National Consultant-Final Evaluation of Inclusive Budgeting and Financing for Climate Resilience (IBFCR) Project of UNDP

Background

Background

The overarching objectives of this US$ 2.50 million grant funded project are to rationalise the Public Financial Management (PFM) of climate finance and introduce a climate policy-based focus to planning, budgeting and performance management of climate finance by implementing the GoB’s Climate Fiscal Framework. The project is being implemented by Finance Division, Ministry of Finance since July 2016 and will come to an end on 30 September 2021. It intends to foster a sustainable basis for identifying, maximising and managing sources and application of funds for financing climate resilient actions. The project further intends to develop climate related capacity and expertise within Finance Division and develop stronger relationships and collaborative partnerships with other major climate stakeholders, but primarily with Economic Relations Division and the National Designated Authority (NDA) of Bangladesh to the Green Climate Fund (GCF); Programming Division and General Economics Division of Planning Commission; Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; Local Government Division; Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief; Ministry of Agriculture; Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock; Ministries implementing Social Safety Nets programmes  in climate vulnerable regions; Ministry of Women and Children Affairs; Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General; and the National Parliament that will enable Bangladesh to pursue maximised benefits of national and international climate finance. It will also aim to enhance the recognition of climate policy and national strategy in the key Finance Division led PFM processes including Budget, Medium Term Budget Framework (MTBF) and attendant Performance Management Systems, Ministry Budget Frameworks (MBF) and the Medium-Term Macroeconomic Framework (MTMF).

 

It will also work closely with other projects within the Finance Division, Economic Relations Division, Internal Resource Division, General Economics Division, Programming Division, Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) to develop greater cohesion between Finance Division led PFM initiatives and Programming Division led Public Investment Management (PIM) initiatives and the Annual Development Programme (ADP) in respect of the recognition of climate issues on a national interest basis. The project is built on the Climate Fiscal Framework finalised in June 2014 and will align with existing and future PFM and PIM reform programmes led by Finance Division and Programming Division. The project has five components:

 

1.  Climate Fiscal Framework implementation and management

2.  Strategic climate change sensitive planning and budgeting management

3.  Climate public finance governance strengthened

4.  Strengthening Finance Division’s coordination roles in climate public finance management

5.  More effective planning and budgeting for climate change finance at the local level

  

Objectives of Evaluation

 

The overall objective of the assignment is to conduct the final evaluation of “Inclusive Budgeting and Financing for Climate Resilience (IBFCR) Project”. The specific objectives of final evaluation will be but not limited to the following:

 

• To assess overall progress, achievements and detailed results of the project during the whole project period based on results framework, including the needs and problems identified during project design, in terms of anticipated impacts:
• To assess to what extent the IBFCR project has contributed to influencing relevant national and sectoral level policies in Bangladesh to make them climate informed;
• To assess the effectiveness of institutional strengthening support to the Finance Division (capacities, perceived effectiveness of role)
• Achievements and effectiveness of public finance reforms (e.g., as regards budget circulars, climate budget tracking; integration of specific modules etc.)
• To examine the efficacy of the hypothesis/assumptions embedded in Theory of Change of the IBFCR project;
• To assess to what extent the project was able to adapt to changed circumstances/environment;To draw lessons learned and good practices for replication and/or up-scaling and provide forward-looking recommendations for the next programming phase;

 

In particular, final evaluation will assess the following aspects of the IBFCR project:

 

Relevance: Are the project outcomes consistent with the national priorities, UNDP corporate priorities, and did they remain relevant over time?

 

Efficiency: To what extent was best value-for-money obtained (results delivered vs resources expended)?

 

Effectiveness: To what extent were the objectives achieved based on approved results framework? What were the major factors influencing the achievement or non-achievement of the objectives?

 

Results/ Outcomes/ Impact: What are the positive and negative, and foreseen and unforeseen, changes and effects driven by project-supported interventions? Results include direct project outputs, short-to medium term outcomes, and longer-term potential impact including national benefits, replication effects and other, local effects.

 

Sustainability: National ownership of the results and the likely ability of project-supported interventions to continue to deliver benefits for an extended period of time after completion. Assess project’s role in influencing wider policy at national and international level and to what extent benefits of project intervention will continue or are likely to continue.

 

Lessons learned:  The evaluation will also document the innovations and lessons learned from the project. This includes analysis of what has worked and what has not as well as observations related to the project design, management and operation of the project.

 

Recommendations: Considering the progress made this far, what could be future steps for Government and Development Partners to promote effective development cooperation. What could be further improved if UNDP or any other agency implements a similar project in the near future.

 

Evaluation shall incorporate funding analysis and gender analysis. It also covers assessment of project design, project management, and M&E system.

 

The overall evaluation should be in line with PFM Reforms Strategy (2016-2021), Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP) 2009, 7th Five Year Plan, SDG, UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Fund (UNSDCF), UNDP Country Program Document (CPD) 2017-2020 and other national priorities.

 

Scope of Evaluation

 

The evaluation consultant will be responsible for conducting final evaluation of “Inclusive Budgeting and Financing for Climate Resilience (IBFCR) Project”. The evaluation consultant is expected to provide an independent review of the performance of the project in relation to the following key aspects:

 

Strategic direction

1. Assess the effectiveness of implementation strategies for different project outcome areas
2. Evaluate the relevance of IBFCR project in the context of country’s climate change policies, plans and priorities including ongoing PFM reforms agenda
3. Examine the level of integration of climate change policies and priorities with the overall climate finance governance

Implementation performance

1. Assess progress against specified outputs, identifying the project’s contribution from other unrelated factors
2. Assess the perception of key stakeholders on the direct and indirect benefits derived from the project
3. Assess the outcome-wise allocation of funds and their efficient utilisation for project activities with focus on value for money for the results generated
4. Assess the financial management and procurement procedures of the project and how they are used to achieve value for money
5. Analyze the organizational and institutional factors that influenced the project’s performance
6. Assess the technical support available, internally and externally, in support of the project’s implementation. Analyze the composition of the project team (whether it is optimal or not) as well as its effectiveness in carrying out project activities collectively as a comprehensive team
7. Assess the extent to which project deliverables are being embedded into overall PFM systems and processes of the government with a view to eventual handover of the project
8. Whether UNDP’s partnership strategy been appropriate and effective
9. What factors contributed to effectiveness or ineffectiveness

 

Lessons learned

1. Identify innovative approaches and their adoption for replication
2. Identify approaches that failed to achieve the desired results and document the reasons for this failure for future learning
3. Identify best practices and if they can be replicated to other Ministries

 

Sustainability

1. Assess the sustainability of results in light of the current policy and programmatic thrust of the Government of Bangladesh
2. Review ongoing activities and the likelihood to sustain after the project has concluded
3. Assess the degree of ownership of the government

 

Knowledge Management and Communication

1. Assess how far knowledge management and networking aspects have been pursued
2. Review the effectiveness of the communication and visibility strategy
3. Assess to what extent awareness levels of project stakeholders on climate public finance governance has increased

 

The final formulation of the scope of evaluation will be agreed in consultation with UNDP country office and the project team. Additional considerations may be added at the discretion of UNDP.

Duties and Responsibilities

Timeline and Scope of Work

 

Phase	Scope of work of consultant	Number of           Days	Timing
Inception Phase	This phase is meant to ensure that the evaluation team is fully prepared before undertaking the field mission. It includes: Conduct desk review of existing documents, including project document, TAPP, strategies developed by the project, reports and documents developed by the project and write-ups on the project initiatives Draft inception report, including evaluation methodology, timeline, evaluation matrix, and data collection tools Develop data collection tools (i.e. KII checklists and short questionnaires)	04 Days	Within 1 week of signing contract
Field Mission Phase	The field mission will include: Attend the briefing session by UNDP and the project management. Organize meetings/workshops with the stakeholders and partners. Conduct interviews, key informant interviews and focus group discussions with the stakeholders Support the International Consultant to prepare for debriefing session to the UNDP CO and the stakeholders on the key findings	09 Days	Within 3 weeks of signing the contract
Reporting Phase	Aggregate findings from desk review and country mission Draft the evaluation report under the supervision of the International Consultant Support the International Consultant in incorporating comments from the stakeholders and revising the report	07 Days	Within 6 weeks of signing the contract

 

Methodology and Approach of Evaluation

An evaluation consultant is expected to propose and determine a sound evaluation design and methodology (including detailed methodology to answer each evaluation question) and submit it to UNDP together with the inception report following a review of all key relevant documents and meetings with representatives of UNDP, the Government, donor, and any other stakeholder. However, it is suggested that the evaluation should use a mixed method approach – collecting and analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data using multiple sources in order to draw valid and evidence-based findings and conclusions and practical recommendations. The evaluator is expected to review all relevant reports providing quantitative data collected by IBFCR project, UNDP, the Government or other agencies. Data and evidence will be triangulated to address evaluation questions.

 

As the IBFCR project is policy-oriented, final evaluation will also look into the project’s impact on relevant policies of the government and broader policy-level impacts which could be attributable to project’s interventions. This requires robust evaluation methodology and analytical framework using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The evaluation consultant is expected to propose an appropriate methodology in the inception report.

 

Final decisions about the specific design and methods for the evaluation will be made through consultation among the  IBFCR project, UNDP,  the consultants and key stakeholders about what is appropriate and feasible to meet the evaluation purpose and objectives as well as answer the evaluation questions, given limitations of budget, time and data.

 

The data collection process should be participatory engaging government high officials, implementing and donor partners, project concerns, key stakeholders and a wide cross-section of staff and beneficiaries incorporating gender equity approach.

 

The evaluation should at least include the following data collection approach but not limited to:

 

Document review: Read key background documentation on IBFCR project. These documents include, inter alia: project document, TAPP, annual work plans and budgets, quarterly and annual progress reports, quarterly and annual expenditure reports, minutes of Technical Advisory Group (TAG) meetings, project Steering Committee (PSC) meetings, any other public documents and publication describing IBFCR activities.

 

Consultation (Key Informant Interviews and Focus Group Discussions): Interview key stakeholders-including representatives from GoB; current and previous project management and directors, UNDP management; other development partners, key CSO representatives. Selection of interviewees will be decided in consultation with UNDP during the inception phase. The evaluator will use UNDP guidelines for reviews and comply with the UNEG “Ethical Guidelines for Evaluation” and will respect confidentiality of information providers. The evaluation activities shall be based on UNDP evaluation principles, norms and standards that are outlined in the UNDP Handbook on Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (2010).

 

Information/Data available from UNDP/ IBFCR project

• Results Framework
• Annual Reports (2017-2019)
• IBFCR project documents (TAPP, ProDoc)
• Annual work plans
• Inception report
• Minutes of TAG meetings and PSC meetings
• UNSDCF and UNDP-CPD 2017-2020
• IMED reports
• M&E plan
• Project self-assessment reports
• Knowledge products produced by IBFCR project

 

Implementation Arrangement

• The consultant will report to the Assistant Resident Representative (ARR), Business Development and Partnerships, UNDP Bangladesh.
• The report should be logically structured. It should be prepared following the UNDP guidelines and template provided in the link bellow: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=2ahUKEwi-l_r-_5jnAhVEJHIKHQ5BBZYQFjAAegQIBBAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fweb.undp.org%2Fevaluation%2Fguideline%2Fdocuments%2FTemplate%2Fsection-4%2FSec%25204%2520Template%25206%2520Standard%2520evaluation%2520report%2520content%2520full%2520details.docx&usg=AOvVaw0sR3oZVDjjB2u4aosVRK4-

• The consultant will liaise with the Project Manager (PM), IBFCR project. In addition, the PM will inform to the Government of Bangladesh, represented by the National Project Director (NPD); and UNDP. The NPD and the ARR and the Governance Cluster lead or anyone who is/are delegated by the concerned officials will be responsible for reviewing the output of the consultant and agree on the deliverables.
• UNDP will provide office space (no computer) and arrange various meetings, consultations, interviews and ensure access to key officials as mentioned in proposed methodologies. UNDP will bear the cost of such meetings.
• Based on the scope of the work outlined above, the following are the deliverables from the consultant:

1. Inception report, including evaluation methodology, timeline, and evaluation matrix;
2. Evaluation report (draft and final);
3. A set of data collection tools, including checklists and questionnaires in English;
4. Softcopy of all collected data including cleaned datasets (if any)

 

Schedule of Payment

 

The review will take 20 working days over a period of 1.5 month, broken down as follows:

 

Deliverables	Days required	% of payment
Submission of an inception report (including evaluation methodology) and data collection tools (i.e. checklists and questionnaires) - subject to approval of UNDP	04 Days	20%
Conduct field mission (meeting, consultation, interview with the stakeholders)	09 Days	80%
Submission of Draft and Final Evaluation Reports, including datasets	07 Days
Total	20 Days	100%

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values
• Knowledge in working with climate finance governance issues will get advantages
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
• Interpersonal communication and relationship management
• Familiar with and shares the vision of human development as laid out in the flagship HDR series

Functional Competencies:

• Encourages knowledge sharing and learning
• Disseminates specialized knowledge and experience
• Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more practice areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills

 

Development and Operational Effectiveness:

• Able to perform a variety of standard specialized and non-specialized tasks and work processes that are fully documented, researched, recorded and reported
• Ability to review a variety of data, identify and adjust discrepancies, identify and resolve operational problems
• Able to perform work of a confidential nature and handle a large volume of work
• Ability to provide input to business process re-engineering, implementation of the new system

Leadership and self-management:

• Focuses on result for the client
• Has demonstrable leadership skill
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude
• Remains calm, in control and good humoured even under pressure
• Demonstrates openness to change
• Responds positively to feedback and differing points of view

Required Skills and Experience

Academic qualifications

Minimum Masters degree in Economics/ Finance/ Public Policy/ Public Administration/ Social Science or related fields.

 

 

Years of experience

• Minimum 05 years of professional experience in project and programme evaluation
• Experience of minimum 01 assignment on conducting evaluation of projects preferably those related to public financial management
• Knowledge and experience on policy evaluation will be an advantage
• Experience of conducting evaluations e.g., final evaluation, end-line, outcome evaluation, portfolio evaluation, impact evaluations will be an asset
• At least 01 successfully completed assignment with multilateral or bilateral donor supported technical assistance projects is mandatory
• Proven experience in evaluating government executed programmes and nd knowledge on climate risk management is required.
• Proven experience of good quality report writing, applicant should provide list of publications/ reports etc.

 

DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS

 

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

• Detailed CV/ Filled up P 11 (including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references)
• Sample of at least 1 policy related project evaluation (preferably on climate finance, UN project/programme, executed by Government)
• Financial Proposal: As per template provided in the link below:   http://www.bd.undp.org/content/dam/bangladesh/docs/Jobs/Interest%20and%20Submission%20of%20Financial%20Proposal-Template%20for%20Confirmation.docx

 

Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided. If an Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate this at this point and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP.