Background

UNDP Myanmar’s Rule of Law and Access to Justice Programme

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Myanmar is working to strengthen democratic governance, along with local governance and environmental issues, as part of its Country Programme Action Plan (2013-2015) to support sustainable development in Myanmar’s transition. A key dimension of good governance includes promoting respect for the rule of law and access to justice for all. UNDP is working simultaneously to strengthen justice institutions to uphold the rule of law and protect human rights, while also improving access to local justice services for women and other vulnerable populations. UNDP is achieving these aims by supporting justice institutions to develop coordinated justice reform policies and plans that respond to public needs such as legal aid and transparent law making processes, including through conducting modern training programmes on substantive and procedural issues. UNDP is also supporting improvements in public legal awareness and empowerment through technical assistance to university law departments to implement clinical legal education approaches and by promoting roundtable discussions among local organizations and justice actors with a focus on the rights of women, ethnic groups and other vulnerable populations.

The Rule of Law Workshop Series Pilot Project

In late 2013, under the auspices of the Parliamentary Rule of Law and Tranquility Committee, a Coordinating Committee was established to explore the utility of rule of law centres to help fill the gap in knowledge and skills of existing legal professionals through providing intensive legal training. UNDP, at the Committee’s request, conducted a feasibility study[1] that found that training key officials would have greater impact on rule of law needs in Myanmar if it included attention to issues of local justice concern, and was complemented by a public engagement component to help bridge the gap between institutions and the community they should serve.

In adopting UNDP’s recommended “Model B” outlined in the feasibility study, the Coordinating Committee tasked UNDP with implementing two pilots of this model in Lashio (Shan State) and Mandalay (Mandalay Region), for an initial round of three months of activities. Lashio and Mandalay were selected for pilots in order to represent both a major metropolitan centre and an ethnically-diverse area facing specific challenges resulting from cross-border crime and the impact of armed conflicts. In each location, a Local Advisory Board was established to function as a local governance and advisory body. Members should consist of officials representing each justice institution, Members of Parliament, civil society representatives and representatives of the local bar.

The project seeks to respond to two priority rule of law needs:

• To reinforce basic legal training in knowledge, skills and values, and general awareness of the law, for justice sector professionals; and
• To increase public legal awareness and lay the basis for building public trust in the justice system.

A consortium of three organizations with expertise in international rule of law training and prior experience training government officials in Myanmar, International Development Law Organization (IDLO), Avocats sans Frontiers (ASF) and Bridges Across Borders Southeast Asia Community Legal Education (BABSEA CLE) (the “Consortium”), was selected to develop the curriculum and implement the pilot commencing in October 2014. Officials from the Union Attorney General’s Office (UAGO), the Office of the Supreme Court of the Union (OSCU), the Myanmar Police Force (MPF) and the General Administration Department (GAD), as well as a range of civil society representatives and private lawyers were invited to participate as beneficiaries in both locations.

The consortium submitted an interim report at the completion of initial one month phase of training, showing progress in curriculum development and training of trainers (TOT). A three month phase of workshops to target beneficiaries commenced on 17 November 2014, with international trainers and national trainers co-facilitating. It will be completed on 13 February 2015.

UNDP is seeking an individual consultant to conduct an independent evaluation of the project, for a period of 25 days commencing 16 February 2015 (the “Evaluation”) according to requirements set forth in this Terms of Reference (TOR).

[1] See “Bridges to Justice: Rule of Law Centres for Myanmar”, available online: http://www.mm.undp.org/content/myanmar/en/home/library/democratic_governance/bridges-to-justice

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives and Scope of the Evaluation

The Evaluation is commissioned by the Coordinating Committee in collaboration with UNDP. The main purpose of the Evaluation is to measure the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability of the project, and to provide recommendations for next steps. The objectives of the Evaluation are:

• Assessment of the key results and impact indicators set out in the original Terms of Reference;
• Particular focus on assessing value for money and sustainability of the project;
• Overview of key achievements and lessons learned;
• Recommendations on the way forward.

Key results expected to result from the pilot project include:

• Basic legal knowledge, skills and values of beneficiaries strengthened;
• Efforts to strengthen public trust in the justice system initiated;
• Capacity of participating national trainers strengthened;
• Beneficiaries supported in developing a public information/awareness strategy on relevant topics and in conducting public outreach forums;
• Small legal resource library established in each centre.

Dialogue efforts between justice sector officials and community representatives on rule of law issues strengthened.

 Measuring the success in achieving these key results during the pilot project period focuses on the following impacts:

• Improvements in knowledge, skills and values of the beneficiaries (e.g. knowledge of legal rights and remedies; legal skills and skills in communication, dialogue, public consultation; understanding of ethical responsibilities; understanding of respective roles of justice actors; sensitivity to gender and ethnic dimensions)
• Public attitudinal and behavioral changes of the community beneficiaries’ willingness or confidence to raise a given problem to different legal actors
• Improvement in training skills, expertise, and values of national trainers (substantive knowledge as well as participatory training and adult learning pedagogy);
• Improvement in developing a public information/awareness strategy in a consultative/inclusive manner;
• improvement of perceptions of accessibility of legal information resources for target areas and groups;
• narrowing of gaps between government and community beneficiaries’ respective perceptions of effectiveness and accessibility of public legal information and justice services (representing development of more common understanding through dialogue).

 Methodology, Duty Station and Timeline

The Evaluation will be undertaken with a participatory approach, involving the following components:

• Desk review of relevant materials (UNDP feasibility study, existing baseline data, monitoring and evaluation materials and data produced by the Consortium, etc.);
• Site visits to workshop locations in Mandalay and Lashio;
• Consultation with relevant stakeholders, including selected beneficiaries, community actors, and members of the Local Advisory Boards in each location;
• Discussion with the Coordinating Committee in Nay Pyi Taw.

As part of the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) strategy for the project, UNDP developed a preliminary framework and conducted a baseline survey measuring community perceptions of rule of law and access to justice with small groups of civil society representatives in June 2014. Drawing on this guidance, the Consortium developed a M&E strategy including monthly reporting, pre and post training surveys for beneficiaries, and roundtable discussions involving community actors to assess community attitudes. It is expected that the Evaluation will draw on and assess these materials.

The Evaluation will be conducted within the following timelines:

• 5 days for desk review at home office, commencing 1st week of February
• 10 days for field visits and consultations with travel to Yangon, Mandalay, Lashio and Nay Pyi Taw, commencing 16 February 2015

10 days for writing and completion of the Evaluation report; a draft report due no later than 10 working days after completion of fieldwork in Myanmar, the final Evaluation report due no later than 16 March 2015.

The consultant will work for 25 days in total. The specific timelines can be adjusted upon UNDP request.

Evaluation Deliverables

 The consultant will be responsible for preparing a formal report, which should be of sufficient high quality for distribution to stakeholders, outside agencies and other interested parties, of no longer than 30 pages excluding annexes.

• Executive Summary;
• Introduction;
• The Development Context;
• Findings;
• Conclusions;
• Lessons and Recommendations.

 In addition, the final report should contain at least the following annexes:

• Terms of Reference for final evaluation.
• Itinerary.
• List of meetings attended.
• List of persons interviewed.
• Summary of field visits.
• List of documents reviewed.

• Any other relevant material

The final draft of the report is due no later than 16 March 2015.

Monitoring and Progress Control

The consultant will work under the supervision of the Rule of Law Specialist and in close collaboration with the Chief Technical Advisor, UNDP Myanmar.  The field office will be responsible for facilitating the mission, providing all documents and reference materials required to conduct the Evaluation.

 The deliverables and reports must be submitted as per the agreed timelines. The findings of the mission should be disaggregated by gender where possible and should follow the ethical code of conducts for UNDP evaluations.

According to the indicative timelines, the consultant will report to UNDP on the working progress on a regular basis and will submit drafts of TOR-required deliverables to UNDP for discussion and comment as appropriate.

Admin Support and Reference Documents

Admin support for the Evaluation will be provided by the UNDP and the project office in cases of necessary. UNDP will extend support to the international consultant for Myanmar visa arrangement. Necessary documents will be forwarded to the consultants in advance for desk review.

When necessary, an interpreter will be engaged to assist in communication with the project’s stakeholders and beneficiaries during the mission in Myanmar.To get soft copy of P-11 & template for financial proposal visit: http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=20141

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates Integrity by modeling the UN's values and ethical standards;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP.

Functional Competencies:

• Ability to consolidate information from multiple sources;
• Able to prepare strategic information for decision makers;
• Ability to advance and provide timely advice;
• Ability to identify issues and to use sound judgment in applying technical expertise to resolve a wide range of problems;
• Ability to work under extreme pressure in a highly stressful environment;
• Excellent negotiation skills;
• Effective oral and written communication skills.
• Excellent analytical and report writing skills;
• Appropriate and transparent decision making;
• Analytical and strategic thinking and results orientation/commitment to excellence;
• Knowledge sharing /continuous learning;
• Strong communication skills, and ability to communicate complex concepts in a variety of different ways to enhance understanding;
• Ability to work in a team; and
• Flexibility, and ability to work in and with a varied team across multiple offices.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced degree in social sciences, law, development studies or related discipline.

Experience:

• Demonstrated experience of a minimum of 10 years in project monitoring and evaluation, preferable in developing countries;
• Extensive international experience in the areas of democratic governance, rule of law programme in developing countries, preferably in south-East Asia;
• Preferably with knowledge of rule of law and justice issues in the Myanmar context;
• Experience working with a UN agency, particularly UNDP, a distinct asset.

Language:

• Execllent ability to work in English.