Afghanistan - External final evaluation of the EC funded “Support to Provincial Governance Programme (SPG)”

Lot:7 - Governance and Home Affairs - EuropeAid FWC Beneficiaries 127054

DONWLOAD Terms of References

The team of experts as foreseen by the EU Delegation will comprise two (2) persons, Category I, on site.

Team Leader - Evaluation and Development Expert: CAT I

Qualifications and skills:

• A University Degree in a field directly related to these ToR. A degree in development studies or in a field related to anthropology (of development) would be a major asset;
• At least 10 years professional experience in the field of development;
• At least 5 years' experience in the field of monitoring and evaluation in developing countries;
• Proven experience in local development, including sound understanding of its social, economic and governance components, would be a strong asset;
• Experience with EU procedures, PCM and project/programme evaluation;
• Proven previous experience with similar projects, especially in conflict and post-conflict countries, will be an asset;
• Strong analytical skills;
• Excellent command of the English Language, both orally and written;
• Knowledge of Dari will be an asset;
• Capacity to adapt to hard working conditions.

In addition to these qualifications and skills, the Team Leader will be required to fulfil the following requirements:
• Coordinate the team’s in-country evaluation work;
• Outline the structure for the debriefing presentation together with the Aide Memoire;
• Consolidate the draft Final Report;
• Finalise the Final Report, incorporating the feedback from the EU Delegation and other stakeholders (if necessary).

Evaluation and civil/military Expert: CAT I

Qualifications and skills:

• A University Degree in a field directly related to these ToRs;
• At least 10 years professional experience in the field of development;
• At least 5 years' experience in the field of monitoring and evaluation in developing countries;
• Practical experience of working on civil-military operations will be a strong asset;
• Proven previous experience with similar projects, especially in the region, will be an asset;
• Strong analytical skills;
• Excellent command of the English Language, both orally and written;
• Knowledge of Dari will be an asset;
• Capacity to adapt to hard working conditions.

Common qualifications
• At least one expert should have proven experience of gender analysis.


4. LOCATION AND DURATION

The assignment will be divided in two phases: Phase I (desk phase) and Phase II (field phase)

• Expected starting date : 11th July 2010
• Foreseen finishing period: 11th August 2010
• Total duration of assignment: 180 days
• Location(s) of assignments: The field phase will be carried out in Afghanistan, particularly in Kabul and all those provinces where the programme is being implemented, i.e. Balkh, Herat, Kunduz, Takhar, Baghlan, Samangan, Badakhshan, Faryab, Kapisa, Ghor. Meetings should be held with all relevant stakeholders. A briefing will take place at the EU Delegation in Afghanistan before the field phase and a debriefing will take place after the evaluation mission.
• Please note that under no circumstances will the assignment be conducted between the 11th of August and the 12th of September, as these dates fall within the Ramadan period.

1. BACKGROUND

The Support to Provincial Governance (SPG) Programme for Afghanistan was approved by the European Commission in December 2006 and has been operational since February 2007. The programme’s overall objective is to support the civilian activities led by the Provincial Reconstruction Teams’ (PRTs) of the EU Member States, in line with the recommendations of the General Affairs Council (GAERC) and the Political and Security Committee (PSC). The programme established a funding facility, the “Provincial Reconstruction Facility” (PRF) for a total value of EUR 8.7 million under the (now defunct) ALA Regulation. It is jointly managed with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), which is responsible for administering the fund and the contracts with PRTs. Requests for projects (grants) are received and implemented by selected governmental or non-governmental partners through the civilian component of the PRTs and the activities must be civilian in nature. The Programme serves to strengthen the Government of Afghanistan’s capacity to meet the needs at the sub-national level through projects designed to assist the line ministries, provincial councils and rule of law institutions such as the police and judiciary bodies. The activities need to support the implementation of the Government's priorities as established in the Provincial Needs Assessment (PNA). A total of 24 grants have been awarded so far and the programme is expected to close on 31/10/2010.

The concept of PRTs was introduced by the International Assistance Force (ISAF) of NATO in late 2001 as a means of facilitating reconstruction efforts in the provinces. PRTs are armed units of 200 to 300 men, consisting of a military component under NATO command as well as a civilian component, led by a contributing nation. The PRTs have been tasked to help the Government of Afghanistan extend its authority to the provinces. Currently there are 26 PRTs in Afghanistan, of which 11 are led by EU Member States.



2. DESCRIPTION OF THE ASSIGNMENT

These terms of reference relate to the final evaluation of the programme.

2.1 Global objective

The final evaluation will provide the decision-makers in the EU Delegation, other European Commission services, PRTs, the Government of Afghanistan and other relevant actors in the international community with sufficient information to:

a. make an overall independent assessment about the past performance of the programme, paying particularly attention to the impact of the projects against its objectives;
b. identify key lessons and to propose practical recommendations for follow-up actions.

2.2 Specific objective

This final evaluation will assess the efficiency, effectiveness, sustainability and anticipated impact of the supported actions and the prospects for the sustainability of the benefits, as well as their relevance to the projects' main objectives. The experts will provide practical recommendations for follow up actions and lessons learned.

The consultants are required to use their professional judgement and experience to review all relevant factors and to bring these to the attention of the EU Delegation.

2.3 Requested services

For the evaluation of the project, as indicated above, the European Union, represented by the European Commission, requires the following services (the following list is non-exhaustive):

• Collect and compile complete information from relevant sources and relate the findings to coherent and realistic conclusions and recommendations.
• Review the progress of the project i.e achievements and present status of the implementation of the project with clear indications on the extent to which outputs are being achieved.
• Assess whether the costs of the project are justified by the benefits.
• Assess the impact of the project and its supported actions to date, as well as their future anticipated impact, particularly at both community and district levels.
• Assess project management and organisation in terms of its efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability.
• Examine stakeholder participation in the management / implementation of the project, and the level of local ownership.
• Assess the quality of operational work planning and risk management.
• Assess the quality of information management and reporting, and the extent to which key stakeholders are kept adequately informed of project activities (including beneficiaries/target groups).
• Review the efficiency (input delivery, cost control and activity management) and effectiveness (delivery of outputs and progress towards achieving the purpose) of the supported actions and prospects for the sustainability of benefits as well as their relevance. Comparison should be made against what was planned. Gender issues should be specifically monitored.
• Provide a revised logical framework, if necessary, for future analysis.
• Assess the anticipated risks for project implementation in future and possible mitigation measures.

2.4 Required outputs

The evaluation mission will deliver the following outputs (this is a non-exhaustive list):
• A verification of the relevance of the project in addressing the existing and anticipated institutional, political, economic and social problems (if any)
• An appraisal of the project's efficiency and effectiveness, especially with regard to the sustainability and cost-effectiveness of the project results on present stakeholders.
• An evaluation of the anticipated impact of the project.
• Lessons learned from the project.

PLEASE NOTE: ONLY SELECTED CANDIDATES WILL BE CONTACTED