Report for factual correction and feedback to key stakeholders.
10. Finalize the Evaluation Report based on the feedback/inputs received from UNV, UNDP and Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports.

Expected Deliverables

The Consultant will be responsible for ensuring the following deliverables to UNV/UNDP as per the agreed work plan:

1. Inception Report: The consultant will commence the evaluation process with a desk review and preliminary analysis of the available information provided by UNV andUNDP. Based on the ToR, initial meetings with the UNV and UNDP and the desk review, the consultant should develop an inception report elaborating evaluation methodologies, including how each evaluation question will be answered along with proposed methods, proposed sources of data, and data collection and analysis procedures. The inception report will include the evaluation matrix. UNV and UNDP will review the inception report and provide useful comments for improvement. This report will serve as an initial point of agreement and understanding between the consultant and UNV and UNDP

2. Draft Evaluation Report: The evaluation report will contain the same sections as the final report and shall follow the structure outlined in UNDP Evaluation Guideline (Evaluation Report Template and Quality Standards of the Evaluation Implementation of UNDP Evaluation Guidelines). The draft report will be reviewed by the UNV and UNDP. The draft report will ensure that each evaluation question is answered with in-depth analysis of information and back up the arguments with credible quantitative and/or qualitative evidences.

1. Presentation/Debriefing: A meeting will be organized with key stakeholders including UNV and UNDP to present findings, conclusions and recommendations.
2. Final Evaluation Report: The final report will incorporate comments and feedbacks from the stakeholders including the feedback provided during the Presentation/Debriefing meeting. Other relevant documents (i.e. data collection tools, questionnaires, datasets, if any) need to be submitted as well.
3. Evaluation Brief: A concise summary of the evaluation report will include findings, conclusions and recommendations using plain language targeting wider audience. This concise summary will be not more than 5-6 pages.

Evaluation ethics

This evaluation will be conducted in accordance with the principles outlined in the UNEG ‘Ethical Guidelines for Evaluation’. The consultant 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 consultant 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 with the express authorization of UNDP and partners.

Management arrangements

The Consultant will have overall responsibility for producing the Project Evaluation Report and for quality and timely submission of the report to the Country Coordinator, UNV. Direct supervision will be provided by the Country Coordinator, UNV with technical and coordination support by  the Project Manager of the project Strengthening NYKS and NSS who will be responsible for the day to day implementation of the evaluation. The Project Steering Committee chaired by the Secretary (Youth Affairs) or his/ her designate will provide oversight and guidance for the proper conduct of the evaluation.

The consultant will work closely with the Project Management Unit set up at NYKS HQ and  the UNV-District Youth Officers (DYOs) stationed at 58 districts under the project. A minimum of 4 district level visits will be organized by the UNV office. All necessary approvals and logistical arrangements  will be provided by the UNV Team.

Price Proposal and Schedule of Payment

This consultancy assignment is home based with field visits. The duration of the consultancy assignment is for 40 days acoss the months between May to June 2022. The total amount of the contract will be based on an agreed per day remuneration/ consultancy fee.

The total amount quoted shall be all-inclusive and include all costs components required to perform the deliverables identified in the TOR, including professional fee, and any other applicable cost to be incurred by the consultant in completing the assignment. The contract price will be fixed output-based price regardless of extension of the herein specified duration.

The payment for travel cost for field visits including tickets, loding and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the UNV and Individual consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed. The travel cost for undertaking field visits wil be reimbursed separately and should not be included in the financial proposal.

Payments will be done upon completion of the deliverables/outputs and as per below percentages:

Impact of COVID-19 on the assignment

The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on 11 March 2020 as the new virus rapidly spread to all regions of the world. While these extraordinary circumstances present a critical limitation for the conduct of the evaluation, the UNDP/UNV  will continue to monitor the situation as it evolves and reserves the right to adjust the evaluation plan as appropriate and in line with UNDPs principles of ‘do no harm’ and ‘duty of care’ for its staff and consultants. In line with UNDP’s financial regulations, when determined by the UNDP and the Consultant that a deliverable or service cannot be satisfactorily accomplished, that deliverable or service cannot be paid. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation and its ramifications, the UNDP/UNV may consider making a partial payment if the Consultant invested time towards the deliverable but was not able to complete it due to circumstances beyond her/his control.

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards (human rights, tolerance, integrity, respect, and impartiality);
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional Competencies:

• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude ;
• Strong interpersonal and written and oral communication skills;
• Strong analytical skills and strong ability to communicate and summarize this analysis in writing
• Has ability to work both independently and in a team, and ability to deliver high quality work on tight timelines.

Skills:

• Strong leadership and planning skills
• Excellent written and presentation skills (English and Hindi)
• Strong communication skills
• Ability to work in the multi-cultural team environment and to deliver under pressure/meet deadlines
• Ability to network with partners on various levels
• The necessary computer skills with competence in MS office package

Education:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Development Studies, Economy, Statistics, Social Science, or other relevant fields

Experience:

• At least 15 years of experience in strategic planning, project management  and M&E related work;
• Professional experiences in conducting evaluations or assessment of large-scale policies and programs funded by government, UN and/or donors;
• Good understanding of  both qualitative and quantitative M&E approaches;
• Good knowledge of UN and/or UNDP’s system and  procedures will be  an advantage
• Possess strong analytical and writing skills, with the ability to conceptualize, articulate, write and debate
• Good knowledge of UN and/or UNDP’s manade and socio-political context in the region
• Knowledge of current issues and innovation in results-oriented monitoring including trends, principles and methodolog

 Application submission process and criteria for selection

Submission of Proposals

a) Technical Proposal

• Methodology.
• Work plan (key activities with timelines)
• 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;

• Short description of the Consultant’s experience in the Monitoring & Evaluation field in line with the required experience

Evaluation 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 a) responsive/compliant/acceptable; and b) having received the highest score out of set of weighted technical criteria (70%). and financial criteria (30%). Financial score shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced proposal received by UNDP for the assignment.

Technical Criteria for Evaluation for National Consultant (Maximum 70 points)

Financial Proposal:
Technically qualified consultants will be requested to submit their lump sum rate i.e. consultants who score more than 70% i.e. 49 marks with respect to the above-mentioned evaluation criteria. Consultant should not specify their consultancy fee on their CV or with the submission. The CV will not be evaluated further in case the consultant submits the same.

Notes:
1. Any kind of miscellaneous charges i.e. internet, phone, relocation charges etc. would not be reimbursement.
2. Travel, lodging and boarding as per UNDP rules subject to prior approval.
3. Individuals working with Institutions may also apply, contract would be issued in the name of Institution forthespecific services of the Individual.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture.Individual from minority groups, indigenous groups and person with disabilities are equally encouraged toapply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexualharassment, and discrimination.

All sections is on merit.