TOR FOR FINAL EVALUATION
Project: “Agro-biodiversity conservation and development for poor communities in response to climate change - Son La Province”
Funded by BfdW and Manos Unidas

1. Introduction
The project: Conversation of Agro-biodiversity and Strengthening the climate resilience of poor communities, - Son La Province (shorted Project) funded by Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)/Bread for the World (BfdW) and Spanish Manos Unidas. It is scheduled to take place from 1st January 2018 to 31st December 2020 in 8 villages of Muoi Noi and Bon Phang communes, Thuan Chau district, Son La province. The project is being implemented through SRD in collaboration with the Son La’s Sub-Department of Plantation and Plant Protection (SDPP). After two years many activities have been implemented with the goals of empowering the poor, women and ethnic minorities to make strides in improving food security through biodiversity models. The project introduces agro-biodiversity models and provides training to rehabilitate and select traditional rice varieties that are highly productive and resistant to climate change. In addition, Village Savings Loan Association Groups (VSLA) are established and maintained to encourage community members to actively save and contribute to one another to support economic development for their families, towards investment for production in order to increase 25% for the family's income as expected.
After two years of implementation, the project needs to recruit ONE independent expert to evaluate the results and impacts of the project. The review and submission of the evaluation report to SRD must be completed by March 31, 2020. Below is the project specific information.
The project objectives
Project overall objective: Food security for ethnic minority groups in upland areas in Son La province will be improved.
Objective 1: Agro-biodiversity for ethnic minorities’ livelihoods is promoted in the project site (Muoi Noi and Bon Phang communes).
Indicator 1: By the end of the project, at least one indigenous variety (local sticky rice) will be successfully rehabilitated.
Objective 2: Income from agro-biodiversity and climate smart agriculture will be increased.
Indicator 2: By the end of the project, average incomes from agro-biodiversity production in 180 households will have increased by 25%.
The main partners are:
• Son La’s Sub-Department of Plantation and Plant Protection (SDPP),
• People’s Committees of Thuan Chau district (DPC),
• Muoi Noi and Bon Phang People Committees (CPC).
The main target groups/beneficiaries are:
The project aims to improve livelihood capacity and participation by the poor ethnic groups in the project villages in Muoi Noi and Bon Phang communes. Therefore, the target groups will include Thai and other ethnic women and men who are farmers (single, poor, near poor). Additionally, other vulnerable groups in the 8 project villages in Bon Phang and Muoi Noi are included. The beneficiaries include 2 groups:
a) Direct target groups:
• 264 poor households (2,158 residents) mainly ethnic minority groups (Thai, etc.) from 8 villages of 2 communes, Muoi Noi and Bon Phang, will benefit from improved livelihood models and enhanced capacity.
b) Indirect target groups:
• Further approximately 2,158 residents of 2 communes Muoi Noi and Bon Phang will benefit from awareness raising on sustainable farming and rehabilitated environment.
• Staffs of SDPP, 2 CPCs of Muoi Noi and Bon Phang, and Thuan Chau DPC
2. Objectives of the evaluation
The evaluation should meet the following objectives
a) Evaluate the outcome and impact of the project; generally and specifically assess if it achieved the impact intended before the project start.
b) Evaluate the management and organisation of the project, ensuring the project partner could do well in term of their responsibilities.
c) Evaluate the capacity of the local partners and make recommendations to further increase capacity.
d) Evaluate lessons learned and recommendations that can be applied to future similar projects in the locality.
e) Recommendations for the phase of the project – introduction of two new communes.
Note: for more information, BfdW guideline for evaluation and on TOR should be considered.
Overall what outcomes has been achieved on:
• Increased income for food security, particularly for ethnic minorities, women and the poor. (referred to Objective 2)
• More climate resilient and diversified food production systems.
• Increased access to, and uptake of, agro-biodiversity and climate response models.
• Improving ethnic minorities’ and women’s self-determination.
3. Key issues
The key issues to be addressed in the evaluation are formulated as concrete questions in this section. They are expected to be answered by the evaluation.
Relevance:
- To what extent are the interventions important for the target group?
- To what extent are the initial objectives of the project still appropriate?
- Are the activities and outcome of the project consistent with the project goals and objectives?
Effectiveness:
- To what extent were the objectives achieved or are likely to be achieved?
- What were the major factors influencing the achievement or non-achievement of the objectives?
- Were the initial objectives realistic?
Efficiency:
- Were the effects achieved at reasonable costs?
- Were the objectives achieved on time?
- Have effective management and administration systems been in place and was there a suitable M& E system?
Impacts:
- What real difference has the project made to the beneficiaries?
- How many people have been affected?
- Which other factors contributed to the changes that were generated, and to what extent can the changes be attributed to the project activities (plausibility)?
Sustainability:
- To what extent are the benefits of the project likely to continue once donor funding has ceased?
- What were the major factors which influenced the achievement or non-achievement of sustainability of the (programme or) project?
4. Evaluation Methodology
The evaluator will propose and submit methods for the evaluation, as part of their technical offer, and action plan before starting the field work.
A set of varied and adapted methods should be adopted such as desk review; evaluation in the field.
Before going to the field, the evaluator will have a review of the project documents, BfdW guideline for evaluation and on TOR, preparation of interview guidelines, quantitative survey details, and discussion with SRD managers and staffs.
During the assessment in the field, the evaluator will conduct participant observation, quantitative survey, in-depth interviews, semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, contextual analysis, key informant interviews, debriefing workshop, etc.
5. Process of the evaluation/time frame
The evaluation is expected to be conducted by one local expert with the time on January 2020, in cooperation of SRD staff and the project partner as members of the evaluation team
Durations: The budget allows for the evaluation to take 16 calendar days as follows:

6. Expected products/ report
The evaluation should be carried out as soon as possible in January 2020. The draft report must be sent to SRD by the third week of February. The final report and Executive Summary will be submitted in the first 1st week of March 2020.
The evaluator must propose a schedule for the activities, especially the field visits, so that SRD and the local partners can organise the details.
Report Requirements
Section 1 should describe the project and the project context as a basis for the analytical and evaluative sections that follow. Aspects to be considered:
o Project context and framework conditions
o Project goals and objectives
o Project strategy/approach
o Description of project activities. Was there a difference between the planned activities and those actually implemented?
o Description of target groups. How many were reached through the activities?
o Organisational structure; how does project administration work?
Section 2 should
- focus on the findings related to the questions listed above under 'Key issues'. This is the main section for data presentation and analysis.
- Section 3 should clearly state the conclusions. These should be clearly distinguishable from the findings and provide answers to the main evaluation questions.
Section 4 should include recommendations that are actor oriented and prioritized. Answers to the following questions should be provided:
• Who should do what?
• What is most important?
What could be improved?
The report must document the evaluation activities as well as the results and will serve as a reference for follow-on activities. The Executive Summary should summarize Sections (1-4) and be expected approximately 10 pages. It must therefore have a clear structure and be complete.
- The consultant will write the report in English and provide to SRD. SRD will provide feedback and the consultant will produce a final version. Disagreements must be discussed, and a consensus reached. The final report must be provided in English and Vietnamese and is a joint responsibility.
- The report is expected to be approximately 50 pages (including annexes).
- The report should include an executive summary, table of contents and a methodology appendix.
- The report must be submitted electronically by email in Word (2007 or more recent versions) format for the draft, PDF format for the final version, font size 12, in Times New Roman or Calibri font.
7. Key qualifications of the evaluators
- At least 10 years of experience in project evaluation using a participatory method and other related ones;
- Professional qualifications and high level of experience in developing sustainable livelihoods, intelligent agriculture with climate;
- Experience and knowledge in capacity building for women;
- Experience and knowledge in community development;
- Skills in collecting, synthesizing and analyzing data; interpersonal skills, facilitation and instruction;
- Strong communication skills in both English and Vietnamese;
- Prioritize people with background and experience who have participated in the survey and evaluation of projects / programs on climate smart agriculture, sustainable agriculture and empowering women.
8. Content of the evaluator’s offer
All relevant materials, including CVs, technical proposals, and financial proposals should be sent to Mr. Vu Cong Lan, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. before 15th January 2020.