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 will assess project performance against expectations set out in the project’s Logical Framework/Results Framework (see ToR Annex A). The TE will assess results according to the criteria outlined in the ‘Guidance for Conducting Terminal Evaluations of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects’.
The Findings section of the TE report will cover the topics listed below. A full outline of the TE report’s content is provided in ToR Annex C.
The asterisk “(*)” indicates criteria for which a rating is required.
Findings
I. Project Design/Formulation
- National priorities and country driven-ness
- Theory of Change
- Gender equality and women’s empowerment
- Social and Environmental Standards (Safeguards)
- Analysis of Results Framework: project logic and strategy, indicators
- Assumptions and Risks
- Lessons from other relevant projects (e.g. same focal area) incorporated into project design
- Planned stakeholder participation
- Linkages between project and other interventions within the sector
- Management arrangements
II. Project Implementation
- Adaptive management (changes to the project design and project outputs during implementation)
- Actual stakeholder participation and partnership arrangements
- Project Finance and Co-finance
- Monitoring & Evaluation: design at entry (*), implementation (*), and overall assessment of M&E (*)
- Implementing Agency (UNDP) (*) and Executing Agency (*), overall project oversight/implementation and execution (*)
- Risk Management, including Social and Environmental Standards (Safeguards)
III. Project Results
- Assess the achievement of outcomes against indicators by reporting on the level of progress for each objective and outcome indicator at the time of the TE and noting final achievements
- Relevance (*), Effectiveness (*), Efficiency (*) and overall project outcome (*)
- Sustainability: financial (*), socio-political (*), institutional framework and governance (*), environmental (*), overall likelihood of sustainability (*).Note that the TE team is expected to provide comments/recommendations to the project exit strategy and sustainability plan draft.
- Country ownership
- Gender equality and women’s empowerment
- Cross-cutting issues (poverty alleviation, improved governance, climate change mitigation and adaptation, disaster prevention and recovery, human rights, capacity development, South-South cooperation, knowledge management, volunteerism, etc., as relevant)
- GEF Additionality
- Catalytic Role / Replication Effect
- Progress to impact
Main Findings, Conclusions, Recommendations and Lessons Learned
- The TE team will include a summary of the main findings of the TE report. Findings should be presented as statements of fact that are based on analysis of the data.
- The section on conclusions will be written in light of the findings. Conclusions should be comprehensive and balanced statements that are well substantiated by evidence and logically connected to the TE findings. They should highlight the strengths, weaknesses and results of the project, respond to key evaluation questions and provide insights into the identification of and/or solutions to important problems or issues pertinent to project beneficiaries, UNDP and the GEF, including issues in relation to gender equality and women’s empowerment.
- Recommendations should provide concrete, practical, feasible, properly timed and targeted guidance directed to the intended users of the evaluation about what actions to take and decisions to make. The recommendations should be specifically supported by the evidence and linked to the findings and conclusions around key questions addressed by the evaluation. Ideally these recommendations should be linked to the project exit strategy and sustainability plan.
- The TE report should also include lessons that can be taken from the evaluation, including best practices in addressing issues relating to relevance, performance and success that can provide knowledge gained from the particular circumstance (programmatic and evaluation methods used, partnerships, financial leveraging, etc.) that are applicable to other GEF and UNDP interventions. When possible, the TE team should include examples of good practices in project design and implementation.
- It is important for the conclusions, recommendations and lessons learned of the TE report to incorporate gender equality and empowerment of women.
The TE report will include an Evaluation Ratings Table, as shown below:
ToR Table 2: Evaluation Ratings Table for Cook Islands R2R Project
Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) |
Rating |
M&E design at entry |
|
M&E Plan Implementation |
|
Overall Quality of M&E |
|
Implementation & Execution |
Rating |
Quality of UNDP Implementation/Oversight |
|
Quality of Implementing Partner Execution |
|
Overall quality of Implementation/Execution |
|
Assessment of Outcomes |
Rating |
Relevance |
|
Effectiveness |
|
Efficiency |
|
Overall Project Outcome Rating |
|
Rating |
|
Financial resources |
|
Socio-political/economic |
|
Institutional framework and governance |
|
Environmental |
|
Overall Likelihood of Sustainability |
|
TIMEFRAME:
The total duration of the TE will be approximately 26 working days over a time period of 8 weeks starting on 28 January 2022. The tentative TE timeframe is as follows:
Timeframe |
Activity |
5 January 2022 |
Application closes |
28 January 2022 |
Selection of TE team |
31 January 2022 |
Preparation period for TE team (handover of documentation) |
02 February 2022 |
Document review and preparation of TE Inception Report |
04 February 2022 |
Finalization and Validation of TE Inception Report; latest start of TE field work |
07 -18 February 2022 (10 days)
|
TE field work: stakeholder meetings, interviews, field visits, etc. |
18 February 2022 |
TE field work wrap-up meeting & presentation of initial findings; earliest end of TE field work |
22-24 February 2022 |
Preparation of draft TE report |
25 February 2022 |
Circulation of draft TE report for comments |
04 March 2022 |
Incorporation of comments on draft TE report into Audit Trail & finalization of TE report |
07 March 2022 |
Preparation and Issuance of Management Response |
09 March 2022 |
Expected date of full TE completion |
Options for site visits should be provided in the TE Inception Report.
TE DELIVERABLES:
# |
Deliverable |
Description |
Timing |
Responsibilities |
1 |
Terminal Evaluation Inception Report |
TE team clarifies objectives, methodology and timing of the TE; Options for site visits by the national consultant should be provided in the Inception Report. |
Target date for signing contract & commencement of work is 28 January 2022. Inception report due no later than one week after contract signing 04 February 2022 |
Evaluation team submits to the Commissioning Unit and Project Management Unit |
2 |
Presentation |
Initial Findings (this includes a PPT that summarizes Initial findings and preliminary recommendations) |
18 February 2022 |
Evaluation team presents to the Commissioning Unit and the Project Management Unit. Sent for information only to Commissioning Unit, RTA, Project Management Unit, GEF OFP |
3 |
Draft Final Evaluation Report |
Full report (using guidelines on report content in ToR Annex C) with annexes |
Within 3 weeks of the TE field work. 25 February 2022 |
Sent for review to the Commissioning Unit, RTA, Project Management Unit, GEF OFP |
4 |
Final Evaluation Report |
Revised final report and TE Audit trail in which the TE details how all received comments have (and have not) been addressed in the final TE report (See template in ToR Annex H) |
Within 2 weeks of receiving UNDP comments on draft: 09 March 2022 |
Sent to the Commissioning Unit, RTA, Project Management Unit, GEF OFP |
*All final TE reports will be quality assessed by the UNDP Independent Evaluation Office (IEO). Details of the IEO’s quality assessment of decentralized evaluations can be found in Section 6 of the UNDP Evaluation Guidelines
TE ARRANGEMENT:
The principal responsibility for managing this Terminal Evaluation resides with the Commissioning Unit. The Commissioning Unit for the National Consultant of this Terminal Evaluation is the UNDP Multi-country office for Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa and Tokelau based in Samoa (UNDP Samoa MCO).
The UNDP Multi-country office for Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa and Tokelau based in Samoa and the Cook Islands R2R Project Management Unit (PMU) will be responsible for liaising with the Evaluation team to provide all relevant documents, set up stakeholder interviews, and arrange field visits for the National Consultant, etc.
The Commissioning Unit will contract the evaluators and ensure the timely provision of per diems and travel arrangements within the country for the TE team. The Project Management Unit will be responsible for liaising with the TE team to provide all relevant documents, set up stakeholder interviews, and arrange field visits.
TE TEAM COMPOSITION:
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.
EVALUATOR ETHICS:
The TE team will be held to the highest ethical standards and is required to sign a code of conduct upon acceptance of the assignment. This evaluation will be conducted in accordance with the principles outlined in the UNEG ‘Ethical Guidelines for Evaluation’. The evaluator must safeguard the rights and confidentiality of information providers, interviewees and stakeholders through measures to ensure compliance with legal and other relevant codes governing collection of data and reporting on data. The evaluator must also ensure security of collected information before and after the evaluation and protocols to ensure anonymity and confidentiality of sources of information where that is expected. The information knowledge and data gathered in the evaluation process must also be solely used for the evaluation and not for other uses without the express authorization of UNDP and partners.
DUTY STATION:
Home-based in the Cook Islands. It is expected that the consultant will coordinating/supporting stakeholder interviews via virtual means (Zoom, skype etc.) and site visits.
SCOPE OF BID PRICE & SCHEDULE OF PAYMENTS:
DELIVERABLES |
DUE DATE (%) |
AMOUNT IN USD TO BE PAID AFTER CERTIFICATION BY UNDP OF SATISFACTORY PERFORMANCE OF DELIVERABLES |
Upon approval and certification by the Commissioning Unit of the TE Inception Report
|
04 February 2022 (20%) (6 days after contract signing) |
$xxx |
Upon approval and certification by the Commissioning Unit of the draft Terminal Evaluation report |
25 February 2022 (40%)
|
$xxx |
Upon approval and certification by the Commissioning Unit and UNDP-GEF RTA of the final Terminal Evaluation report and completed Audit Trail |
09 March 2022 (40%) |
$xxx |
TOTAL |
26 working days |
$xxx |