National Consultant for the Terminal Evaluation of the Development for Renewable Energy Applications Mainstreaming and Market Sustainability (DREAMS) Project

Background

1. INTRODUCTION

In accordance with UNDP and GEF M&E policies and procedures, all full- and medium-sized UNDP-supported GEF-financed projects are required to undergo a Terminal Evaluation (TE) at the end of the project. This Terms of Reference (ToR) sets out the expectations for the TE of the full-sized project titled Development for Renewable Energy Applications Mainstreaming and Market Sustainability Project (PIMS 5194) implemented through the Department of Energy. The project started on 28 July 2016 and is in its 6th year of implementation. The TE process must follow the guidance outlined in the document ‘Guidance For Conducting Terminal Evaluations of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects’(http://web.undp.org/evaluation/guideline/documents/GEF/TE_GuidanceforUNDP-supportedGEF-financedProjects.pdf).

1. PROJECT BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT`

The Development for Renewable Energy Applications for Mainstreaming and Market Sustainability (DREAMS) Project’s objective is to reduce GHG emissions through the promotion and facilitation of the commercialization of renewable energy (RE) markets and the removal of barriers to increase investments in RE-based power generation projects in the Philippines. This will be achieved through 4 components:

1. Enforcement of a supportive policy and regulatory environment for leveraging investment in RE development and applications at the local level;
2. Strengthened institutional capacity that leads to increased RE investment at the local level;
3. Increased share of RE-based power capacity; and
4. Enhanced confidence of local RE developers that leads to an enhanced uptake of RE projects and successful replication using proven and merging RE technologies.

The Project will lead to direct lifetime GHG emission reductions of 2.445 ktonnes of carbon dioxide reduction ranging from 4,889 to 141,000 ktonnes of carbon dioxide, and some 20,000 sitio-based households in far flung areas will obtain access to reliable sources or renewable energy by end of the project.

The COVID-19 pandemic coincided with the Project’s fourth year of implementation. Since March 2020, the government has implemented varying levels of lockdowns and inter and intra-country travel restrictions. In September 2021, the government quarantine system has transitioned to an alert level system where restrictions in an area will depend on a prevailing alert level. This alert level quarantine system remains in place as of March 2022. The pandemic resulted in limited operation of offices, re-prioritization of activities of the Project’s local partners, travel bans and cancellation of public fora and capacity building, especially in the first six months of the pandemic. Citing COVID-19 constraints among other reasons, the Project requested for and was granted a project extension until January 2023. The Project has since adapted hybrid modes of project delivery and remote local coordination. 

IMPORTANT:

Offerors must upload in one (1) file the documents mentioned above.

Templates for a) P11 Personal History Form and b)  Offeror's Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability and Financial Proposal (Annex 2) are available through the link below. UNDP General Terms and Conditions for Individual Contractors  are also available:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vB63DIM-ogrwNGNyj22jBaQnYP6k7p4f?usp=sharing

Incomplete submission of required documents may result in disqualification.

Please see the deadline for submissions above.

Because of the volume of applications UNDP receives, only shortlisted offerors will be notified.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. TE PURPOSE

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 DREAMS Project is ending in January 2o28 and the TE will have to be completed three months before the project end date. The TE is being conducted in fulfillment of the project’s Monitoring and Evaluation framework and in accordance with UNDP and GEF guidance. The final evaluation will look at impact and sustainability of results, including the contribution to capacity development and the achievement of global environmental benefits/goals. The TE should also provide recommendations for follow-up activities/steps with corresponding management response, including to ensure sustainability and promote replicability of project results. This will be used by all main parties (UNDP, GEF, and partner government agencies and stakeholders) to assess their approaches and to inform the design of future interventions.

1. TE APPROACH & METHODOLOGY

The TE report must provide evidence-based information that is credible, reliable and useful.

The TE team composed of 1 international and 1 national consultant will review all relevant sources of information including documents prepared during the preparation phase (i.e. PIF, UNDP Initiation Plan, UNDP Social and Environmental Screening Procedure/SESP) the Project Document, project reports including annual PIRs, project budget revisions, lesson learned reports, national strategic and legal documents, and any other materials that the team considers useful for this evidence-based evaluation. The TE team will review the baseline and midterm GEF focal area Core Indicators/Tracking Tools submitted to the GEF at the CEO endorsement and midterm stages and the terminal Core Indicators/Tracking Tools that must be completed before the TE field mission begins. 

The TE team is expected to follow a participatory and consultative approach ensuring close engagement with the Project Team, government counterparts (the GEF Operational Focal Point), Implementing Partners, the UNDP Country Office(s), the Regional Technical Advisor, direct beneficiaries and other stakeholders.

Engagement of stakeholders is vital to a successful TE. Stakeholder involvement should include interviews with stakeholders who have project responsibilities, including but not limited to: executing agencies, senior officials and task team/component leaders, key experts and consultants in the subject area, Project Board, project beneficiaries, academia, local government and CSOs, etc. Additionally, the TE team is expected to conduct field missions to the Philippines, including the following project sites:

• UNDP Philippines Office: 15th Floor, North Tower, Rockwell Business Center Sheridan St. corner United St., Highway Hills, Mandaluyong City

• DOE DREAMS Office: 2F PNOC Building V, Energy Center, Rizal Drive, 34th St, Taguig City

DREAMS is implementing activities in the following sites in the Philippines: 1) Baclayon, Bohol; 2) Concepcion, Iloilo; 3) Aborlan, Palawan; 4) Bordeos, Quezon; 5) Aparri, Cagayan; Goa, Camarines Sur; Pototan, Iloilo; Ajuy, Iloilo; Lawaan, Eastern Samar; Apayao, Mountain Province; Cagayancillo, Palawan; San Remigio, Antique; Tapaz, Capiz; Batac, Ilocos Norte; Oriental Mindoro; Lanao del Sur

The specific design and methodology for the TE should emerge from consultations between the TE team and the above-mentioned parties regarding what is appropriate and feasible for meeting the TE purpose and objectives and answering the evaluation questions, given limitations of budget, time and data. The TE team must, however, use gender-responsive methodologies and tools and ensure that gender equality and women’s empowerment, as well as other cross-cutting issues and SDGs are incorporated into the TE report.

The final methodological approach including interview schedule, field visits and data to be used in the evaluation must be clearly outlined in the TE Inception Report and be fully discussed and agreed between UNDP, stakeholders and the TE team.

The final report must describe the full TE approach taken and the rationale for the approach making explicit the underlying assumptions, challenges, strengths and weaknesses about the methods and approach of the evaluation.

An Evaluation Reference Group (ERG) will be established to ensure that the Terminal Evaluation will undergo a peer review process that will assure the quality of the report before it is finalized. The ERG is composed of select representatives from UNDP CO and GEF Regional Technical Advisor, key project stakeholders, including Department of Energy, National Economic and Development Authority and Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

The ERG is expected to: 1) recommend and share information sources needed in the evaluation; 2) review and provide inputs to the evaluation inception report; 3) act as key informants in the data collection phase; 4) review and provide inputs to the draft evaluation report, especially the conclusions, findings, and recommendations; and 5)  review and comment on the evaluation management response. The final TE Report will be presented to the project steering committee.

In light of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the TE team should plan for contingencies in the case of local and national government health restrictions that may affect data gathering activities. Consideration should be taken for stakeholder/respondent availability, ability, and/or willingness to be interviewed virtually. No stakeholders, consultants or UNDP staff should be put in harm’s way and safety is the key priority. A short validation mission may be considered if it is confirmed to be safe for staff, consultants, stakeholders and if such a mission is possible within the TE schedule. These contingencies and anticipated limitations should be detailed in the Inception report.

1. DETAILED SCOPE OF THE TE

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 TEs of UNDP-supported GEF-financed Projects (http://web.undp.org/evaluation/guideline/documents/GEF/TE_GuidanceforUNDP-supportedGEF-financedProjects.pdf). 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

1. Project Design/Formulation

• National priorities and country driven-ness
• Theory of Change
• Gender equality and women’s empowerment
• Social and Environmental 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

1. 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

1. 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 (*)
• 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 and targeted recommendations 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.
• The TE report should also include lessons that can be taken from the evaluation, including best and worst 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 include results related to 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 the DREAMS Project

1. TIMEFRAME

The total duration of the TE will be approximately 35 working days over between 20 June to 15 October 2022 (Timeframe is subject to change depending on the contract date issuance). The tentative TE timeframe is as follows:

Options for site visits should be provided in the TE Inception Report.

1. TE DELIVERABLES

*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.[2]

1. TE ARRANGEMENTS

The principal responsibility for managing the TE resides with the Commissioning Unit. The Commissioning Unit for this project’s TE is the UNDP Country Office in the Philippines through the Monitoring and Evaluation Analyst of the Results and Quality Team and the Programme Analyst of the Climate Action Programme Team.

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 Team will be responsible for liaising with the TE team to provide all relevant documents, set up stakeholder interviews, and arrange meetings and field visits.

An Evaluation Reference Group (ERG) shall be formed composed of principal representatives from project stakeholders (government partners, donor, representatives from the Project Board) that will perform an advisory role throughout the process, ensure that evaluation standards as provided by the United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) are adhered to, including safeguarding transparency and independence, advise on the relevance and appropriateness of questions, and support and provide input into the development of the management responses and key actions.

1. SCOPE OF WORK AND EXPECTED OUTPUTS

The National Consultant will be working with an international evaluator who will lead the evaluation and   

will be mainly responsible for initiating and managing the TE process and leading the overall design and writing of the TE report, maintaining the integrity and independence of the process, and in accordance with the UNDP-GEF guidelines

The National Consultant will provide support to the international expert and serve as the subject matter expert at the national level. S/he will assess emerging trends with respect to regulatory frameworks, budget allocations, capacity building, work with the Project Team in developing the TE itinerary, among others. S/he should have a strong background on the subject and will mainly be responsible for studying the dynamics among stakeholders and how it affects project performance, progress and results achievement, and potential development pathways for the country, highlighting gains, uncovering gaps, and p