Consultancy – Mid Term Review (Twende Project) At International Union for Conservation of Nature

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Request for Proposals (RfP)
Conducting the Project MID-TERM-REVIEW
for Towards Ending Drought Emergencies – TWENDE Project
[an Ecosystems Based Adaptation project in Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Rangelands]
ESARO Kenya – TWENDE Project
RfP Reference: IUCN-2023-09-P02886-01
Welcome to this Procurement by IUCN. You are hereby invited to submit a Proposal. Please read the information and instructions carefully because non-compliance with the instructions may result in disqualification of your Proposal from this Procurement.
1. REQUIREMENTS
1.1. A detailed description of the services and/or goods to be provided can be found in Attachment 1.
2. CONTACT DETAILS
2.1. During this procurement, i.e. from the publication of this RfP to the award of a contract, you may not discuss this procurement with any IUCN employee or representative other than the following contact. You must address all correspondence and questions to the contact, including your proposal. IUCN Contact: Tenders Kenya – tenders.kenya@iucn.org
3. PROCUREMENT TIMETABLE
3.1. This timetable is indicative and may be changed by IUCN at any time. If IUCN decides that changes to any of the deadlines are necessary, we will publish this on our website and contact you directly if you have indicated your interest in this procurement (see Section 3.2).
DATE ACTIVITY
27 February 2024
Publication of the Request for Proposals
5 March 2024
Deadline for expressions of interest
8 March 2024
Deadline for submission of questions
13 March 2024
Planned publication of responses to questions 26 March 2024 Deadline for submission of Proposals to IUCN (“Submission Deadline”)
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DATE ACTIVITY
5 April 2024
Clarification of Proposals
15 April 2024
Planned date for contract award
1 May 2024
Expected contract start date
3.2. Please email the IUCN contact to express your interest in submitting a proposal by the deadline stated above. This will help IUCN to keep you updated regarding the procurement.
4. COMPLETING AND SUBMITTING A PROPOSAL
4.1. Your Proposal must consist of the following four separate documents:
• Signed Declaration of Undertaking (see Attachment 2)
• Technical Proposal (see Section 4.4 below)
• Financial Proposal (see Section 4.5 below)
Proposals must be prepared in English.
4.2. Your Proposal must be submitted by email to the IUCN Contact (see Section 2). The subject heading of the email shall be [RfP Reference – bidder name]. The bidder’s name is the name of the company/organisation on whose behalf you are submitting the proposal, or your own surname if you are bidding as a self-employed consultant. Your proposal must be submitted in PDF format. You may submit multiple emails suitably annotated, e.g. Email 1 of 3, if attached files are too large to suit a single email transmission. You may not submit your Proposal by uploading it to a file-sharing tool.
IMPORTANT: Submitted documents must be password-protected so that they cannot be opened and read before the submission deadline. Please use the same password for all submitted documents. After the deadline has passed and within 12 hours, please send the password to the IUCN Contact. This will ensure a secure bid submission and opening process. Please DO NOT email the password before the deadline for Proposal submission.
4.3. Eligibility – N/A
4.4. Technical Proposal
The technical proposal must address each of the criteria stated below explicitly and separately, quoting the relevant criteria reference number (left-hand column).
Proposals in any other format will significantly increase the time it takes to evaluate, and such Proposals may therefore be rejected at IUCN’s discretion.
Where CVs are requested, these must be of the individuals who will carry out the work specified. The individuals you put forward may only be substituted with IUCN’s approval.
IUCN will evaluate technical proposals with regards to each of the following criteria and their relative importance:
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Criteria
Information to provide
Relative weight
1
Clarity and completeness of the Proposal
All information required in the TOR available in the proposal
10 2 Approach and Methodology
2.1
Critical analysis of the project objectives and the TOR
Demonstrate clear understanding of the TOR and objectives
10
2.2
Conceptual and methodological approach
Description of the conceptual and methodological approach including experimental designs, sample size and power calculations
30
2.3
Operationalization of the approach and Methodology
Working programme / working schedule for delivery of outputs
Staffing schedule and task assignment descriptions
Work organization, back-up services, quality control, logistics, etc
30 3 Consultants Competencies
3.1
Education:
Masters in relevant field
Work experience: at least 10 years in baseline studies, M&E, Impact assessments, socio-economic and biophysical assessments,
Program/Project
M&E experience
Donor (GCF or GEF or other major climate change donors) experience
20
TOTAL
100%
4.5. Financial Proposal
4.5.1. The financial proposal must be a fixed and firm price for the provision of the goods/services stated in the RfP in their entirety.
4.5.2. Prices include all costs
Submitted rates and prices are deemed to include all costs, insurances, taxes (except VAT, see below), fees, expenses, liabilities, obligations, risk, and other things necessary for the performance of the Terms of Reference or Specification of
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Requirements. IUCN will not accept charges beyond those clearly stated in the Financial Proposal. This includes applicable withholding taxes and similar. It is your responsibility to determine whether such taxes apply to your organisation and to include them in your financial offer.
4.5.3. Applicable Goods and Services Taxes
Proposal rates and prices shall be exclusive of Value Added Tax.
4.5.4. Currency of proposed rates and prices
All rates and prices submitted by Proposers shall be in KSH.
4.5.5. Breakdown of rates and prices
•
Itemized consultancy fees/costs, inclusive of all taxes
•
Itemized field data collection expenses, including lines for enumerator compensation and transportation.
•
Itemized administrative expenses/ disbursements.
4.6. Additional information not requested by IUCN should not be included in your Proposal and will not be considered in the evaluation.
4.7. Your proposal must remain valid and capable of acceptance by IUCN for a period of 90 calendar days following the submission deadline.
4.8. Withdrawals and Changes
You may freely withdraw or change your proposal at any time prior to the submission deadline by written notice to the IUCN Contact. However, to reduce the risk of fraud, no changes or withdrawals will be accepted after the submission deadline.
5. EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS
5.1. Completeness
IUCN will firstly check your proposal for completeness. Incomplete proposals will not be considered further.
5.2. Technical Evaluation
5.2.1. Scoring Method
Your proposal will be assigned a score from 0 to 10 for each of the technical evaluation criteria, such that ‘0’ is low and ‘10’ is high.
5.2.2. Minimum Quality Thresholds
Proposals that receive a score of ‘0’ for any of the criteria will not be considered further.
5.2.3. Technical Score
Your score for each technical evaluation criterion will be multiplied with the respective relative weight (see Section 4.4) and these weighted scores added together to give your proposal’s overall technical score.
5.3. Financial Evaluation and Financial Scores
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The financial evaluation will be based upon the full total price you submit. Your financial proposal will receive a score calculated by dividing the lowest financial proposal that has passed the minimum quality thresholds (see Section 5.2.2) by the total price of your financial proposal.
Thus, for example, if your financial proposal is for a total of CHF 100 and the lowest financial proposal is CHF 80, you will receive a financial score of 80/100 = 80%
5.4. Total Score
Your proposal’s total score will be calculated as the weighted sum of your technical score and your financial score.
The relative weights will be:
Technical: 70%
Financial: 30%
Thus, for example, if your technical score is 83% and your financial score is 77%, you will receive a total score of 83 * 70% + 77 * 30% = 58.1% + 23.1% = 81.2%.
Subject to the requirements in Sections 4 and 7, IUCN will award the contract to the bidder whose proposal achieves the highest total score.
6. EXPLANATION OF PROCUREMENT PROCEDURE
6.1. IUCN is using the Open Procedure for this procurement. This means that the contracting opportunity is published on IUCN’s website and open to all interested parties to take part, subject to the conditions in Section 7 below.
6.2. You are welcome to ask questions or seek clarification regarding this procurement. Please email the IUCN Contact (see Section 2), taking note of the deadline for submission of questions in Section 3.1.
6.3. All proposals must be received by the submission deadline in Section 3.2 above. Late proposals will not be considered. All proposals received by the submission deadline will be evaluated by a team of three or more evaluators in accordance with the evaluation criteria stated in this RfP. No other criteria will be used to evaluate proposals. The contract will be awarded to the bidder whose proposal received the highest Total Score. IUCN does, however, reserve the right to cancel the procurement and not award a contract at all.
6.4. IUCN will contact the bidder with the highest-scoring proposal to finalise the contract. We will contact unsuccessful bidders after the contract has been awarded and provide detailed feedback. The timetable in Section 3.1 gives an estimate of when we expect to have completed the contract award, but this date may change depending on how long the evaluation of proposals takes.
7. CONDITIONS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THIS PROCUREMENT
7.1. To participate in this procurement, you are required to submit a proposal, which fully complies with the instructions in this RfP and the Attachments.
7.1.1. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have submitted a complete and fully compliant proposal.
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7.1.2. Any incomplete or incorrectly completed proposal submission may be deemed non-compliant, and as a result you may be unable to proceed further in the procurement process.
7.1.3. IUCN will query any obvious clerical errors in your proposal and may, at IUCN’s sole discretion, allow you to correct these, but only if doing so could not be perceived as giving you an unfair advantage.
7.2. To participate in this procurement, you must meet the following conditions:
•
Free of conflicts of interest
•
Registered on the relevant professional or trade register of the country in which you are established (or resident, if self-employed)
•
In full compliance with your obligations relating to payment of social security contributions and of all applicable taxes
•
Not been convicted of failing to comply with environmental regulatory requirements or other legal requirements relating to sustainability and environmental protection.
•
Not bankrupt or being wound up.
•
Never been guilty of an offence concerning your professional conduct.
•
Not involved in fraud, corruption, a criminal organisation, money laundering, terrorism, or any other illegal activity.
7.3. You must complete and sign the Declaration of Undertaking (see Attachment 2).
7.4. If you are participating in this procurement as a member of a joint venture, or are using sub-contractors, submit a separate Declaration of Undertaking for each member of the joint venture and sub-contractor, and be clear in your proposal which parts of the goods/services are provided by each partner or sub-contractor.
7.5. Each bidder shall submit only one proposal, either individually or as a partner in a joint venture. In case of joint venture, one company shall not be allowed to participate in two different joint ventures in the same procurement nor shall a company be allowed to submit a proposal both on its behalf and as part of a joint venture for the same procurement. A bidder who submits or participates in more than one proposal (other than as a subcontractor or in cases of alternatives that have been permitted or requested) shall cause all the proposals with the bidder’s participation to be disqualified.
7.6. By taking part in this procurement, you accept the conditions set out in this RfP, including the following:
•
It is unacceptable to give or offer any gift or consideration to an employee or other representative of IUCN as a reward or inducement in relation to the awarding of a contract. Such action will give IUCN the right to exclude you from this and any future procurements, and to terminate any contract that may have been signed with you.
•
Any attempt to obtain information from an employee or other representative of IUCN concerning another bidder will result in disqualification.
•
Any price fixing or collusion with other bidders in relation to this procurement shall give IUCN the right to exclude you and any other involved bidder(s) from this and any future procurements and may constitute a criminal offence.
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8. CONFIDENTIALITY AND DATA PROTECTION
8.1. IUCN follows the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The information you submit to IUCN as part of this procurement will be treated as confidential and shared only as required to evaluate your proposal in line with the procedure explained in this RfP, and for the maintenance of a clear audit trail. For audit purposes, IUCN is required to retain your proposal in its entirety for 10 years after then end of the resulting contract and make this available to internal and external auditors and donors as and when requested.
8.2. In the Declaration of Undertaking (Attachment 2) you need to give IUCN express permission to use the information you submit in this way, including personal data that forms part of your proposal. Where you include personal data of your employees (e.g. CVs) in your proposal, you need to have written permission from those individuals to share this information with IUCN, and for IUCN to use this information as indicated in 8.1. Without these permissions, IUCN will not be able to consider your proposal.
9. COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
If you have a complaint or concern regarding the propriety of how a competitive process is or has been executed, then please contact procurement@iucn.org. Such complaints or concerns will be treated as confidential and are not considered in breach of the above restrictions on communication (Section 2.1).
10. CONTRACT
The contract will be based on IUCN’s template in Attachment 3, the terms of which are not negotiable. They may, however, be amended by IUCN to reflect requirements from the donor funding this procurement.
11. ABOUT IUCN
IUCN is a membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organisations. It provides public, private and non-governmental organisations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development, and nature conservation to take place together.
Headquartered in Switzerland, IUCN Secretariat comprises around 1,000 staff with offices in more than 50 countries.
Created in 1948, IUCN is now the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network, harnessing the knowledge, resources and reach of more than 1,300 Member organisations and some 10,000 experts. It is a leading provider of conservation data, assessments, and analysis. Its broad membership enables IUCN to fill the role of incubator and trusted repository of best practices, tools, and international standards.
IUCN provides a neutral space in which diverse stakeholders including governments, NGOs, scientists, businesses, local communities, indigenous people’s organisations, and others can work together to forge and implement solutions to environmental challenges and achieve sustainable development.
Working with many partners and supporters, IUCN implements a large and diverse portfolio of conservation projects worldwide. Combining the latest science with the traditional knowledge of local communities, these projects work to reverse habitat loss, restore ecosystems, and improve people’s well-being.
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www.iucn.org
https://twitter.com/IUCN/
12. ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 Specification of Requirements / Terms of Reference
Attachment 2 Declaration of Undertaking (select 2a for companies or 2b for self-employed as applicable to you)
Declaration company
Declaration Individuals
Attachment 3 Contract Template
Consultancy Agreement Company
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Attachment 1 Specification of Requirements / Terms of Reference
Terms of Reference (ToR) for TWENDE Project Mid-term Review
Forest & Land Use Programme,
IUCN Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office Evaluation cover sheet Evaluand title:
Towards Ending Drought Emergencies -TWENDE Project Date started: Estimated start/end date of evaluation:
1st May 2024 TO 30th June 2024 Evaluation ToR prepared by1: Evaluation manager (this person will also run the Request for Proposals) 2 What unit will issue the consultant contract?
IUCN-ESARO
Staff name
Forest & Land Use Programme
1.
About IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), founded in 1948, is the world’s oldest and largest environmental organisation. Conserving and sustainable management of drylands biodiversity is central to the mission of IUCN. The goal of the organisation is to demonstrate how drylands biodiversity is fundamental to addressing some of the world’s greatest challenges such as climate change, sustainable development, and food security. IUCN works toward its mission by developing hundreds of conservation projects all over the world from the local level to those involving several countries, all aimed at the sustainable management of biodiversity and natural resources.
The IUCN Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) operates in twenty-four countries in the Horn of Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and the Western Indian Ocean. The current ESARO programming is composed of a suite of mutually interrelated programs and projects designed to address some of the most profound challenges affecting people and nature in the region. Among the projects implemented by IUCN’s Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office is the TWENDE Project – Towards Ending Drought Emergencies: Ecosystem Based Adaptation in Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Rangelands. It is a five-year project funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF). The objective of the TWENDE project is to reduce the cost of climate change induced drought on Kenya’s national economy by increasing resilience of the livestock and other land use sectors in restored and
1 Contact the PPME Unit or your MEL Coordinator or Officer for assistance in writing the Evaluation ToR, including past examples that can be used as more detailed templates.
2 See the IUCN Procurement Policy to ensure the correct process is followed in selecting the evaluation consultant.
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effectively governed rangeland ecosystems. The project contributes Kenya’s national policy of “Ending Drought Emergencies”, as outlined in “Kenya Vision 2030”. It strengthens climate change adaptation in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs).
The project is implemented in two landscapes (Sabarwawa/Mid Tana and Chyulu Hills) encompassing 11 counties. These target landscapes face challenges of weak capacities for landscape planning, poor access to climate data and analysis, and low access to markets and financial services.
More specifically, the TWENDE project is aiming at achieving the following outcomes:
■
Outcome 1: Climate change adapted planning for drought resilience – The component ensures coordinated transboundary rangeland management decisions are strengthened by enhanced climate change analysis and participatory community and county planning. The component contributes to addressing the barriers of weak capabilities and inadequate governance institutions.
■
Outcome 2: Restoration of rangeland landscapes for ecosystem-based adaptation – The components main output is to ensure prioritized rangeland resources (including water), are brought under restoration, safeguarded, and sustainably managed for improved climate change resilience.
■
Outcome 3: Climate change resilient ecosystem management for investments – Main focus is public, private and community investments in natural resources, addressing barriers related to insufficient investment in rangelands and poor access to markets and financial services.
TWENDE is implemented by IUCN (the Accredited Entity) and Government of Kenya through the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Development (MoALD); National Drought Management Authority (NDMA); and Conservation International (CI).
Among the different threats to rangeland biodiversity that IUCN intends to address include weakened institutions leading to breakdown in natural resource governance, degradation of resources, escalating conflicts, weak capacities for landscape planning, poor access to climate data and analysis, and low access to markets and financial services. The target landscapes are dry season grazing areas: critical resource zones that provide refuge during periods of drought. Their existence depends on availability of permanent water, which makes them hotspots for resource competition and land use change. They are used seasonally by large numbers of livestock keepers, often from multiple ethnic groups, following customary governance practices.
2.
Rationale and Purpose
This mid-term review fulfils the IUCN Evaluation Policy3 to conduct an independent midterm review (MTR) for the purpose of learning and reflection on project management and results. It also addresses Green Climate Fund (GCF) requirement for the Accredited Entity (AE) to conduct and submit an independent project interim/mid-term evaluation as per the Evaluation policy for the GCF4.
3 Evaluation Policy
4 Evaluation policy for the GCF
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It is expected that the findings and recommendations of this mid-term review will help to identify any needed course corrections in the project’s approach and activities to achieve the expected results and bring valuable external reflections to help strengthen the project and complement the MEL system of the project through an adaptive management modality.
3.
Audience, key stakeholders, and use
This evaluation is being commission by IUCN as the Accredited Entity (AE) to the GCF for the TWENDE project. The primary audiences for the review are the Green Climate Fund (GCF), TWENDE Project Executing Entities and Service Providers, other project stakeholders and the Project Management Unit at IUCN Kenya Country office coordinating the project. The review report will be submitted to GCF. More specifically, the intended users and uses of the review are:
•
The TWENDE project partners that include the Executing Entities and Service Providers for the purposes of assessing their mid-term performance.
•
IUCN as an Accredited Entity (AE) of project, specifically the Project Management Unit for the purpose of managing the project, and for adjustments to improve delivery of outcomes.
•
The TWENDE Project Steering Committee (PSC) for the purpose of providing strategic direction of the project.
•
The IUCN ESARO Monitoring and Learning team, for the purpose of improving the monitoring and learning approach.
•
The IUCN Forest and Land Use programme for the purpose of gathering lessons to inform future project design and implementation of other projects.
•
GCF Secretariat to demonstrate accountability for the funding received from the GCF and provide recommendations for future GCF programming as well document key lessons for replication in other projects/countries.
A management response and action plan to address recommendations from interim evaluation will be prepared by IUCN as the AE and shared with the GCF Secretariat.
4.
Objectives and evaluation questions
The mid-term review will explore TWENDE’s work and achievements with the aim of assessing progress so far and providing guidance on how to maximize the potential for achieving the intended results and improve learning in its remaining timeframe (2023-2025).
Through the assessment of the performance, achievements and lessons learnt to date, the review will contribute to both learning and accountability. The specific objectives of the mid-term review are:
•
To assess the relevance of TWENDE project to address the cost of climate change induced drought in Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid areas across the 3 landscapes of Chyulu, Sabwarwa and Mid-tana. It will also assess the relevance of the stakeholders targeted by the intervention and the methodologies and approaches to do so.
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•
To assess the effectiveness of the TWENDE project at achieving its objectives and provide clear insights about what has and has not worked so far and why.
•
To assess the efficiency in terms of value for money of the delivery of the TWENDE outputs.
•
To assess the sustainability and potential impacts of the TWENDE project and provide some indication about how the project is progressing towards delivering on its objectives.
• To identify lessons and provide set of actionable recommendations on how the project and the project coordination/management could be adjusted for further improvement and to strengthen delivery of results.
• To assess the progress made on compliance of the environmental and social safeguards (ESS), fiduciary standards, and gender and youth action plan.
The key evaluation criteria for the mid-term review, in line with both New IUCN evaluation Policy and the Evaluation Policy for the GCF are;
1. Relevance:
To what extent does the work of the TWENDE project address its objectives and the priority issues?
1.1. To what extent have Executing Entities (EEs) and Service Providers (SPs) been fit-for purpose?
1.2. How relevant is the TWENDE project, and in particular its outputs and impact achieved so far to the target ASAL counties in Kenya?
1.3 Is the project theory of change (TOC) and intervention logic coherent and realistic?
Does the TOC and intervention logic hold, or does it need to be adjusted?
2. Effectiveness:
To what extent is the project achieving its set targets and objectives?
2.1
How effective is the TWENDE project’s modus operandi? Are the EEs adequately supported from IUCN to deliver on their outputs? How have the problems encountered been resolved?
2.2
How effective are the strategies in place in reaching out and influencing the TWENDE project’s target audiences? What factors have contributed to accelerate or hinder the uptake of the project’s recommendations by its target audience(s)?
2.3
To what extent is the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) strategy and tools set up helping to (a) answer key guiding questions, (b) detect any needed programme implementation adjustments for better progress towards results, and (c) collect the right kind of data in view of conducting an impact evaluation by the end of the project? What adjustments to the MEL system are recommended to help understand impact of the TWENDE project?
2.4
Is the project achieving its set targets and expected objectives? What and how much progress has been made towards achieving the overall impacts such as adaptation beneficiaries and improved ecosystem services?
2.5
Is there value for money? Evaluate the funds flow and its effect to the project
3. Efficiency:
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To what extent are the TWENDE project’s outputs in balance with the level of effort, time and resources spent?
3.1 Have spending and project delivery progressed according to the planned schedule?
3.2 Are there less costly ways of achieving the same outputs?
4. Learning:
What can we learn from the way the TWENDE project is designed and implemented?
4.1 What has and what hasn’t worked well so far and what needs to be improved or done differently?
4.2 Are there lessons or best practices that can be up-scaled or replicated in similar environments?
5. Sustainability:
Are the project interventions and benefits likely to continue after the end of GCF funding?
5.1 What sustainability measures are in place?
5.2 What exit strategy does the project have?
6. Impact Orientation:
Is the project oriented towards a positive impact on people and nature?
6.1 Indications of project positive impact on nature?
6.2 Indications of positive impacts on people’s lives and livelihoods?
7. One Programme Approach:
Is the project leveraging the Union to achieve its objectives?
7.1 Coherence: How well does this project fit with other interventions in the country, sector and within IUCN in terms of delivery of the IUCN Programme? How coherent is the project in climate finance delivery with other multilateral entities?”
7.2 To what extent has it engage with other constituents of the Union to achieve, disseminate, strengthen, scale up or embed its outputs or outcomes?
8. Gender, indigenous peoples, and youth:
8.1 To what extent has the TWENDE project’s objectives and design promoted and advanced gender equality, gender responsiveness, and/or the needs and priorities of Indigenous peoples and youth?
8.2 To what extent has the project monitored its progress with appropriately disaggregated monitoring data and with the participation of women, Indigenous peoples and/or youth?
8.3 To what extent is the project compliant to environmental and social safeguards (ESS)?
9. Science/policy/action interface:
9.1 How has the knowledge produced or disseminated by TWENDE relevant? Has it been effective in influencing policy or actions?
10.
Country ownership of projects and programmes:
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10.1 How is the project contributing to other projects/programmes within the country? are there further commitments, e.g. more co-financing towards the project?
10.2 To what extent is the project aligned with national development plans, national plans of action on climate change, or sub-national policy as well as projects and priorities of national partners?
11.
Innovativeness in result areas:
11.1 To what extent may the project interventions lead to paradigm shift towards low-emission and climate-resilient development pathways?
12.
Replication and scalability:
12.1 Can the project activities be scaled up in other locations within the country or replicated in other countries?
13.
Unexpected results, both positive and negative
13.1 Has the project foreseen any unexpected results, both positive and negative?
14.
Methods and sources
A.
Methods, sources, and analysis
This evaluation will be carried out in conformity with both GCF and IUCN Evaluation Policies. IUCN policy sets out IUCN’s institutional commitment to evaluation, and the criteria and standards for the evaluation and evaluation of its projects and programmes. IUCN’s evaluation standards and criteria are based on the widely accepted Evaluation criteria of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability, and are also in line with GCF evaluation criteria.
The evaluator(s) is expected to develop an evaluation framework based on the suggested key evaluation criteria above but may suggest additional questions or modifications. The inception report will be prepared as the first deliverable of the evaluation and will include an evaluation matrix for presenting how the key issues will be addressed, the data sources and the data collection methods that will be used for the evaluation and a set of criteria to rate the strength of the evidence collected.
The evaluation will seek the views of the stakeholders who have been engaged in the process to date to conclude whether the project is on track and expected to realise its set objectives.
The evaluator(s) is expected to use mixed methods, including:
•
Review of relevant documentation from the TWENDE project
•
Interviews of key stakeholders across all 3 landscapes (list to be provided at inception);
•
Other methods may be proposed as needed and as project resources allow, e.g. KIIs and focus group discussions.
Conclusion and recommendations should be underpinned by a strong set of evidence.
B.
Stakeholders to be consulted.
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Key stakeholders to be consulted are TWENDE project partners and the coordination unit (Project Management Unit), Executing Entities, Service Providers, and the target groups/project beneficiaries.
C.
Sampling requirements [as needed]
15.
Outputs and deliverables
The evaluation will run from May 2024 – November 2024. The expected outputs are:
i.
An inception report including refined key evaluation questions, completed evaluation matrix.
ii.
Approach to sampling stakeholders and field activities, work plan and schedule.
iii.
A draft evaluation report.
iv.
A final evaluation report, plus annexes (Appendices must include Evaluation terms of reference; Data collection instruments; Evaluation schedule/timetable (including field visits); List of people met/interviewed; Documents consulted)
v.
A two-page summary of key findings, lessons, recommendations, and messages from the MTR report, that can be disseminated to the wider public for general information on the project’s results and performance to date.
16.
Indicative Schedule
Outputs and deliverables
Indicative Completion date
Recruitment of consultant
1st May 2024
Inception report
14th May, 2024
Preliminary findings presentation
21st May 2024
Draft report
30th May 2024
IUCN Comments on the draft report
5th June,2024
Final report
20th June 2024
2-page summary report (actionable recommendations)
25th November, 2024
17.
Roles and responsibilities
This evaluation is being commission by IUCN-ESARO as an accredited entity to the GCF. The evaluation will be managed by the Project Management Unit (PMU) that oversees the TWENDE project coordination.
18.
Qualifications of the Evaluators
IUCN requires a team of evaluators with experience in assessing change in complex systems and with extensive expertise and knowledge in the field of climate change adaptation and resilience, land-use and restoration, ecosystem management, experts in drylands, climate change ,ESMF ,finance and Gender, private sector investment, experience in value chains and markets, Incentive payment schemes assessments.
The evaluator or lead consultant shall have:
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a)
At least 10 years’ experience as an evaluator and project reviews with demonstrated quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis skills, with proven record of conducting formative, process, and impact evaluation.
b)
Proven experience in evaluating similar projects, preferably drylands projects.
c)
Possess at a minimum, a master’s degree, in Socio Economics, Environmental studies, Natural Resource management or its equivalent.
d)
Complete independence from IUCN, the Executing Entities (EEs), and Government agencies.
e)
Proven experience in evaluating similar projects; Prior experience in conducting evaluation and reviews in GEF/GCF or other climate change donor funded projects would be an asset.
f)
Demonstrated experience in making realistic and actionable recommendations to improve project implementations,
g)
Experience of synthesising lessons and evidence of disseminating findings of project reviews/evaluations to donors, project partners, communities, and governments
h)
Fluency in English
i)
IUCN is an equal opportunity employer, and the successful candidate will be selected based on merit.
19.
Technical Evaluation Criteria
The evaluation criteria shall consist of a technical and financial component. A weighting will be assigned to each component as follows: Technical Weighting Factor 70%, Financial Weighting Factor 30%, with the total score being a combination of these two percentages.
The evaluation of proposals shall be carried out exclusively with regards to the evaluation criteria and their relative weights specified in the table below:
The technical evaluation will be made using the following criteria and maximum points:
NO.
Criteria
Points
1
Clarity and completeness of the Proposal
10
2
Approach and Methodology
2.1
Critical analysis of the project objectives and the TOR
10
2.2
Conceptual and methodological approach Description of the conceptual and methodological approach
30
2.3
Operationalisation of the approach and Methodology Working programme/ working schedule for delivery of outputs, Staffing schedule and task assignment descriptions, Work organisation, back-up services, quality control, logistics
20
3
Consultants Competencies
3.1
Education: Master’s in relevant field); Work experience: at least 10 years in mid-term reviews, end term reviews, demonstrated experience in making realistic recommendations to improve project implementation, experience of synthesising lessons, experience disseminating findings of project reviews/evaluations, M&E, Impact assessments, socio-economic and biophysical assessments;
30
IUCN: Request for Proposals Page 17 of 17
Program/Project M&E experience; Donor (GCF or GEF or other climate change donors) experience.
20.
Cost
Applicants are expected to submit a broken-down budget when submitting a proposal to IUCN. The budget is inclusive of professional/consultant fees, data collection and analysis, travel and accommodation, reporting and validation costs.
21.
Appendices
The indicative lists of documents to be shared include.
1.
IUCN Evaluation policy
2.
Evaluation policy for the GCF
3.
TWENDE Project Baseline Report
4.
TWENDE Proposal and relevant reports
5.
Gender and Youth Action Plan
6.
Environmental and Social Management Framework
7.
Annual Performance Reports (2021, 2022 & 2023)
8.
Others (as necessary)