National Consultants for an “Outcome and Quality Assessment” Study

The "Monitoring and Evaluation in Support of Management in the Agriculture and Rural Development Sector phase 2” (MESMARD-2) project is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and implemented by the Planning Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) as the execution agency. The purpose of the project is to enhance the Results-based Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Policy-making in the agricultural sector that is market oriented and leads to enhanced productivity in the ARD sectors and poverty reduction in rural areas, through the better use of public funds in the ARD sector. The Project Management Unit (PMU) is responsible to implement project activities and directly works with the General Departments/Departments under the Ministry, 2 pilot Departments and 2 provincial Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARDs) to demonstrate improved planning and M&E system approaches. The project is looking for a team of national consultants (3 members), who would undertake the Outcome and Quality Assessment study (QA) prior to the arrival of the MTR mission in late September 2012.

Study findings will feed into and support the work of the MTR mission.

1. Objectives of the Outcome and Quality Assessment Study:
- With regard to the effectiveness of the project, undertake a thorough assessment of the outcome and degree of change achieved by MESMARD phase II project, thus far.
- To provide an assessment of the quality of MESMARD outputs and products generated in Phase II under different project outcomes, together with an assessment of the efficiency of the project in terms of how well inputs are generated into outputs
- Based on assessment findings, present options for consideration by the MTR in the future strategic development in consolidation and roll out stages in the remaining life of the project.

2. The consultant team and required qualifications and experience:
The consultancy is for a period of 4 to 5 weeks. Each consultant will be engaged for around 22 working days each, with 3 additional days for the team leader. The study will be implemented from the 3rd week of July to the end of August 2012. The national consultant team will consist of three consultants with the following specialisms:
- Planning and Policy Specialist (team leader): A senior planning and policy specialist with a good understanding of the Vietnamese planning and policy system
- M&E Specialist: A senior M&E specialist with hands on experience in results based M&E and M&E system development in the public sector in Vietnam
- Institutional and Capacity Building Specialist: A senior Institutional and Capacity Building specialist with experience in institutional and capacity building development related to the planning and M&E
development in Government agencies in Vietnam.

Detail of the Terms of Reference (TORs) of the QA can be found in our website: http://vukehoach.mard.gov.vn

3. Deadline for submission of the proposal:
Please submit a written proposal in English including daily fee, CV, references, explaining why you might be considered the best candidate for this service, to the below address of the project before 16.00 on 24th June 2012.

Team proposals are an advantage
MESMARD Project - Planning Department
Room 309, Building A10, MARD
2 Ngoc Ha Street, Ba Dinh, Hanoi
Tel: (84-4) 3734 6224
Email: [email protected]