Background

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- or medium-sized project titled “Capacity Development for Improved Implementation of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs)” (PIMS #5227) implemented through the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia. The project started on the 17 January 2017 and is in its 5th 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’.

1.PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The project is designed to improve implementation of MEAs in Serbia by strengthening consultative processes and integrating MEA provisions into high-priority policies and programs at national and municipal levels. Three outputs of the project include 1) Using Research and Information to Strengthen Policy-Making; 2) Strengthening Mechanisms for Integrating MEAs into Other Sectors; 3) Targeted Education and Training to Support MEA Implementation.

(https://www.thegef.org/project/capacity-development-improved-implementation-multilateral-environmental-agreements-meas).?

At central government level, the project is working on strengthening the ability of the Ministry of Environmental Protection to address the Rio conventions as inter-linked, cross-cutting documents by reporting on the conventions as a whole. The project is also designed to strengthen environmental governance by engaging government institutions that have not focused directly on international environmental issues, such as the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology Development and the Ministry of Youth and Sports. In addition, the project will work with the Serbian Parliament in order to strengthen its capacity to handle legislation that relates directly and indirectly to global environmental concerns, fostering communication between the executive and legislative branches of government on this issue. By strengthening the capacity of local self-governments units to conduct or oversee environmental assessments (SEAs and EIAs), the project addresses local and global environmental concerns, and it will provide information that is currently lacking at the country level and in reporting to the conventions.

With 950,000.00 US$ from the GEF, the MEAs will have a total volume of 1.93 million US$. Co-financing is provided by Serbian institutions and UNDP (UNDP CO Serbia 50,000.00 USD, in-kind contribution: UNDP 220,000.00 USD) Ministry of Environmental protection 180,000.00 USD, Ministry of Youth and Sports 200,000.00 USD, Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities 280,000.00 USD, Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence 50,000.00)

In accordance with UNDP and GEF M&E policies and procedures, all full and medium-sized UNDP support GEF financed projects are required to undergo a terminal evaluation upon completion of implementation. These terms of reference (TOR) sets out the expectations for a Terminal Evaluation (TE) of the project “Capacity Development for Improved Implementation of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs)” (PIMS# 5227)

The project is executed by the UNDP and MEP in cooperation with the local municipalities. Main external project partners are the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities, and Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence (BFPE).

The project is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) SDG 4 (quality education), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities), SDG 13 (climate change), and SDG 15 (life on land). Work on MEAs across the project will also contribute to SDG 16 (peace, justice, and strong institutions).

2.TE PURPOSE

The TE report will assess the achievement of project results against what was expected to be achieved, and draw lessons that can both improve the sustainability of benefits from this project, and aid in the overall enhancement of UNDP programming. The TE report promotes accountability and transparency, and assesses the extent of project accomplishments.

The TE report will assess the achievement of project results against what was expected to be achieved and draw lessons that can both improve the sustainability of benefits from this project, and aid in the overall enhancement of UNDP programming. The TE report promotes accountability and transparency and assesses the extent of project accomplishments.

The TE will be conducted according to the guidance, rules, and procedures established by UNDP and GEF as reflected in the UNDP Evaluation Guidance for GEF Financed Projects.

Duties and Responsibilities

TE APPROACH AND 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 representatives of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence, Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities, European Training Academy (EUTA), Faculty of Law University of Belgrade, National Academy for Public Administration, Faculty of Forestry University of Belgrade, ENECA, ; 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. No requirements for field visits since there were no local interventions.

The national TE consultant is expected to accompany international TE consultant during the field mission to Serbia. Interviews will be held with the following organizations and individuals at a minimum: Ministry of Environmental Protection, Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities, Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence, representatives of other relevant stakeholders (such as Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development) and UNDP Serbia Country Office. In case of travel restriction to Serbia due to the COVID-19 crisis, the interviewees will be held by national TE consultant only or will be held remotely.

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 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.

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

1. 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 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 incorporate gender equality and empowerment of women.

The TE report will include an Evaluation Ratings Table, as shown below:

EXPECTED OUTPUTS AND DELIVERABLES

The TE consultant/team shall prepare and submit:

*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.

*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.

NOTE: Flexibility and delays should be included in the timeframe for the TE, with additional time for implementing the TE virtually recognizing possible delays in accessing stakeholder groups due to COVID-19. Consideration may be given to a time contingency should the evaluation be delayed in any way due to COVID-19.

TE ARRANGEMENTS

The principal responsibility for managing the TE resides with the Commissioning Unit. The Commissioning Unit for this project’s TE is UNDP Serbia Country Office.

The Commissioning Unit will contract the consultants 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.

Team composition

A team of two independent evaluators will conduct the TE – one team leader (international TE consultant with experience and exposure to projects and evaluations in other regions) and one national TE consultant. The team leader will. be responsible for the overall design and writing of the TE report, etc.? The national TE consultant will provide stock taking reports/summaries of documents written in Serbian in English as well as playing a leading role in helping to organize meetings and interviews as well as participating in these interviews. The lead role in writing the report will be with the international TE consultant and the national TE consultant will play a supporting role reviewing all draft documents and providing detailed inputs and comments.

The evaluators cannot have participated in the project preparation, formulation and/or implementation (including the writing of the project document) and should not have a conflict of interest with the project’s related activities.

TIMEFRAME

The total duration of the TE will be approximately 27 working days over a time period of 16 weeks starting on 17 June 2021 and shall not exceed five months from when the TE team is hired.

DUTY STATION

Travel:

• In case of travel, the BSAFE course must be successfully completed prior to commencement of travel;
• Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director.
• Consultants are required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under: https://dss.un.org/dssweb/\

Competencies

EVALUATORS 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 the collection of data and reporting on data. The evaluator must also ensure the 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.

Required Skills and Experience

TE TEAM COMPOSITION AND REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

A team of two independent evaluators will conduct the TE – one team leader (with experience and exposure to projects and evaluations in other regions) and one team expert, usually from the country of the project. The team leader will be responsible for the overall design and writing of the TE report. The National consultant is expected to work under the supervision of the Team Leader.

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 National Consultant will be aimed at maximizing the overall “team” qualities in the following areas:

Education

• Master’s degree in environment/mechanical/electrical/forestry/agriculture/process engineering or economy or other closely related field.

Experience

• Recent experience with results-based management evaluation methodologies;
• Experience applying SMART indicators and reconstructing or validating baseline scenarios;
• Competence in adaptive management, as applied to biodiversity, climate change and land degradation;
• Experience in evaluating projects;
• Experience working in Europe and/or Central Asia;
• Experience in relevant technical areas for at least 7 years;
• Experience working with the GEF or GEF-evaluations, means of verification: the list of evaluated GEF projects;
• Demonstrated understanding of issues related to gender and biodiversity, climate change and land degradation; experience in gender responsive evaluation and analysis;
• Excellent communication skills;
• Demonstrable analytical skills;
• Project evaluation/review experience within United Nations system will be considered an asset;
• Experience in working with wide range of stakeholders (private, governmental, etc.).

Language

• Native Serbian;
• Fluency in written and spoken English.

PAYMENT SCHEDULE:

• 20% payment upon satisfactory delivery of the final TE Inception Report and approval of 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.

APPLICATION PROCESS

SCOPE OF PRICE PROPOSAL AND SCHEDULE OF PAYMENTS

Financial Proposal:

• Financial proposals must be “all inclusive” and expressed in a lump-sum for the total duration of the contract. The term “all inclusive” implies all cost (professional fees, travel costs, living allowances etc.);
• The lump sum is fixed regardless of changes in the cost components.

RECOMMENDED PRESENTATION OF PROPOSAL:

1. Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template Letter of Confirmation of Interest template provided at the link: https://www.undp.org.rs/download/ic/Confirmation.docx;
2. CV and a Personal History Form (P11 form);
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 email 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.

All applications should be submitted via UNDP Web site: UNDP in Serbia under section “Jobs” no later than 20th June, 2021.

In order to apply please merge above listed documents into a single PDF file. The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded.

Any request for clarification must be sent by standard electronic communication to the e-mail vacancy.rs@undp.org. The procuring UNDP entity will respond by standard electronic mail and will send response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all consultants.

CRITERIA FOR THE SELECTION OF THE BEST OFFER

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. Cumulative analysis

When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should 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 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 would be considered for the Financial Evaluation

Additional Information:

• Individual Contract (IC) will be applicable for individual consultants applying in their own capacity. If the applicant is employed by any legal entity, IC would be issued upon submission of Consent letter from the employer acknowledging the engagement with UNDP. Template of General Conditions on IC could be found on: https://rs.undp.org/content/dam/serbia/downloads/General%20Conditions%20for%20Individual%20Contracts.pdf
• Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA) will be applicable for applicants employed by any legal entity. Template of RLA with General Terms and Conditions could be found on: http://www.undp.org.rs/download/RLA%20with%20General%20Terms%20and%20Conditions.doc
• In the case of engagement of Civil servants under IC contract modality a no-objection letter should be provided by the Government entity. The ‘no-objection’ letter must also state that the employer formally certifies that their employees are allowed to receive short-term consultancy assignment from another entity without being on “leave-without-pay” status (if applicable), and include any conditions and restrictions on granting such permission, if any. If the previous is not applicable ‘leave-without-pay’ confirmation should be submitted.

Engagement of Government Officials and Employees

• Government Officials or Employees are civil servants of UN Member States.As such, if they will be engaged by UNDP under an IC which they will be signing in their individual capacity (i.e., engagement is not done through RLA signed by their Government employer), the following conditions must be met prior to the award of contract:

(i) A “No-objection” letter in respect of the individual is received from the Government employing him/her, and;

(ii) The individual must provide an official documentation from his/her employer formally certifying his or her status as being on “official leave without pay” for the duration of the IC.

• The above requirements are also applicable to Government-owned and controlled enterprises and well as other semi/partially or fully owned Government entities, whether or not the Government ownership is of majority or minority status.

UNDP recognizes the possibility that there are situations when the Government entity employing the individual that UNDP wishes to engage is one that allows its employees to receive external short-term consultancy assignments (including but not limited to research institutions, state-owned colleges/universities, etc.), whereby a status of “on-leave-without-pay” is not required. Under such circumstance, the individual entering into an IC with UNDP must still provide a “No-objection” letter from the Government employing him/her. The “no objection” letter required under (i) above must also state that the employer formally certifies that their employees are allowed to receive short-term consultancy assignment from another entity without being on “leave-without-pay” status, and include any conditions and restrictions on granting such permission, if any. The said document may be obtained by, and put on record of, UNDP, in lieu of the document (ii) listed above.

ANNEXES TO THE TOR

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

Complete Terms of Reference wiht the above listed Annexes could be downloaded at: https://www.undp.org.rs/download/tmp/GEF_National_Consultant_-_Terminal_Evaluation.doc