External Project Evaluator

Call for Tenders for External Project Evaluation
SUMMARY
Type of assignment

Midterm external evaluation of a development project “Supporting a greener and more energy efficient construction sector in Mongolia” (contract No. DCI-ASIE/2011/263-115) implemented by Caritas Czech Republic in Mongolia between 2012 – 2015.
Expected duration of assignment
One and half month (preparatory work, 15 days field data collection in Mongolia /in Ulaanbaatar, Darkhan and Erdenet/, report drafting).
Purpose of the evaluation
Midterm and final project evaluation is requested by the main donor of the project (EU).
Moreover, the midterm evaluation findings are expected to:

• Provide recommendation whether the current project design is relevant to the context or a modification is needed;
• Provide recommendation with regards to the methods and tools applied to achieve the stated results and objectives.

Project information
Project title
“Supporting a greener and more energy efficient construction sector in Mongolia)”
Lead Implementing Organization
Caritas Czech Republic (hereafter: CCR)
Implementing partners
Caritas Mongolia, Swedish environmental Institute (IVL), Mongolian national chamber of commerce and industry (MNCCI)
Donors
European Union, Czech Development Agency, Swedish government and Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Project budget
1 690 341 EUR
Project Period
January 2012 - December 2015 (48 months).
Programmatic area
The project is part of the European Union Switch Asia program (http://www.switch-asia.eu/) dedicated to promote economic prosperity and help reduce poverty in Asia by encouraging a sustainable growth with low environmental impact from industries and consumers, in line with international environmental agreements and processes. More specifically it aims to promote sustainable products, processes, services and consumption patterns in Asia by improving cooperation with European retailers, producer and consumer organizations and the public sector.
Target groups

1. Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the construction industry

The proposed Action will promote sustainable production, consumption and behaviour among SMEs producing construction products (e.g. concrete and bricks) and SMEs involved in construction (e.g. buildings and roads).

1. Vocational training schools and university teaching construction subjects and their students

30 selected vocational training schools (VTS) and the Mongolian University of Science and Technology (MUST), which have programmes for construction workers (engineers, architects and skilled workers) will be enabled to teach green construction practices. Their teachers will receive training on how to implement green know-how into the existing curricula and they will receive the associated training materials.

1. Government bodies responsible for construction and environmental policy and standards

The relevant government bodies (Ministry of Roads, Transportation, Construction and Urban Development, Ministry of Environment, etc) will become aware of the necessity of the green construction materials and practices and their advantages. This will assist the government bodies to create appropriate policy instruments to stimulate green construction products and practices.
The final beneficiaries of the proposed Action are the urban residents living or working in buildings constructed or renovated using green construction products and practices.
Project Background
The construction industry has expanded rapidly in recent years in Mongolia, but little attention is being paid to the environmental impact of the industry.
One of the main materials used by the construction industry in Mongolia is concrete, which is conventionally made of a mix of cement, water and aggregates. The substitution of the aggregates with waste materials produced by the power plants (i. e. fly ash and cinder) would reduce the costs of the concrete and improve its insulation capacity. This substitution would also save natural raw materials and would reduce the need for disposing of fly ash in land-fill. Mongolia has numerous coal fired power plants producing a huge quantity of fly ash (about 300,000 tonnes per plant per year), which is currently disposed of in land-fill, with negative environmental impacts.
Moreover, in the course of the current construction boom in Mongolia, from the design to the material used and the insulation techniques applied, there is little awareness of how to reduce the environmental impact of the construction process, and also of the positive economic consequences of green materials and technologies. This gap needs therefore to be addressed.
The overall objective of the project is through promoting sustainable growth, to contribute to the economic prosperity and poverty reduction in Mongolia and to the mitigation of climate change.
The specific objective for the project is to promote sustainable production and sustainable consumption patterns and behavior in the construction industry in Mongolia by mobilizing the private sector along with relevant public sector authorities.
Expected Results

• The identification, development and official approval of green construction products made using fly ash.
• The support of the production and sale of fly ash products.
• The identification and promotion of green construction products and practices by SMEs in the construction industry.
• The improvement of the policy environment in order to facilitate the use of the green construction products and practices.

Facts (updated in August 2014)

• Research on the fly ash based products will be achieved in the course of 2014. Activities related to standardization and dissemination of the results of the research towards SMEs will be initiated in 2014.
• 17 conferences on Sustainable consumption and production (SCPs) and 6 on Green construction practices (GCPs) have been organized and 294 construction companies participated in those seminars (Around 12 additional conferences will take place in 2014)
• Training materials on Green construction practices (GCP) have been elaborated for the professionals (Engineers, Architects) and skilled workers from the construction industry. On-site training sessions on GCP have been organized for SMEs’ workers (At least 30 trainings will be organized in 2014)
• Memorandums of understanding (MoUs) have been signed with vocational training schools (TVETs) in order to integrate GCP training contents into their curriculum. Schools’ teachers have been trained on green construction practices (Teachers from 24 TVETs and 1 university will be trained in 2014)
• The project has built strong relationship with different stakeholders from the construction sector (Ministries, state agencies, educational sector, labor departments from Ulaanbaatar districts, SMEs) and has already signed 7 MoUs with different institutional actors.

Organizational Context
Caritas Czech Republic (CCR) is a non-governmental organization with the vision of reducing human suffering, loss of lives, and poverty, enhancing the dignity of people living in poor conditions as well as building up and strengthening solidarity and participation. The traditional fields of work for CCR are social work, health care, education and livelihoods. Besides its activities in the Czech Republic, CCR, through its department of humanitarian and development aid, provides assistance abroad, in areas affected by natural disasters, war, conflicts, or poverty, both on humanitarian and development basis.
Mongolia is a priority country for Czech development cooperation. CCR has been working in Mongolia since 2006, when it launched its first development project in the country. Since 2008 it has had an office in Ulaanbaatar (its mission). It has dedicated its work particularly to education, social work, restoring livelihoods, humanitarian assistance, prevention of risks of natural disasters and human rights. Since 2012, CCR has been implementing the following project “Supporting a greener and more energy efficient construction sector in Mongolia”which is so far the largest project implemented by CCR in Mongolia.
Assignment Information
Description of deliverables
Selected supplier will conduct external midterm evaluation of the given project and based on the findings will draft evaluation report in English.
The evaluation report shall have between 35 and 50 standard pages (1 800 characters / page). Its structure shall be as follows:

• Summary
• Context
• Methodology applied
• Findings (as per the structure below)
• Conclusion and recommendation
• Annexes (lists of interviewees and informants, questionnaires, photos etc.)

The evaluation shall focus mainly on the topics and questions below (the list is not exhaustive)
Project relevance

• Relevance of the project objectives and expected results to the needs of the country, target groups and beneficiaries
• Relevance of the project objectives and expected results to the expectations of the main stakeholders
• Complementarity of the project to other actions in the field of sustainable consumption and production in Mongolia
• Ability of the project management to adjust the project to changing context in the given sector

Progress made towards the achievement of results

• Fulfilment of the project objectives and results against project timeframe
• Reasons for delay in achieving project objectives and results (if applicable)

Project impact on target groups and final beneficiaries

• Impact of the project on target groups, beneficiaries, local partners and other local stakeholders
• Impact of the project on the construction sector in general
• Contribution of the project to achievement of relevant national development strategies
• Changes in policy environment attributable to the project

Efficiency

• Efficiency of the financial resources needed to achieve the existing outputs / results
• Efficiency of the human resources needed to achieve the existing outputs / results

Sustainability and replication prospects

• Prospects for profitability of production of the fly ash construction materials developed by the project
• Prospects for future application and dissemination of the construction techniques introduced by the project

Project management and organization

• Appropriateness of the division of roles between CCR and other project partners (MNCCI, IVL, Caritas Mongolia)
• Effectivity of the communication between CCR, project partners and other stakeholders
• Level of local stakeholders´(including beneficiaries, government and the local partners) participation in project implementation
• Visibility of the project and its funding (does it meet respective donors´ requirements, is it sufficient or not)
• Arrangement and transparency of project documents (documents proving implementation of activities, achievement of results and objectives, financial documents) keeping
• Effectiveness of CCR internal project monitoring mechanisms (monitoring of partners´ performance, project events, measurement of impact of the trainings etc.)

Recommendations

• Project design modifications needed to make the project more relevant to the context and needs (if applicable)
• Modification / upgrade of the methods and tools applied needed to achieve the stated objectives and results within the given timeframe
• Measures needed to increase sustainability and replication prospects
• Measures needed to increase project benefit for the target groups and other stakeholders
• Organizational and management changes needed to improve the project management and administration (if applicable)

Requirements
Necessary:

• At least 5 years of experience in evaluating development projects (verifiable list of evaluations conducted in the past required)
• Fluency in written and spoken English and the ability to edit texts in
• Demonstrated excellent analytical skills (evidence required)
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, and comfortable working across cultures
• Demonstrated understanding of development sector in the field of environment and construction (verifiable information on relevant experience required)

Recommended:

• Expertise in environmental and construction issues
• Experience in working in Mongolia

Selection of supplier and selection criteria
The evaluator will be selected on the basis of offers containing:

• evaluation plan
• description of experience and expertise
• contract signed on behalf of the applicant

The plan has to contain:

• Description of relevant expertise and experience (copies of documents proving the expertise and experience shall be attached)
• Description of the methodology to be applied
• Timeframe
• Budget of the evaluation and total price of the offer (the price cannot exceed the price stated below)
• Proposed structure of the evaluation report

The evaluation plan will become an annex to the contract that will be concluded between CCR and the evaluator selected.
The description of experience and expertise has to include:

• contacts to persons / institutions that can provide reference, and / or
• copies of official documents proving the experience and expertise stated

The selection criteria will be as follows:

• Offered price (50%)
• Proven expertise and experience (25%)
• Quality of the proposed methodology (25%)

Terms of assignment
Selected evaluator will be subcontracted by CCR to produce the deliverables specified above. The contract to be concluded between CCR and the selected evaluator constitutes Annex 1 to this call for tenders.
The evaluation report has to be submitted by the end of November 2014.
Maximum price to be paid for the delivery is 5 000 EUR.
The price agreed on will cover evaluator´s remuneration, all costs incurred by the evaluator related to the assignment and all taxes and fees required by law. The price will be final and cannot be increased under any circumstances.
CCR will provide transportation in Mongolia.
CCR will provide the evaluator with all information and documents it has at its disposal needed to conduct the evaluation.

How to apply:

Interested candidates should send their offers in English to the following address MN11_evaluation@caritas.cz by 10^th of September, 2014. Incomplete offers and offers received after the deadline will not be considered.