UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (UNDP) has floated a tender for Consultant to Support the Mid-Term Review for UNDP-GEF Project. The project location is Lao PDR and the tender is closing on 26 Aug 2019. The tender notice number is , while the TOT Ref Number is 35653882. Bidders can have further information about the Tender and can request the complete Tender document by Registering on the site.

Expired Tender

Procurement Summary

Country : Lao PDR

Summary : Consultant to Support the Mid-Term Review for UNDP-GEF Project

Deadline : 26 Aug 2019

Other Information

Notice Type : Tender

TOT Ref.No.: 35653882

Document Ref. No. :

Competition : ICB

Financier : United Nations Secretariat

Purchaser Ownership : -

Tender Value : Refer Document

Purchaser's Detail

Purchaser : UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (UNDP)
Lane Xang Avenue P.O. Box 345 Vientiane, Tel: +856-(0) 21 267 777 Fax: +856-(0) 21 267 799
Lao PDR
Email :info.la@undp.org
URL :http://www.la.undp.org

Tender Details

Tenders are invited for Consultant to Support the Mid-Term Review for UNDP-GEF Project (Lao Nationality Only).


Background

The Dry Dipterocarp Forest (DDF) ecosystems located in Savannakhet Province are recognized as being globally important (as part of the Central Indochina Dry Forests ecoregion identified in Global 200 WWF Ecoregions and as habitat for a number of globally significant and threatened species) and nationally important for their provision of numerous ecosystem services (water supply; sustainable timber and Non-Timber Forests Products; carbon sequestration; etc.) that benefit the people of Lao PDR. In recent decades, DDF ecosystems and the species within them have come under increasing threat from large-scale conversion of forest, degradation of forest ecosystem services, and species loss. In Lao, which retains a large proportion of the remaining Dry Dipterocarp Forests in the region, the demand for cash-crops is propelling forest conversion, while unsustainable logging, over hunting, over harvesting of non-timber forest products and burning to provide fresh growth for livestock are all leading to habitat degradation.

Recognizing their global and national importance, the Government of Lao PDR (GoL) has prioritized the conservation and sustainable management of the Dry Dipterocarp Forests landscape of Savannakhet province. As a measure of the GoL-s commitment to the DDF landscape, it has selected this area to be the site of the newest National Protected Area in the country, and as a demonstration site for testing the implementation of new national policies and processes related to Strategic Environmental Assessment, Integrated Spatial Planning, and High Conservation Value Forests. The GoL has also identified this landscape as suitable for the development and implementation of innovative financing mechanisms for sustainable forest management and PA management, as well as community participation in protected areas management, ecotourism programs, and livelihoods programs linked to conservation outcomes through formal Conservation Agreement mechanisms. The project is implemented through the Department of Forests (DOF) in the Ministry of Agriculture of Forestry (MAF), with implementation of activities through the Provincial Agriculture and Forestry Office (PAFO) of Savannakhet Province and the five District Agriculture and Forestry Offices (DAFOs) in the five target districts of Xonoboully, Songkohne, Thaphanthong, Phine and Palamay.

However, the GoL and other national stakeholders face significant barriers to achieving this goal, including inadequate legal, regulatory and institutional frameworks to support integrated and effective management of natural resources; limited experience among key government and civil society stakeholders in developing and implementing sustainable forestry management and biodiversity conservation practices on the ground; and insufficient mechanisms to compensate for land uses for conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services. For this reason, the proposed project will seek to strengthen land and resource use planning capacities and procedures and the policies and regulations that govern them, while simultaneously expanding and strengthening the management of resources on the ground by government agencies, local communities and private sector actors, and also developing innovative financing mechanisms and programs (including ecotourism and livelihoods programs) that can ensure the sustainability of improved land use and resource management approaches.

To implement the proposed project, US$10, 879, 174 was requested from the GEF Trust Fund from the Biodiversity and Land Degradation Focal Areas, and accessing the set-aside funds for Sustainable Forest Management. A matching amount of US$78, 993, 100 has been confirmed as co-financing from various national and international sources, as parallel, in-kind and in-cash commitments.

OBJECTIVES OF THE MTR

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, its risks to sustainability.

MTR APPROACH & METHODOLOGY

The MTR must provide evidence-based information that is credible, reliable and useful. The MTR team (consisting of an International Consultant and a National Consultant) will review all relevant sources of information including documents prepared during the preparation phase (i.e. PIF, UNDP Initiation Plan, UNDP Environmental & Social Safeguard Policy, the Project Document, project reports including Annual Project Review/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 review). The MTR team will review the baseline GEF focal area Tracking Tool submitted to the GEF at CEO endorsement, and the midterm GEF focal area Tracking Tool that must be completed before the MTR field mission begins.

The MTR team is expected to follow a collaborative and participatory approach ensuring close engagement with the Project Team, government counterparts (the GEF Operational Focal Point), the UNDP Country Office(s), UNDP-GEF Regional Technical Advisers, and other key stakeholders.

Engagement of stakeholders is vital to a successful MTR. Stakeholder involvement should include interviews with stakeholders who have project responsibilities, including but not limited to:

Implementing Partner - Department of Forests in MAF
Chair of the National Project Board
The National Project Director (NPD)
Project Manager (PM)
Assistant Project Manager (APM)
Project Staff in Vientiane Capital
Chair of the Provincial Project Board
Staff of PAFO and DAFO
Communities in the five target districts
National Consultants
International Consultants
Co-financiers
UNDP staff who have project responsibilities
Additionally, the MTR team is expected to conduct field missions to one or more of the five target districts in Savannakhet Province, including the following project sites Ong Mang Sanctuary, Ong Mang Eco-tourism Center, Dong Phouvieng Protected Area, DAFO and PAFO offices, facilities constructed, and other sites to be recommend.

The final MTR report should describe the full MTR approach taken and the rationale for the approach making explicit the underlying assumptions, challenges, strengths and weaknesses about the methods and approach of the review.




Duties and Responsibilities

National Consultant will support International Consultant to assess the following four categories of project progress. See the Guidance For Conducting Midterm Reviews of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects for extended descriptions.

i. Project Strategy (more details are on the TOR)

ii. Progress Towards Results (more details are on the TOR)

iii. Project Implementation and Adaptive Management (more details are on the TOR)

iv. Sustainability (more details are on the TOR)

PAYMENT MODALITIES AND SPECIFICATIONS

10% of payment upon approval of the final MTR Inception Report

30% upon submission of the draft MTR report

60% upon finalization of the MTR report


Competencies

Competence in adaptive management, as applied to Biodiversity Conservation, Land Degradation and Sustainable Forest Management

Capability to complement and enrich the works of the International Consultant into joint working results and evaluation reports

Demonstrated understanding of issues related to gender and Biodiversity Conservation, Land Degradation and Sustainable Forest Management experience in gender sensitive evaluation and analysis

Excellent communication skills

Demonstrable analytical skills

Project evaluation/review experiences within United Nations system will be considered an asset


Required Skills and Experience

Minimum Master-s degree in Environmental Science, Forestry, Biodiversity Conservation, International/Sustainable Development, Social Science or other climate related field

Work experience in relevant technical areas for at least 5 years

Recent experience with result-based management evaluation methodologies

Experience applying SMART indicators and reconstructing or validating baseline Scenarios

Experience working with the GEF or GEF-evaluations would be an advantage

Recommended Presentation of Proposal:

Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template[1] provided by UNDP;
CV and a Personal History Form (P11 form[2]);
Brief description of approach to work/technical proposal of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment, and a proposed methodology on how they will approach and complete the assignment; (max 1 page)
Financial Proposal (Offeror`s Letter) that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price and all other travel related costs (such as flight ticket, per diem, etc), supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template attached to the Letter of Confirmation of Interest template. If an applicant is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the applicant must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP.

Application Deadline: 26-Aug-19 (Midnight New York, USA)

Additional Category: Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction

Type of Contract: Individual Contract

Languages Required: English

Starting Date: (date when the selected candidate is expected to start)
02-Sep-2019

Duration of Initial Contract :
September - October 2019

Duration of Initial Contract: September - October 2019

Expected Duration of Assignment: 30 working days

Documents

 Tender Notice