Background

Capacity development is essential and central to countries’ efforts to successfully tackle climate change. This includes increasing institutional capacities to provide appropriate skills and mechanisms of support and coordination when addressing climate change risks. It includes strengthening technical knowledge to better understand and make use of climate information, and increasing relevant data and access to data for planning and informed decision making.

This EU-UNDP Climate Change Capacity Building Programme aimed at strengthening the technical and institutional capacity of Uganda in climate change mitigation actions that promote low emission (carbon) development in line with the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol frameworks while at the same time promoting socio-economic development. This action is primarily for enhancing the national capacity for establishing GHG emission inventory and MRV systems, and for developing NAMAs and LEDS. The Project further targeted enhancement of the national capacities and raising general knowledge and awareness on climate change, and provide support to the development of the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). It also aimed at contributing to putting climate change issues higher on the national agenda through strengthened cooperation and increased involvement of all relevant stakeholders in the process, and strengthening and building national capacities for participation in different mechanisms related to low emission development and fulfilling other commitments to the UNFCCC.

Project Summary

The project was envisaged to achieved 3 major outcomes including:

• Robust national systems for preparation of GHG emission inventories have been established at a national level;
• NAMAs and LEDS have been formulated within the context of national development priorities;
• MRV systems have been created to support implementation and evaluation of NAMAs and LEDS.

At mid-term, a review was carried out at global level to assess the implementation of the project as well as the extent to which it had achieved its intended objectives and results, and generating lessons learnt to guide the implementation of the remaining activities of Project. The Terminal Evaluation (TE) will be conducted per the guidance, rules and procedures established by UNDP as reflected in the ‘UNDP Guidance for Conducting Terminal Evaluations of UNDP-supported.

Purpose of evaluation:

The purpose of an independent terminal evaluation is to assess the project’s achievements against the set objectives, identify and document lessons learnt (including design issues, lessons and best practices that can be up-scaled or replicated), and quantify the project’s contribution to the Government of Uganda’s efforts vis-à-vis national and international commitments to climate change mitigation and the implementation of the National Policy Climate change.

As an integral part of the project cycle, the evaluation will analyze effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, impact and potential for sustainability of the project.  It will also identify factors that have affected project implementation and facilitated or impeded the achievement of the objectives and attainment of results. Findings from the evaluation are expected to be used by UNDP, the Climate change department, Government ministries and Departments that have mainstreamed climate change, district local governments and local communities.

Objectives of the evaluation:

The main objective of the evaluation is to assess project implementation, including how the design of the project has impacted on implementation, results, relevancy, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, unexpected effects, and lessons.

The subject of the evaluation is the project outcomes and outputs as well as the project processes by highlighting the results, challenges faced, lessons learnt, recommendations, and the impact on the targeted beneficiaries. The evaluation coverage will include the logic and underlying assumptions upon which the strategy was originally developed, and the implementation strategy that has been adopted.

The evaluation shall assess the extent of achievement of the intended long term results defined in the PRODOC, and identify opportunities, challenges and lessons learnt during implementation, and determine relevance of a next phase of programming.   In addition, the evaluation shall:

• identify the impact of project activities on the target beneficiaries, particularly regarding capacity for GHG emissions management and local economic development
• Identify the changes in the policy/regulatory environment and the effects they have on capacity for GHG emissions management in Uganda
• Identify results of the project that should be scaled up into the rest of the country

The findings from this evaluation will be used where necessary to improve on design, implementation and management of future projects and interventions. 

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will have overall responsibility for the work and operation of the evaluation.  The lead consultant is responsible and accountable for production of the agreed products including the following:

• Review of documentation to be provided by the project (implementation/evaluation reports);
• Conducting fieldwork and interviewing of stakeholders, national and local government officials, and the beneficiary communities to generate authentic information and opinions;
• Writing and compilation of the information and reports as needed;
• Presentation of key findings highlighting achievements and constraints, and making practical recommendations to decision makers and stakeholders;
• Finalization of the terminal evaluation report.

The principal responsibility for managing this evaluation resides with the UNDP CO in Uganda. The UNDP CO will contract the evaluators and ensure the timely payments to 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. 

The consultant shall work under the supervision of UNDP’s M&E Specialist and closely with UNDP’s Team Leader for Environment, Climate and disaster Resilience.

The draft evaluation report shall be presented to UNDP and Government stakeholders no later than 18 days after start of the assignment. Comments and feedback from all stakeholders should be incorporated into the final version of the report.

The consultant shall submit the final evaluation report to the UNDP’s M&E Specialist for certification of completion of work. The consultant will have the responsibility for the quality and timely submission of the deliverables to the UNDP Country office. The selected consultant will be expected to adhere to a code of conduct (Statement on Ethics), and conduct him/herself per the expected ethical standards.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

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

Functional Competencies:

• Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
• Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
• Demonstrates ability to manage complexities and work under pressure, as well as conflict resolution skills.
• Capability to work effectively under deadline pressure and to take on a range of responsibilities;
• Ability to work in a team, good decision-making skills, communication and writing skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic requirements:

• MSc degree in natural resources management, socio-economic development, climate change science or related fields.

Experience:

• Minimum 5 years of relevant professional experience in participatory project evaluation;
• Previous experience with results-based monitoring and evaluation methodologies;
• Technical knowledge in the targeted focal area(s) particularly Climate change mitigation;
• Experience with evaluating UN or  EU  financed projects is an advantage;
• Familiarity and knowledge of the UN Framework Convention on climate change (UNFCCC), integrated approaches to climate change mitigation, obligations of the Paris Agreement and capacity development projects would be an asset;
• Familiarity with integrated/multi-sectoral development projects in the field of disaster and climate risk management in Uganda, either through managing or evaluating donor-funded projects;
• Excellent English writing and communication skills. Demonstrated ability to assess complex situations to analyze critical issues succinctly and clearly and draw forward-looking conclusions.

Language requirement:

• Proficient in both written and spoken English Language.

Scope of the Evaluation:

The evaluation will cover:

Project beneficiaries: Ministry of Water and Environment (Climate Change Department, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, Min of Agriculture Animal industry and Fisheries and Ministry of Transport); and Donor/Development partners including European union and DFID.

The National Consultant will report to the International /Lead Consultant in the work and operations of the evaluation team, providing inputs for consolidating into singular reports.  The National consultant is responsible for producing the agreed input products and s/he will participate in delivering the following:

• Identify strengths and weaknesses in the project design and implementation, highlighting what could have been done better/differently to cause more impact;
• Ascertain achievements to date; to what extent the project 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 expected and un-expected results, whether beneficial or detrimental in character and highlight improvements that could be made in the next project phase;
• Assess to what extent the project has contributed to building capacity at national, district and community levels to formulate, implement and monitor actions/activities for management of climatic changes and their impacts;
• Identify and document lessons learnt and best practices in relation to achievement of the project objectives and outputs;
• Assess how this Low Emission Capacity building project has adapted to emerging issues and trends such as transportation, disaster risks, deforestation, energy and other emerging issues, etc.

Approach and methodology:

The evaluation shall provide evidence based information that is credible, reliable and useful. The lead consultant will identify and/or work with a support team. The support team will be justified in the evaluation approach and methodology to be used. The consultant will ensure the deliverables are realized. The evaluation team will review all relevant sources of information including documents prepared during the preparation phase, the project document, project reports including annual project reviews, project budget revisions, lesson learned /monitoring reports, national strategic and legal documents, and any other materials that the team considers useful for this evidence-based review.

The evaluation is expected to follow a collaborative and participatory approach ensuring close engagement with the project team, government counterparts, the UNDP Country Office, technical advisers, and other key stakeholders like the donors. Stakeholder involvement should include interviews with stakeholders who have project responsibilities, including but not limited to: executing agencies, senior officials and task team leaders, key experts and consultants in the subject area, project steering committee, project stakeholders, academia, local government and CSOs, etc.

The evaluation will specifically assess the following aspects of the project:

Project Concept and Design:

The evaluation will assess the project concept and design, and the relevance of indicators and targets set for the project, insofar as they have impacted on the achievement of project targets. The evaluation will review the problems addressed by the project and the project strategy, encompassing an assessment of the appropriateness of the objectives, planned outputs, activities and inputs as compared to cost-effective alternatives. In the event the evaluators find that there were no clear baseline indicators for the project at the onset, the evaluators are required to estimate the baseline condition so that achievements and results could be established objectively.

Implementation:

The evaluation will be facilitated by UNDP and undertaken in a highly participatory manner using appropriate appraisal techniques. Desk reviews, interview with key informants, focus group discussions with primary and secondary beneficiaries of the project are recommended for validation of results and outcome in the field.

Implementation of the project in terms of quality, timeliness of inputs, efficiency and effectiveness of activities carried out will be evaluated.  Also, the effectiveness of management as well as the quality and timeliness of monitoring and backstopping by all parties to the project should be evaluated. 

While assessing a project’s results, the final evaluation will seek to determine the extent of achievement and shortcomings in reaching the project’s objectives as stated in the project document and identify any alterations if any and whether those changes were approved and implemented.

Project Outputs and Outcomes:

The evaluation will assess the outputs, outcomes and impact achieved by the project as well as the likely sustainability of project results. This will encompass an assessment of the achievement of the immediate objectives and the contribution to attaining the overall objective of the project. The evaluation will assess the extent to which implementation of the project has been inclusive in delivering to the intended or targeted beneficiaries, as well as examining any significant unexpected outcomes.

The evaluation and its findings are expected to be evidence-based. It is recommended that a ratings matrix be used to rank objectives per the level of attainment of expected results and outputs, as well as rating of elements of project management.

The evaluator is expected to conduct assessment of the changes that have occurred in all sectors and departments that have been involved in the project activities. Interviews will be held with the following organizations and individuals at a minimum: Ministry of Agriculture Animal; Industry and Fisheries, National Agricultural Research Organization, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban development, Ministry of Water and environment, ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Transport and any other that would be found relevant to the project.

The evaluator will review all relevant sources of information, such as the project document, project reports – including Annual project budget revisions, progress reports, outcome tracking tools, project files, national strategic and legal documents, and any other materials that the evaluator considers useful for this evidence-based assessment. The project team will provide documents to the selected evaluator as requested. The evaluators will assess the extent to which the project is achieving impacts or progressing towards the achievement of impacts.

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: 

• Monitoring and Evaluation design at entry;
• Monitoring and Evaluation Plan Implementation;
• Overall quality of M&E;
• Relevance;
• Effectiveness;
• Efficiency;
• Overall Project Outcome Rating;
• Quality of UNDP Implementation – Implementing Agency (IA);
• Quality of Execution - Executing Agency (EA);
• Overall quality of Implementation / Execution;
• Sustainability of Financial resources;
• Socio-political Sustainability;
• Institutional framework and governance sustainability;
• Environmental sustainability;
• Overall likelihood of sustainability.

Project Finance and Co-Finance:

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 to complete the Required Co-Financing Table which will be included in the terminal evaluation report.

Mainstreaming:

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.

Evaluation questions:

To achieve the purpose/objectives of this evaluation, the evaluation should address the following questions:

• Assess the relevance and appropriateness of the project design to the achievement of project results as well as the National Policy for Disaster Preparedness and Management and UNDP’s mandate and UNDAF/Country Programme Document?;
• To what extent have project key objectives, goal and project specific outputs and outcomes been achieved? What were the unintended consequences of this project?;
• What relationships and partnerships were most effective in terms of delivering expected results? Specifically assess the strengths and weaknesses of direct and tangential partnership arrangements of the project with stakeholders in delivering project objectives?;
• To what extent were the project financial resources available and appropriately utilized? Appraise the value for money in the utilization of resources?;
• Assess the role of the project in contributing to gender concerns/equality and the empowerment of women?;
• What project sustainability measures were put in place and what factors are likely to affect project sustainability?  How well has the project used the information generated by the performance indicators during project implementation to adapt and improve the project?.

Overall the evaluation should analyze lessons and propose recommendations on aspects that have contributed or hindered the attainment of project objectives, sustainability of project benefits, innovation, catalytic effect and replication, and project monitoring and evaluation. 

The evaluation should provide well formulated lessons to inform future investment in disaster risk management in Uganda.  The final evaluation report will include examples of good practices from other projects within the focal area, country and region.

Expected Deliverables:

The following deliverables/products are expected from the evaluation team:

• Inception report including detailed methodology;
• Draft evaluation report and presentation to UNDP and stakeholders;
• Final evaluation report.

Composition:

The evaluation team will be composed of (1 international and 1 national evaluator). The International evaluator will be the team leader and will be responsible for finalizing the report.

The consultant must be independent and impartial of both the policy-making process and the delivery and management of assistance to the project.  The consultant should not have been engaged in the activities to be evaluated, or responsible in decision-making roles for the design, implementation or supervision of the project.  Consultant is expected to be impartial and will present a comprehensive and balanced appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of the project and activities being evaluated.

Evaluation timeframe:

The total duration of the evaluation will be 20 days per the following plan:

• Submit an acceptable inception report and meet UNDP team- 3 days;
• Undertake stakeholder interviews -10 days;
• Prepare and present draft report- 5 days;
• Submit final report- 2 days.

Deliverables:

The evaluation team is expected to deliver the following:

• Inception Report: Evaluator provides clarifications on timing and method;
• Draft Report: Full report with annexes, Evaluator submits to CO after evaluation mission, reviewed by the 3 CC NFPs, UNDP CO and LECB HQ Focal point;
• Final Report: Revised report, Evaluator submits to CO after receiving UNDP comments on draft.

*When submitting the final evaluation report, the evaluator is required also to provide an 'audit trail', detailing how all received comments have (and have not) been addressed in the final evaluation report.

Payment modalities and specifications:

A lump sum payment, in three tranches, shall be made upon successful completion and certification of work done as indicated in this Terms of Reference.

• Upon submission of an Inception report, with detailed work plan for the assignment-20%;
• Upon submission of draft report and presentation-50%;
• Upon Submission and approval (UNDP-CO and UNDP LECB HQ) of final report-30%.

Evaluation of applicants and criteria:

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:

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 70 points.

Criteria:                                                                                                

• Relevant degree: 10;
• A minimum of 5 years relevant work experience: 15;
• Relevant experience in the evaluation of technical assistance projects: 30;
• Familiarity with integrated/multi-sectoral development projects in the field of disaster and climate risk management in Uganda: 15.

Submission of Application:

The candidate is required to submit an electronic application directly uploaded on the UNDP jobs website with all the requirements as listed here below. Annexes and further information may be downloaded on http://procurement-notices.undp.org/. (Reference #36678)

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document to this website - http://jobs.undp.org (Ref no.71522).

• 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:

• Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment;
• A methodology, 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 1 and II - may be downloaded from the UNDP Procurement Notices Website -http://procurement-notices.undp.org/ - under reference #36678. For further clarifications, please contact; janet.anyango@undp.org; moses.lutwama@undp.org;

Interested applicants should submit applications through uploading of all their required documentation in one single pdf document on this website only