Overview : Project Title: Stimulating Progress towards Improved Rural Electrification in Solomon Islands Project (SPIRES) Project Description: This is the Terms of Reference for the UNDP-GEF Midterm Review (MTR) of the full-sized project titled Stimulating Progress towards Improved Rural Electrification in Solomons Project (PIMS#6089) implemented through the Ministry of Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification, which is to be undertaken in 2023. The project started on the 12 November 2020 and is in its third year of implementation. This ToR sets out the expectations for this MTR. The MTR process must follow the guidance outlined in the document Guidance For Conducting Midterm Reviews of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects (MTR Guidance). The SPIRES Project’s goal is reduced annual growth rate of GHG emissions in the energy and energy end use sector of the Solomon Islands. Its objective is the facilitation of the achievement of increased access to electricity in rural communities in the country. The project follows these four approaches a) Review, improvement, approval and enforcement of appropriate policy, planning and regulatory frameworks that will support enhanced and accelerated electrification of the off-grid areas in the country; (b) Development and enforcement of suitable institutional and financial mechanisms in the integrated planning and implementation of rural electrification in the country; (c) Development and implementation of cost-effective demonstrations of various schemes for rural electrification in the off-grid areas involving the private sector, CSOs, NGOs and local communities; and, (d) Design and conduct of information communication and education activities to improve levels of awareness and knowledge of the government, private sector and citizenry on climate resilient and low carbon development of off-grid areas. It is expected that these project’s outcomes will be achieved: a) Enforcement of approved policies, and rules and regulations to support enhanced application of cost-effective RE technologies for electricity generation in the off-grid areas in Solomon Islands; b) Enforced improved institutional and financial mechanisms in the integrated planning and implementation of rural electrification and RE-based energy production in the off-grid areas; c) Adoption and implementation of climate resilient and low carbon electricity applications in increasing access to electricity in off-grid areas; d) Increased confidence in, and application of, RE technologies and RE-based power generation to support socio-economic development in off-grid areas; and e) Enhanced awareness and knowledge of the government, private sector and communities on the cost-effective application of RE and EE technologies/ practices. The Solomon Islands had experienced the global pandemic in 2020 and has its first community transmissions in early 2022. One of the impacts of this pandemic was travel restrictions were imposed at both international and domestic airports and seaports. This has led to delays in project implementation in 2022. Prior to that it is noteworthy to mention the recruitment challenges faced by the Implementing partner who only managed to get the full project team was only recruited in Quarter 3 of 2021. This has slowed down project implementation. Furthermore, travel restrictions have also impeded the procurement and installation of solar PV systems as majority of the solar panels and systems were procured outside the country. These challenges have led to the further delay of installation of the renewable energy infrastructures in the 8 designated demonstration sites. Another challenge was that some key activities such as techno economical assessments, and policy reforms were impacted due to travel restrictions as limited technical people from outside the country were permitted to enter the country and there is limited pool of energy experts in the country. MTR Purpose: The MTR will assess progress towards the achievement of the project objectives and outcomes as specified in the Project Document and assess early signs of project success or failure with the goal of identifying the necessary changes to be made in order to set the project on-track to achieve its intended results. The MTR will also review the project’s strategy and its risks to sustainability. MTR is primarily a monitoring tool to identify challenges and outline corrective actions to ensure that a project is on track to achieve maximum results by its completion. MTRs are a mandatory requirement for all GEF-financed full-sized projects (FSP). MTRs are not mandatory for GEF-financed medium-sized projects (MSP) but should be undertaken, at the discretion of the Project Board, when the project is not performing well and could therefore benefit from an independent review. The project document outlines that an independent MTR will be conducted and submitted to GEF. The MTR findings and responses outlined in the management response will be incorporated as recommendations for enhanced implementation during the final half of the project’s duration. The terms of reference, the review process and the MTR report will follow the standard templates and guidance prepared by the UNDP IEO for GEF-financed projects available on the UNDP Evaluation Resource Center (ERC). As noted in this guidance, the evaluation will be ‘independent, impartial and rigorous’. The consultants that will be hired to undertake the assignment will be independent from organizations that were involved in designing, executing, or advising on the project to be evaluated. The aims of the MTR are the following: - Assess the progress towards the achievements of the project objectives and outcomes as specified in the Project Document
- Assess the extent of barrier removal that has been achieved as of the mid-term, and the prospects of full barrier removal by end-of-project.
- Assess early signs of project success or failure, and recommend corrective and adaptive measures
- Assess the progress towards advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment
- On the basis of the MTR findings, identify and propose the necessary changes to set the project on-track to achieve its intended results[1].
- Review the project’s strategy and its risks to sustainability
[1] The MTR is expected to provide guidance on how to expedite the implementation the delayed project activities and those that are planned for implementation during the PIR 2023 reporting period, as well as guidance to the PMU on how to put back the project implementation on track, and how to carry out the planned project activities to be able to generate the necessary data/information that will be used in gauging the level of achievement of each Outcome indicator in each project component. |