Background

Please provide Offeror’s Letter and proposal together with your CV and cover letter (if applicable) in one single file while submitting application. And please note that the system will not accept the uploading of more than one document so please merge or scan all your documents into one prior to uploading. Below is the download link of Offeror's Letter. 

Offeror's letter download link: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GYP7hMPX3qJAbiy7KZppiWqR4JdKFYv4/view?usp=sharing

INTRODUCTION

In accordance with UNDP and GEF M&E policies and procedures, all full- and medium-sized UNDP-supported GEF-financed projects are required to undergo a Terminal Evaluation (TE) at the end of the project. This Terms of Reference (ToR) sets out the expectations for the TE of the full-sized project titled Developing and Implementing the National Framework on Access to and Benefit Sharing of Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge (PIMS #5310) implemented through the Foreign Environmental Cooperation Center (FECO) of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment. The project started on April 1, 2016, and is in its sixth year of implementation. The TE process must follow the guidance outlined in the document ‘Guidance For Conducting Terminal Evaluations of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects’ (http://web.undp.org/evaluation/guideline/documents/GEF/TE_GuidanceforUNDP-supportedGEF-financedProjects.pdf).

PROJECT BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

China’s rich biological heritage has a vast potential to be explored for new wealth creation and to enhance the development of the nation in line with national policies on biological diversity and biotechnology. However, China lacked a national regulatory framework on access and benefit-sharing (ABS). The project is designed to develop and implement China’s framework on access to and benefit sharing (ABS) of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge in accordance with provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Nagoya Protocol (NP), with the goal of addressing identified weaknesses in institutional ABS implementation, ABS awareness and capacity to undertake and/or negotiate access for bioprospecting and other utilization of genetic resources (GR), all of which may operate as barriers to the country’s accession to, and implementation of, the NP. With GEF support, the project has undertaken the following interventions at national and pilot sub-national levels: 1) Establishment of national regulatory and institutional framework on ABS; 2) ABS capacity building and awareness raising, and; 3) Pilot demonstrations on ABS.

Implemented by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), Foreign Environmental Cooperation Center (FECO) of MEE has hosted the project management office.  The project duration is six years (one year extension compared with PD), from April 1 2016 to March 31, 2022. The total budget is $27,372,210, including $4,436,210 of GEF contribution and $22,936,000 counterpart fund (both in cash and in-kind) provided by the national government and provincial government of Hunan, Guangxi and Yunnan. During this project’s implementation, China adopted the Nagoya protocol as a result. The project has been supporting the enhancement of implementing mechanisms and institutions required to establish and operationalize national legislative frameworks; establishing legislations and other measures in three pilot province; providing capacity building and raising awareness on ABS and the legislation, procedures and contracts developed on the piloting sites.

The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has escalated into a global humanitarian and socio-economic crisis since 2020. As of 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic as the new coronavirus rapidly spread to all regions of the world. In China, from 3 January 2020 to 6 May 2021, there have been 103,731 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 4,858 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 2 May 2021, a total of 280,349,977 vaccine doses have been administered. China responded to the outbreak by implemented a series of strict restrictions to minimize contracting or spreading the virus. In the first and second quarters of 2020, there was a lockdown period. This had a negative impact on the project, resulting in delays to implementation for at least 2 months but with the lifting of restrictions implementation gradually picked up since June.  To date, international travel is still limited. Entry restrictions vary depending on departure location. All travelers are strongly advised to check with a local Chinese embassy or consulate to confirm all testing and document verification requirements. All persons (including Chinese nationals) traveling from abroad must have proof of dual negative results for COVID-19 using both a nucleic acid test and a serological test for IgM antibodies. All persons (including Chinese nationals) must undergo a 14-day quarantine at a designated location upon arrival in Mainland China.  

Duties and Responsibilities

TE PURPOSE

The overall objective of TE is to review the achievements made to deliver the specified objectives and outcomes of the project titled Developing and Implementing the National Framework on Access to and Benefit Sharing of Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge (PIMS #5310) which is scheduled to end in March 2022. The TE will also establish the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, performance and success of the project, including the sustainability of results and the project exit strategies. The TE will draw and analyze lessons learned through the project and best practices pertaining to the strategies employed, and implementation arrangements, which may be utilized to inform future programs.

To achieve the objectives of TE described above, the TE evaluator will review all relevant sources of information including documents prepared during the preparation phase (i.e. PIF, UNDP Initiation Plan, UNDP Environmental & Social Safeguard Policy, the Project Document, project reports including Annual Project Review/PIRs, project budget revisions, lesson learned reports, national strategic and legal documents, and any other materials that the consultant considers useful for this evidence-based review), and summarize assessment methodologies, results, and recommendations in a report. The TE report should promote accountability and transparency and assess the extent of project accomplishments.

Note:During the COVID pandemic lockdown in 2020, UNDP approved the request of twelve months no-cost project extension considering the impact to the project pace. The closing date of the project shifted from March 31, 2021, to March 31, 2022.

TE APPROACH & METHODOLOGY

The TE report must provide evidence-based information that is credible, reliable and useful.

The TE team will review all relevant sources of information including documents prepared during the preparation phase (i.e. PIF, UNDP Initiation Plan, UNDP Social and Environmental Screening Procedure/SESP) the Project Document, project reports including annual PIRs, project budget revisions, lesson learned reports, national strategic and legal documents, and any other materials that the team considers useful for this evidence-based evaluation. The TE team will review the baseline and midterm GEF focal area Core Indicators/Tracking Tools submitted to the GEF at the CEO endorsement and midterm stages and the terminal Core Indicators/Tracking Tools that must be completed before the TE field mission begins. 

The TE team is expected to follow a participatory and consultative approach ensuring close engagement with the Project Team, government counterparts (the GEF Operational Focal Point), Implementing Partners, the UNDP Country Office(s), the Regional Technical Advisor, direct beneficiaries and other stakeholders.

Engagement of stakeholders is vital to a successful TE. Stakeholder involvement should include interviews with stakeholders who have project responsibilities, including but not limited to Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Ministry of Finance, Foreign Environmental Cooperation Center, Sub-national Governments; executing agencies, senior officials and task team/component leaders, key experts and consultants in the subject area, Project Board, project beneficiaries, academia, local government and CSOs, etc. Additionally, the national evaluator may be required to conduct field missions to Beijing, Hunan, Guangxi and Yunnan, including the following project sites in cities of Changsha and Xiangxi in Hunan Province, Nanning and Guilin in Guangxi Autonomous Region, Kunming and Xishuangbanna in Yunnan Province.

The specific design and methodology for the TE should emerge from consultations between the TE team and the above-mentioned parties regarding what is appropriate and feasible for meeting the TE purpose and objectives and answering the evaluation questions, given limitations of budget, time and data. The TE team must, however, use gender-responsive methodologies and tools and ensure that gender equality and women’s empowerment, as well as other cross-cutting issues and SDGs are incorporated into the TE report.

The final methodological approach including interview schedule, field visits and data to be used in the evaluation must be clearly outlined in the TE Inception Report and be fully discussed and agreed between UNDP, stakeholders and the TE team.

The final report must describe the full TE approach taken and the rationale for the approach making explicit the underlying assumptions, challenges, strengths and weaknesses about the methods and approach of the evaluation.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, international travel to China has been limited while domestic travel has had special requirements too, for instance if a city/district reports confirmed cases then travel to and out of the city/district might be restricted. 

Considering the travel limitation, the TE team should develop a methodology that takes this into account the conduct of the TE virtually and remotely, including the use of remote interview methods and extended desk reviews, data analysis, surveys and evaluation questionnaires. This should be detailed in the TE Inception Report and agreed with the Commissioning Unit.  The international consultant will be home-based and provide guidance to the National Consultant, who will do the field visit to the sites (if the travel is permitted).

Since part of the TE is to be carried out virtually then consideration should be taken for stakeholder availability, ability or willingness to be interviewed remotely. These limitations must be reflected in the final TE report. 

If a data collection/field mission is not possible then remote interviews may be undertaken through telephone or online (skype, zoom etc.). International consultant can work remotely with national evaluator support in the field if it is safe for them to operate and travel. No stakeholders, consultants or UNDP staff should be put in harm’s way and safety is the key priority.

A short validation mission may be considered if it is confirmed to be safe for staff, consultants, stakeholders and if such a mission is possible within the TE schedule.

DETAILED SCOPE OF THE TE

The TE will assess project performance against expectations set out in the project’s Logical Framework/Results Framework (see ToR Annex A). The TE will assess results according to the criteria outlined in the Guidance for TEs of UNDP-supported GEF-financed Projects. The Findings section of the TE report will cover the topics listed below.

A full outline of the TE report’s content is provided in ToR Annex C.

The asterisk “(*)” indicates criteria for which a rating is required.

Findings

Project Design/Formulation

• National priorities and country driven-ness
• Theory of Change
• Gender equality and women’s empowerment
• Social and Environmental Safeguards
• Analysis of Results Framework: project logic and strategy, indicators
• Assumptions and Risks

• Lessons from other relevant projects (e.g. same focal area) incorporated into project design
• Planned stakeholder participation
• Linkages between project and other interventions within the sector
• Management arrangements

Project Implementation

• Adaptive management (changes to the project design and project outputs during implementation)
• Actual stakeholder participation and partnership arrangements
• Project Finance and Co-finance
• Monitoring & Evaluation: design at entry (*), implementation (*), and overall assessment of M&E (*)
• Implementing Agency (UNDP) (*) and Executing Agency (*), overall project oversight/implementation and execution (*)
• Risk Management, including Social and Environmental Standards

Project Results

• Assess the achievement of outcomes against indicators by reporting on the level of progress for each objective and outcome indicator at the time of the TE and noting final achievements
• Relevance (*), Effectiveness (*), Efficiency (*) and overall project outcome (*)
• Sustainability: financial (*)      , socio-political (*), institutional framework and governance (*), environmental (*), overall likelihood of sustainability (*)
• Country ownership
• Gender equality and women’s empowerment
• Cross-cutting issues (poverty alleviation, improved governance, climate change mitigation and adaptation, disaster prevention and recovery, human rights, capacity development, South-South cooperation, knowledge management, volunteerism, etc., as relevant)
• GEF Additionality
• Catalytic Role / Replication Effect
• Progress to impact

Main Findings, Conclusions, Recommendations and Lessons Learned

• The TE team will include a summary of the main findings of the TE report. Findings should be presented as statements of fact that are based on analysis of the data.
•  The section on conclusions will be written in light of the findings. Conclusions should be comprehensive and balanced statements that are well substantiated by evidence and logically connected to the TE findings. They should highlight the strengths, weaknesses and results of the project, respond to key evaluation questions and provide insights into the identification of and/or solutions to important problems or issues pertinent to project beneficiaries, UNDP and the GEF, including issues in relation to gender equality and women’s empowerment.
• Recommendations should provide concrete, practical, feasible and targeted recommendations directed to the intended users of the evaluation about what actions to take and decisions to make. The recommendations should be specifically supported by the evidence and linked to the findings and conclusions around key questions addressed by the evaluation.
• The TE report should also include lessons that can be taken from the evaluation, including best and worst practices in addressing issues relating to relevance, performance and success that can provide knowledge gained from the particular circumstance (programmatic and evaluation methods used, partnerships, financial leveraging, etc.) that are applicable to other GEF and UNDP interventions. When possible, the TE team should include examples of good practices in project design and implementation.
• It is important for the conclusions, recommendations and lessons learned of the TE report to include results related to gender equality and empowerment of women.

ToR Table 2: Evaluation Ratings Table for

Developing and Implementing the National Framework on Access to and Benefit Sharing of Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge

[1] Outcomes, Effectiveness, Efficiency, M&E, I&E Execution, Relevance are rated on a 6-point rating scale: 6 = Highly Satisfactory (HS), 5 = Satisfactory (S), 4 = Moderately Satisfactory (MS), 3 = Moderately Unsatisfactory (MU), 2 = Unsatisfactory (U), 1 = Highly Unsatisfactory (HU). Sustainability is rated on a 4-point scale: 4 = Likely (L), 3 = Moderately Likely (ML), 2 = Moderately Unlikely (MU), 1 = Unlikely (U)

Competencies

TIMEFRAME

The total duration of the TE will be approximately 31-day over a time period of 3-months starting on November 1, 2021.  The tentative TE timeframe is as follows:

Options for site visits should be provided in the TE Inception Report.

TE DELIVERABLES

*All final TE reports will be quality assessed by the UNDP Independent Evaluation Office (IEO).  Details of the IEO’s quality assessment of decentralized evaluations can be found in Section 6 of the UNDP Evaluation Guidelines.[1] The final TE report must be in English. If applicable, the Commissioning Unit may choose to arrange for a translation of the report into a language more widely shared by national stakeholders.

TE ARRANGEMENTS

The principal responsibility for managing the TE resides with the Commissioning Unit. The Commissioning Unit for this project’s TE is the UNDP China. The Commissioning Unit will contract the evaluators and ensure the timely provision of per diems and travel arrangements within the country for the TE team. The Project Team will be responsible for liaising with the TE team to provide all relevant documents, set up stakeholder interviews, and arrange field visits. The Commissioning Unit and Project Team will facilitate and provide all the support that is required to implement remote/ virtual TE in the event of travel restriction to the country.

TE TEAM COMPOSITION

A team of 3 consultants (1 international act as team leader, 1 national evaluator and 1 interpreter) will conduct the TE – one team leader with experience and exposure to projects and evaluations in other regions and one national consultant. The team leader will be responsible for the overall design, providing guidance to the national consultant and writing of the TE report. The national consultant will work with the Project Team in developing the TE itinerary and do the field visit to the sites, be responsible for collecting necessary information to provide to the evaluation team. The Interpreter will be responsible for interpreting the interviews.

The evaluator(s) cannot have participated in the project preparation, formulation and/or implementation (including the writing of the project document), must not have conducted this project’s Mid-Term Review and should not have a conflict of interest with the project’s related activities.

The selection of evaluators will be aimed at maximizing the overall “team” qualities in the following areas:

[1] Access at: http://web.undp.org/evaluation/guideline/section-6.shtml

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications for the Team Leader

Education

• At least a Master’s degree in Biodiversity/Environmental Science/Environmental or other closely related field; (20%)
• Experience
• Familiarity with the Convention of Biological diversity and the Nagoya Protocol; Work experience in Biodiversity related management for at least 10 years; Experience in ABS related areas for at least 3 years; (20%)
• Relevant experience with results-based management and evaluation methodologies; (5%)
• Experience applying SMART indicators and reconstructing or validating baseline scenarios; (5%)
• Competence in adaptive management, as applied to CBD; (5%)
• Experience in evaluating projects, experiences in evaluating GEF-funded project will be an asset; (15%)
• Experience working in China; (5%)
• Demonstrated understanding of issues related to gender and biodiversity; experience in gender responsive evaluation and analysis;(5%)
• Excellent communication skills; (5%)
• Demonstrable analytical skills;(5%)
• Project evaluation/review experience within United Nations system will be considered an asset; project evaluation/review experience with UNDP as well the GEF (in addition to the UN system) would be highly preferable (5%)
• Experience with implementing evaluations remotely will be considered an asset.(5%)

Language

• Fluency in written and spoken English.

EVALUATOR ETHICS

The TE team will be held to the highest ethical standards and is required to sign a code of conduct upon acceptance of the assignment. This evaluation will be conducted in accordance with the principles outlined in the UNEG ‘Ethical Guidelines for Evaluation’. The evaluator 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 evaluator 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 without the express authorization of UNDP and partners.

PAYMENT SCHEDULE

For Team Leader and National Consultant:

• 20% payment upon satisfactory delivery of the final TE Inception Report and approval by the Commissioning Unit
• 40% payment upon satisfactory delivery of the draft TE report to the Commissioning Unit
• 40% payment upon satisfactory delivery of the final TE report and approval by the Commissioning Unit and RTA (via signatures on the TE Report Clearance Form) and delivery of completed TE Audit Trail

Criteria for issuing the final payment of 40%:

• The final TE report includes all requirements outlined in the TE TOR and is in accordance with the TE guidance.
• The final TE report is clearly written, logically organized, and is specific for this project (i.e. text has not been cut & pasted from other TE reports).
• The Audit Trail includes responses to and justification for each comment listed.

In line with the UNDP’s financial regulations, when determined by the Commissioning Unit and/or the consultant that a deliverable or service cannot be satisfactorily completed due to the impact of COVID-19 and limitations to the TE, that deliverable or service will not be paid.

Due to the current COVID-19 situation and its implications, a partial payment may be considered if the consultant invested time towards the deliverable but was unable to complete to circumstances beyond his/her control.

For interpreter:

• A total interpretation fee will be paid based on actual working days after all interviews with stakeholders are completed.

APPLICATION PROCESS[1]

Recommended Presentation of Proposal:

1. Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template[2] provided by UNDP;
2. CV;
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.

Offeror's letter download link: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GYP7hMPX3qJAbiy7KZppiWqR4JdKFYv4/view?usp=sharing

Incomplete applications will be excluded from further consideration.

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.

[1] Engagement of evaluators should be done in line with guidelines for hiring consultants in the POPP https://popp.undp.org/SitePages/POPPRoot.aspx

[2]https://intranet.undp.org/unit/bom/pso/Support%20documents%20on%20IC%20Guidelines/Template%20for%20Confirmation%20of%20Interest%20and%20Submission%20of%20Financial%20Proposal.docx

TOR Annexes (Download here)

• ToR Annex A: Project Logical/Results Framework
• ToR Annex B: Project Information Package to be reviewed by TE team
• ToR Annex C: Content of the TE report
• ToR Annex D: Evaluation Criteria Matrix template
• ToR Annex E: UNEG Code of Conduct for Evaluators
• ToR Annex F: TE Rating Scales
• ToR Annex G: TE Report Clearance Form
• ToR Annex H: TE Audit Trail

Please provide Offeror’s Letter and proposal together with your CV and cover letter (if applicable) in one single file while submitting application. And please note that the system will not accept the uploading of more than one document so please merge or scan all your documents into one prior to uploading. Below is the download link of Offeror's Letter. 

Offeror's letter download link: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GYP7hMPX3qJAbiy7KZppiWqR4JdKFYv4/view?usp=sharing