INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANT - THE EVALUATION OF OF 2012-2016 UNDAF FOR MONGOLIA, Closing date: Wednesday, 8 April 2015

Location : Ulaanbaatar, MONGOLIA

Application Deadline : 08-Apr-15

Additional Category

Democratic Governance

Type of Contract : Individual Contract

Post Level : International Consultant

Languages Required : English

Starting Date : (date when the selected candidate is expected to start)

30-Apr-2015

Expected Duration of Assignment : 9 weeks

Background

The United Nations Development Assistance Framework is a strategic programme framework that describes the collective response of the UN system to national development priorities. It reflects the comparative advantage of the UN by emphasizing the thematic competence of the UN organizations involved, without necessarily highlighting their specific mandates. It shows where the UN system can bring its unique strengths to bear in advocacy, capacity development, programming, and cutting edge knowledge and policy advice, for the achievement of the internationally agreed standards and development goals, including MD/MDG related national priorities.

The UNDAF Mongolia for 2012-2016 was signed by the Government of Mongolia (GoM) and the UN in March 2011. Under this UNDAF, the UN Country Team (UNCT) works with the GoM, civil society and other development partners on the following 4 strategic priorities

Economic development is inclusive and equitable contributing towards poverty alleviation;
Equitable access to, and utilization of, quality basic social services and sustainable social protection;
Improved sustainability of natural resources management and resilience of ecosystems and vulnerable populations to the changing climate;
Strengthened governance for protection of human rights and reduction of disparities.

In March 2015, the Government of Mongolia and UN Mongolia jointly conducted the second review of the UNDAF progress in 2014. This was a result of joint consultations between government and UN system, based on the four strategic priority areas. The review demonstrated that overall process of the UNDAF in 2014 was on track. According to the preliminary estimation 37% outcome indicators were reported as met their 2014 targets and 54 % as in progress. UN together spent around US$21 million in support for achieving development objectives in Mongolia. Some indictors in the UNDAF M&E matrix were reviewed and revised as a result of the review to better reflect the country's development priorities and conditions.

The UN Country Team has initiated a process for formulating a new UNDAF for 2017-2021. An independent evaluation of the on-going 2012-2016 UNDAF is an essential part of this exercise and will provide valuable analytical inputs by assessing the overall impact and relevance of the UNDAF to the development of the country, the contributions of the UNCT to national development results as well as the UN's comparative advantage among development actors in Mongolia.

The evaluation will also help the UNCT position itself in the changing development context of the country, especially with regard to the end of the MDGs and the Post 2015 framework, existing and emerging priorities such as inequity, vulnerability, fragility, urbanization and Mongolia's MIC status.

The evaluation will be conducted by independent consultants in accordance with the requirements of the 2010 UNDG guidelines 'How to Prepare an UNDAF'. The evaluation will cover the first three years of the implementation of the UNDAF (January 2012 - December 2014).

Duties and Responsibilities

Purpose and Specific Objectives

The evaluation exercise will be a combination of an evaluation and defining of the UN position in the country by looking at UN contributions at the strategic priorities areas (SPA) and outcomes level.

Overall purposes of the UNDAF evaluation are

To support greater learning about what works, what doesn't and why in the context of an UNDAF. The evaluation will provide important information for:

Strengthening programming and results at the country level, specifically informing the planning and decision-making for the next UNDAF programme cycle;
Improving UN coordination at the country level; and
Providing guidance on how the UN should position itself in the changing development context of Mongolia.

To support greater accountability of the UNCT to UNDAF stakeholders. By objectively verifying results achieved within the framework of the UNDAF and assessing the effectiveness of the strategies and interventions used, the evaluation will enable the various stakeholders in the UNDAF process, including national counterparts and development partners, to hold the UNCT and other parties accountable for fulfilling their roles and commitments.

To support planning for the new UNDAF: by identifying good practices and lessons learnt as well as assessing the comparative advantage of the UNCT in Mongolia in the changing development context and priorities of the country, the evaluation will provide input to the design and formulation of the new UNDAF to cover 2017-2021.

The objectives of the evaluation are

To assess the contributions made by the UNCT in the framework of the UNDAF to national development results through making
Judgments using evaluation criteria based on evidence;
To identify the factors that have affected the UNCT's contributions, answering the question of why the performance is as it is and explaining the enabling factors and bottlenecks;
To reach conclusions concerning the UN's contributions and comparative advantage, including good practices and lessons learned across the scope being examined;
To provide actionable recommendations for the design and implementation of the new UNDAF. These recommendations should be logically linked to the conclusions and draw upon lessons learned identified through the evaluation;
To provide specific recommendations on how the UN should position itself in the changing development context of Mongolia, including Mongolia's accession to lower middle income country status, emerging development priorities and the end of the MDGs.

Scope

The scope of the evaluation is

The UNDAF will be evaluated against the strategic intent laid out in the UNDAF document. More specifically, the evaluation will use as its basis the UNDAF 2012-2016 document and will assess:

The UNCT's interventions in support of national development results as described in the four strategic priority areas and thirteen outcome statements included in UNDAF results framework;
The effectiveness of the seven strategies employed for development cooperation by the UN in Mongolia;
The extent to which the UNCT has addressed the five cross-cutting issues (gender equality, human rights-based approach, environmental sustainability, results-based management, capacity development, climate change & disaster risk-reduction, role of civil society & volunteerism, communications and information) in its results programming;
The comparative advantage of the UNCT in the context of other development partners in achieving development results in Mongolia.

Other factors to be considered in the evaluation are

To the extent possible the evaluation will also assess the extent to which the UNDAF contributed to: UN Coordination: Did UN coordination reduce transaction costs and increase the efficiency of UNDAF implementation? To what extent did the UNDAF create actual synergies among agencies and involve concerted efforts to optimise results and avoid duplication? Did the UNCT respond and adapt to major national changes effectively through the UNDAF;

Data collection and analysis: To what extent did the UNDAF strengthen the capacities for data collection and analysis to improve understanding and support to vulnerable groups?

Partnership: To what extent did stakeholders participate in the implementation in the UNDAF and how did their presence improve its performance?

Methodology

The evaluation will follow the UN Development Group (UNDG) Guidelines for UNDAF Evaluations.

Overall approach for the evaluation is

The UNDAF evaluation is a programmatic evaluation in that it assesses performance against a given programme framework that specifies its strategic intent and objectives. The programme framework in this case is the national development outcomes contained in the results framework against which the UNCT contribution will be assessed.

It is a country-level evaluation carried out jointly with the UNCT and the overall approach is participatory and orientated towards learning how to jointly enhance development results at the national level.

Given that (a) outcomes are, by definition, the work of a number of partners, and (b) UNDAF outcomes are set at a very high level, attribution of development change to the UNCT (in the sense of establishing a causal linkage between a development intervention and an observed result) may be extremely difficult and in many cases infeasible. The evaluation will therefore consider the contribution of the UNCT to the change in the stated UNDAF SPA and the evaluators will need to explain how the UNCT contributed to the observed results at that level.

To make the assessment, first, the evaluators will examine the stated UNDAF SPAs and outcomes; identify the change over the period being evaluated on the basis of available baseline information; and observe the national strategy and actions in support of that change. Second, they will examine the implementation of UNDAF strategy and interventions in support of national efforts.

The UNDAF evaluation is also a forward looking evaluation. Based on its past achievements, best practices, lessons learnt and comparative advantages, the evaluation will provide recommendations to the UNCT on how to position itself in the changing development context in Mongolia, especially with regard to the end of the MDGs and global/national discussions on the Post 2015 agenda, the fact that Mongolia has reached low middle income country status and ODA is expected to decline in the coming years and the emergence of new development challenges such as inequality and urbanization.

The UNCT will conduct a country analysis to better understand development trends and challenges with a view to identifying key entry points for the UN. It is important that the findings and recommendations of the evaluation inform and contribute to the country analysis and guide the UNCT in identifying priority areas for UN intervention.

The 2012-2016 UNDAF Evaluation will be participatory and inclusive exercise.

The evaluation criteria are

The contribution of the UNCT to the development outcomes will be assessed according to the following standard set of evaluation criteria

Relevance: The extent to which the outcomes of the UNDAF are consistent with the issues, underlying causes and challenges identified in the 2010 Common Country Assessment and a reflection of Mongolia's commitments to internationally agreed goals, norms and standards;
Effectiveness: the extent to which the UNCT contributed to, or is likely to contribute to, the outcomes defined in the UNDAF; and the effectiveness of the UNDAF as a coordination and partnership framework;
Efficiency: whether the UNDAF was appropriately funded and the extent to which UNDAF served as a mechanism to mobilize resources and minimize transaction costs for UN agencies and the GoM.
Sustainability: The extent to which the benefits from a development intervention have continued or are likely to continue after the completion of the UNDAF; and led national capacity development;

Data collection methods are

The UNDAF evaluation will draw on a variety of data collection methods including, but not limited to

Document review focusing on UNDAF planning documents, mid-term progress reviews (where undertaken), annual reports and past evaluation reports (including those on programmes and projects, and those issued by national counterparts), strategy papers, national plans and policies and related programme and project documents. These should include reports on the progress against national and international commitments;
Other relevant UNCT and agency reports;
Semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders including key government counterparts, donor community members, representatives of key civil society organisations, UNCT members, and implementing partners;
Surveys and questionnaires including participants in development programmes, UNCT members, and / or surveys and questionnaires involving other stakeholders;
Focus Group discussions involving groups and sub-groups of stakeholders, decision-makers;
Other methods such as outcome mapping, observational visits, etc.

UN agencies and Government of Mongolia counterparts will provide the necessary information, data, support and guidance required to carry out planned activities and prepare the UNDAF Evaluation.

Management and Governance of UNDAF Evaluation

The evaluation will be commissioned by UNCT and the Government (represented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).

The UNDAF Evaluation Team will work under the supervision of a dual-tiered evaluation management structure.

Direct supervision is provided by the UNDAF Evaluation Management Group (EMG). This group will be responsible for the day-to-day implementation of the evaluation and management of the evaluation budget. The key roles of the EMG are:

To guide the evaluation team in each step of the evaluation process;
To review, provide substantive comments and approve the inception report, including the work plan, analytical framework and methodology;
To review and provide substantive feedback to the draft and final evaluation reports, for quality assurance purposes;
to ensure the quality and independence of the evaluation and to guarantee its alignment with UNEG Norms and Standards and Ethical Guidelines;
To identify and ensure the participation of relevant stakeholders in coordination with the ESC throughout the evaluation process;
to ensure the evaluation findings and conclusions are relevant and recommendations are implementable; and
to contribute to the dissemination of the evaluation findings and follow-up on the management response

The decision-making organ for the UNDAF Evaluation is the Evaluation Steering Committee (ESC), bringing together representatives of the Evaluation Commissioners (UNCT and national counterparts) and possibly other key stakeholders such as national civil society organizations and donor representatives. All key deliverables need to be approved by the ESC.

The Evaluation Steering Committee is also the main body responsible for providing a written and agreed management response to the evaluation within two months of receiving the final evaluation report.

The UN Coordination Specialist of the UN Resident Coordinator's office (RCO) will serve as the Evaluation Task Manager and provide day to day support to the consultants.

Duration and Team composition

The evaluation is expected to be done in 9 weeks, starting from 30 April through 2 July 2015. Three consultants (one international and two national) will be mobilized through individual contracting modality. The international consultant will serve as the Team Leader and have ultimate responsibility for delivering results. He/she will be responsible for quality and timeliness of all deliverables and will guide the national consultants.

Evaluation team leader

The team leader will lead the entire evaluation process, working closely with all team members. He/she will conduct the evaluation process in a timely manner and communicate with the Evaluation Management Group on a regular basis and highlight progress made/challenges encountered. The team leader will have ultimate responsibility for producing all the key deliverables, including the inception report and the draft and final evaluation reports. He/she will also be responsible for ensuring data collection and analysis is conducted properly; presenting the evaluation findings and recommendations at the validation workshop; and working with and guiding the Country Analysis Team in identifying synergies between the evaluation findings and the country analysis in support of determining entry points for UN strategic interventions in the new UNDAF.

Evaluation team members

The two national consultants will comprise the Team Members and will contribute to the evaluation process substantively through data collection and analysis. They will share responsibilities for conducting desk review and interviews and conduct field visits to the identified project sites and collect data. They will provide substantive inputs to the inception report as well as to the draft and final reports. They will be tasked by and work under the supervision of the Team Leader.

Duty station of the assignment and travel

Duty station

The place of the assignment is Ulaanbaatar. The consultant will have a temporary office in the UN RCO and will meet and consult with UN agencies, government authorities and other relevant stakeholders. The consultants are expected to field missions to the countryside as needed and as agreed during the inception phase.

Travel

International travel will be required to Mongolia to undertake the assignment;
Individual Consultant(s) are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries;
Consultants are required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under https://dss.un.org/dssweb.

Deliverables and Timeframe

The duration of the assignment is expected to be 9 weeks.

Deliverables/Content/Duration

Kick off meetings and table review of key documents: Week 1 - Conduct meetings and communication with the UN RCO, EMG, UNDAF SPA leads and MoFA; review key documents;.

Inception report: Beginning of Week 2.

Refine the overall evaluation scope, approach, methodology, design and timeframe;
Recommend and agree on field missions;
Present and agree on detailed outline of the UNDAF evaluation final report.

Data Collection: Week 2-4 - Data collection, field trips as needed, meetings and consultations.

Progress Report: End of Week 3 - Present progress report (1-2 pages) to the EMG/UNDAF Evaluation Steering Committee on:

How tasks are progressing; and
Any challenges faced, (this is not a report on initial evaluation findings, but related to the process).

Draft evaluation report: Beginning of Week 5 - Present draft evaluation report to EMG/UNDAF Evaluation Steering Committee, to include but not limited to:

Findings and lessons learned;
Conclusions concerning the UN's contributions and comparative advantage, including best practices and lessons learned across the scope being examined;
Recommendations.

Work on draft evaluation report and data analysis: Week 5-7 - Incorporate comments and continue work on data collection and analysis.

Validation workshop: Beginning of Week 7 - Presentation of findings, conclusions & recommendations to stakeholder.

Work on finalization of the final evaluation report: Week 7-8 - Incorporate comments from stakeholders and finalize the report.

Final Report: Beginning of Week 8 - present final report.

Meeting to establish synergies between the Evaluation and Country Analysis: Week 9 - Work with the Country Analysis Team to present results and help establish synergies between the findings of the Evaluation and those of the country analysis.

Proposed Structure of the Final Report

The final report is expected to have sections related to the national context, evaluation findings and conclusions and recommendations. It shall also have an executive summary and introduction sections. The expected structure of the evaluation report is as follows:

I.Executive Summary;
II.Introduction (objectives, scope and methodology, limitations);
III.Chapter 1: National development context;
IV.Chapter 2: Evaluation Findings;
V.Chapter 3: Conclusions and Recommendations (including UN positioning in the country);
VI.Annexes: as relevant.

A detailed outline of the UNDAF evaluation final report should be included in the Inception report.

The final report shall be prepared in accordance with UNEG guidance (Quality Checklist for Evaluation Reports).

Key Reference Documents

Mongolia Millennium Development Goals progress reports;
Mongolia's country development strategies and policies;
2012 and 2013 UNDAF Review Reports;
Respective agency's annual and mid-term review reports;
Revised UNDAF M&E framework;
Table on UN coordination structure, ie results groups, theme groups, working groups, TFs.
Country Program Documents (CPDs) and Country Programme Action Plans of UN agencies;
End-of-programme evaluation reports of all UN agencies that participated in the UNDAF Process;
UN Evaluation Group Guidance Note on Application of Programming Principles to the UNDAF (2010);
Standards for Evaluation in the UN System;
Norms for Evaluation in the UN System;
UNEG Ethical Guidelines;
UNEG Code of Conduct for Evaluation in the UN system;
Any other relevant documents and guidelines provided by the UNRCO and UN agencies.

Application procedure

Qualified and interested candidates are requested to apply on-line using this site www.jobs.undp.org

Due to limitation in uploading several documents, applicants are advised to compile all documents into a single attachment and upload the attachment while applying on line.

INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANT - THE EVALUATION OF OF 2012-2016 UNDAF FOR MONGOLIA, Closing date: Wednesday, 8 April 2015

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