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Documents

Overview

In accordance with UNDP and GEF M&E policies and procedures, all full and medium-sized UNDP support GEF financed projects are required to undergo a terminal evaluation upon completion of implementation. These terms of reference (TOR) sets out the expectations for a Terminal Evaluation (TE) of the Bioenergy for Sustainable Rural Development (PIMS# 2284)

Objective and Scope

The project was designed to facilitate and accelerate the market development for new bioenergy technologies (BET) in Egypt, thereby promoting sustainable socio-economic development of the rural communities in Egypt and reducing the negative global and local environmental impacts associated with the use of fossil fuels and the environmentally not sound management of the agricultural waste.

The objective of the project is to remove the technical, institutional, information, financial, and market barriers to developing the BET market in Egypt by (i) testing the feasibility and building the public confidence on BET systems and on the new business and financing models to facilitate their broader adoption, and on the basis of those models showing success, developing further the financial, institutional and market strategies for their large-scale replication; (ii) supporting the development and adoption of an enabling policy framework to implement and leverage financing for the recommended strategies; iii) building the capacity of the supply side to do marketing, finance and deliver rural bioenergy services; and iv) institutionalizing the support provided by the project to facilitate sustainable growth of the market after the end of the project.

In order to facilitate sustainable market transformation, there is a need for parallel, mutually supportive measures that can create a sustainable demand through an enabling policy framework and other promotional measures, which are building the confidence of the market on the new technologies, and on the other side meeting this demand by building the capacity of commercially oriented and professional supply chain able to offer high quality products and services, combined with the access to affordable and sustainable financing mechanisms.

Through the implementation of the planned investments projects, the project is going to monitor and collect experiences from the different type and size of bioenergy applications, including family, community and farm scale, thereby exploring further the opportunities also for semi-industrial or industrial plants. For this purpose and in line with the recommendations coming out from the GEF Council review, more advanced technologies also from other countries will be evaluated in addition to the proposed lower costs technologies from China and India.

The TE will be conducted according to the guidance, rules and procedures established by UNDP and GEF as reflected in the UNDP Evaluation Guidance for GEF Financed Projects.  The objectives of the evaluation are to assess the achievement of project results, and to draw lessons that can both improve the sustainability of benefits from this project, and aid in the overall enhancement of UNDP programming.  

The scope of the evaluation is expected to cover the following:

• Review of the status of the project activities and the possibility of achieving all the outcomes in the given timeframe, taking into consideration the speed, at which the project is proceeding. Review of the effectiveness of the project implementation and the use of its financial resources, including adaptive management applied for the revision of the project implementation mechanisms and other actions to overcome the obstacles identified during the implementation of the project,
• Review the current monitoring procedures and methodologies in place,
• Assessment of co-financing and leveraged resources
• Provide recommendations for actions necessary for the long term sustainability and replicability of the achievements
• Provide recommendations on any changes needed, including the finalization of a concrete action plan to address the eventual pending needs or possible corrective action;

Project concept and design

The evaluators will assess the project design. He/she should review the problem addressed by the project and the project strategy, encompassing an assessment of the appropriateness of the objectives, outcomes, outputs, planned activities and inputs as compared to cost-effective alternatives. The executing modality and managerial arrangements should also be judged. The evaluator will assess the achievement of indicators and review the work plan, planned duration and budget of the project.

Implementation

The evaluation will assess the implementation of the project in terms of quality and timeliness of inputs and efficiency and effectiveness of activities carried out. Also, the effectiveness of management as well as the quality and timeliness of monitoring and backstopping by all parties to the project should be assessed.  In particular the evaluation is to assess the Project team’s use of adaptive management in project implementation.

Project outputs, outcomes and impact

The evaluation will assess the outputs, outcomes and impact achieved by the project as well as the likely sustainability of project results. This should encompass the following:

Attainment of objectives and planned results:

• Evaluate how, and to what extent, the stated project objectives are being achieved; taking into account the “achievement indicators”. In addition, the team will assess the indicators matrix as to its utility for determining sustainability and replicability impact.

Achievement of outputs and activities:

• Assess the scope, quality and usefulness of the project outputs produced so far in relation to its expected results.
• Assess the feasibility and effectiveness of the work plan in implementing the components of the project.
• Assess the quality, appropriateness and timeliness of the project concepts, project proposals, progress reports with regard to:

In addition to a descriptive assessment, all criteria should be rated using the following divisions: Highly Satisfactory, Satisfactory, Marginally Satisfactory, AND UN-satisfactory with an explanation of the rating.

Evaluation approach and method

An overall approach and method[1] for conducting project terminal evaluations of UNDP supported GEF financed projects has developed over time. The evaluator is expected to frame the evaluation effort using the criteria of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, and impact, as defined and explained in the UNDP Guidance for Conducting Terminal Evaluations of  UNDP-supported, GEF-financed Projects.    A  set of questions covering each of these criteria have been drafted and are included with this TOR (fill in Annex C) The evaluator is expected to amend, complete and submit this matrix as part of  an evaluation inception report, and shall include it as an annex to the final report. 

The evaluation must provide evidence‐based information that is credible, reliable and useful. The evaluator is expected to follow a participatory and consultative approach ensuring close engagement with government counterparts, in particular the GEF operational focal point, UNDP Country Office, project team, UNDP GEF Technical Adviser based in the region and key stakeholders. The evaluator is expected to conduct a field mission to Households in rural areas of Assuit Governorate and households in Fayoum. Interviews will be held with the following organizations and individuals at a minimum: (List of key stakeholders will be provided).

The evaluator will review all relevant sources of information, such as the project document, project reports – including Annual APR/PIR, project budget revisions, midterm review, progress reports, GEF focal area tracking tools, project files, national strategic and legal documents, and any other materials that the evaluator considers useful for this evidence-based assessment. A list of documents that the project team will provide to the evaluator for review is included in Annex B of this Terms of Reference.

Evaluation Criteria & Ratings

An assessment of project performance will be carried out, based against expectations set out in the Project Logical Framework/Results Framework (see  Annex A), which provides performance and impact indicators for project implementation along with their corresponding means of verification. The evaluation will at a minimum cover the criteria of: relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability and impact.

[1] For additional information on methods, see the Handbook on Planning, Monitoring and Evaluating for Development Results, Chapter 7, pg. 163