Historique

The United Nations Partnership Framework between Guinea-Bissau and the United Nations System (UNPAF) for the period 2016-2020 is the result of participatory work carried out under the leadership of the Government in close collaboration with the UN Country Team, UNIOGBIS, the Civil Society Organizations and the Private Sector. It was based on the results of a complementary analysis of Guinea-Bissau's development situation and key priorities in lines with the Strategic and Operational Plan 2015-2020, “Terra Ranka”.

UNPAF has defined four (4) key results of the partnership and the strategic interventions that the United Nations will implement to make a meaningful contribution to the achievement of national priorities:

• State institutions including defense, security and justice consolidate stability and the rule of law, democratic participation and equitable access to opportunities for all;
• Economic growth is inclusive and sustainable to promote poverty reduction, decent employment, food security, structural transformation of the economy;
• All citizens, especially the most marginalized and vulnerable, have equitable and sustainable access and use health, nutrition, HIV / AIDS, water, sanitation and hygiene, education and quality protection services;
• Public institutions, civil society organizations, the private sector promote sustainable management of the environment and natural resources, risk management and disaster prevention.

To strengthen integration and ensure coherence and optimization of resource use, it is agreed in the UNPAF document that coordination and management arrangements will be guided by the principles of the Declaration of Paris on Aid Effectiveness, the United Nations Program Principles and the "Delivering as One" approach, in particular the principles of "One Program", "a Joint Arrangement of Operations, particularly a Budget Framework", "One voice" and "One leader". In accordance with the principles of this approach, a Joint Work Plan was developed for each expected result. Thus, four (4) Joint Work Plans were developed to serve as a framework for the implementation of the Program.

UNPAF monitoring and evaluation mechanisms include the organization of an annual review at the end of each year, a mid-term review during the third or fourth quarter of the third year, and a mandatory final evaluation by the end of the fourth year.

The Mid-Term Review was completed in September 2018. Recommendations were formulated and a plan for implementing these recommendations was developed and validated by the UNCT. It is within this framework that the term of the reference of the Final Evaluation are elaborated.

Devoirs et responsabilités

Purpose
The final evaluation of UNPAF aims to assess the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, equity, sustainability and ownership of the results of the implementation of the partnership framework, particularly its contribution to the achievement of national priorities. It also aims to assess the effective application of the programmatic principles that guided the implementation of the partnership framework, the relevance and effectiveness of the management arrangements put in place.

The UNPAF evaluation will examine whether the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) prioritizes aid and contributes to the development of the country. It will also assess the leadership of the UN Resident Coordinator in addressing the political issues facing the UN Country Team, as well as its support for collective programming and resource mobilization objectives.

The final evaluation of UNPAF will be the main accountability tool for measuring the collective contribution of the United Nations development system at the country level. It will focus on issues at the strategic level and the overall contribution of the United Nations system at the outcome level, as well as the contribution to the National Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The results and recommendations of the final evaluation of UNPAF will be considered in the development of the new UNSDCF for 2021-2025.

Scope of the UNPAF Final Evaluation
The evaluation will cover all programme and key activity-based contributions to UNPAF outcomes by the resident and non-resident UNCT and UNIOGBIS. Due consideration should be given to the activities of agencies without a formal country programme, activities implemented as part of global or regional programmes and projects, and the activities of non-resident agencies.

Specific Objectives

Based on the results of the Mid-Term Review, lessons learned from implementation over the first three years of the program, the exercise will focus on:

• Assess the level of implementation of the recommendations made in the Mid-Term Review Report;
• Assess the contribution of the UN Country Team in UNPAF to national development results using evidence-based evaluation criteria (accountability); also identify synergies, gaps, overlaps and missed opportunities;
• Identify the factors that influenced the contribution of the UNCT, answering the question of why performance is the same and explaining the enabling factors and bottlenecks (learning);
• Assess the level of consideration of cross-cutting issues in UNPAF implementation: gender, human rights, environment, capacity development, results-based management;
• Assess the extent to which the results achieved, and the strategies used by the UNS are sustainable;
• Analyze UNPAF's internal coordination and implementation mechanisms in relation to national mechanisms (relevance, strengths and weaknesses):

Steering Committee;

United Nations Coordination Team;

Result/Outcome Groups;

UNPAF Working Thematic Groups;

• Appreciate the degree of involvement of partners (Government, Civil Society, NGOs, Private Sector, Development Partners, local communities) in the implementation of UNPAF;
• Make concrete recommendations to enhance the contribution of the UNCT, including their integration into the new UNSCF 2021-2025. These recommendations should be logically related to the conclusions and draw on lessons learned from the evaluation.

Expected Results
The final evaluation of UNPAF is expected to yield the following results:

• A preliminary/inception report on the understanding of the terms of reference, the detailed methodology and schedule of the evaluation is developed and available. Specifically, the preliminary report will include the following elements:
• Development of evaluation questions into methodological questions;
• Sources and methods of data collection for each methodological question; and
• A concrete plan of the evaluation activities and a timetable, possibly with a provisional list of interviews to be organized or travel plans to other places (e.g. regions/project sites).
• An evaluation report is developed and available, with specific answers to the questions addressed in the specific objectives (progress, challenges, lessons learned and recommendations). The evaluation report should be written in a clear and concise manner so that the reader can easily follow his logic. It should not be too full of factual descriptions, especially those available elsewhere. The report should aim to present conclusions and recommendations in a logical and convincing way. It should contain:
• What has been evaluated and why (purpose and scope);
• How the evaluation was conducted (objectives and methodology);
• What was found and on what evidence (findings and evidence / analysis);
• What was concluded from the results and in response to the main evaluation questions (conclusions);
• What has been recommended (recommendations); and
• What could be usefully learned, if any (lessons learned).

Evaluation Questions and Approaches
The final evaluation of UNPAF will be conducted in accordance with the UNDG and UNEG rules and standards for UNDAF evaluation and the new UNSCDF evaluation guidelines. It will be a participatory and inclusive approach involving all stakeholders in the implementation of the Program (Resident and Non-Resident Agencies of the United Nations, UNIOGBIS, Goverment, Civil Society Organizations, Private Sector, Technical and Financial Partners, and beneficiaries). The Evaluation questions are the core elements of the evaluation which determine the objectives of the evaluation and how it should be conducted. The Evaluation Report must provide answers to the evaluation questions in its conclusions and ensure clarity of connection between the questions and the conclusions.  For the UNPAF final evaluation, the evaluation questions should assess the following four dimensions and criteria:

Relevance and coherence: Are we doing the right things?

• Has the UNCT and UNIOGBIS responded to the most pressing needs of the population and the country in a strategic and collective way identified by the CCA/ or National Development Plan “Terra Ranka” in their design? and implementation?

• Have the resources been mobilized and used to meet the priorities of the UNCT and UNIOGBIS, proportionately rather than opportunistically - i.e. based on funding availability and the agenda of each agency?
• Has the UNPAF facilitated the identification of and access to new financing flows at scale for national partners?
• Has the UNPAF enabled greater UN coherence and discipline and reduced transaction costs for partners?
• Has the UNPAF enabled the UNCT and UNIOGBIS to deliver quality, integrated, SDG-focused policy support?
• Has the UNPAF strengthened the position, credibility and reliability of the UN as a partner for government and other actors in their efforts to achieve the SDGs?

Results: Have we made a difference?

• What has been achieved for each UNPAF’s outcome and where were the gaps?
• What are the changes observed at national level, including changes in relevant statistical indicators, and what is the UN’s plausible contribution to these changes?
• Have the UN RC’s leadership and the collective effort of the UNCT and UNIOGBIS helped to overcome political challenges to pursuing the UN agenda?
• Have the synergies between UNCT agencies, including UNIOGBIS, helped to achieve broader-based results and greater value for money than would have been the case, had the work been done individually?
• Has the UNPAF contributed to greater clarity and transparency of results achieved and resources used?

Transformation: Have we made long-lasting, systemic and society-wide changes?

• Has the UNCT’s work ensured national and local ownership, so that the changes will last beyond UNCT intervention?
• Has the UNCT’s work brought about systemic changes (i.e., changes in the legal framework, institutions, social and economic structure)?
• Has the UNCT’s work been systemic, scaled up or replicated to ensure its effects are not limited in scope, but nationwide?

Normative: Have we left no one behind?

• Has the UNCT prioritized the needs of those who need assistance most (particularly the most vulnerable and the marginalized)?
• Has the UNCT and UNIOGBIS’ work properly mainstreamed gender?
• Has the UNCT and UNIOGBIS’ work properly addressed human-rights issues?
• Has the UNCT and UNIOGBIS’ ensured that unintended or negative effects on the population or social groups outside the programme’s scope have been properly addressed and/or minimized?

In addition to the four dimensions highlighted above, the following questions should also be used to assess UNPAF:

Management and coordination:

• Are responsibilities properly delineated and implemented in a complementary way?
• Did the UN Resident Coordinator and the collective effort of the country team help to overcome the political obstacles to the continuation of the UN program?
• All the criteria and approaches identified above will be developed by the UNPAF Final Evaluation Team in the form of detailed questions in their Preliminary Report on Evaluation Methodology.

Methodology of data collection:
The final evaluation process will be conducted by an evaluation team of independent consultants: two international consultants who will be supported by a national consultant. The terms of reference of this team are specified in annexes of this Term of Reference.

In general, building upon the Midterm Review’s report and recommendation, data collection will be done through:

• A documentary review internal or external to the UN System. these include: the UNPAF Mid-Term Review Report, the UNPAF document, the national development plan “Terra Ranka”, the Joint Working Plans 2016-2018 and 2019-2020 Outcomes, projects and Joint projects docs and reports, UNPAF Annual Progress Reports, BOS document, Agency Country Program Documents and any other relevant documents to conduct the exercise;

Field visits. In this context, the team of Consultants will identify some key partners to collect additional data. The method and tools to be used to collect this data will be developed by the consultants in a global Methodological Note that will be analyzed and adopted by the Evaluation Management Team.

Duties and responsibilities:

Under the direct responsibility of the Resident Coordinator and the UN Country Team and under the direct supervision of the Evaluation Manager, with the support of the Consultative Group, the International Consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Propose a methodological note on the conduct of the evaluation in accordance with the terms of reference of the final evaluation.;

• Determine the relevance and strategic positioning of the UNPAF program to respond to national development priorities, given the changing development and political environment, and emerging issues, including climate change, and UN priorities and core values, including human rights and gender equality;
• Ascertain the status of achievement of results in the four (4) outcome groups and identify lessons learned;
• Assess the efficiency of the UN’s process and the quality of the UN’s contribution for attaining national development priorities as outlined in the UNPAF’s goals and SDGs;
• Propose changes to programming in respond to achieving stated UNPAF goals and SDGs; focusing on more effective and efficient delivery of UN’s contribution to development, as well as improved incorporation of cross-cutting issues such as human rights and gender equality; and provide recommendations for strengthening the UN’s overall performance and support to the national development plan.

Key deliverables expected:

• A Theory-of-change (ToC) workshop is organized;
• A preliminary/inception report on the understanding of the terms of reference;
• An evaluation report is developed and available, with specific answers to the questions addressed in the specific objectives (progress, challenges, lessons learned and recommendations).

Main activities planned at this end are resumed in the table below:

Theory-of-change (ToC) workshop, a key reference framework for evaluators. the ToC should cascade from the SDGs to UNPAF outcomes to agency outcomes and Outputs:

Deliverable:

Development of a common understanding of what ought to happen to achieve the goals, what the UN’s activities are expected to achieve – a critical exercise to avoiding dispute at a later stage.

Inception phase: Inception report - briefing the UNCT members, Head of Section of UNIOGBIS and national counterparts, agreeing on the methodology and planning evaluation activities proposed by the Evaluation Team, according to the ToR of Final Evaluation.

Data collection and analysis of the primary data where secondary data are not available, and preparation of the preliminary outline - outline of draft report.

Writing draft evaluation report.

Review and validation process - depending on how quickly the UNCT members and their national/government counterparts can examine the draft and provide comments. Draft evaluation report validated.

Preparation of the stakeholder workshop, Draft ToR of Stakeholder Workshop, key outcomes and recommendations of the workshop.

Insertion of recommendations received from all stakeholders and finalization of the report. Final report of the final evaluation of UNPAF

Compétences

The International Consultant, team leader, should have the following competencies:

• Good understanding of the SDGs and their implications for development cooperation;
• Good understanding of the role of the UN System in development cooperation in the context of the country in question;
• Demonstrated analytical capacity, particularly in the case of the team leader, including on political economy and financing for development;
• Proven experience in conducting evaluations of complex programmes and themes (minimum 10 years for the team leader, 3-5 years for other team members);
• Sound knowledge of the country context and an in-depth understanding of at least one area of work of UNCT members; collectively, Evaluation Team members should broadly cover all areas of UNCT activity;
• Demonstrated ability to write and communicate clearly in languages appropriate for the country; and
• An absence of conflicts of interest (never employed by UNCT members or implementing partners, nor expected to be employed in the near future, no private relationships with any UNCT members).

Corporate

• Demonstrations integrity by modeling the values ??and ethical standards of the United Nations;
• Promotes UNDP vision, mission and strategic objectives;
• Displays the sensitivity and adaptability of culture, gender, religion, race, nationality and age;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Communication

• Excellent writing and oral communication skills.

Professionalism

• Demonstrated ability in analytical thinking;
• Excellent organizational, writing and reporting skills;
• Ability to work independently, plan, prioritize and deliver tasks on time;
• Flexibility to travel for work on short notice.

Team work

• Openness and ability to receive / integrate feedback;
• Ability to work under pressure;
• Ability to work in a multicultural environment.

Qualifications et expériences requises

Education

• At least a master's degree in social sciences or equivalent in economics, political science, planning or statistics;

Experience

• Have at least 10 years’ experience in research and evaluation of projects and cooperation programs;
• Substantial experience in research in the areas of political science, public policy or development studies related to evaluation;
• Experience in the field of MDGs and good knowledge of the SDGs;
• Strong writing and analytical skills;
• Practical experience as a supervisor of a similar work team
• Experience in the field of gender and / or human rights approach;
• Experience in Results-Based Management;
• Good understanding and knowledge of the United Nations system and its joint programming tools;

Language

• Mastery of French and English (Oral and Written);
• Knowledge of Portuguese would be an asset.

Application procedure:

Financial Proposal* - specifying a daily rate in USD and, if applicable, a lump sum for round-trip travel costs to join duty station/repatriation travel.

Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. rent of dwelling, fee, health insurance, vaccination, visa costs and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services...). All envisaged costs (except of the unforeseen travel costs for missions, if any) must be included in the financial proposal. Unforeseen travel costs for missions, if any, will be paid separately according to UNDP rules and regulations.

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials;

Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.

Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the shortlisted candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.

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

Additional Questions: (Three more questions are allowed other than the two mandatory questions below)

• Explain why you think you are the most suitable candidate for this work? (Mandatory);
• Please provide your consultancy daily fee in USD (Mandatory).

Evaluation

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodologies: 

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:

• 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 70 point would be considered for the Financial Evaluation 

Evaluation criteria:

• Education background - 10 points;
• Experience as defined in the ToR - 20 points;
• Competences as defined in the ToR - 10 points;
• Understating of the ToR - 15 points;
• Methodology and overall approach - 25 points;
• Overall quality of the proposal (comprehensiveness, structure, language and clarity) - 20 points.