Consultancy for Project Final Evaluation

Terms of Reference for Final Evaluation

Strengthening the resilience of vulnerable communities
through management and protection of mangrove forests, phase 1

1        Introduction

Consultative and Research Centre on Nature Resource Management and Climate Change Adaptation (CORENACCA) is a Non-Governmental organization that works for the Community Development and Natural Resources Management and Climate Change Sectors.

CORENACCA has been working and implementing the project "Strengthening the resilience of vulnerable communities through management and protection of mangrove forests, phase 1" from 01/10/2021 to 30/9/2024 (Project code/number: N-VNM 2021-0245). The project is jointly funded by Bread for the World and other donors. CORENACCA is collaborating and implementing project with local partners in two coastal districts Hau Loc and Nga Son in Thanh Hoa Province with the following objectives and indicators:

The project goal: The project contributes to a sustainable coastal mangrove forest management and promotes environmental-friendly livelihoods for the inhabitants in Thanh Hoa province.

The project has two objectives:

• Objective 1: The mangrove forest in the 3 project communes is managed sustainably via the community-based forest management approach.
• Objective 2: Mangrove and agricultural livelihoods of communities in the 3 project communes are strengthened associated with environmental and climate protection.

For activities for each objective and indicator, see appendix 1.

CORENACCA is looking for individuals or team of consultants to independently conduct the Final evaluation of the project coded N-VNM 2021-0245. The purpose of this Final evaluation is to:

1. Evaluate whether the project has achieved the targeted indicators for project outputs, objectives, and overall impact goal;
2. Evaluate how and why the interventions made a difference based on the five OECD evaluation criteria (Relevance, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Impact, Sustainability);
3. Document the best practices, good models and learned lessons for knowledge management;
4. Evaluate the project designed and implemented Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), project management and coordination for improvement to the second phase of the project;
5. Provide practical and strategic recommendations to the follow up support of the N-VNM 2021-0245 project, and to the development of second phase of the implemented project.

2        Method

A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods will be applied for the evaluation, with participation of local project staff involved in project management and implementation.

Quantitative information will be collected from individuals and households benefiting from the project. Sets of semi-structured questionnaires developed to collect qualitative data from project staffs and villagers.

3        Key evaluation questions

Here specific questions are formulated that the evaluators should respond to. Gender or other cross-cutting issues such as environmental impact and inclusion of people with a disability should be considered in the evaluation questions.

The final report must answer the questions set out here.

Achievement. To what extent did the project achieve its objectives and outputs?

Relevance. Is the project doing the right thing? This criterion measures the extent to which the objectives of a project align with the needs of the beneficiaries and strategies (policies) of partners and donors.

Effectiveness. Are the objectives of the project being achieved? This criterion measures the extent to which the objectives of a project will (foreseeably) be achieved.

Efficiency. Will the objectives be achieved in an economically viable manner? This criterion measures the adequacy of the deployed resources in relation to the achieved results and effects.

Impact. Will the project contribute to the attainment of overall development goals? This criterion assesses whether and to what extent the project will contribute towards the attainment of the intended primary and secondary long-term objectives under development policy. Additionally, whether and, if so, which other positive and negative changes have occurred will be investigated.

Sustainability. Will the intended positive changes (foreseeably) have a lasting effect? This criterion assesses the extent to which the positive effects of the development intervention will continue beyond the end of the project period.

Project M&E, management and coordination:  How well is the M&E system functioning? Are data being gathered and reported as planned? How useful are the project’s performance indicators? Are modifications required? Are anticipated events and outcomes being sufficiently tracked? To what extent are senior project staff using monitoring information to make management decisions? What might improvement of the M&E system, project management and coordination for the second phase of project?

4        Deliverables

The evaluation team leader will produce the following documents:

The detailed work plan: The work plan will elaborate on this ToR and represent the agreement between the consultants and CORENACCA on how the evaluation will be conducted.

The evaluation report: The report is written in Vietnamese and English. The Vietnamese version will be available in advance for local partners to comment on and complete by the consultant(s). The English version is written after the Vietnamese version is accepted. The consultants have to respect the report format required by BftW and CORENACCA. The report must include, but not limited to, a cover page, an executive summary, narrative description of the used methodology and tools, detailed discussions, analysis and findings of the project outputs, objectives and goal’s indicators, project M&E, management and coordination, learned lessons and recommendations. The detailed report format will be agreed between the consultants and CORENACCA before drafting the report.

5        Timeline and estimated working days

6        Qualifications

CORENACCA is looking for a consultant/expert (or a group of consultants/experts) to conduct the final evaluation. The external consultant (or team of consultants) will act as the Team Leader and is responsible for the planning and delivery of the evaluation, and reports and recommendations. The project team CORENACCA will provide the necessary support to provide context, documentation and will coordinate the field visit schedule.

TEAM LEADER AND THEIR TEAM MEMBERS

The Team Leader will be responsible for:

• Development of the work plan and methodology
• Obtaining ethic approval
• Leading on delivery of the evaluation, including managing the literature review and data collection
• Analysis of data, documentation of key findings and recommendations
• Writing of the final report
• Sharing key findings with project stakeholders

The Team Leader and their team members should have the following skills:

• At least 5-10 years of team leader experience in project evaluation.
• Knowledge and experience in conducting evaluation related to community development, participatory development and methodologies, asset-based community development  and climate change
• Strong analytical skills
• Experience in developing the M&E system, conducting the baseline survey, mid-term review and final evaluation of the BMZ, GiZ, BftW and CORENACCA supported projects will be an asset
• Excellent English report writing skills.

7        Applications

Interested applicants provide a proposal covering the following aspects:

• Detailed response to the ToR
• Technical Proposal
• CVs
• Estimated budget

Consultant profile are sent to: [email protected]

The deadline for submitting the proposal package will be no later than 30th September, 2023. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interview.