National Consultant/Team Expert - Terminal Evaluation of EWACC

Background

The project was designed to address the predicted effects of climate change include; i) increased frequency and severity of extreme rainfall events; ii) increased frequency and duration of droughts; iii) rising sea levels; and iv) increased frequency of extreme wind events such as gusts and cyclones. The problem that the proposed LDCF project seeks to address is that climate change is expected to result in losses to lives, livelihoods and assets for local communities in Samoa. Cyclone Evan - which struck Samoa in December 2012- resulted in at least five deaths, displacement of 7,500 people and damage to over 2,000 houses. Losses to livelihoods (e.g. crops), damage to road infrastructure and disruption of water and electricity supplies also occurred. The Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) estimated the costs of reconstruction at US$200 million with a further US$70 million required for human capital.

The solution to the above-mentioned problem is to adopt an economy-wide approach to climate change adaptation in Samoa. This will allow for increased integration of climate change adaptation and disaster risk management into national development planning and programming across all sectors. In addition, the climate resilience of local communities - including their physical assets and livelihoods - must be strengthened. Barriers to climate change adaptation in Samoa include: i) fragmentation of efforts on climate change adaptation; ii) focus on "project-by-project" approaches rather than "programmatic" approaches; iii) limited capacity at the local level for climate change adaptation; iv) inherent vulnerabilities of communities, their assets and their livelihoods; and v) weak monitoring and evaluation of past and on-going projects.

The project has contributed to overcoming these barriers by: i) strengthening institutional capacity within the government; ii) enhancing inter-ministerial coordination of climate change adaptation; iii) promoting the inclusion of climate change concerns into development strategies across all sectors; iv) climate-proofing of communities' physical assets; v) introducing more climate-resilient livelihoods options; and vi) sharing lessons learned and best practice on climate change adaptation across the Pacific region.

The total GEF trust funds for this project is US$ 12,322,936 with in-kind co-financing of 90,000,000 USD. The project was signed on 7 November 2014. The executing agency for this project Is the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. The responsible parties are the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Ministry of Women, Culture and Social Development (MWCSD) and Land Transport Authority (LTA). The project was granted an extension of 12 months to the 6 November 2021.

The TE will cover the full project and 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. The objectives of the Terminal Evaluation are to assess the achievement of project results, and to draw lessons that can both improve the sustainability of benefits from this project, and aid in the overall enhancement of UNDP programming.

Samoa in COVID-19

A national state of emergency has been in place since 20 March 2020, restricting flights to and from the country and limiting public gatherings. As of 20 May 2021, Samoa does not have any confirmed cases of COVID-19. The Government of Samoa is focused on prevention of an outbreak, implementing strict point of entry arrangements. With this controls in place the project has experienced delays in project implementation with procurement and implementation of consultancies of feasibility studies, infrastructure works, postponed consultations and activities with communities.

Due to the travel restrictions, the Team Leader will be home-based and will work closely with the National Team expert in engaging stakeholders via virtual consultations via telephone or online meetings (Zoom, Skype, etc.). Field work will be conducted by the national Team expert with guidance from the team leader/lead evaluator and findings shared with the Team Leader. Furthermore, all stakeholder engagements will be strongly supported by the PMU and the UNDP MCO in Samoa. Consideration should be taken for stakeholder availability, ability and willingness to be interviewed remotely and the constraints this may place on the Terminal Evaluation. These limitations must be reflected in the final Terminal Evaluation report. No stakeholders, consultants or UNDP staff should be put in harm's way and safety is the key priority.

Duties and Responsibilities

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 cover the full project and will be conducted according to the guidance, rules and procedures established by UNDP and GEF as reflected in the ‘Guidance for Conducting Terminal Evaluations of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects’.

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 recipients and business owners of which 67 in Savaii and 75 in Upolu, Ministry of Natural Resources & Environment (MNRE)-Water Resource Division, MNRE-Disaster Management Office (DMO), Ministry of Ministry of Women, Community Social Development (MWCSD), Land Transport Authority (LTA), Ministry of Finance (MoF), Adra, Samoa Fire Service Authority(SFESA); executing agency -MNRE-GEF/Climate Change, senior officials and task team/component leaders, key experts and consultants in the subject area, Project Board, legal drafting, project beneficiaries, academia, primary schools, local government and CSOs, etc. Additionally, the TE team is expected to conduct field missions to villages within Upolu and Savaii, including the following project sites), including the following project sites primary schools: Gautavai, Nene, St Mary’s, Saleaulua, Lalomalava, Gataivai, Ah-Mu, Faleapuna, Vaiala, Samoa primary; villages equipped with planting materials and nurseries: in Upolu - Fagalii, Malololelei, Vailima, Afiamalu, Vaoala, in Savaii – Aopo, Vaipouli, Asau, Masamasa, and Falelima; CDCRM program: Saleaula, Safai, Falealupo, Tufutafoe, Neiafu, Falelima, Tiavea, Lotofaga, Poutasi and Lepuiai-Manono-tai; Village Disaster Management Plans developed: Asau, Aopo, Siumu Sisifo, Saanapu, Sataoa, Matautu-Lefaga, Samatau, Vaisala, Auala, Papa Sataua, Saleaula, Safai, Falealupo, Tufutafoe, Neiafu and Falelima; Flood Studies: Gasegase, Fuluasou and Apaula; Drainage improvement along Falealili Cross Island Road;

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

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates commitment to the Government of Samoa mission, vision, and values.
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability

Functional Competencies:

Knowledge Management and Learning

• Shares knowledge and experience
• Actively works towards continuing personal learning, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills

Development and Operational Effectiveness

• Ability to perform/advise on (as appropriate) a variety of specialized tasks related to administrative support, including project data management support, reporting, and logistics for project implementation.

Leadership and Self-Management

• Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude
• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities
• Good inter-personal and teamwork skills, networking aptitude, ability to work in multi-cultural environment

Required Skills and Experience

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 National Team Expert, usually from the country of the project.

The team leader will be responsible for;

• Completion of the inception report in coordination with the National Team Expert
• Conduct TE interviews with coordination with the National Team expert and PMU
• The overall design, writing and completion of the TE report inclusive of audit trail and including all comments from project partners and stakeholders
• Overall TE report quality assurance and adherence to the ‘Guidance for Conducting Terminal Evaluations of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects’.

The national team expert will;

• Work closely with the Team Leader and the PMU
• Contribute to the inception report including a detailed plan for interview and project site visits
• Develop and confirm TE interview schedule in coordination with the PMU and the Team Leader
• Translate questionnaires if needed and share list of questions with interviewees in preparation for the TE interviews
• Facilitate virtual (and translate if needed) interviews for the TE and conduct interviews where virtual means are unavailable
• Conduct data collection for the TE
• Conduct field visits to verify impact of project interventions at project sites in coordination with the Team Leader and PMU
• Work with PMU to confirm co-financing for the project Contribute to the TE report
• Conduct and confirm any follow up data/information requirements to complete the Terminal evaluation report including audit trail.

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 Team Expert will be aimed at maximizing the overall “team” qualities in the following areas:

Education:

• A bachelor’s degree in Environmental Management, Climate science or other closely related field (10 points);

Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in providing management or consultancy services to the multi focal area projects; in developing national and regional capacities and enabling conditions for global environmental protection and sustainable development (20 points);
• Extensive demonstrated experience in the Samoa Environment Sector and cross-cutting climate change and disaster risk management in other areas of the Strategy for the Development of Samoa, with well-established knowledge of and networks amongst government, tourism, NGO and community organisations (25 points).
• 3 years’ experience in project evaluations, results-based management, and/or evaluation methodologies (10 points);
• Technical knowledge in the targeted GEF focal areas: Climate Change (20 points)
• Experience working in climate change adaptation and disaster risk management elsewhere in the Pacific region or SIDS (5 points)
• Fluency in English (oral and written) is a requirement, with excellent written and presentation skills (10 points)

Due date for submission of the full proposal is 17 June 2021.  Download the full terms of reference from Procurement Notice https://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=79173.  Also download the forms for submission from the same Procurement notice link.