Link to Atlas Project

Documents

Overview

Objective and Scope

The project was designed to have a comprehensive, ecologically representative and effectively managed national protected area system operating in Egypt, in-line with its commitments agreed at the CBD Conferences of Parties.

The project objective is to establish of a sustainable protected area financing system, with associated management structures, systems and capacities needed to ensure the effective use of generated revenues for priority biodiversity conservation needs. It will achieve this objective by strengthening: Legal, policy, regulatory and institutional frameworks that facilitate revenue generation, revenue retention and other aspects of sustainable PA financing and management are established and functional. Levels of financial resource mobilization are adequate to ensure effective conservation-oriented management of Egypt’s PA system. And Business planning and cost-effective management systems are ensuring the effective allocation and management of mobilized resources.

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.  

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 ( 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 Egypt, including the following project sites in Sinai, Cairo, Western Desert, Red Sea and Upper Egypt. Interviews will be held with the following organizations and individuals at a minimum:

key stakeholders:

• The Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (Ministry of Environment)
•  Nature Conservation Sector, EEAA
• United Nations Development Programme, Egypt Country Office
• The Ministry of Tourism,
•  Rangers of different Protected areas
•  Civil society,
•  Private sector, and
• Universities/research institutes.

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 

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. Ratings must be provided on the following performance criteria. The completed table must be included in the evaluation executive summary.   The obligatory rating scales are included in  Annex D.

Project finance / cofinance

The Evaluation will assess the key financial aspects of the project, including the extent of co-financing planned and realized. Project cost and funding data will be required, including annual expenditures.  Variances between planned and actual expenditures will need to be assessed and explained.  Results from recent financial audits, as available, should be taken into consideration. The evaluator(s) will receive assistance from the Country Office (CO) and Project Team to obtain financial data in order to complete the co-financing table below, which will be included in the terminal evaluation report. 

Mainstreaming

UNDP supported GEF financed projects are key components in UNDP country programming, as well as regional and global programmes. The evaluation will assess the extent to which the project was successfully mainstreamed with other UNDP priorities, including poverty alleviation, improved governance, the prevention and recovery from natural disasters, and gender.

Impact

The evaluators will assess the extent to which the project is achieving impacts or progressing towards the achievement of impacts. Key findings that should be brought out in the evaluations include whether the project has demonstrated: a) verifiable improvements in ecological status, b) verifiable reductions in stress on ecological systems, and/or c) demonstrated progress towards these impact achievements.

Conclusions, recommendations & lessons

The evaluation report must include a chapter providing a set of conclusions, recommendations and lessons.

Implementation arrangements

The principal responsibility for managing this evaluation resides with the UNDP CO in Egypt. The UNDP CO will contract the evaluators and ensure the timely provision of per diems and travel arrangements within the country for the evaluation team. The Project Team will be responsible for liaising with the Evaluators team to set up stakeholder interviews, arrange field visits, coordinate with the Government etc.  

Evaluation timeframe

The total duration of the evaluation will be 22 days according to the following plan:

Evaluation deliverables

The evaluation team is expected to deliver the following:

*When submitting the final evaluation report, the evaluator is required also to provide an 'audit trail', detailing how all received comments have (and have not) been addressed in the final evaluation report.

Team Composition

The evaluation team will be composed of one international evaluator.  The consultant shall have prior experience in evaluating similar biodiversity projects.  Experience with GEF financed projects is an advantage. The evaluator selected should not have participated in the project preparation and/or implementation and should not have conflict of interest with project related activities.

The Team members must present the following qualifications

• Advanced university degree in Biological Science, Economics, Sustainable Development, or related discipline (20%)
• Minimum 7 years of relevant professional experience in the area of biodiversity and ecosystem (20%)
• Knowledge of UNDP and GEF (5%)
• Previous experience with results‐based monitoring and evaluation methodologies; (20%)
• Good communication and analytical skills (5%)
• Good command of English language, both written and spoken (20%)
• Previous work experience in the region is an asset (5%)
• Previous experience with gender-sensitive analysis (5%)

Evaluator Ethics

Evaluation consultants will be held to the highest ethical standards and are required to sign a Code of Conduct (Annex E) upon acceptance of the assignment. UNDP evaluations are conducted in accordance with the principles outlined in the UNEG 'Ethical Guidelines for Evaluations'

Payment modalities and specifications

(this payment schedule is indicative, to be filled in by the CO and UNDP GEF Technical Adviser based on their standard procurement procedures)

Application process

1.                   Applicants are requested to apply no later than 10 June 2019.  Individual consultants are invited to submit their applications together with an updated P11 form for this position either online (on UNDP website) or by email to the Procurement Unit, Procurementnotice.egypt@undp.org

2.                   The application should contain a current and complete Personal History Form (P11 form[3]) in English including the e‐mail and phone contact, together with a financial offer including a lumpsum for the fees excluding the travel costs that will be covered as per UNDP rules and regulations.

3.                   UNDP applies a fair and transparent selection process that will take into account the competencies/skills of the applicants as well as their financial proposals. Qualified women and members of social minorities are encouraged to apply.